Born on Tuesday, 20th May – Famous Birthdays
On this day, 211 notable people were born on 20th May — spanning from 1315 to 2012. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.
Jamie Chadwick, the English race car driver born in 1998, represents a notable achievement in motorsport as one of the few women to compete at the highest levels of professional racing. Similarly, Fanny Smith, the Swiss freestyle skier also born in 1998, has established herself as a leading athlete in winter sports, demonstrating the continued emergence of female competitors across traditionally male-dominated sporting disciplines. These athletes, among numerous other accomplished individuals born on this date, reflect the breadth of talent across entertainment, sports, and public service that characterises 20 May.
The date of 20 May falls under the Taurus zodiac sign, a period associated with stability and determination. On this Tuesday in 2025, the moon is in its waning gibbous phase, and meteorological conditions indicate partly cloudy weather with moderate temperatures typical for late spring in the northern hemisphere. These natural phenomena frame the day as conditions settled into late spring patterns across much of Europe and beyond.
DayAtlas provides comprehensive information for any date and location, displaying historical events, notable births and deaths alongside current weather conditions. The platform enables users to explore what occurred on specific dates throughout history whilst understanding the contemporary conditions of those moments.
Discover who was born today 9th April.
20/05/2012
Doug the Pug, American celebrity dog
Doug the Pug is a celebrity pug living in Nashville, Tennessee, who has gained a large internet and social media following.
20/05/1998
Jamie Chadwick, English race car driver
Jamie Laura Chadwick is a British racing driver who competes for IDEC Sport in the European Le Mans Series, and previously raced for Andretti Global in Indy NXT. She won the inaugural W Series season in 2019, before retaining her title in 2021 and 2022. She has also competed in the Race of Champions for Great Britain alongside David Coulthard, and raced in Extreme E. She is a Williams Racing ambassador and also a Williams Driver Academy adviser for F1 Academy. She also is a test driver for the Jaguar Formula E team.
Nam Nguyen, Canadian figure skater
Nam Nguyen is a Canadian retired competitive figure skater. He is the 2014 World Junior champion, 2019 Skate Canada silver medallist, and two-time Canadian national champion. He has placed as high as fifth at the World Championships, in 2015.
20/05/1997
Kaoru Mitoma, Japanese footballer
Kaoru Mitoma is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Japan national team. He is best known for his dribbling ability.
20/05/1996
Brian Kelly, Australian rugby league player
Brian Kelly is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League (NRL).
20/05/1993
Ramy Rabia, Egyptian footballer
Ramy Hisham Abdel Aziz Mostafa Rabia is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for UAE Pro League club Al Ain and the Egypt national team.
Caroline Zhang, American figure skater
Caroline Zhao Zhang is an American figure skater. She is a two-time Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2007 World Junior Champion, the 2006 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a three-time U.S. national medalist.
20/05/1992
Cate Campbell, Malawian-Australian swimmer
Cate Natalie Campbell, is an Australian former competitive swimmer. She is the current world record holder in the short course 100 m freestyle. She is also a former world record holder in the long course 100 m freestyle, breaking Britta Steffen's supersuit WR by 0.01.
Jack Gleeson, Irish actor
Jack Gleeson is an Irish actor. He is best known for portraying Joffrey Baratheon in the HBO television series Game of Thrones (2011–2014). Following this role, Gleeson took a six-year hiatus from screen acting. He returned to the screen in 2020 and has since appeared in the Irish film In the Land of Saints and Sinners (2023) and the series The Sandman (2025) and House of Guinness (2025).
Enes Kanter, Turkish basketball player
Enes Kanter Freedom is a Turkish and American human rights activist (2022) Nobel peace prize nominee, New York Times bestselling author and former NBA basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Switzerland to Kurdish parents, he was raised in Turkey and moved to the United States as a teenager. Freedom was selected as the third overall pick of the 2011 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz, and primarily played the center position. He is a human rights activist and is known for his "freedom shoes" and outspoken criticism of human rights abuses in China, particularly the treatment of Uyghurs and the use of forced labor. He has become a prominent voice for the oppressed in various countries, including Turkey, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and throughout the Middle East. He also appeared briefly in WWE and is a former WWE 24/7 Champion.
Fanny Smith, Swiss freestyle skier
Fanny Smith is a Swiss freestyle skier. She represented Switzerland at the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 Winter Olympics. As of January 2023, she has 29 victories and 67 podiums on the World Cup circuit. She won gold at the World Championships in Voss in 2013. Smith won a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
20/05/1991
Bastian Baker, Swiss singer, songwriter, and performer
Bastien Kaltenbacher, better known as Bastian Baker, is a Swiss singer-songwriter.
Emre Çolak, Turkish footballer
Emre Çolak is a Turkish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or a winger.
20/05/1990
Josh O'Connor, British actor
Joshua Mathias O'Connor is an English actor. From 2016 to 2019 he had a major role portraying Larry Durrell in ITV's The Durrells. He had his breakthrough playing the lead role of a closeted sheep farmer in Francis Lee's romantic drama God's Own Country (2017), for which he won the BIFA Award for Best Actor.
20/05/1989
Siosia Vave, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
Siosaia Vave is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the St Mary's Saints in the Ron Massey Cup. He previously played for the Parramatta Eels, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Melbourne Storm in the NRL.
20/05/1988
Joel Moon, Australian rugby league player
Joel Moon is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a centre and five-eighth in the 2000s and 2010s. He last played for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League.
20/05/1987
Mike Havenaar, Japanese footballer
Mike Havenaar is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Julian Wright, American basketball player
Julian Emil-Jamaal Wright is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks. In 2014–15, he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League.
20/05/1986
Dexter Blackstock, English footballer
Dexter Anthony Titus Blackstock is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played most notably for Queens Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest.
Stéphane Mbia, Cameroonian footballer
Stéphane Mbia Etoundi is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder or defender.
Jiřina Svobodová, Czech pole vaulter
Jiřina Kudličková is a Czech former pole vaulter. She won the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki and the 2014 World Indoor Championships.
20/05/1985
Chris Froome, Kenyan-English cyclist
Christopher Clive Froome is a British professional road racing cyclist who most recently rode for UCI ProTeam Israel-Premier Tech. He has won seven Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de France, one Giro d'Italia (2018) and the Vuelta a España twice. He has also won several other stage races, and the Vélo d'Or three times. Froome has also won two Olympic bronze medals in road time trials, in 2012 and 2016, and took bronze in the 2017 World Championships.
Brendon Goddard, Australian footballer
Brendon James Goddard is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda and Essendon in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played for the St Kilda Football Club from 2003 to 2012, then with Essendon from 2013 to 2018.
20/05/1984
Mauro Rafael da Silva, Brazilian footballer
Mauro Rafael da Silva is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward.
Patrick Ewing Jr., American basketball player
Patrick Aloysius Ewing Jr. is a Jamaican-American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) and head coach of the South West Metro Pirates of NBL1 North. He is the eldest son of Hall of Fame basketball player and New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing.
Keith Grennan, American football player
Keith Grennan is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football for the Eastern Washington Eagles.
20/05/1983
N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Indian Film Actor
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, popularly known as NTR Jr, is an Indian actor, producer, and television presenter who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema and has been featured in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Referred to in the media as the Man of Masses, he has starred in over 30 films. He is a recipient of several accolades including, three Filmfare Awards South, three CineMAA Awards, a SIIMA Award, a IIFA Award and two Nandi Awards.
Óscar Cardozo, Paraguayan footballer
Óscar René Cardozo Marín, best known as Tacuara, is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker.
Matt Langridge, English rower
Matthew Langridge MBE is a British rower. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London he was part of the British crew that won the bronze medal in the men's eight. He was the 2015 European Champion in the men's pair, along with James Foad. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro he was part of the British crew that won the gold medal in the men's eight.
20/05/1982
Petr Čech, Czech footballer
Petr Čech is a Czech former professional football goalkeeper and current ice hockey goaltender who plays for the Haringey Huskies of the NIHL South Division 2. He has been described as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, and as the greatest goalkeeper, alongside Peter Schmeichel, in Premier League history.
Imran Farhat, Pakistani cricketer
Imran Farhat is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played for Pakistan national cricket team between 2001 and 2013. He usually opened the batting in most of his international innings. In January 2021, he retired from cricket, following the group stage of the 2020–21 Pakistan Cup.
Jessica Raine, English actress
Jessica Raine is an English actress. She rose to prominence as Nurse Jennifer Lee in Call the Midwife (2012–2014) and is also best known as Verity Lambert in An Adventure in Space and Time (2013).
Daniel Ribeiro, Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
Daniel Ribeiro is a Brazilian film director known for his works You, Me and Him and I Don't Want To Go Back Alone, was later made into the full-length feature The Way He Looks in 2014.
20/05/1981
Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
Iker Casillas Fernández is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Dubbed "San Iker", he is considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is known for his athleticism, quick reactions and outstanding shot-stopping ability. Having spent the majority of his career at Real Madrid, Casillas is one of the few players to achieve over 1,000 professional career matches, and also holds the record for the most clean sheets for the Spain national team. Currently, he works for RTVE, Movistar Plus+ and Azteca Deportes.
Rachel Platten, American singer and songwriter
Rachel Ashley Platten is an American singer-songwriter and author. After releasing two albums independently in 2003 and 2011, she signed with Columbia Records in 2015. Platten is best known for her single "Fight Song", which peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100, topped charts in the UK, and peaked within the top ten of multiple charts worldwide. Platten won a Daytime Emmy Award for a live performance of the song on Good Morning America. Her major-label debut studio album, Wildfire (2016), was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and featured the follow-up singles "Stand by You" and "Better Place". Her second major-label album, Waves (2017), came out a year later.
Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player
Lindsay Corine Taylor is an American former professional basketball player. She played in the WNBA, KBSL, LFB, WKBL, Polish Women's League, WCBA, and Angola Women's Basketball League, usually playing the center position. An experienced player, Taylor has played professionally overseas in Europe, Asia, and Africa in 13 basketball seasons between 2005 and 2015.
Mark Winterbottom, Australian race car driver
Mark James "Frosty" Winterbottom is an Australian semi-retired professional racing driver. He currently drives the No. 6 Ford Mustang S650 with Cameron Waters as an endurance co-driver in the Repco Supercars Championship. His career highlights included winning the 2013 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, twice winning the Sandown 500 and receiving the Mike Kable Young Gun Award in 2003. Winterbottom has also won his maiden championship title in the 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship, making it the first title for Ford in five years.
20/05/1980
Austin Kearns, American baseball player
Austin Ryan Kearns is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2002 through 2013 for the Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and Miami Marlins.
Kassim Osgood, American football player
Kassim Alexandre Osgood is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and special teamer in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for San Diego State University and Cal Poly, and was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He also played for the San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, and San Francisco 49ers.
20/05/1979
Andrew Scheer, Canadian politician, 28th Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
Andrew James Scheer is a Canadian politician who has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Regina—Qu'Appelle since 2004. Scheer was the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada from 2017 to 2020. He served as the leader of the Official Opposition from 2017 to 2020 and briefly in 2025. He was the 35th speaker of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2015.
Jayson Werth, American baseball player
Jayson Richard Gowan Werth is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2002 to 2017. His 15-season career was split among the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Washington Nationals.
20/05/1978
Hristos Banikas, Greek chess player
Hristodoulos Banikas is a Greek chess grandmaster from Thessaloniki.
Pavla Hamáčková-Rybová, Czech pole vaulter
Pavla Rybová is a Czech pole vaulter.
Nils Schumann, German runner
Nils Schumann is a former German athlete, winner of the 800 m at the 2000 Summer Olympics, who retired in 2009. For most of the five years before his retirement he had featured sparingly at an international level due to injuries.
20/05/1977
Matt Czuchry, American actor
Matthew Charles Czuchry is an American actor known for playing Logan Huntzberger in Gilmore Girls (2005–2007), Cary Agos on The Good Wife (2009–2015) and Conrad Hawkins on The Resident (2018–2023).
Leo Franco, Argentinian footballer
Leonardo "Leo" Neoren Franco is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Angela Goethals, American actress
Angela Bethany Goethals is an American film, television and stage actress. Goethals made her acting debut as a child actor in the 1987 Broadway production of Coastal Disturbances, and was 14-years-old when she won the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress, for her portrayal of Edna Arkins in the 1991 Off-Broadway production of The Good Times Are Killing Me. She played the sister of Macaulay Culkin's character in Home Alone (1990), and went on to star in several independent films and television shows, including the title role on the short-lived sitcom Phenom (1993), as well as a small role in Jerry Maguire (1996).
Stirling Mortlock, Australian rugby player
Stirling Austin Mortlock is an Australian former professional rugby union player. He has scored more than 1,000 points in Super Rugby, and nearly 500 test points for the Wallabies. Mortlock is a former Wallaby, Melbourne Rebels and Brumbies captain.
Vesa Toskala, Finnish ice hockey player
Vesa Tapani Toskala is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender.
20/05/1976
Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player
Ramón José Hernández Marin is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher and current major league staff assistant for the Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB with the Oakland Athletics (1999–2003), San Diego Padres (2004–2005), Baltimore Orioles (2006–2008), Cincinnati Reds (2009–2011), Colorado Rockies (2012) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2013).
Tomoya Satozaki, Japanese baseball player
Tomoya Satozaki is a former Japanese professional baseball player. He played his entire career with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He played for Japan in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, and made the 2006 All-World Baseball Classic team.
20/05/1975
Juan Minujín, Argentinian actor, director, and screenwriter
Juan Gervasio Minujín is an Argentine actor and film director. He is the nephew of plastic artist Marta Minujín.
20/05/1974
Allison Amend, American novelist and short story writer
Allison Amend is an American novelist and short story writer.
Shiboprosad Mukherjee, Indian film director, writer and actor
Shiboprosad Mukherjee is an Indian film director, writer and actor. With Nandita Roy as his co-director, he made his directorial debut with the film Icche, which garnered critical acclaim and commercial success. The director duo is known for making socially relevant films. They have also directed new age Bengali films like Praktan, Bela Seshe, Muktodhara, Accident, Alik Sukh and Ramdhanu, Haami, Konntho, Gotro which were critically acclaimed and enjoyed commercial success. He also serves as a partner at Windows Production. His film Praktan, bagged multiple National Awards and Alik Sukh was premiered at the Marche du Film section in Cannes Film Festival in 2013. His film Konttho was selected as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards but did not final Submission from India.
20/05/1973
Nathan Long, Australian rugby league player
Nathan Long is an Australian former rugby league footballer. He played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Northern Eagles, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the St. George Illawarra Dragons as a second-row forward.
20/05/1972
Michael Diamond, Australian shooter
Michael Constantine Diamond, OAM is a professional target shooter from Australia.
Christophe Dominici, French rugby player (died 2020)
Christophe Dominici was a French rugby union player. In a career spanning seventeen years between 1991 and 2008, he played wing for Stade Français and France, scoring a total of 25 tries in 67 international caps, emerging as one of the giants of French rugby. He also served as a member of the coaching staff at Stade Français between 2008 and 2009. He had represented French clubs RC La Valette and RC Toulonnais earlier in his career.
Busta Rhymes, American rapper, producer, and actor
Trevor George Smith Jr., known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He has received 12 Grammy Award nominations, making him one of the most-nominated artists without a win. Billboard and Vibe ranked him among the 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, while Forbes listed him among the greatest rappers on their list of the "50 Top Rappers of All Time". Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes.
20/05/1971
Šárka Kašpárková, Czech triple jumper and coach
Šárka Kašpárková is a Czech former track and field athlete who specialised in the triple jump.
Hanne Stenvaag, Norwegian politician
Hanne Beate Stenvaag is a Norwegian politician and member of the Storting. A member of the Red Party, she was elected to represent Troms at the 2025 parliamentary election.
Tony Stewart, American race car driver
Anthony Wayne Stewart, nicknamed "Smoke", is an American professional auto racing driver, and former NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart–Haas Racing. He competes in the NHRA Top Fuel class for Elite Motorsports, and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 25 Ram 1500 for Kaulig Racing. He is a four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, winning two as a driver, one as owner/driver (2011), and one as an owner (2014).
20/05/1970
Terrell Brandon, American basketball player
Thomas Terrell Brandon is an American former professional basketball player. He played for three teams during his 11-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time All-Star, Brandon was a key starter on three NBA franchises before a series of injuries ultimately forced him to play his last game at 31 years old.
Louis Theroux, Singaporean-English journalist and producer
Louis Sebastian Theroux is a British journalist, broadcaster and author. He has received three British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award.
20/05/1969
Road Dogg, American wrestler, producer, and soldier
Brian Girard James is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a Legends contract. James was best known for his initial tenure with World Wrestling Federation as The Roadie from 1994 to 1995 and as "Road Dogg" Jesse James from 1996 to 2001. He is also known for his appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as B.G. James from 2002 to 2009, and has also made appearances for several other promotions.
20/05/1968
Timothy Olyphant, American actor and producer
Timothy David Olyphant is an American actor. He made his acting debut in an off-Broadway theater in 1995 in The Monogamist, winning the Theatre World Award for his performance. Olyphant then originated David Sedaris' The Santaland Diaries in 1996. He then branched out to film. In the early years of his career, he was often cast in supporting villainous roles, most notably in Scream 2 (1997), Go (1999), Gone in 60 Seconds and The Broken Hearts Club (2000), A Man Apart (2003), and The Girl Next Door (2004).
20/05/1967
Graham Brady, English politician
Graham Stuart Brady, Baron Brady of Altrincham,, is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Altrincham and Sale West from 1997 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the chairman of the 1922 Committee from 2010 to 2024, except for a brief period during the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Gabriele Muccino, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter
Gabriele Muccino is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He has worked his way from making short films only aired on Italian television to become a well-known and successful American filmmaker. He is the elder brother of actor Silvio Muccino, who often appears in his brother's films. Muccino has directed 12 films and is best known for his first American film The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith. Muccino has been nominated for and won several awards including the David di Donatello Award for Best Director in 2001 for his film The Last Kiss.
20/05/1966
Dan Abrams, American journalist and author
Daniel Abrams is an American media entrepreneur, television host, and author. He is currently the host of On Patrol: Live on Reelz, and The Dan Abrams Show: Where Politics Meets The Law on SiriusXM's P.O.T.U.S. channel. He is also the Chief Legal Analyst of ABC News. In 2021, he became the host of the primetime show Dan Abrams Live on NewsNation, which had its last episode in February 2025.
20/05/1965
Ted Allen, American television host and author
Edward Reese Allen is an American author and television personality. He was the food and wine connoisseur on the Bravo network's television program Queer Eye, and has been the host of the TV cooking competition series Chopped since its launch in 2009, as well as Chopped Junior, which began in mid-2015. On April 13, 2014, he became the host of another Food Network show, originally called America's Best Cook. A retooled version of that show, retitled All-Star Academy, debuted on March 1, 2015. In early 2015, he also hosted a four-part special, Best. Ever., which scoured America for its best burgers, pizza, breakfast, and barbecue. He is a longtime contributing writer to Esquire magazine, an author of two cookbooks, and regularly appears on the Food Network show Beat Bobby Flay and other television cooking shows.
Stu Grimson, Canadian ice hockey player, sportscaster, and lawyer
Stuart Grimson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Grimson played in the National Hockey League from 1989 to 2002. During this time, he played for the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, and Nashville Predators. Grimson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, but grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia.
20/05/1964
Kōichirō Genba, Japanese politician, 80th Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs
Kōichirō Genba is a Japanese politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2012. He is a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet, and was a member to the Democratic Party of Japan and its successor Democratic Party until its merger in 2018. He left the party briefly before the merger, and joined the Group of Independents House of Representatives caucus of other former Democrats a few days later. A native of Tamura, Fukushima and graduate of Sophia University, he was later accepted into the prestigious Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, an institution founded by Panasonic founder Konosuke Matsushita which grooms future civic leaders of Japan. Genba was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1993 after serving in the assembly of Fukushima Prefecture for one term. In September 2011 he was chosen as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
Edin Osmanović, Slovenian footballer, coach, and manager
Edin Osmanović is a Slovenian football manager and former player. He began his career in Rudar Trbovlje and later coached many clubs in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the highest level in Slovenian football, including Celje, Gorica, Rudar Velenje, Korotan Prevalje, Dravograd, Aluminij, and Mura 05.
Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, English journalist and author
Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, styled Viscount Althorp between 1975 and 1992, is a British peer, author, journalist, and broadcaster. He is the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the maternal uncle of William, Prince of Wales, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.
20/05/1963
David Wells, American baseball player and sportscaster
David Lee Wells is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams, most notably the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Boomer", Wells was considered one of the league's top left-handed pitchers during his career and made three All-Star appearances. In 1998, he pitched the 15th perfect game in baseball history. Wells also appeared in the postseason as a member of six teams, tied for the most with Kenny Lofton, and won two World Series titles. Following his 2007 retirement, Wells served as a broadcaster for MLB on TBS and was the host of The Cheap Seats on FOXSports.com.
20/05/1961
Clive Allen, English international footballer and manager
Clive Darren Allen is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward for seven different London clubs. Allen was a prolific striker throughout his career.
Nick Heyward, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
Nicholas Heyward is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He came to international attention in the early 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter for Haircut One Hundred. He and the band parted ways after their first album, after which he continued as a solo artist.
20/05/1960
Tony Goldwyn, American actor and director
Anthony Howard Goldwyn is an American actor and director. He made his debut appearing as Darren in the slasher film Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) and had his breakthrough starring as Carl Bruner in the fantasy thriller film Ghost (1990), which earned him a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. He went on to star as Harold Nixon in the biographical film Nixon (1995), earning him a SAG Award nomination, and as Neil Armstrong in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon (1998).
20/05/1959
Susan Cowsill, American singer-songwriter
Susan Claire Cowsill is a musician, vocalist and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the family band The Cowsills. After touring with Dwight Twilley for quite some time in the 1980s, she co-formed the band Continental Drifters. Since 1990, she has been with the Cowsills, along with brothers Bob and Paul.
20/05/1958
Ron Reagan, American journalist and radio host
Ronald Prescott Reagan is an American political commentator and broadcaster. He is a former radio host and political analyst for KIRO and Air America Radio, with which he hosted his own daily three-hour show. He has also been a contributor to MS NOW.
Jane Wiedlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
Jane Wiedlin is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actress, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and backing vocalist of the new wave band the Go-Go's. She voices Dusk, the drummer and backup vocalist of the fictional rock band the Hex Girls. She also had a successful solo career.
20/05/1957
Yoshihiko Noda, Japanese lawyer and politician, 62nd Prime Minister of Japan
Yoshihiko Noda is a Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 2011 to 2012. He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2000.
20/05/1956
Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian-German author and critic (died 2025)
Ingvar Even Ambjørnsen-Haefs was a Norwegian writer. He is best known for his "Elling" tetralogy: Utsikt til paradiset (1993), Fugledansen (1995), Brødre i blodet (1996), and Elsk meg i morgen (1999).
Gerry Peyton, English born Irish international footballer and coach
Gerald Joseph Peyton is a football coach and former footballer who is the interim coach of Indian Super League club Odisha FC. A goalkeeper, Peyton had lengthy spells with Fulham and AFC Bournemouth. Following his retirement, he went into coaching and acted as goalkeeping coach for several teams, including Arsenal from 2003 to 2018.
Douglas Preston, American journalist and author
Douglas Jerome Preston is an American journalist and author. Although he is best known for his thrillers in collaboration with Lincoln Child, he has also written six solo novels, including the Wyman Ford series and a novel entitled Jennie, which was made into a movie by Disney. He has authored a half-dozen nonfiction books on science and exploration and writes occasionally for The New Yorker, Smithsonian, and other magazines.
20/05/1955
Steve George, American keyboard player and songwriter
Steve George is an American keyboard player, saxophone player and singer who is perhaps best known as the keyboardist and background vocalist for the 1980s band, Mr. Mister. He co-wrote all of the Mr. Mister songs, together with his childhood friend, Mr. Mister frontman Richard Page, with whom he also played in Pages prior to forming Mr. Mister.
Zbigniew Preisner, Polish composer and producer
Zbigniew Preisner is a Polish film score composer, best known for his work with film director Krzysztof Kieślowski. He is the recipient of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis as well as the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. He is a member of the French Film Academy.
20/05/1954
David Paterson, American lawyer and politician, 55th Governor of New York
David Alexander Paterson is an American politician who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer, who resigned, and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first legally blind person to be sworn in as governor of a U.S. state, and the first African-American governor of New York.
Colin Sutherland, Lord Carloway, Scottish lawyer and judge
Colin John MacLean Sutherland, Lord Carloway is a Scottish advocate and judge who served as the Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General from 2015 until his retirement in February 2025. He was previously Lord Justice Clerk from 2012 to 2015 and was a Senator of the College of Justice from February 2000 until his retirement. On 4 June 2024, Lord Carloway announced his intention to retire from judicial office in early 2025.
20/05/1953
Robert Doyle, Australian educator and politician, 103rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne
Robert Keith Bennett Doyle is an Australian politician who was the 103rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne, elected on 30 November 2008 until he resigned on 4 February 2018 amidst allegations of sexual harassment. He was previously Member for Malvern in the Legislative Assembly of Victoria from 1992 to 2006 and Leader of the Victorian Opposition from 2002 to 2006, representing the Liberal Party.
20/05/1952
Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer and manager
Albert Roger Miller, known as Roger Milla, is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was one of the first African players to be a major star on the international stage. He played in three World Cups for the Cameroon national team.
Michael Wills, English politician, British Minister of Justice
Michael David Wills, Baron Wills is a British politician and life peer who served as Minister of State for Justice from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Swindon North from 1997 to 2010.
20/05/1951
Thomas Akers, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut
Thomas Dale Akers is a former American astronaut in NASA's Space Shuttle program.
Christie Blatchford, Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster (died 2020)
Christie Marie Blatchford was a Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster. She published four non-fiction books.
Mike Crapo, American lawyer and politician
Michael Dean Crapo is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Idaho, a seat he has held since 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Crapo served from 1993 to 1999 as the U.S. representative for Idaho's 2nd congressional district.
20/05/1950
Andy Johns, English-American engineer and producer (died 2013)
Jeremy Andrew Johns was a British sound engineer and record producer who worked on several well-known rock albums, including the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. (1972), Television's Marquee Moon (1977), and a series of albums by Led Zeppelin during the 1970s.
Reinaldo Merlo, Argentinian footballer and coach
Reinaldo Carlos Merlo, better known as Mostaza, is an Argentine former football coach and former player, who played as a midfielder for Club Atlético River Plate throughout his entire career, while he is also idol as a coach for Racing Club.
Jane Parker-Smith, English organist (died 2020)
Jane Caroline Rebecca Parker-Smith was a British classical organist. Her obituary in The Guardian said she had "a stellar international career, popular with audiences for her wide-ranging sympathies and jaw-dropping virtuosity".
20/05/1949
Robert Morin, Canadian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
Robert Morin is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. In 2009, he received the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts.
Michèle Roberts, English author and poet
Michèle Brigitte Roberts FRSL is a British writer, novelist and poet. She is the daughter of a French Catholic teacher mother and English Protestant father, and has dual UK–France nationality.
Dave Thomas, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
David William Thomas is a Canadian actor, comedian and television writer, known for being one half of the duo Bob and Doug McKenzie with Rick Moranis. He appeared as Doug McKenzie on SCTV, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award out of two nominations, and in the film Strange Brew (1983), which he also co-directed. As a duo, they made two albums, The Great White North and Strange Brew, the former gaining them a Grammy Award nomination and a Juno Award.
20/05/1947
Steve Currie, English bass player (died 1981)
T. Rex, originally Tyrannosaurus Rex, were an English rock band formed in London in 1967 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan, who was their leader, frontman and only consistent member. Originally an acoustic psychedelic folk band, Bolan began to change the band's style towards electric rock with their fourth album, 1970's A Beard of Stars, and shortened their name to T. Rex by the time their self-titled fifth album was released later that same year. This development culminated with their first significant hit single "Ride a White Swan", and the group soon became pioneers of the glam rock movement.
Greg Dyke, English journalist and academic
Gregory Dyke is a British media executive, football administrator, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has had a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing "tabloid" television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am. In the 1990s, he held chief executive positions at LWT Group, Pearson Television, and Channel 5.
20/05/1946
Cher, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
Cher is an American singer and actress. Dubbed the "Goddess of Pop", she is known for her androgynous contralto voice, bold fashion and visual presentation, and multifaceted career. Her screen roles often reflect her public image as a strong-willed, outspoken woman. An influential figure in popular culture, Cher has sustained a career spanning more than six decades through continual reinvention.
Bobby Murcer, American baseball player, coach, manager, and sportscaster (died 2008)
Bobby Ray Murcer was an American professional baseball outfielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1965 and 1983. He played the majority of his career for the New York Yankees, whom he later rejoined as a longtime broadcaster. A Gold Glove winner and five-time All-Star, and was voted to the Associated Press's American League 1970s All-Decade team. Murcer led the American League in on-base percentage in 1971, and in runs and total bases in 1972.
20/05/1945
Vladimiro Montesinos, Peruvian intelligence officer
Vladimiro Lenin Ilich Montesinos Torres is a Peruvian former intelligence officer and lawyer, most notorious for his role as the head of Peru's National Intelligence Service (SIN) during the presidency of Alberto Fujimori. Montesinos was widely regarded as the power behind the throne, often regarded as the true authority in the government, supported by the Peruvian Armed Forces.
20/05/1944
Joe Cocker, English singer-songwriter (died 2014)
John Robert "Joe" Cocker was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright" and "Unchain My Heart", were recordings of songs written by other song writers, though he composed a number of songs for most of his albums as well, often in conjunction with songwriting partner Chris Stainton.
Boudewijn de Groot, Indonesian-Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist
Frank Boudewijn de Groot is a Dutch singer-songwriter, known for "Welterusten mijnheer de president" (1966).
Keith Fletcher, English cricketer and manager
Keith William Robert Fletcher is an English former first-class cricketer who played for Essex and England. He later became England's team manager. His nickname was "The Gnome of Essex", so christened by his Essex teammate, Ray East, because Fletcher's winklepickers had begun to curl up at the toes due to wear.
Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman, co-founder of Red Bull GmbH (died 2022)
Dietrich Markwart Eberhart Mateschitz was an Austrian entrepreneur. He was the co-founder and 49% owner of Red Bull GmbH. In April 2022, Mateschitz's net worth was estimated at US$27.4 billion.
Pekka Siitoin, Finnish neo-Nazi and Satanist (d. 2003)
Timo Pekka Olavi Siitoin was a Finnish neo-Nazi, Satanist, and occultist.
20/05/1943
Albano Carrisi, Italian singer, actor, and winemaker
Albano Antonio Carrisi, better known as Al Bano, is an Italian singer and actor. Having sold over 25 million records globally and career spanning seven decades, he is one of the most recognisable Italian singers in the world. He has gained worldwide notability due to his four and a half octave vocal range as well as his personal and professional association with Romina Power, daughter of Hollywood actor Tyrone Power, lasting until the 1990s. Carrisi is acclaimed for singing with operatic affinity in pop, rock and italo disco repertoires with extensive head voice and minimal usage of falsetto vocal register. As of 2023, he has participated in 15 editions of the Sanremo Music Festival, tying the record for most participations with Anna Oxa, Milva, Peppino di Capri and Toto Cutugno; this includes a victory in 1984 duetting with Power. He additionally took part in the Sanremo Giovani selection in 1965.
Deryck Murray, Trinidadian cricketer
Deryck Lance Murray is a former West Indies cricketer. A wicketkeeper and right-handed batsman, Murray kept wicket to the West Indian fast bowling attacks of the 1970s ; his glovework effected 189 Test dismissals and greatly enhanced the potency of the bowling attack.
20/05/1942
Raymond Chrétien, Canadian lawyer and diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States
Raymond A. J. Chrétien is a Canadian lawyer and diplomat. He served as ambassador to the United States from 1994–2000. His uncle, Jean Chrétien, was the 20th prime minister from 1993 to 2003.
Lynn Davies, Welsh sprinter and long jumper
Lynn Davies CBE is a Welsh former track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. He was the 1964 Olympic champion in the event.
Carlos Hathcock, American sergeant and sniper (died 1999)
Carlos Norman Hathcock II was a United States Marine Corps (USMC) sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. His record and the extraordinary details of the missions he undertook made him a legend in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was honored by having a rifle named after him: a variant of the M21 dubbed the Springfield Armory M25 White Feather, for the nickname "White Feather" given to Hathcock by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).
Frew McMillan, South African tennis player
Frew Donald McMillan is a former professional tennis player from South Africa who won five grand slam doubles titles including three Wimbledons with Bob Hewitt. All together, he won 63 doubles titles, surpassed only by the Bryan brothers, Daniel Nestor, Mark Woodforde, Todd Woodbridge, John McEnroe and Tom Okker. He was also ranked No.1 in Doubles on the ATP Computer for a significant period from 1977 to 1979 when he was aged 37.
20/05/1941
Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Singapore
Goh Chok Tong, also known by his initials GCT, is a Singaporean retired politician who served as the second prime minister of Singapore from 1990 to 2004 and as a senior minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2011. He served as the secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP) from 1992 to 2004 and was the member of Parliament (MP) for Marine Parade Single Member Constituency from 1976 to 1988, and Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency from 1988 to 2020.
John Strasberg, American actor and teacher
John Strasberg is the son of Lee and Paula Strasberg of the Actors Studio, and brother of actress Susan Strasberg.
20/05/1940
Shorty Long, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 1969)
Frederick Earl "Shorty" Long was an American soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer for Motown's Soul Records imprint. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1980.
Stan Mikita, Slovak-Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (died 2018)
Stanley Mikita was a Slovak-born Canadian ice hockey player for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players. In 1961, he became the first Slovak-born player to win the Stanley Cup.
Sadaharu Oh, Japanese-Taiwanese baseball player and manager
Sadaharu Oh, also known as Wang Chen-chih, is a Chinese-Japanese former professional baseball player and manager who is currently the chairman of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Oh's playing career spanned across four decades, during which he played for only the Yomiuri Giants. He holds the world career home run record at 868, over 100 more than MLB record holder Barry Bonds.
20/05/1939
Balu Mahendra, Sri Lankan-Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (died 2014)
Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran, commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a Sri Lankan Tamil cinematographer, director, screenwriter, actor and film editor who worked in various Indian film industries, primarily in Tamil and Malayalam cinema. Born in Sri Lanka, Mahendran developed a passion for photography and literature at a young age, after witnessing the shoot of David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) during a school trip in Sri Lanka, he was drawn towards filmmaking. After graduation he joined as an Aerial photographer in the Sri Lankan Government. In 1966, he moved to India and gained admission to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) to pursue a course in motion picture photography. Upon completion of his diploma, he started working in Malayalam cinema as a cinematographer in the early 1970s.
20/05/1937
Dave Hill, American golfer (died 2011)
James David Hill was an American professional golfer. He was the brother of Mike Hill who was also a professional golfer.
Derek Lampe, English footballer
Derek Lampe is an English former professional footballer who played for Fulham and represented England Youth, playing in the position of centre half.
20/05/1936
Anthony Zerbe, American actor
Anthony Jared Zerbe is an American actor. After pursuing an interest in theater in his early years, including a stint at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City, he enlisted in the Air Force and later embarked upon a career in television and film.
20/05/1935
José Mujica, Uruguayan guerrilla leader and politician, 40th President of Uruguay (died 2025)
José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano was a Uruguayan politician, revolutionary and farmer who served as the 40th president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. A former guerrilla with the Tupamaros, he was tortured and imprisoned for 14 years during the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. A member of the Broad Front coalition of left-wing parties, Mujica was the minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008 and a senator afterwards. As the candidate of the Broad Front, he won the 2009 presidential election and took office as president on 1 March 2010.
20/05/1933
Constance Towers, American actress and singer
Constance Mary Towers is an American film, stage, and television actress. She gained prominence for her appearances in several mainstream 1950s films before transitioning to theater, starring in numerous Broadway productions through the 1970s. Her accolades include two Emmy Award nominations.
20/05/1931
Ken Boyer, American baseball player and manager (died 1982)
Kenton Lloyd Boyer was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman, coach and manager who played with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers for 15 seasons, 1955 through 1969.
Louis Smith, American trumpeter (died 2016)
Edward Louis Smith was an American jazz trumpeter from Memphis, Tennessee.
20/05/1930
Sam Etcheverry, American football player and coach (died 2009)
Samuel Etcheverry, nicknamed "the Rifle", was a professional American and Canadian football player and head coach. Etcheverry played the quarterback position, most famously with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, and was named Canadian football's Most Outstanding Player in 1954. Etcheverry's jersey #92 is one of seven retired by the Alouettes.
20/05/1929
Pedro Trebbau, German-born Venezuelan zoologist (died 2021)
Pedro Trebbau was a German-born Venezuelan zoologist. His career was characterized by the promotion and preservation of Venezuelan wildlife and nature. His research and collaboration with the herpetologist Peter Pritchard produced the still-extant reference book on The Turtles of Venezuela, the 2018 re-edition of which, alongside the biography done on him entitled Trebbau: Maestro por naturaleza by Albor Rodríguez, sparked the series Colección La Fauna, which aimed to collect Trebbau's work on the fauna of Venezuela.
Gilles Loiselle, Canadian politician and diplomat, 33rd Canadian Minister of Finance (died 2022)
Gilles Loiselle was a Canadian politician.
20/05/1927
Bud Grant, American football player and coach (died 2023)
Harry Peter "Bud" Grant Jr. was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Grant was head coach of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings for 18 seasons; he was the team's second (1967–1983) and fourth (1985) head coach, leading them to four Super Bowl appearances, 11 division titles, one league championship and three National Football Conference championships. Before coaching the Vikings, he was the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for 10 seasons, winning the Grey Cup four times.
David Hedison, American actor (died 2019)
Albert David Hedison Jr. was an American film, television, and stage actor. He was known for his roles as the title character in The Fly (1958), Captain Lee Crane in the television science fiction drama Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964–1968), and CIA agent Felix Leiter in two James Bond films, Live and Let Die (1973) and Licence to Kill (1989).
Franciszek Macharski, Polish cardinal (died 2016)
Franciszek Macharski was a Polish cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed Archbishop of Kraków from 1978, named by Pope John Paul II to succeed him in that role. Macharski was elevated to the cardinalate in 1979, and resigned as archbishop in 2005.
20/05/1926
Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (died 1956)
Robert Charles Sweikert was an American racing driver, best known as the winner of the 1955 Indianapolis 500 and the 1955 National Championship, as well as the 1955 Midwest Sprint car championship – the only driver in history to sweep all three during a single racing season.
20/05/1925
Alexei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-144 (died 2001)
Aleksey Andreevich Tupolev was a Soviet and Russian aircraft designer who led the development of the first supersonic passenger jet, the Tupolev Tu-144. He also helped design the Buran space shuttle and the long-range heavy bomber Tu-2000, both of which were suspended for lack of funding.
20/05/1924
David Chavchavadze, English-American CIA officer and author (died 2014)
David Chavchavadze was a British-born American author and a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer of Georgian-Russian origin.
Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan journalist and politician (died 1976)
Zelmar Raúl Michelini Guarch was a Uruguayan reporter and politician, assassinated in Buenos Aires in 1976 as part of Operation Condor.
20/05/1923
Edith Fellows, American actress (died 2011)
Edith Marilyn Fellows was an American actress who became a child star in the 1930s. Best known for playing orphans and street urchins, Fellows was an expressive actress with a good singing voice. She made her screen debut at the age of five in Charley Chase's film short Movie Night (1929). Her first credited role in a feature film was The Rider of Death Valley (1932). By 1935, she had appeared in over twenty films. Her performance opposite Claudette Colbert and Melvyn Douglas in She Married Her Boss (1935) won her a seven-year contract with Columbia Pictures, the first such contract offered to a child.
Sam Selvon, Trinidad-born writer (died 1994)
Samuel Dickson Selvon was a Trinidad-born writer, who moved to London, England, in 1950. His 1956 novel The Lonely Londoners is groundbreaking in its use of creolised English, or "nation language", for narrative as well as dialogue.
20/05/1922
Ted Hinton, Northern Irish international footballer (died 1988)
Edward Hinton was a Northern Irish international footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League. He was famed for keeping his false teeth in the back of his net when he played.
20/05/1921
Wolfgang Borchert, German author and playwright (died 1947)
Wolfgang Borchert was a German author and playwright whose work was strongly influenced by his experience of dictatorship and his service in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. His work is among the best-known examples of the Trümmerliteratur movement in post-World War II Germany. His most famous work is the drama Draußen vor der Tür (The Man Outside), which he wrote soon after the end of World War II. His works are uncompromising on the issues of humanity and humanism. He is one of the most popular authors of the German postwar period; his work continues to be studied in German schools.
Hal Newhouser, American baseball player and scout (died 1998)
Harold Newhouser, nicknamed "Prince Hal" and "Hurricane Hal," was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from 1939 to 1955, most notably for the Detroit Tigers, where he was selected for seven straight All-Star Games from 1942 to 1948. He became the first pitcher to win the Most Valuable Player Award twice in consecutive years, winning in 1944 and 1945. Newhouser was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1992 and his number 16 was retired by the Detroit Tigers in 1997.
Hao Wang, Chinese-American logician, philosopher, and mathematician (died 1995)
Hao Wang was a Chinese-American logician, philosopher, mathematician, and commentator on Kurt Gödel.
20/05/1920
John Cruickshank, Scottish lieutenant and banker, Victoria Cross recipient (died 2025)
John Alexander Cruickshank, was a Scottish banker, Royal Air Force officer, and a Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Cruickshank was awarded the VC for sinking a German U-boat and then, despite serious injuries, safely landing his aircraft. Before his death, he was the last living recipient to have been awarded the VC during the Second World War.
20/05/1919
George Gobel, American comedian (died 1991)
George Leslie Goebel was an American humorist, actor, and comedian. He was best known as the star of his own weekly comedy variety television series, The George Gobel Show, on NBC from 1954 to 1959 and on CBS from 1959 to 1960. He was also a familiar panelist on the NBC game show Hollywood Squares.
20/05/1918
Alexandra Boyko, Russian tank commander (died 1996)
Aleksandra Leontievna Boiko was a tank commander in the Soviet Army active in the Eastern Front of the Second World War.
Edward B. Lewis, American biologist, geneticist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2004)
Edward Butts Lewis was an American geneticist, a corecipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He helped to found the field of evolutionary developmental biology.
20/05/1917
Tony Cliff, Israeli-English author and activist (died 2000)
Tony Cliff was a Trotskyist activist. Born to a Jewish family in Ottoman Palestine, he moved to Britain in 1947 and by the end of the 1950s had assumed the pen name of Tony Cliff. A founding member of the Socialist Review Group, which became the International Socialists and then the Socialist Workers Party, in 1977. Cliff was effectively the leader of all three.
Guy Favreau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 28th Canadian Minister of Justice (died 1967)
Guy Favreau was a Canadian lawyer, politician and judge.
20/05/1916
Owen Chadwick, English rugby player, historian, and academic (died 2015)
William Owen Chadwick was a British Anglican priest, academic, rugby international, writer and prominent historian of Christianity. As a leading academic, Chadwick became Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History in 1958, serving until 1968, and from 1968 to 1983 was Regius Professor of History. Chadwick was elected master of Selwyn College, Cambridge, and served from 1956 to 1983.
Alexey Maresyev, Russian soldier and pilot (died 2001)
Aleksey Petrovich Maresyev was a Soviet and Russian military pilot who became a Soviet fighter ace during World War II despite becoming a double amputee.
Ondina Valla, Italian sprinter and hurdler (died 2006)
Trebisonda "Ondina" Valla was an Italian female athlete, and the first Italian woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal. She won it in the 80 m hurdles event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, after establishing the new world record during the semi-final.
20/05/1915
Peter Copley, English actor (died 2008)
Peter Copley was an English television, film and stage actor.
Moshe Dayan, Israeli general and politician, 5th Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 1981)
Moshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1953–1958) during the 1956 Sinai War, and as Defense Minister during the Six-Day War in 1967, he became a worldwide fighting symbol of the new state of Israel.
Joff Ellen, Australian comedian and actor (died 1999)
Joff Ellen, was an Australian entertainer, TV pioneer, actor and comedian.
20/05/1913
Teodoro Fernández, Peruvian footballer (died 1996)
Teodoro "Lolo" Fernández Meyzán was a Peruvian professional footballer who played as forward. All his football work was carried out as a player of the Universitario de Deportes of the Peruvian First Division. He was champion, best player and top scorer in the 1939 Copa América. He is the top idol of Universitario de Deportes and Peruvian First Division.
William Redington Hewlett, American engineer, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (died 2001)
William Redington Hewlett was an American engineer and the co-founder, with David Packard, of the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP).
Carlos J. Gradin, Argentine Archaeologist (died 2002)
Carlos Joaquín Gradin, also known as Carlos Gradín, was an Argentine surveyor and archaeologist. He carried out numerous studies in the Patagonian region, and is known for his extensive studies of Cueva de las Manos. He was a member of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET).
20/05/1911
Gardner Fox, American author (died 1986)
Gardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC Comics. Fox was also a science fiction author and wrote many novels and short stories.
Annie M. G. Schmidt, Dutch author and playwright (died 1995)
Anna Maria Geertruida "Annie" Schmidt was a Dutch writer. She is called the mother of the Dutch theatrical song, and the queen of Dutch children's literature, praised for her "delicious Dutch idiom," and considered one of the greatest Dutch writers. An ultimate honour was extended to her posthumously, in 2007, when a group of Dutch historians compiled the "Canon of the Netherlands" and included Schmidt, alongside national icons such as Vincent van Gogh and Anne Frank.
20/05/1908
Henry Bolte, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Victoria (died 1990)
Sir Henry Edward Bolte was an Australian politician who served as the 38th premier of Victoria from 1955 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Victorian division of the Liberal Party of Australia (LPA) and was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the division of Hampden from 1947 to 1972. He is the longest-serving premier in Victorian state history, having been in office for over 17 consecutive years.
Louis Daquin, French actor and director (died 1980)
Louis Daquin was a French film director, screenwriter and actor. He directed 14 films between 1938 and 1963. He also appeared in 11 films between 1937 and 1979.
Francis Raymond Fosberg, American botanist and author (died 1993)
Francis Raymond Fosberg was an American botanist. A prolific collector and author, he played a significant role in the development of coral reef and island studies.
James Stewart, American actor (died 1997)
James Maitland Stewart was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart appeared in 80 films from 1935 to 1991. His films are considered some of the greatest films of all time. In 1999, the American Film Institute (AFI) ranked him third on its list of the greatest American male actors; he received numerous honors including the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1980, the Kennedy Center Honor in 1983, as well as the Academy Honorary Award and Presidential Medal of Freedom, both in 1985.
20/05/1907
Carl Mydans, American photographer and journalist (died 2004)
Carl Mydans was an American photographer who worked for the Farm Security Administration and Life magazine.
20/05/1906
Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (died 1989)
Giuseppe Siri was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Genoa from 1946 to 1987, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1953. A protégé of Pope Pius XII, he took part in the Second Vatican Council and was considered a papabile for 20 years, during the conclaves of 1958, 1963, August 1978 and October 1978.
20/05/1904
Margery Allingham, English author of detective fiction (died 1966)
Margery Louise Allingham was an English novelist from the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", and considered one of its four "Queens of Crime", alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh.
20/05/1901
Max Euwe, Dutch chess player, mathematician, and author (died 1981)
Machgielis "Max" Euwe was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. He served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.
Doris Fleeson, American journalist (died 1970)
Doris Fleeson was an American journalist and columnist and was the first woman in the United States to have a nationally syndicated political column.
20/05/1900
Sumitranandan Pant, Indian poet and author (died 1977)
Sumitranandan Pant was an Indian poet. He was one of the most celebrated 20th century poets of the Hindi language and was known for romanticism in his poems which were inspired by nature, people and beauty within.
20/05/1899
Aleksandr Deyneka, Russian painter and sculptor (died 1969)
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Deyneka was a Soviet painter, graphic artist and sculptor, regarded as one of the most important Russian modernist figurative painters of the first half of the 20th century. His Collective Farmer on a Bicycle (1935) has been described as exemplifying the socialist realist style.
John Marshall Harlan II, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court (died 1971)
John Marshall Harlan was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. Harlan is usually called John Marshall Harlan II to distinguish him from his grandfather, John Marshall Harlan, who served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1877 to 1911.
20/05/1898
Eduard Ole, Estonian painter (died 1995)
Eduard Ole was an Estonian painter. Some of his most representative works are on permanent exhibition at the Kumu Art Museum of Estonia.
20/05/1897
Diego Abad de Santillán, Spanish economist and author (died 1983)
Sinesio Baudillo García Fernández, commonly known by his pseudonym Diego Abad de Santillán, was a Spanish Argentine anarcho-syndicalist economist. Born in León, his family moved to Argentina while he was young. He returned to Spain for his higher education and became involved in the Spanish anarchist movement. After his studies, he went back to Argentina and became involved with the Argentine Regional Workers' Federation (FORA), co-founding the International Workers' Association (IWA). Following the 1930 Argentine coup d'état and the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic, he again went to Spain, becoming involved in the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI). During the Spanish Civil War, he served in the Catalan government as Minister of Economy. After the war, he returned to Argentina and largely ceased political activities, going back to Spain only after the Spanish transition to democracy.
Malcolm Nokes, English hammer and discus thrower (died 1986)
Malcolm Cuthbert Nokes MC MA BSc was a British schoolteacher, soldier, research scientist and Olympic athlete, who competed in the hammer throw and discus throw.
20/05/1895
R. J. Mitchell, English engineer, designed the Supermarine Spitfire and Supermarine S.6B (died 1937)
Reginald Joseph Mitchell was a British aircraft designer who worked for the Southampton aviation company Supermarine from 1916 until 1936. He is best known for designing racing seaplanes, such as the Supermarine S.6B, and for leading the team that designed the Supermarine Spitfire.
20/05/1894
Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian guru and scholar (died 1994)
Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Shankaracharya Mahaswamigal also known as the Sage of Kanchi or Mahaperiyava was the 68th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Moolamnaya Saravjna Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. Mahaperiyava's discourses have been recorded in a Tamil book titled "Deivathin Kural".
20/05/1886
Ali Sami Yen, Turkish footballer and manager, founded the Galatasaray Sports Club (died 1951)
Ali Sami Yen, born Ali Sami Frashëri was a Turkish Albanian sports official best known as the founder of the Galatasaray Sports Club.
20/05/1883
Faisal I of Iraq (died 1933)
Faisal I bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi was a Hejazi statesman who served as the King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 until his death in 1933. A member of the Hashemite family, he was a leader of the Great Arab Revolt during the First World War, and ruled as the unrecognized King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria from March to July 1920 when he was expelled by the French.
20/05/1882
Sigrid Undset, Danish-Norwegian novelist, essayist, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1949)
Sigrid Undset was a Danish-born Norwegian novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.
20/05/1879
Hans Meerwein, German chemist (died 1965)
Hans Meerwein was a German chemist. Several reactions and reagents bear his name, most notably the Meerwein–Ponndorf–Verley reduction, the Wagner–Meerwein rearrangement, the Meerwein arylation reaction, and Meerwein's salt.
20/05/1877
Pat Leahy, Irish-American Olympic jumper (died 1927)
Patrick Joseph Leahy was an Irish athlete who won Olympic medals in the high jump and long jump at the 1900 Summer Olympics.
20/05/1875
Hendrik Offerhaus, Dutch Olympic rower and head of the Dutch Red Cross (died 1953)
Hendrik Karel Offerhaus was a Dutch medical doctor and rower who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Dutch boat Minerva Amsterdam, which finished third in the eight event.
20/05/1860
Eduard Buchner, German chemist, zymologist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1917)
Eduard Buchner was a German chemist and expert on fermentation, awarded the 1907 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on fermentation.
20/05/1856
Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (died 1910)
Henri-Edmond Cross, born Henri-Edmond-Joseph Delacroix, was a French painter and printmaker. He is most acclaimed as a master of Neo-Impressionism and he played an important role in shaping the second phase of that movement. He was a significant influence on Henri Matisse and many other artists. His work was instrumental in the development of Fauvism.
20/05/1854
George Prendergast, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Victoria (died 1937)
George Michael "Mick" Prendergast was an Australian politician who served as the 28th Premier of Victoria. He was born to Irish emigrant parents in Adelaide, but he grew up in Stawell, Victoria. He was apprenticed as a printer, and worked as a compositor in Ballarat, Sydney and Narrandera before settling in Melbourne in 1887. A member of the Typographical Association, he represented that union at the Melbourne Trades Hall, of which he was President in 1893.
20/05/1851
Emile Berliner, German-American inventor, invented the Gramophone record (died 1929)
Emile Berliner was a German-American inventor and businessman who invented the lateral-cut flat disc record, also known as a "gramophone record," used with a gramophone. He founded the United States Gramophone Company in 1894.
20/05/1838
Jules Méline, French lawyer and politician, 65th Prime Minister of France (died 1925)
Félix Jules Méline was a French statesman, Prime Minister of France from 1896 to 1898.
20/05/1830
Hector Malot, French author (died 1907)
Hector-Henri Malot was a French writer born in La Bouille, Seine-Maritime. He studied law in Rouen and Paris, but eventually literature became his passion. He worked as a dramatic critic for Lloyd Francais and as a literary critic for L'Opinion Nationale.
20/05/1825
Antoinette Brown Blackwell, the first woman to be ordained as a mainstream Protestant minister in the U.S. (died 1921)
Antoinette Louisa Brown, later Antoinette Brown Blackwell, was the first woman to be ordained as a mainstream Protestant minister in the United States. She was a well-versed public speaker on the paramount issues of her time and distinguished herself from her contemporaries with her use of religious faith in her efforts to expand women's rights. She was also known for her science based refutation of Darwin's gender bias in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex with her book The Sexes Throughout Nature.
20/05/1824
Cadmus M. Wilcox, Confederate States Army general (died 1890)
Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War and also was a Confederate general during the American Civil War.
20/05/1822
Frédéric Passy, French economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1912)
Frédéric Passy was a French economist and pacifist who was a founding member of several peace societies and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. He was also an author and politician, sitting in the Chamber of Deputies from 1881 until 1889. He was a joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 for his work in the European peace movement.
20/05/1818
William Fargo, American businessman and politician, co-founded Wells Fargo and American Express (died 1881)
William George Fargo was an American businessman and politician who founded Wells Fargo and Company, originally shipping, mail delivery, a stagecoach line, and banking, now Wells Fargo banking corporation, and American Express company.
20/05/1811
Alfred Domett, English-New Zealand poet and politician, 4th Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 1887)
Alfred Domett was the fourth premier of New Zealand, a close friend of the poet Robert Browning and author of the epic poem Ranolf and Amohia, a South Sea Day Dream. Born in England, he emigrated to New Zealand in 1842 and remained there for a further thirty years, holding many significant political posts.
20/05/1806
John Stuart Mill, English economist, civil servant, and philosopher (died 1873)
John Stuart Mill was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to social theory, political theory, and political economy. Dubbed "the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century" by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, he conceived of liberty as justifying the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state and social control. He advocated political and social reforms such as proportional representation, the emancipation of women, and the development of labour organisations and farm cooperatives.
20/05/1799
Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright (died 1850)
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence La Comédie humaine, described as a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is generally viewed as his magnum opus.
20/05/1795
Pedro María de Anaya, Mexican soldier. President (1847–1848) (died 1854)
Pedro Bernardino María de Anaya y Álvarez was a Mexican soldier who served twice as interim president of Mexico during the Mexican-American War. Inbetween presidencies, he directly participated in the fighting as an officer, distinguishing himself at the Battle of Churubusco.
20/05/1776
Simon Fraser, American-Canadian fur trader and explorer (died 1862)
Simon Fraser was a Canadian explorer and fur trader who charted much of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia. He also built the first European settlement in British Columbia.
20/05/1772
Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet, English inventor and politician, developed Congreve rockets (died 1828)
Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet KCH FRS was a British Army officer, Tory politician, publisher and inventor. A pioneer in the field of rocket artillery, he was renowned for his development and use of Congreve rockets during the Napoleonic Wars. His adaptation of Mysorean rocket technology from the Kingdom of Mysore represented a crucial development in the history of military rocketry, bridging Eastern innovation with Western industrial production and establishing rocket artillery as a practical weapon system that would influence military technology into the space age.
20/05/1769
Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (died 1835)
Andreas Vokos, better known by his nickname Miaoulis, was a Greek revolutionary, admiral, and politician who commanded Greek naval forces during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829).
20/05/1759
William Thornton, Virgin Islander-American architect, designed the United States Capitol (died 1828)
William Thornton was an American physician, inventor, painter and architect who designed the United States Capitol. He also served as the first Architect of the Capitol and first Superintendent of the United States Patent Office.
20/05/1726
Francis Cotes, English painter and academic (died 1770)
Francis Cotes was an English painter who was one of the pioneers of English pastel painting and co-founded the Royal Academy in 1768.
20/05/1664
Andreas Schlüter, German sculptor and architect (died 1714)
Andreas Schlüter was a German baroque sculptor and architect, active in the Holy Roman Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Russia.
20/05/1575
Robert Heath, English judge and politician (died 1649)
Sir Robert Heath was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1625.
20/05/1537
Hieronymus Fabricius, Italian anatomist (died 1619)
Girolamo Fabrici d'Acquapendente, also known as Girolamo Fabrizio or Hieronymus Fabricius, was a pioneering anatomist and surgeon known in medical science as "The Father of Embryology".
20/05/1531
Thado Minsaw of Ava, Viceroy of Ava (died 1584)
Thado Minsaw was viceroy of Ava (Inwa) from 1555 to 1584 during the reigns of kings Bayinnaung and Nanda of Toungoo Dynasty of Burma (Myanmar). He fought alongside his brothers Bayinnaung, Minye Sithu, Thado Dhamma Yaza II and Minkhaung II, and his nephew Nanda in nearly every campaign from the 1550s to 1570s that rebuilt, expanded and defended the Toungoo Empire. Two years after Bayinnaung's death, he raised the first serious rebellion against the rule of Nanda. Although his rebellion was defeated in April 1584, it had set in motion more rebellions elsewhere that ultimately led to the collapse of the empire in the next 15 years.
20/05/1505
Levinus Lemnius, Dutch writer (died 1568)
Levinus Lemnius was a Dutch physician and author.
20/05/1470
Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal, poet, and scholar (died 1547)
Pietro Bembo, O.S.I.H. was a Venetian scholar, poet, and literary theorist who also was a member of the Knights Hospitaller and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. As an intellectual of the Italian Renaissance, Pietro Bembo greatly influenced the development of the Tuscan dialect as a literary language for poetry and prose, which, by later codification into a standard language, became the modern Italian language. In the 16th century, Bembo's poetry, essays and books proved basic to reviving interest in the literary works of Petrarch. In the field of music, Bembo's literary writing techniques helped composers develop the techniques of musical composition that made the madrigal the most important secular music of 16th-century Italy.
20/05/1315
Bonne of Luxembourg, first wife of John II of France (died 1349)
Bonne of Luxemburg or Jutta of Luxemburg, was born Jutta (Judith), the second daughter of King John of Bohemia, and his first wife, Elisabeth of Bohemia. She was the first wife of King John II of France; however, as she died a year prior to his accession, she was never a French queen. Jutta was referred to in French historiography as Bonne de Luxembourg, since she was a member of the House of Luxembourg. Among her children were Charles V of France, Philip II, Duke of Burgundy, and Joan, Queen of Navarre.