What happened on 13th May?

On this day, 154 notable people were born on 13th May — spanning from 1024 to 2005. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

13/05/2005

Romain Esse, English footballer

Romain Joy Kouakou Esse is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Premier League side Coventry City on loan from Premier League club Crystal Palace.

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13/05/2003

Jaxson Dart, American football player

Jaxson Chase Dart is an American professional football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and Ole Miss Rebels and was selected by the Giants in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft.

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Javi Guerra, Spanish footballer

Javier "Javi" Guerra Moreno is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Valencia.

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Jabari Smith Jr., American basketball player

Jabari Montsho Smith Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers.

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13/05/2002

Diego López, Spanish footballer

Diego López Noguerol is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as either a right winger or a forward for La Liga club Valencia. Nicknamed El Guajín, López has become a fan favorite at the Spanish giant.

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13/05/1999

Óscar Mingueza, Spanish footballer

Óscar Mingueza García is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defender for La Liga club Celta de Vigo and the Spain national team. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play in either full-back position, mostly as a right-back.

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Aníbal Moreno, Argentine footballer

Aníbal Ismael Moreno is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Argentine Primera Division club River Plate and the Argentina national team.

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13/05/1998

Adrià Pedrosa, Spanish footballer

Adrià Giner Pedrosa is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for La Liga club Elche, on loan from Sevilla.

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Luca Zidane, Algerian footballer

Luca Zinedine Zidane is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Segunda División club Granada. Born in France, he plays for the Algeria national team.

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13/05/1997

Nico Hoerner, American baseball player

Nicholas Mackie Hoerner is an American professional baseball middle infielder for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Stanford University, and was selected by the Cubs in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2019. He has won two Gold Glove Awards.

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13/05/1994

Percy Tau, South African footballer

Percy Muzi Tau is a South African professional footballer who plays as a winger for and the South Africa national team.

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13/05/1993

Abby Dahlkemper, American footballer

Abigail Lynn Dahlkemper is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for Bay FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team.

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Romelu Lukaku, Belgian footballer

Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Napoli and the Belgium national team. Lukaku ranks second for the all-time European men's top goalscorers in international football (89).

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Debby Ryan, American actress and singer

Deborah Ann Ryan is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She started acting professionally onstage at the age of seven, and was later discovered during Disney Channel's nationwide search for new talent. As a Disney child star, she had major roles in the series The Suite Life on Deck (2008–2011), the film 16 Wishes (2010), the series Jessie (2011–2015), and the film Radio Rebel (2012). She expanded into other appearances, such as the drama film What If... (2010), and has continued acting as an adult, including roles in the series Insatiable (2018–2019), the comedy film The Opening Act (2020), the thriller film Night Teeth (2021), and Spin Me Round (2022).

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Morgan Wallen, American singer-songwriter

Morgan Cole Wallen is an American country and country pop singer from Sneedville, Tennessee. In 2014, he competed in the sixth season of The Voice. After being eliminated in the playoffs, he signed to Panacea Records and released his debut extended play Stand Alone (2015). Later in 2016, Wallen signed to Big Loud to release his second extended play The Way I Talk (2016). His debut studio album If I Know Me (2018) included four singles: "The Way I Talk", "Up Down", "Whiskey Glasses", and "Chasin' You". If I Know Me, after a record-breaking 114 weeks on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, reached No. 1.

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13/05/1992

Thievy Bifouma, Congolese footballer

Thievy Guivane Bifouma Koulossa is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Persian Gulf Pro League club Persepolis.

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Willson Contreras, Venezuelan baseball player

Willson Eduardo Contreras is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and catcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.

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Tyrann Mathieu, American football player

Tyrann Devine Mathieu is an American former professional football safety who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers and earned the nickname "the Honey Badger" and gained a reputation for causing turnovers, setting a (SEC) record with 11 career forced fumbles. As a sophomore, he won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player in college football, was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. Mathieu was dismissed from the LSU football program after that season due to a violation of team rules.

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Josh Papalii, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player

Joshua Papali'i is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop forward for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League. He has played for both Australia and Samoa at international level. He is also the highest-capped Canberra Raiders player of all time.

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Mark Stone, Canadian hockey player

Mark Stone is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a right winger and captain for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the sixth round, 178th overall, of the 2010 NHL entry draft.

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13/05/1991

Jen Beattie, Scottish footballer

Jennifer Patricia Beattie is a Scottish former professional footballer who played for Arsenal FC of the WSL and the Scotland national team.

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Francis Coquelin, French footballer

Francis Joseph Coquelin is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Ligue 1 club Nantes. He has also featured for Valencia, Arsenal, Lorient, SC Freiburg, Charlton Athletic and Villarreal in his career.

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Junior Messias, Brazilian footballer

Walter Messias Júnior is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Genoa. Capable of playing anywhere across the attacking front, he has also been deployed on occasions as an attacking midfielder.

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Alan Patrick, Brazilian footballer

Alan Patrick Lourenço is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Internacional.

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13/05/1990

Mychal Givens, American baseball player

Mychal Antonio Givens is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets.

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13/05/1989

P. K. Subban, Canadian ice hockey player

Pernell-Karl Sylvester Subban is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Between 2009 and 2022, he played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, and New Jersey Devils. The Canadiens selected Subban in the second round, 43rd overall, of the 2007 NHL entry draft. In 2013, he won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenceman, and tied with Kris Letang as the season's leading scorer among defencemen. In the summer of 2014, he signed an eight-year, $72 million contract with the Canadiens, running through the 2021–22 season. After the 2015–16 season, Subban was traded to the Nashville Predators, where he spent three seasons before being traded to New Jersey in 2019. He is now a broadcast analyst for the NHL on ESPN.

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13/05/1988

Paulo Avelino, Filipino actor and singer

Michael Paulo Lingbanan Avelino is a Filipino actor, singer, model, and film producer. He has starred in multiple hit television series such as Walang Hanggan (2012), Bridges of Love (2015), The General's Daughter (2019) and Linlang (2023-2024). In films, one of his best known works is his portrayal of Gregorio del Pilar in the Philippine war epic Heneral Luna (2015), which he reprised in a title role for its sequel, Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral (2018). Avelino's other prominent films include Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay.

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Casey Donovan, Australian singer-songwriter

Casey Donovan is an Indigenous Australian singer and actress, best known for winning the second season of the singing competition show Australian Idol in 2004. She won the competition at the age of 16, becoming the series' youngest winner. In 2017, Donovan won the third series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here. Donovan also hosted the NITV music show Fusion with Casey Donovan.

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Lydia Williams, Australian footballer

Lydia Grace Yilkari Williams is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper and represented the Australian national team.

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13/05/1987

Candice King, American singer-songwriter and actress

Candice King is an American actress best known as Caroline Forbes in The Vampire Diaries and its spin-offs, The Originals and Legacies.

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Marianne Vos, Dutch cyclist

Marianne Vos is a Dutch multi-discipline cyclist who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Visma–Lease a Bike.

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13/05/1986

Lena Dunham, American actress, director, and screenwriter

Lena Dunham is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series Girls (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two Golden Globe Awards. Dunham also directed several episodes of Girls and became the first woman to win the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series. She started her career writing, directing, and starring in her semi-autobiographical independent film Tiny Furniture (2010), for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. She has since written and directed the 2022 films Sharp Stick and Catherine Called Birdy. In 2025, she created the Netflix series Too Much starring Megan Stalter.

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Robert Pattinson, English actor

Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor. He is known for starring in both major studio productions and independent films, in which he often portrays eccentric characters across a diverse range of genres. Pattinson has been ranked among the world's highest-paid actors and his works have grossed over $4.7 billion worldwide. In 2010, Time included him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and he was also featured in the Forbes Celebrity 100.

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Alexander Rybak, Belarusian-Norwegian singer-songwriter, violinist, and actor

Alexander Igorevich Rybak or Alyaksandr Iharavich Rybak is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and actor. Based in Oslo, Norway, Rybak extensively worked on television programs and on tours in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe throughout the early 2010s. Performing in English, Russian and Norwegian, Rybak has released five albums.

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Kris Versteeg, Canadian ice hockey player

Kristopher Royce Versteeg is a Canadian entrepreneur and former professional ice hockey winger. During his career, he played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames, Avangard Omsk, Växjö Lakers and Nitra. Versteeg is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 and 2015.

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13/05/1985

Javi Balboa, Equatoguinean footballer

Javier Ángel Balboa Osa is a former professional footballer who played as a winger, most notably for Real Madrid and Benfica.

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Jaroslav Halák, Slovak ice hockey player

Jaroslav Halák is a Slovak former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was selected in the ninth round, 271st overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2003 NHL entry draft. Halák played for the Canadiens as well as the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, and Washington Capitals.

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Iwan Rheon, Welsh actor and singer

Iwan Rheon is a Welsh actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Simon Bellamy in the E4 series Misfits (2009–2011), Ramsay Bolton in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2013–2016), and Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars in the film The Dirt (2019). He has also appeared in the series Vicious, Riviera, Inhumans, and Those About to Die.

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Travis Zajac, Canadian ice hockey player

Travis Zajac is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Zajac was selected in the first round, 20th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in the 2004 NHL entry draft. He played more than 1,000 NHL games with the team over 15 years, and retired after a brief stint with the New York Islanders.

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13/05/1984

Dawn Harper, American hurdler

Dawn Harper-Nelson, née Dawn Harper, is an American, retired track and field athlete who specializes in the 100-meter hurdles. She was the gold medalist in the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the silver medalist in the 2012 London Olympic Games and the 2017 World Championships. She was trained by Bob Kersee, husband of Jackie Joyner-Kersee. She is a member of the 2022 class of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.

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13/05/1983

Natalie Cassidy, English actress and singer

Natalie Ann Cassidy is an English actress and television personality. She played Sonia Fowler in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, for which she won the award for Best Actress at the British Soap Awards and the TV Quick Awards in 2001. Her other television roles include The Catherine Tate Show (2006), Psychoville (2009), Mandy (2020), Motherland (2021), and Boarders (2025).

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Anita Görbicz, Hungarian handball player

Anita Görbicz is a Hungarian former professional handballer. She is widely regarded as one of the best handball players of all time, and was voted IHF World Player of the Year in 2005 by the International Handball Federation. Görbicz has also been given the nickname the Queen of Handball internationally.

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Yaya Touré, Ivorian footballer

Gnégnéri Yaya Touré is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently an assistant coach for the Saudi Arabia national team.

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13/05/1982

Larry Fonacier, Filipino basketball player

Larry Alexander Nacua Fonacier is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He previously served as the team manager for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted fourteenth overall by the Red Bull Barako in the 2005 PBA draft. Nicknamed the "Babyface Assassin", he became known as a reliable three-point shooter and reliable defender.

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Oguchi Onyewu, American footballer

Oguchialu Chijioke Onyewu is an American former soccer player who is the Vice President of Sporting for the United States Soccer Federation. He was previously the sporting director for Orlando City B and secretary-general of R.E. Virton.

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13/05/1981

Luciana Berger, English politician

Luciana Clare Berger, Baroness Berger, is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree from 2010 to 2019, and a Member of the House of Lords since 2025. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she was a founding member of The Independent Group, later Change UK, before joining the Liberal Democrats; Berger rejoined Labour in 2023.

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Andrey Polukeyev, Russian sprinter

Andrey Andreevich Polukeyev is a Russian former sprinter specializing in the 400 metres and the 9th World Athletics Indoor Championships bronze medallist in the 4 × 400 m relay. Polukeyev also won relay medals at the European Athletics Indoor Championships, European Athletics U23 Championships, and World University Games.

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13/05/1979

Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland

Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland is the only son and the second of three children of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. As of 2022, Prince Carl Philip is fourth in the line of succession, after his older sister, Crown Princess Victoria, his niece and goddaughter Princess Estelle, and his nephew Prince Oscar. He lives with his wife, Princess Sofia, and four children in Villa Solbacken in Djurgården, Stockholm.

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Steve Mildenhall, English footballer

Stephen James Mildenhall is an English former professional footballer who is goalkeeping coach at Swindon Town.

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13/05/1978

Mike Bibby, American basketball player and coach

Michael Bibby is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach at California State University, Sacramento. He played for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, Bibby played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, with whom he won the 1997 NCAA Championship. He was drafted second overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1998 NBA draft and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in his first season with the Grizzlies. He also played for the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, Miami Heat, and New York Knicks.

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Barry Zito, American baseball player

Barry William Zito is an American former professional baseball pitcher. A left-hander, Zito pitched for the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants during a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career. Zito led the American League in wins and won the AL Cy Young Award in 2002. A three-time All-Star known for his curveball, Zito won a World Series ring with the Giants in 2012.

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13/05/1977

Tom Cotton, American politician

Thomas Bryant Cotton is an American politician and former Army officer serving since 2015 as the junior United States senator from Arkansas. From 2013 to 2015 he served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Arkansas's 4th congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party.

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Ilse DeLange, Dutch singer-songwriter

Ilse Annoeska de Lange, better known as Ilse DeLange, is a Dutch country and pop rock singer-songwriter. In 1998, she gained fame with her single 'I'm Not So Tough', which later became multiple platinum in The Netherlands. Other hits were "Miracle", "So Incredible" and "The Great Escape".

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Samantha Morton, English actress and director

Samantha Jane Morton is an English actress and musician. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas with dark and tragic themes, her accolades include two BAFTAs and a Golden Globe Award, with nominations for two Academy Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

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Pusha T, American rapper

Terrence LeVarr Thornton, better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother Malice. Established in 1994, the duo were discovered by Pharrell Williams and signed with his record label Star Trak Entertainment, an imprint of Arista Records, in 2001. They initially released three studio albums—Lord Willin' (2002), Hell Hath No Fury (2006) and Til the Casket Drops (2009)—to mild commercial success; the former spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time", for which they became best known.

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13/05/1976

Trajan Langdon, American basketball player and executive

Trajan Shaka Langdon is an American basketball executive and former professional player. He is the current president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and 211 lb (96 kg) shooting guard, he first gained fame in the U.S. while playing college basketball at Duke University.

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13/05/1973

Reinhold Einwallner, Austrian politician

Reinhold Einwallner is an Austrian politician and member of the National Council. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he has represented Vorarlberg since November 2017. He was a member of the Landtag of Vorarlberg from October 2014 to October 2017 and a member of the Federal Council from October 2004 to October 2009.

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13/05/1972

Darryl Sydor, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Darryl Marion Sydor is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He won two Stanley Cups during his career: with the Dallas Stars in 1999, and with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. He also reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1993 as a member of the Los Angeles Kings, in 2000 as a member of the Dallas Stars and in 2008 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. As a junior, Sydor won a Memorial Cup with the Kamloops Blazers and also represented Canada at the World Junior Championships.

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13/05/1969

Buckethead, American guitarist and songwriter

Brian Patrick Carroll, known professionally as Buckethead, is an American guitarist.

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13/05/1968

Scott Morrison, Australian politician, 30th Prime Minister of Australia

Scott John Morrison is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and the leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He was the member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Cook from 2007 to 2024.

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13/05/1967

Chuck Schuldiner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2001)

Charles Michael Schuldiner was an American musician. He co-founded the pioneering Florida death metal band Death in 1983, in which he was the guitarist, primary songwriter and only continuous member until his death in 2001 of a brain tumor. He became the lead vocalist in 1985 after original drummer and vocalist Kam Lee left the band. His obituary in the January 5, 2002, issue of Kerrang! described him as "one of the most significant figures in the history of metal." Schuldiner was ranked No. 10 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists in 2009 and No. 20 in March 2004 Guitar World's "The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists". In 1987, Schuldiner founded the publishing company Mutilation Music, affiliated with performance rights organization BMI.

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Melanie Thornton, American-German singer (died 2001)

Melanie Janene Thornton was an American singer-songwriter. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, she first gained recognition as a session singer after relocating to Germany to pursue a music career. Her work attracted the attention of production team Ulli Brenner and Gerd Amir Saraf, who enlisted her vocals on the songs "Sweet Dreams" and "Tonight Is the Night". After being signed to MCI Records by German record producer Frank Farian, she formed a music duo called La Bouche with Lane McCray. The duo released their debut album Sweet Dreams in June 1995, which spawned the top-charting US Billboard Hot 100 singles "Sweet Dreams" and "Be My Lover". She departed from La Bouche after the release of their less-successful second album A Moment of Love (1997) to pursue a solo career, respectively.

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13/05/1966

Alison Goldfrapp, English singer-songwriter and producer

Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrapp is an English musician and record producer, known as the founder, vocalist and namesake of English electronic music duo Goldfrapp.

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Darius Rucker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Darius Carlos Rucker is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carolina along with Mark Bryan, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld, and Dean Felber. The band released five studio albums with Rucker as a member and charted six top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Rucker co-wrote most of the songs with the other members of the band.

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13/05/1965

José Rijo, Dominican baseball player

José Antonio Rijo Abreu is a Dominican former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who spent the majority of his career with the Cincinnati Reds. Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1980, Rijo made his MLB debut with them in 1984, and also played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics. He pitched and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall, and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg) during his playing career.

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Lari White, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (died 2018)

Lari Michele White Cannon was an American country musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her debut in 1988 after winning You Can Be a Star, a televised talent competition on The Nashville Network. After an unsuccessful stint on Capitol Records Nashville, she signed to RCA Records Nashville in 1993.

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13/05/1964

Stephen Colbert, American comedian and talk show host

Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the Comedy Central news satire show The Colbert Report from 2005 to 2014, and the CBS late-night talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2026.

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13/05/1963

Andrea Leadsom, English politician

Dame Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom is a British politician who served in various ministerial positions under Prime Ministers David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak between 2014 and 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Northamptonshire from 2010 to 2024. Leadsom served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2016 to 2017, Leader of the House of Commons from 2017 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2019 to 2020. She has twice stood to become Leader of the Conservative Party, in 2016 and 2019.

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13/05/1961

Siobhan Fallon Hogan, American actress

Siobhan Fallon Hogan is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her collaborations with director Lars von Trier, she has appeared in three of his features to date: Dancer in the Dark (2000), Dogville (2003), and The House That Jack Built (2018). Her other film credits include Forrest Gump (1994), Men in Black (1997), The Negotiator (1998), Holes (2003), Daddy Day Care (2003), Fever Pitch (2005), Charlotte's Web (2006), Funny Games (2007), Baby Mama (2008), The Bounty Hunter (2010), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), Going in Style (2017), and Rushed (2021). Her television work includes Saturday Night Live (1991–1992), Seinfeld (1991–1994), and Wayward Pines (2015–2016).

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Dennis Rodman, American basketball player, wrestler, and actor

Dennis Keith Rodman is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history". Nicknamed "the Worm", he played for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rodman played at the small forward position in his early years before becoming a power forward.

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13/05/1957

Mar Roxas, Filipino economist and politician, 24th Secretary of the Interior and Local Government

Manuel "Mar" Araneta Roxas II is a Filipino former politician who served as a senator of the Philippines from 2004 to 2010. He is the grandson and namesake of former Philippine President Manuel Roxas. He served in the Cabinet of the Philippines as the 37th secretary of the interior and local government from 2012 to 2015 after serving as the 30th secretary of trade and industry from 2000 to 2003 and 38th secretary of transportation and communications from 2011 to 2012. He is the son of former senator Gerry Roxas.

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13/05/1956

Richard Madeley, English journalist and author

Richard Holt Madeley is an English television presenter and writer. Alongside his wife Judy Finnigan, he presented ITV's This Morning and Channel 4 chat show Richard & Judy (2001–2008). Madeley's solo projects include the series Fortune: Million Pound Giveaway (2007) and covering for The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2. He was the main relief presenter of Channel 5's The Wright Stuff (2012–2017), and since 2017, he has been one of three main relief presenters of ITV breakfast show Good Morning Britain.

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13/05/1954

Johnny Logan, Australian-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist

Seán Patrick Michael Sherrard, also known professionally as Johnny Logan, is an Australian-born Irish singer, songwriter and musician. He is known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 1980 and 1987. He also composed the winning song in 1992.

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13/05/1952

John Kasich, American politician, 69th Governor of Ohio

John Richard Kasich Jr. is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and was a candidate for the presidential nomination in 2000 and 2016.

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Mary Walsh, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter

Mary Cynthia Walsh is a Canadian actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for her work on CODCO and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

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Londa Schiebinger, American academic and author

Londa Schiebinger is the John L. Hinds Professor of History of Science, Department of History, and by courtesy the d-school, Stanford University. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1984. An international authority on the theory, practice, and history of gender and intersectionality in science, technology, and medicine, she is the founding Director of Gendered Innovations in Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Environment. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Schiebinger received honorary doctorates from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium (2013), from the Faculty of Science, Lund University, Sweden (2017), and from Universitat de València, Spain (2018). She was the first woman in the field of History to win the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize in 1999.

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13/05/1950

Danny Kirwan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2018)

Daniel David Kirwan was a British musician and guitarist, singer and songwriter with the blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac between 1968 and 1972. He released three albums as a solo artist from 1975 to 1979, recorded albums with Otis Spann, Chris Youlden, and Tramp, and worked with former Fleetwood Mac colleagues Jeremy Spencer and Christine McVie on some of their solo projects. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Fleetwood Mac in 1998.

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Bobby Valentine, American baseball player and manager

Robert John Valentine, nicknamed "Bobby V", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He also served as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University. Valentine played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels (1973–1975), San Diego Padres (1975-1977), New York Mets (1977–78), and Seattle Mariners (1979) in MLB. He managed the Texas Rangers (1985–1992), the New York Mets (1996–2002), and the Boston Red Sox (2012) of MLB, as well as the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball.

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Stevie Wonder, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer

Stevland Hardaway Morris, known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, and is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band during much of his peak years, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments in the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions.

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13/05/1949

Zoë Wanamaker, American-British actress

Zoë Wanamaker is an American-born British actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Wanamaker was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 by Queen Elizabeth II. She has received numerous accolades including a Laurence Olivier Award and nominations for three BAFTA Awards, and four Tony Awards.

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13/05/1946

Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor and author (died 2017)

Timothy Peter Pigott-Smith was a British film and television actor and author. For his leading role as Ronald Merrick in the television drama series The Jewel in the Crown, he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 1985. Other television roles included appearance in The Chief, Midsomer Murders, The Vice, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, King Charles III and two Doctor Who stories. Pigott-Smith appeared in films including Clash of the Titans (1981), Gangs of New York (2002), Johnny English (2003), Alexander (2004), V for Vendetta (2005), Quantum of Solace (2008), Red 2 (2013) and Jupiter Ascending (2015).

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Marv Wolfman, American author

Marvin Arthur Wolfman is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's The Tomb of Dracula (1972–1979), for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's The New Teen Titans and the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series with George Pérez.

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13/05/1945

Lasse Berghagen, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (died 2023)

Lars Nils "Lasse" Berghagen was a Swedish singer and songwriter. He represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 with the song "Jennie, Jennie". He was also known for presenting Allsång på Skansen on Swedish television from 1994 up until 2003.

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Lou Marini, American saxophonist and composer

Louis Eugene Marini Jr., known as "Blue Lou" Marini, is an American saxophonist, arranger, and composer. He is best known for his work in jazz, rock, blues, and soul music, as well as his association with The Blues Brothers.

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13/05/1944

Armistead Maupin, American author, screenwriter, and actor

Armistead Jones Maupin Jr. is an American writer notable for Tales of the City, a series of novels set in San Francisco.

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13/05/1943

Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (died 1992)

Mary Esther Wells was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s.

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13/05/1941

Senta Berger, Austrian actress

Senta Verhoeven is an Austrian-German actress. She received many award nominations for her acting in theatre, film, and television; her awards include three Bambi Awards, two Romys, an Adolf Grimme Award, both a Deutscher Fernsehpreis and a Bayerischer Fernsehpreis, and a Goldene Kamera.

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Jody Conradt, American basketball player and coach

Addie Jo "Jody" Conradt is an American retired women's basketball coach. She was the head coach for the women's team at University of Texas at Austin (UT). Her coaching career spanned 38 years, with the last 31 years at UT from 1976 to 2007. She also served concurrently as the UT women's athletic director from 1992 to 2001. During her tenure at UT, she achieved several notable personal and team milestones in collegiate basketball. At retirement, she had tallied 900 career victories, second place in all time victories for an NCAA Division I basketball coach. Conradt was inducted in the inaugural class at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

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Ritchie Valens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1959)

Richard Steven Valenzuela, better known by his stage name Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens died in a plane crash just eight months after his breakthrough.

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13/05/1940

Bruce Chatwin, English author (died 1989)

Charles Bruce Chatwin was an English travel writer, novelist and journalist. His first book, In Patagonia (1977), established Chatwin as a travel writer, although he considered himself instead a storyteller, interested in bringing to light unusual tales. He won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel On the Black Hill (1982), while his novel Utz (1988) was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2008 The Times ranked Chatwin as number 46 on their list of "50 Greatest British Writers Since 1945".

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13/05/1939

Harvey Keitel, American actor

Harvey Johannes Keitel is an American actor and producer. Known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters, he rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement.

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13/05/1938

Giuliano Amato, Italian academic and politician, 48th Prime Minister of Italy

Giuliano Amato is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001. Upon Arnaldo Forlani's death in July 2023, Amato became the country's earliest-serving surviving Prime Minister.

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13/05/1937

Zohra Lampert, American actress

Zohra Lampert is a retired American actress, who has had roles on stage, film and television. She performed under her then-married name of Zohra Alton early in her career. Lampert achieved critical acclaim for her work on Broadway as well, earning two Tony Award nominations for her roles in Look: We've Come Through (1962) and Mother Courage and Her Children (1963). Her film performances include the title character in the 1971 cult horror film Let's Scare Jessica to Death. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for her guest role in a 1975 episode of Kojak.

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Roger Zelazny, American author and poet (died 1995)

Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American fantasy and science fiction writer known for his short stories and novels focusing on mythology and various religions, best known for The Chronicles of Amber series. He won the Nebula Award three times and the Hugo Award six times, including two Hugos for novels: the serialized novel ...And Call Me Conrad (1965), subsequently published under the title This Immortal (1966) and the novel Lord of Light (1967).

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13/05/1935

James F. White, American funeral director and politician (died 2026)

James Flavian White Sr. was an American funeral director and politician. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor party, he was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1975 to 1978.

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13/05/1934

Ehud Netzer, Israeli archaeologist, architect, and academic (died 2010)

Ehud Netzer was an Israeli architect, archaeologist and educator, known for his extensive excavations at Herodium, where in 2007 he found and identified the tomb of Herod the Great; and the discovery of a structure defined by Netzer as a synagogue, which, if true would be the oldest one ever found.

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13/05/1933

John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (died 2002)

John Junior Roseboro was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1957 until 1970, most prominently as a member of the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. A four-time All-Star player, Roseboro is considered one of the best defensive catchers of the 1960s, winning two Gold Glove Awards. He was the Dodgers' starting catcher in four World Series with the Dodgers winning three of those.

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13/05/1931

Jim Jones, American cult leader, founder of the Peoples Temple (died 1978)

James Warren Jones was an American cult leader, preacher, and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrated a mass murder–suicide that resulted in the deaths of over 900 people including 304 children, which he described as "revolutionary suicide", a term coined by Huey P. Newton, in his remote jungle commune at Jonestown, Guyana on November 18, 1978, including the assassination of U.S. congressman Leo Ryan. Jonestown had a defining influence on society's perception of cults.

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13/05/1930

Mike Gravel, American politician (died 2021)

Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel was an American politician and writer who represented Alaska in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1981 as a member of the Democratic Party. He ran for president twice: in 2008 and 2020. He was the fourth U.S. Senator in Alaska's history.

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13/05/1928

Enrique Bolaños, Nicaraguan politician, President of Nicaragua (died 2021)

Enrique José Bolaños Geyer was a Nicaraguan politician who served as the president of Nicaragua from 10 January 2002 to 10 January 2007.

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13/05/1927

Clive Barnes, English writer and critic (died 2008)

Clive Alexander Barnes was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for The New York Times, and, from 1978 until his death, the New York Post. Barnes had significant influence in reviewing new Broadway productions and evaluating the international dancers who often perform in New York City.

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13/05/1924

Harry Schwarz, South African anti-apartheid leader, lawyer, and Ambassador (died 2010)

Harry Heinz Schwarz was a South African lawyer, statesman, and long-time political opposition leader against apartheid in South Africa who eventually served as the South African Ambassador to the United States during the country's transition to majority rule.

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13/05/1922

Otl Aicher, German graphic designer and typographer (died 1991)

Otto "Otl" Aicher was a German graphic designer and typographer. Aicher co-founded and taught at the influential Ulm School of Design. He is known for having led the design team of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, and for overseeing the creation of its prominently used system of pictograms. Aicher also developed the Rotis typeface.

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Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (died 2009)

Beatrice Arthur was an American actress, comedian, and singer. She began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving worldwide recognition for her work on television beginning in the 1970s as Maude Findlay in the popular sitcoms All in the Family (1971–1972) and Maude (1972–1978) and later in the 1980s and 1990s as Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls (1985–1992).

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13/05/1914

Joe Louis, American boxer (died 1981)

Joseph Louis Barrow was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 until his temporary retirement in 1949. He was victorious in 25 consecutive title defenses, a record for all weight classes. Louis has the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history.

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Johnnie Wright, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2011)

Johnnie Robert Wright Jr. was an American country music singer-songwriter, who spent much of his career working with Jack Anglin as the popular duo Johnnie & Jack, and was also the husband of country music star Kitty Wells.

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13/05/1913

Robert Dorning, English actor, singer, and dancer (died 1989)

Robert Dorning was an English musician, dance band vocalist, ballet dancer and actor. He is known to have performed in at least 77 television and film productions between 1940 and 1988.

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William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (died 1980)

William Richard Tolbert Jr. was a Liberian politician who served as the 20th president of Liberia from 1971 until his assassination in 1980.

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13/05/1912

Gil Evans, Canadian-American pianist, composer, and bandleader (died 1988)

Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role in the development of cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz, and jazz fusion. He is best known for his acclaimed collaborations with Miles Davis.

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13/05/1911

Maxine Sullivan, American singer and actress (died 1987)

Maxine Sullivan, born Marietta Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania, United States, was an American jazz vocalist and performer.

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13/05/1909

Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (died 1992)

Kenneth Lorin Darby was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. Darby is also notable as the author of The Brownstone House of Nero Wolfe (1983), a biography of the home of Rex Stout's fictional detective.

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13/05/1907

Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (died 1989)

Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather George du Maurier was a writer and cartoonist. Du Maurier spent much of her life in Cornwall, where most of her works are set. As her fame increased, she became more reclusive.

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13/05/1905

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th President of India (died 1977)

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the President of India from 1974 to 1977.

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13/05/1904

Earle Birney, Canadian poet and novelist (died 1995)

Earle Alfred Birney was a Canadian poet and novelist, who twice won the Governor General's Award, Canada's top literary honour, for his poetry.

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13/05/1895

Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist, parapsychologist, and author (died 1964)

Nandor Fodor was a British and American parapsychologist, psychoanalyst, author and journalist of Hungarian origin.

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13/05/1894

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, Icelandic politician, 2nd President of Iceland (died 1972)

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson was the second president of Iceland; he served from 1952 to 1968. He also served as the prime minister of Iceland from 3 June 1932 to 28 July 1934 for the Progressive Party. Ásgeir is the only person in Iceland to date to serve both as president and prime minister. He was a Freemason and served as grand master of the Icelandic Order of Freemasons.

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13/05/1888

Inge Lehmann, Danish seismologist and geophysicist (died 1993)

Inge Lehmann was a Danish seismologist and geophysicist who is known for her discovery in 1936 of the solid inner core that exists within the molten outer core of the Earth. She also discovered the seismic discontinuity in the speed of seismic waves at depths between 190 and 250 km, which is named the Lehmann discontinuity after her. Lehmann is considered to be a pioneer among women and scientists in seismology research.

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13/05/1887

Lorna Hodgkinson, Australian educator and educational psychologist (died 1951)

Lorna Myrtle Hodgkinson was an Australian educator and educational psychologist who worked with intellectually disabled children. She was the first woman to receive a Doctor of Education degree from Harvard University. She called out the poor system in Australia and her reputation was ruined by the minister responsible.

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13/05/1885

Mikiel Gonzi, Maltese archbishop (died 1984)

Sir Michael Count Gonzi was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Malta from 1944 until 1976. He had been enthroned as Bishop of Malta in December 1943, and was consecrated as the first Archbishop of Malta in 1944. He had also been Bishop of Gozo and an elected Labour Senator in the Malta Legislative Assembly.

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13/05/1884

Oskar Rosenfeld, Jewish-Austrian writer and Holocaust victim (died 1944)

Oskar Rosenfeld was an Austrian-Jewish writer killed at Auschwitz concentration camp.

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13/05/1883

Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the pap smear (died 1962)

Georgios Nikolaou Papanikolaou was a Greek physician, zoologist and microscopist who was a pioneer in cytopathology and early cancer detection, and inventor of the pap smear for detection of cervical cancer.

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13/05/1882

Georges Braque, French painter and sculptor (died 1963)

Georges Braque was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with Fauvism from 1905, and the role he played in the development of Cubism. Braque's work between 1908 and 1912 is closely associated with that of his colleague Pablo Picasso. Their respective Cubist works were indistinguishable for many years, yet the quiet nature of Braque was partially eclipsed by the fame and notoriety of Picasso.

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13/05/1881

Lima Barreto, Brazilian journalist and author (died 1922)

Afonso Henriques de Lima Barreto was a Brazilian novelist and journalist. A major figure in Brazilian Pre-Modernism, he is famous for the novel Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma, a bitter satire of the early years of the First Brazilian Republic.

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Joe Forshaw, American runner (died 1964)

Joseph Forshaw Jr. was an American athlete who competed mainly in the marathon.

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13/05/1877

Robert Hamilton, Scottish international footballer (died 1948)

Robert Cumming Hamilton was a Scottish international footballer who played as a Centre forward and was known for his prolific scoring record and his ten-season association with Rangers.

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13/05/1869

Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, Turkish writer (died 1944)

Mehmet Emin Yurdakul was a Turkish nationalist writer, poet and politician. Being an ideologue of Pan-Turkism, his writings and poems had a major impact on defining the term vatan (Fatherland).

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13/05/1868

Sumner Paine, American target shooter (died 1904)

Sumner Paine was an American shooter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.

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13/05/1857

Ronald Ross, Indian-English physician and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1932)

Sir Ronald Ross was a British medical doctor. He received the 1902 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine "for his work on malaria, by which he has shown how it enters the organism and thereby has laid the foundation for successful research on this disease and methods of combating it". His discovery of the malarial parasite in the gastrointestinal tract of a mosquito in 1897 proved that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes, and laid the foundation for the method of combating the disease.

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13/05/1856

Tom O'Rourke, American boxer and manager (died 1938)

Tom O'Rourke was born in Boston and became a boxing manager in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

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13/05/1842

Arthur Sullivan, English composer (died 1900)

Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. His works include 24 operas, 11 major orchestral works, ten choral works and oratorios, two ballets, incidental music to several plays, and numerous church pieces, songs, and piano and chamber pieces. His hymns and songs include "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "The Lost Chord".

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13/05/1840

Alphonse Daudet, French author, poet, and playwright (died 1897)

Louis Marie Alphonse Daudet was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet.

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13/05/1832

Juris Alunāns, Latvian philologist and author (died 1864)

Juris Alunāns was a Latvian writer and philologist in the Russian Empire. He was one of the first contributors of the Latvian language. He was one of the members of the Young Latvia movement.

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13/05/1830

Zebulon Baird Vance, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of North Carolina (died 1894)

Zebulon Baird Vance was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 37th and 43rd governor of North Carolina, a U.S. senator from North Carolina, and a Confederate officer during the American Civil War.

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13/05/1822

Francis, Duke of Cádiz (died 1902)

Francisco de Asís de Borbón was King of Spain as the husband of Queen Isabella II from their marriage in 1846 until Isabella's deposition in 1868. Francisco and his wife were double first cousins, as their fathers were brothers and their mothers were sisters. Isabella was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1868, but the monarchy was restored under their son Alfonso XII in 1874.

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13/05/1811

Juan Bautista Ceballos, President of Mexico (1853) (died 1859)

Juan Bautista Loreto Mucio Francisco José de Asís de la Santísima Trinidad Ceballos Gómez Sañudo (1811–1859) was a Mexican politician who served in congress and in the supreme court before being briefly made president after the resignation of President Mariano Arista during a revolution known as the Plan of Jalisco in 1853. He failed to come to any sort of arrangements with the insurgents and resigned after only about a month of serving and went back to his seat on the supreme court. After being removed from the court by the restored Santa Anna, he left the country and died in Paris in 1859.

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13/05/1804

Per Gustaf Svinhufvud af Qvalstad, treasurer of Tavastia province, manor host, and paternal grandfather of President of Finland P. E. Svinhufvud (died 1866)

Per Gustaf Svinhufvud af Qvalstad was a Finnish provincial treasurer of Tavastia and the host of the Rapola Manor in Sääksmäki. His grandson was Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, the future third President of the Republic of Finland.

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13/05/1795

Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist and chronologist (died 1875)

Gérard Paul Deshayes was a French geologist and conchologist.

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13/05/1794

Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (died 1835)

Louis Léopold Robert was a Swiss painter.

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13/05/1792

Pope Pius IX (died 1878)

Pope Pius IX was head of the Catholic Church from 16 June 1846 until his death in February 1878.

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13/05/1753

Lazare Carnot, French general, mathematician, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (died 1823)

Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Comte Carnot was a French mathematician, physicist, military officer, politician and a leading member of the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolution. His military reforms, which included the introduction of mass conscription, were instrumental in transforming the French Revolutionary Army into an effective fighting force.

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13/05/1742

Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (died 1798)

Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen, was the fifth child of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. Married in 1766 to Prince Albert of Saxony, the couple received the Duchy of Teschen, and she was appointed Governor of the Austrian Netherlands jointly with her husband during 1781–1789 and 1791–1792. After two expulsions from the Netherlands, she lived with her husband in Vienna until her death.

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13/05/1735

Horace Coignet, French violinist and composer (died 1821)

Horace Coignet was a French amateur violinist, singer and composer. He was active in Lyons as a pattern-designer and dealer in embroidered goods, as an official clerk and as musical director of the city from 1794. He became the music instructor to the Duchesse d'Aumont in Paris, and later returned to Lyons where he served on the directorial board of the conservatory. He was known as a gifted violinist, and composed harpsichord pieces, romances, a set of Trois duos concertants de violon et fugues, a revolutionary hymn for the Rousseau celebration at Lyons and some theatrical music His most notable work the music for Jean-Jacques Rousseau's 1762 short play Pygmalion, first performed in Lyon in 1770 was a success and soon became known throughout Europe.

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13/05/1730

Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, English politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (died 1782)

Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, styled The Honourable Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1739, Viscount Higham between 1739 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750, and the Marquess of Rockingham from 1750, was a British Whig statesman and magnate, most notable for his two terms as Prime Minister of Great Britain. He became the patron of many Whigs, known as the Rockingham Whigs, and served as a leading Whig grandee. He served in only two high offices during his lifetime but was nonetheless very influential during his one and a half years of service.

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13/05/1717

Maria Theresa, Archduchess, Queen, and Empress; Austrian wife of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1780)

Maria Theresa was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Slavonia, Mantua, Milan, Moravia, Galicia and Lodomeria, Dalmatia, Austrian Netherlands, Carinthia, Carniola, Gorizia and Gradisca, Austrian Silesia, Tyrol, Styria, and Parma. By marriage, she was Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, and Holy Roman Empress.

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13/05/1713

Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (died 1765)

Alexis Claude Clairaut was a French mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. He was a prominent Newtonian whose work helped to establish the validity of the principles and results that Sir Isaac Newton had outlined in the Principia of 1687. Clairaut was one of the key figures in the expedition to the Lapland that helped to confirm Newton's deduction of the figure of the Earth. In that context, Clairaut deduced what is now known as Clairaut's theorem. He also tackled the gravitational three-body problem, being the first to obtain a satisfactory result for the apsidal precession of the Moon's orbit. In mathematics he is also credited with Clairaut's theorem on mixed partial derivatives, Clairaut's equation, and Clairaut's relation in differential geometry.

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13/05/1712

Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician and diplomat (died 1772)

Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff was a German-Danish statesman and a member of the Bernstorff noble family of Mecklenburg. He was the son of Joachim Engelke Freiherr von Bernstorff, chamberlain to the Elector of Hanover.

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13/05/1699

Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal (died 1782)

D. Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal and 1st Count of Oeiras, known as the Marquis of Pombal, was a Portuguese statesman and diplomat who despotically ruled the Portuguese Empire from 1750 to 1777 as chief minister to King Joseph I. A strong advocate for absolutism, and influenced by some of the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment, Pombal led Portugal's recovery from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and reformed the kingdom's administrative, economic, and ecclesiastical institutions. During his lengthy ministerial career, Pombal accumulated and exercised autocratic power, curtailing individual liberties, suppressing political opposition, and fostering the Atlantic slave trade to Brazil. His cruel persecution of the Jesuits and Portuguese lower classes led him to be known as Nero of Trafaria, after a village he ordered to be burned with all its inhabitants inside, for refusing to follow his orders.

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13/05/1638

Richard Simon, French priest and scholar (died 1712)

Richard Simon CO, was a French priest, a member of the Oratorians, who was an influential biblical critic, orientalist and controversialist.

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13/05/1588

Ole Worm, Danish physician and historian (died 1654)

Ole Worm, who often went by the Latinized form of his name Olaus Wormius, was a Danish physician, natural historian and antiquary. He was a professor at the University of Copenhagen where he taught Greek, Latin, physics and medicine.

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13/05/1453

Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran, Scottish princess (died 1488)

Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran was the elder daughter of King James II of Scotland and Mary of Guelders. King James III of Scotland was her eldest brother. She married twice: firstly, to Thomas Boyd, 1st Earl of Arran; secondly, to James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton. It was through her children by her second husband that the Hamilton earls of Arran and the Stewart earls of Lennox derived their claim to the Kingdom of Scotland.

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13/05/1254

Marie of Brabant, Queen of France (died 1321)

Marie of Brabant was Queen of France from 1274 until 1285 as the second wife of King Philip III. Born in Leuven, Brabant, she was a daughter of Henry III, Duke of Brabant, and Adelaide of Burgundy.

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13/05/1221

Alexander Nevsky, Russian prince and saint (died 1263)

Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky was Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir (1252–1263).

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13/05/1179

Theobald III, Count of Champagne (died 1201)

Theobald III was Count of Champagne from 1197 to his death. He was designated heir by his older brother Henry II when the latter went to the Holy Land on the Third Crusade, and succeeded him upon his death. He cooperated closely with his uncle and suzerain King Philip II of France. He died young, and was succeeded by a posthumous son, Theobald IV, while his widow, Blanche of Navarre, ruled as regent.

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13/05/1024

Hugh of Cluny, French abbot and saint (died 1109)

Hugh, sometimes called Hugh the Great or Hugh of Semur, was the Abbot of Cluny from 1049 until his death in 1109. He was one of the most influential leaders of the monastic orders from the Middle Ages.

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