• 1446 - Margaretha, English princess/duchess of Bourgondie
• 1455 - Joƒo II, the perfect, King of Portugal (1481-95)/took in Spanish Jews
• 1469 - Niccol• Machiavelli, Italy, politician/writer (Prince)
• 1514 - Bartholomaeus a Martyribus, [Fernandez], primate of Portugal
• 1535 - Alessandro "Agnolo" Allori, Italian painter/carpet designer
• 1647 - John A "Joannes" Antonides van der Goes, poet (Bellone aen bant)
• 1649 - Johann Valentin Meder, composer
• 1691 - Carolus van der Abeele, Flemish jesuit/author (Introduction … l'amour)
• 1692 - Jan J Mauricius, Dutch governor-general of Suriname (1742-51)
• 1708 - Johann Adolph Scheibe, German music theroist/composer
• 1729 - Florian Leopold Gassmann, composer
• 1737 - Friedrich Schwindl, composer
• 1742 - Jean-Baptiste Krumphultz, composer
• 1744 - Freidrich Wilhelm Weis, composer
• 1752 - Braz Francisco de Lima, composer
• 1764 - Elisabeth PMH, princess of France/son of king Louis XVI
• 1773 - Giuseppe Acerbi, Italian traveller/nature investigator/diplomat
• 1815 - Hermanus W Witteveen, Dutch theologist
• 1816 - Montgomery Cunningham Meigs, Bvt Mjr Gen (Union Army), died in 1892
• 1819 - Nicola De Giosa, composer
• 1826 - Charles XV Louis E, King of Sweden/Norway (1859-72)/poet
• 1844 - Edouard A Drumont, French anti-semitic journalist
• 1844 - Richard D'Oyly Carte, England, opera impresario (Ivanhoe)
• 1849 - Jacob Riis, Denmark, reporter (NY Tribune, NY Evening Sun)
• 1859 - Andy Adams, US writer (Log of a Cowboy)
• 1867 - Jack Hearne, cricketer (cousin of George & Alec 12 Tests for Eng)
• 1867 - ValŠre-Gille, Belgian playwright (La Corbeille d'Octobre)
• 1873 - Nikolay N Tcherepnin, St Petersburg, composer of ballets, songs [OS]
• 1873 - [Nicoline] Magdalene Anchor-Roll, Norwegian author (Kvinnen og Den)
• 1874 - Fran‡ois Coty, Corsica, Corsican senator/perfume maker
• 1876 - Bert Hopkins, cricketer (Australian pace bowler of the 1900's)
• 1876 - John Elicius Benedict B P Quick Carrington Dwyer, cricketer (Sussex)
• 1886 - Marcel Dupr‚, French organist/composer
• 1890 - B Traven, writer
• 1892 - Beulah Bondi, Chicago, actress (It's a Wonderful Life)
• 1892 - George Thomson, demonstrated electron diffraction (Nobel 1937)
• 1893 - Hope Landin, Minneapolis MN
• 1895 - Earnest Kantorowicz, German/US historian (Laudes regiae)
• 1895 - Gabriel M-E-R Chevallier, French author (Le petit g‚n‚ral)
• 1895 - Zoltan Korda, Hungarian/British director (Jungle Book, 4 Feathers)
• 1897 - V K Krishna Menon, India, minister of defense
• 1898 - Golda Meir, [Meyerson], Kiev Ukraine, 4th Israeli PM (1969-74)
• 1898 - Septima Poinsette Clark, civil rights activist/educator
• 1899 - Aline MacMahon, McKeesport Pa, actress (Backdoor to Heaven)
• 1901 - Gino Cervi, Bologna Italy, actor (Les Miserables, Naked Maja)
• 1902 - Hugo Friedhofer, composer
• 1902 - Jack Larue, NYC, actor (Lights Out, Mouthpiece, My Favorite Brunette)
• 1902 - Seton I Miller, Chehalis WA, writer (Pete's Dragon, Istanbul)
• 1902 - Walter Slezak, Vienna, actor (Bedtime for Bonzo, Inspector General)
• 1903 - Bing Crosby, Tacoma Wash, singer (White Christmas, Going My Way)
• 1904 - Charles "Red" Ruffing, NY Yankee pitcher, hitter (1930-46)
• 1904 - John Breeden, SF CA, actor (Salute, Madame Racketeer, Joy Street)
• 1905 - Albrecht Luitpold G Ferdinand Michael Wittelsbach, duke of Bavaria
• 1905 - Sebastian Lewis Shaw, actor (High Season, Ace of Spades, Caste)
• 1906 - Mary Astor, Quincy IL, actress (Maltese Falcon, Dinky)
• 1907 - Earl Wilson, Rockford Ohio, columnist (Midnight Earl)
• 1910 - Alceo Galliera, composer
• 1911 - John Rhea "Yank" Lawson, trumpeter
• 1913 - Earl Blackwell, Atlanta Ga, author (Celebrity Register)
• 1913 - William M Inge, US playwright (Picnic-Pulitzer 1953)
• 1915 - Evencio Castellanos, composer
• 1916 - Henry Barbosa Gonzalez, San Antonio Tx, (Rep-D-Tx, 1961- )
• 1916 - Pierre Emmanuel, French poet (Sodome)
• 1917 - James Penberthy, composer
• 1919 - Betty Comden, Bkln, song writer (Comden & Green-Bells are Ringing)
• 1919 - Pete Seeger, NYC, folk singer (Weaver, Goodnight Irene)
• 1920 - Sugar Ray Robinson, [Walter Smith], middle/welterweight boxer (champ)
• 1921 - Vasco dos Santos Gon‡alves, Portuguese leftist colonel
• 1922 - Marina Svetlova, ballerina/choreographer (Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo)
• 1923 - Ralph M Hall, (Rep-D-TX, 1981- )
• 1924 - Mary Carver, LA Calif, actress (Cecilia-Simon & Simon)
• 1925 - Nina Bara, Buenos Aires Arg, actress (Tonga-Space Patrol)
• 1928 - James Brown, Augusta Ga, singer/jail bird, soul brother #1 (Hot Pants)
• 1928 - Jeanne Bal, Santa Monica Calif, actress (Pat-Love & Marriage)
• 1929 - Hendrik L van Beek, Dutch vice-admiral
• 1929 - Jaharna Imam, Bangladeshi writer/political activist
• 1930 - David Evatt Tunley, composer
• 1931 - Joseph Lichtman Layton, dancer
• 1933 - Collie Smith, cricketer (exciting WI all-rounder all too briefly)
• 1934 - Georg Kroll, composer
• 1935 - Donald P Hodel, Portland Ore, US Secretary of Interior (1985-89)
• 1936 - Engelbert Humperdinck, [Arnolde Dorsey], India, singer (EH Show)
• 1937 - Frankie Valli, [Castelluccio], Newark NJ, singer (Four Seasons-Sherry)
• 1939 - Jonathan David Harvey, English composer (Bhakti, Music of Stockhausen)
• 1939 - Jos‚ Torres, US, boxer (Olympics)
• 1939 - Samantha Eggar, London England, actress (Collector)
• 1941 - Nona Gaprindasvili, USSR, world women's chess champ (1962-78)
• 1942 - Lynn Farleigh, Bristol England, actress (Lovers of Their Time)
• 1942 - Vera C…slavsk…-Odlozilova, Czech, gymnast (Olympic-gold-1964, 68)
• 1943 - John Costello, historian
• 1944 - Ian Peter Leslie Smith, journalist
• 1944 - Peter Staples, rocker (Troggs-Wild Thing)
• 1945 - Sadiq Mohammad, cricketer (attacking Pakistan opening batsman 1969-81)
• 1946 - Greg Gumbel, sportscaster (CBS TV, WFAN)
• 1947 - Doug Henning, Ft Garry Manitoba, magician (Broadway play-Magic)
• 1949 - Albert Sacco Jr, Boston Mass, PhD/astronaut (STS 73)
• 1949 - Ron Wyden, (Rep-D-OR, 1981- )
• 1950 - Mary Hopkin, South Wales, singer (Those Were the Days)
• 1951 - Christopher Cross, [Geppert], Texas, singer (Sailing, Arthur's Theme)
• 1952 - Allen Wells, England, 100m dash (Olympic-gold-1980)
• 1953 - Bruce Hall, Champaign Ill, rock bassist (Reo Speedwagon)
• 1953 - Van McLain, rocker (Shooting Star)
• 1955 - David Hookes, cricketer (dashing Australian LHB, S Aussie stalwart)
• 1955 - Steve Jones, English pop guitarist (Sex Pistols-Mercy)
• 1957 - Cactus Moser, Montrose Co, country singer (Highway 101-Cry Cry Cry)
• 1957 - Rod Langway, Formosa, NHL defenseman (Mont Canadiens, Wash Caps)
• 1959 - Ben Elton, London UK, actor (Stark, Friday Night Live)
• 1959 - David Ball, Blackpool, rock keyboardist (Soft Cell)
• 1962 - Anthony Gilligan, Penrith NSW, Australasia golfer
• 1963 - Jeff Hornacek, NBA guard (Utah Jazz)
• 1964 - Ron Hextall, Winnipeg, NHL goalie (Phila Flyers, NY Islanders)
• 1966 - Paul Stevenson, Victoria Australia, badminton player (Olympics-96)
• 1968 - Deborah Caprioglio, Miestre Italy, actress (Big Game Hunter)
• 1968 - Jay Darlington, London England, keyboardist (Kula Shaker)
• 1969 - Karen Kraft, San Mateo Calif, rower (Olympics-silver-96)
• 1970 - Alexia Dechaume-Ballert, La Rochelle France, tennis star (1992 Aust)
• 1970 - Ted Crowley, Concord Mass, US hockey defenseman (Olympics-1994)
• 1971 - James Roberson, defensive end (Tennessee Oilers)
• 1972 - Brett Hayman, Australian rower (Olympics-96)
• 1972 - Josh Taves, defensive end (New England Patriots)
• 1972 - Vyacheslav Kozlov, Voskresensk Russia, NHL forward (Detroit Red Wings)
• 1973 - Dominique Monami, Verviers Belgium, tennis star
• 1973 - Michel Traveller, soccer player (Ajax)

Famous deaths for this day ..

• 1010 - Ansfried, 9th bishop of Utrecht (995-1010)/saint, dies at about 69
• 1294 - Jan I, duke of Brabant/Limburg/poet, dies
• 1410 - Alexander V, [Petros Philargi], Kreta's Pope (1409-10), dies
• 1442 - Engelbert I, Earl of Nassau-Dillenburg, dies
• 1481 - Mohammed II, [Fƒtih], sultan of Turkey (1451-81), dies
• 1567 - Leonhard Paminger, composer, dies at 72
• 1614 - Sasbout Vosmeer, RC theologist/apostole vicar, dies at 66
• 1654 - Fran‡ois van Kinschot, treasurer-gen/chancellor of Brabant, dies at 77
• 1703 - Eglon van de Down, still-life painter, dies
• 1704 - Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, Austrian violist/composer, dies at 59
• 1707 - Michiel de Swaen, South Netherlands physician/poet, dies at 53
• 1737 - Abraham Patras, gov-gen of East-Indies (1735-37), dies at 65
• 1758 - Benedict XIV, [Prospero L Lambertini], Pope (1740-58), dies at 83
• 1764 - Francesco Algarotti, Italian earl/encyclopedist, dies at 53
• 1774 - Heinrich A Fouqu‚, Prussian general (7 year war), dies at 76
• 1783 - Pieter Valck(x), South Netherlands sculptor, dies at 49
• 1792 - Carlo Zuccari, composer, dies at 87
• 1839 - Ferdinando Paer, composer, dies at 67
• 1841 - Cornelis T Elout, Dutch minister of Finance/Navy/Colonies, dies at 74
• 1854 - William Beale, composer, dies at 70
• 1856 - Adolfo Fumagalli, composer, dies at 27
• 1856 - Adolphe Charles Adam, French composer/critic (Giselle), dies at 52
• 1861 - Anthony Philip Heinrich, composer, dies at 80
• 1863 - Elisha Franklin "Bull" Paxton, US Confederate brig-gen, dies at 35
• 1868 - Olof Wilhelm Udden, composer, dies at 68
• 1881 - Josip Jurcic, Slovic writer (Schone Vida), dies
• 1893 - Josef Rudolf Zavrtal, composer, dies at 73
• 1902 - David R Capriles, Cura‡aos director of psychiatric, dies at 64
• 1910 - Artie Shaw, bandleader
• 1916 - P draic Pearse, Irishg nationalist, executed by British firing squad
• 1917 - Norman Callaway, NSW bat, cricketer (207 in only FC innings), dies
• 1925 - Cl‚ment Ader, French engineer (steam engine airplane), dies at 84
• 1926 - Napoleon V Bonaparte, French pretender to the throne, dies at 63
• 1931 - Frank Hoyt Losey, composer, dies at 59
• 1931 - Otto Winter-Hjelm, composer, dies at 93
• 1932 - Anton Wildgans, Austr writer (Dies Irae)/dir Burgtheater, dies at 51
• 1939 - [Karl Eduard] Wilhelm Groener, German general, dies at 71
• 1942 - Johan H Westerveld, lt-col/leader Order Service, executed
• 1943 - Leslie Heward, composer, dies at 45
• 1945 - Louis L H de Visser, Dutch MP (CPN), dies at 66
• 1955 - Philips C Visser, explorer/ambassador to Moscow, dies
• 1958 - Frank Foster, cricketer (England all-rounder, 11 Tests 1911-12), dies
• 1961 - Maurice [Jean Jacques] Merleau-Ponty, French philosopher, dies at 53
• 1964 - Diana Wynyard, dies at 58
• 1965 - Howard Spring, British author (Heaven Lies About Us), dies at 76
• 1965 - Otto Forst de Battaglia, Austrian diplomat/genealogist, dies at 75
• 1966 - Wylie Watson, dies at 77
• 1968 - Leonid Leonidovich Sabaneyev, composer, dies at 86
• 1969 - Imre Vincze, composer, dies at 42
• 1970 - Candelario Huizar, composer, dies at 82
• 1972 - Bruce Cabot, actor (Diamonds are Forever), dies at 68
• 1972 - Dan Blocker, actor (Hoss-Bonanza), dies at 43
• 1972 - Les Harvey, rocker, dies
• 1975 - Samuel Gonard, chairman (International Red Cross), dies at 78
• 1976 - David Bruce, dies at 62
• 1976 - Ernie Nevers, college fullback (Stanford), dies at 72
• 1978 - Wim van Doorne, Dutch auto manufacturer (DAF), dies at 71
• 1979 - Erin O'Brien-Moore, actress (Nurse Choate-Peyton Place), dies at 76
• 1982 - Helmut Dantine, actor (Shadow of the Cloak), dies at 64
• 1982 - Hugh Beaumont, actor (Ward-Leave it to Beaver), dies at 73
• 1983 - Vaughn Taylor, act (Jailhouse Rock), dies of cerebal hemmorrhage at 72
• 1986 - Robert Alda, actor (Dan Lewis-Supertrain), dies at 72
• 1987 - Dicky Fuller, cricketer (one Test for WI 1935, one run, 0-12), dies
• 1987 - Yolande Christina Dalida, dies at 54
• 1989 - Christine Jorgensen, 1st transsexual, dies at 62
• 1989 - Muriel Ostriche, dies
• 1990 - Pimen, [Sergei Irzyekov], patriarch of Rus-orthodox church, dies at 79
• 1991 - Gerrit Mik, child psychiatrist/Dutch MP (D66), dies
• 1991 - Jersy Kosinski, author (Being There), dies at 57
• 1991 - Margaret Tallichet, actress (Stranger on the 3rd Floor), dies
• 1992 - Elizabeth Lennox, radio singer, dies of heart seizure at 98
• 1992 - George Murphy, (Sen-R-Ca, 1965-71)/actor, dies of Leukemia at 89
• 1992 - Peter Bruni, dies of heart failure at 60
• 1994 - Gustaaf AWC baron van Hemert Dingshof, mayor of Maarn, dies at 78
• 1994 - Haty Tegelaar-Boonacker, Dutch MP (CDA), dies at 63
• 1994 - Milford Dolliole, pioneer jazz drummer, dies at 90
• 1994 - Richard Scarry, author/illustrator of children's books, dies at 74
• 1995 - Michael Horden, actor (Fool, Green Man, Scoop), dies at 83
• 1996 - Jack Weston, actor (Ishtar, Rad, Cuba), dies of lymphoma at 71
• 1996 - Timothy Gullikson, tennis player/coach, dies at 45