What happened on 18th January?

On this day, 254 notable people were born on 18th January — spanning from 1404 to 2010. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

18/01/2010

Sophia Reid-Gantzert, Canadian actress and dancer

Sophia Reid-Gantzert is a Canadian actress and dancer. She began dancing at age two and won a competition in Austria at age six. In 2017, she made her acting debut in the television film The Sweetest Christmas. Reid-Gantzert received critical praise for her performance as Karen Brewer in Netflix's The Baby-Sitters Club (2020–2021). She later played lead roles in the comedy series Scaredy Cats (2021) and the coming-of-age film Popular Theory (2024).

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18/01/2003

Wendy Shongwe, South African sprinter and soccer player

Wendy Shongwe is a South African sprinter and soccer player who plays as a forward for SAFA Women's League club Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies and the South Africa women's national team.

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18/01/2002

Anastasia Zakharova, Russian tennis player

Anastasia Vladimirovna Zakharova is a Russian tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of No. 74 in singles, achieved on 16 March 2026, and No. 93 in doubles. Zakharova has won sixteen singles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit.

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Ki-Jana Hoever, Dutch footballer

Ki-Jana Delano Hoever is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a right-back or right wing-back for EFL Championship club Sheffield United, on loan from EFL Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

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Karim Adeyemi, German footballer

Karim David Adeyemi is a German professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team.

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18/01/1999

Karan Brar, American actor

Karan Brar is an American actor. He portrayed Chirag Gupta in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film franchise and Ravi Ross on the Disney Channel Original Series Jessie and its subsequent spin-off Bunk'd.

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Tee Higgins, American football player

Tamaurice William "Tee" Higgins is an American professional football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, where he won the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship as a sophomore, and was selected by the Bengals with the first pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.

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Djorkaeff Reasco, Ecuadorian footballer

Djorkaeff Néicer Reasco González is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Instituto Córdoba and the Ecuador national team.

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Gary Trent Jr., American basketball player

Gary Dajaun Trent Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils.

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Mateus Ward, American actor

Mateus Cole Ward is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jake Sanders in the CBS television series Hostages, and as Dustin Maker in the TNT television series Murder in the First. He is also known for his role as the older Stevie Botwin in the series finale of the Showtime comedy-drama series Weeds, and for his recurring role as Marcus Davenport on the Disney XD fantasy series Lab Rats.

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18/01/1998

Aitana Bonmatí, Spanish footballer

Aitana Bonmatí i Conca is a Spanish professional footballer from Catalonia who plays as a midfielder for Liga F club Barcelona and the Spain national team. She has also represented Catalonia. Having won all major club and individual awards available to a European player by 2023, including the most-decorated season of any footballer ever for 2022–23, she is considered one of the best players in women's football, and one of the greatest of all time.

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Lisandro Martínez, Argentinian footballer

Lisandro Martínez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays primarily as a centre-back for Premier League club Manchester United and the Argentina national team. Nicknamed "The Butcher", he is known for his aggressive style of play and accurate long passes from the back.

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Éder Militão, Brazilian footballer

Éder Gabriel Militão Pinheiro, better known as Éder Militão is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazil national team.

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18/01/1997

Emil Audero, Indonesian footballer

Emilio Audero Mulyadi is an Indonesian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Cremonese, on loan from Como. A former Italian youth international, he plays for the Indonesia national team.

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Denis Malgin, Swiss ice hockey player

Denis Malgin is a Swiss professional ice hockey player who is a centre for the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL). Malgin was selected by the Florida Panthers in the fourth round, 102nd overall, of the 2015 NHL entry draft.

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18/01/1995

Bryce Alford, American basketball player

Bryce Michael Alford is an American former professional basketball player who is an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. He set school records for the most three-point field goals made in a game, season, and career. He earned first-team all-conference honors in the Pac-12 as a senior in 2016–17.

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Leonard Fournette, American football player

Leonard Joseph Fournette III is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers, and was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

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Samu Castillejo, Spanish footballer

Samuel "Samu" Castillejo Azuaga is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim.

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18/01/1994

Max Fried, American baseball player

Max Dorian Fried is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He debuted with the Atlanta Braves in 2017.

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Kang Ji-young, South Korean singer

Kang Ji-young, also known mononymously as Jiyoung or under the stage name JY, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actress. At age 14, she rose to fame as a member of the South Korean girl group Kara, joining the group in 2008. Dubbed as "Hallyu Queens", Kara achieved mainstream success across Asia, particularly in Japan where they earned ten top-five singles on the Oricon Singles Chart, and became the first female South Korean act to perform at the Tokyo Dome. Kang left Kara in April 2014, but rejoined for the group's 15th anniversary commemorative album Move Again (2022), and subsequent concert tours (2024–2025).

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Ilona Kremen, Belarusian tennis player

Ilona Eduardovna Kremen is a Belarusian former tennis player.

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18/01/1993

Sean Keenan, Australian actor

Sean Martyn Rex Keenan is an Australian actor, best known for his titular role in the children's television series Lockie Leonard and for his role as Gary Hennessey in the television series Puberty Blues.

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Juan Fernando Quintero, Colombian footballer

Juan Fernando Quintero Paniagua, better known as Juanfer Quintero, is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as attacking midfielder or winger for Argentine Primera División club River Plate and the Colombia national team.

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18/01/1992

Francesco Bardi, Italian footballer

Francesco Bardi is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie B club Mantova on loan from Palermo.

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18/01/1991

Douglas Wreden, a.k.a. DougDoug, American streamer

Douglas Scott Wreden, better known as DougDoug, is an American YouTuber, Twitch streamer, podcaster, speedrunner, author, and former Hearthstone caster and producer. He makes gaming videos that revolve around him doing various gaming challenges, often involving the use of artificial intelligence, modifications to games, and giving his viewers on Twitch heavy control of the game or stream. He retired his main YouTube channel in late 2025.

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18/01/1990

Gorgui Dieng, Senegalese basketball player

Gorgui Sy Dieng is a Senegalese former professional basketball player currently working as a basketball operations representative with the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals.

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Hayle Ibrahimov, Ethiopian-Azerbaijani runner

Hayle Ibrahimov is an Ethiopian-born Azerbaijani international middle and long distance track and field athlete, mainly competing in the disciplines of 3000 metres and 5000 metres. He holds the Azerbaijani records in both these events.

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Brett Lawrie, Canadian baseball player

Brett Russell Lawrie is a Canadian former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, and Chicago White Sox.

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Nacho, Spanish footballer

José Ignacio Fernández Iglesias, known as Nacho or Nacho Fernández, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah. Mainly a centre-back, he has also played at right-back and left-back on occasion.

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Gift Ngoepe, South African baseball player

Mpho' Gift Ngoepe is a South African former professional baseball shortstop and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2017 and Toronto Blue Jays in 2018. He was the first South African and the first native of continental Africa to reach the major leagues. He is currently the bench coach of the Hillsboro Hops.

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Alex Pietrangelo, Canadian ice hockey player

Alexander Pietrangelo is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman and alternate captain for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the St. Louis Blues for parts of twelve seasons, captaining the Blues for his final four seasons with the franchise. Nicknamed "Petro", as a junior, he played with the Niagara IceDogs and Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Pietrangelo is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning with the Blues in 2019 and the Golden Knights in 2023.

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Zeeko Zaki, Egyptian-American actor

Zakaria Sherif Zaki, better known as Zeeko Zaki, is an Egyptian-American actor best known for his role portraying Special Agent Omar Adom "OA" Zidan on the CBS television series FBI.

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18/01/1989

Rubén Miño, Spanish footballer

Rubén Miño Peralta is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Cornellà.

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Michael Pineda, Dominican baseball player

Michael Francisco Pineda Paulino is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and Detroit Tigers.

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18/01/1988

Ronnie Day, American singer-songwriter

Ronnie Day is an American songwriter from Redwood City, California.

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Angelique Kerber, German tennis player

Angelique Kerber is a German former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 34 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Kerber won 14 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including three majors at the 2016 Australian Open, 2016 US Open, and 2018 Wimbledon Championships. She also won a silver medal in women's singles at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

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Anastasios Kissas, Greek footballer

Anastasios Kissas is a Cypriot international footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Olympiakos Nicosia.

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Ashleigh Murray, American actress and singer

Ashleigh Murray is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her breakthrough role as Josie McCoy, the lead singer of the fictional band Josie and the Pussycats, on The CW television series Riverdale, in which she appeared from 2017 to 2019. Murray reprised the role in the spin‑off series Katy Keene (2020) and later returned to Riverdale as a guest star in 2021 and 2023. Her film credits include Deidra & Laney Rob a Train (2017) and Valley Girl (2020), and she has also starred in the television series Tom Swift (2022) and The Other Black Girl (2023).

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Boy van Poppel, Dutch cyclist

Boy van Poppel is a Dutch former road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2006 to 2024. He is the son of former cyclists Jean-Paul van Poppel and Leontine van der Lienden.

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18/01/1987

Johan Djourou, Swiss footballer

Danon Issouf Johannes Djourou Gbadjere, known as Johan Djourou, is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a centre back. According to his profile on the website of his former club Arsenal, Djourou possessed "pace, power and whole-hearted commitment" in addition to his versatility.

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Christopher Liebig, German rugby player

Christopher Liebig is a German international rugby union player, playing for the Heidelberger RK in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team.

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Grigoris Makos, Greek footballer

Grigoris Makos is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

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18/01/1986

Marya Roxx, Estonian-American singer-songwriter

Marya Roxx is an Estonian hard rock/metal singer-songwriter residing in Los Angeles. She is a former member of the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja.

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Becca Tobin, American actress, singer, and dancer

Rebecca Grace Tobin is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is known for her role as Kitty Wilde on the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee.

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Ikusaburo Yamazaki, Japanese actor and singer

Ikusaburo Yamazaki is a Japanese actor and singer who is represented by Ken-On.

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Eugene Lee Yang, Korean-American actor, filmmaker, and activist

Eugene Lee Yang is an American filmmaker, actor, author, activist, and internet personality. He is known for his work with BuzzFeed (2013–2018) and for being the co-founder of the comedy group The Try Guys (2014–2024) and its company 2nd Try LLC.

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18/01/1985

Dale Begg-Smith, Canadian-Australian skier

Dale Begg-Smith is an Australian-Canadian businessman and former Olympic freestyle skier. Begg-Smith won the gold medal for Australia in the men's moguls event at the 2006 Winter Olympics and silver at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

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Mark Briscoe, American wrestler

Mark Pugh, better known by his ring name Mark Briscoe, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Conglomeration stable and is a one-time AEW TNT Champion. He also makes appearances for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he made a name teaming with his brother Jay as the Briscoe Brothers. In ROH, he is a former ROH World Champion, a former ROH World Tag Team Champion with his brother Jay a record 13 times, and was one third of the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions with Jay and Bully Ray. In January 2022, the Briscoe Brothers were honored as inaugural inductees into the ROH Hall of Fame.

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Riccardo Montolivo, Italian footballer

Riccardo Montolivo is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He most notably played for Fiorentina, AC Milan, and the Italy national team.

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Hyun Woo, South Korean actor

Hyun Woo is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series Pasta and the sitcom Living Among the Rich.

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18/01/1984

Seung-Hui Cho, South Korean mass murderer (died 2007)

Seung-Hui Cho was a South Korean serial killer who perpetrated the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. Cho killed 32 people and wounded 17 others with two semi-automatic pistols on April 16, 2007, at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. This killing is the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, and was at the time the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. A senior-level student of creative writing at the university, Cho died by suicide after police breached the doors of Virginia Tech's Norris Hall which Cho had locked with heavy chains, where most of the shooting had taken place.

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Kristy Lee Cook, American singer-songwriter

Kristy Lee Cook is an American country music singer and television personality. She was the seventh place finalist on the seventh season of American Idol. In 2005, Cook released her first album called Devoted. In June 2008, Cook signed to 19 Recordings and Arista Nashville. She released her post-Idol album, Why Wait, on September 16, 2008. This album produced her first chart single, "15 Minutes of Shame", a Top 30 hit on the Billboard country charts. Her first single for Broken Bow Records, "Airborne Ranger Infantry", was released on October 16, 2012.

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Ioannis Drymonakos, Greek swimmer

Ioannis Drymonakos is a Greek swimmer from Athens. He became the first ever Greek swimmer to hold a European swimming record by clocking a time of 1:54.16 seconds in 200 m butterfly event of the 2008 European Aquatics Championships final on 21 March 2008.

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Makoto Hasebe, Japanese footballer

Makoto Hasebe is a Japanese professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. He is currently the assistant coach of Japan national team.

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Michael Kearney, American biochemist and academic

Michael Kearney is an American game show winner and child prodigy. He is known for setting several world records related to graduating at a young age and his high earnings on television game shows.

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Benji Schwimmer, American dancer and choreographer

Benjiman Daniel Schwimmer is an American professional dancer, choreographer, actor and director. He was the winner of the second season of So You Think You Can Dance (2006) and has choreographed for both the U.S. and the international versions of the show. He is the only dancer in the world to hold World titles in solo, partner and group divisions at the same time. Schwimmer works on TV, film and stage both in front and behind camera. He was the specialties choreographer for Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood".

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Viktoria Shklover, Estonian figure skater

Viktoria Shklover is an Estonian pair skater.

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18/01/1983

Amir Blumenfeld, Israeli-American comedian, actor, director, and screenwriter

Amir Shmuel Blumenfeld is an Israeli-American comedian, actor, writer, television host, and member of the American comedy duo, Jake and Amir. Born in Israel, he moved to Los Angeles when he was two, and was hired by the New York City-based CollegeHumor in 2005. As well as contributing to its books and articles, he has written and starred in original videos for the comedy website—appearing in series such as Hardly Working and Very Mary-Kate—and was a cast member on its short-lived MTV program The CollegeHumor Show.

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Samantha Mumba, Irish singer-songwriter and actress

Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba is an Irish-Zambian R&B singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, fashion model and TV presenter. In 2000, at the age of 17, she shot to fame with the release of her debut single "Gotta Tell You", which reached the top five in Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States. It has since been listed in Billboard's 100 Greatest Choruses of the 21st Century. Her album of the same name was released later that year and reached number four in Ireland and number nine in the UK. She has had seven top five hits in Ireland and six top ten hits in the United Kingdom.

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Joel Stallworth, American sprinter

Joel Stallworth is an American former sprinter specializing in the 400 metres and the 2008 World Athletics Indoor Championships gold medalist in the 4 × 400 m relay by virtue of running in the heats. Originally recruited for basketball to California State University, Stanislaus, Stallworth picked up sprinting and finished runner-up at the 2007 NCAA Division II men's outdoor track and field championships. In 2020, he sued his former sponsor Nike, Inc. and a manager for racial discrimination at a Nike store.

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18/01/1982

Quinn Allman, American guitarist and producer

Quinn Scott Allman is an American musician, best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and a founding member of the rock band The Used.

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Mary Jepkosgei Keitany, Kenyan runner

Mary Jepkosgei Keitany is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. She was the world record holder in a women-only marathon, having won the 2017 London Marathon in a time of 2:17:01. As of November 2022, she placed fifth on the world all-time list at the marathon and eleventh on the respective world all-time list for the half marathon.

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18/01/1981

Gang Dong-won, South Korean actor

Gang Dong-won is a South Korean actor. He debuted as a model and rose to stardom through the film Temptation of Wolves (2004). He is subsequently known for starring in the films Maundy Thursday (2006), Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard (2009), Secret Reunion (2010), Kundo: Age of the Rampant (2014), The Priests (2015), A Violent Prosecutor (2016), Master (2016), and Peninsula (2020).

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Olivier Rochus, Belgian tennis player

Olivier Rochus is a former Belgian tennis player. Rochus won two singles titles in his career and in 2004 won the French Open doubles title, partnering fellow Belgian Xavier Malisse. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 24.

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Khari Stephenson, Jamaican footballer

Khari Stephenson is a Jamaican former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

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18/01/1980

Estelle, English singer-songwriter and producer

Estelle Fanta Swaray known mononymously as Estelle, is a British singer and actress. She is known for her eclectic blending of musical genres including R&B, soul, reggae, grime, hip-hop, and dance. She has collaborated with prominent American artists including Chris Brown, Kanye West, will.i.am, Nas, Akon, Tyler, the Creator, Robin Thicke, and Rick Ross, among others.

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Robert Green, English footballer

Robert Paul Green is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played in the Premier League and Football League and for the England national team.

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Kert Haavistu, Estonian footballer and manager

Kert Haavistu is a former Estonian professional footballer, who used to play in the Meistriliiga for FC Flora Tallinn and FC TVMK Tallinn. He played the position of midfielder and is 1.78 m tall and weighs 72 kg. He is also the former member of the Estonia national football team with 44 caps to his name.

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Julius Peppers, American football player

Julius Frazier Peppers is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he was recognized as a unanimous All-American, and was selected by the Carolina Panthers second overall in the 2002 NFL draft, and also played for the Chicago Bears from 2010 through 2013 and the Green Bay Packers from 2014 to 2016. After rejoining the Panthers for the 2017 season, he retired after the 2018 NFL season.

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Jason Segel, American actor and screenwriter

Jason Jordan Segel is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his role as Marshall Eriksen in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother from 2005 to 2014. He began his career with director and producer Judd Apatow on the television series Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000) and Undeclared (2001–2002) before gaining prominence for his leading roles in various successful comedy films in which he has starred, written, and produced.

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18/01/1979

Ruslan Fedotenko, Ukrainian ice hockey player

Ruslan Viktorovych Fedotenko is a Ukrainian former professional ice hockey winger.

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Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer

Paulo Renato Rebocho Ferreira is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a full-back.

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Brian Gionta, American ice hockey player

Brian Joseph Gionta is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Gionta began his NHL career in 2001 with the New Jersey Devils and served as captain for both the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres. He also was the captain for the United States in the 2018 Winter Olympics, for which he stepped away from the NHL for most of its 2017–18 season. After the Olympics, he briefly played for the Boston Bruins, and retired following their elimination from the playoffs.

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Kenyatta Jones, American football player (died 2018)

Kenyatta Lapoleon Jones was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL draft. He played college football for the South Florida Bulls.

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Wandy Rodriguez, Dominican baseball player

Wandy Fulton Rodríguez is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros from 2005 to 2012, the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2012 to 2014 and the Texas Rangers in 2015.

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18/01/1978

Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player

Brian Thomas Falkenborg is a former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals. Internationally, he played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

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Thor Hushovd, Norwegian cyclist

Thor Hushovd is a Norwegian former professional road bicycle racer. He is known for sprinting and time trialing, having been a three-time Norwegian national road race champion, and was the winner of the 2010 World Road Race Championships, making him the first Scandinavian to do so. He was also the first Norwegian to lead the Tour de France and is the Scandinavian with the most stage wins in Grand Tours. He is widely considered the greatest Norwegian cyclist of all time. He retired in September 2014.

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Bogdan Lobonț, Romanian footballer

Bogdan Ionuț Lobonț is a Romanian professional football coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper.

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18/01/1977

Richard Archer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Richard Archer is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, principal songwriter and main composer of indie rock band Hard-Fi. Hard-Fi have produced several top 10 hits and two No. 1 albums. The influence of Archer's hometown of Staines is often evident in his lyrics. He fronted a band called Contempo from 1997 until 2001.

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18/01/1976

Laurence Courtois, Belgian tennis player

Laurence Courtois is a former professional female tennis player from Belgium.

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Marcelo Gallardo, Argentinian footballer and coach

Marcelo Daniel Gallardo is an Argentine football manager and former professional player. During his playing career, Gallardo was an attacking midfielder and playmaker. He was regarded for his vision, technique, class, dribbling and especially his defence-splitting passing.

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Damien Leith, Irish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist

Damien Leo Leith is an Irish-Australian singer–songwriter. He was the winner of the Network Ten music contest Australian Idol in 2006. Since winning the title, Leith has released nine studio albums, four of which peaked in the top two of the ARIA Charts, including two number ones. He has been awarded seven platinum and one gold certification for albums and singles by ARIA, which equates to sales of just over half a million.

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Derek Richardson, American actor

Derek Richardson Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his TV roles on Men in Trees and Anger Management, and for starring as young Harry Dunne in the film Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd.

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18/01/1974

Christian Burns, English singer-songwriter

Christian Anthony Burns is an English singer. He is the son of Tony Burns of the Signs, a Liverpool-based rock band signed to Decca Records in the 1960s.

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18/01/1973

Burnie Burns, American actor, director, and producer, co-founded Rooster Teeth Productions

Michael Justin "Burnie" Burns is an American actor, writer, director and media proprietor from Austin, Texas. He was a co-founder, former chief executive officer, and former chief creative officer of Rooster Teeth. He is noted for his contributions in machinima, a form of filmmaking that uses video game technology in its production, and also works with animation and live action. Burns is also known for his work in the hosting and podcasting field.

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Luke Goodwin, Australian rugby league player and coach

Luke Goodwin is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in Australia and England and represented Aotearoa Māori in 2000.

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Benjamin Jealous, American civic leader and activist

Benjamin Todd Jealous is an American political activist. He served as the president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 2008 to 2013.

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Joe Kehoskie, American baseball executive

Joe Kehoskie is an American baseball consultant, executive, and entrepreneur. He has worked in professional baseball in a variety of capacities since 1984, formerly working in minor league baseball (1984–1994) and as a player agent (1996–2011).

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Anthony Koutoufides, Australian footballer

Anthony Koutoufides, also known by his nickname of Kouta, is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Considered by many as one of the most powerful and athletic players of all time, he played in almost every position and was often called the prototype of the modern footballer.

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Crispian Mills, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director

Crispian Mills is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and film director. Active since 1988, Mills is best known as the frontman of the psychedelic indie rock band Kula Shaker. Following the band's break-up in 1999, he remained with Columbia Records, and toured with a set of session musicians under the name Pi, although no official studio recordings were released in full. After the label rejected the Pi album, Mills disappeared for a short time, returning in 2002 as frontman and lead guitarist for back-to-basics rock outfit The Jeevas, who disbanded in 2005 to make way for a reformed Kula Shaker, who released their third album Strangefolk in 2007. In 2010 he released the album Pilgrims Progress with Kula Shaker. In 2017 the band celebrated the 20th anniversary of their album K with the release of the new record K 2.0. Mills joined the band for a sold-out UK tour to celebrate the anniversary.

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Rolando Schiavi, Argentinian footballer and coach

Rolando Carlos Schiavi is an Argentine retired football defender, most recognized for his time spent playing for Boca Juniors.

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18/01/1972

Vinod Kambli, Indian cricketer, sportscaster, and actor

Vinod Ganpat Kambli is an Indian former international cricketer, who played for India as a left-handed middle order batsman, as well as for Mumbai and Boland, South Africa. Kambli became the first cricketer to score a century in a One-day International on his birthday. He was a part of the squad which finished as runners-up at the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy.

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Mike Lieberthal, American baseball player

Michael Scott Lieberthal is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. He batted and threw right-handed.

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Kjersti Plätzer, Norwegian race walker

Kjersti Tysse Plätzer is a Norwegian race walker, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, in the 20 kilometres race. She finished 12th in the same race in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and 4th in the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, she again won a silver medal in the 20 kilometres race.

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18/01/1971

Amy Barger, American astronomer

Amy J. Barger is an American astronomer and Henrietta Leavitt Professor of Astronomy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is considered a pioneer in combining data from multiple telescopes to monitor multiple wavelengths and in discovering distant galaxies and supermassive black holes, which are outside of the visible spectrum. Barger is an active member of the International Astronomical Union.

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Jonathan Davis, American singer-songwriter

Jonathan Howsmon Davis, also known as JD, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is the lead vocalist and frontman of nu metal band Korn, which is considered a pioneering act of the nu metal genre. Davis's distinctive personality and Korn's music influenced a generation of musicians and performers who have come after them.

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Christian Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver

Christian Fittipaldi is a Brazilian former racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car, and NASCAR. He was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, and participated in 43 Formula One Grands Prix for Minardi and Footwork between 1992 and 1994.

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Pep Guardiola, Spanish footballer and manager

Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala is a Catalan football manager and former player from Spain, who is the global ambassador of the City Football Group and was most recently the manager of Premier League club Manchester City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers in history, Guardiola is one of two managers in history to win the continental treble twice and he holds the record for the most consecutive league games won in La Liga, Bundesliga, and the Premier League.

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Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan writer (died 2019)

Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina was a Kenyan author, journalist and 2002 winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing. In 2003, he became the founding editor of Kwani? literary magazine, launched in Kenya, East Africa. In April 2014, Time magazine included Wainaina in its annual Time 100 as one of the "Most Influential People in the World".

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18/01/1970

DJ Quik, American rapper and producer

David Marvin Blake, better known by his stage names DJ Quik or Da Quiksta, is an American rapper and record producer from Compton, California, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop. Blake has collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Tupac, Chingy, R. Kelly and Shaquille O'Neal, among others. As a recording artist himself, he is perhaps best known for his 1991 single "Tonite", which reached the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100. Blake's stage name refers to his ability of producing songs in a short period of time.

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Peter Van Petegem, Belgian cyclist

Peter van Petegem is a former professional road racing cyclist. Van Petegem last rode for Quick Step-Innergetic, in 2007. He lived in Horebeke. He was a specialist in spring classics, one of ten riders to win the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix in the same season. He also earned a medal at the World Championship on two occasions; taking the silver in 1998 and winning the bronze in 2003. His last race was the GP Briek Schotte in Desselgem on 11 September 2007.

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18/01/1969

Dave Bautista, American wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor

David Michael Bautista Jr. is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. Regarded as one of the most prolific professional wrestlers of the Ruthless Aggression Era, he rose to fame for his multiple stints in WWE between 2002 and 2019.

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Jesse L. Martin, American actor and singer

Jesse Lamont Martin is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his role of Tom Collins on Broadway in the musical Rent and performed on television as NYPD Detective Ed Green on Law & Order, Captain Joe West on The Flash, and professor Alec Mercer on The Irrational.

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Jim O'Rourke, American guitarist and producer

James O'Rourke is an American musician, instrumentalist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his numerous solo and collaborative music projects, many of which are instrumental, and has been acclaimed for his music that spans varied genres, including avant-garde styles such as ambient, noise and minimalism, and styles of rock like indie rock and post-rock. He has been associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene, as well as with New York City when he relocated there in 2000 for his tenure as a member of American indie rock band Sonic Youth. He subsequently moved to Japan and has since become a Japanese resident.

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18/01/1967

Dean Bailey, Australian footballer and coach (died 2014)

Dean Bailey was an Australian rules football player and coach. He played for the Essendon Football Club and was the senior coach of the Melbourne Football Club, as well as an assistant coach at Essendon and Port Adelaide and the Strategy & Innovation Coach at the Adelaide Football Club. Bailey died of lung cancer on 11 March 2014.

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Iván Zamorano, Chilean footballer

Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers and one of the greatest strikers of his generation.

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18/01/1966

Alexander Khalifman, Russian chess player and author

Alexander Valeryevich Khalifman is a Russian chess player and writer. Awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1990, he was FIDE World Chess Champion in 1999.

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Kazufumi Miyazawa, Japanese singer

Kazufumi Miyazawa is the founder of the Japanese bands The Boom and Ganga Zumba. The former was noted in the 1990s for a fusion of rock, pop, and local Okinawan folk music. Miyazawa is responsible for virtually all lyrics and music for The Boom, who are best known for their 1993 hit song "Shima Uta".

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André Ribeiro, Brazilian race car driver (died 2021)

André Ribeiro da Cunha Pereira was a Brazilian racing driver who raced in CART from 1995 through 1998, where he claimed three wins.

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18/01/1964

Brady Anderson, American baseball player

Brady Kevin Anderson is an American former baseball outfielder and executive who currently serves as the hitting coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Cleveland Indians. He spent the majority of his career as a center fielder and leadoff hitter for the Orioles in the 1990s, where he was a three-time All Star, and, in 1996, became the 15th player in major league history to hit 50 home runs in one season. Anderson bats and throws left-handed, stands 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall, and weighs 199 pounds (90 kg).

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Richard Dunwoody, Northern Irish jockey and sportscaster

Thomas Richard Dunwoody MBE is a retired British National Hunt jockey. He was a three-time British Champion Jockey. He was the only jockey of his generation to win the Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle.

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Virgil Hill, American boxer

Virgil Eugene Hill is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2015. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA) light heavyweight title twice, from 1987 to 1997; the International Boxing Federation (IBF) light heavyweight title from 1996 to 1997; and the WBA cruiserweight title twice, between 2000 and 2007. As an amateur, Hill won a silver medal in the middleweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics. In 2013, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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Jane Horrocks, English actress and singer

Barbara Jane Horrocks is a British actress. She portrayed both Katy Grin and Bubble in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in the stage play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, and received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for the role in the film version of Little Voice.

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18/01/1963

Maxime Bernier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada

Maxime Bernier is a Canadian politician who is the founder and leader of the People's Party of Canada (PPC). Formerly a member of the Conservative Party, Bernier left the caucus in 2018 to form the PPC. He was the member of Parliament (MP) for Beauce from 2006 to 2019 and served as a Cabinet minister in the Harper government.

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Ian Crook, English footballer and manager

Ian Stuart Crook is an English football manager and former professional player.

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Carl McCoy, English singer-songwriter

Carl Douglas McCoy is an English singer, who is best known as the frontman for the gothic rock band Fields of the Nephilim and The Nefilim.

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Martin O'Malley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 61st Governor of Maryland

Martin Joseph O'Malley is an American politician who served as the 17th commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 61st governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015 and the 48th mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007.

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18/01/1962

Alison Arngrim, Canadian-American actress

Alison Margaret Arngrim is an American actress and author. Beginning her television career at the age of twelve, Arngrim is a Young Artist Award–Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award honoree, best known for her portrayal of Nellie Oleson on the NBC television series Little House on the Prairie from 1974 to 1982.

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18/01/1961

Peter Beardsley, English footballer and manager

Peter Andrew Beardsley is an English football coach and former footballer who played as a forward or midfielder.

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Bob Hansen, American basketball player and sportscaster

Robert Louis Hansen II is an American former professional basketball player. A 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) guard, he played nine seasons (1983–1992) in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Hansen is currently a commentator for Iowa Hawkeyes basketball broadcasts.

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Mark Messier, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster

Mark John Douglas Messier is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. His playing career in the National Hockey League (NHL) lasted 25 seasons (1979–2004) with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. He also played professionally with the World Hockey Association (WHA)'s Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers. He also played a short four-game stint in the original Central Hockey League (CHL) with the Houston Apollos in 1979. He was the last WHA player to be active in professional ice hockey and the last active player in any of the major North American professional sports leagues to have played in the 1970s. After his playing career, he was special assistant to the president and general manager of the Rangers.

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Jeff Yagher, American actor and sculptor

Jeffrey Brian Yagher is an American actor.

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18/01/1960

Mark Rylance, English actor, director, and playwright

Sir David Mark Rylance Waters is an English actor, playwright and theatre director. Known for his work on stage and screen, he has received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Olivier Awards and three Tony Awards. In 2016 he was included in the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people. In 2017 he was made a knight by Queen Elizabeth II.

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18/01/1956

Paul Deighton, Baron Deighton, English banker and politician

Paul Clive Deighton, Baron Deighton, KBE is a British Conservative politician who served as Commercial Secretary to HM Treasury from January 2013 to May 2015. Deighton is a former investment banker who previously served as Chief Executive of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), the organisation responsible for planning the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

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18/01/1955

Kevin Costner, American actor, director, and producer

Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, filmmaker, and musician. In a career spanning five decades, he has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for three British Academy Film Awards.

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18/01/1954

Ted DiBiase, American wrestler

Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career. He is best recalled by mainstream audiences for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he wrestled as "the Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. He has been named as one of the best technical wrestlers, and greatest villains in pro wrestling history.

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18/01/1953

Brett Hudson, American singer-songwriter and producer

Brett Stuart Patrick Hudson is an American musician, singer-songwriter, writer, producer and actor. He was the youngest member of the musical group the Hudson Brothers, which was formed by his older brothers, Mark and Bill, in 1965. He is now a TV producer and writer.

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B. K. Misra, Indian neurosurgeon

Dr. Basant Kumar Misra is a neurosurgeon specialising in treating brain, spine, cerebrovascular and peripheral nervous system disorders, injuries, pathologies and malformations. Presently, he is the Honorary President of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, and the Asian Australasian Society of Neurological Surgeons. He is the first neurosurgeon in the world to perform image-guided surgery for aneurysms. He is a recipient of Dr. B. C. Roy Award, the highest medical honour in India.

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Peter Moon, Australian comedian and actor

Peter Moon is an Australian comedian, best known for writing and performing in the sketch comedy Fast Forward.

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18/01/1952

Michael Behe, American biochemist, author, and academic

Michael Joseph Behe is an American biochemist and an advocate of the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design (ID).

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R. Stevie Moore, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Robert Steven Moore is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter who pioneered lo-fi music. Often called the "godfather of home recording", he is one of the most recognized artists of the cassette underground, and his influence is particularly felt in the bedroom and hypnagogic pop artists of the post-millennium. Since 1968, he has self-released approximately 400 albums, while about three dozen official albums have been issued on various labels.

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18/01/1951

Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist and activist (died 1982)

Abraham Maurits Behr was a Surinamese journalist. He published the pamphlet De Rode Surinamer and edited the weekly newspaper Mokro. He also founded and led the Hoxhaist Communist Party of Suriname (KPS), and was in opposition to the military dictatorship of Dési Bouterse. Behr was assassinated along with 14 other prominent Bouterse opponents on 8 December 1982, in an incident known as the December murders.

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Bob Latchford, English footballer

Robert Dennis Latchford is an English former footballer who played as a centre forward. He made more than 500 appearances in the Football League, playing for Birmingham City, Everton, Swansea City and Coventry City in the First Division, and represented England at youth and under-23 levels before making 12 appearances at senior level.

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18/01/1950

Gianfranco Brancatelli, Italian race car driver

Gianfranco Brancatelli is a former racing driver from Italy.

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Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (died 1982)

Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve was a Canadian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1977 to 1982. Villeneuve was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1979 with Ferrari, and won six Grands Prix across six seasons.

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18/01/1949

Bill Keller, American journalist

Bill Keller is an American journalist. He was the founding editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project, a nonprofit that reports on criminal justice in the United States. Previously, he was a columnist for The New York Times, and served as the paper's executive editor from July 2003 until September 2011. On June 2, 2011, he announced that he would step down from the position to become a full-time writer. Jill Abramson replaced him as executive editor.

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Philippe Starck, French interior designer

Philippe Starck is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles. His most popular pieces were made in the 1980s and the 1990s. He is considered one of the pioneers of democratic design, aiming to offer the best possible service while using the minimum of materials, in order to improve the life of the user.

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18/01/1947

Sachio Kinugasa, Japanese baseball player and journalist (died 2018)

Sachio Kinugasa was a Japanese professional baseball third baseman for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball league from 1965 to 1987. He was nicknamed Tetsujin, meaning "Iron Man". He played in a record-breaking 2,215 consecutive games, having surpassed Lou Gehrig's record by 1987.

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Takeshi Kitano, Japanese actor and director

Takeshi Kitano , also known as Beat Takeshi in Japan, is a Japanese comedian, actor, and filmmaker. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host.

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18/01/1946

Perro Aguayo, Mexican wrestler (died 2019)

Pedro Aguayo Damián, better known as "(El) Perro Aguayo" and El Can de Nochistlan, was a Mexican professional wrestler through the 1970s to the 1990s.

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Joseph Deiss, Swiss economist and politician, 156th President of the Swiss Confederation

Joseph Deiss is a Swiss economist and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2006. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), he first headed the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (1999–2002) before transferring to the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (2003–2006). Deiss was elected President of the United Nations General Assembly for its 65th session in 2010.

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Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (died 2013)

Henrique Pereira Rosa was a Bissau-Guinean politician who served as interim President of Guinea-Bissau from 2003 to 2005. He was born in 1946 in Bafatá.

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18/01/1945

Rocco Forte, English businessman and philanthropist

Sir Rocco Giovanni Forte is an English hotelier and the chairman of Rocco Forte Hotels.

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18/01/1944

Paul Keating, Australian economist and politician, 24th Prime Minister of Australia

Paul John Keating is an Australian former politician who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as treasurer under Bob Hawke from 1983 to 1991 and as the seventh deputy prime minister from 1990 to 1991.

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Carl Morton, American baseball player (died 1983)

Carl Wendle Morton was an American professional baseball pitcher who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Montreal Expos and the Atlanta Braves. Morton was named the NL Rookie of the Year in 1970 and posted a career record of 87–92 with 650 strikeouts and a 3.73 ERA in 1648.2 innings.

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Kei Ogura, Japanese singer-songwriter and composer

Kei Ogura is a Japanese singer, songwriter and composer. He was also a bank clerk of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, after graduating from the University of Tokyo. His musical career was in parallel with banking activity.

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Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria

Alexander "Sascha" Van der Bellen, also referred to by the abbreviation VdB, is an Austrian politician serving as the president of Austria since 2017. He previously was a professor of economics at the University of Vienna, and after joining politics, the spokesman of the Austrian Green Party.

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18/01/1943

Paul Freeman, English actor

Paul Freeman is an English actor who has appeared in theatre, television and film. Internationally, he is known for playing the rival archaeologist René Belloq in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), evil wine baron Gustav Riebmann on season 4 of the soap opera Falcon Crest (1984–85), and supervillain Ivan Ooze in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995). His other credits include Morlang (2001), When I'm 64 (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and Hard Boiled Sweets (2012). In the UK, he had a leading role in the television series Yesterday's Dreams (1987) as Martin Daniels.

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Kay Granger, American educator and politician

Norvell Kay Granger is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 12th congressional district from 1997 to 2025. A Republican, Granger chaired the House Committee on Appropriations from 2023 to 2024.

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Dave Greenslade, English keyboard player and composer

David John Greenslade is an English composer and keyboard player. He has played with Colosseum from the beginning in 1968 until the farewell concert in 2015 and also from 1973 in his own band, Greenslade, and others including If and Chris Farlowe's Thunderbirds.

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Charlie Wilson, American businessman and politician (died 2013)

Charles A. Wilson Jr. was an American businessman and politician who served as a U.S. Representative for Ohio's 6th congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the Ohio State Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives.

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18/01/1941

Denise Bombardier, Canadian journalist and author (died 2023)

Denise Bombardier was a Canadian journalist, essayist, novelist and media personality who worked for the French-language television network Radio-Canada for over 30 years.

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Bobby Goldsboro, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Robert Charles Goldsboro is an American pop and country singer and songwriter. He had a string of pop and country hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature No. 1 hit "Honey", which sold over 1 million copies in the United States, and the UK top-10 single "Summer ".

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David Ruffin, American singer (died 1991)

David Eli Ruffin was an American soul singer most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations (1964–1968) during the group's "Classic Five" period as it was later known. Ruffin was the lead voice on such famous songs as "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg". He later scored two top 10 singles as a solo artist, "My Whole World Ended " and "Walk Away from Love".

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18/01/1940

Pedro Rodriguez, Mexican race car driver (died 1971)

Pedro Rodríguez de la Vega was a Mexican racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1963 to 1971. Rodríguez won two Formula One Grands Prix across nine seasons. In endurance racing, Rodríguez won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1968 with Ford, and was a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona with Porsche.

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18/01/1938

Curt Flood, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 1997)

Curtis Charles Flood Sr. was an American professional baseball center fielder and activist. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Redlegs, St. Louis Cardinals, and Washington Senators.

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Anthony Giddens, English sociologist and academic

Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens is an English sociologist who is known for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern sociologists and is the author of at least 34 books, published in at least 29 languages, issuing on average more than one book every year. In 2007, Giddens was listed as the fifth most cited author of books in the humanities. He has academic appointments in approximately twenty different universities throughout the world and has received numerous honorary degrees.

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Werner Olk, German footballer and manager

Werner Olk is a German former professional football player and manager.

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Hargus "Pig" Robbins, American musician (died 2022)

Hargus Melvin Robbins, known by his nickname "Pig", was an American keyboard player. He played on records for many artists as a prolific session musician, mostly in the country music style but occasionally other genres.

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18/01/1937

John Hume, Northern Irish educator and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2020)

John Hume was an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. A founder and leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Hume served in the Parliament of Northern Ireland; the Northern Ireland Assembly including, in 1974, its first power-sharing executive; the European Parliament and the United Kingdom Parliament. Seeking an accommodation between Irish nationalism and Ulster unionism, and soliciting American support, he was both critical of British government policy in Northern Ireland and opposed to the republican embrace of "armed struggle". In their 1998 citation, the Norwegian Nobel Committee recognised Hume as an architect of the Good Friday Agreement. For his own part, Hume wished to be remembered as having been, in his earlier years, a pioneer of the credit union movement.

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18/01/1936

Tim Barlow, English actor (died 2023)

Michael John Leigh Barlow was an English actor who performed many small roles in a variety of films, television programmes, and plays, under the stage name Tim Barlow or Timothy Barlow.

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David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport

David Arthur Russell Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford, is a British Conservative Party politician, journalist, and economic consultant. Having been successively Secretary of State for Energy and then for Transport under Margaret Thatcher, Howell has more recently been a Minister of State in the Foreign Office from the election in 2010 until the reshuffle of 2012. He has served as Chair of the House of Lords International Relations Committee since May 2016. Along with William Hague, Sir George Young and Kenneth Clarke, he is one of the few Cabinet ministers from the 1979–97 governments who continued to hold high office in the party, being its deputy leader in the House of Lords until 2010. His daughter, Frances, was married to the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne.

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18/01/1935

Eddie Jones, British illustrator (died 1999)

Edward John Jones was a British science fiction illustrator; initially known as a fan artist, he later became a professional freelancer. He illustrated numerous science fiction book and magazine covers, some under the pseudonym S. Fantoni, and provided interior illustrations for books and magazines. Jones was active in the field from 1953 to 1985, and reprints of his artwork continued to appear on book covers until his death in 1999.

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Albert Millaire, Canadian actor and director (died 2018)

Rodolphe Albert Millaire, CC, CQ was a Canadian actor and theatre director.

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Jon Stallworthy, English poet, critic, and academic (died 2014)

Jon Howie Stallworthy, was a British literary critic and poet. He was Professor of English at the University of Oxford from 1992 to 2000, and Professor Emeritus in retirement. He was also a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, from 1986, where he was twice acting president. From 1977 to 1986, he was the John Wendell Anderson Professor of English at Cornell University.

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Gad Yaacobi, Israeli academic and diplomat, 10th Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (died 2007)

Gad Yaacobi was an Israeli Minister, Alignment Knesset member, and Israel Ambassador to the United Nations.

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18/01/1934

Raymond Briggs, English author and illustrator (died 2022)

Raymond Redvers Briggs was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story The Snowman, a book without words whose cartoon adaptation is televised and whose musical adaptation is staged every Christmas.

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18/01/1933

Emeka Anyaoku, Nigerian politician, 8th Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Chief Emeka Anyaoku, GCON, GCVO, CFR is a Nigerian diplomat. He was the third Commonwealth Secretary-General. Born in Obosi, Anyaoku was educated at Merchants of Light School, Oba, and attended the University College, Ibadan, then a college of the University of London, from which he obtained an honours degree in Classics as a College Scholar. Aside from his international career, Chief Anyaoku continues to fulfil the duties of his office as Ichie Adazie of Obosi, a traditional Ndichie chieftainship.

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David Bellamy, English botanist, author and academic (died 2019)

David James Bellamy was an English academic, botanist, television presenter, author and prominent environmental campaigner in the UK and globally. His distinctive, energetic style of presenting became well known to UK television audiences in the 1970s and 1980s. Later in life, he made sceptical statements about climate science.

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John Boorman, English director, producer, and screenwriter

Sir John Boorman is a British filmmaker. He is best known for directing feature films such as Point Blank (1967), Hell in the Pacific (1968), Deliverance (1972), Zardoz (1974), Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), Excalibur (1981), The Emerald Forest (1985), Hope and Glory (1987), The General (1998), The Tailor of Panama (2001) and Queen and Country (2014).

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Ray Dolby, American engineer and businessman, founded Dolby Laboratories (died 2013)

Ray Milton Dolby was an American engineer and inventor of the noise reduction system known as Dolby NR, which has been said to have "transformed sound reproduction".

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William Goodhart, Baron Goodhart, English lawyer and politician (died 2017)

William Howard Goodhart, Baron Goodhart, was a British Liberal Democrat politician, a leading property and human rights lawyer, and a member of the House of Lords.

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Frank McMullen, New Zealand rugby player (died 2004)

Raymond Frank McMullen was a New Zealand rugby union player and referee. A centre and wing three-quarter, McMullen represented Auckland at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1957 to 1960. He played 29 matches for the All Blacks including 11 internationals. After retiring as a player in 1960, McMullen became a rugby union referee, reaching international level. His appointments included controlling the 1973 test between the All Blacks and the touring English team.

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Jean Vuarnet, French ski racer (died 2017)

Jean Raoul Célina André Vuarnet was an alpine ski racer from France. An Olympic gold medalist, he is known for inventing the "Tuck" skiing position, and was the first Olympian to win a gold medal using metal skis. Raised in Morzine, he had a childhood interest in skiing, which he pursued. He won a bronze medal in the downhill at the World Championships in 1958 at Bad Gastein, before winning gold in the same event in the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley. Vuarnet was also the author of several books on skiing. He gave his name to the Vuarnet brand in 1961. In 1995, his wife Edith Bonlieu, a fellow Olympian, and their son Patrick both died in a mass murder-suicide of members of the Order of the Solar Temple.

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18/01/1932

Robert Anton Wilson, American psychologist, author, poet, and playwright (died 2007)

Robert Anton Wilson was an American writer, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson helped publicize Discordianism through his writings and interviews. In 1999 he described his work as an "attempt to break down conditioned associations, to look at the world in a new way, with many models recognized as models or maps, and no one model elevated to the truth". Wilson's goal was "to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone but agnosticism about everything."

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18/01/1931

Chun Doo-hwan, South Korean general and politician, 5th President of South Korea (died 2021)

Chun Doo-hwan was a South Korean army general and politician who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. A member of the Democratic Justice Party, he ruled the country as a military dictator following a successful coup in December 1979. The period encompassing his presidency is known as the Fifth Republic of Korea.

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18/01/1930

Esther Coopersmith, American diplomat, UNESCO goodwill ambassador (died 2024)

Esther Lipsen Coopersmith was an American diplomat, philanthropist, political lobbyist, and a champion for women's equality. For over 70 years, she organized gatherings, from small dinners to grand formal ones, across the world. Her guest list varied from politicians and visiting royals to academics and actors. In 2009, UNESCO named her a goodwill ambassador for "fostering intercultural dialogue".

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18/01/1928

Alexander Gomelsky, Soviet and Russian professional basketball coach (died 2005)

Alexander Yakovlevich Gomelsky was a Russian professional basketball player and coach. The Father of Soviet and Russian basketball, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007.

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18/01/1927

S. Balachander, Indian actor, singer, and veena player (died 1990)

Sundaram Balachander was an Indian veena player and filmmaker. He directed, produced, and also composed music for a few of his films. Balachander was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1982. He died of a heart attack at the age of 63, while on a music tour of India.

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18/01/1926

Randolph Bromery, American geologist and academic (died 2013)

Randolph Wilson ("Bill") Bromery was an American educator and geologist, and a former Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Amherst (1971–79). While Chancellor, Bromery established the W.E.B. Du Bois Archives at the University of Massachusetts, and was one of the initiators of the Five College Consortium. He was also President of the Geological Society of America, and has made numerous contributions as a geologist and academic. During World War II, he was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, flying missions in Italy.

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18/01/1925

Gilles Deleuze, French metaphysician and philosopher (died 1995)

Gilles Louis René Deleuze was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes of Capitalism and Schizophrenia: Anti-Oedipus (1972) and A Thousand Plateaus (1980), both co-written with psychoanalyst Félix Guattari. His metaphysical treatise Difference and Repetition (1968) is considered to be his magnum opus.

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John V. Evans, American soldier and politician, 27th Governor of Idaho (died 2014)

John Victor Evans Sr. was an American politician from Idaho. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the state's 27th governor and was in office for 10 years, from 1977 to 1987.

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Sol Yurick, American soldier and author (died 2013)

Solomon "Sol" Yurick was an American novelist. He was known for his book The Warriors, which became a major motion picture.

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18/01/1923

John Graham, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Wales (died 2012)

Major-General John David Carew Graham, was a British Army officer who was instrumental in the installation of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan of Oman in the 1970 Omani coup d'état.

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Gerrit Voorting, Dutch cyclist (died 2015)

Gerardus "Gerrit" Petrus Voorting was a Dutch road cyclist who was active between 1947 and 1960. As an amateur he won the silver medal in the individual road race at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. In his professional career Voorting won two Tour de France stages and wore the yellow jersey for 4 days. Voorting died on 30 January 2015 in his home in Heemskerk at the age of 92, within a week of two other members of the Dutch men's team pursuit squad, Henk Faanhof and Joop Harmans. He was the elder brother of Olympic cyclist Adrie Voorting.

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18/01/1921

Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2015)

Yoichiro Nambu was a Japanese-American physicist and professor at the University of Chicago.

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18/01/1919

Toni Turek, German footballer (died 1984)

Anton Turek was a German footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

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18/01/1918

Gustave Gingras, Canadian-English physician and educator (died 1996)

Gustave Gingras was a Canadian physician and founder of the Montreal Institute of Rehabilitation in 1949.

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18/01/1917

Nicholas Oresko, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (died 2013)

Nicholas Oresko was an American combat veteran of World War II who received the Medal of Honor for his valorous actions in Germany on January 23, 1945.

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Wang Yung-ching, Taiwanese-American businessman (died 2008)

Wang Yung-ching, also called Y.C. Wang, was a Taiwanese businessman. He was best known for being the chairman of Formosa Plastics Corporation, one of Taiwan's foremost plastic manufacturing establishments until his retirement in June 2006, where he stepped down at the age of 89. In 2008, Forbes ranked him as the 178th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of US$5.5 billion.

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18/01/1915

Syl Apps, Canadian pole vaulter, ice hockey player, and politician (died 1998)

Charles Joseph Sylvanus Apps, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1936 to 1948, an Olympic pole vaulter and a Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario. In 2017 Apps was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.

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Santiago Carrillo, Spanish soldier and politician (died 2012)

Santiago José Carrillo Solares was a Spanish politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) from 1960 to 1982.

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Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (died 1984)

Vassilis Tsitsanis was a Greek songwriter and bouzouki player. He became one of the leading Greek composers of his time and is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern Rebetiko and Laiko music. Tsitsanis wrote more than 500 songs and is still remembered as an extraordinary composer and bouzouki player.

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18/01/1914

Arno Schmidt, German author and translator (died 1979)

Arno Schmidt was a German author and translator. He is little known outside of German-speaking areas, in part because his works present a formidable challenge to translators. Although not among Germany's most popular authors, critics and writers often consider him to be one of the most important German-language writers of the 20th century.

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Vitomil Zupan, Slovene author, poet, and playwright (died 1987)

Vitomil Zupan was a post-World War II modernist Slovene writer and Gonars concentration camp survivor. Because of his detailed descriptions of sex and violence, he was dubbed the Slovene Hemingway and was compared to Henry Miller. He is best known for Menuet za kitaro, describing the years he spent with the Slovene Partisans. In Titoist Yugoslavia he was sentenced to 18 years in a show trial, and upon his release in 1955 his works could only be published under his pseudonym Langus. He is considered one of the most important Slovene writers.

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18/01/1913

Carroll Cloar, American artist (died 1993)

Carroll Cloar was a nationally known 20th-century painter born in Earle, Arkansas, who focused his work on surreal views of Southern U.S. themes and on poetically portraying childhood memories of natural scenery, buildings, and people, often working from old photographs found in his family albums.

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Giannis Papaioannou, Greek composer (died 1972)

Giannis Papaioannou was a famous Greek musician and composer born in Kios, Ottoman Empire. In English his name is sometimes romanticized as Yannis, Ioannis or Yiannis. Most active in the 1940s, he wrote many songs, some of which are today considered classics of the rebetiko folk music style. These include: Pente Ellines Ston Adi, Kapetan Andreas Zeppo, Modistroula, Prin To Charama Monachos, and Fovamai Mi Se Chaso. His style retains much of the musical quality of the classical rebetika of the likes of Markos Vamvakaris, although the thematic content of the lyrics tends not to focus as much on the typically dark topics – drugs, death and prison – of earlier rebetika.

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18/01/1911

José María Arguedas, Peruvian anthropologist, author, and poet (died 1969)

José María Arguedas Altamirano was a Peruvian novelist, poet, and anthropologist. Arguedas was an author of mestizo descent who was fluent in the Quechua language. That fluency was gained by Arguedas's living in two Quechua households from the age of 7 to 11. First, he lived in the Indigenous servant quarters of his stepmother's home, then, escaping her "perverse and cruel" son, with an Indigenous family approved by his father. Arguedas wrote novels, short stories, and poems in both Spanish and Quechua.

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Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and dancer (died 1987)

Danny Kaye was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs.

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18/01/1910

Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist and academic (died 1993)

Kenneth Ewart Boulding was an English-born American economist, educator, peace activist, and interdisciplinary philosopher. Boulding was the author of two citation classics: The Image: Knowledge in Life and Society (1956) and Conflict and Defense: A General Theory (1962). He was co-founder of general systems theory and founder of numerous ongoing intellectual projects in economics and social science. He was married to sociologist Elise M. Boulding.

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18/01/1908

Jacob Bronowski, Polish-English mathematician, historian, and television host (died 1974)

Jacob Bronowski was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to science, and as the presenter and writer of the thirteen-part 1973 BBC television documentary series, and accompanying book, The Ascent of Man. He was widely regarded as "one of the most revered intellectuals on the global stage."

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18/01/1907

János Ferencsik, Hungarian conductor (died 1984)

János Ferencsik was a Hungarian conductor.

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18/01/1905

Joseph Bonanno, Italian-American mob boss (died 2002)

Joseph Charles Bonanno, sometimes referred to as Joe Bananas, was an Italian-American crime boss of the Bonanno crime family of New York City, which he ran between 1931 and 1968.

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18/01/1904

Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordion player and composer (died 2006)

Anthony Galla-Rini was an American accordionist, arranger, composer, conductor, author, and teacher, and is considered by many to be the first American accordionist to promote the accordion as a legitimate concert instrument.

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Cary Grant, English-American actor (died 1986)

Cary Grant was an English-American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he was one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award, received an Academy Honorary Award in 1970, and received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1981. He was named the second-greatest male star of the Golden Age of Hollywood by the American Film Institute in 1999.

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18/01/1903

Berthold Goldschmidt, German pianist and composer (died 1996)

Berthold Goldschmidt was a German Jewish composer who spent most of his life in England. The suppression of his work by Nazi Germany, as well as the disdain with which many modernist critics elsewhere dismissed his "anachronistic" lyricism, stranded the composer in the wilderness for many years before he was given a revival in his final decade.

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18/01/1901

Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician and academic (died 1973)

Ivan Georgiyevich Petrovsky was a Soviet mathematician working mainly in the field of partial differential equations. He greatly contributed to the solution of Hilbert's 19th and 16th problems, and discovered what are now called Petrovsky lacunas. He also worked on the theories of boundary value problems, probability, and on the topology of algebraic curves and surfaces.

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18/01/1898

Albert Kivikas, Estonian journalist and author (died 1978)

Albert Kivikas was an Estonian writer and journalist. He is best known as the author of the book Names in Marble, the subject of which is the Estonian War of Independence.

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18/01/1896

C. M. Eddy Jr., American author (died 1967)

Clifford Martin Eddy Jr. was an American writer known for his horror, mystery and supernatural short stories. He is best remembered for his work in Weird Tales magazine and his friendship with H. P. Lovecraft.

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Ville Ritola, Finnish-American runner (died 1982)

Vilho "Ville" Eino Ritola was a Finnish long-distance runner. Known as one of the "Flying Finns", he won five Olympic gold medals and three Olympic silver medals in the 1920s. He holds the record of winning most athletics medals at a single Games – four golds and two silvers in Paris 1924 – and ranks second in terms of most athletics gold medals at a single Games.

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18/01/1894

Toots Mondt, American wrestler and promoter (died 1976)

Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt was an American professional wrestler and promoter who revolutionized the wrestling industry in the early to mid-1920s and co-promoted the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Some of the stars Mondt helped create from the 1920s through the 1960s included Wayne Munn, Jim Londos, Antonino Rocca, Bruno Sammartino, Stu Hart and Cowboy Bill Watts.

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18/01/1893

Jorge Guillén, Spanish poet, critic, and academic (died 1984)

Jorge Guillén Álvarez was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27, a university teacher, a scholar and a literary critic.

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18/01/1892

Oliver Hardy, American actor and comedian (died 1957)

Oliver Norvell Hardy was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his comedy partner Stan Laurel in 107 short films, feature films, and cameo roles. He was credited with his first film, Outwitting Dad, in 1914. In most of his silent films before joining producer Hal Roach, he was billed on screen as Babe Hardy.

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Bill Meanix, American hurdler and coach (died 1957)

William Henry Meanix was an American track and field athlete. He held the world record in the 440 yd hurdles from 1915 to 1920, and he won the event the first two times it was contested at the United States championships.

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Paul Rostock, German surgeon and academic (died 1956)

Paul Rostock was a German physician, official, and university professor. He was chief of the Office for Medical Science and Research under Third Reich Commissioner and war criminal Karl Brandt and a full professor, medical doctorate, medical superintendent of the University of Berlin Surgical Clinic.

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18/01/1888

Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player, sailor, and pilot (died 1989)

Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, CBE, Hon FRAeS was a British aviation pioneer, businessman and yachtsman.

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18/01/1886

Clara Nordström, Swedish-German author and translator (died 1962)

Clara Nordström, became Clara Elisabet von Vegesack, was a German writer and translator of Swedish descent. With the themes of her writing and her Swedish maiden name, she profited from the German interest for Scandinavian writers. She owned part of Weißenstein Castle in Lower Bavaria

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18/01/1882

A. A. Milne, English author, poet, and playwright (died 1956)

Alan Alexander Milne was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-the-Pooh overshadowed his previous work. He served as a lieutenant in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in the First World War and as a captain in the Home Guard in the Second World War.

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18/01/1881

Gaston Gallimard, French publisher, founded Éditions Gallimard (died 1975)

Gaston Gallimard was a French publisher.

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18/01/1880

Paul Ehrenfest, Austrian-Dutch physicist and academic (died 1933)

Paul Ehrenfest was an Austrian theoretical physicist who made major contributions to statistical mechanics and its relation to quantum mechanics, including the theory of phase transition and the Ehrenfest theorem. He befriended Albert Einstein on a visit to Prague in 1912 and became a professor in Leiden, where he frequently hosted Einstein. Suffering from depression, in 1933 Ehrenfest killed his disabled son, Wassik, and then himself.

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Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, Italian cardinal (died 1954)

Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, was an Italian Catholic prelate and professed member of the Benedictines who served as the Archbishop of Milan from 1929 until his death. He took the religious name of Ildefonso as a Benedictine monk and served as an abbot prior to his elevation to the cardinalate.

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18/01/1879

Henri Giraud, French general and politician (died 1949)

Henri Honoré Giraud was a French Army general best known for his escape from German captivity in 1942 and subsequently as one of the leaders of the French Resistance and a rival of Charles de Gaulle. He was outmanoeuvred by de Gaulle and sidelined in April 1944, leading to his resignation.

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18/01/1877

Sam Zemurray, Russian-American businessman, founded the Cuyamel Fruit Company (died 1961)

Samuel Zemurray, nicknamed "Sam the Banana Man", was an American businessman who made his fortune in the banana trade. He founded the Cuyamel Fruit Company and later became president of the United Fruit Company, the world's most influential fruit company at the time. Both companies were powerful and had influential roles in the politics of Central American countries.

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18/01/1868

Kantarō Suzuki, Japanese admiral and politician, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (died 1948)

Baron Kantarō Suzuki was a Japanese politician and admiral who served as prime minister of Japan from 7 April to 17 August 1945, during World War II. He was prime minister at the time of Japan's surrender on 15 August.

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18/01/1867

Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan poet, journalist, and diplomat (died 1916)

Félix Rubén García Sarmiento, known as Rubén Darío, was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as modernismo (modernism) that flourished at the end of the 19th century. Darío had a great and lasting influence on 20th-century Spanish-language literature and journalism.

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18/01/1856

Daniel Hale Williams, American surgeon and cardiologist (died 1931)

Daniel Hale Williams was a Black American surgeon and hospital founder. He founded Provident Hospital in 1891, which was the first non-segregated hospital in the United States. He is known for being the first to successfully perform a cardiac surgery—specifically, a procedure on the pericardium, the double-layered, fluid-filled sac that encloses the heart and the roots of the great vessels. The pericardium anchors the heart, protects it from infection and trauma, and reduces friction during its constant beating by providing lubrication.

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18/01/1854

Thomas A. Watson, American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (died 1934)

Thomas Augustus Watson was an American inventor and assistant to Alexander Graham Bell in the invention of the telephone in 1876. Afterwards, he founded the Fore River Ship and Engine Building Company, which became a major shipyard during World War II.

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18/01/1850

Seth Low, American academic and politician, 92nd Mayor of New York City (died 1916)

Seth Low was an American public figure. He chronologically served as the 23rd mayor of Brooklyn from 1881 to 1885, the 11th president of Columbia University from 1890 to 1901, a diplomatic representative of the United States to the International Peace Conference at The Hague in 1899, and the 93rd mayor of New York City from 1902 to 1903. He was a leading municipal reformer fighting for efficiency during the Progressive Era.

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18/01/1849

Edmund Barton, Australian judge and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (died 1920)

Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton was an Australian politician, barrister and jurist who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903. He held office as the leader of the Protectionist Party, before resigning in 1903 to become a founding justice of the High Court of Australia, on which he served until his death in 1920. Barton is regarded as a founding father of Australia, a principal leader in the federation of the Australian colonies and a drafter of the Commonwealth Constitution.

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18/01/1848

Ioan Slavici, Romanian journalist and author (died 1925)

Ioan Slavici was a Romanian writer and journalist from Austria-Hungary, later Romania.

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18/01/1843

Marthinus Nikolaas Ras, South African farmer, soldier, and gun-maker (died 1900)

Marthinus Nikolaas Ras was a South African farmer, soldier, and gun-maker who is considered the father of South African Artillery.

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18/01/1842

A. A. Ames, American physician and politician, Mayor of Minneapolis (died 1911)

Albert Alonzo "Doc" Ames was an American physician and politician who held four non-consecutive terms as mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His fourth term was marked by multiple prosecutions for political corruption, extortion, and racketeering in a scandal which was publicized nationwide by muckraking journalist Lincoln Steffens in a 1903 article in McClure's Magazine titled The Shame of Minneapolis. Ames was found guilty of corruption, but after a successful appeal and multiple mistrials the charges were dropped. Erik Rivenes, however, has called the downfall of Mayor Ames, "one of the greatest political scandals in Minnesota history."

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18/01/1841

Emmanuel Chabrier, French pianist and composer (died 1894)

Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier was a French Romantic composer and pianist. His bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked as a civil servant until the age of thirty-nine while immersing himself in the modernist artistic life of the French capital and composing in his spare time. From 1880 until his final illness he was a full-time composer.

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18/01/1840

Henry Austin Dobson, English poet and author (died 1921)

Henry Austin Dobson, usually known as Austin Dobson, was an English poet, biographer and essayist.

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18/01/1835

César Cui, Russian general, composer, and critic (died 1918)

César Antonovich Cui was a Russian composer and music critic, member of the Belyayev circle and The Five – a group of composers gathered by the idea of creating a specifically Russian type of music. As an officer of the Imperial Russian Army, he rose to the rank of engineer-general, taught fortifications in Russian military academies and wrote a number of monographs on the subject.

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18/01/1815

Constantin von Tischendorf, German theologian and scholar (died 1874)

Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf was a German biblical scholar. In 1844, he discovered the world's oldest and most complete Bible dated to around the mid-4th century and called Codex Sinaiticus after Saint Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai.

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18/01/1793

Pratap Singh Bhosle, Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (died 1847)

Pratap Singh Bhonsale was the eighth and last Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire from 1808 to 1818, when Maratha forces under Peshwa Bajirao II lost to the British during the Third Anglo-Maratha War. He was later the Raja of Satara State until 1839, when he was replaced with Shahaji of Satara by the British.

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18/01/1782

Daniel Webster, American lawyer and politician, 14th United States Secretary of State (died 1852)

Daniel Webster was an American lawyer, statesman, and diplomat who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th U.S. secretary of state under presidents William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore. Webster was one of the most prominent American lawyers of the 19th century, arguing over 200 cases before the United States Supreme Court in his career. During his life, Webster had been a member of the Federalist Party, the National Republican Party, and the Whig Party. He was among the three members of the Great Triumvirate along with Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun.

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18/01/1779

Peter Mark Roget, English physician, lexicographer, and theologian (died 1869)

Peter Mark Roget was a British physician, natural theologian, lexicographer, and founding secretary of The Portico Library. He is best known for publishing, in 1852, the Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, a classified collection of related words (thesaurus). In 1824, he read a paper to the Royal Society about a peculiar optical illusion which is often (falsely) regarded as the origin of the ancient persistence of vision theory that was later commonly, yet incorrectly, used to explain apparent motion in film and animation.

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18/01/1764

Samuel Whitbread, English politician (died 1815)

Samuel Whitbread was a British politician. The heir of a wealthy brewer, he was a staunch Whig sitting in Parliament from 1790 to his death. Shortly after the Battle of Waterloo he died by suicide, having been very sympathetic to the defeated French emperor Napoleon.

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18/01/1752

John Nash, English architect (died 1835)

John Nash was a British architect of the Georgian and Regency eras. He was responsible for the design, in the neoclassical and picturesque styles, of many important areas of London. His designs were financed by the Prince Regent and by the era's most successful property developer, James Burton. Nash also collaborated extensively with Burton's son, Decimus Burton.

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18/01/1751

Ferdinand Kauer, Austrian pianist and composer (died 1831)

Ferdinand August Kauer was an Austrian composer and pianist.

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18/01/1743

Louis Claude de Saint-Martin, French mystic and philosopher (died 1803)

Louis Claude de Saint-Martin was a French freemason and philosopher, known as le philosophe inconnu, the name under which his works were published. He was an influential Christian mystic whose legacy, together with that of his mentor Martinez de Pasqually, inspired the founding of the Martinist Order. Initiated under the name "Eques a Leone Sidero", he was a member of the Societé des Initiés, an inner order of mystical freemasons directed by Jean-Baptiste Willermoz, in which they have allegedly received revelations from an "Unknown Agent".

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18/01/1734

Caspar Friedrich Wolff, German physiologist and embryologist (died 1794)

Caspar Friedrich Wolff was a German physiologist and embryologist who is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern embryology.

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18/01/1701

Johann Jakob Moser, German jurist (died 1785)

Johann Jakob Moser was a German jurist, publicist and researcher, whose work earned him the title "The Father of German Constitutional Law" and whose political commitment to the principles of Liberalism caused him to lose academic positions and spend years as a political prisoner. Moser was born and died in Stuttgart.

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18/01/1689

Montesquieu, French lawyer and philosopher (died 1755)

Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, intellectual, historian, and political philosopher.

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18/01/1688

Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (died 1765)

Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset was a British politician who served as Lord President of the Council from 1745 to 1751. He also twice served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1730 to 1737 and again from 1750 to 1755.

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18/01/1672

Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French author (died 1731)

Antoine Houdar de la Motte was a French writer.

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18/01/1659

Damaris Cudworth Masham, English philosopher and theologian (died 1708)

Damaris Cudworth, Lady Masham was an English writer, philosopher, theologian, and advocate for women's education who is often characterized as a proto-feminist. She overcame some weakness of eyesight and lack of access to formal higher education to win high regard among eminent thinkers of her time. With an extensive correspondence, she published two works, A Discourse Concerning the Love of God (1696) and Thoughts in reference to a Vertuous or Christian Life (1705). She is particularly noted for her long, mutually-influential friendship with the philosopher John Locke.

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18/01/1641

François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French politician, Secretary of State for War (died 1691)

François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois was the French Secretary of State for War during a significant part of the reign of Louis XIV. He is commonly referred to as "Louvois". Together with his father, Michel le Tellier, he oversaw an increase in the numbers of the French Army, eventually reaching 340,000 soldiers – an army that would fight four wars between 1667 and 1713. Louvois was a key military and strategic advisor to Louis XIV, who transformed the French Army into an instrument of royal authority and foreign policy.

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18/01/1540

Catherine, Duchess of Braganza (died 1614)

Infanta Catherine of Portugal, Duchess of Braganza by marriage was a Portuguese infanta (princess) claimant to the throne during the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580.

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18/01/1519

Isabella Jagiellon, Queen of Hungary (died 1559)

Isabella Jagiellon was a princess of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and later also the Queen consort of Hungary. She was the oldest child of Sigismund I the Old, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his Italian wife Bona Sforza.

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18/01/1457

Antonio Trivulzio, seniore, Roman Catholic cardinal (died 1508)

Antonio Trivulzio the Elder (1457–1508) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.

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18/01/1404

Sir Philip Courtenay, English noble (died 1463)

Sir Philip Courtenay of Powderham, Devon, was the senior member of a junior branch of the powerful Courtenay family, Earls of Devon.

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