Portal:Biography

A page from the first edition of Foxe's Book of Martyrs, published in 1563
Third Volume of a 1727 edition of Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans printed by Jacob Tonson
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Cover of the first English publication, J. Parson's, London, 1793

A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curriculum vitae (résumé), a biography presents a subject's life story, highlighting various aspects of their life, including intimate details of experience, and may include an analysis of the subject's personality. (Full article...)

Featured biographies

Image 1

Ferguson in 1917

Hugh Ferguson (2 March 1895 – 8 January 1930) was a Scottish professional footballer. Born in Motherwell, he played for Parkhead at junior level as an amateur and was one of the most sought-after young players in Scotland before signing for his hometown club to begin his professional career. He established himself as a consistent scorer playing as a centre forward, finishing as the top goalscorer in the Scottish Football League on three occasions between 1918 and 1921. His 284 league goals remains a record at the club and, by 1925, he was the highest-scoring player in the history of the Scottish League.

In 1925, Ferguson moved to Welsh side Cardiff City for £5,000 and continued his scoring exploits. He was the club's top goalscorer for four consecutive seasons and scored the winning goal in the 1927 FA Cup Final during a 1–0 victory over Arsenal. He also scored in the 1927 FA Charity Shield, during a 2–1 victory over amateur side Corinthians. Both results made Cardiff the only non-English team to have won the FA Cup or the FA Charity Shield. Despite his prolific scoring record, finishing his career with a goal average of 0.855 per game, he was never selected to play for Scotland, but did represent a Scottish League XI on three occasions. (Full article...)
Image 2

Princess Beatrice in 1886

Princess Beatrice (Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore; 14 April 1857 – 26 October 1944), later Princess Henry of Battenberg, was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Beatrice was also the last of Queen Victoria's children to die, nearly 66 years after the first, her elder sister Alice.

Beatrice's childhood coincided with Queen Victoria's grief following the death of her husband on 14 December 1861. As her elder sisters married and left their mother, the Queen came to rely on the company of her youngest daughter, whom she called "Baby" for most of her childhood. Beatrice was brought up to stay with her mother always and she soon resigned herself to her fate. The Queen was so set against her youngest daughter marrying that she refused to discuss the possibility. Nevertheless, many suitors were put forward, including Louis Napoléon, Prince Imperial, the son of the exiled Emperor Napoleon III of France, and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse, the widower of Beatrice's older sister Alice. She was attracted to the Prince Imperial and there was talk of a possible marriage, but he was killed in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. (Full article...)
Image 3

Lady Shirley as painted by Anthony van Dyck in Rome, 1622

Teresa Sampsonia (Persian:ترزا سامپسونیا)(born Sampsonia; after marriage Lady Shirley, 1589–1668) was an Iranian-English noblewoman of the Safavid Empire of Iran. She was the wife of Elizabethan English adventurer Robert Shirley, whom she accompanied on his travels and embassies across Europe in the name of the Safavid King (Shah) Abbas the Great (r. 1588–1629).

Teresa was received by many of the royal houses of Europe, such as English prince Henry Frederick and Queen Anne (her child's godparents) and contemporary writers and artists such as Thomas Herbert and Anthony van Dyck. Herbert considered Robert Shirley "the greatest Traveller of his time", but admired the "undaunted Lady Teresa" even more. Following the death of her husband from dysentery in 1628, and due to impediments from grandees at the court, and the authorities, during the reign of Abbas's successor and grandson Safi (r. 1629–1642), Teresa decided to leave Iran. She lived in a convent in Rome for the rest of her life, devoting her time to charity and religion. As a pious Christian, and because of her love for her husband, Teresa had Shirley's remains transported to Rome from Isfahan and reburied; on the headstone of their mutual grave she mentions their travels and refers to her noble Circassian origins. (Full article...)
Image 4

Official portrait, c. 1990s

Wendell Hampton Ford (September 8, 1924 – January 22, 2015) was an American politician from Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Governor of Kentucky from 1971 to 1974, and as a member of the United States Senate for 24 years from 1974 to 1999. He was the first person to be successively elected lieutenant governor, governor, and United States senator in Kentucky history. He was the Senate Democratic whip from 1991 to 1999, and was considered the leader of the state's Democratic Party from his election as governor in 1971 until he retired from the Senate in 1999. At the time of his retirement he was the longest-serving senator in Kentucky's history, a mark which was then surpassed by Mitch McConnell in 2009. Ford is the last Democrat to have served as a Senator from the state of Kentucky.

Born in Daviess County, Kentucky, Ford attended the University of Kentucky, but his studies were interrupted by his service in World War II. After the war, he graduated from the Maryland School of Insurance and returned to Kentucky to help his father with the family insurance business. He also continued his military service in the Kentucky Army National Guard. He worked on the gubernatorial campaign of Bert Combs in 1959 and became Combs' executive assistant when Combs was elected governor. Encouraged to run for the Kentucky Senate by Combs' ally and successor, Ned Breathitt, Ford won the seat and served one four-year term before running for lieutenant governor in 1967. He was elected on a split ticket with Republican Louie Nunn. Four years later, Ford defeated Combs in an upset in the Democratic primary en route to the governorship. (Full article...)
Image 5
Louis Hyman Bean (April 15, 1896 – August 5, 1994) was an American economic and political analyst who predicted Harry S. Truman's victory in the 1948 presidential election.

Bean was born in Lithuania, which was then part of the Russian Empire. He immigrated to the United States as a child with his family and settled in Laconia, New Hampshire. After receiving his preliminary education and graduating from college with a Bachelor of Arts degree, he entered Harvard Business School in Massachusetts, and, in 1922, he received his Master of Business Administration degree. In 1923, Bean became a member of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics at the United States Department of Agriculture; he worked on estimates of farm income and price indices. Bean's charts were used in Congress in discussions about the McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill. Bean was closely associated with Henry A. Wallace; he served as his economic advisor and also worked on several of Wallace's books. He wrote articles for the journal, The Review of Economics and Statistics. (Full article...)
Image 6

Clark photographed in 1859

John Bullock Clark Sr. (April 17, 1802 – October 29, 1885) was a militia officer and politician who served as a member of the United States Congress and Confederate Congress. Born in Kentucky, Clark moved with his family to Missouri in 1818 and studied law. He opened a legal practice in Fayette, Missouri, in 1824. He held several positions in the local government in the 1820s and 1830s. Clark was also involved in the state militia, serving as a colonel in the Black Hawk War in 1832 and eventually rising to the rank of major general. In 1838, during the Missouri Mormon War, Clark was the recipient of Governor Lilburn Boggs's infamous Mormon Extermination Order, and was involved in the ending stages of the conflict. He was the Whig candidate in the 1840 Missouri gubernatorial election. Clark was accused of conspiring to commit electoral fraud in the election and as a result almost fought a duel with Claiborne Fox Jackson, later a Governor of Missouri.

In 1850, Clark was elected as a Whig to the Missouri House of Representatives and served into 1851. He was elected in 1857 to fill a vacancy in one of Missouri's seats in the United States House of Representatives. With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Clark, a wealthy owner of 160 slaves, became a leading secessionist in Missouri. After the pro-secessionist Missouri State Guard (MSG) was formed in May 1861, he was appointed by Jackson as a brigadier general commanding the MSG's 3rd Division. After leading his troops against Federal forces in the Battle of Carthage, Missouri on July 5, Clark was expelled from the House of Representatives for fighting against the United States. On August 10, he led his division in the Battle of Wilson's Creek, in which he was wounded. (Full article...)
Image 7
Gustav Holst, c. 1921 photograph by Herbert Lambert

Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style.

There were professional musicians in the previous three generations of Holst's family, and it was clear from his early years that he would follow the same calling. He hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm. Despite his father's reservations, he pursued a career as a composer, studying at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford. Unable to support himself by his compositions, he played the trombone professionally and later became a teacher—a great one, according to his colleague Ralph Vaughan Williams. Among other teaching activities he built up a strong tradition of performance at Morley College, where he served as musical director from 1907 until 1924, and pioneered music education for women at St Paul's Girls' School, where he taught from 1905 until his death in 1934. He was the founder of a series of Whitsun music festivals, which ran from 1916 for the remainder of his life. (Full article...)
Image 8

Portrait by Thomas Bardwell, 1764

Captain Maurice Suckling (4 May 1726 – 14 July 1778) was a British Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century, most notable for starting the naval career of his nephew Horatio Nelson and for serving as Comptroller of the Navy from 1775 until his death. Suckling joined the Royal Navy in 1739 and saw service in the English Channel and Mediterranean Sea during the War of the Austrian Succession. With the support of relatives including Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, Suckling was promoted quickly and received his first command in 1754. At the start of the Seven Years' War in 1756 he was promoted to captain and given a command on the Jamaica Station. There he played a major part in the Battle of Cap-Français in 1757 and fought an inconclusive skirmish against the French ship Palmier in 1758 before returning to Britain in 1760.

Suckling was employed in the aftermath of the Capture of Belle Île in 1761 destroying French fortifications on the Île-d'Aix and went on half pay at the end of the war in 1763. He was given his next command during the Falklands Crisis of 1770, and took his nephew Nelson with him. Despite having misgivings over Nelson's suitability for the navy, Suckling supported him and saw him translated into several more active ships in order to further his naval education when Suckling himself moved to command a guard ship. Suckling left his ship in 1773 and was initially rebuffed in his attempts to gain fresh employment with the navy because of the ongoing peace, but in 1775 First Lord of the Admiralty John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, appointed him Comptroller of the Navy. (Full article...)
Image 9

Betsy Bakker-Nort in 1922

Bertha "Betsy" Bakker-Nort (8 May 1874 – 23 May 1946) was a Dutch lawyer and politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives for the Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) from 1922 to 1942.

Born in Groningen, she became involved with the feminist movement in 1894, joining the Dutch Association for Women's Suffrage (VVVK), where she was mentored by Aletta Jacobs, one of the pioneering activists of the 19th century. (Full article...)
Image 10

James Emory Boyd (July 18, 1906 – February 18, 1998) was an American physicist, mathematician, and academic administrator. He was director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute from 1957 to 1961, president of West Georgia College (now the University of West Georgia) from 1961 to 1971, and acting president of the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1971 to 1972.

A graduate of the University of Georgia, Duke University, and Yale University, Boyd began in academia as an instructor of physics at the University of Georgia, then head of the Mathematics and Science Department at West Georgia College. Subsequently, he became a professor at Georgia Tech and a prominent researcher at the Engineering Experiment Station, now known as the Georgia Tech Research Institute. At the Engineering Experiment Station, Boyd helped spur the organization's mainstay: federally funded electronics research and development. Along with fellow Georgia Tech researchers Gerald Rosselot and Glen P. Robinson, Boyd was influential in the founding of Scientific Atlanta, where he was a board member for 25 years. As director of the Engineering Experiment Station, Boyd focused on the recruitment of talented engineers and an increase in physical space available to the organization, including the establishment of nuclear research at Georgia Tech with a radioisotopes laboratory and the construction of the Frank H. Neely Research Reactor. (Full article...)
Image 11

Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede (c. 1670)

Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjaːkɔp fɑn ˈrœyzdaːl] ; c. 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural achievement when Dutch painting became highly popular.

Prolific and versatile, Ruisdael depicted a wide variety of landscape subjects. From 1646 he painted Dutch countryside scenes of remarkable quality for a young man. After a trip to Germany in 1650, his landscapes took on a more heroic character. In his late work, conducted when he lived and worked in Amsterdam, he added city panoramas and seascapes to his regular repertoire. In these, the sky often took up two-thirds of the canvas. In total he produced more than 150 Scandinavian views featuring waterfalls. (Full article...)
Image 12

McDonald in 2010

Lanny King McDonald (born February 16, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies and Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played over 1,100 games during a 16-year career in which he scored 500 goals and over 1,000 points. His total of 66 goals in 1982–83 remains the Flames' franchise record for a single season. As of 2024 McDonald is the only player to be inducted in the Hockey Hall Of Fame for the Colorado Rockies.

McDonald was selected by the Maple Leafs as the fourth overall pick in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft and established himself as an offensive forward with three consecutive 40-goal seasons in Toronto in the mid-1970s. His trade to the Rockies in 1979 resulted in Toronto fans protesting the deal in front of Maple Leaf Gardens. He played parts of three seasons in Denver, before he was sent to Calgary in 1981 where he spent the remainder of his career. He co-captained the Flames to a Stanley Cup championship in his final season of 1988–89. (Full article...)
Image 13

Charles Scott (April 1739 – October 22, 1813) was an American military officer and politician who served as the governor of Kentucky from 1808 to 1812. Orphaned in his teens, Scott enlisted in the Virginia Regiment in October 1755 and served as a scout and escort during the French and Indian War. He quickly rose through the ranks to become a captain. After the war, he married and engaged in agricultural pursuits on land left to him by his father, but he returned to active military service in 1775 as the American Revolution began to grow in intensity. In August 1776, he was promoted to colonel and given command of the 5th Virginia Regiment. The 5th Virginia joined George Washington in New Jersey later that year, serving with him for the duration of the Philadelphia campaign. Scott commanded Washington's light infantry, and by late 1778 was also serving as his chief of intelligence. Furloughed at the end of the Philadelphia campaign, Scott returned to active service in March 1779 and was ordered to South Carolina to assist General Benjamin Lincoln in the southern theater. He arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, just as Henry Clinton had begun his siege of the city. Scott was taken as a prisoner of war when Charleston surrendered. Paroled in March 1781 and exchanged for Lord Rawdon in July 1782, Scott managed to complete a few recruiting assignments before the war ended.

After the war, Scott visited the western frontier in 1785 and began to make preparations for a permanent relocation. He resettled near present-day Versailles, Kentucky, in 1787. Confronted by the dangers of Indian raids, Scott raised a company of volunteers in 1790 and joined Josiah Harmar for an expedition against the Indians. After Harmar's Defeat, President Washington ordered Arthur St. Clair to prepare for an invasion of Indian lands in the Northwest Territory. In the meantime, Scott, by now holding the rank of brigadier general in the Virginia militia, was ordered to conduct a series of preliminary raids. In July 1791, he led the most notable and successful of these raids against the village of Ouiatenon. St. Clair's main invasion, conducted later that year, was a failure. Shortly after the separation of Kentucky from Virginia in 1792, the Kentucky General Assembly commissioned Scott as a major general and gave him command of the 2nd Division of the Kentucky militia. Scott's division cooperated with "Mad" Anthony Wayne's Legion of the United States for the rest of the Northwest Indian War, including their decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. (Full article...)
Image 14

Jackson c. 1903

Benjamin Jackson (January 2, 1835 – August 20, 1915) was a Canadian sailor and farmer who was a decorated veteran of the American Civil War. Raised in a small community of Black Nova Scotians, Jackson began his career as a commercial seaman at 16 years old and started a farm in his mid twenties. During the American Civil War, he served for one year in the Union Navy in the place of a drafted US citizen. For most of that year, he was deployed in the Union blockade of the Confederate coastline. As a gun captain aboard the USS Richmond, Jackson served in the Battle of Mobile Bay. He also disarmed multiple naval mines and once picked up a live shell and threw it from the deck of the Richmond. Jackson likely earned an enlistment bounty, as well as prize money by capturing multiple blockade runners. He developed bronchitis, suffered a serious hand injury, and eventually received a Civil War Campaign Medal for serving during that conflict.

After the war, Jackson lived the rest of his life in Lockhartville, Nova Scotia. He retired from commercial sailing in 1875 but continued managing his farm of 11 hectares (27 acres) and selling fish, vegetables, and other goods. Jackson received a Civil War pension for more than 50 years, though he had to navigate the intricacies of the US Pension Office system to maintain and increase payments as he became eligible. His funeral was described as "the largest seen in Lockhartville for many years". Jackson's grave remained unmarked until 2010, when a headstone was unveiled at an event attended by his great-great-granddaughter, Government of Nova Scotia officials, and American Civil War reenactors. As of 1999, one of the eight history markers on the Mathieu Da Costa African Heritage Trail is dedicated to his story. Ben Jackson Road in Hantsport, Nova Scotia, is also named in his honour. (Full article...)
Image 15
Ernest Joyce (right), pictured with other expedition members

Ernest Edward Mills Joyce AM (c. 1875 – 2 May 1940) was a Royal Naval seaman and explorer who participated in four Antarctic expeditions during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, in the early 20th century. He served under both Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton. As a member of the Ross Sea party in Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, Joyce earned an Albert Medal for his actions in bringing the stricken party to safety, after a traumatic journey on the Great Ice Barrier. He was awarded the Polar Medal with four bars, one of only two men to be so honoured, the other being his contemporary, Frank Wild.

Joyce came from a humble seafaring background and began his naval career as a boy seaman in 1891. His Antarctic experiences began 10 years later, when he joined Scott's Discovery Expedition as an Able Seaman. In 1907 Shackleton recruited Joyce to take charge of dogs and sledges on the Nimrod Expedition. Subsequently, Joyce was engaged in a similar capacity for Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition in 1911, but left the expedition before it departed for the Antarctic. In 1914 Shackleton recruited Joyce for the Ross Sea party; despite his heroics this expedition marked the end of Joyce's association with the Antarctic, and of his exploring career, although he made repeated attempts to join other expeditions. (Full article...)

Today anniversaries

Pre-1600

1350 – John I of Aragon (d. 1395)
1390 – Anne de Mortimer, claimant to the English throne (d. 1411)
1459 – John I Albert, King of Poland (d. 1501)
1481 – Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Margrave of Bayreuth (d. 1527)
1493 – Johann Pfeffinger, German theologian (d. 1573)
1566 – Jan Jesenius, Bohemian physician, politician and philosopher (d. 1621)
1571 – Johannes Kepler, German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer (d. 1630)
1572 – Johannes Vodnianus Campanus, Czech poet, playwright, and composer (d. 1622)
1584 – Philipp Julius, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1625)
1595 – Bohdan Khmelnytsky, hetman of Ukraine (d. 1657)

1601–1900

1622 – Teofil Rutka, Polish philosopher (d. 1700)
1633 – Jean de Lamberville, French missionary (d. 1714)
1636 – William Whitelock, English gentleman, Member of Parliament (d. 1717)
1637 – Petar Kanavelić, Venetian writer (d. 1719)
1645 – Giovanni Antonio Viscardi, Swiss architect (d. 1713)
1655 – Abstrupus Danby, English politician (d. 1727)
1660 – Veronica Giuliani, Italian Capuchin mystic (d. 1727)
1663 – Johann Melchior Roos, German painter (d. 1731)
1683 – Conyers Middleton, English priest and theologian (d. 1750)
1689 – Jacob August Franckenstein, Encyclopedia editor, professor (d. 1733)
(baptised) 1692 – Francis Blake Delaval, British Royal Navy officer and Member of Parliament (d. 1752)
1697 – Sollom Emlyn, Irish legal writer (d. 1754)
1705 – Prince Frederick Henry Eugen of Anhalt-Dessau, German prince of the House of Ascania (d. 1781)
1713 – Giovanni Battista Borra, Italian architect and engineer (d. 1770)
1714 – George Whitefield, English preacher and saint (d. 1770)
1715 – Philippe de Noailles, French general (d. 1794)
1721 – François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher and author (d. 1790)
(baptised) 1761 – Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian field marshal and politician, Governor-General of Finland (d. 1818)
1773 – George Cayley, English engineer and politician (d. 1857)
1776 – Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (d. 1811)
1797 – Ghalib, Indian poet (d. 1869)
1797 – Charles Hodge, American theologian (d. 1878)
1803 – François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Canadian activist (d. 1839)
1809 – Alexandros Rizos Rangavis, Greek poet and politician, Foreign Minister of Greece (d. 1892)
1822 – Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist (d. 1895)
1823 – Mackenzie Bowell, English-Canadian journalist and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1917)
1827 – Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria (d. 1900)
1832 – Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tretyakov Gallery (d. 1897)
1838 – Lars Oftedal, Norwegian priest, social reformer, politician, and newspaper editor (d. 1900)
1858 – Juan Luis Sanfuentes, Chilean lawyer and politician, 17th President of Chile (d. 1930)
1863 – Louis Lincoln Emmerson, American lawyer and politician, 27th Governor of Illinois (d. 1941)
1864 – Hermann-Paul, French painter and illustrator (d. 1940)
1878 – Kalle Korhonen, Finnish politician (d. 1938)
1879 – Sydney Greenstreet, English-American actor (d. 1954)
1882 – Mina Loy, British modernist poet and artist (d. 1966)
1883 – Cyrus S. Eaton, Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1979)
1888 – Thea von Harbou, German actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 1954)
1892 – Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian captain and pilot (d. 1917)
1896 – Louis Bromfield, American author and theorist (d. 1956)
1896 – Maurice De Waele, Belgian cyclist (d. 1952)
1896 – Carl Zuckmayer, German author and playwright (d. 1977)
1898 – Inejiro Asanuma, Japanese politician (d. 1960)
1900 – Hans Stuck, German racing driver (d. 1978)

1901–present

1901 – Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress and singer (d. 1992)
1901 – Irene Handl, English actress (d. 1987)
1904 – René Bonnet, French racing driver and engineer (d. 1983)
1905 – Cliff Arquette, American actor and comedian (d. 1974)
1906 – Oscar Levant, American pianist, composer, and actor (d. 1972)
1907 – Asaf Halet Çelebi, Turkish poet (d. 1958)
1907 – Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (d. 1999)
1907 – Mary Howard, English author (d. 1991)
1907 – Conrad L. Raiford, American baseball player and activist (d. 2002)
1907 – Willem van Otterloo, Dutch conductor and composer (d. 1978)
1909 – James Riddell, English skier and author (d. 2000)
1910 – Charles Olson, American poet and educator (d. 1970)
1911 – Anna Russell, English-Canadian singer and actress (d. 2006)
1913 – Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and novelist (d. 1986)
1915 – William Masters, American gynecologist, author, and academic (d. 2001)
1915 – Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian-Cypriot footballer and manager (d. 1999)
1916 – Werner Baumbach, German pilot (d. 1953)
1916 – Cathy Lewis, American actress (d. 1968)
1917 – Buddy Boudreaux, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 2015)
1917 – T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan lawyer and academic (d. 2004)
1917 – Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author (d. 2009)
1918 – John Celardo, American captain and illustrator (d. 2012)
1919 – Charles Sweeney, American general and pilot (d. 2004)
1920 – Bruce Hobbs, American jockey and trainer (d. 2005)
1921 – John Whitworth, English countertenor (d. 2013)
1923 – Bruno Bobak, Polish-Canadian painter and educator (d. 2012)
1923 – Lucas Mangope, South African politician (d. 2018)
1924 – Jean Bartik, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2011)
1924 – James A. McClure, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2011)
1925 – Michel Piccoli, French actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2020)
1926 – Jerome Courtland, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2012)
1927 – Antony Gardner, English engineer and politician (d. 2011)
1927 – Nityanand Swami, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Uttarakhand (d. 2012)
1927 – Audrey Wagner, American baseball player, obstetrician, and gynecologist (d. 1984)
1930 – Marshall Sahlins, American anthropologist and academic (d. 2021)
1930 – Wilfrid Sheed, English-born American novelist and essayist (d. 2011)
1931 – Scotty Moore, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2016)
1933 – Dave Marr, American golfer (d. 1997)
1934 – Larisa Latynina, Ukrainian gymnast and coach
1934 – Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow, English businessman
1935 – Michael Turnbull, English bishop
1936 – Phil Sharpe, English cricketer (d. 2014)
1936 – Eve Uusmees, Estonian swimmer and coach
1939 – John Amos, American actor (d. 2024)
1940 – David Shepherd, English cricketer and umpire (d. 2009)
1941 – Miles Aiken, American basketball player and coach
1941 – Mike Pinder, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2024)
1941 – Nolan Richardson, American basketball player and coach
1942 – Byron Browne, American baseball player
1942 – Thomas Menino, American politician, 53rd Mayor of Boston (d. 2014)
1942 – Ron Rothstein, American basketball player and coach
1943 – Cokie Roberts, American journalist and author (d. 2019)
1943 – Joan Manuel Serrat, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1943 – Peter Sinfield, English songwriter and producer (d. 2024)
1943 – Roy White, American baseball player and coach
1944 – Mick Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1946 – Lenny Kaye, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1946 – Joe Kinnear, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2024)
1946 – Janet Street-Porter, English journalist and producer
1946 – Polly Toynbee, English journalist and author
1947 – Bill Eadie, American wrestler and coach
1947 – Doug Livermore, English footballer and manager
1947 – Willy Polleunis, Belgian runner
1948 – Gérard Depardieu, French-Russian actor
1949 – Terry Ito, Japanese director, producer, and critic
1950 – Haris Alexiou, Greek singer-songwriter
1950 – Roberto Bettega, Italian footballer and manager
1950 – Terry Bozzio, American drummer and songwriter
1951 – Karla Bonoff, American singer-songwriter
1951 – Ernesto Zedillo, Mexican economist and politician, 54th President of Mexico
1952 – Jay Hill, Canadian farmer and politician
1952 – David Knopfler, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1954 – Kent Benson, American basketball player
1954 – Mandie Fletcher, English director, producer, and production manager
1954 – Teo Chee Hean, Singaporean politician and 5th Senior Minister of Singapore
1955 – Brad Murphey, American race car driver
1955 – Barbara Olson, American journalist and author (d. 2001)
1956 – Doina Melinte, Romanian runner
1958 – Steve Jones, American golfer
1959 – Gerina Dunwich, American astrologer, historian, and author
1959 – Andre Tippett, American football player and coach
1960 – Maryam d'Abo, English actress
1960 – Donald Nally, American conductor and academic
1960 – Terry Price, Australian golfer
1961 – Guido Westerwelle, German lawyer and politician, 15th Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 2016)
1962 – Mark Few, American basketball player and coach
1962 – John Kampfner, Singaporean journalist and author
1962 – Bill Self, American basketball player and coach
1962 – Sherri Steinhauer, American golfer
1963 – Gaspar Noé, Argentine-French director and screenwriter
1964 – Ian Gomez, American actor
1964 – Theresa Randle, American actress
1965 – Salman Khan, Indian film actor and producer
1966 – Marianne Elliott, English director and producer
1966 – Bill Goldberg, American football player, wrestler and actor
1966 – Eva LaRue, American model and actress
1969 – Jean-Christophe Boullion, French racing driver
1969 – Chyna, American professional wrestler and actress (d. 2016)
1969 – Sarah Vowell, American author and journalist
1970 – Lorenzo Neal, American football player and radio host
1970 – Naoko Yamazaki, Japanese pilot and astronaut
1971 – Duncan Ferguson, Scottish footballer and coach
1971 – Guthrie Govan, English guitarist and educator
1971 – Savannah Guthrie, American television journalist
1972 – Colin Charvis, Welsh rugby union player and coach
1972 – Kevin Ollie, American basketball player and coach
1972 – Matt Slocum, American guitarist and songwriter
1973 – Wilson Cruz, American actor
1973 – Kristoffer Zegers, Dutch pianist and composer
1974 – Tomáš Janků, Czech high jumper
1974 – Masi Oka, Japanese-American actor and visual effects designer
1974 – Fumiko Orikasa, Japanese voice actress and singer
1974 – Jay Pandolfo, American ice hockey player and coach
1975 – Aigars Fadejevs, Latvian race walker and therapist
1975 – Heather O'Rourke, American actress (d. 1988)
1976 – Nikolaos Georgeas, Greek footballer
1976 – Piotr Morawski, Polish mountaineer (d. 2009)
1976 – Daimí Pernía, Cuban basketball player and hurdler
1976 – Fernando Pisani, Canadian-Italian ice hockey player
1977 – Jacqueline Pillon, Canadian actress
1977 – Chris Tate, English footballer
1978 – Deuce McAllister, American football player
1978 – Lisa Jakub, Canadian actress
1979 – Pascale Dorcelus, Canadian weightlifter
1979 – David Dunn, English footballer and manager
1979 – Carson Palmer, American football player
1980 – Bernard Berrian, American football player
1980 – Claudio Castagnoli, Swiss wrestler
1980 – Dahntay Jones, American basketball player
1980 – Meelis Kompus, Estonian journalist
1981 – David Aardsma, American baseball player
1981 – Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
1981 – Jay Ellis, American actor
1981 – Moise Joseph, American-Haitian runner
1981 – Patrick Sharp, Canadian ice hockey player
1982 – Erin E. Stead, American illustrator
1983 – Anthony Boric, New Zealand rugby union player
1983 – Cole Hamels, American baseball player
1983 – Jesse Williams, American high jumper
1984 – Andrejs Perepļotkins, Ukrainian-Latvian footballer
1984 – Gilles Simon, French tennis player
1985 – Logan Bailly, Belgian footballer
1985 – Jérôme d'Ambrosio, Belgian racing driver
1985 – Paul Stastny, Canadian-American ice hockey player
1986 – Torah Bright, Australian snowboarder
1986 – Jamaal Charles, American football player
1986 – Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaican sprinter
1987 – Lily Cole, English model
1988 – Jorge Gutiérrez, Mexican basketball player
1988 – Hera Hilmar, Icelandic actress
1988 – Zavon Hines, Jamaican-English footballer
1988 – Ok Taec-yeon, South Korean singer and actor
1988 – Rick Porcello, American baseball player
1988 – Hayley Williams, American singer-songwriter
1989 – Ingrid Várgas Calvo, Peruvian tennis player
1990 – Max Lindholm, Finnish figure skater
1990 – Jonathan Marchessault, Canadian ice hockey player
1990 – Milos Raonic, Canadian tennis player
1990 – Zelina Vega, American wrestler
1991 – Chloe Bridges, American actress
1991 – Michael Morgan, Australian rugby league player
1991 – Beth Potter, Scottish triathlete and long-distance runner
1991 – Danny Wilson, Scottish footballer
1992 – Joel Indermitte, Estonian footballer
1992 – Maicel Uibo, Estonian decathlete
1993 – Olivia Cooke, English actress
1995 – Timothée Chalamet, French-American actor
1995 – Nick Chubb, American football player
1995 – Mark Lapidus, Estonian chess player
1997 – Vachirawit Chivaaree, Thai actor and singer
1997 – Ana Konjuh, Croatian tennis player
1998 – Luka Garza, American basketball player
1999 – Brock Purdy, American football player (Full article...)

Get involved

For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Biography-related articles, see WikiProject Biography.

Featured articles