4th May — Star Wars Day & International Firefighters' Day

On this day, 121 notable people were born on 4th May — spanning from 1006 to 2001. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

04/05/2001

Noah Beck, American media personality and actor

Noah Beck is an American media personality and actor, widely known for his content on TikTok. In 2019, Beck was a midfielder for the Portland Pilots men's soccer team. Beck's content includes dances and skits to audio clips of songs, movies, and TV shows. Beck has 33.5 million followers on TikTok, 7.8 million on Instagram, and over 1.51 million YouTube subscribers. TikTok listed Beck as one of the Top 10 breakout content creators of 2020. In 2023, he created the underwear brand IPHIS.

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Joan García, Spanish footballer

Joan Garcia Pons is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team.

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04/05/1998

Rex Orange County, English musician

Alexander James O'Connor, known professionally as Rex Orange County, is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Grayshott, England. NPR Music's Zoë Jones has described O'Connor's music as "a bright blend of hip-hop, jazz, and bedroom pop".

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04/05/1995

Shameik Moore, American actor and musician

Shameik Alti Moore is an American actor and musician. He made his lead acting debut in Dope (2015), and is best known for voicing Miles Morales / Spider-Man in the animated Spider-Verse film series and for portraying Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon in the Hulu series Wu-Tang: An American Saga.

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04/05/1994

Abi Masatora, Japanese sumo wrestler

Abi Masatora is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Saitama Prefecture. He made his debut in May 2013 and wrestles for Shikoroyama stable. He reached the top makuuchi division in January 2018 and has four special prizes for Fighting Spirit and one for Outstanding Performance. He has five gold stars for yokozuna upsets. His highest rank has been sekiwake. He won his first championship in November 2022.

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Joseph Tapine, New Zealand rugby league player

Joseph Tapine is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a prop or lock forward for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League and New Zealand and New Zealand Māori at international level.

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04/05/1992

Victor Oladipo, American basketball player

Kehinde Babatunde Victor Oladipo is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, where in the 2012–13 season he was named the Sporting News Men's College Basketball Player of the Year, the Co-NABC Defensive Player of the Year, and a first-team All-American by the USBWA and Sporting News. That year, he was also named the winner of the Adolph Rupp Trophy, given annually to the top player in men's NCAA Division I basketball.

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04/05/1991

Brianne Jenner, Canadian women's ice hockey player

Brianne Alexandra Jenner is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain for the Ottawa Charge of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a member of Canada women's national ice hockey team.

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04/05/1989

Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer

Rory Daniel McIlroy is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position during his career. A six-time major champion, he is the sixth man to complete the modern career grand slam—after Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods—and the first European to do so.

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James van Riemsdyk, American ice hockey player

James van Riemsdyk, often known by his initials JVR, is an American professional ice hockey player who is a left winger for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets.

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04/05/1988

Radja Nainggolan, Belgian footballer

Radja Nainggolan is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Challenger Pro League club Patro Eisden.

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04/05/1987

Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish footballer and manager

Francesc Fàbregas Soler is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who played as a central midfielder. He is the head coach of Serie A club Como.

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Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer

Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero is a Spanish former Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, having won three titles in the MotoGP class and two titles in 250cc.

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04/05/1986

Devan Dubnyk, Canadian ice hockey player

Devan Dubnyk is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, 14th overall, of the 2004 NHL entry draft.

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George Hill, American basketball player

George Jesse Hill Jr. is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While playing for Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), he was named Summit League Player of the Year and was an honorable mention All-American in his junior season.

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04/05/1985

Ravi Bopara, English cricketer

Ravinder Singh Bopara is an English cricketer who plays for Northamptonshire and has represented the England national team. Originally a top-order batsman, his developing medium pace bowling has made him a batting all rounder in the one day game. Bopara has also played for Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League, Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League, and Chittagong Vikings in the Bangladesh Premier League. Bopara was a member of the England team that won the 2010 ICC World Twenty20.

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Fernandinho, Brazilian footballer

Fernando Luiz Roza, known as Fernandinho, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation and one of the best Brazilians to play in the Premier League.

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Jamie Adenuga, English MC and rapper

Jamie Adenuga, known professionally as Jme, is an English grime MC, songwriter, record producer, rapper and DJ. He is the co-founder of the crew and label Boy Better Know. He also serves as a sole owner and director of an associated company, Boy Better Know Limited, which he incorporated in 2008. He was previously part of the grime collective Meridian Crew and later Roll Deep alongside his older brother, Skepta.

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04/05/1984

Brad Maddox, American wrestler and referee

Joshua Tyler Kluttz is an American retired professional wrestler and senior referee, best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Brad Maddox.

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04/05/1983

Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player

Derek Leonard Roy is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators and the Edmonton Oilers. He was originally drafted in the second round, 32nd overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2001 NHL entry draft.

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04/05/1981

Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon footballer

Eric Daniel Djemba-Djemba is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He previously played club football in France, England, Qatar, Denmark, Israel, Serbia, Scotland, India and Indonesia. In international competition, he represented Cameroon, having appeared for his country 34 times, including at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

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Ruth Negga, Ethiopian-Irish actress

Ruth Negga is an Irish-Ethiopian actress known for her roles on stage and screen. She has received various accolades including nominations for an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award. She gained international recognition for her portrayal of Mildred Loving in the Jeff Nichols directed historical romance drama Loving (2016), earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

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Dallon Weekes, American singer-songwriter and musician

Dallon James Weekes is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the frontman of the indie pop band the Brobecks, which temporarily operated as a solo project through the late 2000s. He was then a member of Panic! at the Disco from 2009 to 2017, performing in the band as a bassist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist. Weekes currently performs as the frontman of I Dont Know How but They Found Me.

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04/05/1980

Andrew Raycroft, Canadian ice hockey player

Andrew Joseph Ernest Raycroft is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and current media personality. Originally drafted by the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) 135th overall in 1998, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy with the club in 2004 as rookie of the year. Raycroft has also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, Hockey Milano Rossoblu and IF Björklöven.

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04/05/1979

Lance Bass, American singer, dancer, and producer

James Lance Bass is an American singer, actor, and producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the bass singer for the boy band NSYNC. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. NSYNC's success led Bass to work in film and television.

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Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan rugby player

Lesley Paea 'I'muli Vainikolo is a former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. A dual code international, he has played for the New Zealand Kiwis in rugby league and England in rugby union.

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04/05/1978

Erin Andrews, American sportscaster and journalist

Erin Jill Andrews is an American sportscaster and television personality. She rose to prominence as a correspondent on the American cable sports channel ESPN after joining the network in 2004. She later joined Fox Sports in 2012 and has since become the lead sideline reporter for the network's NFL broadcasting team. In 2010, she also gained further recognition from placing third on the tenth season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars and eventually co-hosted the show from 2014 to 2019 with Tom Bergeron.

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Igor Biscan, Croatian footballer and manager

Igor Bišćan is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who last coached Qatar Stars League club Al-Ahli. In his playing career, he was a versatile player and could play almost every position in defence or midfield, but featured mostly as a central midfielder, or as a central defender in his latter years.

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James Harrison, American football player

James Henry Harrison Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kent State Golden Flashes and was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2002. A five-time Pro Bowl selection, Harrison won two Super Bowls with the Steelers: XL and XLIII. In 2008, he became the only undrafted player to be named Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Harrison was known for his hard-hitting style during games.

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04/05/1975

Kimora Lee Simmons, American model

Kimora Lee, formerly known as Kimora Lee Simmons is an American fashion designer, television personality and former fashion model. Discovered as a teenager, she was signed to Chanel and went on to walk the runway for major fashion houses such as Fendi and Valentino and appeared on the covers of Vogue and Elle. She launched the global lifestyle brand Baby Phat in 1999. She ventured into reality television alongside her family, starring in the E! Network reality series Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane (2007-11), Kimora: House of Fab (2013), and currently in Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane (2025-present).

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04/05/1974

Tony McCoy, Northern Irish jockey and sportscaster

Sir Anthony Peter McCoy, commonly known as AP McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish former National Hunt horse racing jockey. Based in Ireland and Britain, McCoy rode a record 4,358 winners and was Champion Jockey a record 20 consecutive times, every year that he was a professional.

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04/05/1973

Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentinian footballer and coach

Guillermo Barros Schelotto is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the current manager of Vélez Sarsfield.

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John Madden, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

John J. Madden is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), most prominently for the New Jersey Devils. An undrafted player from the University of Michigan, he won the Stanley Cup three times during his NHL career: twice with the Devils and once with the Chicago Blackhawks. Madden was noted during his career for his ability to kill penalties, play both ends of the ice and score shorthanded goals.

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04/05/1972

Mike Dirnt, American bass player and songwriter

Michael Ryan Pritchard, better known by his stage name Mike Dirnt, is an American rock musician who is the co-founder, bassist, backing vocalist, and occasional lead vocalist of Green Day.

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Chris Tomlin, American singer-songwriter

Christopher Dwayne Tomlin is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, and worship leader from Grand Saline, Texas. He is signed to Universal's Capitol Christian Music Group. Some of his most well-known songs are "How Great Is Our God", "Our God", "Whom Shall I Fear " and "Holy Forever".

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04/05/1970

Will Arnett, Canadian actor and producer

William Emerson Arnett is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom Arrested Development and the titular character in the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman (2014–2020). He has received nominations for seven Primetime Emmy Awards and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

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Dawn Staley, American basketball player

Dawn Michelle Staley is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team. A point guard, she played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers and spent eight seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), primarily with the Charlotte Sting. Staley also played on the United States women's national basketball team, winning three gold medals at the Olympic Games from 1996 to 2004, and was the head coach of the team that won an Olympic gold medal in 2021. Widely considered to be one of the greatest players and coaches in the history of the sport, she is the only person to win the Naismith Award as both a player and a coach.

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04/05/1967

Kate Garraway, English journalist

Kathryn Mary Draper-Garraway is an English broadcaster and journalist. In the 1990s, Garraway was a journalist for ITV News Central and later a co-presenter of ITV News Meridian. From 2000 to 2010, she co-presented GMTV. Currently, Garraway is the presenter of Mid Mornings with Kate Garraway on Smooth Radio and newsreader and co-anchor of the ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain.

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Ana Gasteyer, American actress and singer

Ana Kristina Gasteyer is an American actress, comedian and singer. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's Suburgatory, TBS's People of Earth, NBC's American Auto, and the film Mean Girls.

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04/05/1961

Jay Aston, English singer-songwriter and dancer

Jay Hilda Aston is a British singer and occasional songwriter. She was a member of the British pop group Bucks Fizz from 1981 to 1985. She was the youngest member of the group's original line-up, aged 19 when they won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. During Aston's membership, the group had 12 of their 13 UK top 40 hit singles, including three number one hits. Since 2009, she has performed alongside fellow original Bucks Fizz members Cheryl Baker and Mike Nolan. The group used to perform under the name the Original Bucks Fizz but are now known as the Fizz.

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04/05/1960

Werner Faymann, Austrian politician, 28th Chancellor of Austria

Werner Faymann is an Austrian former politician who was Chancellor of Austria and chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) from 2008 to 2016. On 9 May 2016, he resigned from both positions amid widening criticism within his party.

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04/05/1959

Randy Travis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor

Randy Bruce Traywick, known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country and gospel music singer and songwriter, as well as a film and television actor. Active since 1979, he has recorded over 20 studio albums and charted more than 50 singles on Billboard's Hot Country Songs charts, including sixteen that reached the number-one position.

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04/05/1958

Keith Haring, American painter (died 1990)

Keith Allen Haring was an American artist and activist. His bold, graphic imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Emerging from New York City's downtown art and graffiti scenes in the early 1980s, he transformed subway chalk drawings into an internationally celebrated career that bridged street art and Pop art.

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Caroline Spelman, English politician, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dame Caroline Alice Spelman is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Meriden in the West Midlands from 1997 to 2019. From May 2010 to September 2012 she was the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in David Cameron's coalition cabinet, and was sworn as a Privy Counsellor on 13 May 2010.

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04/05/1957

Kathy Kreiner, Canadian skier

Katharine Kreiner-Phillips is a former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from Canada.

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Soozie Tyrell, American musician

Soozie Tyrell, formerly known as Soozie Kirschner, is an American musician, most known for her work with Bruce Springsteen in the E Street Band and formerly the Sessions Band.

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04/05/1956

David Guterson, American author

David Guterson is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, journalist, and essayist. He is best known as the author of the bestselling Japanese American internment novel Snow Falling on Cedars (1994).

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Sharon Jones, American soul singer (died 2016)

Sharon Lafaye Jones was an American soul and funk singer. She was the lead singer of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, a soul and funk band based in Brooklyn, New York. Jones experienced breakthrough success relatively late in life, releasing her first record when she was 40 years old. In 2014, Jones was nominated for her first Grammy, in the category Best R&B Album, for Give the People What They Want.

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Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player and coach

Kenneth Ray Oberkfell is an American former third baseman. He played from 1977 to 1992 for six different teams. Oberkfell primarily played third base but he also played over 400 career games at second base. After retiring as a player, Oberkfell served as a baseball coach. He has primarily coached in the minor leagues, but he spent the part of the 2008 as the New York Mets first base coach and spent the 2011 season as the Mets bench coach.

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04/05/1954

Ryan Cayabyab, Filipino pianist, composer, and conductor

Raymundo Cipriano "Ryan" Pujante Cayabyab is a Filipino musician, composer and conductor of Original Pilipino Music (OPM). He was the Executive and Artistic Director for several years for the defunct San Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts. He was named National Artist of the Philippines for Music in 2018.

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04/05/1953

Pia Zadora, American actress and singer

Pia Zadora is an American actress and singer. She debuted as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964). She came to national attention in 1981 when, following her starring role in the highly criticized Butterfly, she won a Golden Globe Award as New Star of the Year while simultaneously winning the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress and the Worst New Star for the same performance.

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04/05/1952

Belinda Green, Australian beauty queen and 1972 Miss World

Belinda Lynette Green OAM is an Australian model and beauty queen who won the Miss World 1972 contest at the age of 20. She became the second Australian to win the title; the first, Penelope Plummer, was crowned Miss World in 1968. The pageant was held in London, at the Royal Albert Hall. Green's triumph came in a year that saw Australia win the Miss Universe crown, the Miss Asia Pacific title, and placed first runner-up in the Miss International.

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04/05/1951

Colin Bass, English bass player, songwriter, and producer

Colin Bass is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Since 1979, he has been a member of the British progressive rock band Camel, who, after a ten-year hiatus due to the ill health of bandleader Andrew Latimer, returned to active touring in 2013. From 1984 to 1992, he was also a core figure in the pioneering world music group 3 Mustaphas 3. He has also made two solo albums under his own name and three albums recorded in Indonesia under the name Sabah Habas Mustapha. The title track of the first, "Denpasar Moon", became a hugely popular song in Indonesia in the mid-1990s and has been covered by over 50 Indonesian, Malaysian, Japanese and Filipino artists. As a record producer he has worked with a diverse range of international artists including: the Klezmatics (USA), SambaSunda (Indonesia), Daniel Kahn & the Painted Bird (USA) Krar Collective (Ethiopia), Etran Finatawa (Niger) and 9Bach (Wales) amongst others. As a guest artist he has appeared on albums by a number of artists including Malian singing star Oumou Sangare, playing on all tracks of her 1993 Ko Sira album.

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Colleen Hanabusa, American lawyer and politician

Colleen Wakako Hanabusa was an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she ran for her party's nomination for governor of Hawaii in 2018, challenging and losing to incumbent and fellow Democrat David Ige.

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Jackie Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer

Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson is an American singer and songwriter. He is a founding member and the sole constant member of the Jackson 5, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. He is the second child of the Jackson family, and the oldest Jackson brother.

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04/05/1949

John Force, an American NHRA drag racer

John Harold Force is an American retired NHRA drag racer. He is a 16-time NHRA and one-time AHRA Funny Car champion driver and a 22-time champion car owner. Force owns and was a driver for his own team John Force Racing (JFR). He is one of the most dominant drag racers in the sport with 157 career victories as a driver. He graduated from Bell Gardens High School and briefly attended Cerritos Junior College to play football. He is the father of drag racers Ashley Force Hood, Brittany Force, and Courtney Force. His oldest daughter Adria Hight is the CFO of JFR.

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Graham Swift, British author

Graham Colin Swift FRSL is an English novelist, poet and short story writer.

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04/05/1948

King George Tupou V of Tonga (died 2012)

George Tupou V was King of Tonga from 2006 until his death in 2012. He was the eldest son of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV.

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04/05/1946

John Barnard, English car designer

John Edward Barnard, is an English engineer and racing car designer. Barnard is credited with the introduction of two new designs into Formula One: the carbon fibre composite chassis first seen in 1981 with McLaren, and the semi-automatic gearbox with shift paddles on the steering wheel, which he introduced with Ferrari in 1989.

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Gary Bauer, American political activist

Gary Lee Bauer is an American civil servant, activist, and former political candidate. He served in President Ronald Reagan's administration as Under Secretary of Education and Chief Domestic Policy Advisor, and later became president of the Family Research Council and a senior vice president of Focus on the Family, both conservative Christian organizations. Bauer was a candidate in the 2000 Republican Party presidential primaries and participated in five national debates. He is known for his advocacy of religious liberty, support for Israel, and his dedication to electing conservative candidates to Congress.

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John Watson, British race car driver

John Marshall Watson is a British former racing driver and broadcaster from Northern Ireland, who competed in Formula One from 1973 to 1985. Watson won five Formula One Grands Prix across 12 seasons.

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04/05/1945

Robert Machray, American actor (died 2025)

Robert Machray Ward was an American stage and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing the recurring role of fire marshal Dobbins in the American sitcom television series Cheers.

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04/05/1944

Russi Taylor, American voice actress (died 2019)

Russi Taylor was an American voice actress. She is best remembered for voicing the character of Minnie Mouse from 1986 to 2019 and was married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, from 1991 until his death in 2009. She was the longest-tenured voice actress to voice the character, holding the role for 33 years. She also provided the voices of several characters in The Simpsons, most prominently Martin Prince, Uter Zorker, and Sherri and Terri.

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04/05/1943

Georgi Asparuhov, Bulgarian footballer (died 1971)

Georgi Asparuhov Rangelov, nicknamed Gundi, was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker.

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04/05/1941

George Will, American journalist and author

George Frederick Will is an American libertarian conservative writer and political commentator. He writes columns for The Washington Post on a regular basis and provides commentary for NewsNation. In 1986, The Wall Street Journal called him "perhaps the most powerful journalist in America". Will won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1977.

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04/05/1940

Robin Cook, American physician and author

Robert Brian "Robin" Cook is an American physician and novelist who writes largely about medicine and topics affecting public health.

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04/05/1939

Amos Oz, Israeli journalist and author (died 2018)

Amos Oz was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist, and intellectual. He was also a professor of Hebrew literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1967 onwards, Oz was a prominent advocate of a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

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04/05/1938

Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican journalist, author, and critic (died 2010)

Carlos Monsiváis Aceves was a Mexican philosopher, writer, critic, political activist, and journalist. He also wrote political opinion columns in leading newspapers within the country's progressive sectors. His generation of writers includes Elena Poniatowska, José Emilio Pacheco, and Carlos Fuentes. Monsiváis won more than 33 awards, including the 1986 Jorge Cuesta Prize, the 1989 Mazatlán Prize, and the 1996 Xavier Villaurrutia Award. Considered a leading intellectual of his time, Monsiváis documented contemporary Mexican themes, values, class struggles, and societal change in his essays, books and opinion pieces. He was a staunch critic of the long-ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), leaned towards the left-wing, and was ubiquitous in disseminating his views on radio and television. As a founding member of "Gatos Olvidados", Monsiváis wanted his and other "forgotten cats" to be provided for beyond his lifetime.

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04/05/1937

Ron Carter, American bassist and educator

Ronald Levin Carter is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy Awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded numerous times on the instrument. In addition to a solo career of more than 60 years, Carter is well-known for playing on numerous iconic Blue Note albums in the 1960s, as well as being the anchor of trumpeter Miles Davis's "Second Great Quintet" from 1963-1968.

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Dick Dale, American surf-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (died 2019)

Richard Anthony Monsour, known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scales and experimenting with reverb. Dale was known as "The King of the Surf Guitar," which was also the title of his second studio album.

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04/05/1932

Harlon Hill, American football player and coach (died 2013)

Harlon Junius Hill was an American professional football end who played for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Hill played for the Chicago Bears, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Detroit Lions. He was the NFL Rookie of the Year in 1954 and winner of the Jim Thorpe Trophy as the NFL Most Valuable Player in 1955. The Harlon Hill Trophy, named in his honor, is awarded annually to the nation's best NCAA Division II football player. After his playing career, he became a coach and educator.

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04/05/1930

Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the Jackson family

Katherine Esther Jackson is the matriarch of the Jackson family of entertainers that includes her children Michael and Janet Jackson. Michael dedicated his sixth studio album Thriller (1982) to her. Janet did the same with her fourth studio album Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). In 1985, acknowledging the positive impact on her children's successful music careers, Essence magazine honored her as "Mother of the Year".

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04/05/1929

Manuel Contreras, Chilean general (died 2015)

Juan Manuel "Mamo" Guillermo Contreras Sepúlveda was a Chilean Army officer and the former head of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), Chile's secret police during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. In 1995, he was convicted of the murder of Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier in Washington, DC, and sentenced to seven years in prison, which he served until 2001. At the time of his death, Contreras was serving 59 unappealable sentences totaling 529 years in prison for kidnapping, forced disappearance, and assassination.

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Audrey Hepburn, Belgian-British actress and humanitarian (died 1993)

Audrey Kathleen Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Hollywood cinema. She was inducted into the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame and is one of only a few entertainers who have won competitive Academy, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards.

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04/05/1928

Maynard Ferguson, Canadian trumpet player and bandleader (died 2006)

Walter Maynard Ferguson CM was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served as stepping stones for up-and-coming talent, his versatility on several instruments, and his ability to play in a high register.

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Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian air marshal and politician, 4th President of Egypt (died 2020)

Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the 4th president of Egypt from 1981 until his resignation in 2011, following the Egyptian revolution. He was previously the 7th vice president under President Anwar Sadat from 1975 until his accession to the presidency, and the 41st prime minister from 1981 to 1982. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force. He served as its commander from 1972 to 1975 and rose to the rank of air chief marshal in 1973.

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Betsy Rawls, American golfer (died 2023)

Elizabeth Earle Rawls was an American professional golfer who played on LPGA Tour. She won eight major championships and 55 LPGA Tour career events. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

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04/05/1925

Maurice R. Greenberg, American businessman and philanthropist

Maurice Raymond "Hank" Greenberg is an American business executive and former chairman and chief executive officer of American International Group (AIG).

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04/05/1923

Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian (died 2012)

Eric Sykes was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Tommy Cooper, Peter Sellers, John Antrobus and Johnny Speight. Sykes first came to prominence through his many radio credits as a writer and actor in the 1950s, which include collaboration on some scripts for The Goon Show. He became a television star in his own right in the early 1960s when he appeared with Hattie Jacques in several popular BBC comedy television series.

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04/05/1922

Eugenie Clark, American biologist and academic (died 2015)

Eugenie Clark, popularly known as The Shark Lady, was an American ichthyologist known for both her research on shark behavior and her study of fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. Clark was a pioneer in the field of scuba diving for research purposes. In addition to being regarded as an authority in marine biology, Clark was popularly recognized and used her fame to promote marine conservation.

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04/05/1921

Edo Murtić, Croatian painter, sculptor, and illustrator (died 2005)

Edo Murtić was a Croatian painter, best known for his lyrical abstraction and abstract expressionism style. He worked in a variety of media, including oil painting, gouache, graphic design, ceramics, mosaics, murals and theatrical set design. Murtić travelled and exhibited extensively in Europe and North America, gaining international recognition for his work, which can be found in museums, galleries and private collections worldwide. He was one of the founders of the group "March" (Mart) in 1956, and received many international awards. In 1958 Murtić participated in the three biggest events in the world of contemporary art: the Venice Biennale, the Carnegie Prize in Pittsburgh, and Documenta in Kassel. Interest in the art of Edo Murtić continues to grow, with retrospective exhibits in major museums.

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04/05/1918

Kakuei Tanaka, Japanese soldier and politician, 64th Prime Minister of Japan (died 1993)

Kakuei Tanaka was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1972 to 1974. Known for his background in construction and earthy and tenacious political style, Tanaka is the only modern Japanese prime minister who did not finish high school or graduate from a university.

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04/05/1917

Nick Joaquin, Filipino writer, journalist and historian (died 2004)

Nicomedes "Nick" Marquez Joaquin was a Filipino writer and journalist best known for his short stories and novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de Manila. Joaquin was conferred the rank and title of National Artist of the Philippines for Literature. He has been considered one of the most important Filipino writers, along with José Rizal and Claro M. Recto. Unlike Rizal and Recto, whose works were written in Spanish, Joaquin's major works were written in English despite being literate in Spanish.

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04/05/1916

Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist (died 2006)

Jane Isabel Jacobs was an American-Canadian journalist, author, theorist, and activist who influenced urban studies, sociology, and economics. Her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) argued that "urban renewal" and "slum clearance" did not respect the needs of city-dwellers.

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04/05/1914

Maedayama Eigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 39th Yokozuna (died 1971)

Maedayama Eigorō was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ehime Prefecture. He was the sport's 39th yokozuna.

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04/05/1913

Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (died 2007)

Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark, styled in the United Kingdom as Lady Katherine Brandram from 1947 until 2007, was the third daughter and youngest child of King Constantine I of Greece and Princess Sophia of Prussia.

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04/05/1907

Lincoln Kirstein, American soldier and playwright, co-founded the New York City Ballet (died 1996)

Lincoln Edward Kirstein was an American writer, impresario, art connoisseur, philanthropist, and cultural figure in New York City, noted especially as co-founder of the New York City Ballet. He developed and sustained the company with his organizing ability and fundraising for more than four decades, serving as the company's general director from 1946 to 1989. According to the New York Times, he was "an expert in many fields", organizing art exhibits and lecture tours in the same years.

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04/05/1903

Luther Adler, American actor (died 1984)

Luther Adler was an American actor who worked in theatre, film, television, and directed plays on Broadway.

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04/05/1902

Ronnie Aird, English cricketer and administrator (died 1986)

Ronald Aird was an English first-class cricketer, cricket administrator and British Army officer. Aird began his first-class cricket career with Hampshire County Cricket Club in 1920, making over 100 appearances for the county in which he scored over 3,600 runs. After also playing first-class cricket for Cambridge University Cricket Club while studying at Clare College, Aird was appointed assistant secretary of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1926, which restricted his appearances in first-class cricket thereafter. He served as assistant secretary under William Findlay and Rowan Rait Kerr, and was himself elected secretary following Kerr's retirement in 1952. Aird remained in the post until 1962 and became MCC president in 1968, the year in which he chaired the special general meeting of the MCC over relations with South Africa during the D'Oliveira affair. He was president of Hampshire County Cricket Club from 1971 to 1983. Outside of cricket, Aird served in the Second World War with the Royal Armoured Corps and was decorated with the Military Cross.

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04/05/1898

Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer-songwriter and actress, known as Kawkab al-Sharq , Star of the East (died 1975)

Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi, known by her stage name Umm Kulthum, was an Egyptian singer and film actress. She was given the honorific title Kawkab el-Sharq. Immensely popular throughout the Middle East and beyond, Umm Kulthum is a national icon in her native Egypt; she has been dubbed "The Voice of Egypt" and "Egypt's Fourth Pyramid". In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Umm Kulthum at number 61 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

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04/05/1890

Franklin Carmichael, Canadian painter (died 1945)

Franklin Carmichael was a Canadian artist and member of the Group of Seven. Though he was primarily famous for his use of watercolours, he also used oil paints, charcoal and other media to capture the Ontario landscapes. Besides his work as a painter, he worked as a designer and illustrator, creating promotional brochures, advertisements in newspapers and magazines, and designing books. Near the end of his life, Carmichael taught in the Graphic Design and Commercial Art Department at the Ontario College of Art.

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04/05/1889

Francis Spellman, American cardinal (died 1967)

Francis Joseph Spellman was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of New York from 1939 until his death in 1967. From 1932 to 1939, Spellman served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston. He was created a cardinal by Pope Pius XII in 1946.

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04/05/1887

Andrew Dasburg, French-American painter (died 1979)

Andrew Michael Dasburg was an American modernist painter and "one of America's leading early exponents of cubism". Born in Paris and raised in New York City, he trained at the Art Students League of New York before traveling to Paris, where he encountered the work of Paul Cézanne and became deeply influenced by Cubism. He became an ardent promoter of the Cubist style and exhibited at the landmark 1913 Armory Show, where his three Cubist-oriented oils were considered "daringly experimental".

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04/05/1884

Richard Baggallay, English army officer and cricketer (died 1975)

Richard Romer Claude Baggallay was an English army officer and cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1912 and 1919 and captained the side in 1913, 1914 and 1919.

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04/05/1883

Wang Jingwei, Chinese politician (died 1944)

Wang Zhaoming, widely known by his pen name Wang Jingwei, was a Chinese politician and poet who was leader of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China (RNG), a collaborationist regime with the Empire of Japan during World War II.

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04/05/1852

Alice Liddell, English model (died 1934)

Alice Pleasance Hargreaves was an English woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photographic subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip became the classic 1865 children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She shared her name with "Alice", the story's protagonist, but scholars disagree about the extent to which the character was based upon her.

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04/05/1851

Thomas Dewing, American painter (died 1938)

Thomas Wilmer Dewing was an American painter working at the turn of the 20th century. Schooled in Paris, Dewing was noted for his figure paintings of aristocratic women. He was a founding member of the Ten American Painters and taught at the Art Students League of New York. The Freer Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian Institution has a collection of his works. He was the husband of fellow artist Maria Oakey Dewing.

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04/05/1843

Bianka Blume, German opera singer (died 1896)

Bianka Blume was a German soprano opera singer.

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04/05/1827

John Hanning Speke, English soldier and explorer (died 1864)

John Hanning Speke was an English explorer and army officer who made three exploratory expeditions to Africa. He is most associated with the search for the source of the Nile and, with Richard Burton, was the first European to reach Lake Victoria.

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04/05/1826

Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (died 1900)

Frederic Edwin Church was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for painting large landscapes, often depicting mountains, waterfalls, and sunsets. Church's paintings put an emphasis on realistic detail, dramatic light, and panoramic views. He debuted some of his major works in single-painting exhibitions to a paying and often enthralled audience in New York City. In his prime, he was one of the most famous painters in the United States.

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04/05/1825

Thomas Henry Huxley, English biologist, anatomist, and academic (died 1895)

Thomas Henry Huxley was an English biologist and anthropologist who specialised in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

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Augustus Le Plongeon, English-American historian, photographer, and academic (died 1908)

Augustus Henry Julian Le Plongeon was a British-American antiquarian and photographer who studied the pre-Columbian ruins of America, particularly those of the Maya civilization on the northern Yucatán Peninsula. While his writings contain many notions that were not well received by his contemporaries and were later disproven, Le Plongeon left a lasting legacy in his photographs documenting the ancient ruins. He was one of the earliest proponents of Mayanism.

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04/05/1822

Charles Boucher de Boucherville, Canadian physician and politician, 3rd Premier of Quebec (died 1915)

Sir Charles-Eugène-Napoléon Boucher de Boucherville was a Canadian politician and medical doctor. He twice served as the premier of Quebec.

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04/05/1820

Julia Gardiner Tyler, American wife of John Tyler, 11th First Lady of the United States (died 1889)

Julia Gardiner Tyler was the first lady of the United States from June 26, 1844, to March 4, 1845, as the second wife of President John Tyler. A member of the influential Gardiner family, Tyler had many figures as suitors. She met the widowed President Tyler in 1842, and agreed to marry him after he comforted her in the aftermath of her father David Gardiner's death. They married in secret, making her first lady immediately upon their marriage, serving in the role for the final eight months of his presidency.

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John Whiteaker, American soldier, judge, and politician, 1st Governor of Oregon (died 1902)

John Whiteaker was an American politician, soldier, and judge. A native of Indiana, he joined the army during the Mexican–American War and then prospected during the California Gold Rush. After moving to the Oregon Territory, he served as a judge and member of the legislature. A Democrat, Whiteaker served as the first state governor of Oregon from 1859 until 1862 and later was Oregon's Representative from 1879 to 1881. He also was president of the Oregon State Senate and Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives.

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04/05/1796

Horace Mann, American educator and politician (died 1859)

Horace Mann was an American educational reformer, abolitionist and Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education; he is thus also known as The Father of American Education. In 1848, after public service as Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education, Mann was elected to the United States House of Representatives (1848–1853). From September 1852 to his death in 1859, he served as President of Antioch College.

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William Pennington, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of New Jersey, 23rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (died 1862)

William Pennington was an American politician and lawyer. He was the 13th governor of New Jersey from 1837 to 1843. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives, during which he served as the first Republican Speaker of the House from 1860 to 1861.

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William H. Prescott, American historian and scholar (died 1859)

William Hickling Prescott was an American historian and Hispanist, who is widely recognized by historiographers to have been the first American scientific historian. Despite having serious visual impairment, which at times prevented him from reading or writing for himself, Prescott became one of the most eminent historians of 19th-century America. He is also noted for his eidetic memory, also called "photographic memory".

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04/05/1772

Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German publisher (died 1823)

Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus was a German encyclopedia publisher and editor, famed for publishing the Conversations-Lexikon, which is now published as the Brockhaus encyclopedia.

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04/05/1770

François Gérard, French painter (died 1837)

François Pascal Simon Gérard, titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was Italian.

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04/05/1767

Tyagaraja, Indian composer (died 1847)

Sadguru Sri Tyāgarāja Swāmi, also known as Tyāgayya, and in full as Kākarla Tyāgabraḥmaṁ, was a composer of Carnatic Music, a form of Indian Classical Music. Tyāgarāja and his contemporaries, Śyāma Śāstri and Muthuswāmi Dikshitar, are regarded as the Trinity of Carnatic Music. Tyāgarāja composed hundreds of devotional kṛti, mostly in Telugu and in praise of Rāma. Many of them remain popular to this day. Of special mention are five of his compositions called the Pañcaratna Kṛti, which are often sung in programs held in his honor. Tyāgarāja composed many Utsava Sāmpradāya Kṛti, meant to be sung in temple rituals/festivities and Divya Nāma Saṅkīrtana, sung as a part of concerts and daily life.

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04/05/1757

Manuel Tolsá, Spanish sculptor and first director of the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City (died 1816)

Manuel Vicente Tolsá Sarrión was a prolific Neoclassical architect and sculptor in Spain and New Spain. He served as the first director of the Academy of San Carlos.

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04/05/1752

John Brooks, American soldier and politician, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1825)

John Brooks was an American medical doctor, military officer, and politician from Massachusetts. He served as the 11th governor of Massachusetts from 1816 to 1823, and was one of the last Federalist officials elected in the United States.

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04/05/1733

Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (died 1799)

Jean-Charles, chevalier de Borda was a French mathematician, physicist, and Navy officer.

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04/05/1715

Richard Graves, English minister and author (died 1804)

Richard Graves was an English cleric, poet, and novelist. He is remembered especially for his picaresque novel The Spiritual Quixote (1773).

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04/05/1677

Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, French noblewoman (died 1749)

Françoise Marie de Bourbon was the youngest illegitimate daughter of King Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Montespan. At the age of 14, she married her first cousin Philippe d'Orléans, the future regent of France during the minority of Louis XV. Through two of her eight children, she became the ancestress of several of Europe's Roman Catholic monarchs of the 19th and 20th centuries—notably those of Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and France.

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04/05/1655

Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the piano (died 1731)

Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco was an Italian maker of musical instruments famous for inventing the piano.

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04/05/1649

Chhatrasal, Indian ruler (died 1731)

Maharaja Chhatrasal Bundela was the Bundela Maharaja of Panna or Maharaja of Bundelkhand from 1675 to 1731. He is well known for his resistance against the Mughal Empire and leading the struggle of independence of Bundelkhand.

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04/05/1634

Katherine Ferrers, English aristocrat and heiress (died 1660)

Katherine Ferrers was an English gentlewoman and heiress. According to popular legend, she was also the "Wicked Lady", a highwaywoman who terrorised the English county of Hertfordshire before dying from gunshot wounds sustained during a robbery.

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04/05/1559

Alice Spencer, English noblewoman (died 1637)

Alice Spencer, Countess of Derby was an English noblewoman from the Spencer family and noted patron of the arts. Poet Edmund Spenser represented her as "Amaryllis" in his eclogue Colin Clouts Come Home Againe (1595) and dedicated his poem The Teares of the Muses (1591) to her.

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04/05/1006

Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, Persian mystic and poet (died 1088)

Abu Ismaïl Abdullah al-Harawi al-Ansari or Abdullah Ansari of Herat (1006–1089) also known as Pir-i Herat "Sage of Herat", was a Sufi saint, who lived in Herat, Ghaznavid Empire. Ansari was a commentator on the Qur'an, scholar of the Hanbali school of thought (madhhab), traditionalist, polemicist and spiritual master, known for his oratory and poetic talents in Persian language.

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