Born on Wednesday, 8th October – Famous Birthdays
On this day, 240 notable people were born on 8th October — spanning from -319 to 2003. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.
Ursula von der Leyen, the current President of the European Commission, was born on 8 October 1958 in Brussels, Belgium. The Belgian-German physician and politician rose to prominence through her political career in Germany before assuming leadership of the European Union’s executive branch. Her appointment marked a significant moment in European governance, bringing extensive experience in defence and healthcare to one of the world’s most influential institutions. Brussels, where von der Leyen was born, stands as the de facto capital of the European Union and hosts the main institutions of EU governance, including the Commission headquarters. The city has served as a major political centre for centuries and continues to shape European policy and international relations.
On 8 October 1895, Juan Perón was born in Argentina, later becoming the nation’s 29th President and one of Latin America’s most influential political figures. Similarly, this date marks the birth of numerous notable individuals across various fields, from entertainment to sports and academia. Spanning centuries of births, 8 October has produced influential figures whose contributions have shaped their respective disciplines and societies.
The modern era has particularly enriched this date with talent. Spanish tennis player Sara Sorribes Tormo was born on 8 October 1996, continuing a tradition of athletic achievement on this date. The list extends across continents and professions, encompassing scientists, artists, athletes and public figures whose work has left lasting impact. From executives who have steered major corporations to performers who have captivated audiences worldwide, the diversity of individuals born on this date reflects the varied talents and ambitions that emerge across human endeavour.
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Discover who was born today 19th April.
08/10/2003
Ángela Aguilar, Mexican-American singer
Ángela Aguilar Álvarez is a Mexican and American singer. She was born in Los Angeles while her mother was accompanying her father, Pepe Aguilar, on tour. Aguilar gained notable recognition after performing "La Llorona" at the 19th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2018. Her paternal grandparents are the actors and singers from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre.
08/10/2002
Brian Thomas Jr., American football player
Brian Thomas Jr. is an American professional football wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers, leading the FBS in touchdown receptions in 2023. Thomas was selected by the Jaguars in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Zheng Qinwen, Chinese tennis player
Zheng Qinwen is a Chinese professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 4 by the WTA, achieved in June 2025, and is only the second Chinese player to reach the top 5 in women's singles after Li Na. Zheng has won five career singles titles, including the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the first Asian tennis player to win an Olympic gold medal in singles.
08/10/1999
Putthipong Assaratanakul, Thai actor and singer
Putthipong Assaratanakul, nicknamed Billkin, is a Thai actor and singer. He is known for his roles as Tao in My Ambulance (2019), as Teh in I Told Sunset About You (2020) and I Promised You the Moon (2021), and as M in How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024).
Camila Rossi, Brazilian rhythmic gymnast
Camila Rossi is a Brazilian rhythmic gymnast.
08/10/1997
Bella Thorne, American actress
Annabella Avery Thorne is an American actress, singer, and writer. She first received recognition for her roles as Margaux Darling in the series Dirty Sexy Money (2007–2008) and as Ruthy Spivey in the drama series My Own Worst Enemy (2009), the latter of which earned her a Young Artist Award.
08/10/1996
Sara Sorribes Tormo, Spanish tennis player
Sara Sorribes Tormo is a Spanish professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 32 achieved on 7 February 2022 and a best doubles ranking of No. 17, reached on 6 May 2024. Her most notable result is a bronze medal in the women's doubles at the 2024 Summer Olympics, with Cristina Bucșa.
Sara Takanashi, Japanese ski jumper
Sara Takanashi is a Japanese ski jumper. She is one of the most successful female ski jumpers to date, as well as one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport, having won four World Cup overall titles, seven World Championship medals, and two bronze Winter Olympics medals. As of April 2026, Takanashi holds the record for the most individual World Cup wins, male or female, with 63. She also has three Guinness World Records certificates for the most podium finishes in the Ski Jumping World Cup, the most individual victories by a female in the Ski Jumping World Cup, and the most Ski Jumping World Cup individual victories in a career (overall).
08/10/1995
Grayson Allen, American basketball player
Grayson James Allen is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played four years of college basketball at Duke University, where he helped Duke win a national championship in 2015. He has often been called one of Duke's best players of the 2010s. Allen was drafted with the 21st overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz, where he played for one season before being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in July 2019. In August 2021, Allen was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he played for two seasons before being traded to the Suns in September 2023.
G Herbo, American rapper
Herbert Randall Wright III, better known by his stage name G Herbo, is an American rapper. He signed with the Chicago-based record label Machine Entertainment Group in 2011, at the age of 16. His debut mixtape, Welcome to Fazoland (2014), was released by the label, along with its follow-ups Pistol P Project (2014), Ballin Like I'm Kobe (2015), and Strictly 4 My Fans (2016). His debut studio album, Humble Beast (2017), was released by Cinematic Music Group and met with critical acclaim.
08/10/1993
Angus T. Jones, American actor
Angus Turner Jones is an American former actor. Jones made his film debut in Simpatico (1999) at the age of six and followed with roles in the films See Spot Run (2001), The Rookie (2002) and Bringing Down the House (2003). He gained mainstream recognition in the 2000s for playing Jake Harper on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men (2003–2013), for which he won two Young Artist Awards and a TV Land Award.
Garbiñe Muguruza, Spanish tennis player
Garbiñe Muguruza Blanco is a Venezuelan-born Spanish former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and world No. 10 in doubles. Muguruza won ten WTA Tour-level singles titles, including two majors at the 2016 French Open and the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, as well as the 2021 WTA Finals. She also finished runner-up at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships and the 2020 Australian Open.
Molly Quinn, American actress and producer
Molly Caitlyn Quinn is an American actress who has worked in theatre, film, and television. Her roles include Alexis Castle, daughter of the title character on ABC's Castle.
Bubba Wallace, American race car driver
William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing.
08/10/1992
Chelsea Gray, American basketball player
Chelsea Nichelle Gray is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Rose of Unrivaled. Nicknamed "Point Gawd", she was the eleventh pick in the 2014 WNBA draft by the Connecticut Sun. After missing the 2014 season due to injury, she made her debut in the following year. Gray won her first title with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016. She won her second title with the Las Vegas Aces in the 2022 WNBA Finals, where she was named Finals MVP, and she won her third and fourth title with Las Vegas Aces in 2023 and 2025. She won gold medals for 5x5 basketball at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. Her team, Rose BC, won the first ever Unrivaled league championship, where Gray was team captain and Finals MVP.
08/10/1991
Jordan McLean, Australian rugby league player
Jordan McLean is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level.
08/10/1990
Rachel Klamer, Zimbabwean-Dutch triathlete
Rachel Klamer is a Dutch professional triathlete and member of the National team. She placed third at the Junior World Championships in 2009.
08/10/1987
Aya Hirano, Japanese voice actress and singer
Aya Hirano is a Japanese actress and singer. Beginning in the entertainment industry as a child actor in television commercials, she appeared in her first voice acting role in the anime television series Angel Tales (2001).
Hassan Maatouk, Lebanese footballer
Hassan Ali Maatouk is a Lebanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Lebanese Premier League club Jwaya. Known for his pace and technical skills, Maatouk is the Lebanon national team's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, captaining the side from 2016 to 2024.
08/10/1986
Camilla Herrem, Norwegian handball player
Camilla Herrem is a Norwegian handball player for Sola HK and formerly the Norwegian national team.
08/10/1985
Bruno Mars, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
Peter Gene Hernandez, known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and dancer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, retro showmanship, and musical versatility. He is accompanied by his band, the Hooligans. Raised in Honolulu, Mars gained recognition in Hawaii as a child for his impersonation of Elvis Presley, before moving to Los Angeles in 2003 to pursue a musical career.
08/10/1984
Domenik Hixon, American football player
Domenik Hixon is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL draft. He played college football for the Akron Zips. He was also a member of the New York Giants, with whom he became a two-time Super Bowl winner against the New England Patriots twice, as well as a member of the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears.
08/10/1983
Travis Pastrana, American motorcycle racer
Travis Alan Pastrana is an American professional athlete known for his success across multiple disciplines, including freestyle motocross, rally racing, NASCAR, and stunt performance. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s, becoming a multi-time X Games gold medalist and achieving numerous milestones in freestyle motocross, including being the first to land a double backflip in competition in 2006. Prior to his freestyle career, Pastrana was also a successful motorcycle racer, winning titles in the AMA Motocross and Supercross 125cc divisions in 2000 and 2001, respectively.
08/10/1982
Miloš Pavlović, Serbian race car driver
Miloš Pavlović is a Serbian professional racing driver.
Annemiek van Vleuten, Dutch cyclist
Annemiek van Vleuten is a retired Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who most recently rode for UCI Women's WorldTeam Movistar Team.
08/10/1981
Raffi Torres, Canadian ice hockey player
Raphael Torres is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He was drafted by the New York Islanders fifth overall in the 2000 NHL entry draft. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Phoenix Coyotes and San Jose Sharks.
08/10/1980
Nick Cannon, American actor, rapper, and producer
Nicholas Scott Cannon is an American comedian, actor, and rapper. He began his career on Nickelodeon's All That before going on to host Wild 'n Out, America's Got Talent, Lip Sync Battle Shorties, and The Masked Singer.
The Miz, American wrestler, actor, and television personality
Michael Gregory Mizanin is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE since 2004, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz.
J. R. Ramirez, Cuban-American actor
J. R. Ramirez is a Cuban-American actor. He is best known for his series regular role of Detective Jared Vasquez on the NBC/Netflix series Manifest. Prior, he was a series regular as Julio on the Starz series Power and as Oscar Arocho on the Netflix / Marvel Television series Jessica Jones. Ramirez also played Ted Grant / Wildcat in a recurring role in the third season of Arrow.
08/10/1979
Paul Burchill, English wrestler
Paul Birchall, better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler, making appearances for the National Wrestling Alliance under the ring name Burchill. He is best known for his time with WWE. Prior to joining WWE, Burchill wrestled for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance and other promotions in Europe.
Kristanna Loken, American actress
Kristanna Sommer Loken is an American actress and model. After her modelling career, in which she participated in the 1994 Elite Model Look, Loken started her acting career in 1994 as the third actress to play Danielle 'Dani' Andropoulos on an episode of As the World Turns. She later appeared in several television shows and films, such as Mortal Kombat: Conquest and Air Panic (2001). Her breakthrough role was as the gynoid T-X in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), for which she was nominated for two Saturn Awards. She has since starred in films such as BloodRayne (2005), in which she portrayed Rayne, Bounty Killer (2013), and Darkness of Man (2024), as well as the TV series Painkiller Jane (2007), The L Word (2007–2008) and Burn Notice (2011–2012).
08/10/1977
Anne-Caroline Chausson, French cyclist
Anne-Caroline Chausson is a French professional cyclist who competes in bicycle enduro, bicycle motocross (BMX), downhill time trial and cross-country mass start, dual, and four-cross mountain bicycle racing. She is best known for having won thirteen Union Cycliste Internationale senior mountain bike world championship rainbow jerseys, fourteen European mountain bike championships, and five consecutive Mountain Bike World Cup downhill series (1998–2002). She was nominated for the 2003 Laureus World Sports Awards Alternative Sportsperson of the Year. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Chausson competed for France in the inaugural women's BMX event, winning the gold medal.
Jamie Marchi, American voice actress, director, and screenwriter
Jamie Marchi is an American voice actress, ADR director and script writer. She has provided a number of voices for English-language versions of anime and video games. She is known for her role as Masane Amaha in Witchblade, Mari Ohara in Love Live! Sunshine!!, Mimi in Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne, Mitsuko Kongo in A Certain Scientific Railgun, Charlotte E. Yeager in Strike Witches, Haruna Saotome in Negima!, Rias Gremory in High School DxD, Panty Anarchy in the first season of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Cathy in Angels of Death, and Mt. Lady in My Hero Academia.
08/10/1976
Karina Bacchi, Brazilian model and actress
Karina Bacchi is a Brazilian actress, model and television presenter, best known for being the winner of the first season of the Brazilian version of Dancing with the Stars and the winner of the second season of the Brazilian version of The Farm.
Jinnih Beels, Belgian politician
Jinnih Beels is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of Vooruit, she has represented Antwerp since June 2024.
Renate Groenewold, Dutch speed skater and cyclist
Renate Titzia Groenewold is a Dutch former long track speed skater and road bicycle racer.
08/10/1974
Kevyn Adams, American ice hockey player and coach
Kevyn William Adams is an American former professional ice hockey center and executive. During his career, Adams played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Phoenix Coyotes and the Chicago Blackhawks. After his playing career, Adams served as both an associate coach and general manager for the Buffalo Sabres.
Fredrik Modin, Swedish ice hockey player
Jan Fredrik Modin is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player. A left winger, he played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is best remembered for his most productive years with the Tampa Bay Lightning, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2004.
Koji Murofushi, Japanese hammer thrower
Alexander Koji Murofushi is a Japanese former hammer thrower and sports scientist. He has been among the world elite since the 2001 World Championships, where he won the silver medal. He was the 2004 Olympic champion. In 2011, he was crowned world champion.
08/10/1973
Jim Fairchild, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Kirby James Fairchild is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a guitarist of the indie rock bands Grandaddy and Modest Mouse. Fairchild has released solo material under the pseudonym All Smiles.
Kari Korhonen, Finnish cartoonist
Kari Korhonen is a Finnish cartoonist known for his stories about Donald Duck.
08/10/1972
Terry Balsamo, American guitarist and songwriter
Terry Philip Balsamo II is an American musician who is best known as a former guitarist of the rock bands Cold and Evanescence.
Stanislav Varga, Slovak footballer and manager
Stanislav Varga is a Slovak professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Tatran Liptovský Mikuláš.
08/10/1971
Marc Ellis, New Zealand rugby player and television host
Marc Christopher Gwynne Ellis is a New Zealand businessman, television presenter, and former rugby union and rugby league player who played in the 1990s and 2000s.
David Gauke, English lawyer and politician
David Michael Gauke is a British political commentator, solicitor and former politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Hertfordshire from 2005 to 2019. He served in the Cabinet under Theresa May, most notably as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from 2018 to 2019. First elected as a Conservative, Gauke had the Conservative whip removed on 3 September 2019 and until the dissolution sat as an independent politician.
Pınar Selek, Turkish sociologist, author, and academic
Pınar Selek is a Turkish sociologist, feminist, and author. She is known for her work on the rights of vulnerable communities in Turkey, including women, the poor, street children, sexual minorities, and Kurdish communities, and for the ensuing political persecution. She is the author of several books published in Turkish, German, and French, and is one of the founding editors of Amargi, a Turkish feminist journal. She currently resides in France where she obtained academic exile in Strasbourg then Nice under the French PAUSE program. She later obtained a permanent assistant professor position in sociology at Université Côte d'Azur, with the Migrations and Society Research Unit. She became a French citizen in 2017.
Monty Williams, American basketball player and coach
Tavares Montgomery Williams is an American professional basketball coach, executive, and former player of the National Basketball Association (NBA) who is the head coach of the TMI Episcopal’s boys basketball team. He most recently served as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons. Williams played for five NBA teams during a playing career that spanned from 1994 to 2003. His NBA coaching career has included stints as an assistant coach, associate head coach, and head coach.
08/10/1970
Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, Congolese colonel
Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui is a colonel in the Congolese army and a former senior commander of the National Integrationist Front (FNI) and the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri (FRPI).
Matt Damon, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
Matthew Paige Damon is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among Forbes's most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received various awards and nominations, including an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards and seven Primetime Emmy Awards.
Anne-Marie Duff, English actress
Anne-Marie Duff is an English actress and narrator. She is best known for her BAFTA nominated television roles in Shameless and The Virgin Queen, and her performance as Grace Williams in Bad Sisters, for which she won the Best Supporting Actress BAFTA in 2024.
Sadiq Khan, English lawyer and politician, Minister of State for Transport, Mayor of London
Sir Sadiq Aman Khan is a British politician serving as the third and current mayor of London since 2016. He was previously the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's soft left and has been ideologically characterised as a social democrat.
Tetsuya Nomura, Japanese video game designer and director
Tetsuya Nomura is a Japanese video game artist, designer, producer, and director working for Square Enix. He was hired by Square initially as a monster designer for Final Fantasy V (1992), before being shifted towards secondary character designer alongside Yoshitaka Amano for Final Fantasy VI (1994). Final Fantasy VII (1997) had him working in the original story alongside Hironobu Sakaguchi, and marked his debut as the lead character designer, a capacity he would retain for several future installments of the series, as well as other Square Enix titles such as The Bouncer and The World Ends with You. He also created the characters Cactuar, Gilgamesh, and Tonberry.
08/10/1968
Zvonimir Boban, Croatian footballer and sportscaster
Zvonimir Boban is a Croatian former professional footballer who serves as president of GNK Dinamo Zagreb. A midfielder, Boban played most of his career for Italian club AC Milan with whom he won four Serie A titles and one UEFA Champions League title. He also captained the Croatia national team which won third place at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Emily Procter, American actress
Emily Procter is an American actress and activist. She played Ainsley Hayes in the NBC political drama The West Wing and Det. Calleigh Duquesne in the CBS police procedural drama CSI: Miami (2002–2012).
08/10/1967
Teddy Riley, American singer-songwriter and producer
Edward Theodore Riley is an American record producer and songwriter credited with the creation of new jack swing, a hip-hop and R&B fusion genre. Musical artists who utilized Riley's production and songwriting — namely Michael Jackson, Bobby Brown, Heavy D & the Boyz, Keith Sweat, Hi-Five, and the Jacksons, among others — helped popularize the genre with several hit songs and albums from the late 1980s to 1990s. He is the founder and lead vocalist of the musical group Blackstreet, as well as its predecessor Guy.
08/10/1966
Art Barr, American wrestler (died 1994)
Arthur Leon Barr was an American professional wrestler. While he wrestled briefly for World Championship Wrestling, he found his greatest success in Mexico's Asistencia Asesoría y Administración promotion.
Karyn Parsons, American actress and producer
Karyn Parsons Rockwell is an American actress, author and comedian. She is best known for her role as Hilary Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1990 to 1996. Parsons also starred in the 1995 film Major Payne opposite Damon Wayans, and in The Job (2001–2002) as Toni.
08/10/1965
Matt Biondi, American swimmer and coach
Matthew Nicholas Biondi is an American former competitive swimmer and water polo player. As a swimmer, he is an eleven-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in five events. Biondi competed in the Summer Olympic Games in 1984, 1988 and 1992, winning a total of eleven medals. During his career, he set three individual world records in the 50-meter freestyle and four in the 100-meter freestyle.
Ardal O'Hanlon, Irish comedian, actor, and screenwriter
Ardal O'Hanlon is an Irish comedian, actor, and author. He played Father Dougal McGuire in Father Ted (1995–1998), George Sunday/Thermoman in My Hero (2000–2005), and DI Jack Mooney in Death in Paradise (2017–2020). He has written two novels The Talk of the Town (1998) and Brouhaha (2022).
Harri Koskela, Finnish wrestler
Harri Matias Koskela is a Finnish wrestler and Olympic medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling.
C. J. Ramone, American singer-songwriter and bass player
Christopher Joseph Ward, better known as C. J. Ramone, is an American musician. He is best known for performing from 1989 to 1996 as the bassist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of the punk rock group the Ramones after replacing original bassist Dee Dee Ramone — a role that lasted until the band's retirement. He is one of three Ramones former members still living and active in music, the others being Marky Ramone and Richie Ramone.
08/10/1964
Jakob Arjouni, German author (died 2013)
Jakob Bothe, better known by his pen name Jakob Arjouni, was a German author. He received the 1992 German Crime Fiction Prize for One Man, One Murder.
CeCe Winans, American singer-songwriter
Priscilla Marie Love, known professionally by her stage name as CeCe Winans, is an American gospel singer who has received 18 Grammy Awards, the most for any female gospel singer; 36 GMA Dove Awards, 28 Stellar Awards, 7 NAACP Image Awards, 6 Billboard Music Awards, and many other awards and honors including being one of the inaugural inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in Atlanta. She is the best-selling and most awarded female gospel singer of all time, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and on the Music City Walk of Fame in downtown Nashville.
08/10/1962
Bruno Thiry, Belgian race car driver
Bruno Thiry is a Belgian rally driver. He was born in St. Vith, Liège Province.
Chen Xiaoxia, Chinese diver
Chen Xiaoxia is a former Chinese diver and the first Chinese world champion in diving. She was dubbed "Diving Queen" by the US Swimming World Magazine.
08/10/1961
Jon Stevens, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter
Jon Stevens is a New Zealand singer, best known as the lead singer of the band Noiseworks in 1986–1992, the portrayal of Judas in a 1992 Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and as the lead singer for the Australian rock band INXS in 2000–2003 after the death of the band's original lead singer Michael Hutchence.
Simon Burke, Australian actor and producer
Simon Gareth Burke is an Australian actor, active in films, television and theatre.
Kim Wayans, American actress and comedian
Kimberly Nichole Wayans is an American actress, comedian and director. Having made her television debut as Allison in the first season of The Cosby Show spin-off A Different World (1987–1988), she became known for her numerous roles on the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color (1990–1993) and as Tonia Harris on the NBC/UPN sitcom In the House (1995–1998). Wayans also starred as Audrey in the drama film Pariah (2011), for which she was nominated for a Black Reel Award and an NAACP Image Award.
08/10/1960
Andrea Anastasi, Italian volleyball player and coach
Andrea Anastasi is an Italian professional volleyball coach and former player. He was a member of the Italy national team from 1981 to 1991, and during his career won the 1990 World Champion title.
Bryndís Hlöðversdóttir, Icelandic politician
Bryndís Hlöðversdóttir is an Icelandic politician and former member of the Althing. A member of the Social Democratic Alliance, she represented the Reykjavík constituency from April 1995 to May 2003 and the Reykjavík North constituency from May 2003 to August 2005.
Reed Hastings, American businessman, co-founded Netflix
Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder of Netflix, which provides the eponymous streaming service. Hastings serves on a number of boards and works with various non-profit organizations. A former president of the California State Board of Education, Hastings is also an advocate for charter schools.
Rano Karno, Indonesian actor and politician
Rano Karno is an Indonesian actor and politician who has served as the vice governor of Jakarta since 20 February 2025. Previously, he served as governor of Banten from 2014 to 2017 and its vice governor from 2012 to 2014, the first governor or vice governor to be elected in two different provinces. As a result of his fame gained from his acting career, he is known for starring in the 1979 film Gita Cinta dari SMA and his role as Si Doel in various media starting from the 1972 film Si Doel Anak Betawi.
Ralf Minge, German footballer and manager
Ralf Minge is a German footballer former coach and player who works as sporting director of Dynamo Dresden.
François Pérusse, Canadian singer-songwriter and comedian
François Pérusse is a Québécois comedian and musician famous for his radio sketches featuring puns and absurd humour. His best-known sketches are from the series Les 2 minutes du peuple.
Mike Teague, English rugby player
Michael Clive Teague is an English rugby union player who played for the British Lions on two tours.
08/10/1959
Gavin Friday, Irish singer-songwriter, actor, and producer
Gavin Friday is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter, best known as a founding member of the post-punk group The Virgin Prunes.
Erik Gundersen, Danish motorcycle racer
Erik Gundersen is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Gundersen is one of the most successful speedway riders of all time, having won the Speedway World Champion on three occasions, the Long Track World Championship twice and the World Pairs Championship five times. He is also a seven-time World Team Cup winner with Denmark, and earned 91 international caps for the country.
Peter Horrocks, English journalist and producer
Peter John Gibson Horrocks CBE is a broadcast executive and a former Vice-Chancellor of The Open University. He was educated at the independent King's College School in Wimbledon and at Christ's College, Cambridge. He was previously director of the BBC World Service Group.
Mike Morgan, American baseball player and coach
Michael Thomas Morgan is an American former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for 12 different teams over 25 years, and is one of 31 players in baseball history to appear in Major League baseball games in four decades (1978–2002). Upon his retirement, Morgan held the major league record for most major league teams played for (12), but this record was surpassed by Octavio Dotel in 2012 and Edwin Jackson in 2018. Because of this, Morgan was nicknamed "the Nomad" by his teammates due to his constant travel from team to team.
Carlos I. Noriega, Peruvian-American colonel and astronaut
Carlos Ismael Noriega Jiménez is a Peruvian-American NASA employee, a former NASA astronaut and a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. Carlos became the first Peruvian-born astronaut who went to space. Carlos was born in Lima, Peru and moved to Santa Clara, California in early childhood.
08/10/1958
Steve Coll, American journalist and author
Steve Coll is an American journalist, historian, academic, and executive.
Bret Lott, American journalist, author, and academic
Bret Lott is the New York Times author and professor of English at the College of Charleston. He is Crazyhorse magazine's nonfiction editor and leads a study abroad program every summer to Spoleto, Italy.
Ruffin McNeill, American football player and coach
Ruffin Horne McNeill Jr. is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the special assistant to the head coach at NC State University. He previously served as the assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach at the University of Oklahoma and the assistant head coach and defensive line coach at the University of Virginia. McNeill also served as the head coach of the East Carolina Pirates from 2010 to 2015. Before being named head coach of the Pirates, McNeill served the Texas Tech Red Raiders as an interim head coach, assistant head coach, special teams coordinator, and linebackers coach. On December 28, 2009, he was named interim head coach of the Red Raiders following the suspension and later firing of head coach Mike Leach. He served in the position until the hiring of Tommy Tuberville, who subsequently released him as defensive coordinator.
Ursula von der Leyen, Belgian-German physician and politician, Defense Minister of Germany, President of the European Commission
Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen is a German politician and physician who has served as President of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding positions in Angela Merkel's cabinet, most recently as Federal Minister for Defence. She is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its affiliated European political party, the European People's Party (EPP). On 7 March 2024, the EPP elected her as its Spitzenkandidat to lead the campaign for the 2024 European Parliament elections. She was re-elected to head the Commission in July 2024.
08/10/1957
Antonio Cabrini, Italian footballer and manager
Antonio Cabrini is an Italian professional football manager and a former player. He played as a left-back, mainly with Juventus. He won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Cabrini was nicknamed Bell'Antonio, because of his popularity as a charismatic and good-looking football player. On the field, he made a name for himself as one of Italy's greatest defenders ever, and is remembered in particular for forming one of the most formidable defensive units of all time with Italy and Juventus, alongside goalkeeper Dino Zoff, as well as defenders Claudio Gentile and Gaetano Scirea. Cabrini won the Best Young Player Award at the 1978 World Cup, after helping Italy manage a fourth-place finish, and also represented Italy at Euro 1980, once again finishing in fourth place. He is one of the few players to have won all UEFA Club competitions, an achievement he managed with Juventus. In 2021, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.
08/10/1956
Jeff Lahti, American baseball player
Jeffrey Allen Lahti is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is an alumnus of Portland State University.
Janice E. Voss, American engineer and astronaut (died 2012)
Janice Elaine Voss was an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. Voss received her B.S. in engineering science from Purdue University, her M.S. in electrical engineering from MIT, and her PhD in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT. She flew in space five times, jointly holding the record for American women. Voss died in Arizona on February 6, 2012, from breast cancer.
Stephanie Zimbalist, American actress
Stephanie Zimbalist is an American actress best known for her role as Laura Holt in the NBC detective series Remington Steele.
08/10/1955
Bill Elliott, American race car driver
William Clyde Elliott Sr., also known as "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", "Million Dollar Bill", or "Wild Bill" is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Superstar Racing Experience part-time in 2022. His accolades include the 1988 Winston Cup Championship and garnering 44 wins in that series, including crown jewel victories in two Daytona 500s, three Southern 500s, one Winston 500 (1985), and one Brickyard 400 (2002). Elliott achieved a NASCAR record four consecutive wins at Michigan International Speedway between 1985 and 1986, and seven wins overall, the most at any one racetrack in his career. Elliott also won an additional six exhibition (non-points) races in his career, including one Winston All-Star Race win in 1986, one Busch Clash win in 1987, and four Daytona Duel wins in 1985, 1986, 1992, and 2000.
Alain Ferté, French race car driver
Alain Serge Léon Ferté is a French professional racing driver. He is the elder brother of Michel Ferté, who was also a professional racing driver.
Darrell Hammond, American comedian and actor
Darrell Clayton Hammond is an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and announcer. He was a regular cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2009, and has been its announcer since 2014.
Paul Lennon, Australian politician, 42nd Premier of Tasmania
Paul Anthony Lennon is an Australian Labor Party politician. He was Premier of Tasmania from 21 March 2004 until his resignation on 26 May 2008. He was member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the seat of Franklin from 1990 until officially resigning on 27 May 2008. He left office abruptly after his preferred premier rating fell to 17%, largely as a result of perceptions of corruption in his government's fast-tracked approval of the Gunns Bell Bay Pulp Mill proposal, which had effectively bypassed normal planning procedure.
Lonnie Pitchford, American singer and guitarist (died 1998)
Lonnie Pitchford was an American blues musician and instrument maker from Lexington, Mississippi, United States. He was one of only a handful of young African American musicians from Mississippi who had learned and was continuing the Delta blues and country blues traditions of the older generations.
08/10/1954
Michael Dudikoff, American actor
Michael Joseph Stephen Dudikoff Jr., is an American actor, model and martial artist. He was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Redondo Beach, California and held various jobs to pay for his education, during this time he became a model. This led him to do acting auditions. He played supporting roles in films and television shows, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts action film American Ninja (1985).
Huub Rothengatter, Dutch race car driver and manager
Hubertus "Huub" Rothengatter is a former racing driver from the Netherlands. He participated in 30 Formula One (F1) Grands Prix, debuting on 17 June 1984. He scored no championship points. He drove for Spirit, Osella and Zakspeed.
08/10/1953
Robert Saxton, English composer and educator
Robert Saxton is a British composer.
08/10/1952
Takis Koroneos, Greek basketball player and coach
Panagiotis "Takis" Koroneos is a retired Greek professional basketball player and a professional basketball coach. He is also a former member of the Greece men's national basketball team. During his playing career, his nickname was, "The Galis Before Galis".
Jan Marijnissen, Dutch journalist and politician
Johannes Guillaume Christianus Andreas "Jan" Marijnissen is a retired Dutch politician of the Socialist Party (SP).
Edward Zwick, American director, producer, and screenwriter
Edward M. Zwick is an American filmmaker. He has worked primarily in the comedy drama and epic historical film genres and received an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for his work producing Shakespeare in Love (1998).
08/10/1951
Jack O'Connell, American educator and politician
Jack T. O'Connell is an American politician, educator and formerly the 26th California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, having been elected to the post in November 2002 with 61% of the vote. He was re-elected to his post by receiving a majority (52%) of the vote in the Primary election on June 6, 2006, thus avoiding a November run-off. He is a member of the Democratic Party. O'Connell was unable to run for a third term in 2010 due to term limits and was succeeded by former state assemblyman Tom Torlakson.
Timo Salonen, Finnish race car driver
Timo Olavi Salonen is a Finnish former rally driver who won the 1985 World Rally Championship season for Peugeot. It was commented of him that he stood out from other drivers, because he was overweight, wore thick glasses and smoked heavily, but still remained one of the fastest and most competitive drivers in the sport. He was also known for his relaxed attitude and for his habit of steering his rally car with one hand only. These factors led to the nickname Löysä ("Slack"). With his 11 rally wins he remained the most successful driver of Group B era (1983–1986) of WRC.
Shannon C. Stimson, American philosopher, historian, and theorist
Shannon C. Stimson is an American political theorist and historian of ideas, whose more recent work and teaching spans the economic and political thought of the early modern period through the nineteenth century. She is the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Chair in the Government department at Georgetown University. Her academic posts have included appointments at Harvard University (1984-1991), UC Berkeley (1991-2014), the Fulbright Professorship in the United Kingdom, the Christensen Fellowship of St. Catherine's College, Oxford, the John K. Castle Chair in Ethics, Politics and Economics at Yale University and she has been a Distinguished Academic Visitor at Queens' College, Cambridge on two occasions. Her research has been supported through fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Association of University Women, as well as by several prize fellowships. Her articles have appeared in numerous edited volumes, journals of political thought, economics, the history of economic thought, and political science in America and Europe. She has served on the editorial boards of the American Political Science Review, the Adam Smith Review, and the Journal of Politics.
Adrian Palmer, 4th Baron Palmer, British aristocrat and landowner (died 2023)
Adrian Bailie Nottage Palmer, 4th Baron Palmer, was a British aristocrat and landowner in Scotland. Lord Palmer succeeded his uncle in the peerage in 1990, and was one of the original ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999; he sat as a crossbencher until his death.
08/10/1950
Robert "Kool" Bell, American singer-songwriter and bass player
Robert Earl "Kool" Bell, also known by the name Muhammad Bayyan, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is the last surviving founding member of the American R&B, soul, funk and disco band Kool & the Gang.
Blake Morrison, English poet, author, and academic
Philip Blake Morrison is an English poet and author who has published in a wide range of fiction and non-fiction genres. His greatest success came with the publication of his memoirs And When Did You Last See Your Father? (1993), which won the J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography and was made into a drama film of the same title. He has also written a study of the murder of James Bulger, As If (1997).
08/10/1949
Hamish Stuart, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
James Hamish Stuart is a Scottish guitarist, bassist, singer, composer and record producer. He was an original member of the Average White Band.
Sigourney Weaver, American actress and producer
Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver is an American actress. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in blockbusters and for her various roles in independent films. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.
08/10/1948
Benjamin Cheever, American journalist and author
Benjamin Hale Cheever is an American writer and editor. He has written four adult fiction novels, one children's book, and two nonfiction books.
Claude Jade, French actress (died 2006)
Claude Marcelle Jorré, better known as Claude Jade, was a French actress. She starred as Christine in François Truffaut's three films Stolen Kisses (1968), Bed and Board (1970) and Love on the Run (1979). Jade acted in theatre, film and television. Her film work outside France, where she displays her talent in works such as My Uncle Benjamin (1969), The Boat on the Grass (1971) or The Pawn (1978), has Claude Jade included the Soviet Union, the United States, Italy, Belgium, Germany and Japan. She was most famous on television as the heroine of the mysterious adventure series The Island of Thirty Coffins (1979). She was also the leading actress in the first French daily soap opera, Cap des Pins (1998–2000). Her last role was playing Célimène in the 2006 theatre play and film Célimène et le cardinal.
Johnny Ramone, American guitarist and songwriter (died 2004)
John William Cummings, better known by his stage name Johnny Ramone, was an American musician who was the guitarist and a founding member of the Ramones, a band that helped pioneer the punk movement. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Until the band's disbandment in 1996, Johnny, along with the lead vocalist Joey Ramone, were the only two original members who stayed since its inception, and appeared on every one of the band’s albums.
08/10/1947
Richard Morris, English archaeologist, historian, and author
Richard Morris, OBE is a British writer and archaeologist who explores landscape, the archaeology of churches and battlefields, and cultural and aviation history. He is a professor (emeritus) at the University of Huddersfield and a visiting fellow of the Institute for Medieval Studies at Leeds.
Emiel Puttemans, Belgian runner
Emiel Adrien "Miel" Puttemans is a Belgian former middle- and long-distance runner who set world records for 3000 metres in 1972, for 2 miles in 1971, for 5000 metres in 1972, and 3 miles in 1972 (12:47.8). He won two European Indoor Championships titles in the 3000 m, in 1973 and 1974, and finished second in 1978.
Stephen Shore, American photographer and educator
Stephen Shore is an American photographer known for his images of scenes and objects of the banal, and for his pioneering use of color in art photography. His books include Uncommon Places (1982) and American Surfaces (1999), photographs that he took on cross-country road trips in the 1970s.
Bill Zorn, folk musician
William Zorn is an American folk music singer, banjo player, and guitarist who was a member of The New Christy Minstrels, The Limeliters, and The Kingston Trio, as well as lesser known groups The Windjammers and Arizona Smoke Review.
Hansa Yogendra, Indian yoga guru
Hansa Yogendra is an Indian yoga teacher, author, researcher, and television presenter. She is the director of The Yoga Institute, a non-profit yoga organization based in Mumbai, which was founded in 1918 by her father-in-law, Yogendra.
08/10/1946
Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian scholar, activist, and politician
Hanan Daoud Mikhael Ashrawi is a Palestinian politician, activist, and scholar.
Jean-Jacques Beineix, French director and producer (died 2022)
Jean-Jacques Beineix was a French film director best known for the films Diva and Betty Blue. His work is regarded as a prime example of the cinéma du look film movement in France.
Dennis Kucinich, American journalist and politician, 53rd Mayor of Cleveland
Dennis John Kucinich is an American politician. Originally a Democrat, Kucinich served as U.S. Representative from Ohio's 10th congressional district from 1997 to 2013. From 1977 to 1979, he served a term as mayor of Cleveland, where he narrowly survived a recall election and successfully fought an effort to sell the municipal electric utility before losing his reelection contest to George Voinovich.
Bel Mooney, English journalist and author
Beryl Ann "Bel" Mooney is an English journalist and broadcaster. As of 2025, she currently writes a column for the Daily Mail, having previously written – mainly as a columnist – for other publications including the Daily Mirror, The Times (2005–07), The Sunday Times (1982–83) and The Listener.
Jon Ekerold, South African motorcycle racer
Jonathan "Jon" Ekerold is a South African former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1975 to 1983
08/10/1944
Ed Kirkpatrick, American baseball player (died 2010)
Edgar Leon Kirkpatrick was an American professional baseball outfielder and catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1962 through 1977 for the Los Angeles / California Angels, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers, and Milwaukee Brewers.
Susan Raye, American singer
Susan Raye is an American country music singer. She enjoyed great popularity during the early and mid-1970s, and chalked up seven top-10 and 19 top-40 country hits, most notably the song "L.A. International Airport", an international crossover pop hit in 1971.
08/10/1943
Chevy Chase, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, actor and writer.
R. L. Stine, American author, screenwriter, and producer
Robert Lawrence Stine is an American novelist. He is the writer of Goosebumps, a horror fiction novel series for children which has sold over 400 million copies globally in 35 languages, becoming the second-best-selling book series in history. The series spawned a media franchise including two television series, a video game series, a comic series, and two feature films. Stine has been referred to as the "Stephen King of children's literature".
08/10/1942
Stanley Bates, English actor and screenwriter
Stanley Kevin Bates is a British actor and screen writer best known for the role of Bungle, and as a scriptwriter, in the children's television programme, Rainbow between 1973 and 1989, series 2 to series 17. Other credits include roles in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972), Theatre of Blood (1973) and The Tomorrow People.
08/10/1941
George Bellamy, English singer, guitarist, and producer
The Tornados are an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and US no. 1 "Telstar", the first US no. 1 single by a British group.
Jesse Jackson, American minister and activist (died 2026)
Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. was an American civil rights activist, LGBTQ rights activist, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. A protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. and James Bevel during the civil rights movement, he became one of the most prominent civil rights leaders of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and an ardent advocate and early supporter of LGBTQ rights in the United States. From 1991 to 1997, he served as a shadow United States senator for the District of Columbia.
Shane Stevens, American author (died 2007)
Shane Craig Stevens was an American author of crime novels. His parents are John and Caroline (Royale) Stevens.
08/10/1940
Fred Cash, American singer
Fred Cash is an American soul singer. He was a member of The Impressions, a group in which he replaced Jerry Butler in 1960. As one of the group's longest-serving members, he is also a 1991 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Impressions. In 2016 Cash along with The Impressions were inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. Cash was an original member of the Roosters, the group that later evolved into The Impressions. After leaving the group for a time, he returned, replacing original member Jerry Butler.
08/10/1939
Paul Hogan, Australian actor, producer, and screenwriter
Paul Hogan is an Australian actor and comedian. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as outback adventurer Michael "Crocodile" Dundee in Crocodile Dundee (1986), the first in the Crocodile Dundee film series.
Elvīra Ozoliņa, Latvian javelin thrower
Elvīra Anatoļjevna Ozoliņa is a retired Soviet javelin thrower. In 1960 she won gold medal with an Olympic Record of 55.98 m and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. Between 1960 and 1963 she set three world records. In 1964 she became the first woman to surpass 60 m, but this result was not ratified as a world record by IAAF. In the 1964 Olympic final she fouled her last four attempts and finished in a disappointing fifth place. Domestically she won the national title in 1959, 1961–62, 1964, 1966, and 1973.
Harvey Pekar, American author and critic (died 2010)
Harvey Lawrence Pekar was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a well-received film adaptation of the same name.
Lynne Stewart, American lawyer and criminal (died 2017)
Lynne Irene Stewart was an American defense attorney who was known for representing controversial, famous defendants. She herself was convicted on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists in 2005, and sentenced to 28 months in prison. Her felony conviction led to her being automatically disbarred. She was convicted of helping pass messages from her client Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, an Egyptian cleric convicted of planning terror attacks, to his followers in al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, an organization designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States Secretary of State at the time; the designation was later revoked in May 2022.
08/10/1938
William Corlett, English author and playwright (died 2005)
William Corlett, was an English author, best known for his quartet of children's novels, The Magician's House, published between 1990 and 1992.
Walter Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey coach and author (died 2021)
Walter Gretzky was a Canadian philanthropist who was the father of Canadian ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky.
Bronislovas Lubys, Lithuanian businessman and politician, Prime Minister of Lithuania (died 2011)
Bronislovas Lubys was a Lithuanian entrepreneur, former Prime Minister of Lithuania, signatory of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania, and businessman.
Fred Stolle, Australian-American tennis player and sportscaster (died 2025)
Frederick Sydney Stolle, AO was an Australian amateur world No. 1 tennis player and commentator. He was born in Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia. He was the father of former Australian Davis Cup player Sandon Stolle.
08/10/1937
Merle Park, British ballerina and educator
Dame Merle Park, is a British ballet dancer and teacher, now retired. As a prima ballerina with the Royal Ballet during the 1960s and 1970s, she was known for "brilliance of execution and virtuoso technique" as well as for her ebullience and charm. Also admired for her dramatic abilities, she was praised as an actress who "textured her vivacity with emotional details."
Paul Schell, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Seattle (died 2014)
Paul Schell was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 50th mayor of Seattle, Washington, from 1998 to 2002.
08/10/1936
Rona Barrett, American journalist and businesswoman
Rona Barrett is a retired American TV News Correspondent, Interviewer,gossip columnist and businesswoman. She runs the Rona Barrett Foundation, a non-profit organization in Santa Ynez, California, dedicated to the aid and support of senior citizens in need.
08/10/1935
Albert Roux, French-English chef (died 2021)
Albert Henri Roux was a French restaurateur and chef. He and his brother Michel operated Le Gavroche in London's Mayfair, the first restaurant in the UK to gain three Michelin stars. He helped train a series of chefs that went on to win Michelin stars, and his son, Michel Roux, Jr., continued to run Le Gavroche until January 2024.
08/10/1934
Kader Asmal, South African academic and politician (died 2011)
Abdul Kader Asmal was a lawyer in South Africa and Ireland and later a South African politician. He was a Senior Lecturer in Trinity College Dublin and a professor of human rights at the University of the Western Cape, chairman of the council of the University of the North and vice-president of the African Association of International Law. He was married to Louise Parkinson and had two sons.
Gerry Hitchens, English footballer and manager (died 1983)
Gerald Archibald Hitchens was an English footballer who played as a centre forward.
James Holshouser, American lawyer and politician, 68th Governor of North Carolina (died 2013)
James Eubert Holshouser Jr. was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 68th Governor of North Carolina from 1973 to 1977. He was the first Republican candidate to be elected as governor of the state since 1896. Born in Boone, North Carolina, Holshouser initially sought to become a sports journalist before deciding to pursue a law degree. While in law school he developed an interest in politics and in 1962 he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives where he focused on restructuring government and higher education institutions, and drug abuse legislation. Made chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party in March 1966, he established the organization's first permanent staff and gained prominence by opposing a cigarette tax.
08/10/1932
Ray Reardon, Welsh snooker player and police officer (died 2024)
Raymond Reardon was a Welsh professional snooker player who dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning the World Snooker Championship six times and claiming more than a dozen other professional titles. Due to his dark widow's peak and prominent eye teeth, he was nicknamed "Dracula".
08/10/1931
Bill Brown, Scottish footballer (died 2004)
William Dallas Fyfe Brown was a Scottish football goalkeeper.
08/10/1930
Pepper Adams, American saxophonist and composer (died 1986)
Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a sideman. He worked with an array of musicians, and had especially fruitful collaborations with trumpeter Donald Byrd and as a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band.
Alasdair Milne, Indian-English director and producer (died 2013)
Alasdair David Gordon Milne was a British television producer and executive. He had a long career at the BBC, where he was eventually promoted to Director-General, and was described by The Independent as "one of the most original and talented programme-makers to emerge during television's formative years".
Faith Ringgold, American painter and activist (died 2024)
Faith Ringgold was an American painter, author, mixed media sculptor, performance artist, and intersectional activist, perhaps best known for her narrative quilts.
Toru Takemitsu, Japanese composer and theorist (died 1996)
Tōru Takemitsu was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu was admired for his subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre. He is known for combining elements of oriental and occidental philosophy and for fusing sound with silence and tradition with innovation.
08/10/1929
Betty Boothroyd, English politician, British Speaker of the House of Commons (died 2023)
Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, was a British politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000. A member of the Labour Party, she served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1992 to 2000. She was previously a Deputy Speaker from 1987 to 1992. She was the first and as of 2026, the only woman to serve as Speaker. Boothroyd later sat in the House of Lords as, in accordance with tradition, a crossbench peer.
08/10/1928
Didi, Brazilian footballer and manager (died 2001)
Waldyr Pereira, also known as Didi, was a Brazilian footballer who played as a midfielder or as a forward. He played in three FIFA World Cups, winning the latter two.
M. Russell Ballard, American lieutenant and religious leader (died 2023)
Melvin Russell Ballard Jr. was an American businessman and religious leader who served as the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2018 until his death in 2023. He had been a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since 1985. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Ballard was accepted by church members as a prophet, seer, and revelator. At the time of his death, he was the third most senior apostle in the church.
Neil Harvey, Australian cricketer
Robert Neil Harvey is an Australian former cricketer who was a member of the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement. An attacking left-handed batsman, sharp fielder and occasional off-spin bowler, Harvey was the senior batsman in the Australian team for much of the 1950s and was regarded by Wisden as the finest fielder of his era. Upon his retirement, Harvey was the second-most prolific Test run-scorer and century-maker for Australia.
Bill Maynard, English actor (died 2018)
Walter Frederick George Williams, better known by his stage name Bill Maynard, was an English comedian and actor. He began working in television in the 1950s, notably starring alongside Terry Scott in Great Scott – It's Maynard! (1955–56). In the 1970s and 1980s, he starred in the successful British sitcoms Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt and The Gaffer and appeared in five films in the Carry On series. After a hiatus from television work in the late 1980s, Maynard starred as Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in the long-running television series Heartbeat from 1992 to 2000, reprising the character in the spin-off The Royal in 2003.
08/10/1927
Jim Elliot, American missionary and translator (died 1956)
Philip James Elliot was an American Christian missionary and one of five people killed during Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador.
César Milstein, Argentinian-English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2002)
César Milstein, CH, FRS was an Argentine biochemist in the field of antibody research. Milstein shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1984 with Niels Kaj Jerne and Georges J. F. Köhler for developing the hybridoma technique for the production of monoclonal antibodies.
08/10/1926
Raaj Kumar, Indian police officer and actor (died 1996)
Raaj Kumar was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi films. In a career that spanned over four decades, he went on to star in 70 films and is regarded as one of the most successful actors of Indian cinema.
08/10/1925
Álvaro Magaña, Salvadoran economist and politician, President of El Salvador (died 2001)
Álvaro Alfredo Magaña Borja was a Salvadoran politician, lawyer, and economist who was the president of El Salvador from 1982 to 1984.
08/10/1924
Alphons Egli, Swiss lawyer and politician, 77th President of the Swiss Confederation (died 2016)
Alphons Blasius Egli colloquially Alphons Egli was a Swiss attorney and politician who most notably served on the Federal Council (Switzerland) between 1983 and 1987 and as President of the Swiss Confederation in 1986 for the Christian Democratic People's Party.
Aloísio Lorscheider, Brazilian cardinal (died 2007)
Aloísio Leo Arlindo Lorscheider, O.F.M. was a Brazilian Catholic cardinal during the 1970s and 1980s. He was known as an advocate of liberation theology in the 1970s and was seen by some observers as a serious candidate for the papacy in the two conclaves of 1978.
Thirunalloor Karunakaran, Indian poet and scholar (died 2006)
Thirunalloor Karunakaran was a poet, scholar, teacher and leftist intellectual of Kerala, India.
John Nelder, English mathematician and statistician (died 2010)
John Ashworth Nelder was a British statistician known for his contributions to experimental design, analysis of variance, computational statistics, and statistical theory.
08/10/1922
Nils Liedholm, Swedish footballer, coach, and manager (died 2007)
Nils Erik Liedholm was a Swedish football midfielder and coach. Il Barone, as he is affectionately known in Italy, was renowned for being part of the Swedish "Gre-No-Li" trio of strikers along with Gunnar Gren and Gunnar Nordahl at AC Milan and the Sweden national team, with which he achieved notable success throughout his career.
Herbert B. Leonard, American production manager and producer (died 2006)
Herbert Breiter Leonard was an American producer and writer. Leonard was a production manager at Screen Gems for many years.
08/10/1921
Abraham Sarmiento, Filipino lawyer and jurist (died 2010)
Abraham Florendo Sarmiento Sr. was a Filipino jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 1987 to 1991. An active figure in the political opposition against the martial law government of President Ferdinand Marcos, he was appointed to the Court by Marcos' successor, President Corazon Aquino.
08/10/1920
Frank Herbert, American journalist, photographer, and author (died 1986)
Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune and five sequels to it. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer.
08/10/1919
Jack McGrath, American race car driver (died 1955)
John James McGrath was an American racecar driver. McGrath died in an accident at Bobby Ball Memorial; he lost control of his car at Turn 3, crashed and flipped, dying instantly.
Kiichi Miyazawa, Japanese politician, 78th Prime Minister of Japan (died 2007)
Kiichi Miyazawa was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1991 to 1993.
08/10/1918
Halfdan Hegtun, Norwegian radio host and politician (died 2012)
Halfdan Hegtun was a Norwegian radio personality, comedian and writer, former politician for the Liberal Party and later the Liberal People's Party.
Jens Christian Skou, Danish chemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2018)
Jens Christian Skou was a Danish biochemist and Nobel laureate.
08/10/1917
Billy Conn, American boxer (died 1993)
William David Conn was an American professional boxer and Light Heavyweight Champion famed for his fights with Joe Louis. He had a professional boxing record of 63 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw, with 14 wins by knockout. His nickname, throughout most of his career, was "The Pittsburgh Kid." He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.
Walter Lord, American historian and author (died 2002)
John Walter Lord Jr. was an American author, lawyer, copywriter and popular historian known for his 1955 account of the sinking of the Titanic, A Night to Remember.
Danny Murtaugh, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 1976)
Daniel Edward Murtaugh was an American second baseman, manager, front-office executive, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Murtaugh is best known for his 29-year association with the Pittsburgh Pirates, with whom he won two World Series as field manager. He also played 416 of his 767 career MLB games with the Pirates as their second baseman.
Rodney Robert Porter, English biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1985)
Rodney Robert Porter was a British biochemist and Nobel laureate.
08/10/1913
Robert R. Gilruth, American pilot and engineer (died 2000)
Robert Rowe Gilruth was an American aerospace engineer and an aviation/space pioneer who was the first director of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center, later renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
Marios Makrionitis, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Athens (died 1959)
Marios Makrionitis, SJ was a Greek Jesuit prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Archbishop of Athens from 1953 until 1959, when he died from injuries caused by an automobile accident.
08/10/1910
Kirk Alyn, American actor (died 1999)
Kirk Alyn was an American actor, best known for being the first actor to play the DC Comics character Superman in live-action for the 1948 movie serial Superman and its 1950 sequel Atom Man vs. Superman, as well as fellow DC Comics characters Blackhawk from the Blackhawk movie serial in 1952, and Lois Lane's father Sam Lane in 1978's Superman.
Paulette Dubost, French actress (died 2011)
Paulette Dubost was a French actress who began her career at the age of 7 at the Paris Opera.
Gus Hall, American soldier and politician (died 2000)
Gus Hall was an American communist activist who served as the general secretary of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) from 1959 to 2000. As a labor leader, Hall was closely associated with the so-called "Little Steel" Strike of 1937, an effort to unionize the nation's smaller, regional steel manufacturers. During the Second Red Scare, he was indicted under the Smith Act and was sentenced to eight years in prison. After his release, Hall led the CPUSA for over 40 years, generally taking an orthodox Marxist–Leninist stance and becoming a perennial candidate for president of the United States.
Helmut Kallmeyer, German chemist and soldier (died 2006)
Helmut Kallmeyer was a German chemist in the era of National Socialism. He served as a consultant in Adolf Hitler's Chancellery for gasification methods. Later, he worked in the Technical Institute for the Detection of Crime. He was involved in Action T4, Nazi Germany's program to murder people with disabilities.
Ray Lewis, Canadian runner (died 2003)
Raymond Gray Lewis, CM was a Canadian track and field athlete, and the first Canadian-born black Olympic medalist.
08/10/1908
Ezekias Papaioannou, Greek-Cypriot politician (died 1988)
Ezekias Papaioannou was a Greek Cypriot communist politician and Secretary General of AKEL.
08/10/1907
Richard Sharpe Shaver, American author and illustrator (died 1975)
Richard Sharpe Shaver was an American writer and artist who achieved notoriety in the years following World War II as the author of controversial stories which were printed in science fiction magazines. Shaver claimed that he had personal experience of a sinister ancient civilization that harbored fantastic technology in caverns under the earth. The controversy stemmed from the claim by Shaver, and his editor and publisher Ray Palmer, that Shaver's writings, while presented in the guise of fiction, were fundamentally true. Shaver's stories were promoted by Ray Palmer as "The Shaver Mystery".
08/10/1904
Yves Giraud-Cabantous, French race car driver (died 1973)
Yves Aristide Marius Giraud-Cabantous was a racing driver from France. He drove in Formula One from 1950 to 1953, participating in 13 World Championship Grands Prix, plus numerous non-Championship Formula One and Formula Two races.
08/10/1903
Georgy Geshev, Bulgarian chess player (died 1937)
Georgy (Georgi) Geshev (Geschew) was a Bulgarian chess master.
08/10/1901
Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and theorist (died 1977)
Eivind Groven was a Norwegian composer and music-theorist. He was from the traditional region of Vest-Telemark and had a background in the folk music of the area.
Mark Oliphant, Australian physicist, humanitarian and politician, Governor of South Australia (died 2000)
Sir Marcus Laurence Elwin Oliphant was an Australian physicist and humanitarian who played an important role in the first experimental demonstration of nuclear fusion and in the development of nuclear weapons.
08/10/1897
Rouben Mamoulian, Georgian-American director and screenwriter (died 1987)
Rouben Zachary Mamoulian was an Armenian-American film and theater director.
Marcel Herrand, French actor (died 1953)
Marcel Herrand was a French stage and film actor best remembered for his roles in swashbuckling or historical films.
08/10/1896
Julien Duvivier, French director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1967)
Julien Duvivier was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are La Bandera, Pépé le Moko, Little World of Don Camillo, Panic (Panique), Deadlier Than the Male and Marianne de ma jeunesse.
08/10/1895
Zog I of Albania (died 1961)
Zog I was an Albanian statesman and aristocrat who served as the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's youngest ever prime minister (1922–1924), then as president (1925–1928), and finally as king (1928–1939).
Juan Perón, Argentinian general and politician, 29th President of Argentina (died 1974)
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer and politician who was the 29th and 40th president of Argentina, serving from 1946 to his overthrow in 1955, and from 1973 to 1974. He was the only Argentine president elected three times and holds the highest percentage of votes in clean elections. Perón was one of the most important, and controversial, Argentine politicians of the 20th century; his influence extends to today. Perón's ideas, policies and movement are known as Peronism, which continues to be a force in Argentine politics.
08/10/1893
Clarence Williams, American pianist and composer (died 1965)
Clarence Williams was an American jazz pianist, composer, promoter, vocalist, theatrical producer, and publisher.
08/10/1892
Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet and author (died 1941)
Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva was a Russian poet. Her work is some of the best known in twentieth-century Russian literature. She lived through and wrote about the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Moscow famine.
08/10/1890
Snuffy Browne, Barbadian cricketer (died 1964)
Cyril Rutherford "Snuffy" Browne was a Barbadian Test cricketer who was a member of the first West Indies Test cricket team, playing against England in 1928.
Eddie Rickenbacker, American soldier and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1973)
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient. With 26 aerial victories, he was the most successful and most decorated United States flying ace of the war. He was also a racing driver, an automotive designer, and a long-time head of Eastern Air Lines.
Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (died 1971)
Philippe Thys was a Belgian cyclist and three times winner of the Tour de France.
08/10/1889
R. Fraser Armstrong, Canadian engineer (died 1983)
Roy Fraser Armstrong was a Canadian hospital administrator and engineer who served as the Superintendent of Kingston General Hospital from 1925 to 1957.
Collett E. Woolman, American businessman, co-founded Delta Air Lines (died 1966)
Collett Everman Woolman, commonly known as "C.E.", was an American airline entrepreneur best known as the principal founder and first CEO of Delta Air Lines.
08/10/1888
Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist and author (died 1964)
Ernst Kretschmer was a German psychiatrist who researched the human constitution and established a typology.
08/10/1887
Ping Bodie, American baseball player (died 1961)
Frank Stephen "Ping" Bodie, born Francesco Stephano Pezzolo, was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox (1911–1914), Philadelphia Athletics (1917) and New York Yankees (1919–1921). Bodie batted and threw right-handed. He was born in San Francisco.
Donie Bush, American baseball player, manager, and team owner (died 1972)
Owen Joseph "Donie" Bush was an American professional baseball player, manager, team owner, and scout. He was active in professional baseball from 1905 until his death in 1972. He was 84 years old.
08/10/1884
Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (died 1942)
Walter Karl Gustav August Ernst von Reichenau was a German Generalfeldmarschall in the Heer (Army) of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was nicknamed "The Bull". Reichenau commanded the 6th Army, during the invasions of Belgium and France. During Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, he continued to command the 6th Army as part of Army Group South as it captured Ukraine and advanced deep into the USSR.
08/10/1883
Dick Burnett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1977)
Richard Daniel Burnett was an American folk musician and songwriter from Kentucky.
Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970)
Otto Heinrich Warburg was a German physiologist, medical doctor, and Nobel laureate. He served as an officer in the elite Uhlan during the First World War, and was awarded the Iron Cross for bravery. He was the sole recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1931. In total, he was nominated for the award 47 times over the course of his career.
08/10/1882
Harry McClintock, American singer-songwriter and poet (died 1957)
Harry Kirby McClintock, also known as "Haywire Mac", was an American railroad man, radio personality, actor, singer, songwriter, and poet, best known for his song "The Big Rock Candy Mountains".
08/10/1879
Huntley Gordon, Canadian-American actor (died 1956)
Huntley Ashworth Gordon was a Canadian actor who began his career in the Silent Film era.
08/10/1877
Hans Heysen, German-Australian painter (died 1968)
Sir Hans Heysen was an Australian artist.
08/10/1876
Frederick Montague, 1st Baron Amwell, English lieutenant and politician (died 1966)
Frederick Montague, 1st Baron Amwell, CBE was a British Labour Party politician.
08/10/1875
Laurence Doherty, English tennis player and golfer (died 1919)
Hugh Laurence Doherty was a British tennis player and the younger brother of tennis player Reginald Doherty. He was a six-time Grand Slam champion and a double Olympic Gold medalist at the 1900 Summer Olympics in singles and doubles. In 1903 he became the first non-American player to win the U.S. National Championships.
08/10/1873
Ejnar Hertzsprung, Danish chemist and astronomer (died 1967)
Ejnar Hertzsprung was a Danish chemist and astronomer. He is best remembered for his role in developing the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram of stars.
Alexey Shchusev, Russian architect and academic, designed Lenin's Mausoleum (died 1949)
Alexey Victorovich Shchusev was a Russian and Soviet architect who was successful during three consecutive epochs of Russian architecture – Art Nouveau, Constructivism, and Stalinist architecture, being one of the few Russian architects to be celebrated under both the Romanovs and the communists, becoming the most decorated architect in terms of Stalin prizes awarded.
08/10/1872
Mary Engle Pennington, American bacteriological chemist and refrigeration engineer (died 1952)
Mary Engle Pennington was an American bacteriological chemist, food scientist and refrigeration engineer. She was an innovator in the preservation, handling, storage, and transportation of perishable foods and the first female lab chief at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She was awarded 5 patents, received the Notable Service Medal from President Herbert Hoover, and received the Garvin-Olin Medal from the American Chemical Society. She is an inductee of the National Inventor's Hall of Fame, the National Women's Hall of Fame and the ASHRAE Hall of Fame.
08/10/1870
Louis Vierne, French organist and composer (died 1937)
Louis Victor Jules Vierne was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death. As a composer, much of his output was organ music, including six symphonies and four suites, and works for choir and organ, including a Messe solennelle for choir and two organs. He toured Europe and the United States as a concert organist. His students included Nadia Boulanger and Maurice Duruflé.
08/10/1864
Ozias Leduc, Canadian painter and educator (died 1955)
Ozias Leduc was a Canadian painter who was an early painter in Quebec. He produced portraits and landscapes. According to Laurier Lacroix, he was the first Canadian artist who can be seen as a philosopher as well as a painter.
08/10/1863
Edythe Chapman, American actress (died 1948)
Edythe Chapman was an American stage and silent film actress.
08/10/1860
John D. Batten, British painter, printmaker and illustrator (died 1932)
John Dickson Batten, born in Plymouth, Devon, was an English painter of figures in oils, tempera and fresco and a book illustrator and printmaker. He was an active member of the Society of Painters in Tempera, with his wife Mary Batten, a gilder.
08/10/1850
Henry Louis Le Châtelier, French chemist and academic (died 1936)
Henry Louis Le Chatelier was a French chemist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He devised Le Chatelier's principle, used by chemists to predict the effect a changing condition has on a system in chemical equilibrium.
08/10/1848
Pierre De Geyter, Belgian composer (died 1932)
Pierre Chrétien De Geyter was a Belgian-French socialist and a composer, known for writing the music of "The Internationale."
08/10/1847
Rose Scott, Australian activist (died 1925)
Rose Scott was an Australian women's rights activist who advocated for women's suffrage and universal suffrage in New South Wales at the turn-of-the twentieth century. She founded the Women's Political Education League in 1902 which campaigned successfully to raise the age of consent to sixteen.
08/10/1845
Salomon Kalischer, German pianist, composer, and physicist (died 1924)
Salomon Kalischer, or Solomon Kalischer, was a German Jewish composer, pianist, and physicist.
08/10/1834
Walter Kittredge, American violinist and composer (died 1905)
Walter Kittredge, was a famous American minstrel and songwriter. Over his career he wrote over 500 songs, many of them dealing with themes of abolitionism and the American Civil War, the most famous of which was Tenting on the Old Camp Ground.
08/10/1818
John Henninger Reagan, American judge and politician, 3rd Confederate States Secretary of the Treasury (died 1905)
John Henninger Reagan was an American politician from Texas. A Democrat, Reagan resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives when Texas seceded from the United States and joined the Confederate States of America. He served in the Confederate cabinet of Jefferson Davis as Postmaster General.
08/10/1807
Harriet Taylor Mill, English philosopher and activist (died 1858)
Harriet Taylor Mill was an English philosopher and women's rights advocate. Her extant corpus of writing can be found in The Complete Works of Harriet Taylor Mill. Several pieces can also be found in The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, especially volume XXI.
08/10/1789
John Ruggles, American lawyer and politician (died 1874)
John Ruggles was an American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. He served in several important state legislative and judicial positions before serving in the U.S. Senate.
William Swainson, English-New Zealand ornithologist and entomologist (died 1855)
William Swainson FLS, FRS, was an English ornithologist, malacologist, conchologist, entomologist and artist.
08/10/1765
Harman Blennerhassett, English-Irish lawyer and politician (died 1831)
Harman Blennerhassett was an Anglo-Irish lawyer, a member of the Society of United Irishmen who emigrated in advance of their rebellion in 1798 to become a socially and politically distinguished plantation owner in then-western Virginia. Implicated in the Burr conspiracy, an alleged military plot with Britain to separate the Louisiana Territory from the American Union, he was twice arrested and financially ruined. His last years were spent in England.
08/10/1753
Princess Sophia Albertina of Sweden (died 1829)
Princess Sophia Albertina of Sweden was the last Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg Abbey, and as such reigned as vassal monarch of the Holy Roman Empire.
08/10/1747
Jean-François Rewbell, French lawyer and politician (died 1807)
Jean-François Reubell or Rewbell was a French lawyer, diplomat, and politician of the Revolution.
08/10/1715
Michel Benoist, French scientist and missionary (died 1774)
Michel Benoist was a Jesuit scientist who served for thirty years in the court of the Qianlong Emperor during the Qing dynasty, known for his architectural and landscape designs of the Old Summer Palace. Along with Giuseppe Castiglione, Benoist served as one of two Jesuit advisors to the Qianlong Emperor, and transformed parts of the Old Summer Palace into what historian Mark Elliott calls an "imitation of Versailles or Fontainebleau."
08/10/1713
Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi and author (died 1793)
Yechezkel ben Yehuda HaLevi Landau was an influential authority in halakha. He is best known for the work Noda Biyhudah, by which title he is also known.
08/10/1676
Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro, Spanish monk and scholar (died 1764)
Friar Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro was a Spanish monk and scholar who led the Spanish Enlightenment. He was an energetic popularizer noted for encouraging scientific and empirical thought in an effort to debunk myths and superstitions.
08/10/1609
John Clarke, English physician (died 1676)
John Clarke was a New England English-born politician, physician, and Puritan Baptist minister, co-founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, author of its influential charter, and a leading advocate of religious liberty in America.
08/10/1585
Heinrich Schütz, German organist and composer (died 1672)
Heinrich Schütz was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He is credited with bringing the Italian style to Germany and continuing its evolution from the Renaissance into the early Baroque. Most of his surviving music was written for the Lutheran church, primarily for the Electoral Chapel in Dresden. He wrote what is traditionally considered the first German opera, Dafne, performed at Torgau in 1627, the music of which has since been lost, along with nearly all of his ceremonial and theatrical scores. Schütz was a prolific composer, with more than 500 surviving works.
08/10/1553
Jacques Auguste de Thou, French historian (died 1617)
Jacques Auguste de Thou was a French historian, book collector and president of the Parlement of Paris.
08/10/1551
Giulio Caccini, Italian composer (died 1618)
Giulio Romolo Caccini was an Italian composer, teacher, singer, instrumentalist and writer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the founders of the genre of opera, and one of the most influential creators of the new Baroque style. He was also the father of the composer Francesca Caccini and the singer Settimia Caccini.
08/10/1515
Margaret Douglas, daughter of Archibald Douglas (died 1578)
Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, born Lady Margaret Douglas, was the daughter of the Scottish queen dowager Margaret Tudor and her second husband Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and thus the granddaughter of King Henry VII of England and the half-sister of King James V. She was the grandmother of King James VI and I.
08/10/1150
Narapatisithu, king of Burma (died 1211)
Narapati Sithu was king of Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1174 to 1211. He is considered the last important king of the Pagans. His peaceful and prosperous reign gave rise to Burmese culture which finally emerged from the shadow of Mon and Pyu cultures. The Burman leadership of the kingdom was now unquestioned. The Pagan Empire reached its peak during his reign, and would decline gradually after his death.
01/01/1970
Pyrrhus of Epirus (died 272 BC)
Pyrrhus was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period. He was king of the Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he became king of Epirus. He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome, and had been regarded as one of the greatest generals of antiquity. Several of his victorious battles caused him unacceptably heavy losses, from which the phrase "Pyrrhic victory" was coined.