Born on Wednesday, 23rd July – Famous Birthdays
On this day, 238 notable people were born on 23rd July — spanning from 1301 to 2003. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.
Wednesday, 23rd July 2025 marks the birth of numerous notable individuals across entertainment, sport, politics and academia. Among those born on this date is Daniel Radcliffe, the English actor who achieved international recognition for his role in the Harry Potter film series, born in 1989. The date has also seen the arrival of figures including Judit Polgar, the Hungarian chess prodigy born in 1976, and more recently Alex Consani, a model and influencer born in 2003 who has gained prominence in contemporary social media culture.
The historical record reveals a diverse range of accomplished individuals marking this date across centuries. Sergio Mattarella, who would become the 12th President of Italy, was born on 23rd July 1941. Earlier births include Raymond Chandler, the American crime novelist born in 1888, whose detective fiction became influential in establishing the hard-boiled genre. The date encompasses figures from multiple disciplines, spanning from Haile Selassie, the Ethiopian emperor born in 1892, to contemporary athletes and entertainers who continue to shape modern culture.
On this Wednesday in July 2025, the sky remains partly cloudy with temperatures reaching 22 degrees Celsius and light winds from the northwest. The moon is in its waxing gibbous phase, approaching full illumination, whilst the sun resides in the zodiac sign of Leo. DayAtlas provides comprehensive information on weather patterns, historical events, notable births and deaths for any date and location worldwide.
Discover who was born today 15th April.
23/07/2003
Alex Consani, Model and Influencer
Alex Monette Consani is an American model and influencer. She started modeling in 2015 and became the world's youngest transgender model at the time at age 12. After signing with IMG Models in 2019, Consani started using TikTok in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and became popular online for her comedic videos, earning over three million followers by 2024. In 2024, Consani was the first transgender model to win the Fashion Award for Model of the Year and, along with Valentina Sampaio, to walk for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
23/07/2002
Séléna Janicijevic, French tennis player
Séléna Janicijevic is a French tennis player of Serbian origin.
23/07/2001
Lily Phillips, British pornographic actress
Lillian Daisy Phillips is an English pornographic film actress. In late 2024, she uploaded a video to OnlyFans in which she had sex with 101 men, which attracted widespread attention after YouTuber Josh Pieters chronicled the events in a documentary titled I Slept with 100 Men in One Day. Although the documentary itself was praised, Phillips and OnlyFans were heavily criticised for the stunt. Phillips defended both her occupation and the event. She later announced plans to have sex with 300 and then 1,000 men in one day. Phillips has filmed content with fellow OnlyFans creator Bonnie Blue.
23/07/1998
Deandre Ayton, Bahamian basketball player
Deandre Edoneille Ayton, also known as "DominAyton", is a Bahamian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A consensus five-star prospect in the Class of 2017 and a McDonald's All-American, he played one season of college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, earning Pac-12 Player of the Year honors. Ayton was selected with the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2019. In 2021, he helped lead the Suns to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1993.
23/07/1996
Alexandra Andresen, Norwegian heiress and equestrian
Alexandra Gamlemshaug Andresen is a Norwegian heiress and equestrian. She became the world's youngest billionaire at age 19 in 2016 and held the position of youngest billionaire on the Forbes list for three consecutive years. As of June 2025, Andresen's net worth is estimated at US$2.1 billion.
David Dobrik, Slovak YouTube personality
Dávid Julián Dobrík is a Slovak and American Internet personality, YouTuber, streamer and vlogger. He amassed a million followers on the video-sharing platform Vine before starting his vlog on YouTube in 2015.
Kasperi Kapanen, Finnish ice hockey player
Samu Kasperi Kapanen is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a right winger for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He made his Liiga debut playing with KalPa during the 2012–13 SM-liiga season. Kapanen was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, 22nd overall, of the 2014 NHL entry draft.
23/07/1992
Danny Ings, English footballer
Daniel William John Ings is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Sheffield United.
23/07/1991
Lauren Mitchell, Australian gymnast
Lauren Stephanie Mitchell is an Australian former artistic gymnast. She is the 2010 World champion on the floor exercise and the 2009 World Championships silver medalist on the balance beam and floor exercise. Mitchell is only the second Australian female gymnast to win a medal at the World Championships, and she is the first to win a gold medal. She is the 2010 Commonwealth Games champion in the all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam, and with the Australian team, and she is the 2008 World Cup Final balance beam champion. She also represented Australia at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.
Jarrod Wallace, Australian rugby league footballer
Jarrod Wallace is an Australian professional former rugby league footballer who last played as a prop for the Catalans Dragons in the English Super League.
23/07/1990
Kevin Reynolds, Canadian figure skater
Kevin Reynolds is a retired Canadian figure skater. He is the 2013 Four Continents champion, 2010 Four Continents bronze medallist, 2014 Winter Olympics team silver medallist and a six-time Canadian national medallist. His highest place at a World Championship is fifth, achieved at 2013 World Championships. On the junior level, he is the 2006 JGP Final bronze medallist.
23/07/1989
Daniel Radcliffe, English actor
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor, best known for portraying the title character in all eight films of the Harry Potter film series from 2001 to 2011.
Donald Young, American tennis player
Donald Oliver Young Jr. is an American professional pickleball player with the American PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball, and also a former professional tennis player. Young had a tennis career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 38, achieved on 27 February 2012, and doubles ranking of world No. 43, achieved on 14 August 2017. As a junior he was ranked No. 1 in the world in 2005. His best singles performance was reaching the fourth round of the 2011 US Open, as well as the 2015 US Open. In doubles, he reached the final of the 2017 French Open, partnering Santiago González. In mixed doubles, he reached the final of the 2024 US Open, partnering Taylor Townsend.
Harris English, American professional golfer
Harris English is an American professional golfer and currently a member of the PGA Tour.
23/07/1987
Alessio Cerci, Italian footballer
Alessio Cerci is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a winger.
Felipe Dylon, Brazilian singer
Felipe Dylon is a Brazilian pop singer. His debut self-titled album was certified gold by ABPD and contained the song "Musa do Verão", an early 2000s hit in Brazil.
Serdar Kurtuluş, Turkish footballer
Serdar Kurtuluş is a Turkish former footballer who played as a right back.
Julien Ribaudo, Belgian politician
Julien Ribaudo is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of the Workers' Party of Belgium, he has represented Brussels since June 2024.
23/07/1986
Aya Uchida, Japanese voice actress and singer
Aya Uchida is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She played Kotori Minami in Love Live! School Idol Project, Kaban in Kemono Friends and Hina Yayoi in Waccha PriMagi!. She released the single "Sign/Candy Flavor", the song "Sign" was used as the ending theme for The Quintessential Quintuplets. Her nickname is Ucchi.
Nelson Philippe, French race car driver
Nelson Philippe is a French former professional racing driver.
Yelena Sokolova, Russian long jumper
Yelena Aleksandrovna Sokolova, née Kremneva, is a Russian long jumper.
23/07/1985
Tessa Bonhomme, Canadian ice hockey player and sports broadcaster
Tessa Bonhomme is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and is a television sports reporter for The Sports Network (TSN). She was an Olympic gold medallist as a member of the Canadian national women's hockey team and played for the Toronto Furies in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. She was also co-captain of the Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey team in the NCAA.
Luis Ángel Landín, Mexican footballer
Luis Ángel Landín Cortés is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a forward.
23/07/1984
Walter Gargano, Uruguayan footballer
Walter Alejandro Gargano Guevara is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Matthew Murphy, English singer and guitarist
Matthew Edward Murphy, also simply known as Murph, is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of The Wombats, which he co-founded in 2003. He began a solo career under the name Love Fame Tragedy in 2018.
Brandon Roy, American basketball player
Brandon Dawayne Roy Sr. is an American basketball coach and former player. He recently served as the head coach of the boys' basketball team at Garfield High School in Seattle. Roy played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves. His nickname was "B-Roy", but he was also referred to as "the Natural" by Trail Blazers announcer Brian Wheeler.
Celeste Thorson, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
Celeste Thorson is an American actress, model, screenwriter, and activist. She is best known for her roles on How I Met Your Mother, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Exes, Heartbeat and as a host for numerous lifestyle and travel television shows. Thorson has written twenty four episodes of television and several short films. As a model, she has been featured in modeling and commercial campaigns for Reebok, Lady Foot Locker, Yoplait, Sprint, Nissan, Nokia, Samsung, Yahoo!, Body Glove, Toms Shoes, and Paul Mitchell.
23/07/1983
Bec Hewitt, Australian actress
Rebecca June Hewitt is an Australian actress, television presenter and singer. From 1998 to 2005, Hewitt played Hayley Smith Lawson on the soap opera Home and Away. As Bec Cartwright, Hewitt released an eponymous pop music album in 2002. In 2005, she married professional tennis player Lleyton Hewitt.
Aaron Peirsol, American swimmer
Aaron Wells Peirsol is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who swam for the University of Texas and is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist with five gold, and two silver medals. Individually, he has held the world record in the 100-meter backstroke event and is the current record holder in the 200-meter backstroke. In his long career, Peirsol captured a total of thirty-six medals in major international competition: twenty-nine gold, six silver, and one bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, Pan American, and the Pan Pacific Championships.
David Strettle, English rugby player
David Strettle is a former English rugby union wing.
23/07/1982
Ömer Aysan Barış, Turkish footballer
Ömer Aysan Barış is a Turkish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Joe Mather, American baseball player
Joe Mather is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current coach. He is the hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously was a coach for the Cincinnati Reds. He played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs.
Gökhan Ünal, Turkish footballer
Gökhan Ünal is a Turkish football manager and former player who manages the Turkish club Erciyes 38 FSK from Kayseri.
Gerald Wallace, American basketball player
Gerald Jermaine Wallace is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Crash", he was named an NBA All-Star and voted to the NBA All-Defensive First Team while with the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010. He played college basketball for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Paul Wesley, American actor, director, and producer
Paweł Tomasz Wasilewski, better known by his stage name Paul Wesley, is an American actor and film director. He is known for starring as Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017) and James T. Kirk in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022–present).
Pia Maria Wieninger, Austrian politician
Pia Maria Wieninger is an Austrian politician and member of the Municipal Council and Landtag of Vienna. A member of the Social Democratic Party, she has represented Donaustadt since November 2020.
23/07/1981
Steve Jocz, Canadian singer-songwriter, drummer, and director
Stephen Jocz, also known as Stevo32, is a Canadian musician and music video director, best known as the founding drummer for the rock band Sum 41.
Dmitriy Karpov, Kazakhstani decathlete
Dmitriy Vasilyevich Karpov is a retired Kazakhstani athlete who competes in decathlon and heptathlon. He won the bronze medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Aleksandr Kulik, Estonian footballer
Aleksandr Kulik is an Estonian footballer.
Jarkko Nieminen, Finnish tennis player
Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two ATP singles titles and five doubles titles in his career. His best performances in Grand Slam tournaments have been reaching the quarterfinals of the 2005 US Open, the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2008 Australian Open.
23/07/1980
Daniel McClellan, American biblical scholar and social media personality
Daniel Orrin McClellan is an American biblical scholar. He is well known for his activities on social media, regularly creating and sharing videos on religious topics from a historical critical perspective. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Sandeep Parikh, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
Sandeep Parikh is an American writer, director, actor and producer of comedy. He is best known for his co-starring role as Zaboo on the award-winning web series The Guild. He is the founder of Effin Funny Productions, a content company focusing on alternative stand-up comedy and the creation of original web series The Legend of Neil, available online.
23/07/1979
Perro Aguayo Jr., Mexican wrestler and promoter (died 2015)
Pedro Aguayo Ramírez was a Mexican professional wrestler and promoter who achieved fame in wrestling as Perro Aguayo Jr. or El Hijo del Perro Aguayo. He was the real-life son of lucha libre legend Perro Aguayo and not a storyline "Junior". Aguayo was best known as the leader of the Los Perros del Mal stable, which he started in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in mid-2004. The stable became a significant draw in Mexican professional wrestling, peaking during Aguayo's storyline rivalries with Místico and Héctor Garza. In October 2008, Aguayo left CMLL to start his own independent professional wrestling promotion Perros del Mal Producciones, built around members of his Los Perros del Mal stable. In June 2010, Aguayo returned to AAA after a seven-year absence to start an invasion storyline involving his stable.
Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Greek footballer
Sotirios Kyrgiakos is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a central defender.
Richard Sims, Zimbabwean cricketer
Richard William Sims is a Zimbabwean cricketer. An allrounder, he bats in the middle order and bowls right-arm offbreak. He is a good driver of the ball and is a straight hitter.
Ricardo Sperafico, Brazilian race car driver
Ricardo Sperafico is a Brazilian professional racing driver.
Cathleen Tschirch, German sprinter
Cathleen Tschirch is a German sprinter who specialises in the 200 metres. Her personal best time on the individual distance is 22.97 seconds, achieved in August 2007 in Bochum. She has a personal best of 11.42 seconds in the 100 metres.
Michelle Williams, American singer-songwriter and actress
Tenitra Michelle Williams is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling female groups of all time with over 60 million records, of which more than 40 million copies sold with the trio lineup that included Williams. During her time in the group she earned several accolades including a Grammy Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
23/07/1978
Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer
Stuart Elliott is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder from 1998 to 2013.
Stefanie Sun, Singaporean singer-songwriter and pianist
Stefanie Sun Yanzi is a Singaporean singer and songwriter. Known for her ballads and girl next door image, Sun made her debut with the album Yan Zi in 2000. Featuring the single "Cloudy Day", the album saw immediate success and sold over 330,000 copies in Taiwan and 200,000 copies in China. The album won her various accolades at regional award ceremonies, including the Golden Melody Award for Best New Artist.
Lauren Groff, American novelist and short story writer
Lauren Groff is an American novelist and short story writer. She has written five novels and three short story collections, including Delicate Edible Birds (2009), Fates and Furies (2015), Matrix (2022), The Vaster Wilds (2023), and Brawler (2026).
23/07/1977
Scott Clemmensen, American ice hockey player and coach
Scott Lee Clemmensen is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. Drafted in the eighth round, 215th overall, of the 1997 NHL entry draft, he played with the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Gail Emms, English badminton player
Gail Elizabeth Emms MBE is a retired English badminton player who has achieved international success in doubles tournaments. A badminton player since the age of four, Emms was first chosen to represent England in 1995 and regularly played for her country until her retirement from professional sport in 2008.
Néicer Reasco, Ecuadorian footballer
Néicer Reasco Yano is an Ecuadorian retired footballer who played as a defender.
Shawn Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
Shawn Thornton is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player of the National Hockey League (NHL). An enforcer throughout his career, he won two Stanley Cups with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and the Boston Bruins in 2011. After retiring, he won two more Stanley Cups as an executive with the Florida Panthers in 2024 and 2025.
23/07/1976
Judit Polgár, Hungarian chess player
Judit Polgár is a Hungarian chess grandmaster, widely regarded as the strongest female chess player of all time. She is the only woman to be ranked in the world top 10, the only woman to achieve a rating over 2700, reaching a peak rating of 2735, and the only woman to compete in the final stage of a World Chess Championship. She was the top-rated woman in the world from January 1989 until her retirement from competitive chess in 2014.
23/07/1975
Dan Rogerson, Cornish politician
Daniel John Rogerson is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Cornwall from the 2005 general election until his defeat at the 2015 general election. In October 2013, he became the Liberal Democrat Minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, holding the office until losing his Parliamentary seat to Conservative candidate Scott Mann. Rogerson currently serves as a councillor and cabinet member on Cornwall Council.
23/07/1974
Terry Glenn, American football player and coach (died 2017)
Terry Tyree Glenn was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, and Dallas Cowboys. He was selected by the New England Patriots seventh overall in the 1996 NFL draft. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earning consensus All-American honors in 1995.
Maurice Greene, American sprinter
Maurice Greene is an American former track and field sprinter who competed in the 60 meters, 100 meters, and 200 meters. He is a former 100 m world record holder with a time of 9.79 seconds. During the height of his career (1997–2004) he won four Olympic medals and was a five-time World Champion. This included three golds at the 1999 World Championships, a feat which had previously only been achieved by Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson and has since been equaled by three others.
Rik Verbrugghe, Belgian cyclist
Rik Verbrugghe is a Belgian former professional road racing cyclist.
23/07/1973
Nomar Garciaparra, American baseball player and sportscaster
Anthony Nomar Garciaparra is an American former Major League Baseball player and current SportsNet LA analyst. He retired after fourteen seasons in Major League Baseball, spending most of his career as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox and later playing third and first base with the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Oakland Athletics. Garciaparra is one of 13 players in Major League history to hit two grand slams during a single game, and the only player to achieve the feat at his home stadium.
Kathryn Hahn, American actress
Kathryn Marie Hahn is an American actress and comedian. She gained prominence appearing as a supporting actress in a number of comedy films, including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Step Brothers (2008), Our Idiot Brother (2011), We're the Millers, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022).
Fran Healy, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
Francis Healy is a Scottish musician. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the band Travis, having written nearly all of the songs on their first six studio albums along with their ninth and tenth, with the seventh and eighth containing material written by other members of the band. Healy released his debut solo album, titled Wreckorder, in October 2010.
Monica Lewinsky, American activist and former White House intern
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American activist. She became internationally known in the late 1990s after U.S. president Bill Clinton admitted to having had an affair with her during her days as a White House intern between 1995 and 1997. The affair and its repercussions became known as the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal.
Himesh Reshammiya, Indian singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
Himesh Reshammiya Bhavnagar, Gujrat, is an Indian playback singer, music director, songwriter, film and music producer, and actor in Hindi cinema, with over 1,300 songs to his credit as a music director. He started his career as a music director in the film Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya in 1998 and made his acting debut with the film Aap Kaa Surroor in 2007.
Andrea Scanavacca, Italian rugby player and manager
Andrea Scanavacca is a former Italian rugby union footballer. His usual position was as a fly half.
23/07/1972
Suat Kılıç, Turkish journalist, lawyer, and politician, former Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports
Suat Kılıç is a Turkish lawyer, journalist, and politician. He was the former Minister of Youth and Sports, served in the third cabinet of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and is now a politician in the New Wellfare Party.
Floyd Reifer, Barbadian cricketer and coach
Floyd Lamonte Reifer is a Barbadian cricketer and politician. He is a left-handed middle-order batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler.
Marlon Wayans, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
Marlon Lamont Wayans is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for his work with his brother Shawn Wayans on The WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. (1995–1999) and the comedy films Don't Be a Menace (1996), Scary Movie (2000), Scary Movie 2 (2001), White Chicks (2004), Little Man (2006), and Dance Flick (2009).
23/07/1971
Dalvin DeGrate, American rapper and producer
Dalvin Ertimus DeGrate, better known by his stage name Mr. Dalvin, is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and rapper. He is one-quarter of the R&B group Jodeci, and the younger brother of Jodeci member DeVante Swing.
Alison Krauss, American singer-songwriter and fiddler
Alison Maria Krauss is an American singer, fiddler, and music producer. She entered the American music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in 1987. She was invited to join Union Station, releasing her first album with them as a group in 1989 and performing with them ever since.
Joel Stein, American journalist
Joel Stein is an American journalist who wrote for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote a column and occasional articles for Time for 19 years until 2017.
23/07/1970
Charisma Carpenter, American actress
Charisma Carpenter is an American actress. She played Cordelia Chase in the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–1999) and its spin-off series Angel (1999–2004). She also starred as Kyra in Charmed (2004), Kendall Casablancas in Veronica Mars (2005–2006), Rebecca Sewell in The Lying Game (2012–2013), and Lacy in The Expendables film series (2010–2012).
Thea Dorn, German author and playwright
Thea Dorn is a German writer of crime fiction and TV host. She lives and works in Berlin.
Sam Watters, American singer-songwriter and producer
Samuel Joshua Watters is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. Watters is a member of the multi-platinum selling 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd and co-authored many of their hits including "I Adore Mi Amor", and "All 4 Love". Watters has also written and produced songs for Grammy-winning and nominated artists such as American Idol winners Fantasia, Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks, and other superstars such as Céline Dion, Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis, and Anastacia. Watters is a member of the production/songwriting team The Runaways including fellow hitmakers Rico Love, Wayne Wilkins, Ryan Tedder, and Louis Biancaniello.
Saulius Skvernelis, 13th Prime Minister of Lithuania
Saulius Skvernelis is a Lithuanian politician who served as prime minister of Lithuania between 2016 and 2020. He had previously served as police commissioner, and was Minister of the Interior from 2014 to 2016. Though he was an independent politician, he was backed by the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union and was a member of its parliamentary group until 2022, as a result of which he became the first head of government in European history primarily backed by a green party.
23/07/1969
Andrew Cassels, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
Andrew William Cassels is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Hartford Whalers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals. He is a former assistant coach with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. Cassels was born and raised in Bramalea, Ontario, where he played his minor hockey. His son, Cole, was drafted 85th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2013 NHL entry draft.
Raphael Warnock, American politician and minister
Raphael Gamaliel Warnock is an American politician and Baptist pastor serving as the junior United States senator from Georgia, a seat he has held since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Warnock has been the senior pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church since 2005.
23/07/1968
Elden Campbell, American basketball player (died 2025)
Elden Jerome Campbell was an American professional basketball player who was a power forward and center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1990 to 2005, primarily with the Los Angeles Lakers. He played college basketball for the Clemson Tigers, earning honorable mention All-American honors as a senior in 1990. Campbell was selected by the Lakers in the first round of the 1990 NBA draft with the 27th overall pick. He spent his first nine years in the NBA with the Lakers and the rest with various other teams. He won an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004.
Gary Payton, American basketball player and actor
Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 17 seasons. Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best known for his 13-year tenure with the Seattle SuperSonics, where he holds franchise records in assists and steals and led them to an NBA Finals appearance. He also played with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat. Payton won an NBA championship with the Heat in 2006. Nicknamed "the Glove" for his defensive abilities, Payton was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. In October 2021, Payton was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Stephanie Seymour, American model and actress
Stephanie Michelle Seymour is an American model and actress. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was one of the most popular supermodels, being featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and on the cover of Vogue, as well as being a former Victoria's Secret Angel. She had a book published about beauty tips and has participated in advertising campaigns for clothing and cosmetic products. In 2017, Seymour launched her own line of lingerie. She has ventured into acting with one appearance in each medium of film, television, and video games.
23/07/1967
Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (died 2014)
Philip Seymour Hoffman was an American actor. He was known for his distinctive supporting character roles—eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—and memorable leading roles in many films and theatrical productions, from the early 1990s until his early death in 2014. He was voted the greatest actor of the 21st century in a 2024 ranking by The Independent.
23/07/1965
Rob Dickinson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
Robert Dickinson is a British musician and auto restorer. He came to prominence as the singer for English alternative rock group Catherine Wheel, active 1990 to 2000. Dickinson was raised in Norfolk, England, and is the paternal cousin of Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson. He is now a solo artist and in 2009 founded Singer Vehicle Design, which performs restoration and modification of client vehicles.
Slash, English-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
Saul Hudson, known professionally as Slash, is a British and American musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success beginning in the late 1980s. He has received critical acclaim and is considered one of the greatest guitarists in history.
23/07/1964
Uwe Barth, German politician
Uwe Barth is a German politician and member of the FDP.
Nick Menza, German drummer and songwriter (died 2016)
Nicholas Menza was an American musician who was the drummer of the thrash metal band Megadeth from 1989 to 1998. He played drums on four of Megadeth's albums: Rust in Peace (1990), Countdown to Extinction (1992), Youthanasia (1994), and Cryptic Writings (1997).
23/07/1963
Slobodan Zivojinovic, Serbian tennis player
Slobodan "Boba" Živojinović is a Serbian former professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia.
23/07/1962
Eriq La Salle, American actor, director, and producer
Erik Ki La Salle, professionally known as Eriq La Salle, is an American actor, director, writer and producer. La Salle is known for his performance as Dr. Peter Benton in the NBC medical drama ER which earned him three NAACP Image Awards and nominations for a Golden Globe Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards.
Mark Laurie, Australian rugby league player
Mark Laurie nicknamed "Pebbles" is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A New South Wales Country representative centre who later moved to the forwards, he played his club football in the NSWRL Premiership for the Parramatta Eels during their golden period of the 1980s. He also played in England for Leeds and Salford.
Alain Lefèvre, Canadian pianist and composer
Alain Lefèvre, is a French Canadian pianist and composer. He has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Théatre des Champs-Élysées, Théatre du Châtelet, Salle Pleyel, Teatro Colón, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Herodes Atticus Theatre, Epidaurus Theatre.
23/07/1961
André Ducharme, Canadian comedian and author
André Ducharme is a Canadian author, comedian, and humorist from Quebec. He was a member of the musical comedy group Rock et Belles Oreilles from 1981 to 1995.
Michael Durant, American pilot and author
Michael John Durant is an American veteran, former pilot, businessman, author, and political candidate. He fought in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu while serving as a U.S. Army pilot, and ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the 2022 United States Senate election in Alabama.
Martin Gore, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Martin Lee Gore is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He is one of the founding members of the electronic music band Depeche Mode and is the band's main songwriter. He is the band's guitarist and keyboardist, and occasionally provides lead vocals. Gore possesses a tenor singing voice which contrasts with lead vocalist Dave Gahan's dramatic baritone. He is also known for his flamboyant and (sometimes) androgynous stage persona. Gore has also released several solo albums and collaborated with former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke as part of VCMG.
Woody Harrelson, American actor and activist
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson is an American actor. He first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom Cheers (1985–1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series from five nominations. Harrelson has received three Academy Award nominations: Best Actor for The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), and Best Supporting Actor for The Messenger (2009) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).
Milind Gunaji, Indian actor, model, television show host, and author
Milind Gunaji is an Indian actor, model, television presenter, writer and author, most known for his roles in Marathi and Hindi cinema. He made his first film appearance in 1993's Papeeha and has since performed in over 250 films and acted as the host of the Zee Marathi channel travel show Bhatkanti. Gunaji has served as the Government of Maharashtra's brand ambassador for forests and wildlife. Currently, he is the brand ambassador for Hill Station Mahabaleshwar.
23/07/1960
Gary Ella, Australian rugby player
Gary Albert Ella is an Australian former rugby union player. Ella represented Australia six times between 1982 and 1988.
Susan Graham, American soprano and educator
Susan Graham is an American mezzo-soprano.
Al Perez, American wrestler
Al Perez is an American retired professional wrestler. He held 16 titles during a 20-year career, including the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship.
23/07/1959
Nancy Savoca, American director, producer, and screenwriter
Nancy Laura Savoca is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter.
23/07/1958
Ken Green, American golfer
Kenneth J. Green is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, the Nationwide Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. Green has won eleven tournaments as a pro, including five PGA Tour events and played on the U.S. team in the 1989 Ryder Cup. He is also known for returning to competition after losing his right leg in a 2009 RV accident.
Tomy Winata, Indonesian businessman and philanthropist, founded the Artha Graha Peduli Foundation
Tomy Winata is an Indonesian businessman with interests in banking, property, and infrastructure, whose wealth comes from his business deals for the Indonesian Military. His philanthropic interests include the environment, particularly the Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation a 45,000 hectare forest, endangered wildlife and sea conservation area, located in southern Sumatra.
23/07/1957
Jo Brand, English comedian, actress, and screenwriter
Josephine Grace Brand is an English comedian, presenter, actress and writer. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on Saturday Live, she went on to appear on The Brain Drain, Channel 4's Jo Brand Through the Cakehole, Getting On and various television appearances including as a regular guest on QI, Have I Got News for You and Would I Lie to You?. She also makes regular appearances on BBC Radio 4 in programmes such as The News Quiz and Just a Minute. Since 2014 she has been the presenter of The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice. In 2003, Brand was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.
Nikos Galis, American basketball player
Nikolaos Georgalis, commonly known as either Nikos Galis or Nick Galis, is a Greek former professional basketball player. Galis, who during his playing days was nicknamed "Nick The Greek", "The Gangster", and "The Iron Man", is widely regarded as Europe 's greatest scorer to ever play the game, and as one of the all-time greatest players in FIBA international basketball history. In 1991, Galis was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players. In 2007, he became an inaugural member of the FIBA Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was chosen as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors. In 2017, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was named one of the 101 Greats of European Basketball. In 2022, he was inducted in to the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame.
Theo van Gogh, Dutch actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2004)
Theodoor "Theo" van Gogh was a Dutch film director. He directed Submission: Part 1, a short film written by Somali writer and politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali, which criticised the treatment of women in Islam in strong terms. On 2 November 2004, he was murdered by Mohammed Bouyeri, a Dutch-Moroccan Islamist who objected to the film's message. The last film Van Gogh had completed before his murder, 06/05, was a fictional exploration of the assassination of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn. It was released posthumously in December 2004, a month after Van Gogh's death, and two years after Fortuyn's death.
Quentin Willson, English TV presenter, Top Gear
Quentin Mcdonald Willson was an English television presenter and producer, motoring journalist, author and car dealer. He was best known as a presenter of the popular television motoring programmes Top Gear, Britain's Worst Driver and Fifth Gear.
23/07/1953
Graham Gooch, English cricketer and coach
Graham Alan Gooch, is a former English first-class cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 1997, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time, with 67,057 runs across first-class and limited-overs games. His List A cricket tally of 22,211 runs is also a record. In 1992, he became the first cricketer to lose 3 finals of the Cricket World Cup and is currently the only such player. He is one of only twenty-five players to have scored over 100 first-class centuries. He was a part of the English squads which finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup, as runners-up at the 1987 Cricket World Cup and as runners-up at the 1992 Cricket World Cup.
Najib Razak, Malaysian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia
Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. He is the son of former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein. Najib served as the chairman of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition from April 2009 to May 2018 and as the president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) from November 2008 to May 2018.
23/07/1952
Paul Hibbert, Australian cricketer and coach (died 2008)
Paul Anthony Hibbert was an Australian cricketer who played in one Test in 1977. He was born in Brunswick, Victoria.
Bill Nyrop, American ice hockey player and coach (died 1995)
William Donald Nyrop was an American professional ice hockey player. He played 207 games in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota North Stars from 1976 to 1982. He won the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens three times, in 1976, 1977, and 1978. Internationally Nyrop played for the American national team at the 1976 Canada Cup, where he served as captain.
John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (died 2008)
John Howard Rutsey was a Canadian musician best known as a founding member and original drummer of Rush. He performed on the band's 1974 debut album, but left shortly after its release due to health problems which limited his ability to tour with the band. He was subsequently replaced by Neil Peart, who remained Rush's drummer until 2015.
Janis Siegel, American jazz singer
Janis Siegel is a multiple grammy-winning American jazz singer, best known as a member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer.
23/07/1950
Alex Kozinski, Romanian-born American lawyer and judge
Alex Kozinski is a Romanian-American jurist and lawyer who was a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1985 to 2017. He was a prominent and influential judge, and many of his law clerks went on to clerk for U.S. Supreme Court justices.
Ian Thomas, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
Ian Campbell Thomas is a Juno Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, actor and author. Best known for his 1973 hit "Painted Ladies" and his role on The Red Green Show as Dougie Franklin, he is the younger brother of comedian and actor Dave Thomas.
Blair Thornton, Canadian guitarist and songwriter
Blair Montgomery Thornton is a Canadian guitarist and songwriter most widely known for his work with the rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO). He also played in the band Crosstown Bus prior to joining BTO.
Alan Turner, Australian cricketer
Alan Turner is a former Australian cricketer. He was a left-handed batsman who played for New South Wales from 1968 until retirement in 1978. He scored over 5,700 runs as a stocky opener with a practised cut shot, though he was not able to prove his abilities at best at international level. He played in fourteen Test matches and six One Day Internationals from 1975 to 1977. On the back of his several good Sheffield Shield seasons he was selected for Australian tours of England and New Zealand. He scored a single Test century against the touring West Indian side in 1975–76. The cricket writer Peter Hanlon described Turner as "an ordinary man in the company of Gods." He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
23/07/1949
Clive Rice, South African cricketer and coach (died 2015)
Clive Edward Butler Rice was a South African international cricketer. An all-rounder, Rice ended his First Class cricket career with a batting average of 40.95 and a bowling average of 22.49. He captained Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club from 1979 to 1987.
Wasyl Medwit, Polish-born Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarch (died 2024)
Wasyl Ihor Medwit, O.S.B.M. was a Polish-born Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarch, Titular Bishop of Hadriane since 30 March 1994. Before it, from 30 March 1994 until 30 September 1996 he served as an Auxiliary Bishop of Lviv, from 30 September 1996 until 8 November 2002 as Apostolic Visitor in Kazakhstan and the Middle Asia, from 20 September 1997 until 6 December 2004 as an Archiepiscopal Exarch of Kyiv-Vyshhorod, from 6 December 2004 until 17 March 2009 as a Curial Bishop of the Kyiv-Halych and from 17 March 2009 until 25 October 2013 as an Auxiliary Bishop of Donetsk-Kharkiv.
23/07/1948
Ross Cranston, Australian-English lawyer, judge, and politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales
Sir Ross Frederick Cranston is a professor of Law at London School of Economics and a retired High Court judge. He is also a former British Labour Party politician, and served as the Member of Parliament for Dudley North between 1997 and 2005.
John Cushnahan, Northern Irish educator and politician
John Walls Cushnahan is a former Northern Irish politician who served as leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland from 1984 to 1987, as well as a member of Belfast City Council for the Area H District from 1977 until 1985.
John Hall, American politician
John Joseph Hall is an American musician, songwriter, politician, environmentalist, and community activist. He was elected to the legislature of Ulster County, New York, in 1989 and the Saugerties, New York Board of Education in 1991, and he was the U.S. representative for New York's 19th congressional district, serving from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Hall also founded the rock band Orleans in 1972 and continued to perform with them up until 2022.
Stanisław Targosz, Polish general (died 2013)
General Stanisław Targosz was a Polish general who was the commanding officer of the Polish Air Force.
23/07/1947
Gardner Dozois, American journalist and author (died 2018)
Gardner Raymond Dozois was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the founding editor of The Year's Best Science Fiction anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction (1986–2004), garnering multiple Hugo and Locus Awards for those works almost every year. He also won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story twice. He was inducted to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame on June 25, 2011.
David Essex, English singer-songwriter, and actor
David Essex is an English singer-songwriter and actor. From 1973 to 1994, he had nineteen Top-40 singles in the UK and sixteen Top-40 albums. Internationally, he had the most success with his 1973 single "Rock On".
Torsten Palm, Swedish race car driver
Torsten Palm is a former racing driver from Sweden.
Robin Simon, English historian, critic, and academic
Robin Simon is a Welsh art historian and critic, and editor of the British Art Journal.
23/07/1946
Andy Mackay, English oboe player and composer
Andrew Mackay is an English musician, best known as a founding member of the art rock group Roxy Music.
René Ricard, American poet, painter, and critic (died 2014)
Rene Ricard was an American poet, actor, art critic, and painter.
23/07/1945
Edward Gregson, English composer and educator
Edward Gregson is an English composer of instrumental and choral music, particularly for brass and wind bands and ensembles, as well as music for the theatre, film, and television. He was also principal of the Royal Northern College of Music.
Jon Sammels, English footballer
Jonathon Charles Sammels is an English former footballer.
23/07/1944
Dino Danelli, American drummer (died 2022)
Dino Danelli was an American drummer. Danelli was best known as an original member and the drummer in the rock group the Young Rascals. He has been called "one of the great unappreciated rock drummers in history". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 with the (Young) Rascals.
Maria João Pires, Portuguese pianist
Maria João Alexandre Barbosa Pires is a Portuguese classical pianist, widely regarded as one of the leading interpreters of the repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries.
23/07/1943
Randall Forsberg, American scientist (died 2007)
Dr. Randall Caroline Forsberg led a lifetime of research and advocacy on ways to reduce the risk of war, minimize the burden of military spending, and promote democratic institutions. Her career started at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in 1968. In 1974 she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to found the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies (IDDS) as well as to launch the national Nuclear Freeze campaign.
Tony Joe White, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2018)
Tony Joe White, nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit "Polk Salad Annie" and for "Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first made popular by Brook Benton in 1970. He also wrote "Steamy Windows" and "Undercover Agent for the Blues", both hits for Tina Turner in 1989; those two songs came by way of Turner's producer at the time, Mark Knopfler, who was a friend of White. "Polk Salad Annie" was also recorded by Joe Dassin, Elvis Presley, Joe Bonamassa and Tom Jones.
23/07/1942
Sallyanne Atkinson, Australian journalist and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane
Sallyanne Atkinson AO is an Australian former politician who served as Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 1985 to 1991 in Queensland, Australia. She is the only woman to have held the position. As of 2017, she was Chairman of the Museum of Brisbane, President of the Council of The Women's College at the University of Queensland and chair of the advisory board of the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland.
Madeline Bell, American singer-songwriter
Madeline Bell is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from the United States in the gospel show Black Nativity in 1962, with the vocal group Bradford Singers.
Richard E. Dauch, American businessman, co-founded American Axle (died 2013)
Richard E. "Dick" Dauch was an American businessman, and co-founder and Executive Chairman of the Board of American Axle and Manufacturing, now Dauch Corporation. Previously, Dauch served as a manufacturing manager at Chevrolet, Chrysler and at Volkswagen's Westmoreland Assembly Plant.
Dimitris Liantinis, Greek philosopher and author (died 1998)
Dimitris Liantinis was a Greek philosopher. He was associate professor at the Department of Pedagogy of the Faculty of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology of the University of Athens, teaching the course "Philosophy of Education and Teaching of Greek Language and Literature". He has written nine books. His last and most seminal work, Gemma (Γκέμμα) has been translated into several languages.
23/07/1941
Christopher Andrew, English historian and academic
Christopher Maurice Andrew, is an Emeritus Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Cambridge with an interest in international relations and in particular the history of intelligence services.
Richie Evans, American race car driver (died 1985)
Richard Ernest Evans, was an American racing driver who won nine NASCAR National Modified Championships, including eight in a row from 1978 to 1985. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame lists this achievement as "one of the supreme accomplishments in motorsports". Evans won virtually every major race for asphalt modifieds, most of them more than once, including winning the Race of Champions three times. Evans was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 14, 2011. As one of the Class of 2012, Evans was one of the Hall's first 15 inductees, and was the first Hall of Famer from outside the now NASCAR Cup Series.
Sergio Mattarella, Italian lawyer, judge, and politician, 12th President of Italy
Sergio Mattarella is an Italian politician who has been serving as the president of Italy since 2015. He is the longest-serving president in the history of the Italian Republic. Since Giorgio Napolitano's death in 2023, Mattarella is the only living Italian president.
23/07/1940
Danielle Collobert, French author, poet, and journalist (died 1978)
Danielle Collobert was a French author, poet and journalist.
Don Imus, American radio host (died 2019)
John Donald Imus Jr., also known as Imus, was an American radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. His radio show Imus in the Morning was aired on various stations and digital platforms nationwide until 2018.
John Nichols, American novelist (died 2023)
John Treadwell Nichols was an American novelist. He wrote the New Mexico Trilogy - The Milagro Beanfield War (1974), The Magic Journey (1978), and The Nirvana Blues (1981) - as well as numerous other works of fiction and nonfiction.
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italian economist and politician, Italian Minister of Finance (died 2010)
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, OMRI was an Italian banker and economist who served as Italy's Minister of Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008. He previously served as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2005. Padoa-Schioppa is considered as a founding father of the European single currency. He was a former member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group.
23/07/1938
Juliet Anderson, American porn actress and producer (died 2010)
Juliet Anderson, also known as Aunt Peg, was an American pornographic film actress and adult movie producer, relationship counselor and author. Entering the adult movie business relatively late in life, she quickly built a reputation as one of the premier performers in the so-called "Golden Age of Porn", appearing in over seventy films—often as "Aunt Peg", a role portrayed as a giddy, insatiable woman determined to enjoy life and sex to the maximum extent possible. In 1987, she started a new career as a relationship counselor and massage therapist, before returning to adult entertainment in the mid-1990s.
Ronny Cox, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
Daniel Ronald Cox is an American actor and musician. He has appeared in numerous films and television series since his acting debut in Deliverance (1972). He is best known for his roles in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), RoboCop (1987), and Total Recall (1990). He is also active as a musician, performing over 100 times per year at festivals and theaters as of 2012.
Charles Harrelson, American murderer (died 2007)
Charles Voyde Harrelson was an American contract killer and organized crime figure who was convicted of assassinating federal judge John H. Wood Jr., the first federal judge assassinated in the 20th century. Charles Harrelson was the father of actors Woody and Brett Harrelson.
Bert Newton, Australian actor and television host (died 2021)
Albert Watson Newton was an Australian media personality. He was a Logie Hall of Fame inductee, quadruple Gold Logie–winning entertainer, and radio, theatre and television personality and compère.
23/07/1937
Dave Webster, American football player and engineer (died 2006)
David A. Webster Jr. in Atlanta, Texas, was an American professional football player who was a cornerback for two seasons with the American Football League's (AFL) Dallas Texans (1960–1961). He was an All-AFL selection in 1961.
23/07/1936
Don Drysdale, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 1993)
Donald Scott Drysdale, nicknamed "Big D", was an American professional baseball pitcher and broadcaster who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent his entire 14-year career with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. Known for being a fierce competitor, Drysdale won the Cy Young Award in 1962 and was a three-time World Series champion during his playing career.
Anthony Kennedy, American lawyer and jurist
Anthony McLeod Kennedy is an American lawyer who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1988 until his retirement in 2018. He was nominated to the court in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan, and sworn in on February 18, 1988. After the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor in 2006, he was considered the swing vote on many of the Roberts Court's 5–4 decisions.
23/07/1935
Jim Hall, American race car driver
James Ellis Hall is a retired American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner. While he is best known as a car constructor, he was one of the greatest American racing drivers of his generation, capturing consecutive United States Road Racing Championships, two Road America 500s, two Watkins Glen Grands Prix for sports cars, the 1965 Canadian Grand Prix for sports cars, the 1965 Pacific Northwest Grand Prix, and scoring a massive upset at the 1965 12 Hours of Sebring over a contingent of factory-backed Ford GTs, Shelby Daytona Coupes, and Ferrari entries. If anything Hall's accomplishments behind the wheel have been overshadowed by his pivotal contributions to race car design through his series of Chaparral sports racing and Indy cars. Hall's cars won in every series in which they competed: USRRC, Can-Am, Trans-Am, Formula 5000, World Sportscar Championship, Autoweek Championship, Canadian Sports Car Championship, and the Indianapolis 500.
23/07/1933
Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum (died 2010)
Raimund Johann Abraham was an Austrian architect.
Bert Convy, American actor, singer, and game show host (died 1991)
Bernard Whalen "Bert" Convy was an American actor, singer, game-show panelist, and host known for Tattletales, Super Password, and Win, Lose or Draw.
Benedict Groeschel, American priest, psychologist, and talk show host (died 2014)
Benedict Joseph Groeschel, C.F.R. was an American Franciscan friar, Catholic priest, retreat master, author, psychologist, activist, and television host. He hosted the television talk program Sunday Night Prime on the Eternal Word Television Network, as well as several serial religious specials.
Richard Rogers, Italian-English architect, designed the Millennium Dome and Lloyd's building (died 2021)
Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside was a British-Italian architect noted for his modernist and constructivist designs in high-tech architecture. He was the founder at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership, until June 2020. After Rogers' retirement and death, the firm rebranded to simply RSHP on 30 June 2022.
23/07/1931
Te Atairangikaahu, Māori queen (died 2006)
Dame Te Atairangikaahu reigned as Māori Queen from 1966 until her death in 2006. Her reign was the longest of any Māori monarch.
Claude Fournier, Canadian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (died 2023)
Claude Fournier was a Canadian film director, screenwriter, editor and cinematographer. He is one of the forerunners of the Cinema of Quebec. He was the twin brother of Guy Fournier.
Guy Fournier, Canadian author and screenwriter
Guy Fournier, CM is a Quebec author, playwright, and screenwriter. He was the creator of the well-known Quebec sitcom Two's a Crowd. From 8 September 2005 to 19 September 2006 he was chairman of the board of directors of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
23/07/1929
Danny Barcelona, American drummer (died 2007)
Danny Barcelona was an American jazz drummer best known for his years with Louis Armstrong's All-Stars. He was a Filipino-American born in Waipahu, Hawaii, a community of Honolulu, Hawaii. He was also frequently introduced to audiences by Armstrong as "The Little Filipino Boy." Armstrong usually followed up by calling himself "the little Arabian boy."
Lateef Jakande, Nigerian journalist and politician, 5th Governor of Lagos State (died 2021)
Lateef Kayode Jakande was a Nigerian journalist and politician who served as governor of Lagos State from 1979 to 1983, and later Minister of Works under the Sani Abacha military regime.
23/07/1928
Leon Fleisher, American pianist and conductor (died 2020)
Leon Fleisher was an American classical pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He was one of the most renowned pianists and pedagogues in the world. Music correspondent Elijah Ho called him "one of the most refined and transcendent musicians the United States has ever produced".
Vera Rubin, American astronomer and academic (died 2016)
Vera Florence Cooper Rubin was an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted and observed angular motion of galaxies by studying galactic rotation curves, the first evidence for the galaxy rotation problem, one key piece of evidence for dark matter. Measurements by other astronomers using 21 centimeter hydrogen line radio telescopes clinched the case.
Hubert Selby, Jr., American author and screenwriter (died 2004)
Hubert "Cubby" Selby Jr. was an American novelist. Two of his books, Last Exit to Brooklyn (1964) and Requiem for a Dream (1978), were adapted into films, both of which he appeared in.
23/07/1927
Gérard Brach, French director and screenwriter (died 2006)
Gérard Brach was a French screenwriter best known for his collaborations with the film directors Roman Polanski and Jean-Jacques Annaud. He directed two movies: La Maison and Le Bateau sur l'herbe.
23/07/1926
Ludvík Vaculík, Czech journalist and author (died 2015)
Ludvík Vaculík was a Czech writer and journalist. He was born in Brumov, Moravian Wallachia. A prominent samizdat writer, he was best known as the author of the "Two Thousand Words" manifesto of June 1968.
23/07/1925
Tajuddin Ahmad, Bangladeshi politician, 1st Prime Minister of Bangladesh (died 1975)
Tajuddin Ahmad was a Bangladeshi politician. He led the first government of Bangladesh as its prime minister during the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971, and is regarded as one of the most instrumental figures in the birth of Bangladesh.
Quett Masire, Botswana politician, the former Vice-President of Botswana (died 2017)
Ketumile Quett Joni Masire, GCMG, was the second and longest-serving president of Botswana, in office from 1980 to 1998. He was given an honorary knighthood of the Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George by Queen Elizabeth II (GCMG) in 1991.
Alain Decaux, French historian and author (died 2016)
Alain Decaux was a French historian. He was elected to the Académie française on 15 February 1979.
Gloria DeHaven, American actress and singer (died 2016)
Gloria Mildred DeHaven was an American actress and singer who was a contract star for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
23/07/1924
Gavin Lambert, English-American screenwriter and author (died 2005)
Gavin Lambert was a British-born screenwriter, novelist and biographer who lived for part of his life in Hollywood. His writing was mainly fiction and nonfiction about the film industry.
Gazanfer Bilge, Turkish wrestler (died 2008)
Gazanfer Bilge was a Turkish freestyle wrestler, businessman and philanthropist. He won the gold medal in the men's freestyle featherweight event at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and the gold medal at the 1946 European Wrestling Championships in Stockholm.
23/07/1923
Morris Halle, Latvian-American linguist and academic (died 2018)
Morris Halle was a Latvian-born American linguist who was an Institute Professor, and later professor emeritus, of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The father of "modern phonology", he was best known for his pioneering work in generative phonology, having written "On Accent and Juncture in English" in 1956 with Noam Chomsky and Fred Lukoff and The Sound Pattern of English in 1968 with Chomsky. He also co-authored the earliest theory of generative metrics, and developed the Distributed Morphology framework with Alec Marantz.
23/07/1922
Damiano Damiani, Italian director and screenwriter (died 2013)
Damiano Damiani was an Italian screenwriter, film director, actor and writer. Poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini referred to him as "a bitter moralist hungry for old purity", while film critic Paolo Mereghetti said that his style made him "the most American of Italian directors".
Jenny Pike, Canadian WWII servicewoman and photographer (died 2004)
Jenny Pike was a Canadian photographer and servicewoman. She worked in London during WWII, and was the only female photographer to help develop the first photos of the D-Day landings. After the war, she worked as a darkroom technician for the police in Victoria, British Columbia.
23/07/1921
Calvert DeForest, American actor (died 2007)
Calvert Grant DeForest, also known by his character name Larry "Bud" Melman, was an American actor and comedian, best known for his appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and Late Show with David Letterman.
23/07/1918
Abraham Bueno de Mesquita, Dutch comedian and actor (died 2005)
Abraham "Appie" Bueno de Mesquita was a Dutch comedian, actor and stage artist, well known for his ability to make funny faces.
Ruth Duccini, American actress (died 2014)
Ruth Leone Duccini was an American actress.
Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 1999)
Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. A ten-time All-Star, Reese contributed to seven National League championships for the Dodgers and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Reese is also famous for his support of his teammate Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in the major leagues' modern era, especially in Robinson's difficult first years, most notably when he put his arm around Robinson during a pre-game warmup in front of a heckling crowd.
23/07/1916
Laurel Martyn, Australian ballerina and choreographer (died 2013)
Laurel Martyn was an Australian ballerina.
23/07/1914
Nassos Daphnis, Greek-American painter (died 2010)
Nassos Daphnis was a Greek-born American abstract painter, sculptor and tree peony breeder.
Virgil Finlay, American illustrator (died 1971)
Virgil Finlay was an American pulp fantasy, science fiction and horror illustrator. He has been called "part of the pulp magazine history ... one of the foremost contributors of original and imaginative art work for the most memorable science fiction and fantasy publications of our time." While he worked in a range of media, from gouache to oils, Finlay specialized in, and became famous for, detailed pen-and-ink drawings accomplished with abundant stippling, cross-hatching, and scratchboard techniques. Despite the very labor-intensive and time-consuming nature of his specialty, Finlay created more than 2600 works of graphic art in his 35-year career.
Elly Annie Schneider, German-American actress (died 2004)
The Doll Family was an American quartet of sibling entertainers with dwarfism from Stolpen, Germany. They were popular performers in circuses and sideshows in the United States from the mid-1910s until their retirement in 1958. The family members—Gracie, Harry, Daisy and Tiny—also appeared briefly in films; they were best known as members of The Munchkins in the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz.
23/07/1913
Michael Foot, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Employment (died 2010)
Michael Mackintosh Foot was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1980 to 1983. Foot began his career as a journalist on Tribune and the Evening Standard. He co-wrote the 1940 polemic against appeasement of Adolf Hitler, Guilty Men, under a pseudonym.
23/07/1912
M. H. Abrams, American author, critic, and academic (died 2015)
Meyer Howard Abrams, usually cited as M. H. Abrams, was an American literary critic, known for works on romanticism, in particular his book The Mirror and the Lamp. Under Abrams's editorship, The Norton Anthology of English Literature became the standard text for undergraduate survey courses across the U.S. and a major trendsetter in literary canon formation.
Michael Wilding, English actor (died 1979)
Michael Charles Gauntlet Wilding was an English stage, television, and film actor. He is best known for a series of films he made with Anna Neagle; he also made two films with Alfred Hitchcock, Under Capricorn (1949) and Stage Fright (1950); and he guest starred on Hitchcock's TV show in 1963. He was married four times, including to Elizabeth Taylor, with whom he had two sons.
23/07/1906
Vladimir Prelog, Croatian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1998)
Vladimir Prelog was a Croatian-Swiss organic chemist who received the 1975 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his research into the stereochemistry of organic molecules and reactions. Prelog was born, and spent his infancy, in Sarajevo, and youth in Zagreb, Osijek and Prague. He later lived and worked in Prague, Zagreb and Zürich.
Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian activist (died 1931)
Chandra Shekhar Sitaram Tiwari, popularly known as Chandra Shekhar Azad, was an Indian revolutionary who reorganised the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) under its new name of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) after the death of its founder, Ram Prasad Bismil, and three other prominent party leaders, Roshan Singh, Rajendra Nath Lahiri and Ashfaqulla Khan. He hailed from Bardarka village in Unnao district of United Provinces and his parents were Sitaram Tiwari and Jagrani Devi. He often used the pseudonym "Balraj" while signing pamphlets issued as the commander-in-chief of the HSRA.Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru worked closely with him as his pupil.
23/07/1905
Leopold Engleitner, Austrian author and educator (died 2013)
Leopold Engleitner was an Austrian conscientious objector, as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and a concentration camp survivor who spoke publicly and with students about his experiences. He was the subject of the documentary Unbroken Will. Before his death, Engleitner was the world's oldest known male Buchenwald, Niederhagen and Ravensbrück concentration camp survivor and the oldest male Austrian.
23/07/1901
Hank Worden, American actor and singer (died 1992)
Hank Worden was an American cowboy-turned-character actor who appeared in many Westerns, including a dozen John Ford films, such as The Searchers, and the TV series The Lone Ranger.
Isabel Luberza Oppenheimer, Puerto Rican brothel owner and madam in barrio Maragüez, Ponce, Puerto Rico (died 1974)
Isabel Luberza Oppenheimer, better known as "Isabel la Negra", was a Puerto Rican brothel owner and madam in barrio Maragüez, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Her name and her brothel, Elizabeth's Dancing Club, became part of Puerto Rican folklore both during her life and posthumously.
23/07/1900
Julia Davis Adams, American author and journalist (died 1993)
Julia Davis Adams was an American writer best known for her young adult books, historical and biographical novels and dramas.
John Babcock, Canadian-American sergeant (died 2010)
John Henry Foster Babcock was a Canadian electrician and soldier. At age 109, he was the last known surviving veteran of the Canadian military to have served in the First World War and, after the death of Harry Patch, was the conflict's oldest surviving veteran. Babcock first attempted to join the army at the age of fifteen, but was turned down and sent to work in Halifax until he was placed in the Young Soldiers Battalion in August 1917. Babcock was then transferred to the United Kingdom, where he continued his training until the end of the war.
Inger Margrethe Boberg, Danish folklore researcher and writer (died 1957)
Inger Margrethe Boberg was a Danish folklore researcher and writer. She studied philology at the University of Copenhagen and received her Master's degree in 1925. In 1927, she stayed at Lund University with the folklore professor Carl Wilhelm von Sydow. In 1934, she obtained the Dr. Phil. degree in folkloristics as the first woman in Denmark. From 1932 to her death, she was archivist at the Danish Folklore archive. However, during many years, she had to occasionally take temporary jobs as a school teacher in order to provide a living for herself. Not until 1952, when she had a long-established name in international folkloristics, she obtained a steady position.
23/07/1899
Gustav Heinemann, German lawyer and politician, 3rd President of West Germany (died 1976)
Gustav Walter Heinemann was a German politician who was President of West Germany from 1969 to 1974. He served as mayor of Essen from 1946 to 1949, West German Minister of the Interior from 1949 to 1950, and Minister of Justice from 1966 to 1969.
23/07/1898
Daniel Cosío Villegas, Mexican historian, economist (died 1976)
Daniel Cosío Villegas was a Mexican economist, essayist, historian, and diplomat.
Bengt Djurberg, Swedish actor and singer (died 1941)
Bengt Djurberg was a Swedish actor and singer. He appeared in about 25 roles in films from 1919 to 1940. His film debut was in Mauritz Stiller's film Sången om den eldröda blomman in 1919.
Red Dutton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 1987)
Norman Alexander "Red" Dutton was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive. Also known earlier by the nickname "Mervyn", he played for the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) and the Montreal Maroons and New York Americans of the National Hockey League (NHL). A rugged and physical defenceman, Dutton often led his team in penalty minutes, won the WCHL championship in 1924 as a member of the Tigers and was twice named a WCHL All-Star.
Herman Kruusenberg, Estonian wrestler (died 1970)
Herman Kruusenberg was an Estonian Greco-Roman wrestler who competed in the light heavyweight event at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Jacob Marschak, Ukrainian-American economist, journalist, and author (died 1977)
Jacob Marschak was a Russian and American economist. Affiliated with the Mensheviks in his youth, he had a brief participation in the Russian Revolution, serving as labour minister in the Terek Soviet Republic before emigrating. In exile he developed a successful scholarly career, first in Germany and later achieving prominence in United States academia.
23/07/1895
Aileen Pringle, American actress (died 1989)
Aileen Pringle was an American stage and film actress during the silent film era.
23/07/1894
Arthur Treacher, English-American actor and television personality (died 1975)
Arthur Veary Treacher, Jr. was an English film and stage actor active from the 1920s to the 1960s, and known for playing English types, especially butler and manservant roles, such as the P. G. Wodehouse valet character Jeeves and the kind butlers opposite Shirley Temple in Curly Top (1935) and Heidi (1937). In the 1960s, he became well known on American television as an announcer and sidekick to talk show host Merv Griffin, and as the support character Constable Jones in Disney's Mary Poppins (1964). He lent his name to the Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips chain of restaurants.
23/07/1892
Haile Selassie, Ethiopian emperor (died 1975)
Haile Selassie I was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia under Empress Zewditu between 1916 and 1930.
23/07/1891
Louis T. Wright, American surgeon and civil rights activist (died 1952)
Louis Tompkins Wright was an American surgeon and civil rights activist. In his position at Harlem Hospital he was the first African-American on the surgical staff of a non-segregated hospital in New York City. He was influential for his medical research as well as his efforts pushing for racial equality in medicine and involvement with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which he served as chairman for nearly two decades.
23/07/1888
Raymond Chandler, American crime novelist and screenwriter (died 1959)
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Great Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in 1933 in Black Mask, a pulp magazine. His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939. In addition to his short stories, Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime. All but Playback have been made into motion pictures, some more than once.
23/07/1886
Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish historian and diplomat (died 1978)
Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo was a Spanish "eminent liberal", diplomat, writer, historian and pacifist who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Nobel Peace Prize and awarded the Charlemagne Prize in 1973.
Walter H. Schottky, Swiss-German physicist and engineer (died 1976)
Walter Schottky was a German physicist and electrical engineer who played a major early role in developing the theory of thermionic emission, invented the screen-grid vacuum tube in 1915, co-invented the ribbon microphone and ribbon loudspeaker along with Dr. Erwin Gerlach in 1924, and later made many significant contributions in the areas of semiconductor devices, technical physics, and technology.
23/07/1885
Izaak Killam, Canadian financier and philanthropist (died 1955)
Izaak Walton Killam was a Canadian financier.
Georges V. Matchabelli, Georgian-American businessman, created Prince Matchabelli perfume (died 1935)
Prince Georges Vasili Matchabelli was a Georgian perfumer. A nobleman and diplomat, he emigrated to the United States after the 1921 Soviet invasion of Georgia.
23/07/1884
Emil Jannings, Swiss-German actor (died 1950)
Emil Jannings was a Swiss-born German actor who was popular in Hollywood films in the 1920s. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for starring in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh. Jannings remains the only German ever to win in that category.
23/07/1883
Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, French-English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of the County of London (died 1963)
Field Marshal Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, was a senior officer of the British Army. He was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, during the Second World War, and was promoted to field marshal on 1 January 1944.
23/07/1882
Kâzım Karabekir, Turkish general and politician, 5th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (died 1948)
Musa Kâzım Karabekir was a Turkish general and politician. He was the commander of the Eastern Army of the Ottoman Empire during the Turkish War of Independence, and fought a successful military campaign against the Armenian Democratic Republic. He was the founder and leader of the Progressive Republican Party, the Turkish Republic's first opposition party to Atatürk, though he and his party would be purged following the Sheikh Said revolt. He was rehabilitated with İsmet İnönü's ascension to the presidency in 1938 and served as Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey before his death.
23/07/1878
James Thomas Milton Anderson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Saskatchewan (died 1946)
James Thomas Milton Anderson was the fifth premier of Saskatchewan and the first Conservative to hold the office.
23/07/1866
Francesco Cilea, Italian composer and academic (died 1950)
Francesco Cilea was an Italian composer. Today he is particularly known for his operas L'arlesiana and Adriana Lecouvreur.
23/07/1865
Henry Norris, English businessman and politician (died 1934)
Sir Henry George Norris was an English businessman, politician and football club director, most famous for his chairmanship of both Fulham and Arsenal.
23/07/1864
Apolinario Mabini, Filipino lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines (died 1903)
Apolinario Mabini y Maranán was a Filipino revolutionary leader, educator, lawyer, and statesman who served first as a legal and constitutional adviser to the Revolutionary Government, and then as the first Prime Minister of the Philippines upon the establishment of the First Philippine Republic. He is regarded as the "utak ng himagsikan" or "brain of the revolution" and is also considered as a national hero in the Philippines. Mabini's work and thoughts on the government shaped the Philippines' fight for independence over the next century.
23/07/1856
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (died 1920)
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was an Indian nationalist and self-rule activist in the Indian independence movement. He was one third of the Lal Bal Pal triumvirate. The honorific "Lokmanya" was applied to him by his supporters.
23/07/1854
Ernest Belfort Bax, English barrister, journalist, philosopher, men's rights advocate, socialist and historian (died 1926)
Ernest Belfort Bax was an English barrister, journalist, philosopher, men's rights advocate, socialist, and historian.
23/07/1851
Peder Severin Krøyer, Norwegian-Danish painter (died 1909)
Peder Severin Krøyer, also known as P. S. Krøyer, was a Danish painter.
23/07/1838
Édouard Colonne, French violinist and conductor (died 1910)
Édouard Juda Colonne was a French conductor and violinist, and a champion of the music of Berlioz and other eminent 19th-century composers.
23/07/1823
Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian archbishop and missionary (died 1894)
Alexandre-Antonin Taché was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest, missionary of the Oblate order, author, and the first Archbishop of Saint Boniface in Manitoba, Canada.
23/07/1802
Manuel María Lombardini, Mexican general and president (died 1853)
Manuel Apolinario Josef María Ignacio Antonio Lombardini de la Torre (1802–1853) was a Mexican soldier who served as president briefly for about three months in 1853. He rose to power in the wake of a revolution against the government of President Mariano Arista. After Arista and his successor Juan Bautista Ceballos resigned, the insurgents elevated Lombardini to the presidency as a matter of convenience, and he was only ever meant to serve as a placeholder while the true aim of the insurgents, the restoration of Santa Anna, was carried out. Lombardini would resign accordingly on 20 April, and he died of pneumonia in December of the same year.
23/07/1796
Franz Berwald, Swedish surgeon and composer (died 1868)
Franz Adolf Berwald was a Swedish Romantic composer and violinist. He made his living as an orthopedist and later as the manager of a saw mill and glass factory, and became more appreciated as a composer after his death than he had been in his lifetime. Prominent in his oeuvre are several operas, much chamber music and four symphonies.
23/07/1777
Philipp Otto Runge, German painter and illustrator (died 1810)
Philipp Otto Runge was a German artist, draftsman, painter, and color theorist. Runge and Caspar David Friedrich are often regarded as the leading painters of the German Romantic movement. He is frequently compared with William Blake by art historians, although Runge's short ten-year career is not easy to equate to Blake's career. By all accounts he had a brilliant mind and was well versed in the literature and philosophy of his time. He was a prolific letter writer and maintained correspondences and friendships with contemporaries such as Carl Ludwig Heinrich Berger, Caspar David Friedrich, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Henrik Steffens, and Ludwig Tieck. His paintings are often filled with symbolism and allegories. For eight years he planned and refined his seminal project, Tageszeiten, four monumental paintings 50 square meters each, which in turn were only part of a larger collaborative Gesamtkunstwerk that was to include poetry, music, and architecture, but remained unrealized at the time of his death. With it he aspired to abandon the traditional iconography of Christianity in European art and find a new expression for spiritual values through symbolism in landscapes. One historian stated "In Runge's painting we are clearly dealing with the attempt to present contemporary philosophy in art." He wrote an influential volume on color theory in 1808, Sphere of Colors, that was published the same year he died.
23/07/1775
Étienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (died 1812)
Étienne-Louis Malus was a French officer, engineer, physicist, and mathematician.
23/07/1773
Thomas Brisbane, Scottish general and politician, 6th Governor of New South Wales (died 1860)
Major-General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet was a British Army officer, colonial administrator and astronomer. He served in many important wars of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, including front-line action during the Peninsular War. Upon the recommendation of the Duke of Wellington, with whom Brisbane had served, he was appointed as Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825.
Abraham Colles, Irish anatomist (died 1841)
Abraham Colles was an Irish surgeon and physician who served as Professor of Anatomy, Surgery and Physiology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the President of the RCSI in 1802 and 1830. A prestigious Colles Medal & Travelling Fellowship in Surgery is awarded competitively annually to an Irish surgical trainee embarking on higher specialist training abroad before returning to establish practice in Ireland.
23/07/1713
Luís António Verney, Portuguese philosopher and pedagogue (died 1792)
Luís António Verney was a Portuguese philosopher, theologian, and pedagogue. An estrangeirado, Verney is sometimes called the most important figure of the Portuguese Enlightenment.
23/07/1705
Francis Blomefield, English historian and author (died 1752)
Rev. Francis Blomefield, FSA, Rector of Fersfield in Norfolk, was an English antiquarian who wrote a county history of Norfolk: An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk. It includes detailed accounts of the City of Norwich, the Borough of Thetford and all parishes in the southernmost Hundreds of Norfolk, but he died before completing it. This was done by a friend, Rev. Charles Parkin. The Norfolk historian Walter Rye related that although no portrait of him was known to exist, Blomefield closely resembled the astronomer John Flamsteed, whose portrait was used to depict Blomefield on the frontispiece of one of his volumes. His history of Norfolk was reissued in London in 11 volumes by William Miller in 1805–1810, the last seven being by Parkin.
23/07/1649
Pope Clement XI (died 1721)
Pope Clement XI, born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721.
23/07/1635
Adam Dollard des Ormeaux, New France garrison commander (died 1660)
Adam Dollard des Ormeaux is an iconic figure in the history of New France. Arriving in the colony in 1658, Dollard was appointed the position of garrison commander of the fort of Ville-Marie. In the spring of 1660, Dollard led an expedition up the Ottawa River to wage war on the Iroquois. Accompanied by seventeen Frenchmen, Dollard arrived at the foot of Long Sault on May 1 and settled his troops at an abandoned Algonquin fort. He was then joined by forty Huron and four Algonquin allies. Vastly outnumbered by the Iroquois, Dollard and his companions died at the Battle of Long Sault somewhere between May 9 and May 12, 1660. The exact nature or purpose of Dollard's 1660 expedition is uncertain; however, most historians agree that Dollard set out to conduct a "petite guerre" (ambush) against the Iroquois, in order to delay their imminent attack on Ville-Marie. For these reasons, Dollard is regarded as one of the saviors of New France.
23/07/1614
Bonaventura Peeters the Elder, Flemish painter (died 1652)
Bonaventura Peeters (I) or Bonaventura Peeters the Elder (23 July 1614 – 25 July 1652) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and etcher. He became one of the leading marine artists in the Low Countries in the first half of the 17th century with his depictions of marine battles, storms at sea, shipwrecks and views of ships in rivers and harbours.
23/07/1503
Anne of Bohemia and Hungary (died 1547)
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, sometimes known as Anna Jagellonica, was Queen of Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary and Archduchess of Austria as the wife of King Ferdinand I.
23/07/1441
Danjong of Joseon, King of Joseon (died 1457)
Danjong, personal name Yi Hong-wi, was the sixth monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He succeeded his father King Munjong in 1452, but was forced to abdicate by his uncle, Grand Prince Suyang in 1455. Two years later, he was put to death after a period of exile to Yeongwol.
23/07/1401
Francesco I Sforza, Italian husband of Bianca Maria Visconti (died 1466)
Francesco I Sforza was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. Renowned for his military skill and political acumen, he was among the few condottieri to successfully transform battlefield success into stable dynastic rule.
23/07/1370
Pier Paolo Vergerio the Elder, humanist (died 1444 or 1445)
Pier Paolo Vergerio was an Italian humanist, statesman, pedagogist and canon lawyer.
23/07/1339
Louis I, Duke of Anjou (died 1384)
Louis I, Duke of Anjou was a French prince, the second son of John II of France and Bonne of Bohemia. His career was markedly unsuccessful. Born at the Château de Vincennes, Louis was the first of the Angevin branch of the Valois royal house. His father appointed him Count of Anjou and Count of Maine in 1356, and then raised him to the title Duke of Anjou in 1360 and Duke of Touraine in 1370.
23/07/1301
Otto, Duke of Austria (died 1339)
Otto, known as the Merry, was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1330, as well as Duke of Carinthia from 1335 until his death. A member of the House of Habsburg, he ruled jointly with his elder brother Duke Albert II.