• 1566 - James I Stuart, king of Scotland (James VI)/England (1567/1603-25)
• 1595 - Wladyslaw IV Vasa, king of Poland (1632-48)
• 1608 - Thomas Fuller, England, literary (History of the Holy War)
• 1613 - Christian de Placker, composer
• 1623 - Blaise Pascal, mathematician/physicist/religious writer (Pascal)
• 1633 - Philippus van Limborch, remonstrants theologist/vicar
• 1708 - Johann Gottlieb Janitsch, composer
• 1717 - Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz, composer
• 1741 - Reinier Vinkeles, Dutch engraver/art collector
• 1749 - Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois, France, chairman (National Convention)
• 1764 - John Barrow, England, founded Royal Geographical Society
• 1764 - Jos‚ Gervasio Artigas, general/father of Uruguay
• 1766 - Edmund Weber, composer
• 1782 - Hugues F R de Lamennais, French priest/writer (L'avenir)
• 1782 - John Bray, composer
• 1783 - Thomas Sully, US portrait painter (Queen Victoria)
• 1790 - John Gibson, British (?) sculptor
• 1792 - Gustav Schwab, writer
• 1810 - Ferdinand David, violist/compser (Hohe Schule des Violinspiels)
• 1811 - Henry Prince, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1892
• 1814 - Johannes H Weissenbruch, landscape painter
• 1815 - John William Glover, composer
• 1834 - Edgar H G Degas, French painter (ballerina)
• 1842 - Carl Johann Adam Zeller, composer
• 1843 - Charles Edouard Lefebvre, composer
• 1854 - Alfredo Catalani, composer
• 1856 - Elbert Hubbard, US, editor/publisher/author (Message to Garcia)
• 1858 - Charles Haddon George Alexander, [George Samson], British actor
• 1858 - Dirk Fock, governor-general of Neth Indies (1921-26)
• 1861 - Douglas Haig, British fieldmarshal (Sudan, WW I)
• 1861 - Jos‚ Protasio Rizal, Philippine optician/author/nationalist
• 1865 - Alfred Hugenberg, German RC pres-dir of Krupp/media magnate
• 1865 - May Whitty, Liverpool England, actress (Mrs Minerva, Suspicion)
• 1867 - Eduard Jacobs, Dutch cabaret artist
• 1867 - Frank Iredale, cricketer (Australian batsman 1894-99)
• 1868 - Heinrich Schenker, [A Niloff], Austrian musicologist (Urlinie)
• 1877 - Charles Coburn, Macon Ga, actor (Acad-1943, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)
• 1878 - James M Kilroe, priest of St Mary Star of the Sea, in the Bronx
• 1880 - Johann Sigurjonsson, Icelandic writer (Dr Rung)
• 1885 - Stevan Hristic, composer
• 1886 - Duchess of Windsor, divorcee
• 1886 - Robert Herberigs, Flemish composer/writer (Hiawatha's Song)
• 1889 - Enrico Celio, president (Switzerland)
• 1890 - Barbara Everest, London England, actress (Fatal Witness, Inquest)
• 1893 - Adriaan F Dussenbroek, Dutch family dr/co-founder (Union Natl Arubano)
• 1896 - Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, divorcee
• 1897 - Moe Howard, [Moses Horowitz], Bkln NY, comedian (3 Stooges)
• 1898 - Paul Muller-Zurich, composer
• 1899 - George Calinescu, Romania, literature (Enigma Otilei)
• 1900 - Laura Hobson, NYC, TV writer/panelist (I've Got a Secret)
• 1901 - Edward Lambert, British diplomat
• 1902 - Guy Lombardo, London Ontario Canada, orch leader (Auld Lang Syne)
• 1903 - Walter Hammond, cricketer (one of the greatest of English batsman)
• 1903 - [Henry] Lou[is] Gehrig, "Iron Horse", 1st baseman (NY Yankees)
• 1904 - Balis Dvarionas, composer
• 1905 - George Voskovec, Czech, actor (Fred-Nero Wolfe, Peter-Skag)
• 1905 - Taneli Kuusisto, composer
• 1908 - Mildred Natwick, Balt Md, actress (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon)
• 1908 - Quentin N Burdick, (Sen-D-ND, 1960-91)
• 1909 - Edwin Gerschefski, composer
• 1909 - Osamu Dazai, Japan, novelist (Tsugaru, No Longer Human)
• 1910 - Frederick Harry Baines, painter
• 1912 - Jerry Jerome, Bkln NY, saxophonist (Words & Music)
• 1912 - Martin Gabel, Phila, TV host (With this Ring)
• 1914 - Alan Cranston, (Sen-D-CA, 1969- )
• 1914 - Harry Lauter, White Plains NY, actor (Waterfront)
• 1914 - Lester Flatt, Earl Scrugg's partner (Beverly Hillbillies theme)
• 1914 - Morgan Morgan-Giles, Brits Lt admiral/MP
• 1916 - Pat Buttram, actor (Mr Haney-Green Acres)
• 1917 - Joshua Nkomo, Zimbabwan minister (ZAPUA)
• 1918 - Evelle Jansen Younger, prosecutor (Charles Manson, Sirhan Sirhan)
• 1919 - Louis Jourdan, Marseilles France, actor (Gigi, Can-Can, Madame Bovary)
• 1919 - Pauline Kael, movie critic (NY Times, For Keeps)
• 1921 - Allan Davis, (mayor-London)
• 1921 - Herman Berserik, Dutch painter/graphic artist
• 1921 - Howell T Heflin, (Sen-D-Alabama, 1979- )
• 1921 - Rosalyn Yalow, famed award winning medical physicist
• 1922 - Aage Neals Bohr, Denmark, physicist/study atomic nucleus (Nobel 1975)
• 1924 - David Scott, priest
• 1924 - Leo Nomellini, NFL defensive tackle (SF 49ers)
• 1924 - Wassil Bykau, writer
• 1925 - Alfred B Nzo, South African sec-gen ANC (1969- )
• 1925 - Charlie Drake, British comic (Plank, Rhubarb Rhubarb, Splish Splash)
• 1927 - Karel Kupka, composer
• 1928 - Nancy Marchand, Buffalo NY, actress (Beacon Hill, Margaret-Lou Grant)
• 1928 - Raymond Powell, British MP
• 1930 - Bryan Kneale, British sculptor
• 1930 - Jul Levi, composer
• 1931 - "Against Iain" duke of Atholl, English large landowner
• 1932 - Marisa Pavan, Cagliari Italy, actress (Solomon & Sheba, Rose Tattoo)
• 1932 - Pier Angeli, Italy (Sodom & Gomorrah, Vintage, Battle of the Bulge)
• 1933 - Thelma Barlow, English actress (Mavis-Coronation Street)
• 1933 - Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev, USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 11)
• 1934 - Gena Rowlands, Cambria Wisc, actress (Gloria, Tempest, Brinks Job)
• 1934 - Hammond Furlonge, cricketer (WI batsman in 3 Tests 1955-56)
• 1934 - Terence Clark, British diplomat
• 1935 - Tommy Devito, Montclair NJ, rock vocalist (Four Seasons-Sherry)
• 1936 - Shirley Goodman, US R&B singers (Shirley & Lee-Feels so Good)
• 1938 - Charles Gwathmey, architect (5 Architects)
• 1938 - John Sheil, Northern Irish High Court judge
• 1939 - Peter Duffell, Brits lt-general/minister of Defense
• 1940 - Shirley "Cha Cha" Muldowney, drag racer (1st woman Top Fuel champ)
• 1941 - Marlene Warfield, Queens NY, actress (Victoria-Maude)
• 1942 - Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane, rocker (Spanky & Our Gang-Lazy Day)
• 1942 - Jos Brink, Dutch TV host (Op Zoek)
• 1942 - Neil Chalmers, director (National History Museum, London)
• 1942 - Robert [Bob] W Kasten Jr, (Sen-R-WI, 1981- )
• 1945 - Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese politician (Nobel)
• 1945 - Tim Hovey, LA Calif, actor (Queen Bee, Toy Tiger, Man Afraid)
• 1945 - Tobias Wolff, US writer (This Boy's Life)
• 1947 - James T Walsh, (Rep-R-NY)
• 1947 - Phylicia Ayers-Allen Rashad, Houston, actress (Clair-Bill Cosby)
• 1947 - Salman Rushdie, Pak, novelist (Midnight's Children, Satanic Verses)
• 1948 - Dervin Gordon, rocker
• 1949 - [Mary] Kathleen Turner, Springfield Mo, actress (Romancing The Stone)
• 1950 - Constance Forslund, San Diego Calif, actress (Shining Season)
• 1951 - Ann Wilson, San Diego Calif, rock vocalist (Heart-What About Love)
• 1951 - Daria Nicolodi, Florence Italy, actress (Terror, Shock)
• 1952 - Robert Ainsworth, British MP
• 1953 - Larry Dunn, [Dunhill], US keyboardist (Earth Wind & Fire)
• 1954 - Jim Cooper, (Rep-D-TN, 1983- )
• 1954 - Michael O'Brien, British MP
• 1957 - David Gleeson, Norfolk England, US, rower (Olympics-1996)
• 1959 - Kimberley Leston, journalist
• 1959 - Mark DeBarge, Grand Rapids Mich, rock vocalist (DeBarge-Who's Johnny)
• 1960 - Heike Walpot, German, cosmonaut
• 1960 - Johnny Lee Gray, Jr, LA Calif, 800m runner (Olympics-7th-1996)
• 1960 - Patti Rizzo, Hollywood Fla, golfer (Mexican Amateur champion 1980)
• 1960 - Simon Wright, heavy metal drummer (AC/DC)
• 1962 - Ken Tohill, jockey
• 1962 - Paula Julie Abdul, Van Nuys Calif, singer/choreographer (Straight Up)
• 1962 - Phillip Hatchett, Russellville Ky, Canadian Tour golfer (1991 Quebec)
• 1962 - Sid Fenech, jockey
• 1964 - David Freedman, cricketer (NSW left-arm Chinese bowler since 1990)
• 1965 - Karen Davies, Wrexham N Wales, golfer (1991 PING-Cellular One-6th)
• 1967 - Eric Schweig, Inuvik Canada, actor (Dead Man's Walk)
• 1968 - Jud Buechler, NBA guard/forward (Chicago Bulls)
• 1970 - Chris Gray, NFL guard (Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears)
• 1970 - Claire Mitchell-Taverner, Australian field hockey midfielder (Oly-96)
• 1970 - Leonard Humphries, CFL cornerback (BC Lions)
• 1970 - Quincy Dushawn Watts, Detroit Mich, 400m runner
• 1970 - Scott Brumfield, guard (Cincinnati Bengals)
• 1972 - Andre Strode, CFL defensive back (BC Lions)
• 1972 - Anna Van der Kamp, Abbotsford BC, rower (Olympics-96)
• 1972 - Millard Coleman, CFL receiver (Montreal Alouettes)
• 1973 - Arne van de Berg, soccer player (Willem II)
• 1973 - Jahine Arnold, wide receiver (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• 1973 - Josie Davis, actress (Charles in Charge) [or Jan 16]
• 1975 - Anna Valle, Miss Universe-Italy (1996)
• 1975 - Anthony Parker, NBA guard (Phila 76ers)
• 1975 - Brandon Mitchell, defensive end (New England Patriots)
• 1976 - Darnell Autry, running back (Chicago Bears)
• 1978 - Garfield the Cat, animated character "Big fat hairy deal"
• 1979 - Soni Meduna, Omaha Neb, gymnast (alt-Olympics-96)
• 1980 - Amy Merrill, Miss Utah Teen USA (1997)
• 1984 - Emil Coleman, orchestra leader (Arthur Murray Party)

Famous deaths for this day ..

• 1113 - Odo/Odardus van Kamerijk, French writer/bishop of Kamerijk, dies
• 1312 - Piers Gaveston, earl of Cornwall, beheaded
• 1341 - Juliana van Falconieri, Italian saint/Swedish tenor, dies
• 1542 - Leo Jud[ae], Swiss pastor/church reformer
• 1554 - Sixt[us] Birck [Xystus Betulius], German writer (Judith), dies at 53
• 1652 - Louis de Geer, Neth/Swedish industrialist/millionaire, dies at 64
• 1730 - Jean-Baptiste Loeillet, composer, dies at 49
• 1747 - Alessandro Marcello, composer, dies at 77
• 1747 - Nadir, shah of Persia (1736-47), murdered
• 1759 - Charles-Joseph-Balthazar Sohier, composer, dies at 31
• 1762 - Johann Ernst Eberlin, composer, dies at 60
• 1787 - John Brown, (British?) theologist, dies
• 1794 - Richard H Lee, US farmer (signed Decl of Independence), dies at 62
• 1811 - Samuel Chase, US judge (signed Declar of Independence), dies at 70
• 1820 - Joseph Banks, English natural historian (Cook/Australia), dies
• 1822 - John Bray, composer, dies on 40th birthday
• 1837 - Aleksander A Bestoezjev-Marlinsky, Russian writer, dies in battle
• 1840 - John Cockerill, English/Belgian industrial/orangist, dies at 50
• 1864 - George Lincoln Prescott, US Union brig-gen, dies of injuries
• 1867 - Maximilian F J, Austrian arch duke/Emperor of Mexico, dies
• 1902 - John E E Dalberg baron van Acton, English historian, dies at 69
• 1915 - Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev, Russian composer (Oresteia), dies at 58
• 1921 - Ram˘n L˘pez Velarde, Mexican poet (La Sangre Devota), dies at 33
• 1922 - Johannes C Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer, dies at 71
• 1932 - Solomon Tshkisho Platje, South African writer, dies
• 1936 - John Sharpe, cricketer (1-eyed fast bowler for England 1891-92), dies
• 1937 - James M Barrie, Scottish writer (Dear Brutus/Peter Pan), dies
• 1939 - Grace Abbott, social worker (US Children Bureau), dies at 60
• 1940 - Aur‚lien FM Lugn‚-Poe, French actor (Pirouette), dies at 70
• 1940 - Maurice Jaubert, composer, dies at 40
• 1944 - Bill Bradley, cricketer (bowled for England in two Tests 1899), dies
• 1944 - Han Yong-woon, Zen teacher, dies in Seoul County, Korea at 65
• 1947 - Willem H Fly, typographer/co-founder (SDAP), dies at 84
• 1953 - Ethel Rosenberg, executed at Sing Sing, in 5 tries
• 1953 - Julius Rosenberg, NYC, 1st US civilian executed for espionage at 37
• 1956 - Lulu [Luise] Strauss und Torney, German poet/writer, dies at 82
• 1962 - Frank Borzage, US, director (7th Heaven, Strange Cargo), dies at 69
• 1965 - James B Collip, Canadian bio-chemist (insulin), dies at 72
• 1966 - Ed Wynn, comedian (Ed Wynn Show), dies at 79
• 1966 - Marjan Kozina, composer, dies at 59
• 1973 - Roger Delgado, actor (Adv's of Sir Francis Drake, Dr Who), dies at 55
• 1982 - John Cheever, US writer (Wapshot Chronicle, Pulitzer), dies at 70
• 1984 - Lee Krasner Pollock, US painter, dies at 75
• 1984 - Wladimir Rudolfovich Vogel, composer, dies at 88
• 1986 - Coluche, [Michel Colucci], French comic, dies at 41
• 1986 - Len Bias, 1st pick of Celtics, suffers fatal cocaine-induced seizure
• 1986 - Murray P Haydon, artificial heart recipient, dies in Louisville at 59
• 1988 - Zdenek Blazek, composer, dies at 83
• 1989 - Hy Gardner, newspaper columnist, dies at 80
• 1989 - Isidore Feinstein Stone, author (I F Stone's Weekly), dies at 81
• 1991 - Jean Arthur [Gladys Greene], US actress (Shane), dies
• 1992 - Kitty McKane Godfree, Tennis champ (Wimbledon 1924, 26), dies at 96
• 1993 - William Golding, author (Lord of the Flies, Nobel 1983), dies at 81
• 1994 - Christopher Clarkson, test Pilot, dies at 92
• 1994 - Jocelyn Olaf Hambro, financier, dies at 75
• 1994 - Ronald Batty, bookseller, dies at 82
• 1995 - Al Hansen, artist, dies at 67
• 1995 - Murray Dickie, opera singer/director, dies at 71
• 1995 - Richard Bernard Pape, POW escaper/writer, dies at 79
• 1996 - Alan Ande Anderson, opera director, dies at 78
• 1996 - David Schine, businessman, dies at 70
• 1996 - Harold William Woolhouse, plant scientist, dies at 63
• 1996 - Henry Ralph Carr, soldier, dies at 82
• 1996 - Vivian Ellis, composer, dies at 91
• 1997 - Bobby Helms, singer (Jingle Bell Rock), dies at 63