• 1201 - Robert de Sorbon, founded Sorbonne University, Paris
• 1261 - Dionysius, the Justified, king of Portugal (1279-1325)
• 1547 - Miguel de Cervantes, novelist (Don Quixote)
• 1581 - Claude G Bachet de Meziriac, French mathematician/theologist
• 1586 - Jan III van Foreest, lawyer/poet/mayor of Hoorn
• 1626 - John Ferrabosco, composer
• 1663 - Gian M Crescimbeni, Italian literary/critic (Arcadia)
• 1727 - Johann Wilhelm Hertel, composer
• 1757 - Charles X, reactionary king of France (1824-30); deposed
• 1760 - Pierre Gaveaux, composer
• 1766 - Bedrich Divis Weber, composer
• 1771 - Frederik Willem, duke of Brunswick (1813-15)
• 1782 - Lewis Cass, (Gov-Mich)
• 1813 - Giuseppe Fortunio Francesco Verdi, Italian composer (Traviata, A‹da)
• 1813 - John Jones Pettus, Confederate governor (D-Miss, 1859-63)
• 1819 - Samuel McGowan, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1897
• 1822 - George Sykes, Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1880
• 1823 - Mary Ann Shadd Cary, 1st black US newspaper publishers
• 1830 - Harriet Hosmer, sculptor
• 1835 - Camille Saint-Sa‰ns, Paris France, composer (Ode   Sainte C‚cile)
• 1847 - Andr‚ Dumont, Belgian mine engineer (Limburg's coal basin)
• 1847 - Stephanus J du Toit, South Africa theologist/journalist (Afr Bond)
• 1858 - Gerard L F Philips, Dutch engineer/manufacturer (Philips)
• 1859 - Alfred Dreyfus, accused Jewish French officer (Dreyfus Affair)
• 1863 - Alexander Siloti, Kharkov Russia, pianist/prof (Moscow Cons 1888-91)
• 1869 - Harry Lawrence Freeman, composer
• 1871 - Gerrit Bolkestein, minister of Education (1939-4-)
• 1873 - Karl Schwarzschild, German astronomer (Schwarzschild effect)
• 1875 - Reynaldo Hahn, composer
• 1878 - Robert Warwick, [Bien], Sacramento CA, actor (Falcon's Adventure)
• 1884 - Helene Deutsch, [Rosenbach], psychoanalyst (Boston)
• 1884 - Martin Elmer Johnson, explorer/photographer
• 1886 - Frank Newburg, actor (Homemaker)
• 1888 - Hank Patterson, Alabama, actor (Gunsmoke, Fred Ziffel-Green Acres)
• 1888 - Irving Cummings Sr, NYC, silent screen star/director (Curly Top)
• 1890 - Aimee Semple McPherson, evangelist (Pentecostal)/radio preacher
• 1890 - Alfred Julius Swan, composer
• 1890 - Janis Medins, composer
• 1893 - Heinrich George, (Schulz), German actor (Hitlerjunge Quex)
• 1893 - M de Andrade, writer
• 1893 - M rio R de Morais Andrade, Brazilian writer/poet/story teller
• 1899 - Bruce Catton, US, historian/writer (Civil War)
• 1900 - Alastair Sims, Edinburgh Scot, actor (Christmas Carol, Stage Fright)
• 1900 - Silvio Cator, Haiti, long jumper (Olympic-silver-1928)
• 1903 - Walter O'Malley, baseball team owner (Dodgers)
• 1904 - Carl Parrish, composer
• 1904 - J Dito, Dutch dominican/broadcast chairman (KRO, 1938-45)
• 1904 - Wally Brown, Malden MA, actor (Zombies on Broadway, Girl Rush)
• 1905 - Euphemia MacDonald, dance producer
• 1905 - Howard St John, Chicago IL, actor (Born Yesterday, Li'l Abner)
• 1906 - 13th earl of Stair, English lt-colonel/large landowner
• 1906 - Janis Ivanovs, composer
• 1906 - L‚opold S‚dor Senghor, poet/president of Senegal (1960-80)
• 1906 - Wolfgang Staudte, German director (Die M”rder sind unter uns)
• 1907 - Klaes Karppinen, Findland, 4 X 10K relay (Olympic-gold-1936)
• 1908 - Jacques Tati[scheff], La Pecq France, director (Traffic, Playtime)
• 1908 - James E Folsom, (Alabama-Gov, 1947-51, 1955-59)
• 1910 - Donald Coggan, English archbishop of York/Canterbury (Glory of God)
• 1910 - Phil Hanna, River Forest Ill, singer (Once Upon a Tune)
• 1914 - Edward Andrews, Griffin GA, actor (Tea & Sympathy, Glass Bottom Boat)
• 1914 - Roger Goeb, composer
• 1917 - Kusuo Kitamura, Japan, 1500m freestyle swimmer (Olympic-gold-1932)
• 1918 - E Howard Hunt, Hamburg NY, involved in Watergate break-in
• 1919 - Rezso Sugar, composer
• 1920 - Jens Bjírneboe, Norway, poet/writer (Dikt, Jonas)
• 1920 - Vivienne Della Chiesa, US, actress (?)
• 1920 - Yusef Lateef, composer
• 1921 - Tadeusz R¢zewicz, Polish poet/writer (Utwory dramatyczne)
• 1922 - Fyvush Finkel, actor (Middle Ages, Picket Fences)
• 1922 - Raymond Wilding-White, composer
• 1923 - Donald Sinden, England, actor (Doctor at Large, Mogambo, Simba)
• 1923 - Ronald Tremain, composer
• 1924 - Robert A Rushworth, Madison Maine, test pilot (X-15)
• 1925 - Robert Finch, actor (Academy Theater)
• 1926 - Daniele Delorme, [Gabrielle Girard], Paris, actress (Pardon My Affair)
• 1927 - Ivan Metropolitan Ioann Snychev, Russion Orthodox Priest
• 1928 - Einojuhani Rautavaara, Helsinki Finland, composer (Kaivos)
• 1930 - David Rounds, Bronxville NY, actor (Terence-Beacon Hill)
• 1930 - Fjolnir Stefansson, composer
• 1933 - Bill Tidy, English cartoonist (Fosdyke Saga)
• 1934 - Jacobo Majluta Azar, politician
• 1935 - Don[ald] McCullin, British photographer
• 1935 - Edward GNPP, English prince/duke of Kent
• 1935 - Jules Croiset, Dutch actor (Help, Doctor Verzuipt!)
• 1935 - Paul Barton, cricketer (NZ batsman in early 1960's, century v S Afr)
• 1935 - Paul J M Beers, Dutch actor (Mother Courage & Her Children)
• 1937 - Brian Blessed, English actor (King Arthur, High Road to China)
• 1937 - Pat Burke, rocker (Foundations)
• 1939 - O V Wright, rocker
• 1939 - Pierre Mertens, French/Belgian writer (Lettres Clandestines)
• 1940 - Gordon J Humphrey, (Sen-R-NH, 1979- )
• 1940 - Hans Ulrich Humpert, composer
• 1940 - Joe Pepitone, baseball 1st baseman (NY Yankee)
• 1940 - John [Winston/Ono] Lennon, rocker/Beatle (Imagine)
• 1941 - Trent Lott, (Rep-R-MS, 1973- )
• 1944 - John Entwistle, London, rock guitarist/vocalist (Who-Baba O'Riley)
• 1944 - Nona Hendrix, R & B singer (Patti LaBelle & Blue Belles)
• 1944 - Peter Tosh, Jamaica, reggae musician (Mystic Man, Mama Africa)
• 1945 - Jeannie C Riley, Texas, singer (Harper Valley PTA, Hee Haw)
• 1945 - Naftali Bon, Kapsabet Kenya, 4x400m runner (Olympic-silver-1968)
• 1948 - Dave Samuels, vibraphonist (Spyro Gyra-Morning Dance)
• 1948 - Jackson Browne, US Base in Germany, rock voclaist (Lawyers in Love)
• 1949 - Shep Messing, Israel, soccer goal tender (NY Cosmos)
• 1950 - Gary Frank, Spokane WA, actor (Enemy Territory, Deadly Weapon)
• 1950 - Mick Malone, cricketer (WA seamer, Test 1977, made 46 took 5-63, 1-14)
• 1951 - Richard Chaves, Jacksonville FL, actor (Cease Fire, Predator)
• 1951 - Robert Wuhl, Union NJ, actor (Bull Durham, Good Morning Vietnam)
• 1953 - Hank Pfister, Bakersfield Cat, tennis star
• 1953 - Tony Shalhoub, actor (Antonio Scarpacci-Wings, Big Night)
• 1954 - Scott Bakula, St Louis MO, actor (Quantum Leap, Gung Ho, Murphy Brown)
• 1955 - Linwood Boomer, Vancouver, actor (Adam-Little House on the Prairie)
• 1955 - Steve Ovett, England, runner (Olympics-800m gold, 1500m bronze-1980)
• 1957 - Yuri Vladimirovich Usachyov, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-18, TM-23)
• 1959 - Michael Par‚, Bkln NY, actor (Greatest American Hero, Houston Knights)
• 1959 - Mike Singletary, NFL middle linebacker (Chicago Bears)
• 1961 - Arlene Boxhall, Zimbabwe, field hockey (Olympic-gold-1980)
• 1961 - Jean Sagal, LA Calif, actress (Kate-Double Trouble, Grease 2)
• 1961 - Liz Sagal, LA Calif, actress (Allison-Double Trouble, Grease 2)
• 1961 - Trevor Matich, NFL center/guard (Washington Redskins)
• 1964 - Martin Jaite, Argentina, tennis star
• 1966 - Mike Williams, NFL wide receiver (Miami Dolphins)
• 1967 - Carling Bassett-Seguso, Canada, tennis player/actress (Spring Fever)
• 1967 - Gheorge Popescu, Romania, soccer player (Barcelona)
• 1967 - Gica Popescu, Romania, soccer player (PSV)
• 1969 - Charles Jordan, wide receiver (Miami Dolphins)
• 1969 - Dwayne Sabb, NFL outside linebacker (NE Patriots)
• 1970 - Annika Sorenstam, Stockholm Sweden, LPGA golfer (1995 US Women's Open)
• 1970 - Kenny Anderson, NBA guard (Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trailblazers)
• 1970 - Oleg Kryazhev, hockey forward (Team Kazakhstan Oly-1998)
• 1971 - Pete Mitchell, NFL tight end (Jacksonville Jaguars)
• 1972 - Maurice Kelly, CFL linebacker (BC Lions)
• 1972 - Roman Oben, tackle (NY Giants)
• 1973 - A J Ofodile, NFL tight end (Pitts Steelers)
• 1973 - Alexey Trochshinskiy, hockey defenseman (Team Kazakhstan Oly-1998)
• 1973 - Brandon Pollard, Richmond VA, soccer defender (Olympics-gold-96)
• 1973 - Dexter McCleon, cornerback (St Louis Rams)
• 1974 - Kavika Pittman, defensive end (Dallas Cowboys)
• 1974 - Keith Booth, NBA forward (Chicago Bulls)
• 1975 - Mahendra Nagamootoo, cricketer (Guyanese leg-spinner)
• 1975 - Mark Viduka, Australian soccer striker (Olyroos, Olympics-96)
• 1975 - Sean Ono Lennon, John & Yoko's Son
• 1976 - Rebecca Darrington, Gillette Wyoming, Miss America-Wyoming (1997)
• 1977 - Lee San San, Miss Hong Kong Universe (1997)
• 1978 - Randy Spelling, LA Calif, actor (Sean Richards-Sunset Beach)
• 1979 - Ashley Anderson, Miss Delaware Teen USA (1996)
• 1979 - Lydia Jane Lipscombe, Christchurch NZ, breastroker (Olympics-96)
• 1981 - Zachery Ty Bryan, Denver CO, actor (Brad-Home Improvement)

Famous deaths for this day ..

• 1047 - Clemens II, [Suitger], Pope (1046-47), dies
• 1253 - Grosseteste, an English scholar, dies at 78
• 1326 - Reinald I, earl of Gelre/monarch, went insane, dies
• 1390 - Johan I, king of Castili‰ (1379-90), dies
• 1423 - Frederik III of Blankenheim, bishop of Straatsburg/Utrecht, dies
• 1436 - Jacoba van Bavarian, countess of Holland/Zealand, dies at 35
• 1562 - Gabriel Fallopius, Modena Italy, anatomist, dies
• 1646 - Baltasar Carlos, son of Spanish king Philip IV, dies
• 1769 - Marianus Konigsperger, composer, dies at 60
• 1781 - Thomas Alexander Erskine Kelly, composer, dies at 49
• 1797 - Elia van Vilnius, Latvian rabbi, dies at 77
• 1797 - Elijah B Solomon Zalman, rabbi/Gaon of Vilna, dies
• 1806 - Benjamin Banneker, astronomer/mathematician, dies at 74
• 1821 - Georg-Friederich Fuchs, composer, dies at 68
• 1831 - Joannis Capodistrias, Pres of Greece (1829-31), murdered
• 1837 - Charles Fourier, French utopian socialist (Harmony universal), dies
• 1841 - Karl F Schinkel, German painter/writer (Neue Wache), dies at 60
• 1891 - Johannes Tideman, theologist, dies at 83
• 1897 - John Heemskerk Azn, Dutch Internal minister (1866..88), dies at 79
• 1900 - Heinrich von Herzogenberg, composer, dies at 57
• 1906 - Joseph F Glidden, inventor (barbed wire), dies
• 1907 - Romualdo Marenco, composer, dies at 66
• 1912 - Millie & Christine, Siamese twins, dies at 61
• 1915 - Constant A M Cap, Flemish poet/etcher, dies at 73
• 1917 - Hussain Kamil, sultan of Egypt (1914-17), dies at 63
• 1918 - Michail V Alekseyev, Russian general (WW I), murdered at 60
• 1934 - J-Louis-F Barthou, French writer/premier/foreign minister, murdered
• 1934 - King Alexander, of Yugoslavia, killed by Georgief (Croatian terrorist)
• 1937 - August de Boeck, composer, dies at 72
• 1937 - George AA Alting van Geusau, Dutch min of war (1918-20), dies at 73
• 1943 - Gerard W Kerncamp, historian/editor-in-chief (Green Amsterdam), dies
• 1943 - Jan Dieters, leader of illegal Dutch political party (CPN), executed
• 1943 - Lou Jansen, leader of illegal Dutch political party (CPN), executed
• 1943 - Pieter Zeeman, naturalist (Nobel 1902), dies
• 1949 - Viktor Alexandrovich Uspensky, composer, dies at 70
• 1955 - Alice Joyce, actress (Song O' My Heart), dies at 65
• 1958 - Pius XII, [Eugenio Pacelli], Pope (1939-58), dies at 82
• 1960 - Howard Glenn, NY Titan, dies of injuries sustain in this day's game
• 1962 - Lulu McConnell, comediene (It Pays to be Ignorant), dies at 80
• 1963 - Thurlow Weed Lieurance, composer, dies at 85
• 1967 - Andr‚ Maurois, [Emile Herzog], French writer (Balzac), dies
• 1967 - Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Argentinian-born guerrilla, executed in Bolivia
• 1968 - Pierre Mulele, Congolese rebel leader, executed
• 1970 - Jean Giono, writer, dies
• 1972 - Giuseppe Capogrossi, Italian painter, dies at 72
• 1972 - Miriam Hopkins, actress (Carrie, Barbary Coast), dies at 69
• 1978 - Jacques Brel, Belgian chansonnier, buried on Atuama, dies at 49
• 1982 - Anna Freud, Austria/Engl psychoanalyst/daughter of Sigmund, dies at 86
• 1983 - Sun Suk Joon, South Korean vice premier, murdered
• 1987 - Clare A Booth Luce, US diplomat/journalist, dies at 84
• 1988 - Edward Chodorov, playwright/director (Louis Pasteur), dies at 84
• 1988 - Felix Wankel, developer of Wankel rotary engine, dies
• 1990 - Richard Murdoch, actor (Lilli Marlene), dies of heart attack at 83
• 1991 - Roy Black, German singer/actor (Kinderarzt Dr Froehlich), dies
• 1991 - Thalmus Rasulala, actor (Blacula), dies of heart attack at 51
• 1992 - Willy Brandt, German chancellor (1969-74), dies
• 1993 - C R Rangachari, cricketer (4 Tests for India), dies
• 1993 - Geert de Vlaeminck, Belgian champion cyclist, dies at 26
• 1994 - Andreas van Melsen, philosopher (Evolution & W˜sbegeerte), dies at 81
• 1994 - Fred Lebow, US founder of New York Marathon, dies of cancer
• 1994 - James Hill, English director/screenwriter (Born Free), dies at 75
• 1994 - Joan Dickson, cellist, dies at 72
• 1994 - Raich Carter, footballer, dies at 80
• 1995 - Alec Douglas-Home, PM of Britain (1963-64), dies
• 1995 - John Alfred Scali, journalist/diplomat, dies at 77
• 1995 - Kukrit Pramoj, PM of Thailand (1975-76), dies at 84
• 1995 - Lord Home of Hirsel, cricket (Middlesex player later British PM), dies
• 1995 - Patric William Billy Walker, astrologer, dies at 64
• 1995 - Phillip Jack Oppenheimer, diamond trader, dies at 83
• 1996 - Alan Charles Downes, cameraman, dies at 58
• 1996 - Harvey Vernon, actor (Jasper-Carter Country), dies at 69
• 1996 - Nigel Thomas Loveridge Fisher, politician, dies at 83
• 1996 - Richard Clarkson, aerodynamicist, dies at 94
• 1997 - Arthur Tracy, radio personality (Street Singer), dies at 98