• 0879 - Charles III, [The Simple], king of France (893-923)
• 1271 - Wenceslas II, king of Bohemia & Poland (1278-1305)
• 1552 - Paul V, [Camillo Borghese], Italy, Pope (1605-21)
• 1580 - Charlotte Brabantia, countess of Nassau/daughter of Willem of Orange
• 1580 - Francisco Gomez de Quevado y Villegas, poet/satirist (Vida del Busc¢n)
• 1605 - Francesco Sacrati, composer
• 1619 - John Lambert, English general-major/parliament leader
• 1643 - Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury/author
• 1709 - Samuel Johnson, lexicographer/writer (Boswell's Tour Guide)
• 1711 - Ignaz Jakob Holzbauer, composer
• 1714 - Gottlieb W Rabener, German author (Vom Misbrauch of the Satire)
• 1730 - Friedrich WLGA von Steuben, Prus/US inspector-gen of Washington's army
• 1743 - Jean-Marie Caritat, France, mathematician
• 1743 - Marquis de Condorcet, France, enlightenment philosopher
• 1748 - Robert Wainwright, composer
• 1764 - John Goodricke, English astronomer/member Royal Society
• 1765 - Gregory XVI, [Bartolomeo A Cappellari/Mauro], Italy, Pope
• 1767 - Henri-Montan Berton, composer
• 1774 - Joseph Caspar Mezzofanti, Cardinal/linguist (understood 70 languages)
• 1783 - Samuel Prout, water-color painter
• 1795 - Giuseppi Saverio Rafaele Mercadante, composer
• 1798 - Antonia M B Antonucci, Italian cardinal/diplomat
• 1800 - Franklin Buchanan, Admiral (Confederate Navy), died in 1874
• 1801 - Edward William Lane, translator (Thousand & 1 Nights)
• 1814 - Stefano Ronchetti-Molnteviti, composer
• 1818 - Halfdan Kjeruif, composer (Kjerulf)
• 1819 - Jean-Bernard-L‚on Foucault, physicist (pendulum proved Earth rotates)
• 1819 - Marthinus Wessels Pretorius, 1st president (Republic South Africa)
• 1819 - Thomas Andrews Hendricks, (D) 21st US VP; died in office
• 1820 - Earle Van Dorn, Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1863
• 1821 - Charles Victor Arthur Saint-Leon, composer
• 1825 - Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, MC (Confederacy), died in 1893
• 1826 - G F Berhard Riemann, German mathematician (zeta-function)
• 1834 - Edouard Pailleron, French attorney/stage writer
• 1849 - Vaclav Juda Novotny, composer
• 1850 - Ab”lio Manuel Guerra Junqueiro, Portuguese poet (Simple Ones)
• 1853 - Clemens Baeumker, German historian (Patristischen Philosophie)
• 1854 - Hans Mller, music historian
• 1857 - Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, pioneer in rocket & space research
• 1859 - Frank D Adams, Canada geologist/educator
• 1859 - Richard Henry Warren, composer
• 1861 - Owen Seaman, poet/editor (Punch)
• 1869 - Christian Lange, Norway, pacifist/internationalist (Nobel 1921)
• 1874 - Ben[jamin] Turpin, US, comic (Uncle Tom Without the Cabin)
• 1875 - Vyacheslav Gavrilovich Karatigin, composer
• 1877 - Jean Hure, composer
• 1878 - Vincenzo Tommasini, composer
• 1880 - D‚sir‚-mile Inghelbrecht, French composer/conductor (Naval)
• 1882 - Anton H Blaauw, Dutch botanist (Perception of Light)
• 1883 - Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson Berners, 14th baron/composer
• 1883 - William Carlos Williams, poet
• 1884 - Bastiaan de Gaay Fortman, Dutch historian/Justice of Cura‡ao
• 1884 - Charles Tomlinson Griffes, Elmira NY, composer (White Peacock)
• 1885 - George Cleveland, Sydney Nova Scotia, actor (Courage of Lassie)
• 1885 - Uzeir Abdul Huseyn Hajibeyov, composer
• 1890 - Lubov Tchernicheva, Russian ballerina
• 1891 - Leslie Lincoln Henson, actor (Lady Luck, Funny Face, Harvey)
• 1892 - Hendrik F Andriessen, Dutch organist/composer (Ballade of Merel)
• 1893 - Abel J Herzberg, Russ/Dutch writer (Persecution of Jews)
• 1894 - Fay Compton, [Virginia Lillian Emeline Compton], actress (Haunting)
• 1896 - Denise Grey, [Edouardine Verthuy], Turin Italy, actress (Julietta)
• 1899 - Winnie Lightner, Greenport NY, comedienne (Sit Tight, Side Show)
• 1901 - Francis Charles Chinester, yachtsman/aviator
• 1902 - Esther Ralston, Bar Harbor ME, American Venus/actress (Old Ironsides)
• 1904 - Frederick Ashton, British choreographer (Cinderella)
• 1904 - Jerry Colonna, Boston MA, actor (Road to Morocco, Road to Singapore)
• 1905 - Dolores Costello, Pittsburgh PA, actress (Little Lord Fauntleroy)
• 1905 - Hans Freudenthal, Dutch mathematician/director (OW&OC)
• 1905 - Jorge Urrutia Blondel, composer
• 1906 - Junius Richard Jayawardene, president (Sri Lanka, 1978-89)
• 1907 - Desmond Heap, authority on British planning law
• 1907 - Helen Vinson, TX, actress (Transatlantic Tunnel, In Name Only)
• 1907 - Warren E Burger, Minn, Supreme Court chief justice (1969-86)
• 1908 - Franz J A Grothe, German composer
• 1909 - Elizabeth Wilkinson, professor German University College London
• 1909 - Kenneth Darling, Commander-in-chief Allied Forces, Northern Europe
• 1910 - Vernon Thompson, thoracic surgeon
• 1912 - Pauline Parsons, matron in chief (PMRAFNS)
• 1913 - Jorgen Jersild, composer
• 1914 - Shin Kanemaru, politician
• 1916 - Mary [Florence Elinor] Stewart, UK, sci-fi author (Crystal Cave)
• 1916 - Ove J Abildgaard, Danish poet (Uglegylp)
• 1917 - Isang Yun, composer
• 1917 - Lawrence Jacob, Atlantic City NJ, artist (Sanitarium)
• 1917 - Peter Bennett, London, actor (Leonides-Adv of Sir Lancelot)
• 1918 - Chaim Herzog, president (Israel, 1983-93)
• 1920 - Dinah Sheridan, actress (Genevieve, Railway Children)
• 1920 - Marjorie S Holt, (Rep-R-MD, 1973- )
• 1921 - Virgilio Barco Vargas, president of Colombia (1986-90)
• 1922 - Agostinho Neto, poet/president Angola [or Dec 27]
• 1922 - Naomi Datta, geneticist
• 1922 - Ursula Howells, London, actress (Girly, Murder is Announced)
• 1923 - Hank Williams, country singer (Cold, Cold Heart, Hey Good Lookin')
• 1923 - John Hale, linguist
• 1926 - Bill Black, rocker
• 1926 - Donald Acheson, England's chief medical officer
• 1926 - Reginald Marsh, actor (Sicilians, It Happened Here)
• 1927 - George Blanda, Penn, NFL kicker/quarterback (Bears, Oilers, Raiders)
• 1927 - Ted Weiss, (Rep-D-NY, 1977-92)
• 1928 - Brian Matthew, British disc jockey
• 1928 - Roddy McDowall, London Engld, actor (Planet of Apes, Lord Love a Duck)
• 1929 - John Stewart-Clark, MEP (C)
• 1929 - Lord Craig of Radley, marshal (RAF)
• 1929 - Stirling Moss, race car driver
• 1930 - David Huddleston, Vinton Va, actor (How the West Was Won)
• 1930 - Dorothy Loudon, Cambridge Mass, actress/singer (Garry Moore Show)
• 1930 - Edgar Dean Mitchell, Hereford Texas, Capt USN/astronaut (Apollo 14)
• 1930 - Gwyn Francis, British Forestry commissioner
• 1930 - Thomas P Stafford, Weatherford Ok, USAF/astronaut (Gem 6 9, Ap 10 18)
• 1931 - Anne Bancroft, Bronx, actr (Graduate, Miracle Worker)/Mrs Mel Brooks
• 1933 - Charles E Grassley, (Sen-R-Iowa, 1981- )
• 1933 - D A Fenner, British headmaster (Alleyn's School)
• 1933 - Desmond Fennell, British high court judge
• 1933 - Patricia Crowley, Olyphant Pa, actress (Please Don't Eat the Daisies)
• 1934 - Little Milton [Campbell], rocker
• 1934 - Maureen "Little Mo" Connolly, Ca, tennis, 1st woman grand slam (1953)
• 1934 - Orlando Cepeda, Giants player (NL MVP 1967)
• 1935 - Ken Kesey, author (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
• 1935 - Timothy Bavin, Bishop of Portsmouth
• 1936 - Jennifer Dickson, artist/photographer
• 1936 - Mischa de Vreede, poetess (Our Eternal Hunger)
• 1936 - Richard Gaskell, solicitor/president (Law Society)
• 1937 - Albertine Sarrazin, French author (L'astragale, La Cavale)
• 1938 - Alec Broers, master (Churchill College Cambridge)
• 1938 - Paul Benedict, Silver City NM, actor (Harry-Jeffersons)
• 1939 - David H Souter, Weir NH, 107th Supreme Court Justice (1990- )
• 1939 - Joseph Mosikili, South African actor/singer
• 1939 - Lamonte McLemore, St Louis Mo, rock vocalist (5th Dimension)
• 1941 - Robert T Matsui, (Rep-D-California, 1979- )
• 1941 - William Grut, Sweden, penthalete (Olympic-gold-1948)
• 1942 - Beverly Aadland, Hollywood Cal, Errol Flynns last girlfriend
• 1942 - Desmond Lynam, British sportscaster
• 1942 - Doris Brown-Heritage, US, 800m track star (Olympic-gold-1968)
• 1943 - Samuel T Durrance, Tallahassee Fl, PhD/astronaut (STS 35, STS 67)
• 1943 - Sarah Lucas, theatre administrator
• 1944 - Mary Lou Crocker, LPGA golfer
• 1944 - Reinhold Messner, Italian mountain climber (Mount Everest)
• 1945 - Phil Jackson, Deer Lodge Montana, NBA star (Knicks)/coach (Bulls)
• 1946 - Billy Bonds, British soccer player
• 1946 - Michael Jack, British minister of state-home office
• 1947 - Jeff MacNelly, Puliter Prize-winning cartoonist (Shoe)
• 1947 - Robert Kidd, marine geoscientist
• 1947 - Tessa Jowell, British MP
• 1948 - John Ritter, Burbank Calif, actor (Jack-3's Company, Hearts Afire)
• 1948 - Patricia Kluge, Baghdad Iraq, wife of Billionaire John Kluge
• 1950 - Fee Waybill, Ohaha Neb, rocker (Tubes)
• 1951 - Cassandra Peterson, [Elvira], KS, actress (Echo Park, Elvira)
• 1952 - Steve Sanders, Richland Ga, country singer (Oak Ridge Boys-Elvira)
• 1955 - Rita Rudner, comedienne (Funny People)
• 1955 - Scott William Simpson, San Diego CA, PGA golfer (1987 US Open)
• 1957 - David Bintley, choreographer
• 1958 - Daniel Nunez, Cuba, weightlifter (Olympic-gold-1980)
• 1959 - Hank Ilesic, Edmonton, CFL punter, place kicker (Edmonton, Toronto)
• 1960 - Hank Baran, San Diego Calif, Canadian Tour golfer (1988 Won Mexican)
• 1960 - John Franco, Brooklyn NY, pitcher (NY Mets)
• 1960 - Terry Nihen, Concord Mass, playmate (December, 1983)
• 1961 - Pamela Ann Melroy, Palo Alto Calif, Major USAF/astronaut (sk:STS 92)
• 1962 - Dustin Nguyen, Saigon Vietnam, actor (Harry-21 Jump Street)
• 1962 - Wayne Riley, Sydney NSW, Australasia golfer
• 1963 - Masahiro Chono, wrestler (NJPW)
• 1964 - Christian Conrad, actor (Charley Hannah, High Mountain Rangers)
• 1964 - Karen Straker, horse show jumper
• 1966 - Fred Childress, CFL guard (Calgary Stampeders)
• 1967 - Dan Dupuis, Ashcroft BC, Canadian Tour golfer (1994 Canadian Golf)
• 1967 - Derek Ware, NFL tight end (Cin Bengals)
• 1967 - Malik Yoba, actor (NY Undercover-Det JC Williams)
• 1967 - Maurice Hurst, NFL cornerback (NE Patriots)
• 1968 - Lord Jammer, rocker (Brand Nubian)
• 1968 - Stacey Dillard, NFL defensive tackle (NY Giants)
• 1968 - Suzy Cote, Santa Barbara Calif, actress (Samantha-Guiding Light)
• 1968 - Valeri Zelepukin, NHL forward (NJ Devils, Team Russia Oly-Sil-98)
• 1969 - Keith Flint, singer/musician (Prodigy)
• 1969 - Rob Zamuner, NHL forward (Tampa Bay Lightning, Team Canada 1998)
• 1970 - Al Fontenot, NFL defensive end (Chic Bears)
• 1970 - Ashley Ambrose, NFL cornerback (Indianapolis Colts)
• 1970 - Mark Brunell, NFL quarterback (Jacksonville Jaguars)
• 1970 - Wolfgang Kromp, hockey forward (Team Austria 1998)
• 1971 - Annika Duckmark, Miss Universe-Sweden (1996)
• 1971 - David Hynes, Australian baseball outfielder (Olympics-1996)
• 1971 - Octus Polk, NFL guard (Chic Bears)
• 1971 - Paul Janssen, soccer player (Fortuna S, NAC)
• 1972 - Allen Williams, NFL running back (Detroit Lions)
• 1972 - Darrius Johnson, NFL defensive back (Denver Broncos-Super Bowl 32)
• 1973 - David Reid, Phila, light middleweight boxer (Olympics-gold-96)
• 1974 - Bas Leferink, soccer player (Go Ahead Eagles)
• 1974 - Jason Hewitt, Australian baseball infielder (Olympics-1996)
• 1974 - Rasheed Wallace, NBA forward (Portland Trailblazers)
• 1976 - Jonathan Nichols, Wilmington Del, dance skater (& Tami Tyler)
• 1976 - Trincy Low, Miss Malaysia Universe (1997)
• 1977 - Becky Turner, Marietta Ga, rhythmic gymnast (Olympics-96)
• 1977 - Latoya Warning, Suriname 4th Miss Teenager (1993)
• 1977 - Tony Goskowicz, Wauwautosa Wis, short track skater (Olympics-1994)

Famous deaths for this day ..

• 1179 - Hildegard van Bingen, mystic/composer (Ordo Virtutum), dies at 81
• 1312 - Ferdinand V, king of Castili‰/Le¢n, dies at 26
• 1322 - Robrecht III, of B‚thune, Count of Flanders, dies
• 1574 - Pedro Menendez de Aviles, soldier/navigator, dies
• 1604 - Lucas Osiander, composer, dies at 69
• 1652 - Bonaventura Elsevier, book publisher/merchant, dies at about 69
• 1665 - Philip IV, King of Spain (1621-55), dies
• 1679 - Juan Jos‚ of Austrian, Spanish gen/gov of Netherlands, dies at 50
• 1702 - Olof Rudbeck, composer, dies at 71
• 1732 - Josef Antonin Planicky, composer, dies at 40
• 1762 - Francesco Xaverio Geminiani, composer, dies at 74
• 1771 - Tobias George Smollett, novelist (Adv of Roderick Random), dies at 50
• 1803 - Franz Xaver Sussmayr, composer, dies
• 1820 - Henri Hamal, composer, dies at 76
• 1823 - Abraham L Breguet, French clock maker, dies at 76
• 1824 - Giacomo Tritto, composer, dies at 91
• 1839 - Ethel Mary Dell, [Mrs G T Savage], romantic novelist, dies
• 1846 - Francesco Giuseppi Pollini, composer, dies at 84
• 1858 - Dred Scott, US slave (REV-decision Supreme court), dies
• 1862 - Lawrence O'Bryan Branch, (Rep-D)/Confederate brig-general, dies at 41
• 1862 - William Edwin Starke, Conf brig-gen, dies in battle at about 48
• 1863 - Albartus Telting, Fries poet/2nd-Member of parliament, dies
• 1863 - Alfred Victor Comte de Vigny, poet, dies
• 1864 - Walter Savage Landor, author, dies
• 1868 - Roman Nose (Wiquini), Cheyenne indian leader, dies
• 1869 - Peter M Roget, England, lexographer (Roget's Thesaurus), dies
• 1877 - William Henry Fox Talbot, photographic pioneer, dies at 77
• 1879 - Eugene Emmanuel Violletle-Duc, gothic archetect, dies
• 1884 - Louis Schubert, composer, dies at 56
• 1892 - Ignaz V Zingerle Edler von Simmersberg, Austrian, dies
• 1895 - Auguste Toulet, Belgian balloonist, dies
• 1907 - Ignaz Brull, composer, dies at 60
• 1908 - Thomas E Selfridge, earlier US aviator, 1st to die in an air crash
• 1926 - August Sauer, Austria literature historian, dies at 70
• 1934 - Edmund van der Straeten, composer, dies at 79
• 1943 - Dick Tyldesley, cricketer (7 Tests for England), dies
• 1944 - ... Kussin, German gen-maj/commanding Arnhem, dies in battle
• 1948 - Andr‚ S‚rot, colonel/commandant of French air force (WW II), dies
• 1948 - Count Folke Bernadotte, UN mediator for Palestine, assassinated
• 1948 - Lillian Brainthwaite, Brit actress (Man About the House), dies at 75
• 1948 - Ruth Benedict, anthropoligst, dies
• 1953 - Emil Ermatinger, Switz, literature critic, dies at 80
• 1953 - Henry Holden Huss, composer, dies at 91
• 1956 - Mildred E "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias, (Olympic-gold-1932), dies at 42
• 1957 - John W "John" Eisenloeffel, goldsmith, dies at 81
• 1958 - EugŠne Jungers, Belgian governor of Rwanda Urundi, dies at 70
• 1958 - Friedrich Adolf Paneth, Austrian/British chemist, dies at 71
• 1959 - Bert Leysen, Belgian TV director, dies at 39
• 1960 - Jose Sancho Marraco, composer, dies at 81
• 1961 - Adnan Menderes, PM of Turkey (1950-60), dies at 62
• 1961 - Simon Delmonte, actor/director (Bleke Bet), dies at 68
• 1966 - Fritz Wunderlich, German tenor (Stuttgart 1955-58), dies at 35
• 1972 - Akim Tamiroff, actor (Hotel Paradisio, Lord Jim), dies at 72
• 1973 - Hugo Winterhalter, composer, dies at 63
• 1979 - Miloslav Kabelac, composer, dies at 71
• 1980 - Anastasio Somoza, former Nicaraguan Pres, assassinated in Paraguay
• 1980 - Katherine A Porter, US author (Ship of Fools, Pulit-66), dies at 90
• 1983 - Humberto Madeiros, US cardinal to Boston, dies at 67
• 1984 - Richard Basehart, actor (Rage), dies following several strokes at 70
• 1985 - Laura Ashley, Welsh fashion designer, dies by accident
• 1986 - Patricia Phoenix, English actress (Coronation Street), dies at 62
• 1989 - Jay Stewart, annoucer on Lets Make a Deal, commits suicide
• 1992 - Feodor Chaliapin Jr, actor (King's Whore), dies after illness at 87
• 1992 - William A Swanberg, biographer (Henry Luce, Pulitzer 1973), dies at 84
• 1993 - Christian Nyby, US director (Big Sleep, Thing), dies at 80
• 1994 - Henk Figee, author/publisher (Shoes of the Sea), dies at 46
• 1994 - John DeLaFose, zydeco musician, dies at 55
• 1994 - Karl R Popper, philosopher (Poverty of Historianism), dies at 92
• 1994 - Paul Nicholas Young, architect, dies at 47
• 1995 - Grady Sutton, actor (Come Blow Your Horn, Flying Blind), dies at 87
• 1995 - Yehuda Meir Getz, rabbi/soldier/religious leader, dies at 71
• 1996 - Jessie "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" Hill, jazz musician, dies at 63
• 1997 - Jan Peder Syse, PM of Norway (1989-90), dies
• 1997 - John Seldon Whale, theologian, dies at 100
• 1997 - Red Skelton, comedian (Red Skelton Show), dies at 84