• 0538 - St Gregory of Tours, chronicler/bishop
• 1340 - John duke of Berry, captain of Paris/art collector
• 1373 - Ferdinand I, the Righteous, king of Aragon/Sicily
• 1427 - Kazimierz IV, king of Poland (1447-92)
• 1466 - Andrea Doria, Genoese statesman/admiral
• 1485 - Veronica Gambara, Italian poetess
• 1508 - Andrea Palladio, [Andrea di Pietro della Gondola], architect
• 1554 - Philip Sidney, England, poet/statesman/soldier (Arcadia)
• 1593 - Johann Dilliger, composer
• 1622 - Thomas of Apshoven, Flemish painter, baptized
• 1634 - Andres de Sola, composer
• 1645 - Andreas Werkmeister, composer
• 1667 - Jonathan Swift, Engl, satirist (Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal)
• 1693 - Christoph Forster, composer
• 1699 - Christian VI, king of Denmark/Norway
• 1726 - Jacques Aliamet, French etcher/engraver
• 1753 - Johann Baptist Schenk, composer
• 1764 - Franz Xaver Gerl, composer
• 1793 - Johann Lukas Sch”nlein, helped establish scientific medicine
• 1796 - Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe, composer
• 1809 - Thomas Molleson Mudie, composer
• 1810 - Oliver Fisher Winchester, rifle maker (Winchester)
• 1813 - Charles-Henri Valentin Alkan, composer
• 1813 - Hermann Kurz, German author/poet
• 1813 - Louise Ackermann-Choquet, French author (Pens‚es)
• 1817 - Theodor Mommsen, Germ, historian/author (Imperial Lives, Nobel 1902)
• 1821 - Gustavus Woodson Smith, Secy War (Confederacy), died in 1896
• 1826 - George Washington Deitzler, Brig General (Union volunteers)
• 1827 - Constantine P Pobedonostsev, Russian reactionary lawyer/senator
• 1827 - Ernest H Baillon, French botanist (History of Plants)
• 1828 - Jedediah Hotchkiss, Engineer (Confederate Army), died in 1899
• 1835 - Mark Twain, [Samuel L Clemens], author (Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn)
• 1843 - J¢zsef Kiss, Hungarian literary (Zsid¢ Dalok)
• 1847 - August Friedrich Martin Klughardt, composer
• 1855 - Marie WF Treub, Dutch economist/minister of Agriculture/Finance
• 1857 - Robert Abel, cricketer (The Guv'nor Surrey & England batsman)
• 1859 - Sergey Mikhaylovich Lyapunov, composer
• 1861 - French Gailliard, Belgian painter (Zeustempel in Athens)
• 1861 - Ludwig Thuille, composer
• 1863 - Andres Bonifacio, leader of 1896 Philippine revolt against Spain
• 1863 - Gellio Benevenuto Coronaro, composer
• 1870 - Cecil Forsyth, composer
• 1874 - Winston Churchill, (C) Brit PM (1940-45, 1951-55, Nobel 1953)
• 1884 - Anders J Ture Rangstrím, Stockholm Swed, composer/critic (Kronbruden)
• 1885 - Albrecht (von) Kesselring, German fieldmarshal (Poland/Netherland)
• 1889 - Edgar D Adrian, English physiologist (Nobel 1932)
• 1890 - John Tasker Howard, composer
• 1890 - Oege Bakker, Dutch economist
• 1895 - Johann Nepomuk David, composer
• 1897 - Andreas Nezertis, composer
• 1897 - Quinto Maganini, composer
• 1898 - Roy "Link" Lyman, NFL tackle (Chicago Bears)
• 1899 - Hans Kr sa, Czech opera composer (Brundibar)
• 1900 - Korneel Goossens, Flemish literature/art historian
• 1903 - Germaine Emilie Madame Gres Krebs, haute Couturist
• 1904 - Clyfford Still, US, abstract painter
• 1904 - Philip Burton, teacher/writer/dramatist
• 1904 - Philip H Burton, Welsh director/acting teacher (Richard Burton)
• 1906 - Marina, princess of Greece/Denmark/husband of English prince George
• 1907 - Gyorgy Ranki, composer
• 1907 - Jacques Barzun, France, author (The House of Interlect)
• 1910 - Paul Cerutti, Monaco, trap shooter, disqualified for drugs in 76 oly
• 1912 - Constant Stotijn, Dutch oboist (Residence Orchestra)
• 1912 - Gordon Parks, Ft Scott KS, film director/author (Learning Tree)
• 1913 - John K M McCaffery, Moscow Idaho, TV host (One Minute Please)
• 1914 - Brownie McGhee, Knoxville TN, blues guitarist
• 1915 - Angier Biddle Duke, NYC, US Ambassador (Spain)
• 1915 - Henry Taube, chemist (Nobel 1983)
• 1915 - Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee, blues singer/guitarist
• 1916 - Michael Gwynn, Bath England, actor (Village of Damned, Question 7)
• 1918 - Efren Zimbalist Jr, NYC, actor (77 Sunset Strip, FBI, Scruples)
• 1919 - Anne S Wadman, Frisian literary (Fioele & faem, Smearlappen)
• 1919 - Jan Elburg, [Joannes G], Dutch poet (Through the Night)
• 1920 - Virginia Mayo, St Louis Mo, actress (Out of the Blue, White Heat)
• 1922 - Robert Evett, composer
• 1924 - Allan Sherman, parody singer/songwriter (Hello Muddah, Hello Fardah)
• 1924 - Klaus Huber, composer
• 1924 - Shirley Chisholm, (Rep-D-NY)
• 1925 - Maxwell Street Jimmy Charles Davis Thomas, blues musician
• 1926 - Richard Crenna, LA Cal, actor (Rambo, Summer Rental, Sand Pebbles)
• 1927 - Robert Guillaume, [Williams], St Louis Mo, actor (Benson, Soap)
• 1928 - Chic Hecht, (Sen-R-NV, 1983- )
• 1929 - Dick Clark, Mt Vernon NY, TV Host (American Bandstand)
• 1929 - Joan Ganz Cooney, Phoenix Az, TV exec (Children's TV Workshop)
• 1930 - G[eorge] Gordon Liddy, head CIA/ate a rat/Watergate felon/radio host
• 1930 - James Felton Boyd, Rocky Mount NC, light HW boxer (Olympic-gold-1956)
• 1930 - William H Dana, Pasadena Calif, test pilot (X-15)
• 1931 - Bill Walsh, NFL coach (SF 49ers)/sportscaster
• 1931 - G�nther Herbig, Usti-nad-Labem Czech, conductor (East Berlin Orch)
• 1931 - Jack Ging, Alva Ok, actor (11th Hour, Ripcord, Tales of Wells Fargo)
• 1931 - Jack Sheldon, Jacksonville Fla, actor (Run Buddy Run, Merv Griffin)
• 1932 - David Lincoln Lightbown, politician
• 1933 - Linwood C Ivey, NC, (Mayor-Garysburg NC)
• 1936 - Abbie Hoffman, aka Free, Yippie/activist/author (Steal this Book)
• 1936 - Michael Jinks, child care pioneer
• 1937 - Jimmy Bowen, rocker
• 1937 - Paul Stookey, Balt, singer (Peter, Paul & Mary-Wedding Song)
• 1937 - Richard Threlkeld, newscaster (ABC-TV)
• 1937 - Ridley Scott, director (Alien, Blade Runner)
• 1939 - Walter Weller, Vienna Austria, conductor (Vienna Tonk�stler Orch)
• 1940 - Glenn English, (Rep-D-OK, 1975- )
• 1943 - J[ames] J[ay] Barnes, US gospel/singer (Please Let Me In)
• 1943 - Jerry Hunt, composer
• 1943 - Leo Lyons, Standbridge Beds, rock bassist (Ten Years After)
• 1943 - M A M "Th˜s" W”ltgens, Mayor (Kerkrade Neth)
• 1943 - Oscar Harris, Surinames/Dutch singer (Try a Little Love)
• 1943 - Terrence Malick, actress (Gail-Baywatch)
• 1943 - Thijs [MAM] W”ltgens, Dutch MP (PvdA)
• 1944 - Dian Parkinson, [Dianna Lynn Batts], Camp LeJune NC, Miss USA (1965)
• 1944 - Luther T Ingram, US singer/songwriter (I'll Be Your Shelter)
• 1944 - Rob Grill, LA Calif, rock bassist/vocalist (Grass Roots)
• 1945 - Michael Joyce, stage manager
• 1945 - Radu Lupu, Galati Romania, pianist (Enesco 1st prize-1967)
• 1945 - Roger Glover, British hard rock bassist (Episode Six-Deep Purple)
• 1946 - Ken Wadsworth, cricket keeper (NZ dashing batsman)
• 1947 - David Mamet, Chicago, playwright/dir (Speed the Plow, House of Games)
• 1949 - Arthur Lee Washington Jr, Neptune NJ, murderer (FBI Most Wanted)
• 1950 - Greg Gordon, rock vocalist (Boys Band)
• 1950 - Kathryn Witt, Miami Fla, actress (Lenny, Pam-Flying High)
• 1950 - Margaret Whitton, Balt Md, actress (Good & Evil, Major League)
• 1950 - Paul Westphal, NBA guard (Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns)
• 1952 - Mandy Patinkin, Chicago Il, actor/singer (Yentl, Alien Nation)
• 1953 - Mike Espy, (Rep-D-Mississippi)
• 1953 - Shuggie Otis, rocker
• 1954 - George McArdle, rock bassist (Little River Band Melbourne
• 1954 - June Pointer, singer (Pointer Sisters-I'm So excited)
• 1955 - Andy Gray, English soccer player
• 1955 - Billy Idol, [William Broad], rocker (White Wedding)
• 1955 - Brad Fabel, Louisville KY, Nike golfer (1994 NIKE Gateway Classic)
• 1955 - Kevin Conroy, Westport CT, actor (Tour of Duty, Another World)
• 1959 - Sylvia Hanika, Munich West Germany, tennis player (Avon-1982)
• 1960 - Bob Tewksbury, Concord NH, pitcher (San Diego Padres)
• 1960 - Dan Rashovich, CFL linebacker (Saskatchewan Roughriders)
• 1960 - Danny Briggs, Abilene TX, Nike golfer (1986 Tallahassee Open-6th)
• 1960 - Gary Lineker, English soccer player (World Cup 1986)
• 1961 - Innocent Egbunike, Nigeria, 4x400m runner (Olympic-bronze-1984)
• 1962 - Bo Jackson, baseball/football player (KC Royals, LA Raiders)
• 1964 - David Wood, NBA forward (Dallas Mavericks)
• 1965 - Ben Stiller, NYC, actor (Ben Stiller Show, Next of Kin, Cable Guy)
• 1965 - Mike Zandofsky, NFL guard (Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles)
• 1966 - Phillipe Bozon, hockey forward (Team France 1998)
• 1967 - Gary Jones, NFL safety (NY Jets)
• 1967 - Margaret Platt, New York City NY, golfer (1995 Healthsouth-9th)
• 1969 - Carrie Jean Yazel, Huntington Beach Calif, playmate (May, 1991)
• 1969 - Larry Brown, NFL cornerback (Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders)
• 1969 - Mark Lewis, Hamilton OH, infielder (Detroit Tigers)
• 1970 - Corrina Kennedy, Saskatoon Saskatchawan, kayaker (Olympics-96)
• 1970 - Des'ree, rhythm & blues singer
• 1970 - James Brown, tackle (Miami Dolphins)
• 1970 - John DeWitt, WLAF defensive end (Scottish Claymores)
• 1970 - Mario Bailey, WLAF receiver (Frankfurt Galaxy)
• 1970 - Natalie Williams, Long Beach Calif, volleyball outside hitter (Oly-96)
• 1970 - Ricky Powers, WLAF running back (Rhein Fire)
• 1970 - Robert Griffith, NFL strong safety (Minnesota Vikings)
• 1970 - Yayuk Basuki, Yogyakarta Indonesia, tennis star (1996 Hobart doubles)
• 1971 - Bryan Proby, NFL/WLAF defensive tackle (KC Chiefs, Scottish Claymores)
• 1971 - Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangy Davis, cricket bowler (NZ open v England 1994)
• 1971 - Ivan Rodriguez, Vega Baja Puerto Rico, catcher (Texas Rangers)
• 1971 - John Anderson, WLAF safety (Rhein Fire)
• 1971 - Ray Durham, Charlotte NC, infielder (Chic White Sox)
• 1972 - Adeline Ong, Miss Universe-Malaysia (1996)
• 1972 - Spence Fischer, WLAF quarterback (Scotland Claymores)
• 1973 - Jay Hamilton, CFL running back (Edmonton Eskimos)
• 1973 - Ty Howard, cornerback (Arizona Cardinals)
• 1974 - Luther Broughton, HB (Philadelphia Eagles)
• 1974 - Marcellus Wiley, defensive end (Buffalo Bills)
• 1975 - Mindy McCready, country/western singer
• 1976 - Shaneika Lightbourne, Miss Universe-Turks & Caicos (1996)

Famous deaths for this day ..

• 1016 - Edmund II, Ironsides, King of Saxons (1016), dies at 27
• 1519 - Michael Wolgemut, German painter (Weltchronik), dies at about 85
• 1528 - Great Wierd, Dutch Gelderland army commander, beheaded
• 1631 - Rabbi Samuel Eliezer ben Judah ha-levi Edels, dies
• 1646 - John C Lichthart, admiral (Cape Augustine), dies at about 45
• 1678 - Andries de Graeff, mayor of Amsterdam (1657..71), dies at 67
• 1679 - Pieter van Schooten, Dutch mathematician/fort architect, dies at 45
• 1694 - Marcello Malpighi, father of microscopic anatomy, dies
• 1700 - Artus II Quellinus [Quellien/"the Young], Flemish sculptor, dies at 75
• 1703 - Nicolas de Grigny, composer, dies at 31
• 1718 - Charles XII, king of Sweden (1697-1718), killed in battle at 36
• 1760 - Friederike C Neuber, German actress/author (Sch„ferfest), dies at 63
• 1764 - Dieudonne Raick, composer, dies at 61
• 1777 - Jean-Marie Leclair, composer, dies at 74
• 1792 - Ernst William Wolf, composer, dies at 57
• 1798 - Friedrich Fleischmann, composer, dies at 32
• 1813 - Friedrich August Baumbach, composer, dies at 60
• 1824 - Johann Georg Christoph Schetky, composer, dies at 87
• 1830 - Pius VIII, [Francesco S Castiglioni], Ital Pope (1829-30), dies at 69
• 1841 - Charles Louis W J van Keverberg, Dutch govt official, dies at 73
• 1864 - Hiram Bronson Granbury, Confederate brig-gen, dies in battle at 33
• 1864 - John Adams, US Confederate brig-gen, dies in battle at about 39
• 1864 - Otto French Strahl, US Confederate brig-general, dies in battle at 33
• 1864 - Patrick Ronayne Cleburne, Confederate brig-gen, dies in battle at 33
• 1893 - Jacobus J Backer, German sea historian, dies at 68
• 1897 - Abraham C Wertheim, Dutch banker/MP (Lib), dies at 64
• 1900 - Oscar Wilde, Irish author, dies in Paris at 46
• 1901 - Edward J Eyre, British explorer/governor (Jamaica), dies at 86
• 1904 - Aldine Sillman Kieffer, composer, dies at 64
• 1909 - Innokenti F Annenski, Russian poet/translator, dies at 53 [NS=Dec 13]
• 1931 - John Hyatt Brewer, composer, dies at 75
• 1931 - Marc-Jean-Baptiste Delmas, composer, dies at 46
• 1935 - Fernando A N Pessoa, Portuguese poet (Book of Disquiet), dies at 47
• 1938 - Corneliu Codreanu, Romania fascist/putschist (Iron Guard), dies
• 1939 - B‚la Kun, [Bal zs Kolozsv ry], Hungarian revolutionary, dies at 53
• 1940 - Fritz Volbach, German musicologist/conductor/composer, dies at 78
• 1944 - Max Halbe, writer, dies at 79
• 1947 - Earnest Lubitsch, actor/director (Anna Boleyn, Ninotchka), dies
• 1948 - Franco Vittadini, composer, dies at 64
• 1954 - Wilhelm F�rtw„ngler, German conductor/composer, dies at 68
• 1955 - Josip Slavenski, composer, dies at 59
• 1961 - Stanislaw Kazuro, composer, dies at 80
• 1964 - Don Redman, orch leader (Sugar Hill Times), dies at 64
• 1967 - Patrick Kavanagh, Irish screenwriterr (Great Hunger), dies
• 1972 - Hans-Erich Apostel, Austrian composer (Kubiniana, Requiem), dies at 71
• 1972 - Neil H McElroy, soap manufacturer/minister of Defense (1957-59), dies
• 1972 - Valentin Ruiz Azner, composer, dies at 70
• 1973 - Bruce Yarnell, LA Calif, actor (Outlaws), dies at 35
• 1976 - Fritz Rasp, actor (Diary of a Lost Girl), dies at 85
• 1979 - Joyce Grenfell (Adventure for Two), actress, dies at 69
• 1979 - Zeppo Marx, [Herbert], US comic (Marx Brothers), dies at 78
• 1981 - Robert H Harris, actor (Jake-Goldbergs), dies at 72
• 1983 - George Headley, cricket (10 tons in 22 Tests, 1st black WI capt), dies
• 1986 - Cary Grant, Brit/US actor (Awful Truth, Charade, Father Goose), dies
• 1987 - Arthur H Dean, lawyer/advisor to FDR, dies at 89
• 1987 - James Baldwin, writer (Go Tell it on the Mountain), dies at 63
• 1987 - Simon Carmiggelt, journalist/literary (Kronkel), dies at 74
• 1989 - Alfred Herrhausen, German CEO (Deutsche Bank), murdered at 59
• 1990 - Hilde Spiel, writer, dies at 78
• 1990 - Horst Bienek, German author, dies
• 1990 - Norman Cousins, editor (Saturday Review), dies at 75
• 1991 - P G Z (Zin) Harris, cricketer (9 Tests for NZ 1962-65), dies
• 1992 - Jorge Donn, dancer, dies after long illness at 45
• 1993 - Bob Wolf, agent (New Kids on the Block, Larry Bird), dies
• 1994 - Connie Conrad Henry Kirnon Kay, jazz Drummer, dies at 67
• 1994 - Guy Debord, situationist, dies at 63
• 1994 - Irwin Kostal, US arranger/conductor (Sound of Music), dies at 83
• 1994 - Lionel Stander, US blacklisted actor (Hart to Hart), dies at 86
• 1995 - Hopper Levett, Kent cricket wicketkeeper (1930-47, Test 1934), dies
• 1995 - June Rosemary Fisher, teacher/trade unionist, dies at 66
• 1995 - William Roerick, actor (Guiding Light), dies in car crash at 83
• 1996 - Dan Flavin, minimalist sculptor, dies at 63
• 1996 - Koji Kobayashi, industrialist, dies at 89
• 1996 - Paul Derrick, co-operator/Christian socialist, dies at 80
• 1996 - Tiny Tim, [Herbert Khaury], entertainer (Tip Toe), dies at 71
• 1997 - Clare Lucy Madeleine Evans, historian, dies at 37
• 1997 - Kathy Acker, writer, dead Cancer Died, dies at 54
• 1997 - Ron Gulliford, educationalist, dies at 76