What happened on 23rd January?

On this day, 207 notable people were born on 23rd January — spanning from 1350 to 2004. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

23/01/2004

Julio Enciso, Paraguayan footballer

Julio César Enciso Espínola is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Ligue 1 club Strasbourg and the Paraguay national team.

---

23/01/2002

Joško Gvardiol, Croatian footballer

Joško Gvardiol is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for Premier League club Manchester City and the Croatia national team. Gvardiol is known for his composure, ball-playing ability, and tactical versatility.

---

Nicola Zalewski, Polish footballer

Nicola Zalewski is a professional footballer who plays as a wing-back or attacking midfielder for Serie A club Atalanta. Born in Italy, he plays for the Poland national team.

---

23/01/2001

Olga Danilović, Serbian tennis player

Olga Danilović is a Serbian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 32 by the WTA, achieved on 14 July 2025 and a best doubles ranking of No. 90, reached on 27 October 2025. She is the current No. 1 Serbian female singles player. Danilović has won two singles titles and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour.

---

23/01/2000

Fanni Pigniczki, Hungarian rhythmic gymnast

Fanni Pigniczki is a Hungarian rhythmic gymnast. She competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

---

23/01/1999

Alban Lafont, French footballer

Alban-Marc Lafont is a professional footballer who plays as goalkeeper for Greek Super League club Panathinaikos, on loan from Ligue 2 club Nantes. Born in Burkina Faso and raised in France, he plays for the Ivory Coast national team.

---

23/01/1998

XXXTentacion, American rapper (died 2018)

Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, professionally known as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion gained a cult following among his young fan base during his short career with his depression and alienation-themed music. Critics and audiences often credit him for his musical versatility, with his music exploring emo, trap, trap metal, nu metal, indie rock, lo-fi, hip-hop, R&B, and punk rock. He was considered to be a leading figure in the establishment of the emo rap and SoundCloud rap genres, which garnered mainstream attention during the mid-to-late 2010s. In the years after his death, Onfroy's musical style would later go on to influence the development of rage music.

---

23/01/1996

Keita Bates-Diop, American basketball player

Keita Bates-Diop is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

---

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, English footballer

Ruben Ira Loftus-Cheek is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club AC Milan and the England national team.

---

23/01/1994

Addison Russell, American baseball player

Addison Wayne Russell is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. Russell was drafted 11th overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs in 2014. In 2015, Baseball America listed Russell as the third-best prospect in professional baseball. He made his MLB debut with the Cubs in April 2015 and was an All-Star in 2016. That same year, Russell won the World Series with the Cubs. He has previously played in the KBO League for the Kiwoom Heroes.

---

23/01/1992

Reina Triendl, Japanese model and actress

Reina Triendl is an Austrian-Japanese model, tarento, and actress.

---

23/01/1991

Steve Birnbaum, American soccer player

Steven Mitchell Birnbaum is an American former professional soccer player who is currently the sporting director for DC Power FC in the USL Super League. He was captain of and played as a center-back for D.C. United for the majority of his professional career. Birnbaum started every game for D.C. United in the 2018 season. In 2018 he played every minute in all 34 regular season games, and led Major League Soccer in total clearances, headed clearances, and aerials won, and in 2019 he again led the league in headed clearances and aerials won.

---

23/01/1990

Alex Silva, Canadian wrestler

Alexander Freitas is a Canadian professional wrestler best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling where he is a former Impact Gut Check Winner under the ring name Alex Silva.

---

23/01/1987

Leo Komarov, Estonian-Finnish ice hockey player

Leonid Aleksandrovich Komarov is a professional ice hockey player who is a forward for Kiekko-Espoo of the Liiga.

---

23/01/1986

Gelete Burka, Ethiopian runner

Gelete Burka Bati is an Ethiopian middle-distance and long-distance runner. She was born in Kofele in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region, the same district as double Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie.

---

Marc Laird, Scottish footballer

Marc James Peter Laird is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Lowland League East club Civil Service Strollers, where he is also assistant manager.

---

José Enrique, Spanish footballer

José Enrique Sánchez Díaz, known as José Enrique, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left-back.

---

Steven Taylor, English footballer

Steven Vincent Taylor is an English former professional footballer and head coach. As a defender, he played over 200 games in the Premier League with Newcastle United, in the span of 13 seasons.

---

Sandro Viletta, Swiss skier

Sandro Viletta is a Swiss former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist.

---

23/01/1985

San E, South Korean rapper

Jung San, more commonly known by his stage name San E (산이), is a South Korean rapper. He debuted in 2010 under JYP Entertainment, where he was the label's first solo rapper. He left the company in 2013 to sign with hip hop label Brand New Music. He left the company in 2018 and established hip hop label FameUs Entertainment in 2019.

---

Dong Fangzhuo, Chinese footballer

Dong Fangzhuo is a Chinese former professional footballer who played as a forward.

---

Doutzen Kroes, Dutch model and actress

Doutzen Kroes is a Dutch fashion model. She began her modelling career in 2003, in the Netherlands and was quickly sent by her agency to New York where she was cast by lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2008 until 2014, making her the second Dutch to earn the coveted title after Karen Mulder. She has been a brand ambassador for L'Oréal Paris since 2006. Kroes has been one of the highest-paid models, with an estimated income of more than $5 million per year, since 2008. In 2014, she came in second on the Forbes top-earning models list, estimated to have earned $8 million in one year. In 2013, she became the first model to land four different solo international covers of Vogue's September issue in a single year.

---

Yevgeny Lukyanenko, Russian pole vaulter

Yevgeny Yuryevich Lukyanenko is a Russian pole vaulter.

---

Aselefech Mergia, Ethiopian runner

Aselefech Mergia Medessa is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in the marathon. She was a bronze medallist in the event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. She is a two-time winner of the Dubai Marathon and has finished in the top three at the Paris and London Marathons. She was retrospectively confirmed as the winner of the 2010 London Marathon after the top two were disqualified. Her personal best of 2:19:31 hours is a former Ethiopian record for the distance and places her within the top ten of all-time.

---

Jeff Samardzija, American baseball and football player

Jeffrey Alan Samardzija, nicknamed "Shark", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played college baseball and football for the University of Notre Dame, and was recognized as a two-time football All-American playing wide receiver and a two-time Baseball All-American as a pitcher. He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the fifth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, and made his major-league (MLB) debut in 2008. He played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs from 2008 to 2014, the Oakland Athletics in 2014, the Chicago White Sox in 2015, and the San Francisco Giants from 2016 to 2020. He was an All-Star in 2014.

---

23/01/1984

Arjen Robben, Dutch footballer

Arjen Robben is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger. Known for his dribbling skills, speed, and long-range shots, he is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest wingers of all time. He ranks second for the all-time Dutch top goalscorers (32) in the UEFA Champions League and is the all-time Dutch top assist provider (19) in the competition.

---

23/01/1983

Irving Saladino, Panamanian long jumper

Irving Jahir Saladino Aranda is a Panamanian former long jumper. He was Olympic champion, having won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and remains Panama's first and only Olympic gold medalist. He was world champion in the long jump in 2007. He represented his country at three consecutive Olympics, from 2004 to 2012, and competed at four World Championships in Athletics from 2005 to 2011.

---

23/01/1982

Oceana Mahlmann, German singer and songwriter

Oceana Mahlmann is a German singer. Her musical roots are embedded in soul, reggae, hip hop, and funk.

---

Wily Mo Peña, Dominican baseball player

Wily Modesto Peña Gutierrez is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners, and in NPB for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Orix Buffaloes. At 6 feet, 3 inches in height and nearly 300 pounds, the right-handed batting and throwing Peña is considered a pure power hitter best known for his long-distance home runs and high strikeout rate.

---

Andrew Rock, American sprinter

Andrew Rock is an American sprinter who specializes in the 400 meter dash.

---

23/01/1981

Rob Friend, Canadian soccer player

Robert Douglas Friend is a Canadian former professional soccer player, the president and co-founder of Vancouver FC, the CEO and co-founder of Pacific FC, the founder of Toca Football Canada, the co-founder of Canadian Premier League, the managing partner of SixFive Sport Fund also DRG Investment Group, and currently appointed as chief executive officer for Malaysia national team.

---

Julia Jones, American actress

Julia Jones is an American actress. She is best known for playing Leah Clearwater in The Twilight Saga film series and Angela Bishop in the television series Dexter: New Blood.

---

23/01/1979

Scott Hannan, Canadian ice hockey player

Kenneth Scott Hannan is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Hannan was born in Richmond, British Columbia, but grew up in Surrey, British Columbia.

---

Larry Hughes, American basketball player

Larry Darnell Hughes Sr. is an American former professional basketball player. Hughes played for eight different teams during his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Hughes played collegiately for the Saint Louis Billikens for one season before being selected with the eighth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft. Hughes is the founder of the Larry Hughes Basketball Academy.

---

Dawn O'Porter, Scottish-English fashion designer and journalist

Dawn O'Porter is a British writer, director, and television presenter.

---

Juan Rincón, Venezuelan baseball player and coach

Juan Manuel Rincón is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former relief pitcher. Rincón bats and throws right-handed. He throws a low 90s fastball and a mid to low 80s slider. In his career, Rincón posted a .208 BAA against left-handed hitters and a .248 BAA against right-handed hitters.

---

Maria Stepanova, Russian basketball player

Maria Alexandrovna Stepanova is a Russian professional and Olympic basketball player. In the United States, she played for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

---

23/01/1976

Brandon Duckworth, American baseball player and scout

Brandon J. Duckworth is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who is currently a scout. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, and Kansas City Royals, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Since 2014, Duckworth has worked for the New York Yankees professional scouting department.

---

Anne Margrethe Hausken, Norwegian orienteering competitor

Anne Margrethe Hausken Nordberg is a Norwegian orienteering competitor, World champion and European champion. She took the overall victory in the 2008 World Cup.

---

Alex Shaffer, American skier

Alexandra Luise Wubbels is an American nurse and former Olympian. As an alpine ski competitor, she was the national champion in both the slalom and giant slalom in 1999, and competed in the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics as Alex Shaffer.

---

23/01/1975

Phil Dawson, American football player

Philip Drury Dawson is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 years. Before that he was an All-American college football player for the Texas Longhorns. He signed with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 1998 and spent a season on the Patriots practice squad. He played most of his career with the Cleveland Browns from 1999 to 2012 where he was a Pro Bowler, and has the record for most field goals made for the franchise, passing Hall of Famer Lou Groza in 2010. He also played for the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals.

---

Tito Ortiz, American mixed martial artist

Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is an American former mixed martial artist, politician and professional boxer. He is best known for his career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 2000 to September 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars. Ortiz ultimately became the biggest pay-per-view draw of 2006 for his fights with Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Ken Shamrock. On July 7, 2012, Ortiz became the ninth inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame.

---

23/01/1974

Glen Chapple, English cricketer

Glen Chapple is an English cricket coach and former cricketer. He is an all-rounder, and represented the national team in a One Day International, as well as performing well for Lancashire over many years. He bowled right-arm fast-medium, and is a right-handed batsman. With six first-class centuries to his name, Chapple shares with Mark Pettini the record for fastest first-class century, scored against declaration bowling by Glamorgan in 1993, coming off just 27 balls.

---

Rebekah Elmaloglou, Australian actress

Rebekah Sophie Elmaloglou is an Australian actress, known for her roles as teenage tearaway Sophie Simpson on Home and Away and Terese Willis on Neighbours. She also made guest appearances in E Street, A Country Practice and Pacific Drive. Her film appearances include Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), Princess Kate (1988) and The Sum of Us (1994).

---

Richard T. Slone, English painter

Richard T. Slone is a British-born artist residing in the United States. He was born in 1974 in Newton-in-Furness, Lancashire, England.

---

Tiffani Thiessen, American actress

Tiffani Amber Thiessen is an American actress. Her roles as Kelly Kapowski on NBC's Saved by the Bell (1989–1993) and its spin-off media, and as Valerie Malone on Fox's Beverly Hills, 90210 (1994–98) established her as a teen idol of the 1990s. As an adult, she has played Wilhemina 'Billie' Chambers in Fox's Fastlane (2002–2003), Natasha Drew in ABC's What About Brian (2007), Elizabeth Burke in USA Network's White Collar (2009–2014), and Lori Mendoza in Netflix's Alexa & Katie (2018–2020). For the latter, she earned a Daytime Emmy Award nomination.

---

23/01/1973

Tomas Holmström, Swedish ice hockey player

Bengt Tomas Holmström is a Swedish former professional ice hockey left winger who played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he won four Stanley Cup championships; in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008.

---

23/01/1972

Ewen Bremner, Scottish actor

Ewen Bremner is a Scottish actor. His roles have included Shawn Nelson in Black Hawk Down, Julien in Julien Donkey-Boy and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in Trainspotting and its 2017 sequel T2 Trainspotting.

---

23/01/1971

Kevin Mawae, American football player and coach

Kevin James Mawae is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. Mawae played college football for the LSU Tigers, earning first-team All-SEC honors. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 1994 NFL draft. After joining the New York Jets in 1998, he received six consecutive Pro Bowl selections and five-first All-Pro honors during his eight seasons with the team. Mawae spent his final four seasons as a member of the Tennessee Titans, extending his Pro Bowl selections to eight and his first-team All-Pro honors to seven. Near the end of his career, he also served two terms as NFLPA president from 2008 to 2012.

---

Adam Parore, New Zealand cricketer and mountaineer

Adam Craig Parore is a New Zealand former wicket-keeper and batsman. He played 78 Test cricket matches for New Zealand and 179 One Day International cricket matches. Parore has been the managing director of financial services firm Adam Parore Mortgages. CoinHQ was also founded by him. Parore was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy.

---

Claire Rankin, Canadian actress

Claire Rankin is a Canadian actress.

---

23/01/1970

Richard Šmehlík, Czech ice hockey player

Richard Šmehlík is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the fifth round, 97th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1990 NHL entry draft.

---

Spyridon Vasdekis, Greek long jumper

Spyridon "Spyros" Vasdekis is a retired Greek long jumper.

---

23/01/1969

Andrei Kanchelskis, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager

Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis is a Russian professional football coach and former player who currently manages Russian Second League side Dynamo Bryansk. During his playing career, he won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, the Football League Cup, two FA Charity Shields and the European Super Cup with Manchester United, before going on to win the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup twice each with Rangers.

---

Brendan Shanahan, Canadian ice hockey player and actor

Brendan Frederick Shanahan is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. Originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils second overall in the 1987 NHL entry draft, Shanahan played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers. Following his retirement, Shanahan served as the director of player safety for the NHL, as well as president and alternate governor of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

---

Susen Tiedtke, German long jumper

Susen Tiedtke is a German former long jumper, who took part in two editions of the Summer Olympics and won a silver and a bronze medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics in 1993 and 1995 respectively.

---

23/01/1968

Taro Hakase, Japanese violinist and composer

Taro Hakase is a Japanese musician who specialises as a violinist and composer.

---

Petr Korda, Czech-Monégasque tennis player

Petr Korda is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in February 1998. Korda won ten singles titles, including the 1998 Australian Open, and was the runner-up at the 1992 French Open. Korda tested positive for nandrolone in July 1998 at Wimbledon, and was banned from September 1999 for 12 months, retiring from the sport shortly before the ban. He is the father of professional golfers Jessica Korda and Nelly Korda, and of professional tennis player Sebastian Korda.

---

23/01/1967

Owen Cunningham, Australian rugby league player

Owen Cunningham, nicknamed OJ, is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. A Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, North Queensland Cowboys and the Northern Eagles.

---

23/01/1966

Damien Hardman, Australian surfer

Damien Hardman, known as The Iceman, is an Australian former surfer from Sydney. He won the Rip Curl Pro twice in 1988 and 1993, and was runner-up three times in 1989, 1991 and 1997, and in 1987/88 and 1991 he won the ASP World Tour. In 1999, he was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame in 1999.

---

Haywoode Workman, American basketball player and referee

Haywoode Wilvon Workman is an American former basketball player who is a referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

---

23/01/1965

Louie Clemente, American drummer

Louie Clemente is a former drummer for the Bay Area thrash metal band Testament. He is known for being a part of Testament's original lineup.

---

23/01/1964

Jonatha Brooke, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Jonatha Brooke is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist from Massachusetts, United States. Her music merges elements of folk, rock and pop, often with poignant lyrics and complex harmonies. She has been a performer, writer, and artist since the late 1980s, and her songs have been used in television shows and movies.

---

Mariska Hargitay, American actress and producer

Mariska Magdolna Hargitay is an American actress, philanthropist, producer, and director. Hargitay is known for playing Olivia Benson on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1999, the longest-running character of all time in an American primetime drama. Her accolades include an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

---

Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyanese economist and politician, 7th President of Guyana

Bharrat Jagdeo is a Guyanese politician who has been serving as Vice President of Guyana since 2020, in the administration of President Irfaan Ali. He had previously also held the office from 1997 until 1999, during the presidency of Janet Jagan. Jagdeo subsequently served as the President of Guyana from 11 August 1999 to 3 December 2011. He also holds a number of global leadership positions in the areas of sustainable development, green growth and climate change.

---

23/01/1963

Gail O'Grady, American actress

Gail Ann O'Grady is an American actress and producer, best known for her roles on television. Her roles include Donna Abandando in the ABC police drama NYPD Blue, and Helen Pryor in the NBC drama series American Dreams. O'Grady is also well known for her lead roles in a number of television movies. She has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award three times.

---

23/01/1962

David Arnold, English composer

David Arnold is an English film composer whose credits include scoring five James Bond films (1997–2008), as well as Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), Godzilla (1998), Shaft (2000), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Four Brothers (2005), Hot Fuzz (2007), and the television series Little Britain and Sherlock. For Independence Day, he received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television, and for Sherlock, he and co-composer Michael Price won a Creative Arts Emmy for the score of "His Last Vow", the final episode in the third series. Arnold scored the BBC / Amazon Prime series Good Omens (2019) adapted by Neil Gaiman from his book Good Omens, written with Terry Pratchett. Arnold is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

---

Aivar Lillevere, Estonian footballer and coach

Aivar Lillevere is an Estonian football manager and former football player.

---

Elvira Lindo, Spanish journalist and author

Elvira Lindo Garrido is a Spanish journalist and writer.

---

Boris McGiver, American actor

Boris McGiver is an American actor. He is known for his roles in projects such as Lincoln, House of Cards, The Wire, Killing Kennedy, and Person of Interest.

---

23/01/1961

Peter Mackenzie, American actor

Peter Mackenzie is an American actor.

---

Yelena Sinchukova, Russian long jumper

Yelena Sinchukova is a retired Russian athlete who specialised in the long jump. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, as well as two World Championships.

---

23/01/1960

Greg Ritchie, Australian cricketer

Gregory Michael Ritchie is a former Australian international cricketer who played in 30 Tests matches and 44 One Day Internationals between 1982 and 1987.

---

23/01/1959

Clive Bull, English radio host

Clive Bull is an English radio talk show host, best known for presenting a late-night show on LBC in London.

---

23/01/1958

Sergey Litvinov, Russian hammer thrower (died 2018)

Sergey Nikolaevich Litvinov was a Russian hammer thrower and athletics coach. He competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics, missing the 1984 Summer Olympics due to the Soviet boycott, and won a silver and a gold medal, respectively. He also won two world titles, in 1983 and 1987. After retiring from competitions he coached elite hammer throwers including Ivan Tsikhan and his son Sergey.

---

23/01/1957

Caroline, Princess of Hanover

Caroline Louise Marguerite Grimaldi is Princess of Hanover by marriage to Prince Ernst August. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Princess Stéphanie.

---

23/01/1954

Trevor Hohns, Australian cricketer

Trevor Victor Hohns is a former Queensland and Australian cricketer who played in seven Test matches as a spin bowler, and was later Australia's chairman of selectors.

---

23/01/1953

John Luther Adams, American composer

John Luther Adams is an American composer. His history of environmental activism informs his music. His orchestral work Become Ocean was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music.

---

Alister McGrath, Irish priest, historian, and theologian

Alister Edgar McGrath is an Irish theologian, Anglican priest, intellectual historian, scientist, Christian apologist, and public intellectual. He currently holds the Andreas Idreos Professorship in Science and Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion, and is a fellow of Harris Manchester College at the University of Oxford. He held the position of Professor of Divinity at Gresham College between 2015 and 2018. He was previously professor of theology, ministry, and education at King's College London and head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture, professor of historical theology at the University of Oxford, and was principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, until 2005.

---

Antonio Villaraigosa, American politician, 41st Mayor of Los Angeles

Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the Majority Leader from 1996 to 1998 and Speaker of the California State Assembly from 1998 to 2000.

---

Robin Zander, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Robin Wayne Zander is an American musician who is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick. Zander joined Cheap Trick in 1974 and, as of 2026, remains a member of the band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a member of Cheap Trick. Zander is also a solo artist.

---

23/01/1952

Omar Henry, South African cricketer

Omar Henry is a South African former cricketer who represented South Africa and Scotland at the international level. He played in three Tests and three One Day Internationals for South Africa. He is notable for being the first non-white player of the post-Apartheid era to play cricket for South Africa. Henry made both his Test and ODI debuts after turning 40 and was a member of the South African squad that reached the semi-finals of the 1992 Cricket World Cup. He played extensively in Scotland from 1982 to 1992. His son Riyaad Henry is also a professional cricketer who has played for Boland in domestic cricket in South Africa, and was called up to play for the Scotland A team in 2016.

---

Jaroslav Pouzar, Czech ice hockey player

Jaroslav Pouzar is a Czech former professional ice hockey forward. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1982 NHL entry draft, 83rd overall, by the Edmonton Oilers. He won two Stanley Cups with Edmonton in 1984, 1985. He left to play in Europe in the summer of 1985. He returned during 1987 season to win a third cup with Edmonton. Pouzar played parts of four NHL seasons with Edmonton, as well as seeing extensive playing time in Europe.

---

23/01/1951

Chesley Sullenberger, American airline pilot and safety expert

Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III is an American retired aircraft pilot, diplomat and aviation safety expert, who is best known for his actions as captain of US Airways Flight 1549 on January 15, 2009, when he ditched the plane on the Hudson River after both engines were disabled by a bird strike; all 155 people aboard survived. After the Hudson landing, Sullenberger became an outspoken advocate for aviation safety and helped develop new protocols for flight safety. He served as the co-chairman, along with his co-pilot on Flight 1549, Jeffrey Skiles, of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)'s Young Eagles youth introduction-to-aviation program from 2009 to 2013.

---

23/01/1950

Richard Dean Anderson, American actor, producer, and composer

Richard Dean Anderson is an American actor. He began his television career in 1976, playing Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital, and then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver (1985–1992). He later appeared in films such as Through the Eyes of a Killer (1992), Pandora's Clock (1996), and Firehouse (1997).

---

Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (died 2018)

Guida Maria was a Portuguese actress. Her career spanned 60 years and included appearances on stage, in film and on television.

---

Suzanne Scotchmer, American economist and academic (died 2014)

Suzanne Scotchmer was an American professor of law, economics and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a noted author on many economic subjects. She earned her B.A. from University of Washington magna cum laude in 1970, her M.A. in statistics from UC Berkeley in 1979, and her PhD in economics from UC Berkeley in 1980.

---

Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet (died 2012)

Luis Alberto Spinetta, nicknamed "El Flaco", was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer, writer and poet. One of the most influential rock musicians of Argentina, he is widely regarded as one of the founders of Argentine rock, which is considered one of the first incarnations of Spanish-language rock. Born in Buenos Aires, he was the founder of several iconic rock bands including Almendra, Pescado Rabioso, Invisible, Spinetta Jade, and Spinetta y Los Socios del Desierto. In Argentina, January 23rd is celebrated as "Día Nacional del Músico" in honor of Spinetta's birth.

---

23/01/1949

Charlie Papazian, American nuclear engineer, brewer and author.

Charles N. Papazian is an American nuclear engineer, brewer and author. He founded the Association of Brewers and the Great American Beer Festival, and wrote The Complete Joy of Home Brewing (1984). He is the longtime former president (1979–2016) of the Brewers Association. He is also the creator of the National Pie Day, a celebration of pies which is celebrated on January 23, Papazian's birthday.

---

23/01/1948

Anita Pointer, American singer-songwriter (died 2022)

Anita Marie Pointer was an American singer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the vocal group the Pointer Sisters. She co-wrote and was the lead singer on their hit song "Fairytale", which garnered them their first Grammy Award in 1975. She was also the lead singer on many of their other hits, including "Yes We Can Can", "Fire", "Slow Hand", and "I'm So Excited".

---

23/01/1947

Tom Carper, American captain and politician, 71st Governor of Delaware

Thomas Richard Carper is an American politician and former military officer who served from 2001 to 2025 as a United States senator from Delaware. A member of the Democratic Party, Carper served from 1983 to 1993 in the United States House of Representatives and from 1993 to 2001 as the 71st governor of Delaware.

---

Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesian politician, 5th president of Indonesia

Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004 and the eighth vice president under President Abdurrahman Wahid from 1999 to 2001. She is Indonesia's first and only female president to date, and also the first president born in Indonesia after its independence.

---

23/01/1946

Arnoldo Alemán, Nicaraguan lawyer and politician, President of Nicaragua

José Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo is a Nicaraguan politician who served as the president of Nicaragua from 10 January 1997 to 10 January 2002. His tenure as president was marked by corruption and attempts to centralize power.

---

Boris Berezovsky, Russian-English businessman and mathematician (died 2013)

Boris Abramovich Berezovsky, also known as Platon Elenin, was a Russian business oligarch, government official, engineer and mathematician. He was a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and held the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.

---

Marie Charlotte Fayanga, Central African politician and diplomat (died 2021)

Marie Charlotte Fayanga was a Central African diplomat and politician.

---

23/01/1945

Mike Harris, Canadian politician, 22nd Premier of Ontario

Michael Deane Harris is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario from 1990 to 2002. Taking the PC Party to the right, he is noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his government's program of fiscally conservative policies.

---

23/01/1944

Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (died 2019)

Rutger Oelsen Hauer was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century.

---

23/01/1943

Gary Burton, American musician

Gary Burton is an American retired jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be heralded as an innovator, and his sound and technique are widely imitated. He is also known for pioneering jazz fusion and popularizing the duet format in jazz, as well as being a major figure in music education from his 30 years teaching at the Berklee College of Music.

---

Gil Gerard, American actor (died 2025)

Gilbert Cyril Gerard was an American actor, whose roles include that of Captain William "Buck" Rogers in the 1979–1981 television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

---

Özhan Canaydın, Turkish basketball player and businessman (died 2010)

Özhan Canaydın was a businessman, basketballer and former chairman of the Turkish sports club Galatasaray.

---

23/01/1942

Laurie Mayne, Australian cricketer

Lawrence Charles Mayne is a former Australian cricketer who played in six Test matches between 1965 and 1970.

---

Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, Mongolian politician, 1st President of Mongolia (died 2025)

Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat was a Mongolian politician who served as the first president of Mongolia from 1990 to 1997. He was the first Mongolian president to be elected by direct popular vote.

---

Herman Tjeenk Willink, Dutch judge and politician

Herman Diederik Tjeenk Willink is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and jurist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 21 December 2012.

---

23/01/1941

Jock R. Anderson, Australian economist and academic

Jock Robert Anderson is an Australian agricultural economist, specialising in agricultural development economics, risk and decision theory, and international rural development policy. Born in Monto, Queensland, he studied at the University of Queensland, attaining bachelor's and master's degrees in agricultural science. After graduation, Anderson joined the Faculty of Agricultural Economics at the University of New England. At New England, he focused on research in farm management, risk, and uncertainty and received a doctor of philosophy in economics in 1970. In 1977, Anderson co-authored a book, Agricultural Decision Analysis, which has served as an influential source on risk and decision analysis for agricultural economics researchers and the agricultural industry.

---

João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (died 2014)

João Ubaldo Ribeiro was a Brazilian writer, journalist, screenwriter and professor. Several of his books and short stories have been turned into movies and TV series in Brazil. Ribeiro was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, being elected in 1994. At the time of his death many considered him to be Brazil's greatest contemporary novelist.

---

23/01/1940

Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (died 2015)

Alan Stuart Cheuse was an American writer, editor, professor of literature, and radio commentator. A longtime NPR book commentator, he was also the author of five novels, five collections of short stories and novellas, a memoir and a collection of travel essays. In addition, Cheuse was a regular contributor to All Things Considered. His short fiction appeared in respected publications like The New Yorker, Ploughshares, The Antioch Review, Prairie Schooner, among other places. He taught in the Writing Program at George Mason University and the Community of Writers.

---

Joe Dowell, American singer (died 2016)

Joe Dowell was an American pop singer.

---

Areski Belkacem, French singer, musician, and composer (died 2026)

Areski Belkacem, also known simply as Areski, was a French singer, multi-instrumentalist, comedian, and composer.

---

23/01/1939

Ed Roberts, American activist (died 1995)

Edward Verne Roberts was an American activist. He was the first wheelchair user to attend the University of California, Berkeley. He was a pioneering leader of the disability rights movement.

---

23/01/1938

Giant Baba, Japanese wrestler and promoter, founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (died 1999)

Shohei Baba , best known by his ring name Giant Baba , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota and Yoshihiro Momota, the sons of his mentor Rikidōzan. For the first 10 years of its existence, Baba was the top star of All Japan, while also serving as the booker, promoter, head trainer and president of the promotion from its inception in 1972 till his death in 1999. Baba was also responsible for recruiting much of the talent for All Japan, and was the public face of the promotion for much of his lifetime.

---

Georg Baselitz, German painter and sculptor (died 2026)

Georg Baselitz was a German-Austrian painter, sculptor and graphic artist. In the 1960s he became well known for his figurative, expressive paintings. In 1969 he began painting his subjects upside down in an effort to overcome the representational, content-driven character of his earlier work and stress the artifice of painting, which would become a defining feature of his later work. Drawing from myriad influences, including Socialist Realism, Mannerism, and African sculpture, he developed his own, distinct artistic language.

---

23/01/1936

Jerry Kramer, American football player and sportscaster

Gerald Louis Kramer is an American former professional football player, author and sports commentator. He played 11 years as a guard and kicker with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

---

Cécile Ousset, French pianist

Cécile Ousset is a French pianist.

---

23/01/1935

Mike Agostini, Trinidadian sprinter (died 2016)

Michael George Raymond Agostini was a Trinidadian track and field athlete. He was the first athlete from his country to win a gold medal at what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, when he won the 100 yards final in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on 31 July 1954.

---

Tom Reamy, American author (died 1977)

Tom Reamy was an American science fiction and fantasy author, and a key figure in 1960s and 1970s science fiction fandom. He died at age 42 prior to the publication of his first novel; his work is primarily dark fantasy.

---

23/01/1934

Lou Antonio, American actor and director

Louis Antonio is an American actor and TV director best known for performing in the films Cool Hand Luke and America America. He also starred in two short-lived TV series, Dog and Cat, and Makin' It.

---

Pierre Bourgault, Canadian journalist and politician (died 2003)

Pierre Bourgault was a politician and essayist, as well as an actor and journalist, from Quebec, Canada. He is most famous as a public speaker who advocated sovereignty for Quebec from Canada.

---

23/01/1933

Bill Hayden, Australian politician, 21st Governor General of Australia (died 2023)

William George Hayden was an Australian politician who served as the 21st governor-general of Australia from 1989 to 1996. He was Leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1977 to 1983, and served as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1983 to 1988 under Bob Hawke and as Treasurer of Australia in 1975 under Gough Whitlam.

---

Chita Rivera, American actress, singer, and dancer (died 2024)

Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero, known professionally as Chita Rivera, was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Rivera received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, and a Drama League Award. She was the first Latina and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. She won the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2018.

---

23/01/1932

George Allen, English footballer (died 2016)

George Henry Allen was an English footballer who played more than 250 games in the Football League.

---

Larri Thomas, American actress and dancer (died 2013)

Larri Thomas was an American actress and dancer. She began her career by participating in a string of television commercials and eventually signed a contract with NBC. The network put on Thomas' shows, including Peter Gunn and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. She became one of the six Goldwyn Girls selected by Samuel Goldwyn to go on tour for the movie Guys and Dolls, in which she makes a brief appearance. Thomas was also in the movies Mary Poppins and Island of Love. She was the stand-in for Julie Andrews in some flying sequences in Mary Poppins and her stand-in in The Sound of Music. Thomas also appeared in movies and television with Dean Martin. In her later years, she appeared in Dynasty, Cheers, and Coach.

---

23/01/1930

Tanya Savicheva, Russian child diarist (died 1944)

Tatyana Nikolayevna Savicheva, commonly referred to as Tanya Savicheva, was a Soviet Russian teenage diarist who wrote a diary for several months, whilst enduring the siege of Leningrad during World War II. During the siege, Savicheva wrote the successive and unfortunate deaths of each member of her family from starvation and diseases such as dysentery and dystrophy over four and a half months in her diary, with the last family member to die being her mother, Mariya, on 13 May 1942. After her mother died, Tanya Savicheva wrote her final diary entry: The Savichevs are dead. Everyone is dead. Only Tanya is left. Savicheva was evacuated from the besieged Leningrad and sent to live in an orphanage, she eventually died from tuberculosis on 1 July 1944, at the age of 14, in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.

---

Mervyn Rose, Australian tennis player (died 2017)

Mervyn Gordon Rose AM was an Australian male tennis player who won seven Grand Slam titles.

---

Derek Walcott, Saint Lucian poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2017)

Sir Derek Alton Walcott was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright.

---

Teresa Żylis-Gara, Polish operatic soprano (died 2021)

Teresa Żylis-Gara was a Polish operatic soprano who enjoyed a major international career from the 1950s through the 1990s.

---

23/01/1929

Myron Cope, American journalist and sportscaster (died 2008)

Myron Sidney Kopelman, known professionally as Myron Cope, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster. He is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers".

---

Filaret Denysenko, Ukrainian religious leader, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (died 2026)

Patriarch Filaret was a Ukrainian religious leader, serving as the primate and Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church–Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC–KP). The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which he left in 2019, viewed him as the Honorary Patriarch emeritus, while the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople recognized him as a former Metropolitan of Kyiv.

---

Phillip Knightley, Australian journalist, author, and critic (died 2016)

Phillip George Knightley was an Australian journalist, critic, and non-fiction author. He became a visiting Professor of Journalism at the University of Lincoln, England, and was a media commentator on the intelligence services and propaganda.

---

John Polanyi, German-Canadian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

John Charles Polanyi is a German-born Canadian chemist. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research in chemical kinetics.

---

23/01/1928

Jeanne Moreau, French actress (died 2017)

Jeanne Moreau was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française.

---

23/01/1927

Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American businessman and explorer (died 1994)

Lars-Eric Lindblad was a Swedish-American entrepreneur and explorer, who pioneered tourism to many remote and exotic parts of the world. He led the first tourist expedition to Antarctica in 1966 in a chartered Argentine navy ship, and for many years operated his own vessel, the MS Lindblad Explorer, in the region. Observers point to the Lindblad Explorer’s 1969 expeditionary cruise to Antarctica as the forerunner to today's sea-based tourism there.

---

Fred Williams, Australian painter (died 1982)

Frederick Ronald Williams was an Australian painter and printmaker. He was one of Australia's most important artists, and one of the twentieth century's major landscapists. He had more than seventy solo exhibitions during his career in Australian galleries, as well as the exhibition Fred Williams - Landscapes of a Continent at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1977.

---

23/01/1926

Bal Thackeray, Indian journalist, cartoonist, and politician (died 2012)

Bal Keshav Thackeray, also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian cartoonist and politician who founded the original Shiv Sena, a right-wing Marathi regionalist and a Hindu nationalist party, active mainly in the state of Maharashtra.

---

23/01/1925

Marty Paich, American pianist, composer, producer, and conductor (died 1995)

Martin Louis Paich was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kenton, Al Hirt, Art Pepper, Buddy Rich, Ray Brown, Shorty Rogers, Pete Rugolo, Ray Charles and Mel Tormé. His long association with Tormé included one of the singer's earliest albums, Mel Tormé with the Marty Paich Dek-Tette. Over the next three decades he worked with pop singers such as Andy Williams and Jack Jones and for film and television. He is the father of David Paich, a founding member of the rock band Toto.

---

23/01/1924

Frank Lautenberg, American soldier, businessman, and politician (died 2013)

Frank Raleigh Lautenberg was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was originally from Paterson, New Jersey.

---

23/01/1923

Horace Ashenfelter, American runner (died 2018)

Horace Ashenfelter III was an American athlete. He competed in international athletics from 1947 to 1956. He won fifteen AAU nationals titles and three collegiate national titles during his career.

---

Walter M. Miller, Jr., American soldier and author (died 1996)

Walter Michael Miller Jr. was an American science fiction writer. He wrote short stories that became a celebrated fix-up novel, A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959). His only novel published in his lifetime, it won the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

---

23/01/1922

Leon Golub, American painter and academic (died 2004)

Leon Golub was an American painter. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he also studied, receiving his BA at the University of Chicago in 1942, and his BFA and MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1949 and 1950, respectively.

---

Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (died 2016)

Thomas Lancelot Lewis was a New South Wales politician who served as the 33rd Premier of New South Wales from 1975 to 1976, and served as a minister in the cabinets of Sir Robert Askin and Sir Eric Willis. He became Premier following Askin's retirement from politics and held the position until he was replaced by Willis in a party vote. Lewis was first elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the Electoral district of Wollondilly for the Liberal Party in 1957, and served until his resignation in 1978.

---

23/01/1920

Gottfried Böhm, German architect (died 2021)

Gottfried Böhm was a German architect and sculptor. His reputation is based on creating highly sculptural buildings made of concrete, steel, and glass. Böhm's first independent building was the Cologne chapel "Madonna in the Rubble". The chapel was completed in 1949 where a medieval church once stood before it was destroyed during World War II. Böhm's most influential and recognized building is the Maria, Königin des Friedens pilgrimage church in Neviges.

---

Henry Eriksson, Swedish runner (died 2000)

Knut Henry "Krylbo" Eriksson was a Swedish middle-distance runner who specialized in the 1500 m event. In 1946 he finished second behind Lennart Strand, both at the national and European Championships. On 15 July 1947, at the national championships at Malmö, Eriksson and Strand had a very close 1500 m race. Strand won, equaling the world record at 3:43.0, and Eriksson finished second, setting his all-time personal best at 3:44.4. Eriksson beat Strand at the 1948 Swedish Championships and at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He retired the same year and returned to his work as a fireman.

---

Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (died 2010)

Walter Frederick Morrison was an American inventor and entrepreneur, who invented the Frisbee.

---

23/01/1919

Frances Bay, Canadian-American actress (died 2011)

Frances Evelyn Bay was a Canadian and American character actress and comedian. In a career that spanned 80 years, she acted in a variety of roles both in film and television. Bay was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2008.

---

Hans Hass, Austrian biologist and diver (died 2013)

Hans Hass was an Austrian biologist and underwater diving pioneer. He was known mainly for being among the first scientists to popularise coral reefs, stingrays, octopuses and sharks. He pioneered the making of documentaries filmed underwater and led the development of a type of rebreather. He is also known for his energon theory and his commitment to protecting the environment.

---

Ernie Kovacs, American actor and game show host (died 1962)

Ernest Edward Kovacs was an American comedian, actor, and writer.

---

Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (died 1996)

Robert Paisley was an English professional football manager and player who played as a wing-half. He spent almost 50 years with Liverpool and is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time. Reluctantly taking the job in 1974, he built on the foundations laid by his predecessor Bill Shankly and went on to become the most successful English manager in history. Paisley is the first of five managers to have won the European Cup three times. He is also one of five managers to have won the English top-flight championship as both a player and manager at the same club.

---

23/01/1918

Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1999)

Gertrude "Trudy" Belle Elion was an American biochemist and pharmacologist, who shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with George H. Hitchings and Sir James Black for their use of innovative methods of rational drug design for the development of new drugs. This new method focused on understanding the target of the drug rather than simply using trial-and-error. Her work led to the creation of the anti-retroviral drug AZT, which was the first drug widely used against AIDS. Her well known works also include the development of the first immunosuppressive drug, azathioprine, used to fight rejection in organ transplants, and the first successful antiviral drug, acyclovir (ACV), used in the treatment of herpes infection.

---

Charlie Kerins, Executed Irish Republican (died 1944)

Charlie Kerins was a physical force Irish Republican, and Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Kerins was one of six IRA men who were executed by the Irish State between September 1940 and December 1944. After spending two years on the run he was captured by the police in 1944. Following his subsequent trial and conviction for the 1942 murder of Garda Detective Sergeant Denis O'Brien, Kerins was hanged at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin.

---

Florence Rush, American social worker and theorist (died 2008)

Florence Rush was an American certified social worker, feminist theorist and organizer best known for introducing The Freudian Coverup in her presentation "The Sexual Abuse of Children: A Feminist Point of View", about childhood sexual abuse and incest, at the April 1971 New York Radical Feminists (NYRF) Rape Conference. Rush's paper at the time was the first challenge to Freudian theories of children as the seducers of adults rather than the victims of adults' sexual/power exploitation.

---

23/01/1916

David Douglas Duncan, American photographer and journalist (died 2018)

David Douglas Duncan was an American photojournalist, known for his dramatic combat photographs, as well as for his extensive domestic photography of Pablo Picasso and his wife Jacqueline.

---

Airey Neave, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (died 1979)

Lieutenant Colonel Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1953 until his assassination in 1979.

---

23/01/1915

Herma Bauma, Austrian javelin thrower and handball player (died 2003)

Hermine "Herma" Bauma was an Austrian athlete who competed mainly in the javelin. She also was famous for playing handball.

---

W. Arthur Lewis, Saint Lucian-Barbadian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1991)

Sir William Arthur Lewis was a Saint Lucian economist and the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton University. Lewis remains the only black person to have won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

---

Potter Stewart, American lawyer and judge (died 1985)

Potter Stewart was an American lawyer and judge who was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981. During his tenure, he made major contributions to criminal justice reform, civil rights, access to the courts, and Fourth Amendment jurisprudence.

---

23/01/1913

Jean-Michel Atlan, Algerian-French painter (died 1960)

Jean-Michel Atlan was a French artist.

---

Wally Parks, American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (died 2007)

Wallace Gordon Parks was an American writer. He was the founder, president, and chairman of the National Hot Rod Association, better known as NHRA. He was instrumental in establishing drag racing as a legitimate amateur and professional motorsport.

---

23/01/1912

Boris Pokrovsky, Russian director and manager (died 2009)

Boris Aleksandrovich Pokrovsky was a Soviet and Russian opera director and pedagogue, best known as the stage director of the Bolshoi Theatre between 1943 and 1982.

---

23/01/1910

Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (died 1953)

Jean Reinhardt, known by his Romani nickname Django, was a Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer who lived most of his life in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most significant exponents.

---

23/01/1907

Dan Duryea, American actor and singer (died 1968)

Dan Duryea was an American actor in film, stage, and television. Known for portraying villains, he had a long career in a variety of leading and secondary roles.

---

Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1981)

Hideki Yukawa was a Japanese theoretical physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1949 "for his prediction of the existence of mesons on the basis of theoretical work on nuclear forces."

---

23/01/1905

Erich Borchmeyer, German sprinter (died 2000)

Erich Borchmeyer was a German athlete, who competed mainly in the 100 metres.

---

23/01/1903

Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Minister of National Education of Colombia (died 1948)

Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala was a Colombian politician and statesman who was the leader of the Liberal Party. A nationalist, he served as the mayor of Bogotá from 1936–37, the national Education Minister from 1940–41, and the Labor Minister from 1943–44.

---

23/01/1901

Arthur Wirtz, American businessman (died 1983)

Arthur Michael Wirtz was an American entrepreneur. He was the founder of Wirtz Corporation, a holding company that owned Chicago Stadium, the Bismarck Hotel in Chicago, the Chicago Black Hawks, and the Chicago Bulls. He was the father of the late Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz, as well as the grandfather of the late Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, who died on July 25, 2023.

---

23/01/1900

William Ifor Jones, Welsh organist and conductor (died 1988)

William Ifor Jones was a Welsh conductor and organist. Born into a large coal-mining family and raised in Merthyr Tydfil, Jones studied at the Royal Academy of Music as a scholarship student in London from 1920 to 1925. He studied the organ with Sir Stanley Marchant at St. Paul's Cathedral, London; orchestral conducting with Ernest Read and with Sir Henry Wood, ; and harmony with Benjamin Dale. He was for a time organist at the Welsh Baptist Church in Castle Street, London, worked at the Royal Opera House, as a vocal coach at Covent Garden, assisted with the British National Opera Company in the role of prompter, and was the Assistant Choir Master at St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

---

23/01/1899

Glen Kidston, English racing driver and pilot (died 1931)

George Pearson Glen Kidston was a British motor racing driver and aviator who completed a record-breaking flight from Netheravon, Wiltshire to Cape Town, South Africa, in 1931. He was one of the "Bentley Boys".

---

23/01/1898

Georg Kulenkampff, German violinist (died 1948)

Alwin Georg Kulenkampff-Post (23 January 1898 – 4 October 1948) was a German virtuoso violinist. One of the most popular German concert violinists of the 1930s and 1940s, he was considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century.

---

Randolph Scott, American actor (died 1987)

George Randolph Scott was an American film actor, whose Hollywood career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in dramas, comedies, musicals, adventures, war, horror and fantasy films, and Westerns. Out of his more than 100 film appearances, more than 60 of them were Westerns.

---

Freda Utley, English scholar and author (died 1978)

Winifred Utley, commonly known as Freda Utley, was an English scholar, political activist and best-selling author. After visiting the Soviet Union in 1927 as a trade union activist, she joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1928. Later, married and living in Moscow, she quickly became disillusioned with communism. When her Russian husband, Arcadi Berdichevsky, was arrested in 1936, she escaped to England with her young son.

---

23/01/1897

Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian freedom fighter and politician (died 1945)

Subhas Chandra Bose was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan left a legacy vexed by authoritarianism, antisemitism, and military failure. The honorific Netaji was first applied to Bose in Germany in early 1942—by the Indian soldiers of the Indische Legion and by the German and Indian officials in the Special Bureau for India in Berlin. It is now used throughout India.

---

Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (died 2000)

Margarete "Grete" Schütte-Lihotzky was an Austrian architect and a communist activist in the Austrian resistance to Nazism. She is mostly remembered today for designing what is known as the Frankfurt kitchen.

---

Ieva Simonaitytė, Lithuanian author (died 1978)

Ieva Simonaitytė or Ewa Simoneit was a Lithuanian writer. She represented the culture of Lithuania Minor and Klaipėda Region, territories of German East Prussia with historically large, but dwindling, Lithuanian populations. She received critical acclaim for her novel Aukštujų Šimonių likimas.

---

William Stephenson, Canadian captain and spy (died 1989)

Sir William Samuel Stephenson was a Canadian soldier, fighter pilot, businessman and spymaster who served as the senior representative of British Security Coordination (BSC) for the Western Allies during World War II. He is best known by his wartime intelligence code name, Intrepid. Many people consider him to be one of the real-life inspirations for James Bond. Ian Fleming himself once wrote, "James Bond is a highly romanticised version of a true spy. The real thing is... William Stephenson."

---

23/01/1896

Alf Blair, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1944)

Alfred Lewis "Smacker" Blair was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach whose playing career ran from 1917 to 1930 with South Sydney. A skilled five-eighth, he made a single appearance for the Australian national team in 1924.

---

Alf Hall, English-South African cricketer (died 1964)

Alfred Ewart Hall was a South African cricketer who played in seven Tests from 1923 to 1931.

---

23/01/1894

Jyotirmoyee Devi, Indian author (died 1988)

Jyotirmoyee Devi (1894–1988) was an Indian writer in the early twentieth century. She wrote predominantly about women in the Rajasthan of her childhood and in what is now West Bengal at the time of Partition.

---

23/01/1889

Claribel Kendall, American mathematician (died 1965)

Claribel Kendall was an American mathematician.

---

23/01/1880

Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama, Mexican politician (died 1967)

Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama was a Mexican politician. He fought for Emiliano Zapata in the 1910–1917 Revolution and later served in Congress and in the cabinet of President Lázaro Cárdenas.

---

23/01/1878

Rutland Boughton, English composer (died 1960)

Rutland Boughton was an English composer who became well known in the early 20th century as a composer of opera and choral music. He was also an influential communist activist within the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB).

---

23/01/1876

Otto Diels, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1954)

Otto Paul Hermann Diels was a German chemist. His most notable work was done with Kurt Alder on the Diels–Alder reaction, a method for cyclohexene synthesis. The pair was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1950 for their work. Their method of synthesizing cyclic organic compounds proved valuable for the manufacture of synthetic rubber and plastic. He completed his education at the University of Berlin, where he later worked. Diels was employed at the University of Kiel when he completed his Nobel Prize-winning work, and remained there until he retired in 1945. Diels was married, with five children.

---

23/01/1872

Paul Langevin, French physicist and academic (died 1946)

Paul Langevin was a French physicist who developed Langevin dynamics and the Langevin equation. He was one of the founders of the Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes, an anti-fascist organization created after the 6 February 1934 far right riots. Being a public opponent of fascism in the 1930s resulted in his arrest and being held under house arrest by the Vichy government for most of World War II. Langevin was also president of the Human Rights League (LDH) from 1944 to 1946, having recently joined the French Communist Party.

---

Jože Plečnik, Slovenian architect, designed Plečnik Parliament (died 1957)

Jože Plečnik was a Slovenian architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge and the Slovenian National and University Library building, as well as the embankments along the Ljubljanica River, the Ljubljana Central Market buildings, the Ljubljana cemetery, parks, plazas. His architectural imprint on Ljubljana has been compared to the impact Antoni Gaudí had on Barcelona.

---

23/01/1862

David Hilbert, German mathematician and academic (died 1943)

David Hilbert was a German mathematician and philosopher of mathematics and one of the most influential mathematicians of all time.

---

Frank Shuman, American inventor and engineer (died 1918)

Frank Shuman was an American inventor, engineer and solar energy pioneer known for his work on solar engines, especially those that used solar energy to heat water that would produce steam.

---

23/01/1857

Andrija Mohorovičić, Croatian meteorologist and seismologist (died 1936)

Andrija Mohorovičić was a Croatian geophysicist and academic. He is best known for the eponymous Mohorovičić discontinuity and is considered one of the founders of modern seismology. He is also considered among the greatest Croatian natural scientists.

---

23/01/1855

John Browning, American weapons designer, founded the Browning Arms Company (died 1926)

John Moses Browning was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world. He made his first firearm at age 13 in his father's gun shop and was awarded the first of his 128 firearm patents on October 7, 1879, at the age of 24. He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 19th and 20th centuries and a pioneer of modern repeating, semi-automatic, and automatic firearms.

---

23/01/1853

John Marks Moore, American politician (died 1902)

John Marks Moore was an American attorney, Democratic politician from Texas, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, and the Secretary of State of Texas during the term of Lawrence Sullivan Ross.

---

23/01/1846

Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist and mathematician (died 1915)

Nikolay Alekseevich Umov was a Russian physicist and mathematician known for discovering the concept of Umov-Poynting vector and Umov effect.

---

23/01/1840

Ernst Abbe, German physicist and engineer (died 1905)

Ernst Karl Abbe, was a German businessman, optical engineer, physicist, and social reformer. Together with Otto Schott and Carl Zeiss, he developed numerous optical instruments. He was also a co-owner of Carl Zeiss AG, a German manufacturer of scientific microscopes, astronomical telescopes, planetariums, and other advanced optical systems.

---

23/01/1838

Marianne Cope, German-American nun and saint (died 1918)

Marianne Cope, OSF, also known as Marianne of Molokaʻi, was a German-born American member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Syracuse. She was founding director of St. Joseph's Hospital in the city, among the first general hospitals in the country. In 1883, she led a group of six other sisters to the Kingdom of Hawaii to care for lepers in Molokaʻi and aid in developing the kingdom's medical infrastructure. Despite direct contact with patients over many years, Cope did not contract the disease. In 2005, she was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI. She was canonized in 2012.

---

23/01/1833

Muthu Coomaraswamy, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (died 1879)

Sir Muthu Coomaraswamy was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, writer and member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon.

---

23/01/1832

Édouard Manet, French painter (died 1883)

Édouard Manet was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.

---

23/01/1828

Saigō Takamori, Japanese samurai (died 1877)

Saigō Takamori was a Japanese samurai and politician who was one of the most influential figures in Japanese history. He played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, which overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, and subsequently served in the new Meiji government. However, he later became disillusioned with the direction of the new regime and led the Satsuma Rebellion against it in 1877, in which he was killed.

---

23/01/1813

Camilla Collett, Norwegian novelist and activist (died 1895)

Jacobine Camilla Collett was a Norwegian writer, often referred to as the first Norwegian feminist. She was also the younger sister of Norwegian poet Henrik Wergeland, and is recognized as being one of the first contributors to realism in Norwegian literature. Her younger brother was Major General Joseph Frantz Oscar Wergeland. She became an honorary member of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights when the association was founded in 1884.

---

23/01/1809

Surendra Sai, Indian activist (died 1884)

Bira Surendra Sai was an Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter from what is now Odisha. He fought against the British rule in India after they dethroned the rulers of the Sambalpur State.

---

23/01/1799

Alois Negrelli, Tyrolean engineer and railroad pioneer active in the Austrian Empire (died 1858)

Nikolaus Alois Maria Vinzenz Negrelli, Ritter von Moldelbe was a Tyrolean civil engineer and railroad pioneer mostly active in parts of the Austrian Empire, Switzerland, Germany and Italy.

---

23/01/1786

Auguste de Montferrand, French-Russian architect, designed Saint Isaac's Cathedral and Alexander Column (died 1858)

Auguste de Montferrand was a French classicist architect who worked primarily in Russia. His two best known works are the Saint Isaac's Cathedral and the Alexander Column in Saint Petersburg.

---

23/01/1783

Stendhal, French novelist (died 1842)

Marie-Henri Beyle, better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a French writer. Best known for the novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme, he is highly regarded for the acute analysis of his characters' psychology and considered one of the early and foremost practitioners of realism. A self-proclaimed egotist, the neologism for the same characteristic in his characters was "Beylism".

---

23/01/1780

Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek general (died 1827)

Georgios Karaiskakis, born Georgios Karaiskos, was a Greek military commander and a leader of the Greek War of Independence.

---

23/01/1752

Muzio Clementi, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1832)

Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi was an Italian composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer who was mostly active in England.

---

23/01/1745

William Jessop, English engineer, built the Cromford Canal (died 1814)

William Jessop was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

---

23/01/1737

John Hancock, American general and politician, first Governor of Massachusetts (died 1793)

John Hancock was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving president of the Continental Congress, having served as the second president of the Second Continental Congress and the seventh president of the Congress of the Confederation. He was the first and third governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. His large and stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence led to John Hancock or Hancock becoming a colloquialism for a person's signature. He also signed the Articles of Confederation, and used his influence to ensure that Massachusetts ratified the United States Constitution in 1788.

---

23/01/1719

John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (died 1790)

John Landen was an English mathematician.

---

23/01/1622

Abraham Diepraam, Dutch painter (died 1670)

Abraham Diepraam, or Diepraem, was a Dutch Golden Age painter.

---

23/01/1585

Mary Ward, English Catholic Religious Sister (died 1645)

Mary Ward, IBVM CJ was an English Catholic religious sister whose activities led to the founding of the Congregation of Jesus and the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, better known as the Sisters of Loreto. There is now a network of around 200 Mary Ward schools worldwide. Ward was declared venerable by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 December 2009.

---

23/01/1514

Hai Rui, Chinese politician (died 1587)

Hai Rui, courtesy name Ru Xian (汝賢), art name Gang Feng (剛峰), was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Ming dynasty, remembered as a model of honesty and integrity in office.

---

23/01/1378

Louis III, Elector Palatine (died 1436)

Louis III, was an Elector Palatine of the Rhine from the house of Wittelsbach in 1410–1436.

---

23/01/1350

Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (died 1419)

Vincent Ferrer, OP was a Valencian Dominican friar who gained acclaim as a preacher, missionary and logician. After supporting Antipope Benedict XIII during the Western Schism, Ferrer travelled to preach across Western Europe and the British Isles. His preaching has been credited in some sources as converting 25,000 Jews to Catholicism. Other sources indicate that it involved support for coercive means, such as the forcible conversion of synagogues into churches. He was canonized in 1455.

---