What happened on 26th February?

On this day, 173 notable people were born on 25th February — spanning from 1361 to 2004. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

26/02/2004

Bibisara Assaubayeva, Kazakhstani chess grandmaster

Bibisara Assaubayeva is a Kazakhstani chess grandmaster. She is the reigning three-time Women's World Blitz Chess Champion. She was given the award of Outstanding Female Chess Player of 2021 in Asia by FIDE while still a teenager. She entered the Guinness World Records book in 2022, for her achievement as the youngest women's World Blitz Chess Champion, which she became in 2021 and retained in 2022 and 2025.

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26/02/2003

Jamal Musiala, German footballer

Jamal Musiala is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. Widely regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in the world, Musiala is known for his dribbling, passing, goal threat, and technical skills, and is nicknamed "Bambi" for his close-control dribbling.

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26/02/2002

Gerard Martín, Spanish footballer

Gerard Martín Langreo is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defender for La Liga club Barcelona. Primarily a left-back, he is also capable of playing as a centre-back.

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César Tárrega, Spanish footballer

César Tárrega Requeni is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Valencia CF.

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26/02/2000

Yeat, American rapper

Noah Olivier Smith, known professionally as Yeat is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his experimental sound—most notably the rage sound, unique vocabulary, and unconventional fashion sense featuring a mix of designer brands and balaclavas.

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26/02/1997

Jessie Bates, American football player

Jessie Bates III is an American professional football safety for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft.

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26/02/1994

Jacob Trouba, American ice hockey player

Jacob Ryan Trouba is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Trouba was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round, ninth overall, of the 2012 NHL entry draft. Trouba played the first six years of his career in Winnipeg before he was traded to the New York Rangers in 2019. Trouba spent five seasons with the Rangers including two and a half seasons as captain before his trade to the Anaheim Ducks in 2024.

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Mahra Al Maktoum, Emirati princess.

Sheikha Mahra bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is an Emirati princess and member of the Dubai ruling family as the daughter of the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. She gained international attention in 2024 after announcing her divorce of her husband on Instagram using the triple talaq, traditionally only done by men. She has been engaged to rapper French Montana since 2025.

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26/02/1993

Morgan Gautrat, American soccer player

Morgan Paige Gautrat is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Women's Super League 2 club Newcastle United W.F.C. She first appeared for the United States national team during a friendly against Korea Republic on June 15, 2013. She has made 88 total appearances for the team and scored eight goals.

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26/02/1992

Mikael Granlund, Finnish hockey player

Mikael Antero Granlund is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a forward for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played professionally in Finland with Oulun Kärpät and HIFK of the SM-liiga and with the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars of the NHL. He was selected by the Wild as the ninth overall pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft.

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26/02/1991

Lee Chae-rin, South Korean singer

Lee Chae-rin, better known by her stage name CL, is a South Korean rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she spent much of her early life in Japan and France. She rose to fame as a member and leader of the girl group 2NE1, who debuted in 2009 under YG Entertainment. They became one of the most popular South Korean girl groups worldwide and one of the best-selling girl groups. As a solo artist, CL made her debut with the single "The Baddest Female" in May 2013 and released the solo track "MTBD" in February 2014 as part of 2NE1's final studio album Crush.

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Kevin Plawecki, American baseball player

Kevin Jeffrey Plawecki is an American former professional baseball catcher who currently serves as the catching coach for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers.

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26/02/1990

Takanoiwa Yoshimori, Mongolian sumo wrestler

Takanoiwa Yoshimori is a former sumo wrestler from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He made his professional debut in January 2009. He has both a sandanme and a jūryō division championship. He reached the jūryō division in July 2012 and the top makuuchi division for the first time in January 2014. He was the only wrestler recruited by former yokozuna Takanohana to reach the elite sekitori ranks. He was runner-up in one top division tournament and earned two special prizes, one for Fighting Spirit and one for Outstanding Performance. His highest rank was maegashira 2.

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26/02/1989

Gabriel Obertan, French footballer

Gabriel Antoine Obertan is a French retired professional footballer who is currently an assistant coach for USL League One side Charlotte Independence.

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26/02/1986

Mārtiņš Karsums, Latvian ice hockey player

Mārtiņš Karsums is a Latvian professional ice hockey player who is a winger for MHk 32 Liptovský Mikuláš of the Slovak Extraliga.

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Hannah Kearney, American skier

Hannah Angela Kearney is an American mogul skier who won a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

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26/02/1985

Fernando Llorente, Spanish footballer

Fernando Javier Llorente Torres, nicknamed El Rey León, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker.

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26/02/1984

Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese footballer

Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese former professional footballer who played as a striker. During his career, he played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace, as well as French side Metz, Monégasque team Monaco, Spanish team Real Madrid, Turkish clubs İstanbul Başakşehir and Kayserispor, Paraguay's Club Olimpia and Togolese club Semassi.

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Beren Saat, Turkish actress

Beren Saat is a Turkish actress and singer. Since the beginning of her career, she has received critical acclaim and numerous accolades for her acting. While studying at Başkent University, she participated in the acting competition Türkiye'nin Yıldızları and was discovered by Turkish director Tomris Giritlioğlu, launching her professional acting career.

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26/02/1983

Jerome Harrison, American football player

Jerome Harrison is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington State Cougars, earning recognition as a consensus All-American in 2005. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL draft, and also played in the NFL for the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles. A brain tumor ended his career in 2011.

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Pepe, Brazilian-Portuguese footballer

Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira OM, known as Pepe, is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Born in Brazil, he played for the Portugal national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of his generation.

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26/02/1982

Li Na, Chinese tennis player

Li Na is a Chinese former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 2 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, achieved in February 2014. Li won nine WTA Tour-level singles titles, including two majors at the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open. She is the first major singles champion born in Asia, male or female. Li was also the runner-up at the 2011 Australian Open, 2013 Australian Open, and the 2013 WTA Tour Championships.

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Matt Prior, South African-English cricketer

Matthew James Prior is a South African-born English former cricketer, who played for England in Test cricket and for Sussex County Cricket Club in domestic cricket. He was a wicket-keeper and his aggressive right-handed batting enabled him to open the innings in ODI matches, even though he made very limited appearances in shorter forms of the game. With an international Test debut score of 126, Prior became the first English wicket-keeper to hit a century in his debut match in early 2007. His glovework, however, was criticised. Despite a successful tour of Sri Lanka with the bat, Prior's keeping was less successful, and he was dropped from the team for the 2008 tour of New Zealand. He returned for the 2008 series against South Africa, and was retained into 2009, where he became the second-fastest England keeper to reach 1,000 Test runs, behind Les Ames. He retired in June 2015 from all forms of professional cricket due to a recurring Achilles tendon injury.

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26/02/1981

Kevin Dallman, Canadian-Kazakhstani ice hockey player

Kevin Jonathan Dallman is a Canadian-Kazakhstani former professional ice hockey defenceman. He most recently played for Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

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Kertus Davis, American race car driver

Kertus Davis is an American former NASCAR driver. He was the competition director for JD Motorsports before the team went bankrupt.

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Simon Maljevac, Slovenian politician

Simon Maljevac is a Slovenian LGBT rights activist and politician who served as the Minister of Solidarity-Based Future of Slovenia from 2023 to 2026. He was the general-secretary of The Left from 2018 to 2022.

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Robert Mathis, American football player

Robert Nathan Mathis is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 14-year career as a defensive end and linebacker with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama A&M Bulldogs and was selected by the Colts in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL draft. A one-time All-Pro and a five-time Pro Bowler, Mathis won the Super Bowl XLI with the Colts in 2006 over the Chicago Bears. He is also the NFL's all-time leader in forced fumbles and strip sacks. The year after retiring, Mathis joined the Colts as an assistant defensive coach.

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Oh Seung-bum, South Korean footballer

Oh Seung-bum is a former South Korean footballer, who played as midfielder for Gangwon FC in K League 1.

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Sharon Van Etten, American singer-songwriter, musician and actress

Sharon Katharine Van Etten is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Originally from New Jersey, and currently based in Los Angeles, Van Etten's music is noted for its indie rock aesthetic and personal lyrical content. In the studio and during live performances, Van Etten is currently accompanied by her backing band, the Attachment Theory, which consists of Devra Hoff, Teeny Lieberson and Jorge Balbi (drums).

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26/02/1980

Steve Blake, American basketball player

Steven Hanson Blake is an American professional basketball coach and former player. After winning the 2002 NCAA Championship with Maryland, Blake was selected by the Washington Wizards with the 38th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. Over his 13-year NBA career, Blake had stints with the Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, and three stints with the Portland Trail Blazers.

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26/02/1979

Steve Evans, Welsh footballer

Steven James Evans is a Welsh football coach and former professional footballer who is manager of Flint Town United.

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Pedro Mendes, Portuguese footballer

Pedro Miguel da Silva Mendes is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He works as a football agent.

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26/02/1978

Abdoulaye Faye, Senegalese footballer

Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, known as Abdoulaye Faye, is a Senegalese former footballer who played as a defender.

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26/02/1977

Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player and coach

Martin Ernest Reasoner is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers and New York Islanders. He is currently in a player development coaching role within the New York Islanders organization.

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Tim Thomas, American basketball player

Timothy Mark Thomas is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He was a highly ranked prospect while playing at Paterson Catholic High School in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey. Thomas played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats and declared for the 1997 NBA draft after his freshman season. He spent thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks. Thomas serves as the head coach of the boys basketball team at Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey.

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Shane Williams, Welsh rugby union player

Shane Mark Williams, is a Welsh former rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record try scorer for Wales, and fourth on the international list of leading rugby union test try scorers behind Daisuke Ohata, Bryan Habana and David Campese.

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26/02/1976

Nalini Anantharaman, French mathematician

Nalini Florence Anantharaman is an Indian-French mathematician known for her work in mathematical physics and analysis. She is currently a professor at the University of Strasbourg. She has won major prizes for her work, including the Henri Poincaré Prize in 2012.

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Chad Urmston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Charles Stokes Urmston, better known as Chadwick Stokes is an American musician and a human rights activist. He is the frontman for the Boston-area bands Dispatch and State Radio, and released solo music under the name Chadwick Stokes.

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26/02/1975

P. J. Axelsson, Swedish ice hockey player

Anders Per-Johan Axelsson, commonly abbreviated to P. J. Axelsson, is a Swedish former professional ice hockey forward, who most recently played with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Elitserien. His nickname in Sweden is "Pebben". He was the longest-tenured member of the NHL's Boston Bruins at the time of his departure from North American play in 2009, having been with the Boston team from 1997–2009. Axelsson represented Sweden internationally in multiple competitions and helped them with a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

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26/02/1974

Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, Filipina television actress, host and equestrienne

Mikaela María Antonia "Mikee" de los Reyes Cojuangco-Jaworski is a Filipino sports official, equestrian, model, former actress and television host. She is a member of the IOC Executive Board since 2020. She serves as the chairperson of the IOC Coordination Commission for the 2032 Summer Olympics. She was a gold medalist at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.

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Sébastien Loeb, French racing driver

Sébastien Loeb is a French professional rally, racing and rallycross driver. He was the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC), having won the world championship a record nine times, a record since equalled by Sébastien Ogier in 2025. He holds several other WRC records, including most event wins, most podium finishes and most stage wins. Loeb retired from full time WRC participation at the end of 2012. He currently drives part time in the WRC for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, and full time in the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) for Bahrain Raid Xtreme.

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26/02/1973

Marshall Faulk, American football player

Marshall William Faulk is an American football coach and former professional running back who is the head coach for the Southern Jaguars. Faulk previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams. He is regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian footballer and manager

Ole Gunnar Solskjær is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player, who was most recently manager of Beşiktaş. He spent the majority of his playing career with Manchester United and made 67 appearances for the Norway national team.

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Jenny Thompson, American swimmer

Jennifer Beth Thompson is an American former competition swimmer.

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26/02/1971

Max Martin, Swedish-American record producer and songwriter

Karl Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in the late 1990s with songwriting credits on a string of hit singles, such as Britney Spears's "...Baby One More Time" (1998), the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" (1999), Celine Dion's "That's the Way It Is" (1999), and NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" (2000).

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Hélène Segara, French singer-songwriter and actress

Hélène Ségara is a French singer who came to prominence playing the role of Esmeralda in the French musical Notre Dame de Paris. She has sold over 10 million records.

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26/02/1970

Predrag Danilović, Serbian basketball player and executive

Predrag "Saša" Danilović, usually referred to in English as Sasha Danilović, is a Serbian professional basketball executive who served as the president of KK Partizan and Basketball Federation of Serbia and former player, considered one of the best European shooting guards of the 1990s. Danilović was the EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 1992, was voted Mister Europa Player of the Year in 1998, and was Italian League MVP the same year.

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Mark Harper, English accountant and politician, former Secretary of State for Transport and former Minister of State for Immigration

Mark James Harper, Baron Harper is a British politician who served in the Cabinet as Chief Whip of the House of Commons from 2015 to 2016 and as Secretary of State for Transport from 2022 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire from 2005 until his defeat in 2024.

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26/02/1969

Hitoshi Sakimoto, Japanese composer and producer

Hitoshi Sakimoto is a Japanese composer and sound producer. He is best known for scoring the video games Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII, though he has composed soundtracks for numerous other games. Sakimoto first played music and video games in elementary school and began composing music professionally in 1988. He worked at the video game company Square from 1998 to 2000, before founding the music and sound production company Basiscape in 2002.

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26/02/1968

Leif Rohlin, Swedish ice hockey player

Leif Johan Rohlin is a former professional ice hockey defenceman who spent 2 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks and enjoyed a long career in Europe. He later worked as the General Manager of VIK Västerås HK of the second level of Swedish ice hockey, HockeyAllsvenskan from 2007 to 2010.

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26/02/1967

Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese footballer

Kazuyoshi "Kazu" Miura , nicknamed King Kazu, is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for J3 League club Fukushima United, on loan from J2 League club Yokohama FC. He is the world's oldest professional player.

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Gene Principe, Canadian sports reporter and broadcaster

Eugenio Principe is a Canadian sports reporter and broadcaster, who is the current host of Edmonton Oilers broadcasts on Sportsnet. He is best known for his frequent use of puns and props during his pre-game segments.

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26/02/1966

Garry Conille, Haitian physician and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Haiti

Garry Conille is a Haitian politician, physician, academic, development worker, and author who served as acting prime minister from 3 June to 11 November 2024 under the Transitional Presidential Council. He previously served as the 15th prime minister from 2011 to 2012, submitting his resignation on 24 February 2012, and being officially succeeded by Laurent Lamothe on 16 May 2012.

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Marc Fortier, French-Canadian ice hockey player

Marc Fortier is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Fortier played in the National Hockey League for the Quebec Nordiques, Ottawa Senators and Los Angeles Kings.

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Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer

Najwa Karam is a Lebanese singer, songwriter, and producer. She has sold an estimated 60 million records and is one of the highest-selling recording artists in the Middle East.

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26/02/1965

James Mitchell, American wrestler and manager

James Lamar Mitchell is an American professional wrestling manager, known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as James Vandenberg, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as The Sinister Minister, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under his own name.

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26/02/1962

Ahn Cheol-soo, South Korean physician, academic, and politician

Ahn Cheol-soo is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He is a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Prior to his career in politics, Ahn founded AhnLab, Inc., an antivirus software company, in 1995. He was chairman of the board and Chief Learning Officer of AhnLab until September 2012, and remains the company's largest stakeholder. Prior to entering politics, Ahn served as dean of the Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology at Seoul National University until September 2012. Ahn was considered a left-wing politician when he entered politics in 2012, then considered a centrist politician by his 2017 presidential bid, and is now considered a right-wing politician.

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26/02/1960

Jaz Coleman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer

Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman is an English singer and musician. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as the lead vocalist and keyboardist of post-punk group Killing Joke. In addition, Coleman has composed orchestral and soundtrack pieces.

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26/02/1959

Rolando Blackman, Panamanian-American basketball player

Rolando Antonio Blackman is a Panamanian-American former professional basketball player who spent 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most of it with the Dallas Mavericks. He was a four-time NBA All-Star, and he holds the Mavericks' franchise single-game record for free throws made (22).

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Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkish political scientist, academic, and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Turkey

Ahmet Davutoğlu is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) from 2014 to 2016. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2014 and chief advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from 2003 to 2009. He was elected as an AKP Member of Parliament for Konya in the 2011 general election and was reelected as an MP in both the June and November 2015 general elections. He resigned as prime minister on 22 May 2016.

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26/02/1958

Liza 'N' Eliaz, Belgian, transgender, hardcore DJ (died 2001)

Liza Néliaz, known by her stage name Liza 'N' Eliaz, was a Belgian hardcore techno producer and disc jockey. Described as a "spiritual leader" in the free party movement in France, she was a DJ noted for her skill and use of four turntables.

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Susan Helms, American general, engineer, and astronaut

Susan Jane Helms is a retired United States Air Force lieutenant general and NASA astronaut. She was the commander, 14th Air Force ; and commander, Joint Functional Component Command for Space at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

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Tim Kaine, American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Virginia

Timothy Michael Kaine is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2006 to 2010 as the 70th governor of Virginia and from 2002 to 2006 as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virginia. Kaine was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in the 2016 presidential election, running alongside presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

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26/02/1957

David Beasley, American lawyer and politician, 113th Governor of South Carolina

David Muldrow Beasley is an American politician, law professor, and the former executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme. A member of the Republican Party, he served one term as the 113th governor of South Carolina from 1995 until 1999 before losing reelection to Democrat Jim Hodges. He also served as a state representative from 1981 until 1995.

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Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player and coach

Joseph Patrick Mullen is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins between 1980 and 1997. He was a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams, winning with the Flames in 1989 and the Penguins in 1991 and 1992. Mullen turned to coaching in 2000, serving as an assistant in Pittsburgh and briefly as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He was an assistant with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2007 to 2017.

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John Jude Palencar, American artist and illustrator

John Jude Palencar is an American illustrator and fine artist who specializes in works of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. In 2010, he was given the Hamilton King Award.

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Keena Rothhammer, American swimmer

Keena Ruth Rothhammer is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events.

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26/02/1956

Michel Houellebecq, French author, poet, screenwriter, and director

Michel Houellebecq is a French author of novels, poems, and essays, as well as an occasional actor, filmmaker, and singer. His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Houellebecq published his first novel Whatever in 1994 and his second, Atomised, in 1998, to international fame as well as controversy. He has published several books of poetry, including The Art of Struggle in 1996.

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26/02/1955

Andreas Maislinger, Austrian historian and academic, founded the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service

Andreas Maislinger is an Austrian political scientist and founder and former chairman of the Austrian Service Abroad. He also is the founder of the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award, the Braunau Contemporary History Days and the inventor of the idea of the House of Responsibility.

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26/02/1954

Prince Ernst August of Hanover, head of the House of Hanover

Ernst August von Hannover is the head of the House of Hanover, members of which reigned in Great Britain and Ireland from 1714 to 1901, the Kingdom of Hanover from 1814 to 1866, and the Duchy of Brunswick from 1913 to 1918. As the husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, he is the brother-in-law of Albert II, Prince of Monaco. He was also a fifth-cousin to Elizabeth II.

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26/02/1953

Barbara Niven, American actress and writer

Barbara Lee Niven is an American actress, writer, and producer, best known for her performances in Hallmark and Lifetime movies, and for television roles in Pensacola: Wings of Gold, One Life to Live, Cedar Cove, and Chesapeake Shores. Niven had the leading role in the independent film A Perfect Ending (2012). She is also a motivational speaker, media trainer and animal rights activist, and a National Ambassador for American Humane.

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26/02/1951

Wayne Goss, Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Premier of Queensland (died 2014)

Wayne Keith Goss was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996, becoming the first Labor Premier of the state in over 32 years. Prior to entering politics, Goss was a solicitor, and after leaving politics he served as chairman of the Queensland Art Gallery and chairman of Deloitte Australia.

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26/02/1950

Helen Clark, New Zealand academic and politician, 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand

Helen Elizabeth Clark is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008 and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was New Zealand's fifth-longest-serving prime minister, and the second woman to hold that office.

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Billy Steinberg, American songwriter (died 2026)

William Endfield Steinberg was an American songwriter. He achieved his greatest success in the 1980s with songwriting partner Tom Kelly, together they wrote or co-wrote the No. 1 hits "Like a Virgin" by Madonna (1984), "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper (1986), "Alone", "So Emotional" by Whitney Houston (1987) and "Eternal Flame". Steinberg and Kelly also wrote or co-wrote the hit songs "I Drove All Night", "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls (1990) and "I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders (1994).

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26/02/1949

Simon Crean, Australian trade union leader and politician, 14th Australian Minister for the Arts (died 2023)

Simon Findlay Crean was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 2001 to 2003. He represented the seat of Hotham in the House of Representatives from 1990 to 2013 and was a cabinet minister in the Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments.

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Elizabeth George, American author and educator

Susan Elizabeth George is an American writer of mystery novels.

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Emma Kirkby, English soprano

Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on more than 100 recordings.

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26/02/1948

Sharyn McCrumb, American author

Sharyn McCrumb is an American writer best known for books that celebrate the history and folklore of Appalachia. McCrumb is the winner of numerous literary awards, and is the author of the best-selling Ballad novels, set in the North Carolina/Tennessee mountains; the NASCAR series featuring St. Dale; and the Elizabeth McPherson mystery series.

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26/02/1947

Sandie Shaw, English singer and psychotherapist

Sandra Ann Goodrich, known professionally as Sandie Shaw, is an English retired singer. One of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s, she had three UK number one singles with "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" (1964), "Long Live Love" (1965) and "Puppet on a String" (1967). With the latter, she won the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom, becoming the first entrant from the country to win the contest. She was seen as epitomising the Swinging Sixties and was often described as "the barefoot pop princess of the 1960s". She returned to the UK Top 40, for the first time in 15 years, with her 1984 cover of the Smiths song "Hand in Glove". Shaw retired from the music industry in 2013.

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26/02/1946

Colin Bell, English footballer (died 2021)

Colin Bell was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Bell, known for his thirteen-year spell at Manchester City, is regarded as the club's greatest-ever player, and was part of the Bell–Lee–Summerbee trio in the late 1960s and 1970s. Bell made 48 appearances for the England national football team; he was an unused squad member at UEFA Euro 1968 and played in three matches at the 1970 FIFA World Cup.

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Bingo Smith, American basketball player (died 2023)

Robert "Bingo" Smith was an American professional basketball player. He played for the San Diego Rockets, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the San Diego Clippers.

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Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2016)

Ahmed Hassan Zewail was an Egyptian-American chemist, known as the "father of femtochemistry". He was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry and became the first Egyptian and Arab to win a Nobel Prize in a scientific field, and the first African to win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was a professor of chemistry and physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he was the first Caltech faculty member to be named the Linus Pauling Chair of Chemical Physics and was the director of the Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology.

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26/02/1945

Peter Brock, Australian racing driver (died 2006)

Peter Geoffrey Brock, known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for over 35 years, although he raced vehicles of other manufacturers including BMW, Ford, Volvo, Porsche and Peugeot. He won the Bathurst 1000 endurance race nine times, the Sandown 500 touring car race nine times, the Australian Touring Car Championship three times, the Bathurst 24 Hour once and was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 2001. Brock's business activities included the Holden Dealer Team (HDT) that produced Brock's racing machines as well as a number of modified high-performance road versions of his racing cars.

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26/02/1944

Christopher Hope, South African author and poet

Christopher Hope, FRSL is a South African novelist and poet who is known for his controversial works dealing with racism and politics in South Africa. His son is violinist Daniel Hope.

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Ronald Lauder, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Austria

Ronald Steven Lauder is an American businessman. He is the sole heir to The Estée Lauder Companies, founded by his parents Estée Lauder and Joseph Lauder in 1946, following the death of his brother Leonard Lauder in 2025.

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26/02/1943

Paul Cotton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2021)

Norman Paul Cotton was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a member of the band Poco and the writer of their international hit song "Heart of the Night". Before that, he was co-guitarist for the Illinois Speed Press.

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Dante Ferretti, Italian art director and costume designer

Dante Ferretti is an Italian production designer, art director, and costume designer.

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Bob Hite, American singer-songwriter and musician (died 1981)

Robert Ernest Hite, also known as "The Bear", was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer who was the co-lead vocalist of the blues rock band Canned Heat from 1965 until his death in 1981.

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26/02/1942

Jozef Adamec, Slovak footballer and manager (died 2018)

Jozef Adamec was a Slovak football forward and manager.

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26/02/1940

Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (died 2013)

Oldřich Kulhánek was a Czech painter, graphic designer, illustrator, stage designer and pedagogue. Kulhánek created the design for the current Czech banknotes and postage stamps.

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26/02/1939

Chuck Wepner, American boxer

Charles Wepner is an American former professional boxer. He fell just nineteen seconds short of a full fifteen rounds against world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a 1975 championship fight. Wepner also scored notable wins over Randy Neumann and former world heavyweight champion Ernie Terrell. He was also the last man to fight former undisputed world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston.

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26/02/1937

Paul Dickson, American football player and coach (died 2011)

Paul Serafin Dickson was an American professional football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and St. Louis Cardinals. He played college football for Baylor University.

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26/02/1936

José Policarpo, Portuguese cardinal (died 2014)

José da Cruz Policarpo, officially referred to as José IV, Patriarch of Lisbon, though usually referred to as "D. José Policarpo", was Patriarch of Lisbon from 24 March 1998 to 18 May 2013. Pope John Paul II made him a Cardinal in 2001. Policarpo held a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

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26/02/1934

Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, Algerian director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2025)

Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina was an Algerian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his 1975 film Chronicle of the Years of Fire, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival and became the first Arab and African film to win the award. He is one of the most prominent figures in contemporary Arabic cinema.

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26/02/1933

James Goldsmith, French-British businessman and politician (died 1997)

Sir James Michael Goldsmith was a French-British financier and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His controversial business and finance career led to ongoing clashes with British media, frequently involving litigation or the threat of litigation.

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26/02/1931

Ally MacLeod, Scottish footballer and manager (died 2004)

Alistair Reid MacLeod was a Scottish professional football player and manager. He is perhaps best known for his time as the Scotland national football team manager, including their appearance at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. MacLeod played as a left winger for Third Lanark, St Mirren, Blackburn Rovers, Hibernian and Ayr United. He then managed Ayr United, Aberdeen, Scotland, Motherwell, Airdrieonians and Queen of the South.

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26/02/1928

Fats Domino, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2017)

Antoine Caliste Domino Jr., known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orleans to a French Creole family, Domino signed to Imperial Records in 1949. His first single "The Fat Man" is cited by some historians as the first rock and roll single and the first to sell more than 1 million copies. Domino continued to work with the song's co-writer Dave Bartholomew, contributing his distinctive rolling piano style to Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" (1952) and scoring a string of mainstream hits beginning with "Ain't That a Shame" (1955). Between 1955 and 1960, he had eleven Top 10 US pop hits. By 1955, five of his records had sold more than a million copies, being certified gold.

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Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (died 2014)

Ariel "Arik" Sharon was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.

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26/02/1927

Tom Kennedy, American game show host and actor (died 2020)

James Edward Narz, known professionally as Tom Kennedy, was an American television host best known for his work in game shows. Game shows Kennedy hosted included Password Plus, Split Second, Name That Tune, and You Don't Say!

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26/02/1926

Doris Belack, American actress (died 2011)

Doris Belack was an American character actress of stage, film and television.

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Verne Gagne, American football player, wrestler, and trainer (died 2015)

Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association (AWA), the predominant promotion throughout the Midwest and Manitoba for many years. He remained in this position until 1991, when the company folded.

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Henry Molaison, American medical patient (died 2008)

Henry Gustav Molaison, known widely as H.M., was an American epileptic man who in 1953 received a bilateral medial temporal lobectomy to surgically resect parts of his brain—the anterior two thirds of his hippocampi, parahippocampal cortices, entorhinal cortices, piriform cortices, and amygdalae—in an attempt to cure his epilepsy. Although the surgery was partially successful in controlling his epilepsy, a severe side effect was that he became unable to form new memories.

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26/02/1925

Everton Weekes, Barbadian cricketer and referee (died 2020)

Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes, KCMG, GCM, OBE was a cricketer from Barbados. A right-handed batsman, he was known as one of the hardest hitters in world cricket. Weekes holds the record for the most consecutive Test hundreds, with five. Along with Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott, he formed what was known as "The Three Ws" of the West Indies cricket team. Weekes played in 48 Test matches for the West Indies cricket team from 1948 to 1958. Weekes occasionally donned the wicketkeeping gloves as well. He continued to play first-class cricket until 1964, surpassing 12,000 first-class runs in his final innings. As a coach he was in charge of the Canadian team at the 1979 Cricket World Cup, and he was also a commentator and international match referee.

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26/02/1924

Marc Bucci, American composer, lyricist, and dramatist (died 2002)

Mark Bucci was an American composer, lyricist, and dramatist. Influenced by Giacomo Puccini, his work is composed in a contemporary yet lyrical style, which frequently employs marked rhythms and memorable harmonies and melodies.

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Noboru Takeshita, Japanese soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Japan (died 2000)

Noboru Takeshita was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1987 to 1989.

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26/02/1922

Bill Johnston, Australian cricketer and businessman (died 2007)

William Arras Johnston was an Australian cricketer who played in forty Test matches from 1947 to 1955. A left arm pace bowler, as well as a left arm orthodox spinner, Johnston was best known as a spearhead of Don Bradman's undefeated 1948 touring team, well known as "The Invincibles". Johnston headed the wicket-taking lists in both Test and first-class matches on the tour, and was the last Australian to take over 100 wickets on a tour of England. In recognition of his performances, he was named by Wisden as one of its Cricketers of the Year in 1949. The publication stated that "no Australian made a greater personal contribution to the playing success of the 1948 side". Regarded by Bradman as Australia's greatest-ever left-arm bowler, Johnston was noted for his endurance in bowling pace with the new ball and spin when the ball had worn. He became the fastest bowler to reach 100 Test wickets in 1951–52, at the time averaging less than nineteen with the ball. By the end of the season, he had played 24 Tests and contributed 111 wickets. Australia won nineteen and lost only two of these Tests. In 1953, a knee injury forced him to remodel his bowling action, and he became less effective before retiring after aggravating the injury in 1955. In retirement, he worked in sales and marketing, and later ran his own businesses. He had two sons, one of whom became a cricket administrator. Johnston died at the age of 85 on 25 May 2007.

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Margaret Leighton, English actress (died 1976)

Margaret Leighton was an English actress. Known for her work on stage and screen, her film appearances included Anthony Asquith's The Winslow Boy, Alfred Hitchcock's Under Capricorn, Powell and Pressburger's The Elusive Pimpernel, George More O'Ferrall's The Holly and the Ivy, Martin Ritt's The Sound and the Fury, John Guillermin's Waltz of the Toreadors, Franklin J. Schaffner's The Best Man, Tony Richardson's The Loved One, John Ford's 7 Women, and Joseph Losey's The Go-Between and Galileo. For The Go-Between, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

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26/02/1921

Betty Hutton, American actress, singer, dancer and comedian (died 2007)

Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. With a career spanning six decades, She rose to fame in the 1940s as a contract player for Paramount Pictures, appearing primarily in musicals and becoming one of the studio's most valuable stars. She was noted for her energetic performance style.

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26/02/1920

Danny Gardella, American baseball player and trainer (died 2005)

Daniel Lewis Gardella was an American professional baseball player who played most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a left fielder with the New York Giants from 1944 to 1945. Born in New York City, he batted and threw left-handed.

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Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (died 2006)

Lucjan Wilhelm Wolanowski, pseudonyms: Wilk; Waldemar Mruczkowski; W. Lucjański; (L.W.); lu; Lu; (lw); WOL., was a Polish journalist, writer and traveller.

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26/02/1919

Mason Adams, American actor (died 2005)

Mason Adams was an American actor. From the late 1940s until the early 1970s, he was heard in numerous radio programs and voiceovers for countless television commercials, the latter of which he resumed in the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 1970s, he moved into acting and from 1977 to 1983 held perhaps his best-known role, that of Managing Editor Charlie Hume on Lou Grant. He also acted in numerous other television and movie roles, most prominently Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) and F/X (1986).

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26/02/1918

Otis Bowen, American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (died 2013)

Otis Ray Bowen was an American politician and physician who served as the 44th governor of Indiana from 1973 to 1981 and as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Cabinet of President Ronald Reagan from 1985 to 1989.

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Pyotr Masherov, Leader of Soviet Belarus (died 1980)

Pyotr Mironovich Masherov was a Soviet partisan, statesman, and one of the leaders of the Belarusian resistance during World War II who governed the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia from 1965 until his death in 1980. Under Masherov's rule, Belarus was transformed from an agrarian, undeveloped nation which had not yet recovered from the Second World War into an industrial powerhouse; Minsk, the capital and largest city of Belarus, became one of the fastest-growing cities on the planet. Masherov ruled until his sudden death in 1980, after his vehicle was hit by a potato truck.

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Theodore Sturgeon, American author and critic (died 1985)

Theodore Sturgeon was an American author of primarily fantasy, science fiction, and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 short stories, 11 novels, and two scripts for Star Trek: The Original Series.

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26/02/1914

Robert Alda, American actor, singer, and director (died 1986)

Robert Alda was an American actor, singer and dancer. He was the father of actors Alan and Antony Alda. Alda was featured in a number of Broadway productions, then moved to Italy during the early 1960s. He appeared in many European films over the next two decades, occasionally returning to the U.S. for film appearances such as The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969).

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26/02/1911

Tarō Okamoto, Japanese painter and sculptor (died 1996)

Tarō Okamoto was a Japanese artist, art theorist, and writer. He is particularly well known for his paintings, public sculptures, and murals, his theorization of traditional Japanese culture, and his avant-garde artistic practices.

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26/02/1910

Vic Woodley, English footballer (died 1978)

Victor Robert Woodley was an English football goalkeeper who played for Chelsea was an FA Cup Winner with Derby County and the England national team between the wars.

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26/02/1909

Fanny Cradock, English chef, author, and critic (died 1994)

Phyllis Nan Sortain Pechey, better known as Fanny Cradock, was an English restaurant critic, television cook and writer. She frequently appeared on television, at cookery demonstrations and in print with her fourth husband, Major Johnnie Cradock, who played the part of a slightly bumbling hen-pecked husband.

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Talal of Jordan (died 1972)

Talal bin Abdullah al-Hashimi was King of Jordan from the assassination of his father King Abdullah I in 1951, until his forced abdication in 1952. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Talal was a 39th-generation direct descendant of Muhammad.

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26/02/1908

Tex Avery, American animator, producer, and voice actor (died 1980)

Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery was an American animator and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His most significant work was for the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, where he was crucial in the creation and evolution of famous animated characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd for Warner Bros. and Droopy, Butch Dog, Screwy Squirrel, The Wolf, Red Hot Riding Hood, and George and Junior for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

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Nestor Mesta Chayres, Mexican operatic tenor and bolero vocalist (died 1971)

Néstor Mesta Chayres was an acclaimed tenor in Mexico and a noted interpreter of Spanish songs, boleros and Mexican romantic music on the international concert stage. He was widely commended for his artistic renditions of the works of Agustín Lara and María Grever and was nicknamed "El Gitano de México".

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Jean-Pierre Wimille, French racing driver (died 1949)

Jean-Pierre Wimille was a French racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II. He was a two-time victor of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning in 1937 and 1939. He is generally regarded as one of the best French drivers of his era. In 1949, he was killed when he crashed his car into a tree while practicing for a race.

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26/02/1906

Madeleine Carroll, English actress (died 1987)

Edith Madeleine Carroll was an English actress, popular both in Britain and in America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress.

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26/02/1903

Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1979)

Giulio Natta was an Italian chemical engineer and Nobel laureate. Natta's work at Politecnico di Milano led to the improvement of earlier work by Karl Ziegler and to the development of the Ziegler–Natta catalyst. The discoveries of Natta and Ziegler revolutionized polymer science by enabling the low-pressure, stereospecific polymerization of olefins, particularly propylene, into highly ordered, crystalline structures. This development allowed the production of high-strength plastics that were previously unobtainable. Natta won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 with Karl Ziegler for his work on high density polymers. He also received a Lomonosov Gold Medal in 1969.

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Orde Wingate, English general (died 1944)

Major-General Orde Charles Wingate, was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory during the Burma Campaign of the Second World War.

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26/02/1902

Jean Bruller, French author and illustrator, co-founded Les Éditions de Minuit (died 1991)

Jean Marcel Adolphe Bruller was a French writer and illustrator who co-founded the publishing company Les Éditions de Minuit with Pierre de Lescure.

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26/02/1900

Halina Konopacka, Polish discus thrower and poet (died 1989)

Halina Konopacka was a Polish athlete. She won the discus throw event at the 1928 Summer Olympics, defeating American silver medal winner Lillian Copeland, breaking her own world record, and becoming the first Polish Olympic champion. After retiring from athletics she became a writer and poet. She immigrated to the United States after World War II, and died there.

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Fritz Wiessner, German-American mountaineer (died 1988)

Fritz Wiessner was a German American pioneer of free climbing. Born in Dresden, Germany, he immigrated to New York City in 1929 and became a U.S. citizen in 1935. In 1939, he made one of the earliest attempts to conquer K2, one of the most difficult mountains in the world to climb.

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26/02/1899

Max Petitpierre, Swiss jurist and politician, 54th President of the Swiss Confederation (died 1994)

Max Petitpierre was a Swiss politician, jurist and member of the Swiss Federal Council, heading the Political Department (1945-1961).

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26/02/1896

Andrei Zhdanov, Ukrainian-Russian civil servant and politician (died 1948)

Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov was a Soviet politician. He was the Soviet Union's "propagandist-in-chief" after the Second World War, and was responsible for developing the Soviet cultural policy, the Zhdanov Doctrine, which remained in effect until the death of Joseph Stalin. Zhdanov was considered Stalin's most likely successor but died before him.

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26/02/1893

Wallace Fard Muhammad, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Islam (disappeared 1934)

Wallace Fard Muhammad or W. D. Fard was a religious leader who was the founder of the Nation of Islam.

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Dorothy Whipple, English novelist (died 1966)

Dorothy Whipple was an English writer of popular fiction and children's books. Her work gained popularity between the world wars and again in the 2000s.

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26/02/1887

Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player and coach (died 1950)

Grover Cleveland Alexander, nicknamed "Old Pete" and "Alexander the Great", was an American professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. In 1938, Alexander was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian (died 1966)

William Clement Frawley was an American vaudevillian and actor best known for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the sitcom I Love Lucy. Frawley also played "Bub" O'Casey during the first five seasons of the sitcom My Three Sons and the political advisor to the Hon. Henry X. Harper in the film Miracle on 34th Street.

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Stefan Grabiński, Polish author and educator (died 1936)

Stefan Grabiński was a Polish writer of fantastic literature and horror stories. He was very interested in parapsychology, magic and demonology and in the works of the German Expressionist filmmakers. He is sometimes likened to Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft, although his works are often surreal or explicitly erotic in a way that sets him apart from both.

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26/02/1885

Aleksandras Stulginskis, Lithuanian farmer and politician, 2nd President of Lithuania (died 1969)

Aleksandras Stulginskis was the second President of Lithuania (1920–1926). Stulginskis was also acting President of Lithuania for a few hours later in 1926, following a military coup that was led by his predecessor, President Antanas Smetona, and which had brought down Stulginskis's successor, Kazys Grinius. The coup returned Smetona to office after Stulginskis's brief formal assumption of the Presidency.

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26/02/1882

Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (died 1968)

Husband Edward Kimmel was a United States Navy four-star admiral who was the commander in chief of the United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was removed from that command after the attack, in December 1941, and was reverted to his permanent two-star rank of rear admiral due to no longer holding a four-star assignment. He retired from the Navy in early 1942. The U.S. Senate voted to change Kimmel's permanent rank to four stars in 1999, but President Clinton did not act on the resolution, and neither have any of his successors.

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26/02/1881

Janus Djurhuus, Faroese poet (died 1948)

Jens Hendrik Oliver Djurhuus, called Janus Djurhuus, was the first modern Faroese poet. He and his younger brother Hans Andreas Djurhuus, also a poet, are called the Áarstova brothers after the house where they grew up.

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26/02/1880

Kenneth Edgeworth, Irish astronomer (died 1972)

Kenneth Essex Edgeworth was an Irish army officer, engineer, economist and independent theoretical astronomer. He was born in Street, County Westmeath. Edgeworth is best known for proposing the existence of a disc of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune in the 1930s. Observations later confirmed the existence of the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt in 1992. Those distant solar system bodies, including Pluto, Eris and Makemake, are now grouped into the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt, or Kuiper belt.

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26/02/1879

Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (died 1941)

Frank Bridge was an English composer, violist and conductor.

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26/02/1877

Henry Barwell, Australian politician, 28th Premier of South Australia (died 1959)

Sir Henry Newman Barwell KCMG was the 28th premier of South Australia.

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Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (died 1968)

Rudolph Dirks was one of the earliest and most noted comic strip artists, well known for The Katzenjammer Kids.

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26/02/1871

Matti Turkia, Finnish politician (died 1946)

Matti Turkia was a Finnish newspaper editor, politician and member of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), he represented Uusimaa Province between October 1930 and April 1945. He had previously represented Viipuri Province West from May 1907 to May 1909 and from February 1914 to April 1917. He was secretary of the SDP from 1906 to 1918.

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26/02/1866

Herbert Henry Dow, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Dow Chemical Company (died 1930)

Herbert Henry Dow was an American chemical industrialist who founded the American multinational conglomerate Dow Chemical. A graduate of the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, Ohio, he was a prolific inventor of chemical processes, compounds, and products, notably bromine extraction from brine water, and was a successful businessman.

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Gustave Mathieu, French anarchist illegalist, suspected of being one of Ravachol's main accomplices (died 1947)

Gustave Mathieu,, was a French worker and illegalist anarchist. A very militant anarchist and central to the birth of illegalism, he notably associated with Placide Schouppe, one of the first illegalists. Mathieu was also one of the most wanted people in France at the start of the Ère des attentats (1892-1894), being accused of being one of Ravachol's main accomplices for the Saint-Germain and the Clichy bombings.

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26/02/1861

Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (died 1948)

Ferdinand I was the monarch of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1918, reigning as Prince of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1908 and Tsar of Bulgaria from 1908 until his abdication in 1918. Under his rule, Bulgaria began rapidly modernising its industry, military, infrastructure and culture. It achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire and fought in the Balkan Wars and World War I, the latter of which ended with the catastrophic Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine and prompted Ferdinand's abdication.

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Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian soldier and politician (died 1939)

Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. She was a leading figure in the Bolshevik party and was married to Vladimir Lenin.

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26/02/1857

Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist (died 1926)

Émile Coué de la Châtaigneraie was a French psychologist, pharmacist, and hypnotist who introduced a popular method of psychotherapy and self-improvement based on optimistic autosuggestion.It was in no small measure [Coué's] wholehearted devotion to a self-imposed task that enabled him, in less than a quarter of a century, to rise from obscurity to the position of the world’s most famous psychological exponent. Indeed, one might truly say that Coué sidetracked inefficient hypnotism [mistakenly based upon supposed operator dominance over a subject], and paved the way for the efficient, and truly scientific.

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26/02/1852

John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes (died 1943)

John Harvey Kellogg was an American businessman, inventor, physician, and advocate of the health reforms advocated by the Battle Creek Progressive Friends movement and the eugenics policies espoused by many in the Progressive Movement. He was the director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, founded by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It combined aspects of a European spa, a hydrotherapy institution, a hospital, and a high-class hotel. Kellogg treated the rich and famous, as well as the poor who could not afford other hospitals. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, he "developed numerous nut and vegetable products to vary the diet of the patients, including a flaked-wheat cereal called Granose and cornflakes. Although cornflakes were not new, they had never before been presented as a breakfast food [...] Kellogg was [also] a cofounder of the Race Betterment Foundation, an organization that promoted eugenics and racial segregation."

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26/02/1846

Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (died 1917)

William Frederick Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. One of the most famous figures of the American Old West, Cody began performing at the age of 23. He performed in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars. He founded Buffalo Bill's Wild West in 1883, taking his large company on tours in the United States and, beginning in 1887, in Europe.

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26/02/1842

Camille Flammarion, French astronomer and author (died 1925)

Nicolas Camille Flammarion FRAS was a French astronomer and author. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astronomy, several notable early science fiction novels, and works on psychical research and related topics. He also published the magazine L'Astronomie, starting in 1882. He maintained a private observatory at Juvisy-sur-Orge, France.

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26/02/1829

Levi Strauss, German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (died 1902)

Levi Strauss was a German-born American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm of Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi's) began in 1853 in San Francisco, California.

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26/02/1808

Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (died 1879)

Honoré-Victorin Daumier was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870. He earned a living producing caricatures and cartoons in newspapers and periodicals such as La Caricature and Le Charivari, for which he became well known in his lifetime and is still remembered today. He was a republican democrat, who satirized and lampooned the monarchy, aristocracy, clergy, politicians, the judiciary, lawyers, police, detectives, the wealthy, the military, the bourgeoisie, as well as his countrymen and human nature in general.

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Nathan Kelley, American architect, designed the Ohio Statehouse (died 1871)

Nathan B. Kelley was an American architect and builder. He was a prolific architect whose designs dominated the cityscape of Columbus, Ohio at the middle of the 19th century.

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26/02/1802

Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (died 1885)

Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo was a French Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician.

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26/02/1786

François Arago, French mathematician and politician, 25th Prime Minister of France (died 1853)

Dominique François Jean Arago, known simply as François Arago, was a French mathematician, physicist, astronomer, freemason, supporter of the Carbonari revolutionaries, and politician.

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26/02/1777

Matija Nenadović, Serbian priest, historian, and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Serbia (died 1854)

Matija Nenadović, also known as Prota Mateja, was a Serbian archpriest, writer, and politician who served as the first prime minister of Serbia from 1805 to 1807. He was a notable leader in the First Serbian Uprising.

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26/02/1770

Anton Reicha, Bohemian composer and flautist (died 1836)

Anton Joseph Reicha (Rejcha) was a Bohemia-born, Bavarian-educated, later naturalized French composer and music theorist. A contemporary and friend of Beethoven, he is now best remembered for his substantial early contributions to the wind quintet literature and his role as teacher of pupils including Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz and César Franck. He was also an accomplished theorist, and wrote several treatises on various aspects of composition. Some of his theoretical work dealt with experimental methods of composition, which he applied in a variety of works such as fugues and études for piano and string quartet.

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26/02/1746

Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma (died 1804)

Maria Amalia was duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla by marriage to Ferdinand I, Duke of Parma. She was born an archduchess of Austria as the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I. Upon her arrival in Parma in 1769 until the death of her husband in 1802, she was the de facto ruler of the duchy.

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26/02/1729

Anders Chydenius, Finnish economist, philosopher and Lutheran priest (died 1803)

Anders Chydenius was a Swedish-Finnish Lutheran priest, member of the Swedish Riksdag, and one of the most important champions of democratic development in 18th-century Sweden, known as the leading classical liberal of Nordic history. He championed free trade, freedom of the press, and the rights of servants, labourers and the rural poor.

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26/02/1720

Gian Francesco Albani, Italian cardinal (died 1803)

Gian Francesco Albani was a Roman Catholic Cardinal. He was a member of the Albani family.

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26/02/1718

Johan Ernst Gunnerus, Norwegian bishop, botanist and zoologist (died 1773)

Johan Ernst Gunnerus was a Norwegian bishop and botanist. Gunnerus was born at Christiania. He was bishop of the Diocese of Nidaros from 1758 until his death and also a professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen.

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26/02/1714

Biagio Bellotti, Italian painter and architect (died 1789)

Biagio Giuseppe Maria Bellotti was an Italian painter, architect, sculptor, musician and canon.

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26/02/1677

Nicola Fago, Italian composer and teacher (died 1745)

Francesco Nicola Fago, 'II Tarantino' was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher. He was the father of Lorenzo Fago (1704-1793).

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26/02/1672

Antoine Augustin Calmet, French monk and theologian (died 1757)

Antoine Augustin Calmet was a French Benedictine abbot.

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26/02/1671

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English philosopher and politician (died 1713)

Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury was an English Whig politician, philosopher and writer.

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26/02/1651

Quirinus Kuhlmann, German Baroque poet and mystic (died 1689)

Quirinus Kuhlmann was a German Baroque poet and mystic. Kuhlmann insisted upon the importance of the events of his life as confirmation of his divine mission.

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26/02/1629

Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, Scottish peer (died 1685)

Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll was a Scottish peer and soldier.

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26/02/1587

Stefano Landi, Italian composer and educator (died 1639)

Stefano Landi was an Italian composer and teacher of the early Baroque Roman School. He was an influential early composer of opera, and wrote the earliest opera on a historical subject: Il Sant'Alessio (1632).

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26/02/1584

Albert VI, Duke of Bavaria (died 1666)

Albert VI of Bavaria son of William V, Duke of Bavaria and Renata of Lorraine, born and died in Munich.

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26/02/1564

Christopher Marlowe, English playwright, poet and translator (died 1593)

Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the "many imitations" of his play Tamburlaine, modern scholars consider him to have been the foremost dramatist in London in the years just before his mysterious early death. Some scholars also believe that he greatly influenced William Shakespeare, who was baptised in the same year as Marlowe and later succeeded him as the preeminent Elizabethan playwright. Marlowe was the first to achieve critical reputation for his use of blank verse, which became the standard for the era. His plays are distinguished by their overreaching protagonists. Themes found within Marlowe's literary works have been noted as humanistic with realistic emotions, which some scholars find difficult to reconcile with Marlowe's "anti-intellectualism" and his catering to the prurient tastes of his Elizabethan audiences for generous displays of extreme physical violence, cruelty, and bloodshed.

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26/02/1416

Christopher of Bavaria (died 1448)

Christopher of Bavaria was King of Denmark, Sweden (1441–48) and Norway (1442–48) during the era of the Kalmar Union. He ruled after the Kalmar Union's King Erik of Pomerania was deposed. Early in his reign he put down two peasant rebellions in Funen and Jutland. He was disliked by the Swedish nobles, as they pointed to his inability to manage harvest failures and to stop Erik's plundering. They also questioned his foreign background.

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26/02/1361

Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (died 1419)

Wenceslaus IV was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death in 1419 and King of the Romans and King of Germany from 1376 until he was deposed in 1400. As he belonged to the House of Luxembourg, he was also Duke of Luxembourg as Wenceslaus II from 1383 to 1388.

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