• 1135 - Maimonides, [Moses Ben Maimon], C•rodoba Spain, philosopher/physician
• 1222 - Nichiren, Japan, Buddhist priest/saint
• 1432 - Mehmed II [Fƒtih], Sultan of Turkey (1451-81)
• 1672 - Peter I "the Great" Romanov, great tsar of Russia (1682-1725)
• 1674 - Jethro Tull, agricultural writer (Basildon), baptised
• 1681 - Pieter Snyers, Flemish painter/engraver
• 1687 - Johann Balthasar Freisslich, composer
• 1697 - John-Baptist Xavery, Flemish sculptor
• 1719 - John Hawkins, England, wrote 1st history of music
• 1727 - Tommaso MFS Traetta, Ital's opera composer/band leader (Farnace)
• 1746 - Francisco Jose de Goya, Fuendetodos Spain, painter/etcher (Naked Maja)
• 1750 - John Stafford Smith, composer
• 1772 - Johann Wilhelm Wilms, composer
• 1790 - Joseph Smith, Rear Admiral (Union Navy), died in 1877
• 1804 - Salomon Sulzer, composer
• 1805 - Adrien de La Fage, composer
• 1811 - Angelo Catelani, Italian composer/conductor
• 1815 - Wincenty Studzinski, composer
• 1823 - Joseph Farmer Knipe, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1901
• 1824 - Innis Newton Palmer, Bvt Major General (Union volunteers)
• 1825 - Samuel Bell Maxey, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1895
• 1830 - Auguste Tolbecque, composer
• 1830 - Julius F A Bahnsen, German philosopher
• 1835 - Bernhard Scholz, composer
• 1836 - Karl Freiherr von Stumm-Halberg, German industrialist/politician
• 1842 - Dr Crawford Long, 1st physician to use ether as anesthetic
• 1842 - John Fiske, [Edmund Fisk Green], US historian/philosopher
• 1844 - Paul M Verlaine, France, lyric poet (Sagesse Bonbeur)
• 1853 - Vincent van Gogh, Zundert Neth, artist who always lent an ear (Irises)
• 1864 - Franz Oppenheimer, German sociologist/politician
• 1865 - Heinrich Rubens, German physicist
• 1872 - Sergey Nikiforovich Vasilenko, composer
• 1876 - Clifford Whittingham Beers, US, mental hygiene pioneer
• 1880 - Sean O'Casey, Ireland, playwright (Playboy of the Western World)
• 1882 - Melanie Klein, Austrian/British psycho analysis
• 1883 - Jo Davidson, US, sculptor (Woodrow Wilson, Walt Whitman)
• 1886 - Stanislaw Lesniewski, Poland, logician/mathematician
• 1887 - Albert P Termote, Flemish/Dutch sculptor (Charles the Great)
• 1888 - Anna Q Nilsson, Sweden, actress (Shenandoah, Uncle Tom's Cabin)
• 1891 - Jan B Cammans, Flemish actor (Brothers Karamazov)
• 1892 - Erwin Panofsky, German/US art historian
• 1894 - Sergei Ilyushin, Russian airplane builder (Ilyushin)
• 1895 - Jean Giono, French writer (World Chant)
• 1898 - Heinz Risse, writer
• 1898 - Joyce Carey, English actress (Black Windmill)
• 1899 - Irving Thalberg, US producer (MGM)
• 1903 - Countee Cullen, US poet (Color, Ballad of the Brown Girl)
• 1903 - Sol C Siegel, US, producer (High Society, Gentlemen prefer blondes)
• 1904 - Akarova, [Marguerite Acarin], Belgian dancer (Les Biches)
• 1905 - Mikio Oda, Japan, triple jumper (Olympic-gold-1928)
• 1908 - Camille Schmit, composer
• 1908 - Kurt Bruggemann, composer
• 1908 - Leslie O'Brien "Chuck" Fleetwood-Smith, Chinese cricket bowler
• 1909 - Ernst Gombrich, OM/FBA/director (Warburg Institute)
• 1911 - Dennis Gomm, musician
• 1912 - Andrew Rodger Waterson, scholar/naturalist
• 1912 - Jack Cowie, cricketer (successful NZ fast bowler either side of WWII)
• 1913 - Frankie Laine, Chicago Ill, actor (Frankie Laine Show, Rawhide)
• 1913 - Gottfried Reinhardt, theatre producer
• 1913 - Richard Helms, CIA head (1966-73)
• 1914 - Sonny Boy Williamson, [John Lee], blues musician (Down & Out Blues)
• 1917 - Els Aarne, composer
• 1917 - Herbert Anderson, actor (Henry-Dennis The Menace)
• 1917 - Rudolf Bruci, composer
• 1918 - John Gray, FRS/marine biologist
• 1918 - Joseph Allen Jr, Boston MA, actor (Death of a Champion)
• 1919 - McGeorge Bundy, Boston, national security adviser (JFK)
• 1919 - Ramsay Ames, actress (G-Men Never Forget, Ali Baba & 40 Thieves)
• 1920 - Turhan Bey, Vienna Austria, actor (Dragon Seed, Ali Baba & 40 Thieves)
• 1921 - Countess of Sutherland, English great land owner/multi-millionaire
• 1921 - Kan Ishii, composer
• 1921 - Oto Ferenczy, composer
• 1922 - German Germanovich Galinin, composer
• 1922 - J F Coates, naval architect
• 1922 - Peter Jona Korn, composer
• 1923 - Herbert Asmodi, writer
• 1924 - Milko Kelemen, composer
• 1925 - Ivo Malek, composer
• 1925 - John Wells, MP
• 1926 - John Heddle Nash, singer
• 1926 - Lord Rayner
• 1926 - Ray McAnally, Ireland, actor (My Left Foot, Empire State, Sicilian)
• 1926 - Werner Torkanowsky, Berlin Germany, conductor (New Orleans Symph)
• 1927 - Lord Armstrong of Ilminster
• 1927 - Peter Marshall, Huntington WV, TV game show host (Hollywood Squares)
• 1927 - Wally Grout, cricketer (great Aussie wicket-keeper)
• 1928 - Diether de la Motte, composer
• 1928 - Richard Trant, Brit general
• 1928 - Tom Sharpe, English historian/author (Riotous Assembly, Want)
• 1929 - Richard Dysart, Brighton Mass, actor (Leland MacKenzie-LA Law)
• 1929 - Shirley Stoler, Brooklyn NY, actress (Frankenhooker, 7 Beauties)
• 1930 - Browne-Wilkinson, lord
• 1930 - David Staple, joint pres (Council of Churches for Brit & Ireland)
• 1930 - John Astin, Balt Md, actor (I'm Dickens He's Fenster, Addams Family)
• 1930 - Rolf Harris, Australian/British cartoonist
• 1931 - Aleksey Vasilyevich Sorokin, Russian cosmonaut
• 1931 - Harold Burrage, US singer/pianist (Hi Yo Silver)
• 1931 - Sandor Szokolay, composer
• 1932 - A J Zuckerman, Dean (Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine)
• 1933 - Jean-Claude Brialy, Aumale Algeria, actor (Circle of Love, Cousins)
• 1934 - Lord Tanlaw
• 1935 - Alan Jackson, CEO (BTR)
• 1935 - Gordon Mumma, composer
• 1935 - John Charles Eaton, composer
• 1936 - Mark Burns, British director (Juggernaut)
• 1936 - Richard Baker, Santa Fe NM, Zen teacher (Dharma Sangha)
• 1937 - J S Jennings, CEO (Shell Transport & Trading Co)
• 1937 - Jay W Macintosh, Gainesville Ga, actress (Sons & Daughters)
• 1937 - Lord MacLaurin of Knebworth
• 1937 - Warren Beatty, Richmond Va, actor (Bonnie & Clyde,Shampoo, Dick Tracy)
• 1938 - Martin Dunne, Lord-Lt (Warwickshire)
• 1940 - Astrud Gilberto, Brazil, singer (Girl From Ipanema)
• 1940 - Jerry Lucas, Middletown OH, NBA center (Oly-gold-60, NY Knicks)
• 1940 - Norman Gifford, cricketer (respected England slow left-armer 1964-73)
• 1941 - Brendan O'Friel, CEO (Prison Governors Assn)
• 1941 - Robert C Smith, (Rep-R-NH, 1985- )
• 1941 - Ron Johnston, Vice-Chancellor (Essex U)
• 1941 - Sven Hamrin, Sweden, road race cycler (Olympic-bronze-1964)
• 1942 - George Esson, Chief Constable (Dumfries & Galloway)
• 1942 - Graeme Edge, England, rock drummer (Moody Blues-Your Wildest Dreams)
• 1943 - Bob Blewett, cricketer (father of Greg South Aust batsman 1975-79)
• 1944 - Gerrit Komrij, Dutch poet/essayist (Happy Schizo)
• 1945 - Eric Clapton, Ripley England, singer/guitarist (Tears in Heaven)
• 1948 - Dave Ball, rocker (Procul Harum)
• 1948 - Jim Dandy Mangrum, vocalist (Black Oak Arkansas-Jim Dandy)
• 1948 - Justin Deas, Penn, actor (Dream Lover, Montana, Intimate Strangers)
• 1948 - M A King, FBA, economist
• 1948 - Nigel Jones, British MP
• 1949 - Leslie Joan Corn, theatre producer/director/writer
• 1949 - Sue Cook, British broadcaster
• 1950 - Dave McCurdy, (Rep-D-OK, 1981- )
• 1950 - Eugene Bowen, composer (Wonder's Edge)
• 1950 - Rupert Greenall, rock keyboardist (Fixx)
• 1951 - John Gosden, racehorse trainer
• 1955 - Randy Wanwarmer, Denver, vocalist (Just When I Needed You Most)
• 1957 - Elena V Kondakova, Moscow Russia, cosmonaut (STS 84)
• 1957 - Paul Reiser, NYC, actor (My 2 Dads, Diner, Aliens, Mad About You)
• 1957 - Yelena Vladimirovna Kondakova, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM 20, STS 84)
• 1958 - Joseph Paul Sindelar, Ft Knox KY, PGA golfer (BC Open-1985, 87)
• 1959 - Daniel Seifried, Kitchener Ont, Canadia Tour golfer (1981 Thunder Bay)
• 1960 - William D Johnson, US alpine skier
• 1962 - M C Hammer, [Stanley Kirk Burrell], Oakland Ca, rapper (Hammer Time)
• 1963 - Jenny Lidback, Lima Peru, LPGA golfer (1995 du Maurier Ltd Classic)
• 1963 - Lomas Brown, NFL tackle (Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals)
• 1964 - Corey Millen, Cloquet, NHL center (Calgary Flames)
• 1964 - Dave Ellett, Cleveland, NHL defenseman (Toronto Maple Leafs)
• 1964 - Tracy Chapman, US singer/songwriter (Freedom Now, I Got a Fast Car)
• 1965 - Karel Novacek, Prostejov Czech, tennis star (1994 Hilversum)
• 1965 - Piers Morgan, editor (Daily Mirror)
• 1967 - Ian Ziering, West Orange NJ, actor (Steve Sanders-Beverly Hills 90210)
• 1967 - Julie Richardson, Auckland NZ, tennis star (1992 Futures-Canberra)
• 1968 - Celine Dion, Quebec Canada, singer (I'm Your Woman)
• 1968 - Donna D'Errico, Dothan AL, playmate (Sep, 1995)
• 1969 - Marco Foddis, pop drummer (Pestilence)
• 1969 - Mark Astley, Calgary, NHL defenseman (Buffalo Sabres)
• 1970 - George Coghill, WLAF safety (Scottish Claymores)
• 1970 - Mark Consuelos, Zaragosa Spain, actor (Mateo Santos-All My Children)
• 1970 - Secreteriat, race horse, triple crown (1973)
• 1970 - Shane Bertsch, Denver CO, Nike golfer (1994 Permina Basin Open-14th)
• 1971 - Mari Holden, Milwaukee Wisc, cyclist (Olympics-96)
• 1972 - Brenden Stai, NFL guard (Pitts Steelers)
• 1972 - Matt Joyce, NFL/WLAF guard/tackle (Cardinals, Seahawks, Claymores)
• 1972 - Peggy Zlotkowski, Miss France-Universe (1989)
• 1973 - Caroline Ramagos, Miss Mississippi USA (1996)
• 1973 - Kareem Streete-Thompson, Ithaca NY, 100m/long jumper
• 1973 - Melinda Penn, Miss British virgin islands Universe (1997)
• 1973 - Rodney Thomas, running back (Tennessee Oilers)
• 1973 - [Kirk] Kareem Streete-Thompson, Ithaca NY, long jumper
• 1974 - Martin Love, cricketer (high scoring Queensland batsman, Aust 1995)
• 1976 - Chris Canty, cornerback (New England Patriots)
• 1976 - Toby Gowin, punter (Dallas Cowboys)
• 1978 - Wendy Christina Roberts, Miss South Carolina Teen USA (1996)
• 1980 - Liriel Higa, LA Calif, rhythmic gymnast (Olympics-96)
• 1983 - ?, California condor chick, SD Calif, 1st born in captivity hatches

Famous deaths for this day ..

• 0988 - Arnulf II, count of Flanders (965-988), dies
• 1202 - Joachim Van Fiore, Italian religious founder (Joachimism), dies
• 1547 - Fran‡ois I of Valois-Angoulˆme, King of France (1515-47), dies at 52
• 1707 - S‚bastien le Prestre Vauban, French fortress architect, dies at 73
• 1757 - Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz, composer, dies at 39
• 1764 - Pietro Antonio Locatelli, Italian violinist/composer, dies at 68
• 1840 - George (Beau) Brummell, Dandy, dies
• 1864 - Louis Alexander Balthasar Schindelmeisser, composer, dies 52
• 1871 - W F A A Louisa/Lovisa, queen of Sweden/Norway, dies at 42
• 1872 - Nicolaos Mantzaros, composer, dies at 76
• 1873 - Benedict Augustin Morel, psychologist (dementia praecox), dies at 63
• 1875 - Marie Moke Pleyel, composer, dies at 63
• 1879 - David van der Kellen, Dutch coin engraver, dies at 74
• 1879 - Thomas Couture, French painter/author, dies at 63
• 1884 - Hans Hampel, composer, dies at 61
• 1906 - Betsy Perk, [Christina E], journalist/writer/feminist, dies at 73
• 1910 - Jean Mor‚as, [Y Papadiamantopoulos], Greek/French poet, dies at 53
• 1912 - Karl May, German writer (Winnetou/Kara Ben Nemsi), dies at 70
• 1925 - Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher (anthroposophy), dies at 64
• 1926 - Feliks E Dzerzjinski, Lithuanian organizer (KGB), dies at 48
• 1935 - Romanos Hovakimi Melik'yan, composer, dies at 51
• 1942 - Alfred Coville, French historian (Lesson premier Valois), dies at 81
• 1945 - Karel Moor, composer, dies at 71
• 1946 - John S S P V Gort, viscount of Limerick/Hamsterley, dies at 59
• 1948 - Mahatma Gandhi, assassinated in New Delhi
• 1949 - Dattaram Dharmaji Hindlekar, cricketer (4 Tests for India), dies
• 1949 - Friedrich C R Bergius, chemist (brown coal, Nobel 1931), dies at 64
• 1950 - L‚on Blum, French premier (People's Front Govt), dies at 77
• 1953 - Roderich Mojsisovics-Mojsvar, composer, dies at 75
• 1955 - Harl McDonald, US composer (Santa F‚ Trail), dies at 55
• 1960 - Fritz Klimsch, German sculptor/painter, dies at 90
• 1960 - Joseph Haas, German opera composer (Totenmesse), dies at 81
• 1961 - P J Melotte, discovered Jupiter's 8th satellite Pasiphae, dies
• 1963 - Alexander Vasil'yevich Gauk, composer, dies at 69
• 1964 - Willem CN Andriessen, Dutch composer/pianist (Beethoven), dies at 76
• 1966 - Erwin Piscator, German director (Plebeians test rebellion), dies at 72
• 1966 - Maxfield Parrish, US painter, dies at 95
• 1969 - Lucien Bianchi, Belgian auto racer, dies at 34
• 1971 - Selmer Jackson, actor (Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp), dies at 82
• 1972 - Gabriel Heather, US news anchor, dies at 81
• 1972 - Peter Whitney, actor (Rough Riders), dies at 55
• 1974 - Ludovicus J Rogier, Dutch historian (Reborn in Freedom), dies at 79
• 1975 - Peter Bamm, writer, dies
• 1976 - Jacqueline Royaards-Sandberg, actress (Hostage Rights), dies at 99
• 1977 - Levko Mykolayevich Revutsky, composer, dies at 88
• 1978 - George Paine, lefty cricket spinner (for England in WI 1935), dies
• 1978 - Harold Gimblett, cricketer (Batted in 3 Tests for England), suicide
• 1979 - Airey Neave, British MP (Conservatives), killed by terrorist bomb
• 1981 - Dewitt Wallace, US founder (Reader's Digest), dies at 91
• 1981 - Noel Harford, cricketer (8 Tests for NZ 1955-58), dies
• 1983 - P l Kadosa, Hungarian composer/pianist, dies at 79
• 1984 - Peter Yarrall, strongest Englishman/weighed 826 lb (374.7 kg), dies
• 1985 - Harold Peary, actor (Herb-Blondie, Willy), dies of heart attack at 76
• 1986 - James Cagney, actor (Yankee Doodle Dandy), dies in NY at 86
• 1986 - John Ciardi, US poet/interpreter (Dante), dies at 69
• 1989 - Dort Clark, actor (In Harm's Way), dies
• 1991 - Jan Willem Hofstra, Dutch actor/writer (Friends of My Friends), dies
• 1992 - Art Hannes, announcer, dies of a respiratory ailment at 72
• 1992 - Luigi De Laurentiis, Italian producer (Toto, Macaroni), dies
• 1993 - Jeremy Siegrist, actor (Adv of Darly & Samy), dies hiking at 20
• 1993 - Richard C Diebenkorn Jr, US painter (Ocean Park Paintings), dies at 70
• 1994 - Albert Goldman, rock biographer (Elvis, John Lennon), dies at 66
• 1994 - Sid Weiss, bassist, dies at 79
• 1995 - Graham Anthony Richard Lock, cricketer, dies at 65
• 1995 - Paul A Rothchild, record producer, dies at 59
• 1995 - Rozelle Claxton, pianist/arranger, dies at 82
• 1995 - Tony Lock, cricketer (174 wickets for England), dies
• 1996 - Hugh Edward Lance Falkus, filmmaker/naturalist, dies at 78
• 1996 - Ryoei Saito, businessman, dies at 79