• 1452 - Leonardo da Vinci, Italy, painter/sculptor/scientist/visionary
• 1469 - Nanak, 1st guru of Sikhs
• 1588 - Claudius Salmasius, [Claude Saumaise], French linguist
• 1637 - Valentin Molitor, composer
• 1651 - Domenico Gabrielli, composer
• 1682 - John van Huysum, Dutch painter (flowers/fruit)
• 1684 - Catherine I, empress of Russia (1725-27)
• 1688 - Johann Friedrich Fasch, composer
• 1689 - Ferdinand Zellbell, composer
• 1707 - Leonhard Euler, Bassle Sweden, mathematician (Euler's Constant)
• 1741 - Charles Willson Peale, US, port painter/inventor (George Washington)
• 1757 - George Knowil Jackson, composer
• 1766 - Friedrich Bouterwek, German philosopher/critic
• 1793 - Friedrich Struve, Germany, founded dynasty of astronomers
• 1800 - James Clark Ross, explorer (British Antarctic)
• 1809 - Hermann G�nther Grassmann, mathematician
• 1812 - Pierre-Etienne-Theodore Rousseau, painter
• 1814 - John Lothrop Motley, US, historian/author (Rise of Dutch Rep)
• 1820 - Evander McNair, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1902
• 1821 - Emerson Brown Joseph, (Confederacy), died in 1894
• 1822 - Napolean Jackson Tecumseh Dana, Major General (Union volunteers)
• 1827 - Julius Tausch, composer
• 1829 - Mary Harris Thompson, 1st American woman surgeon
• 1837 - Horace Porter, Bvt Brig General (Union Army), died in 1921
• 1843 - Carl Eilhardt, composer
• 1843 - Henry James, US/British writer/critic (Turn of the Screw, Bostonians)
• 1845 - Dave Gregory, cricketer (Australia's 1st Test captain)
• 1850 - John Munroe Longyear, US, capitalist/bank president
• 1856 - Jean Mor‚as, [Yannis Papadiamantopoulos], Greek/French poet
• 1858 - Anton G O Ridder Van Rappard, Dutch painter/lithographer/etcher
• 1858 - Emile Durkheim, French sociologist (Division du travail social)
• 1874 - Johannes Stark, Germany, physicist (Stark effect) (Nobel 1919)
• 1875 - Klaziena "Ina" Boudier-Bakker, Dutch playwright/novelist (Poverty)
• 1878 - Robert Walser, writer
• 1882 - Giovanni Amendola, Italian antifascist/editor-in-chief (Il Mondo)
• 1888 - Florence Bates, San Antonio Tx, actress (Kismet, I Remember Mama)
• 1889 - Asa Philip Randolph, labor leader (Railroad Porter's Union)
• 1889 - Thomas Hart Benton, Missouri, painter/muralist (Lonesome Road)
• 1891 - Alvin Carter, Virginia, vocalist (Carter Family)
• 1891 - Vaino Raitio, composer
• 1891 - Wallace Reid, St Louis MO, actor/dir/screenwriter (Every Inch a Man)
• 1894 - Elizabeth Mae "Bessie" Smith, Empress of Blues (over 200 songs)
• 1895 - Corrado Alvaro, Italian writer (Gente in Aspromonte)
• 1895 - Harry F V Edward, British Guiana, 100m/200m runner (Oly-bronze-1920)
• 1897 - Marian Jordan, actress (Molly-Fibber McGee & Molly)
• 1898 - Nini de Bo‰l, Flemish operette singer (White Horse)
• 1901 - Joe Davis, English snooker/billiards-world champ (1927-46)
• 1903 - Erich Arendt, writer [or Apr 16]
• 1903 - John Williams, England, actor (Niles-Family Affair, Dial M for Murder)
• 1906 - A J "Sandy" Bell, S Afr cricket fast bowler (16 Tests 1929-35)
• 1906 - Susan Walker, vice CEO (WRVS)
• 1907 - Gerald Abrahams, Liverpool, author (Teach Yourself Chess)
• 1907 - Nicholas Tinbergen, Neth/British biologist/zoologist (Nobel 1973)
• 1908 - Eden Ahbez, songwriter
• 1908 - Louise Chaplin, actress
• 1910 - Lord Grey of Naunton, chancellor (Ulster University)
• 1911 - Jacob Fresco, Dutch architect (Antilles Brewery/Autonomy Monument)
• 1912 - Kim II Sung, pres of North Korea (1945-94)
• 1912 - Peter Menzies, CEO (British Electricity Council)
• 1914 - John Gregory, dancer
• 1915 - Ernest Borneman, sexual researcher psychotherapist writer/musicologist
• 1917 - Hans Conried, Balt Md, actor (Bullwinkle Show, Make Room for Daddy)
• 1917 - Pietro Grossi, composer
• 1918 - John Baragrey, Haleyville AL, actor (Creeper, Colossus of NY)
• 1919 - Clive Beadon, airman
• 1919 - Elizabeth Catelett, sculptor/lithographer
• 1919 - Meriol Trevor, novelist/biographer (Civil Prisoners)
• 1920 - Richard von Weizs„cker, baron/president (Germany, 1984-94)
• 1921 - Georgi Timofeyevich Beregovoi, USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 3)
• 1921 - Norman Ewart Thurston, musician
• 1922 - Harold Washington, 1st black mayor of Chicago (D, 1983-87)
• 1922 - Michael Ansara, Lowell Mass, actor (Cochise-Broken Arrow, Centennial)
• 1923 - Douglas Wass, CEO (Equity & Law Life Assurance Company)
• 1924 - John Grigg, British historian
• 1924 - Neville Marriner, Lincoln England, conductor (Minn Orch 1978)
• 1927 - Abha Gandhi, servant to Gandhi
• 1928 - Norma Merrick Sklarek, 1st black woman architect in NY & Calif
• 1928 - Richard Evans, British diplomat
• 1929 - Adrian Cadbury, candy manufacturer (Cadbury, Schweppes)
• 1929 - Jocelyn Barrow, deputy chair person (British Broadcast Standards)
• 1930 - Elijah Barayi, head of South Africa union centre (COSATU)
• 1930 - Vigdis Finnbogad¢ttir, president of Iceland (1980- )
• 1931 - Florian Zabach, Chicago Ill, violinist (Hot Canary, Club Embassy)
• 1931 - Kenneth Bloomfield, BBC governor (Ireland)
• 1931 - Tomas G Transtr”mer, Swedish psychologist/poet (M”rkerseende)
• 1932 - David Bolton, director (British Royal United Service for Defense)
• 1932 - Nikolai Stepanovich Porvatkin, Russian cosmonaut
• 1933 - Boris Strugatski, USSR, sci-fi author (Tale of Troika)
• 1933 - Elizabeth Montgomery, LA Calif, actress (Samantha/Serena-Bewitched)
• 1933 - Roy Clark, Meherrin Va, country singer (Hee Haw)
• 1935 - Gene Cherico, bassist
• 1936 - Hector Quintanar, composer
• 1936 - Jack Noreiga, cricketer (9-95 WI v India 1971)
• 1936 - Maurice Shock, rector (Lincoln College in Oxford)
• 1937 - Earl Russell, historian
• 1938 - Carles Marsden, professor (neurology)
• 1939 - Claudia Cardinale, Tunis, actress (Blindfold, 8«, Pink Panther)
• 1939 - Marti Wilder, father of rocker Kim Wilde
• 1940 - Edy Hubacher, Switzerland, 4-man bobsled (Olympic-gold-1972)
• 1940 - Jeffrey Archer, England, (Tory-Commons)/author (Matter of Honor)
• 1940 - Phll Lesh, rocker
• 1940 - Robert Walker Jr, NYC, actor (Ceremony, Ms Don Juan, Ensign Pulver)
• 1941 - Howard L Berman, (Rep-D-CA, 1983- )
• 1942 - Kim Il Jong, son of North Korean pres Kim Il Sung (1972-94)
• 1942 - Walter Raphael Hazzard, Wilmington Del, basketball (Olympic-gold-1964)
• 1943 - Riem de Wolff, Indonesian/Dutch singer/guitarist (Blue Diamonds)
• 1944 - Dave Edmunds, Wales, singer/guitarist (Rockpile-Baby I Love You)
• 1944 - Dzhokhar Dudayev, separatist leader
• 1944 - Gerard Schoenaker, Dutch singer (Les Baroques)
• 1945 - Jos F B van Rey, Dutch MP (VVD)
• 1946 - Wayne Gilchrest, (Rep-R-Maryland)
• 1947 - Bojoura, [Raina GB van Melzen], Dutch singer/wife of Hans Cleuver
• 1947 - DeDe Lind, LA Calif, playmate (Aug, 1967)
• 1947 - Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, TV producer (Designing Women, Murphy Brown)
• 1947 - Michael DeBello, singer (Maniac)
• 1947 - Mike Chapman, Australian songwriter/producer (Chinn & Chapman)
• 1947 - Wooly Wolstenholme, keyboardist/vocalist (Barclay James Harvest)
• 1950 - Amy Wright, Chicago Il, actress (Inside Moves, Accidental Tourist)
• 1951 - Hansel, Cuba, spanish personality
• 1951 - Heloise II, columnist (Heloise's Helpful Hints)
• 1951 - John L Phillips, Ft Belvoir Va, PhD/astronaut
• 1951 - Marsha S Ivins, Baltimore Maryland, astronaut (STS 32, 46, 62, 81)
• 1952 - Sam McMurray, actor (Tracey Ullman)
• 1954 - Emmanuel, M‚xico City M‚xico, spanish singer
• 1955 - Barbara Barrow, LPGA golfer
• 1955 - Enith Salle Brigitha, Neth, 100m/200m swimmer (Olympic-bronze-1976)
• 1956 - Gregory J Harbaugh, Cleveland Ohio, astronaut (STS 39, 54, 71, 82)
• 1956 - Michael Cooper, NBA star (LA Lakers)
• 1957 - Evelyn Ashford, Shreveport LA, 100m runner (Oly-4 gold-1976, 84)
• 1958 - John Bracewell, NZ cricketer (premiere spinner of 80's)
• 1958 - Matt Reid, rock keyboardist (Berlin-Takes Your Breathe Away)
• 1959 - Emma Thompson, England, actress (Henry V, Howards End, Oscar-1992)
• 1959 - Kevin Lowe, Lachute, NHL defenseman (NY Rangers)
• 1960 - Marvin Clyde Goodwin, New Orleans La, murderer (FBI Most Wanted List)
• 1960 - Philip, Belgian prince/husband of princess Paola
• 1961 - Lynne Austin, Plant City Fla, playmate (Jul, 1986)
• 1961 - Tiina Lillak, Finland, javelin thrower (Olympic-silver-1984)
• 1963 - Manoj Prabhakar, cricketer (Indian opening batsman & opening bowler)
• 1963 - Teresa Wentzel DeWitt, Ft Bragg NC, double trap (Olympics-1996)
• 1964 - Lydie Denier, St Nazaire France, actress (General Hospital)
• 1964 - Nadeem Abbasi, cricketer (three Tests for Pakistan v India 1989)
• 1965 - Anthony Miller, NFL wide receiver (Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys)
• 1965 - Kevin Stevens, Brockton, NHL left wing (LA Kings)
• 1965 - Mark Dennis, NFL tackle (Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers)
• 1965 - Michele Redman, Zanesville OH, LPGA golfer (1995 Star Bank-3rd)
• 1965 - Soichi Noguchi, Yokohama Japan, astronaut
• 1966 - Andrei Olhovskiy, Moscow Russia, tennis pro
• 1966 - Graeme Clark, bassist (Wet Wet Wet-Angel Eyes, Love is All Around)
• 1966 - Samantha Karen Fox, East End London England, singer (Touch Me)
• 1967 - Dara Torres, Beverly Hills CA, US Olympic swimmer (Olympic-gold-84)
• 1967 - Lance Zeno, NFL/WLAF corner (Rams, Scottish Claymores)
• 1967 - Mark Mortimer, actor (Nick Hudson-Another World)
• 1967 - Suzy Green, Detroit MI, LPGA golfer (1995 Fieldcrest Cannon-26th)
• 1968 - Billy Brewer, Fort Worth Texas, pitcher (NY Yankees)
• 1968 - Stacey Williams, Phila Penn, model (SI Swimsuit 1996)
• 1969 - Chris Smith, Indianapolis IN, Nike golfer (1993 BC Open-8th)
• 1969 - Jeromy Burnitz, Westminster CA, outfielder (Cleveland Indians)
• 1969 - Michael Jones, NFL linebacker (Oakland Raiders, St Louis Rams)
• 1969 - Phillippi Sparks, NFL cornerback (NY Giants)
• 1970 - Darrin Smith, NFL linebacker (Dallas Cowboys, Phila Eagles)
• 1971 - Craig Whelihan, NFL quarterback (SD Chargers)
• 1971 - Derek Brown, NFL running back (NO Saints)
• 1971 - Guivi Sissaouri, Tbilisi Georgia, Canada freestyle wrestler (Oly-s-96)
• 1971 - Jason Sehorn, NFL cornerback/safety (NY Giants)
• 1971 - Rich McKenzie, NFL linebacker (Cleve Browns)
• 1971 - Tim Tindale, NFL running back (Buffalo Bills)
• 1972 - Melvin Johnson, NFL safety (Tampa Bay Bucs)
• 1972 - Peter Billingsley, NYC, actor (Real People)
• 1972 - Ricky Otero, Vega Baja Puerto Rico, outfielder (Phila Phillies)
• 1972 - Ronald Cherry, NFL tackle (Detroit Lions)
• 1972 - Vickie Johnson, WNBA guard/forward (NY Liberty)
• 1973 - Jeremy Burkett, NFL/WLAF tight end (NY Giants, Barcelona Dragons)
• 1974 - Marena Bencomo, Miss Universe-2nd place (Venezuela, 1997)
• 1974 - Mike Quinn, quarterback (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• 1974 - Sergei Krivokrasov, Angarsk Rus, NHL right wing (Blackhawks, Oly-S-98)
• 1977 - Lisa Bell, Rockford Ill, figure skater (1997 Midwestern Sr champ)
• 1982 - Mark Mizzark, [Marlis Pugh], Akron Ohio, rapper (Another Bad Creation)

Famous deaths for this day ..

• 1220 - Adolf I, archbishop of Cologne, dies
• 1415 - Manuel Chrysoloras, Byzantine leader/diplomat (ErotŠmata), dies
• 1472 - Leon B Alberti, Italian humanist/architect (Philodoxis), dies at 68
• 1502 - Jan IV Chalon, prince of Orange, dies
• 1605 - Boris Godunov, tsar of Russia (1598-1605), dies
• 1607 - Cornelius Kilianus, Flemish translator/poet, dies at about 78
• 1610 - Johan van Duivenoorde, mister of Warmond, dies at about 62
• 1659 - Simon Dach, German poet, dies
• 1719 - Johann Friedrich Treiber, composer, dies at 76
• 1756 - Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, composer, dies at 29
• 1764 - Jeanne-Antoinette-Poison LeNormant d'Etoiles, Marquis de Pomador, dies
• 1765 - Michail v Lomonosov, Russian scholar/poet, dies at 53
• 1772 - Karel Jozef, ruler of Batthy nyi, dies at 73
• 1788 - Giuseppi Bonno, composer, dies at 77
• 1811 - Ernest Louis Muller, composer, dies at 70
• 1824 - Theodorus F van Capellen, vice-admiral (Algiers), dies at 61
• 1853 - Johann Leopold Fuchs, composer, dies at 67
• 1863 - Jan Nepomuk Kanka, composer, dies at 90
• 1865 - Abraham Lincoln, at 7:22 am, assassinated by John Wilkes Booth
• 1866 - William Jackson, composer, dies at 51
• 1888 - Matthew Arnold, English poet, dies at 65
• 1891 - Stephen Albert Emery, composer, dies at 49
• 1911 - Georg Knorr, German engineer, dies
• 1916 - Alfred Cogniaux, Belgian botanist, dies at 75
• 1920 - Jacob van Stolk Azn, art collector, dies at 74
• 1924 - Eduardo Caudella, composer, dies at 82
• 1925 - John Singer Sargent, US portrait painter, dies at 69
• 1926 - Frank Iredale, cricketer (14 Tests for Aust, 807 runs at 36 68), dies
• 1927 - Francesco Gaeta, Italian poet (Di Giacomo), dies at 47
• 1929 - Antonio Smareglia, composer, dies at 74
• 1937 - Nikolai Artzibushev, composer, dies at 79
• 1938 - C‚sar Vallejo, Peru/French poet (Trilce, Russia & 1931), dies at 46
• 1942 - Robert Musil, Austrian writer (Mann ohne Eigenschaften), dies at 61
• 1943 - Raffaele Casimiro Casimiri, composer, dies at 62
• 1947 - Wolstenholme, rocker, dies
• 1949 - Wallace Beery, US actor (The Champ), dies at 64
• 1954 - Juan Vicente Lecuna, composer, dies at 54
• 1956 - Emile Nolde [Hansen], German painter (Grablegung Christi), dies at 88
• 1958 - Estelle Taylor, dies at 64
• 1962 - Clara Blandick, committed suicide at 80
• 1962 - Esther Minciotti, dies at 74
• 1965 - Syd Chaplin, dies at 80
• 1966 - Joseph Crehan, dies of stroke at 81
• 1967 - Antonio de Curtis Toto, comedian, dies of heart attack at 69
• 1968 - Boris Mykolayovich Lyatoshyns'ky, composer, dies at 73
• 1969 - Victoria von Battenberg, wife of Spanish king Alfonso, dies at 81
• 1972 - Otto Brenner, German trade union leader, dies at 64
• 1975 - Charles Marshall, dies
• 1975 - John B McKay, US test pilot (X-15), dies
• 1975 - Richard Conte, actor (Four Just Men, Jean Arthur Show), dies at 65
• 1976 - Gerald Smith, antisemite/catholic (Natl Christian Crusade), dies at 78
• 1980 - Jean-Paul Sartre, existentialist (Nobel 1964), dies in Paris at 74
• 1980 - Marshall Reed, actor (Fred Asher-Lineup), dies at 62
• 1980 - Paul Langton, actor (Leslie-Peyton Place), dies at 76
• 1980 - Raymond Bailey, actor (Mr Drysdale-Beverly Hillbillies), dies at 75
• 1981 - French Duynstee, Dutch states rights leader, dies at 67
• 1982 - 5 murderers, of Egyptian pres Sadat, executed
• 1982 - Arthur Lowe, Brits actor (Capt Mainwaring in Dad's army), dies at 66
• 1982 - Louis M de Guiringaud, Fren forgn min (1976-78), commits suicide at 70
• 1983 - Gyula Illyes, Hungarian writer/poet (Az Ismertlen Illyes), dies at 80
• 1983 - Rodolfo Hoyos, actor (Luis-Viva Valdez), dies at 68
• 1984 - Tommy Cooper, comedian, dies at 61
• 1986 - Jean Genet, French criminal/novelist/dramatist, dies at 75
• 1986 - Sergei Nikolayevich Anokhin, cosmonaut, dies at 76
• 1986 - Tim McIntire, actor (Bob Younger-Legend of Jesse James), dies at 42
• 1988 - Hendrikus G "Han" Hoekstra, Dutch poet (Zandloper), dies at 81
• 1988 - Kenneth Williams, dies at 61
• 1989 - Charles Vanel, dies at 96
• 1989 - Hu Yaobang, general sec of Chinese Commnist Party, dies
• 1990 - Greta Garbo, actress (Anna Karenina, Camille), dies at 84
• 1991 - Marjorie Warfield, dies at 88
• 1991 - Martin Ashe, dies
• 1993 - George Ives, dies at 111
• 1993 - H H "Bull" Alexander, cricketer (Test for Aust 1933, avg 154), dies
• 1993 - Leslie Charteris, British mystery writer (Saint), dies at 85
• 1993 - William Bakewell, dies of leukemia at 84
• 1994 - John Curry, English figure skater (Oly-gold-76), dies of AIDS at 44
• 1995 - Cleo Brown, pianist, dies at 91
• 1995 - Denis Harding, soldier, dies at 79
• 1997 - Sam Moskowitz, SF fandom historian, dies at 76
• 1997 - Zdenek Mlynar, Sec of Czech Communist Central Committee (1968), dies