Saturday, 12th July 2025 in Berlin

On this day, 241 notable people were born on 12th July — spanning from -100 to 2004. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

12/07/2004

Diabé Bolumbu, French footballer

Diabé Ousmane Cothy Bolumbu Sombo is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ligue 3 club Caen.

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12/07/2002

Nico Williams, Spanish footballer

Nicholas Williams Arthuer is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Spain national team. He is recognised for his speed and dribbling skills.

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12/07/2001

Kaylee McKeown, Australian swimmer

Kaylee Rochelle McKeown is an Australian swimmer and multiple Olympic gold medalist. She is widely considered the greatest backstroker of all time, holding a record 10 individual backstroke titles across the Olympic Games and World Aquatics Championships. She is the reigning Olympic champion in the 100 and 200 metres backstroke. She is the world record holder in the long course 50 metre backstroke, and the long course and short course 200 metre backstroke, and is the former world record holder in both the long course and short course 100 metre backstroke. She won gold in both the 100 metre and 200 metre backstroke at both the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. In 2023, she was named as the "Best Female Swimmer of the Year" by World Aquatics, after sweeping gold in all three events of backstroke at all three World Cup legs, held in Berlin, Athens and Budapest in October, 2023.

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12/07/2000

Vinícius Júnior, Brazilian footballer

Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior, commonly known as Vinícius Júnior or Vini Jr., is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazil national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is known for his pace, technique and dribbling ability.

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12/07/1998

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canadian basketball player

Shaivonte Aician Gilgeous-Alexander, also known by his initials SGA, is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a four-time NBA All-Star, a four-time All-NBA First Team member, and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to their first NBA championship since relocating from Seattle to Oklahoma City, becoming the 11th Canadian to win an NBA title.

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12/07/1997

Claire Chicha, French Korean singer-songwriter known by the stage name Spill Tab

Claire Chicha, known by her stage name Spill Tab, is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter. She sings in English and French. An alternative pop musician, she has been noted by music media outlets for her lo-fi vocals and sound.

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Jean-Kévin Duverne, French footballer

Jean-Kévin Duverne is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Belgian Pro League club Gent on loan from French club Nantes. Born in France, he plays for the Haiti national team.

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Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani-English activist, Nobel Prize laureate

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani female education activist, and producer of film and television. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, receiving the Peace Prize in 2014 at age 17, and is the second Pakistani and the only Pashtun to receive a Nobel Prize. Yousafzai is a human rights advocate for the education of women and children in her native district, Swat, where the Pakistani Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school. Her advocacy has grown into an international movement, and according to former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, she has become Pakistan's "most prominent citizen".

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12/07/1996

Moussa Dembélé, French footballer

Moussa Dembélé is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq.

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Jordan Romero, American mountaineer

Jordan Romero is an American mountaineer who was 13 years old when he reached the summit of Mount Everest. Romero was accompanied by his father, Paul Romero, his step-mother, Karen Lundgren, and three Sherpas, Ang Pasang Sherpa, Lama Dawa Sherpa, and Lama Karma Sherpa. The previous record for youngest to climb Everest was held by Ming Kipa of Nepal who was 15 years old when she reached the summit on May 22, 2003.

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12/07/1995

Evania Pelite, Australian rugby union player

Evania Faaea "Vani" Pelite is an Australian rugby union and rugby league player. She won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

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Luke Shaw, English footballer

Luke Paul Hoare Shaw is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back or centre-back for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.

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Moses Simon, Nigerian footballer

Moses Daddy-Ajala Simon is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward or left winger for Ligue 1 club Paris FC and the Nigeria national team.

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Jordyn Wieber, American gymnast

Jordyn Marie Wieber Brooks is an American former artistic gymnast and gymnastics coach. From April 2019–April 2026, she was the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team.

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12/07/1994

Kanako Momota, Japanese singer-songwriter

Kanako Momota is a Japanese singer and actress, represented by Stardust Promotion. She is best known as the leader of the girl group Momoiro Clover Z. She has also provided the Japanese dub for Shuri in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting from Black Panther (2018).

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12/07/1992

Bartosz Bereszyński, Polish footballer

Bartosz Bereszyński is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Serie B club Palermo and the Poland national team.

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Luke Berry, English footballer

Luke David Berry is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Charlton Athletic. He will become a free agent on 30 June 2026.

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12/07/1991

Salih Dursun, Turkish footballer

Salih Dursun is a Turkish footballer who plays as a right back and defensive midfielder for TFF 1. Lig club Sakaryaspor.

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James Rodríguez, Colombian footballer

James David Rodríguez Rubio is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for the Colombia national team, whom he captains. Regarded as one of the best Colombian players of all time, he has been praised for his technique, vision, and playmaking skills. He is often considered the successor to his compatriot Carlos Valderrama.

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Pablo Carreño Busta, Spanish tennis player

Pablo Carreño Busta is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 10 by the ATP, achieved on 11 September 2017. He has won seven singles titles on the ATP Tour, including a Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open, and achieved his best major results at the US Open, reaching the semifinals of the 2017 and 2020 editions. Representing Spain, Carreño Busta has won an Olympic bronze medal in men's singles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, defeating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the bronze match. He also was a member of the Spanish team that won the 2019 Davis Cup.

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12/07/1990

Bebé, Portuguese footballer

Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, commonly known as Bebé, is a professional footballer who plays as either a winger or attacking midfielder for Primera Federación – Group 2 club Ibiza. Born in Portugal, and a former Portuguese youth international at under-21 level, he represents the Cape Verde national team.

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Rachel Brosnahan, American actress

Rachel Elizabeth Brosnahan is an American actress. She rose to fame for her performance as Midge Maisel in the Amazon Prime Video period comedy series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2018 and two consecutive Golden Globe Awards in 2018 and 2019. She is also recognized for portraying Lois Lane in the DC Universe (DCU), a role she first played in the film Superman (2025).

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12/07/1989

Nick Palmieri, American ice hockey player

Nicholas Palmieri is an American former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the third-round of the 2007 NHL Draft.

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Phoebe Tonkin, Australian actress

Phoebe Jane Elizabeth Tonkin is an Australian actress. Her accolades include an AACTA Award, in addition to a nomination for a Logie Award.

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12/07/1988

Patrick Beverley, American basketball player

Patrick Beverley is an American professional basketball player for PAOK Thessaloniki of the Greek Basketball League. Originally from Chicago's West Side, Beverley played college basketball for the Arkansas Razorbacks. He spent the first five years of his pro career overseas, playing in Ukraine, Greece, and Russia. In January 2013, he signed with the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

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LeSean McCoy, American football player

LeSean Kamel McCoy, nicknamed "Shady", is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft. McCoy attended Bishop McDevitt High School from 2002 to 2006. In his senior year of high school, McCoy suffered a major ankle injury, which threatened his career. In his first year at Pittsburgh in 2007, he rushed for over 1,300 yards and recorded 14 touchdowns. In 2008, McCoy was selected as a second-team All-American. His 21 rushing touchdowns were third in the nation, only one behind the two leaders.

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Inbee Park, South Korean golfer

Inbee Park is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour. She has been the number one ranked player in the Women's World Golf Rankings for four separate runs: April 2013 to June 2014, October 2014 to February 2015, June 2015 to October 2015, and from April to July 2018.

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12/07/1987

Lisbeth Torfing, Danish politician

Lisbeth Heidemann Torfing is a Danish politician and Member of the Folketing. A member of the Red–Green Alliance, she has represented West Jutland since March 2026.

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12/07/1986

Didier Digard, French footballer

Didier Frédéric Thierry Digard is a French professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Le Havre. As a player, he was a defensive midfielder.

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Hannaliis Jaadla, Estonian footballer

Hannaliis Jaadla is an Estonian footballer who plays as a defender for English club Oxford United and for the Estonia national team. As well as playing for Tammeka Tartu and Flora Tallinn of the Naiste Meistriliiga, she previously turned out for Tottenham Hotspur in England.

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JP Pietersen, South African rugby player

Jon-Paul Roger "JP" Pietersen is a South African former rugby union player for the Sharks in the Currie Cup. He generally played fullback or wing, but occasionally he played at outside centre. He played in 69 tests for the Springboks.

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Simone Laudehr, German footballer

Simone Melanie Laudehr is a German former footballer who played as a central midfielder or winger.

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12/07/1985

Paulo Vitor Barreto, Brazilian footballer

Paulo Vitor de Souza Barreto, known as Barreto, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a striker.

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Gianluca Curci, Italian footballer

Gianluca Curci is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. A product of the Roma youth system, he made his professional debut for the club in 2004 and went on to play over 200 matches in Serie A for Roma, Siena, Sampdoria and Bologna. Curci also had spells abroad with German side Mainz 05 and in Sweden with AFC Eskilstuna and Hammarby IF.

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Keven Lacombe, Canadian cyclist

Keven Lacombe is a Canadian professional racing cyclist. He was also an ice hockey player for Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

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Ismael Londt, Surinamese-Dutch kickboxer

Ismael Londt is a Surinamese-Dutch kickboxer.

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12/07/1984

Gareth Gates, English singer-songwriter

Gareth Paul Gates is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show Pop Idol in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is also known for having a stutter, and has talked about his speech impediment publicly.

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Jonathan Lewis, American football player

Jonathan M. Lewis is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL draft. He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies.

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Natalie Martinez, American actress

Natalie Martinez is an American actress and model. She appeared in the 2008 film Death Race, several music videos between 2003 and 2011, and two short-lived telenovelas in 2006 and 2007. Martinez starred in the single season of the crime drama Detroit 1-8-7, had a recurring role for one season of CSI: NY, starred in one season of the drama series Kingdom, and appeared in the 2019 science fiction miniseries The I-Land. In 2021, Martinez began starring in the NBC drama series Ordinary Joe.

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Michael McGovern, Northern Irish footballer

Michael McGovern is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He has represented the Northern Ireland national team at international level and is currently goalkeeping coach at Scottish Championship club Queen's Park.

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Sami Zayn, Canadian professional wrestler

Rami Sebei is a Canadian professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since January 2013, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sami Zayn.

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12/07/1982

Antonio Cassano, Italian footballer

Antonio Cassano is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A talented and technically gifted player, he was usually deployed as a supporting forward, but could also play as an attacking midfielder, winger, or as a striker. Nicknamed Il Gioiello di Bari Vecchia, and Fantantonio, he was known for his short temper as much as his skill and ability on the pitch. Cassano won an Italian and Spanish league title each throughout his career as major honours.

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Jason Wright, American football player, businessman, and executive

Jason Gomillion Wright is an American business consultant and former professional football player. Wright attended Northwestern University in the early 2000s and played running back for the Wildcats while earning a degree in psychology. He played as a reserve running back and special teamer in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, and Arizona Cardinals. He additionally served as the NFLPA representative for the Cardinals during the 2011 NFL lockout before retiring.

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12/07/1981

Adrienne Camp, South African singer-songwriter

Adrienne “Adie” Camp is a South African singer and songwriter, who is known as the lead singer of the Christian pop-rock band the Benjamin Gate before the group disbanded in 2003. She briefly contributed to other artist's albums, namely her duet with rapper John Reuben featured on his album Professional Rapper and her background vocals on husband Jeremy Camp's albums Restored and Live Unplugged, after the Benjamin Gate disbanded.

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Pradeepan Raveendran, Sri Lankan director, producer, and screenwriter

Pradeepan Raveendran was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka on 12 July 1981. He is a self-taught photographer and filmmaker. The Pradeepan's first directorial debut was in 2009 with the short film A Mango Tree in the Front Yard. This film was an official selection at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009 and subsequently nominated for a Golden Bear. His second short film Shadows of Silence was completed in 2010. This film premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2010, as part of its ‘Director’s Fortnight’. His debut feature film Soundless Dance (2019) premiered at Atlanta International Film Festival.

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12/07/1980

Kristen Connolly, American actress

Kristen Connolly is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Dana Polk in the 2011 film The Cabin in the Woods, Christina Gallagher on the Netflix series House of Cards and Jamie Campbell on the CBS series Zoo.

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12/07/1979

Nikos Barlos, Greek basketball player

Nikolaos "Nikos" Barlos is a Greek retired professional basketball player and coach. During his playing career, at a height of 2.03 m tall, he played at both the small forward and power forward positions.

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Maya Kobayashi, Japanese journalist

Maya Kobayashi is a Japanese journalist.

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12/07/1978

Topher Grace, American actor

Christopher John "Topher" Grace, is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Eric Forman in the sitcom That '70s Show (1998–2005) and Eddie Brock / Venom in the film Spider-Man 3 (2007). He has also starred in the films Traffic (2000), Mona Lisa Smile (2003), Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004), In Good Company (2004), Valentine's Day (2010), and Predators (2010).

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Michelle Rodriguez, American actress

Mayte Michelle Rodríguez is an American actress. She began her career in 2000, playing a troubled boxer in the independent sports drama film Girlfight (2000), where she won the Independent Spirit Award and Gotham Award for Best Debut Performance. Rodriguez played Letty Ortiz in the Fast & Furious franchise and Rain Ocampo in the Resident Evil franchise. She has starred in the crime thriller S.W.A.T. (2003), James Cameron's science fiction epic Avatar (2009), and in the action film Battle: Los Angeles (2011).

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12/07/1977

Neil Harris, English footballer and manager

Neil Harris is an English professional football manager and former footballer who played as a striker. He is the manager of EFL League Two club Cambridge United.

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Steve Howey, American actor

Steven Michael Robert Howey is an American actor. He was previously best known for his roles as Van Montgomery on The WB/The CW sitcom television series Reba and Kevin Ball on the Showtime series Shameless. He is currently best known for his role as Captain Nick Wagner on the hit series High Potential. Howey has also appeared in the films Supercross, DOA: Dead or Alive, Bride Wars, Game Over, Man!, Day Shift and Something Borrowed.

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Brock Lesnar, American mixed martial artist and wrestler

Brock Edward Lesnar is an American professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Lesnar had two previous tenures with the company from 2000 to 2004 and 2012 to 2020. Lesnar is the only person to have won the primary heavyweight championships of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

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Francesca Lubiani, Italian tennis player

Francesca Lubiani is a former professional tennis player from Italy.

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Marco Silva, Portuguese football manager

Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva is a Portuguese football manager and former player who played as a right-back. He is the manager of Premier League club Fulham.

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12/07/1976

Dan Boyle, Canadian ice hockey player

Daniel Denis Boyle is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Undrafted, Boyle played in the NHL for the Florida Panthers; Tampa Bay Lightning, with which he won the Stanley Cup in 2004; San Jose Sharks; and New York Rangers.

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Anna Friel, English actress

Anna Louise Friel is an English actress. She first achieved fame as Beth Jordache in the British soap opera Brookside (1993–1995), later coming to wider prominence through her role as Charlotte "Chuck" Charles on Pushing Daisies (2007–2009), for which she received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. In 2017, she won the International Emmy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of the title character in the detective drama series Marcella (2016–2021). Her other accolades include a Drama Desk Award, an honorary degree, and a BAFTA nomination.

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Tracie Spencer, American singer-songwriter and actress

Tracie Monique Spencer is an American singer-songwriter. Spencer first came to attention in 1987, when the then 11-year-old won the junior vocalist competition on the television show Star Search. Spencer soon signed a contract with Capitol Records, at the time the youngest female artist to do so. She went on to gain attention for her R&B and pop singles "Symptoms of True Love" (1988), "This House" (1990), "Tender Kisses" (1991) and "It's All About You " (1999).

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12/07/1974

Sharon den Adel, Dutch singer-songwriter

Sharon Janny den Adel is a Dutch musician who is the lead vocalist of the symphonic metal band Within Temptation. She has been performing since age 14, and co-founded Within Temptation with partner Robert Westerholt in 1996. She was also elected to be the Dutch chairperson of the jury for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.

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Stelios Giannakopoulos, Greek footballer and manager

Stylianos Giannakopoulos, known mononymously as Stelios due to his long surname, is a Greek football manager and former player. During his playing career, Stelios was a winger or attacking midfielder and a well-known figure in Greek football, especially during his tenure at Bolton Wanderers and at UEFA Euro 2004, where Greece won.

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Gregory Shane Helms, American professional wrestler

Gregory Shane Helms is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract, and works as a producer for WWE programming. In WWE, Helms has wrestled as The Hurricane, Gregory Helms, and Hurricane Helms. He is also known for his time with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he wrestled as "Sugar" Shane Helms.

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12/07/1973

Christian Vieri, Italian footballer

Christian Vieri, commonly known as Bobo Vieri, is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning to Italy to pursue his professional career at a young age. He then spent the bulk of his career playing in the Serie A. In March 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations.

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12/07/1972

Jake Wood, English actor

Jake Dylan Wood is a British actor and podcaster from Westminster, known for his role as Max Branning in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He has also made guest appearances in series including Only Fools and Horses and Red Dwarf. In 2014, Wood competed on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing alongside professional dancer Janette Manrara. In the United States, he is known as the voice of the GEICO gecko in a series of television adverts for the American insurance company GEICO. In 2018, he began co-hosting Pound for Pound, a boxing podcast with Spencer Oliver.

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12/07/1971

Andriy Kovalenco, Ukrainian-Spanish rugby player

Andriy Kovalenco is a Ukrainian-born Spanish rugby union player. He plays as a fly-half.

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Loni Love, American comedian, actress, and talk show host

Loni Love is an American comedian, television host, actress, author, and former electrical engineer. While working as an electrical engineer in the early 2000s, she switched to music engineering, until later launching a career in stand-up comedy. She was the runner-up on Star Search 2003 and was named among the "Top 10 Comics to Watch" in both Variety and Comedy Central in 2009. She was one of the co-hosts of the syndicated daytime talk show The Real, which ran from July 15, 2013, and ended on June 3, 2022.

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Kristi Yamaguchi, American figure skater

Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi is an American former competitive figure skater, author and philanthropist. A former competitor in women's singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion, and the 1992 U.S. champion. In 1992, she became the first Asian American to win a gold medal in a Winter Olympic competition. As a pairs skater with Rudy Galindo, she is the 1988 World Junior champion and a two-time national champion.

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12/07/1970

Aure Atika, Portuguese-French actress, director, and screenwriter

Aure Atika is a French actress, writer, and director.

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Lee Byung-hun, South Korean actor, singer, and dancer

Lee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor. He has received acclaim for his work in a wide range of genres, most notably Joint Security Area (2000); A Bittersweet Life (2005); The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008); I Saw the Devil (2010); Masquerade (2012); and the television series All In (2003), Iris (2009), Mr. Sunshine (2018), and Our Blues (2022). His other notable South Korean films include Inside Men (2015), Master (2016), Ashfall (2019), The Man Standing Next (2020), and No Other Choice (2025), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe.

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Susan Tyler Witten, American politician

Susan Tyler Witten is an American politician who has served as a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives since January 2023. She represents Kentucky's 31st House district which comprises part of Jefferson County.

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12/07/1969

Chantal Jouanno, French politician, French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports

Chantal Jouanno is a French politician who served as Minister of Sports in the government of Prime Minister François Fillon from 14 November 2010 and 26 September 2011, succeeding to Roselyne Bachelot and being replaced by David Douillet, before taking office as senator on 1 October 2011. She was a close ally of president Sarkozy and former president of ADEME.

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Alan Mullally, English cricketer and sportscaster

Alan Mullally is an English former first-class cricketer, who played Tests and ODIs. Mullally grew up in Western Australia, and played for the Australian Under-19 side against their West Indian counterparts in 1987/88.

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Anne-Sophie Pic, French chef

Anne-Sophie Pic is a French chef best known for regaining the third Michelin star for her restaurant Maison Pic, in southeast France. She is the fourth female chef to win three Michelin stars, and was named the Best Female Chef by The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2011. She currently holds 10 Michelin stars, the most for any female chef.

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Jesse Pintado, Mexican-American guitarist (died 2006)

Jesus "Jesse" Ernesto Pintado Andrade was a Mexican-American guitarist best known as a guitarist for the British grindcore band Napalm Death.

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12/07/1968

Catherine Plewinski, French swimmer

Catherine Plewinski is a former freestyle and butterfly swimmer from France, who won two bronze medals at the Summer Olympics. She first did so in Seoul at the 1988 Summer Olympics in the 100 m freestyle. Four years later she captured the bronze in the 100 m butterfly at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

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12/07/1967

Richard Herring, English comedian and screenwriter

Richard Keith Herring is an English stand-up comedian and writer whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring. He is described by The British Theatre Guide as "one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy".

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Mac McCaughan, American singer and guitarist

Ralph Lee "Mac" McCaughan is an American musician and record label owner, based in North Carolina. His main musical projects have been Superchunk since 1989, and Portastatic since the early 1990s. In 1989 he founded the independent record label Merge Records with Superchunk bandmate Laura Ballance.

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John Petrucci, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist and a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced all of Dream Theater's albums from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999), often co-producing alongside drummer Mike Portnoy before Portnoy's departure between 2010 and 2023, and has been the sole producer since A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011). Petrucci has also released two solo albums: Suspended Animation (2005) and Terminal Velocity (2020).

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Bruny Surin, Canadian sprinter

Bruny Surin is a Canadian former track and field athlete, who was the winner of a gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 2008 he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame as part of the 1996 Summer Olympics 4 × 100 relay team. In the 100 metres, he has broken the 10-second barrier multiple times and holds a personal record of 9.84 seconds.

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12/07/1966

Jeff Bucknum, American race car driver

Jeff Bucknum is an American race car driver. Jeff is the son of Formula One and Championship Car racer Ronnie Bucknum.

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Annabel Croft, English tennis player and sportscaster

Annabel Nicola Croft is a British former professional tennis player and current radio and television presenter. As a tennis player she won the WTA Tour event Virginia Slims of San Diego and represented Great Britain in the Fed Cup and the Wightman Cup.

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Taiji, Japanese bass player and songwriter (died 2011)

Taiji Sawada , also known mononymously as Taiji, was a Japanese musician and songwriter. He is best known as bassist of the rock band X from 1986 to 1992. The band rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, credited as founders of the Japanese visual kei movement. After leaving X in January 1992, Taiji went on to work with many other recording acts, including Loudness and D.T.R.

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12/07/1965

Sanjay Manjrekar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster

Sanjay Vijay Manjrekar is an Indian cricket commentator and former player. He played international cricket for India from 1987 until 1996 as a right-handed middle order batsman. He was a part of the Indian squads which won the 1990–91 Asia Cup and 1995 Asia Cup.

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Robin Wilson, American singer and guitarist

Robin Wilson is an American musician most notable for his work as the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band Gin Blossoms.

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12/07/1964

Gaby Roslin, English television host and actress

Gaby Roslin is an English television and radio presenter who rose to fame co-presenting The Big Breakfast on Channel 4 between 1992 and 1996. Roslin also presented the Children in Need charity telethons on the BBC between 1995 and 2004.

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12/07/1962

Julio César Chávez, Mexican boxer

Julio César Chávez González, also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was listed by The Ring magazine as the world's best boxer, pound for pound, from 1990 to 1993. During his career he held the WBC super featherweight title from 1984 to 1987, the WBA and WBC lightweight titles between 1987 and 1989, the WBC light welterweight title twice between 1989 and 1996, and the IBF light welterweight title from 1990 to 1991. He also held the Ring magazine and lineal lightweight titles from 1988 to 1989, and the lineal light welterweight title twice between 1990 and 1996. Chávez was named Fighter of the Year for 1987 and 1990 by the Boxing Writers Association of America and The Ring respectively.

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Luc De Vos, Belgian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2014)

Luc De Vos was a Belgian musician and writer, best known as the lead singer of the Dutch-language alternative rock formation Gorki and as a guest in multiple television shows. He also voiced VW bus in the Flemish version of the Disney movie Cars. He died of acute organ failure on the 29 November 2014 in his working apartment in Ghent.

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Joanna Shields, American-English businesswoman

Joanna Shields, Baroness Shields, is an American–British technology executive and member of the House of Lords. She was made a Life Peer in 2014 and served as the United Kingdom’s first Minister for Internet Safety and Security under Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May. Her work has focused on online safety, particularly the protection of children from digital and emerging artificial intelligence harms, including through her role in establishing the WePROTECT Global Alliance. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Precognition and serves on a number of charitable boards.

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Dean Wilkins, English footballer and manager

Dean Mark Wilkins is an English football coach and former professional player. He is currently player transition coach at EFL Championship club Southampton.

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12/07/1961

Heikko Glöde, German footballer and manager

Heikko Glöde is a retired German football manager and former player.

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Shiva Rajkumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer

Shiva Rajkumar is an Indian actor, film producer and television presenter who predominantly works in Kannada cinema. In a career spanning over three decades, he has worked in over 125 films in Kannada and has received several awards, including four Karnataka State Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards South and six South Indian International Movie Awards.

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12/07/1959

David Brown, Australian meteorologist

David Brown is a former Australian meteorologist and TV weather presenter.

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Tupou VI, King of Tonga

Tupou VI is King of Tonga since 2012. He served as Prime Minister of Tonga from 2000 to 2006 during the reign of his father King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV.

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Karl J. Friston, English psychiatrist and neuroscientist

Karl John Friston is a British neuroscientist and theoretician at University College London. He is an authority on brain imaging and theoretical neuroscience, especially the use of physics-inspired statistical methods to model neuroimaging data and other random dynamical systems. Friston is a key architect of the free energy principle and active inference. In imaging neuroscience he is best known for statistical parametric mapping and dynamic causal modelling. Friston also acts as a scientific advisor to numerous groups in industry.

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Charlie Murphy, American actor and comedian (died 2017)

Charles Quinton Murphy was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was best known as a writer and cast member of the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series Chappelle's Show, and a co-star of the sitcom Black Jesus. He was the older brother of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy.

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12/07/1958

J. D. Hayworth, American politician and radio host

John David Hayworth Jr. is an American television host and former politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2007 from Arizona's 5th Congressional District. He later hosted Newsmax Prime, a television news/talk prime time show that aired weekdays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Newsmax TV. Previously, he hosted a conservative talk radio program on KFYI in Phoenix until January 2010, when he resigned due to his run for the U.S. Senate.

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Tonya Lee Williams, English-Canadian actress and producer

Tonya Williams is a Canadian actress, producer, and activist. Sometimes credited as Tonya Lee Williams, she is best known for her role as Dr. Olivia Barber Winters on the American daytime drama The Young and the Restless from 1990 to 2005 and 2007 to 2012. She is the founder and executive director of Reelworld Film Festival.

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12/07/1957

Catherine Connolly, Irish politician, 10th President of Ireland

Catherine Martina Ann Connolly is an Irish politician serving as the president of Ireland since 11 November 2025. She had been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency from 2016 until her election as president in 2025.

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Rick Husband, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (died 2003)

Rick Douglas Husband was an American astronaut and fighter pilot. He traveled into space twice: as pilot of STS-96 and commander of STS-107. Husband and the rest of the crew of STS-107 were killed when Columbia disintegrated during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. He is also a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

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Dave Semenko, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (died 2017)

David John Semenko was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, scout, and colour commentator. During his National Hockey League (NHL) career, Semenko played for the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers and Toronto Maple Leafs as an enforcer. During his tenure with Edmonton, he notably protected Wayne Gretzky as an "on-ice bodyguard" during Gretzky's early career. Semenko won two Stanley Cups with the Oilers in 1984 and 1985. He was also the last player to score a goal in the World Hockey Association (WHA) before it folded and merged with the NHL.

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12/07/1956

Mel Harris, American actress

Mel Harris is an American actress best known for her role as Hope Murdoch Steadman in the ABC drama series Thirtysomething (1987–1991), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination in 1990.

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Pate Mustajärvi, Finnish rock singer (died 2025)

Pauli Antero "Pate" Mustajärvi was a Finnish rock singer. He was known as the vocalist, frontman and until his death in late 2025 the only original member of Popeda as well as a solo artist. In his birthplace of Tampere he was known as "Ikurin turbiini".

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Sandi Patty, American singer and pianist

Sandra Faye "Sandi" Patty is an American Christian music singer, known for her wide soprano vocal range and expressive flexibility.

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Mario Soto, Dominican baseball player

Mario Melvin Soto is a Dominican former pitcher, mostly as a starter, for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 through 1988. He currently works in the Reds' front office.

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12/07/1955

Timothy Garton Ash, English historian and author

Timothy Garton Ash is a British historian, author and commentator. He is Professor of European Studies emeritus at the University of Oxford and a Senior Fellow of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Most of his work has been concerned with the contemporary history of Europe, with a special focus on Central and Eastern Europe. In 1989, George Kennan described him as a 'historian of the present'.

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Jimmy LaFave, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2017)

Jimmy LaFave was an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. After moving to Stillwater, Oklahoma, LaFave became a supporter of Woody Guthrie. He later became an Advisory Board member and regular performer at the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival.

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12/07/1954

Eric Adams, American singer-songwriter

Louis Marullo, known professionally as Eric Adams, is an American singer who has been the frontman of the heavy metal band Manowar since its inception in 1980. Previously, he sang for the group Looks, which also included childhood friend and future Manowar bassist Joey DeMaio. His stage name is a combination of the names of his sons, Eric and Adam.

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Robert Carl, American pianist and composer

Robert Carl is an American composer who currently resides in Hartford, Connecticut. He was chair of the composition program at the Hartt School, University of Hartford.

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Wolfgang Dremmler, German footballer and coach

Wolfgang Dremmler is a German former footballer who played as a midfielder.

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12/07/1952

Voja Antonić, Serbian computer scientist and journalist, designed the Galaksija computer

Vojislav "Voja" Antonić is a Serbian inventor, journalist, and writer. He is known for creating a build-it-yourself home computer Galaksija and originating a related "Build your own computer Galaksija" initiative with Dejan Ristanović. This initiative encouraged and enlightened thousands of computer enthusiasts during the 1980s in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Antonić has donated many of his personal creations to the public domain. He was also a magazine editor and contributed to a number of radio shows.

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Irina Bokova, Bulgarian politician, Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Irina Georgieva Bokova is a Bulgarian politician and a former Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017). During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria, she served, among others, two terms as a member of the National parliament, and deputy minister of foreign affairs and minister of foreign affairs ad interim under Prime Minister Zhan Videnov. She also served as Bulgaria's ambassador to France and to Monaco, and was Bulgaria's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. Bokova was also the personal representative of Bulgaria's president to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (2005–2009).

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Philip Taylor Kramer, American bass player (died 1995)

Philip Taylor Kramer was an American bass guitar player for the rock group Iron Butterfly and associated groups between 1974 and 1980. He later became a computer engineering executive and inventor. He disappeared in February 1995 and was found dead in May 1999.

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12/07/1951

Joan Bauer, American author

Joan Baehler Bauer is an American writer of young adult literature currently residing with her husband Evan Bauer in Brooklyn. Bauer was born in River Forest, Illinois. They are the parents of one daughter, Jean. Before becoming a famous author Joan spent years working for McGraw-Hill and the Chicago Tribune. She also did some work in advertising, marketing, and screenwriting.

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Brian Grazer, American screenwriter and producer, founded Imagine Entertainment

Brian Thomas Grazer is an American film and television producer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1985 with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion. Grazer was personally nominated for four Academy Awards for Splash (1984), Apollo 13 (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), and Frost/Nixon (2008). His films and television series have been nominated for 47 Academy Awards and 217 Emmy Awards.

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Cheryl Ladd, American actress

Cheryl Ladd is an American actress, singer, and author best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the ABC television series Charlie's Angels, whose cast she joined in its second season in 1977 to replace Farrah Fawcett-Majors. Ladd remained on the show until its cancellation in 1981. Her film roles include Purple Hearts (1984), Millennium (1989), Lisa (1990), Poison Ivy (1992), Permanent Midnight (1998), and Unforgettable (2017).

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Piotr Pustelnik, Polish mountaineer

Piotr Pustelnik is a Polish alpine and high-altitude climber. He is the 20th man to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders. He is also a doctor of chemistry and researcher at the Łódź University of Technology.

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Jamey Sheridan, American actor

James Patrick Sheridan is an American actor known for playing a wide range of roles in theater, film, and television. He is known for Randall Flagg in The Stand (1994), Captain James Deakins on Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001–2006), and Robert Queen on Arrow (2012–2019).

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12/07/1950

Eric Carr, American drummer and songwriter (died 1991)

Paul Charles Caravello, better known as Eric Carr, was an American musician. He was the drummer for the rock band Kiss from 1980 until his death in 1991. Caravello was selected as the new Kiss drummer after Peter Criss departed. He created the stage name "Eric Carr" and designed his on-stage Fox persona. He remained a member of Kiss until his death from heart cancer in 1991.

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Gilles Meloche, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Gilles Emile Meloche is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach, scout and former player. Meloche played as a goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks, California Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Minnesota North Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins. He is currently a special assignment scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Until 2013 he was the team's longtime goaltending coach, during which time the team won three Stanley Cups. Meloche was born in Montreal, Quebec.

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12/07/1949

Simon Fox, English drummer (died 2024)

Simon Andrew David Fox was an English rock drummer, who played in different rock bands during the 1970s and the 1980s, most notably the progressive rock group Be-Bop Deluxe.

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Rick Hendrick, American businessman, founded Hendrick Motorsports

Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III is an American businessman. He is best known as the owner of the NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports. He is also a co-owner of JR Motorsports and founder of the Hendrick Automotive Group, the largest privately held dealership group in the United States.

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12/07/1948

Ben Burtt, American director, screenwriter, and sound designer

Benjamin Burtt Jr. is an American sound designer, film director, film editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), WALL-E (2008), and Star Trek (2009).

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Walter Egan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Walter Egan is an American rock musician, best known for his 1978 gold status hit single "Magnet and Steel" from his second album release, Not Shy, produced by Egan, Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut. The song reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 18 on the Easy Listening chart. In Canada it reached No. 9. Overseas, it peaked at No. 32 on the Australian Singles Chart, Kent Music Report.

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Elias Khoury, Lebanese intellectual, playwright and novelist (died 2024)

Elias Khoury was a Lebanese novelist and advocate of the Palestinian cause. His novels and literary criticism have been translated into several languages. In 2000, he won the Prize of Palestine for his book Gate of the Sun, and he won the Al Owais Award for fiction writing in 2007. Khoury also wrote three plays and two screenplays.

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Richard Simmons, American fitness trainer and actor (died 2024)

Milton Teagle "Richard" Simmons was an American fitness instructor and television personality. He was a promoter of weight-loss programs, most prominently through his television show, The Richard Simmons Show and later the Sweatin' to the Oldies line of aerobics videos.

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12/07/1947

Gareth Edwards, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster

Sir Gareth Owen Edwards is a Welsh former rugby union player who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey".

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Carl Lundgren, American artist and illustrator

Carl Lundgren is an American artist and illustrator, primarily known for his 1960s-era rock posters and fantasy art.

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Richard C. McCarty, American psychologist and academic

Richard C. McCarty is a professor of psychology and the former provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to serving as provost, he was dean of Vanderbilt's College of Arts and Science.

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12/07/1946

Sian Barbara Allen, American television actress (died 2025)

Sian Barbara Allen was an American actress who mainly appeared on television throughout the 1970s. A native of Reading, Pennsylvania, Allen studied at the Pasadena Playhouse before appearing in her first screen role on the series O'Hara, U.S. Treasury in 1971. She went on to appear in numerous television series in the ensuing years, including recurring appearances on The Waltons, Gunsmoke, and Ironside.

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12/07/1945

Butch Hancock, American country-folk singer-songwriter and musician

Butch Hancock is an American country recording artist and songwriter. He is a member of The Flatlanders along with Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, but he has principally performed solo.

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12/07/1944

Simon Blackburn, English philosopher and academic

Simon Walter Blackburn is an English philosopher known for his work in metaethics, where he defends quasi-realism, and in the philosophy of language. More recently, he has gained a large general audience from his efforts to popularise philosophy. He has appeared in multiple episodes of the documentary series Closer to Truth. During his long career, he has taught at Oxford University, Cambridge University, and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

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Delia Ephron, American author, playwright, and screenwriter

Delia Ephron is an American writer and film producer.

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12/07/1943

Christine McVie, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (died 2022)

Christine Anne McVie was an English musician. She was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists and songwriters of the rock band Fleetwood Mac.

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Paul Silas, American basketball player and coach (died 2022)

Paul Theron Silas was an American professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he was a two-time NBA All-Star and earned five selections to the NBA All-Defensive Team, including twice on the first team. He won three NBA championships: two with the Boston Celtics and one with the Seattle SuperSonics. Silas is the leader in most rebounds per game with 12.1 in Suns franchise history.

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12/07/1942

Swamp Dogg, American R&B singer-songwriter and musician

Jerry Williams Jr., generally credited under the pseudonym Swamp Dogg after 1970, is an American country soul and R&B singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. Williams has been described as "one of the great cult figures of 20th century American music."

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Roy Palmer, English cricketer and umpire

Roy Palmer is a former cricketer who had a relatively short first-class career as a player with Somerset from 1965 to 1970 and a much longer career as a first-class umpire. He also officiated in two Test matches in 1992 and 1993 and in eight One Day International games between 1983 and 1995.

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Billy Smith, Australian rugby league footballer and coach

William John Smith is an Australian former rugby league footballer. He was the leading halfback in Australian rugby league during the late 1960s, and a keystone of the latter part of the St. George Dragons' eleven consecutive premiership victories between 1956 and 1966. He represented Australia in eighteen Tests and eight World Cup games between 1964 and 1970. He captained Australia in a World Cup game against Great Britain in 1970.

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Steve Young, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2016)

Steve Young was an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist, known for his song "Seven Bridges Road". He was a pioneer of the country rock, Americana, and alternative country sounds, and he was also a vital force behind the outlaw movement.

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12/07/1941

Benny Parsons, American race car driver and sportscaster (died 2007)

Benjamin Stewart Parsons was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, and was a 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee. He was the older brother of former NASCAR driver, car owner, and broadcaster Phil Parsons of Phil Parsons Racing.

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12/07/1939

Phillip Adams, Australian journalist and producer

Phillip Andrew Hedley Adams is an Australian humanist, social commentator, former broadcaster, public intellectual, and farmer. He hosted Late Night Live, an Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) program on Radio National from 1991 to 2024.

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Bill Cooper, American football player

Bill Cooper, nicknamed "Cannonball", is an American former professional football player who was a fullback and linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Muskingum Fighting Muskies and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

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12/07/1938

Ron Fairly, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2019)

Ronald Ray Fairly was an American professional baseball player and television sports presenter. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and right fielder from 1958 to 1978, most prominently as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, with whom he was a member of three World Series winning teams. Fairly was also a two-time All-Star.

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Wieger Mensonides, Dutch swimmer

Wieger Emile Mensonides is a former Dutch swimmer, who won the bronze medal in the 200 m breaststroke at the 1960 Summer Olympics. For forty years he was the only Dutch male swimmer to have won an Olympic medal. Pieter van den Hoogenband followed in his footsteps at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

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Eiko Ishioka, Japanese art director and graphic designer (died 2012)

Eiko Ishioka was a Japanese art director, costume designer, and graphic designer known for her work in stage, screen, advertising, and print media.

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12/07/1937

Bill Cosby, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter

William Henry Cosby Jr. is an American former comedian, actor, and media personality. Often deemed a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was well known in the United States for his stand-up comedy routines and television career before achieving global recognition for his portrayal of Cliff Huxtable in the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). He was also prolific in advertising for decades and was the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees throughout his career, many of which were revoked after dozens of allegations of sexual assault were made against him and his 2018 conviction for aggravated indecent assault.

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Mickey Edwards, American lawyer and politician

Marvin Henry "Mickey" Edwards is an American politician who was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Oklahoma's 5th congressional district from 1977 to 1993.

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Lionel Jospin, French civil servant and politician, 165th Prime Minister of France (died 2026)

Lionel Robert Jospin was a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.

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Robert McFarlane, American colonel and diplomat, 13th United States National Security Advisor (died 2022)

Robert Carl "Bud" McFarlane was an American Marine Corps officer who served as National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan from 1983 to 1985. Within the Reagan administration, McFarlane was a leading architect of the Strategic Defense Initiative, a project intended to defend the US from Soviet ballistic missile attacks. He resigned as National Security Adviser in late 1985 because of disagreements with other administration figures but remained involved in negotiations with Iran and with Hezbollah.

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Guy Woolfenden, English composer and conductor (died 2016)

Guy Anthony Woolfenden was an English composer and conductor. He was head of music at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon for 37 years, making music an integral part of over 150 productions there. He completed scores for the full canon of Shakespeare plays.

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12/07/1936

Jan Němec, Czech director and screenwriter (died 2016)

Jan Němec was a Czech filmmaker whose most important work dates from the 1960s. Film historian Peter Hames has described him as the "enfant terrible of the Czech New Wave."

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Frank Ryan, American football player and mathematician (died 2024)

Francis Beall Ryan was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams (1958–1961), Cleveland Browns (1962–1968), and Washington Redskins (1969–1970). He played college football for the Rice Owls. A three-time Pro Bowl selection with Cleveland, Ryan led the Browns to their most recent National Football League title in 1964. He was also a mathematician, serving as a faculty member at Case Western Reserve University from 1967 to 1974.

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12/07/1935

Satoshi Ōmura, Japanese biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Satoshi Ōmura is a Japanese biochemist. He is known for the discovery and development of hundreds of pharmaceuticals originally occurring in microorganisms. In 2015 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Tu Youyou and with William C. Campbell for their role in the discovery of the world's first endectocide, ivermectin, a safe and highly effective microfilaricide. It is believed that the large molecular size of ivermectin prevents it from crossing the blood/aqueous humour barrier, and renders the drug an important treatment of helminthically-derived blindness.

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12/07/1934

Van Cliburn, American pianist and composer (died 2013)

Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. was an American pianist. At the age of 23, Cliburn achieved worldwide recognition when in 1958 he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

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12/07/1933

Victor Poor, American engineer, developed the Datapoint 2200 (died 2012)

Victor "Vic" Poor was an American engineer and computer pioneer. At Computer Terminal Corporation, he co-created the architecture that was ultimately implemented in the first successful computer microprocessor, the Intel 8008. Subsequently, Computer Terminal Corporation created the first personal computer, the Datapoint 2200 programmable terminal.

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Donald E. Westlake, American author and screenwriter (died 2008)

Donald Edwin Westlake was an American writer with more than one hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into science fiction and other genres. Westlake created two professional criminal characters who each starred in a long-running series: the relentless, hardboiled Parker, and John Dortmunder, who featured in a more humorous series.

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12/07/1932

Monte Hellman, American director and producer (died 2021)

Monte Hellman was an American film director, producer, writer, and editor. Hellman began his career as an editor's apprentice at ABC TV, and made his directorial debut with the horror film Beast from Haunted Cave (1959), produced by Gene Corman, Roger Corman's brother.

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Otis Davis, American sprinter (died 2024)

Otis Crandall Davis was an American athlete, winner of two gold medals for record-breaking performances in the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He set a new world record of 44.9 seconds in the 400 m and became the first person to break the 45-second barrier.

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12/07/1931

Eric Ives, English historian and academic (died 2012)

Eric William Ives was a British historian who was an expert on the Tudor period, and a university administrator. He was emeritus Professor of English History at the University of Birmingham.

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Geeto Mongol, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (died 2013)

Newton Tattrie was a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Geeto Mongol.

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Giuseppe Malandrino, Italian Roman Catholic prelate (died 2025)

Giuseppe Malandrino was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate.

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12/07/1930

Gordon Pinsent, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2023)

Gordon Edward Pinsent was a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He was known for his roles in numerous productions, including Away from Her, The Rowdyman, John and the Missus, A Gift to Last, Due South, The Red Green Show, and Quentin Durgens, M.P. He was the voice of King Babar in the Babar the Elephant television and film productions from 1989 to 2015.

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Guy Ligier, French race car driver and team owner (died 2015)

Guy Camille Ligier was a French racing driver and team owner. He maintained many varied and successful careers over the course of his life, including rugby player, butcher, racing driver and Formula One team owner.

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12/07/1928

Alastair Burnet, English journalist (died 2012)

Sir James William Alexander Burnet, known as Alastair Burnet, was a British journalist and broadcaster, who had a career working in news and current affairs programmes, including a long career with Independent Television News (ITN) as chief presenter of the flagship News at Ten; Sir Robin Day described Burnet as "the booster rocket that put ITN into orbit".

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Elias James Corey, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Elias James Corey is an American organic chemist. In 1990, he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his development of the theory and methodology of organic synthesis", specifically retrosynthetic analysis.

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Imero Fiorentino, American lighting designer (died 2013)

Imero (Immie) Fiorentino was an American lighting designer, considered one of the most respected pioneers and leaders in the American entertainment industry. Beginning his career as a lighting designer in the Golden Age of Television, he designed productions for such celebrated series as Omnibus, U.S. Steel Hour, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse and Kraft Television Theatre. Fiorentino's expertise was often called upon by industry professionals throughout the world to consult on the planning and development of major productions, exhibits, museums and architectural projects; from the Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention and numerous United States presidential election debates, major concert tours and television specials to the environmental lighting for Epcot’s World Showcase at Walt Disney World. His consulting work on major corporate events with clients included: Anheuser-Busch, Michelin, Electrolux, American Express and Xerox.

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12/07/1927

Françoys Bernier, Canadian pianist, conductor, and educator (died 1993)

Françoys Joseph Arthur Maurice Bernier was a Canadian pianist, conductor, radio producer, arts administrator, and music educator. He served as the music director of the Montreal Festivals from 1956 to 1960 and was an active conductor and a producer for CBC Radio during the 1950s and early 1960s. He was the General Director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec from 1960 to 1966 and then the orchestra's Music Director from 1966 to 1968. He was also active as a teacher of conducting at a number of universities, notably serving as the first director of the Music Department at the University of Ottawa.

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Conte Candoli, American trumpet player (died 2001)

Secondo "Conte" Candoli was an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast. He played in the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie, and in Doc Severinsen's NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He played with Gerry Mulligan, and on Frank Sinatra's TV specials. He also recorded with Supersax, a Charlie Parker tribute band that consisted of a saxophone quintet, the rhythm section, and either a trumpet or trombone.

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Jack Harshman, American baseball player (died 2013)

John Elvin Harshman was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians between 1948 and 1960. He batted and threw left-handed.

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Harley Hotchkiss, Canadian businessman (died 2011)

Harley Norman Hotchkiss was a Canadian business and community leader who was best known for his contributions to health and sports development in Canada. He was part of the consortium that brought the Atlanta Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL) to Calgary in 1980, and remained a part-owner of the Calgary Flames until shortly before his death. For much of that time, he was the team's governor, and hence the public face of the ownership group. He served as chairman of the board of the NHL between 1995 and 2007, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2006.

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12/07/1925

Albert Lance, Australian-French tenor (died 2013)

Albert Lance was an Australian tenor, also holding French citizenship. He was Australia's principal tenor during the 1950s and later enjoyed a highly successful career in France.

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Roger Smith, American businessman (died 2007)

Roger Bonham Smith was the chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation from 1981 to 1990, and is widely known as the main subject of Michael Moore's 1989 documentary film Roger & Me.

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12/07/1924

Faidon Matthaiou, Greek basketball player and coach (died 2011)

Faidon Matthaiou, was a Greek professional basketball player and coach. He was a center at the start of his career, and at the end of his career, he also played as a point guard. He wore the number 1 jersey throughout his career. He represented Greece twice at the Summer Olympic Games. As a rower at the 1948 Summer Olympics, and as a basketball player at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

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Michel d'Ornano, French politician (died 1991)

Michel d'Ornano was a French politician.

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12/07/1923

James E. Gunn, American science fiction author (died 2020)

James Edwin Gunn was an American science fiction writer, editor, scholar, and anthologist. His work as an editor of anthologies includes the six-volume Road to Science Fiction series. He won the Hugo Award for "Best Related Work" in 1983 for a book about author Isaac Asimov, and he won or was nominated for several other awards for his non-fiction works in the field of science fiction studies. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made him its 24th Grand Master in 2007, and he was inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2015. His novel The Immortals was adapted into a 1970–71 TV series starring Christopher George.

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12/07/1922

Mark Hatfield, American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Oregon (died 2011)

Mark Odom Hatfield was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A moderate Republican, he served eight years as the 29th governor of Oregon, followed by 30 years as one of its United States senators, including time as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. A native Oregonian, he served in the United States Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II after graduating from Willamette University. After the war he earned a graduate degree from Stanford University before returning to Oregon and Willamette as a professor.

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12/07/1920

Pierre Berton, Canadian journalist and author (died 2004)

Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton was a Canadian historian, writer, journalist and broadcaster. Berton wrote 50 best-selling books, mainly about Canadiana, Canadian history and popular culture. He also wrote critiques of mainstream religion, anthologies, children's books and historical works for youth. He was a reporter and war correspondent, an editor at Maclean's Magazine and The Toronto Star and, for 39 years, a panelist on Front Page Challenge. He was a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, and won many honours and awards.

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Bob Fillion, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (died 2015)

Joseph Louis Robert Edgar Fillion was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played seven seasons for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1943 and 1950. He was a member of two Stanley Cup-winning teams during his career with Montreal; in 1944 and 1946. He also spent time with the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL and the Sherbrooke Saints of the Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL). He died on August 13, 2015. At the time of his death, Fillion was the last surviving member of the Canadiens' 1944 Stanley Cup team.

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Paul Gonsalves, American saxophonist (died 1974)

Paul Gonsalves was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", a performance credited with revitalizing Ellington's waning career in the 1950s.

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Randolph Quirk, Manx linguist and academic (died 2017)

Charles Randolph Quirk, Baron Quirk was a British linguist and politician. He was the Quain Professor of English language and literature at University College London from 1968 to 1981. He sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords.

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Beah Richards, American actress (died 2000)

Beulah Elizabeth Richardson, known professionally as Beah Richards and Bea Richards, was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She was also a poet, playwright, author and activist.

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12/07/1917

Luigi Gorrini, Italian soldier and pilot (died 2014)

Luigi Gorrini, MOVM, was an Italian World War II fighter pilot in the Regia Aeronautica and in the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana. During the conflict, he flew with the Corpo Aereo Italiano during the Battle of Britain, fought over Libya and Tunisia, and was involved in the defence of the Italian mainland. Gorrini is believed to have shot down 19 Allied planes, and damaged another 9, of several types: Bristol Beaufighter, Bristol Blenheim, Curtiss P-40, Spitfire, P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt, B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator. He piloted the biplane Fiat C.R.42 and monoplanes Macchi C.202 and C.205 Veltro. With the Veltro he shot down 14 Allied planes and damaged six more. At the time of his death, he was the only surviving fighter pilot awarded the Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare.

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Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Indian statesman (died 2006)

Satyendra Narayan Sinha was an Indian politician and statesman, participant in the Indian independence movement, a leading light of Jaya Prakash Narayan's ‘complete revolution’ movement during the Emergency and a former Chief Minister of Bihar. Affectionately called Chhote Saheb, he was also a seven-time Member of Parliament from the Aurangabad constituency, a three-term Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, and a Member of the Bihar Legislative Council once. Regarded to be one of India's most influential regional people of the time, his reputation was synonymous with being a strict disciplinarian and tough taskmaster.

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Andrew Wyeth, American artist (died 2009)

Andrew Newell Wyeth was an American visual artist and one of the best-known American artists of the middle 20th century. Though he considered himself to be an "abstractionist," Wyeth was primarily a realist painter who worked in a regionalist style, often painting the land and people of his hometown in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and his summer home in Cushing, Maine.

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12/07/1916

Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Ukrainian-Russian soldier and sniper (died 1974)

Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko was a Soviet sniper in the Red Army during World War II. She is the deadliest female sniper, one of the deadliest snipers in history, with 309 confirmed kills. She served in the Red Army during the siege of Odessa and the siege of Sevastopol, during the early stages of the fighting on the Eastern Front.

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12/07/1914

Mohammad Moin, Iranian linguist and lexicographer (died 1971)

Mohammad Moin was an Iranian scholar of Persian literature and Iranian studies.

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12/07/1913

Willis Lamb, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2008)

Willis Eugene Lamb Jr. was an American physicist who was able to precisely determine a surprising shift in electron energies in a hydrogen atom, known as the Lamb shift. For this work, Lamb shared the 1955 Nobel Prize in Physics with Polykarp Kusch. He was a professor at the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences.

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12/07/1911

Evald Mikson, Estonian footballer (died 1993)

Evald Mikson was an Estonian athlete and police officer. A multi-sport athlete, he played basketball and football and was a goalkeeper for the Estonia national football team, winning seven caps between 1934 and 1938. During the 1941–1944 Nazi German occupation of Estonia, he has been accused of being a collaborator with Germany during his service in the police force of Estonian Self-Administration and of committing war crimes against Jews. He later emigrated to Iceland, where he became heavily involved in sports and is credited as one of the pioneers in introducing basketball to the nation.

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12/07/1909

Joe DeRita, American actor (died 1993)

Joseph Wardell, known professionally as Joe DeRita, was an American actor and comedian, who is best known for his stint as a member of The Three Stooges in the persona of Curly Joe DeRita.

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Motoichi Kumagai, Japanese photographer and illustrator (died 2010)

Motoichi Kumagai was a Japanese photographer and illustrator of books for children, known for his portrayal of rural and school life. He has illustrated numerous children's books, books containing his photography, and other works. His works have won prizes, beginning with a photography prize from the Mainichi Shimbun in 1955.

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Fritz Leonhardt, German engineer, designed Fernsehturm Stuttgart (died 1999)

Fritz Leonhardt was a German structural engineer who made major contributions to 20th-century bridge engineering, especially in the development of cable-stayed bridges. His book Bridges: Aesthetics and Design is well known throughout the bridge engineering community.

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Herbert Zim, American naturalist, author, and educator (died 1994)

Herbert Spencer Zim was an American naturalist, author, editor and educator best known as the founder (1945) and editor-in-chief of the Golden Guides series of nature books.

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12/07/1908

Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (died 2002)

Milton Berle was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and television. As the host of NBC's Texaco Star Theatre (1948–1953), he was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television" during the first Golden Age of Television. He was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in both radio and TV.

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Alain Cuny, French actor (died 1994)

René Xavier Marie Alain Cuny was a French actor of stage and screen. He was closely linked with the works of Paul Claudel and Antonin Artaud, and for his performances for the Théâtre national populaire and Odéon-Théâtre de France.

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Paul Runyan, American golfer and sportscaster (died 2002)

Paul Scott Runyan was an American professional golfer. Among the world's best players in the mid-1930s, he won two PGA Championships and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Runyan was also a golf instructor.

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12/07/1907

Weary Dunlop, Australian colonel and surgeon (died 1993)

Colonel Sir Ernest Edward "Weary" Dunlop, was an Australian surgeon who was renowned for his leadership while being held prisoner by the Japanese during the Second World War.

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12/07/1905

Prince John of the United Kingdom, Youngest son of George V and Mary of Teck (died 1919)

Prince John of the United Kingdom was the fifth son and youngest of the six children of King George V and Queen Mary. At the time of his birth, his father was heir apparent to John's grandfather Edward VII. In 1910, John's father acceded to the throne upon Edward VII's death, and John became fifth in the line of succession to the British throne.

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12/07/1904

Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1973)

Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old and wrote in a variety of styles, including surrealist poems, historical epics, political manifestos, a prose autobiography, and passionate love poems such as the ones in his collection Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (1924).

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12/07/1902

Günther Anders, German philosopher and journalist (died 1992)

Günther Anders was a German-born philosopher, journalist and critical theorist.

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Vic Armbruster, Australian rugby league footballer (died 1984)

Louis Victor Armbruster was an Australian rugby league footballer for New South Wales, Queensland and Australia. He is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century. Standing 6 feet 1 inches tall (1.85m) and weighing 191 lbs (86 kg), Armbruster primarily played in the Second-row, but he could also play Lock.

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12/07/1900

Marcel Paul, French communist politician and Holocaust survivor (died 1982)

Marcel Paul was a French trade unionist and communist politician. He was also a Nazi concentration camp survivor and later served as a member of the French parliament.

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12/07/1895

Kirsten Flagstad, Norwegian soprano (died 1962)

Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad was a Norwegian opera singer, who was the outstanding Wagnerian soprano of her era. Her triumphant debut in New York on 2 February 1935 is one of the legends of opera. Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the longstanding General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera said, "I have given America two great gifts — Caruso and Flagstad."

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Buckminster Fuller, American architect and engineer, designed the Montreal Biosphère (died 1983)

Richard Buckminster Fuller Jr. was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more than 30 books and coining or popularizing such terms as "Spaceship Earth", "Dymaxion", "ephemeralization", "synergetics", and "tensegrity".

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Oscar Hammerstein II, American director, producer, and songwriter (died 1960)

Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Many of his songs are standard repertoire for vocalists and jazz musicians. He co-wrote 850 songs.

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12/07/1892

Bruno Schulz, Ukrainian-Polish author and painter (died 1942)

Bruno Schulz was a Polish Jewish writer, artist, literary critic and art teacher. He is regarded as one of the great Polish-language prose stylists of the 20th century. In 1938, he was awarded the Polish Academy of Literature's prestigious Golden Laurel award. Several of Schulz's works were lost in the Holocaust, including short stories from the early 1940s and his final, unfinished novel The Messiah. Schulz was shot and killed by a Gestapo officer in 1942 while walking back home toward Drohobycz Ghetto with a loaf of bread.

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12/07/1888

Zygmunt Janiszewski, Polish mathematician and academic (died 1920)

Zygmunt Janiszewski was a Polish mathematician.

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12/07/1886

Jean Hersholt, Danish-American actor and director (died 1956)

Jean Pierre Carl Buron, known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is most famous for starring on the CBS radio series Dr. Christian from 1937–1954, reprising the role in a film series from 1939-1941. He also co-starred with Shirley Temple in the film Heidi (1937). When asked how to pronounce his name, he told The Literary Digest, "in English her'sholt; in Danish, hairs'hult." From 1924 to 1955, he had 140 motion picture credits: 75 silent film and 65 "talkies"; he directed four.

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12/07/1884

Bob Diry, Austrian-born wrestler and boxer (died 1935)

Robert "Bob" Diry was an Austrian middleweight world champion 1908 in wrestling. In 1910, he trained in Jiu-Jitsu under T.Tobari of the Tenshin-Shin-Yo-ryu and Kodokan Judo at the Vienna Athletics Club which helped him win a lightweight wrestling title. After his migration to America he tried boxing, making him versed in all 3 areas common to modern MMA. He was defeated by George Ashe (boxer) in 1913 in a knockout. Bob would continue wrestling in the US and coached at the New York Athletics club around the years of 1930.

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Louis B. Mayer, Russian-born American film producer, co-founded Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (died 1957)

Louis Burt Mayer was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industry's most prestigious movie studio, accumulating the largest concentration of leading writers, directors, and stars in Hollywood.

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Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (died 1920)

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterised by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and figures — works that were not received well during his lifetime, but later became much sought after. Modigliani was born and spent his youth in Italy, where he studied the art of antiquity and the Renaissance. In 1906, he moved to Paris, where he came into contact with such artists as Pablo Picasso and Constantin Brâncuși. By 1912, Modigliani was exhibiting highly stylised sculptures with Cubists of the Section d'Or group at the Salon d'Automne.

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12/07/1881

Natalia Goncharova, Russian theatrical costume and set designer, painter and illustrator (died 1962)

Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designer, writer, illustrator, and set designer. Goncharova's lifelong partner was fellow Russian avant-garde artist Mikhail Larionov. She was a founding member of both the Jack of Diamonds (1909–1911), Moscow's first radical independent exhibiting group, the more radical Donkey's Tail (1912–1913), and with Larionov invented Rayonism (1912–1914). She was also a member of the German-based art movement Der Blaue Reiter. Born in Russia, she moved to Paris in 1921 and lived there until her death.

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12/07/1880

Tod Browning, American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1962)

Tod Browning was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of various genres between 1915 and 1939, but was primarily known for horror films. Some film writers have referred to Browning as "the Edgar Allan Poe of cinema."

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12/07/1879

Margherita Piazzola Beloch, Italian mathematician (died 1976)

Margherita Piazzola Beloch was an Italian mathematician who worked in algebraic geometry, algebraic topology and photogrammetry.

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Han Yong-un, Korean poet (died 1944)

Han Yong-un was a twentieth century Korean Buddhist reformer, poet, and independence activist against colonial rule. This name was his religious name, given by his meditation instructor in 1905, and Manhae (만해) was his art name; his birth name was Han Yu-cheon.

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12/07/1878

Peeter Põld, Estonian scientist and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Education (died 1930)

Peeter Siegfried Nikolaus Põld was an Estonian pedagogy specialist, school director, and politician, and the first Estonian Minister of Education. He was born in Puru, Kreis Wierland, Governorate of Estonia. As the curator of the University of Tartu (1918–1925), he oversaw the university's transition to instruction in Estonian in the newly independent country.

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12/07/1876

Max Jacob, French poet, painter, and critic (died 1944)

Max Jacob was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic.

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12/07/1872

Emil Hácha, Czech lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Czechoslovakia (died 1945)

Emil Dominik Josef Hácha was a Czech lawyer, serving as the president of Czechoslovakia from November 1938 to March 1939. In March 1939, after the breakup of Czechoslovakia, Hácha was the nominal president of the newly proclaimed German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

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12/07/1870

Louis II, Prince of Monaco (died 1949)

Louis II was Prince of Monaco from 26 June 1922 to 9 May 1949.

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12/07/1868

Stefan George, German poet and translator (died 1933)

Stefan Anton George was a German symbolist poet and a translator of Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Hesiod, and Charles Baudelaire. He is also known for his role as leader of the highly influential literary circle called the George-Kreis and for founding the literary magazine Blätter für die Kunst.

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12/07/1863

Albert Calmette, French physician, bacteriologist, and immunologist (died 1933)

Léon Charles Albert Calmette ForMemRS was a French physician, bacteriologist and immunologist, and an important officer of the Pasteur Institute. He co-discovered the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, an attenuated form of Mycobacterium bovis used in the BCG vaccine against tuberculosis. He also developed the first antivenom for snake venom, the Calmette's serum.

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Paul Drude, German physicist and academic (died 1906)

Paul Karl Ludwig Drude was a German physicist specializing in optics. He is known for the Drude model.

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12/07/1861

Anton Arensky, Russian pianist, composer, and educator (died 1906)

Anton Stepanovich Arensky was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, pianist, conductor and professor of music. He is known especially for his chamber music, songs and piano works, and for a style often associated with the lyricism of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

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12/07/1857

George E. Ohr, American potter (died 1918)

George Edgar Ohr was an American ceramic artist and the self-proclaimed "Mad Potter of Biloxi" in Mississippi. In recognition of his innovative experimentation with modern clay forms from 1880 to 1910, some consider him a precursor to the American Abstract-Expressionism movement.

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12/07/1855

Ned Hanlan, Canadian rower, academic, and businessman (died 1908)

Edward "Ned" Hanlan was a Canadian professional sculler, hotelier, and alderman from Toronto, Ontario. He was the world sculling champion from 1880 to 1884. According to Rowing Canada Aviron, Hanlan is "widely regarded as Canada’s first individual sporting hero."

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12/07/1854

George Eastman, American businessman, founded Eastman Kodak (died 1933)

George Eastman was an American innovator and entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and helped to bring the photographic use of roll film into the mainstream. After a decade of experiments in photography, he patented and sold a roll film camera, making amateur photography accessible to the general public for the first time. Working as the treasurer and later president of Kodak, he oversaw the expansion of the company and the film industry.

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12/07/1852

Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 19th President of Argentina (died 1933)

Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Yrigoyen was an Argentine politician of the Radical Civic Union who served as President of Argentina from 1916 to 1922 and again from 1928 until his overthrow in 1930. He was the first president elected democratically by means of the secret ballot and mandatory male suffrage established by the Sáenz Peña Law of 1912. His activism was the prime impetus behind the passage of that law in Argentina.

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12/07/1850

Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist and academic (died 1912)

Otto Karl Friedrich Schoetensack was a German industrialist and later professor of anthropology, having retired from the chemical firm which he had founded. During a 1908 archeological dig, he oversaw the worker Daniel Hartmann who found the lower jaw of a hominid, the oldest human fossil then known, which Schoetensack later described formally as Homo heidelbergensis.

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12/07/1849

William Osler, Canadian physician and author (died 1919)

Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first residency program for specialty training of physicians. He has frequently been described as the Father of Modern Medicine and one of the "greatest diagnosticians ever to wield a stethoscope". In addition to being a physician he was a bibliophile, historian, author, and renowned practical joker. He was passionate about medical libraries and medical history, having founded the History of Medicine Society, at the Royal Society of Medicine, London. He was also instrumental in founding the Medical Library Association of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Association of Medical Librarians along with three other people, including Margaret Charlton, the medical librarian of his alma mater, McGill University. He left his own large history of medicine library to McGill, where it became the Osler Library.

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12/07/1824

Eugène Boudin, French painter (died 1898)

Eugène Louis Boudin was one of the first French landscape painters to paint outdoors. Boudin was a marine painter, and expert in the rendering of all that goes upon the sea and along its shores. His pastels, summary and economic, garnered the splendid eulogy of Baudelaire; and Corot called him the "King of the skies".

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12/07/1821

D. H. Hill, American general and academic (died 1889)

Daniel Harvey Hill, commonly known as D. H. Hill, was a Confederate general who commanded infantry in the eastern and western theaters of the American Civil War.

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12/07/1817

Henry David Thoreau, American essayist, poet, and philosopher (died 1862)

Henry David Thoreau was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience", an argument in favor of citizen disobedience against an unjust state.

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Alvin Saunders, Territorial Governor and Senator from Nebraska (died 1899)

Alvin Saunders was a U.S. senator from Nebraska, as well as the final and longest-serving governor of the Nebraska Territory, a tenure he served during most of the American Civil War.

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12/07/1813

Claude Bernard, French physiologist and academic (died 1878)

Claude Bernard was a French physiologist. I. Bernard Cohen of Harvard University called Bernard "one of the greatest of all men of science". He originated the term milieu intérieur and the associated concept of homeostasis.

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12/07/1807

Thomas Hawksley, English engineer and academic (died 1893)

Thomas Hawksley was an English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with early water supply and coal gas engineering projects. Hawksley was, with John Frederick Bateman, the leading British water engineer of the nineteenth century and was personally responsible for upwards of 150 water-supply schemes, in the British Isles and overseas.

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12/07/1803

Peter Chanel, French priest and saint (died 1841)

Peter Louis Marie Chanel, SM, was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr. Chanel was a member of the Society of Mary and was sent as a missionary to Oceania. He arrived on the island of Futuna in November 1837. Chanel was clubbed to death in April 1841 at the instigation of a chief upset because his son had converted.

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12/07/1730

Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founded the Wedgwood Company (died 1795)

Josiah Wedgwood was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the industrialisation of the manufacture of European pottery.

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12/07/1675

Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco, Italian violinist and composer (died 1742)

Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco was an Italian composer, violinist, and cellist.

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12/07/1628

Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk (died 1684)

Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk was an English nobleman and politician. He was the second son of Henry Howard, 15th Earl of Arundel, and Lady Elizabeth Stuart. He succeeded his brother Thomas Howard, 5th Duke of Norfolk, after Thomas's death in 1677.

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12/07/1549

Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland (died 1587)

Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland, 14th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG was the son of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, whose titles he inherited in 1563.

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12/07/1477

Jacopo Sadoleto, Italian cardinal (died 1547)

Jacopo Sadoleto was an Italian Catholic cardinal and counterreformer noted for his correspondence with and opposition to John Calvin.

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12/07/1468

Juan del Encina, Spanish poet, playwright, and composer (probable; (died 1530)

Juan del Encina was a Spanish composer, poet, priest, and playwright, often credited as the joint-father of Spanish drama, alongside Gil Vicente. His birth name was Juan de Fermoselle. He spelled his name Enzina, but this is not a significant difference; it is two spellings of the same sound, in a time when "correct spelling" as we know it barely existed.

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12/07/1394

Ashikaga Yoshinori, Japanese shōgun (died 1441)

Ashikaga Yoshinori was the sixth shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1429 to 1441 during the Muromachi period of medieval Japan. Yoshinori was the son of the third shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. His childhood name was Harutora (春寅). In 1433, he initiated the compilation of the last imperial waka anthology, Shinshoku Kokinwakashū, but was not satisfied with its compilation agenda which undermined his authority.

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01/01/1970

Julius Caesar, Roman politician and general (died 44 BC)

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general, statesman, and author who was the dictator of the Roman Republic almost continuously from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. A member of the First Triumvirate, he led the Roman armies through the Gallic Wars and defeated his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil war. He consolidated power and proclaimed himself dictator for life in 44 BC, helping create the political conditions that led to the collapse of the Roman Republic and the emergence of the Roman Empire. For his role in these events, he is regarded as one of history’s most influential figures.

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