• 1405 - Johan II, King of Castille
• 1459 - Jacob Fugger, German banker/merchant
• 1475 - Michelangelo, painter (David)
• 1483 - Francesco Guicciardini, Ital attorney/president of Romagna
• 1492 - Jean Luis Vives, Spanish theory/humanist/reformer
• 1495 - Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet (Opere Toscane, La Coltivazione)
• 1615 - Jan Zoet, actor/playwright/poet (Parnasssus aan 't Y)
• 1616 - Malachias Siebenhaar, composer
• 1619 - Cyrano de Bergerac, famous nose, playwright (Voyage to the Moon)
• 1698 - John Alberti, Dutch theologist/philologist
• 1710 - Giuseppi Antonio Paganelli, composer
• 1740 - Giovanni Meli, Siclian poet (Buccolica)
• 1761 - Earl d'Andr‚ossi, French general/member of parliament
• 1763 - Jean Xavier Lefevre, composer
• 1765 - Jan Kops, Dutch agronomist/vicar
• 1779 - Philipp Roth, composer
• 1785 - Karol Kazimierz Kurpinski, composer
• 1787 - Joseph von Fraunhofer, Germany, physicist (studied Sun's spectrum)
• 1791 - Anna Claypoole Peale, painted miniatures
• 1793 - Bernhard Joseph Klein, composer
• 1806 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet (Sonnets from the Portuguese)
• 1812 - Aaron Lufkin Dennison, father of American watchmaking
• 1820 - Horatio Gouverneur Wright, Major General (Union volunteers)
• 1831 - Friedrich C K von Bodelschwingh, German theologist (Home Mission)
• 1831 - Philip Henry Sheridan, Albany NY, Major General (Union Army)
• 1835 - Charles Ewing, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1883
• 1835 - Ludwik Grossman, composer
• 1843 - Artur Napoleao dos Santos, composer
• 1844 - Nicolai Rimski-Korsakov, composer (Flight of the Bumble Bee) (NS 3/18)
• 1852 - Joseph Bayer, composer
• 1870 - Oscar Straus, Vienna Austria, composer (Ein Walzertraum)
• 1882 - Guy Kibbee, El Paso TX, actor (Big Shot)
• 1885 - Ring Lardner, US, writer (You Know Me Al)
• 1887 - Henri Gagnon, composer
• 1890 - Fernand Ansseau, Belgian operator/theory (Orfeo)
• 1891 - Victor Kilian, Jersey City NJ, actor (Gentleman's Agreement)
• 1893 - Kathleen Smoothy, housewife (last link to Siege of SIdney Street)
• 1893 - [Walter] Furry Lewis, father of the blues
• 1897 - Knud†ge Riisager, Port Kunda Estonia, Danish composer (Quaarrtsiluni)
• 1898 - Hal Hooker, cricketer (NSW pace bowler of 20's & 30's)
• 1898 - Jay C Flippen, Little Rock AR, actor (Jet Pilot, Killing, Thunder Bay)
• 1898 - Jimmy Conzelman, NFL QB/coach/team owner (Chicago)
• 1898 - Jo[hanne M Bos-]Vincent, Dutch soprano (Matth„us Passion)
• 1900 - John Henry Pyle Pafford, librarian (University of London)
• 1900 - Ludwig Donath, Vienna Austria, actor (Torn Curtain, Sirocco)
• 1900 - Robert "Lefty" Grove, baseball pitcher (300 game winner)
• 1901 - Mark Donskoy, Odessa Russia, director (Heart of a Mother)
• 1903 - Elizabeth Pinkston Becker, US, platform diver (Olympic-gold-1928)
• 1904 - Hugh Williams, actor/writer (Charley's Aunt, Bank Holiday)
• 1904 - Johannes C "Chris" Baay, Dutch actor (Klatergoud, Surprise Raid)
• 1906 - Bob Wills, TX, actor (Lone Prairie, Tornado in the Saddle)
• 1906 - Lou Costello, Paterson NJ, comedian/actor (Abbott & Costello)
• 1909 - Dave Clark, music promoter/songwriter
• 1909 - Obafemi Awolowo, Nigeria, pres of Nigeria (1979-83)
• 1911 - Charles Frank, physicist
• 1911 - Roland Jacobi Leich, composer
• 1912 - Madge Adam, astronomer
• 1913 - David Bowman, trade unionist
• 1913 - Ella Logan, Glasgow Scotland, actress (52nd Street, Goldwyn Follies)
• 1913 - Stewart Granger, actor (Saraband for Dead Lovers)
• 1914 - Kirill P Kondrashin, Moscow Russia, conductor (Hollywood Bowl 1981)
• 1916 - Rochelle Hudson, Okla City OK, actress (That's My Boy)
• 1917 - J A Mommersteeg, Dutch asst sect of Defense (KVP)
• 1917 - Roy Scott, cricketer (one Test NZ v England 1947, 18, 1-74)
• 1920 - Lewis Gilbert, London England, director/actor (You Only Live Twice)
• 1920 - Roger Price, Charleston WV, actor/writer (Who's There, Droodles)
• 1921 - Frankie Howerd, actor (That Was The Week That Was, Runaway Bus)
• 1921 - Julius Rudel, Vienna Austria, conductor (NYC Opera 1957)
• 1921 - Oliver Wright, British Ambassador (To US)
• 1921 - Ross Hunter, Cleve OH, producer (Airport, Madame X, Pillow Talk)
• 1922 - Frankie Howerd, British actor/comedian (A Funny Thing Happened)
• 1923 - Ed McMahon, Detroit Mich, TV host (Johnny Carson Show, Star Search)
• 1923 - Erhard Karkoschka, composer
• 1923 - Raymond "Bill" Hoffenberg, college president (Wolfson at Oxford)
• 1924 - Sarah Caldwell, Maryville Mo, conductor/opera director (Flagstaff)
• 1924 - William H Webster, US, judge/head FBI/CIA
• 1926 - Alan Greenspan, economist/presidential advisor (FRB)
• 1926 - Andrzej Wajda, Suwalki Poland, director (Ashes & Diamonds, Lotna)
• 1926 - Ann Curtis, 400m/800m US swimmer (Olympics-2 gold-1948)
• 1926 - Elwood H [Bud] Hillis, (Rep-R-IN, 1971- )
• 1926 - Jon Nordal, composer
• 1926 - Miroslav Klega, composer
• 1927 - John Fairchild, Newark NJ, CEO (Fairchild publishing)
• 1927 - Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr, Shawnee Okla, USAF/astronaut (Mer 9, Gem 5)
• 1927 - Norman Treigle, New Orleans Louisiana, bass-baritone
• 1927 - William J Bell, Chicago Ill, soap opera creator (Young & Restless)
• 1928 - Gabriel Garc¡a M rquez, Col, novelist (Europa Y America, Nobel 1982)
• 1928 - Ronald Stevenson, composer
• 1929 - David Sheppard, bishop (Liverpool)/cricketer (England batsman)
• 1929 - G�nter Kunert, German poet/writer (Kaiser von Hondu)
• 1929 - Hal Miller, British MP
• 1929 - Ho Dam, North Korean secretary of State (1970-83)
• 1929 - Thomas S Foley, (Rep-D-WA, 1965-94)/majority whip/speaker of house
• 1931 - Carmen Delavallade, US dancer/singer/actress (Aida)
• 1931 - David Haddon Whitaker, British publisher (Whitaker's Almanack)
• 1931 - John Smith, LA Calif, actor (Cimarron City, Laramie, 7 Angry Men)
• 1931 - Willie Mays, Hall of Fame baseball centerfielder (Giants, NY Mets)
• 1933 - Dorothy "Dolly" Ann Collins, folk musician/composer
• 1933 - Heiko Wierenga, Dutch soc-dem mayor of Enschede (1977-94)
• 1933 - Kim Elgie, cricketer (S African bat v NZ 1961-62, Scotland RU intl)
• 1933 - William Davis, author/broadcaster (Battle at Bull Run)
• 1934 - John Noakes, British TV presenter
• 1935 - Ronnie Delaney, Ireland, 1500m runner (Olympic-gold-1956)
• 1936 - A "Bram" Stemerdink, Dutch minister of Defense (PvdA)
• 1936 - Jean Boht, actress (Arthur's Hallowed Ground)
• 1936 - Marion S Barry, (Mayor-D-Wash DC, 1979-90, 95- ), drug indictment
• 1937 - Doug Dillard, actor (Clem-Popeye)
• 1937 - Ivan Boesky, Detroit, stockbroker inside trading
• 1937 - Paul Mefano, composer
• 1937 - Valentina V Tereshkova-Nikolayev, 1st woman in space (Vostok 6)
• 1938 - Lovelace Watkins, singer
• 1939 - Christopher Bond, (Sen-R Missouri)
• 1939 - David Spielberg, Weslaco Tx, actor (Jessica Novak, The Practice)
• 1939 - Jerry Naylor, Stephenville Tx, rock vocalist (Crickets)
• 1940 - Joanna Miles, Nice France, actress (Cross Creek, Delta County USA)
• 1940 - Willie Stargell, outfielder/1st baseman (Pirates, 1971 NL HR leader)
• 1941 - Ann Winterton, British MP
• 1941 - Ben Murphy, Jonesboro Ark, actor (Name of the Game, Winds of War)
• 1941 - Karyn Kupcinet, actress (Carol-Gertrude Berg Show)
• 1944 - David Gilmore, Cambridge England, guitarist (Pink Floyd)
• 1944 - Kiri Te Kanawa, Gisborne NZ, operatic soprano (Don Giovanni)
• 1944 - Mary Wilson, Detroit Mich, vocalist (Supremes-Where Did Our Love Go)
• 1945 - Anna Maria Horsford, NYC, actress (Thelma Frye-Amen)
• 1945 - Hugh Grundy, Winchester England, drummer (Zombies-She's Not There)
• 1945 - Rob Reiner, Bronx NY, actor/director (All in the Family, Stand By Me)
• 1946 - David Jon Gilmour, rock guitarist (Pink Floyd-Brick in the Wall)
• 1946 - Martin Kove, Bkln NY, actor (Victor-Cagney & Lacey)
• 1946 - Patrick Pierre Roger Baudry, Cameroon, astronaut (STS 18)
• 1946 - Tony Klatka, rocker (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
• 1947 - Dick Fosbury, Portland Oregon, high jumper (Olympics-gold-1968)
• 1947 - Judy Loe, Urmston Manchester UK, actress (Singles, Meaning of Life)
• 1947 - Kiki Dee, Yorkshire England, singer (Don't Go Breaking My Heart)
• 1948 - James FCS "Jim" Woude, cartoonist
• 1949 - Donald York, rocker (Sha Na Na)
• 1952 - Lyn Perrin, executive administrator (WIC)
• 1953 - Jackie Zeman, Englewood NJ, actress (Bobbie-General Hospital)
• 1956 - Peter Roebuck, cricketer (Somerset opening batsman & SMH writer)
• 1958 - Mike Gatting, English cricketer
• 1959 - Tom Arnold, Iowa, [Mr Roseanne Barr Arnold], actor (Tom, True Lies)
• 1960 - [Eris] Sleepy Floyd, NBA guard
• 1962 - Alison Nicholas, Gibraltar, LPGA golfer (1995 LPGA Corning Classic)
• 1963 - Suzanne Crough, rocker (Partridge Family)
• 1964 - Cher Butler, Garland Tx, playmate (August, 1985)
• 1964 - Reniet Vrieze, rock singer/guitarist (Pilgrims-White Men)
• 1965 - Tammy Liley, Long Beach Ca, volleyball mid blocker/capt (Oly-b-92, 96)
• 1966 - Cliff Meidl, Redondon Beach Calif, sprint kayak (alt-Olympics-96)
• 1966 - Michelle Edwards, WNBA guard (Cleveland Rockers)
• 1968 - Carla McGhee, Peoria Ill, US basketball forward (Olympics-gold-96)
• 1968 - Connie Britton, Boston MA, actress (Nikki-Spin City)
• 1968 - Jon Baker, WLAF defensive end (Frankfurt Galaxy)
• 1968 - Marty Morgan, Minneapolis MN, 180« lbs greco-roman wrestler (Oly-96)
• 1968 - Moira Kelly, actress (Cutting Edge)
• 1968 - Russell Butler, Dandenong Victoria Australia, diver (Oly-28th-88, 96)
• 1969 - Andrea Elson, NYC, actress (Lynn-Alf, Alice-Whiz Kids)
• 1969 - Deems May, NFL tight end (SD Chargers)
• 1970 - Amy Pietz, Milwaukee Wisc, actress (Annie-Caroline In the City)
• 1970 - Robbie Tobeck, NFL guard/center (Atlanta Falcons)
• 1970 - Scott Stahoviak, Waukegan IL, infielder (Minn Twins)
• 1971 - Darrick Martin, NBA guard (LA Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves)
• 1971 - Roger Salkeld, Burbank CA, pitcher (Cin Reds)
• 1972 - Jamal Anderson, fullback (Atlanta Falcons)
• 1972 - Paul Frlan, CFL linebacker (Saskatchewan Roughriders)
• 1972 - Shaquille O'Neal, Newark NJ, NBA center (Magic, Lakers, Oly-gold-96)
• 1972 - Susan Alexander, Silver Spring Maryland, Miss America-Maryland (1997)
• 1973 - Brian Olson, Tallahassee Fla, middleweight (189 lbs) judoka (Oly-96)
• 1973 - Greg Ostertag, NBA center (Utah Jazz)
• 1973 - Michael Finley, NBA guard/forward (Phoenix Suns/Dallas Mavericks)
• 1973 - Terry Adams, Mobile AL, pitcher (Chic Cubs)

Famous deaths for this day ..

• 0766 - Chrodegang, church reformer/bishop of Mainz, dies at about 50
• 1583 - Zacharias Ursinus, German theologist (Heidelberger), dies at 48
• 1615 - Pieter Both, Dutch admiral/1st gov-gen (East Indies, 1609-14), drowns
• 1616 - Francis Beaumont, Elizabethan playwright, dies (birth date unknown)
• 1674 - Johann Paul Schor, German barok painter, dies at 58
• 1720 - Pieter van Flowers, Flemish painter, buried at 63
• 1753 - Gerhardus Havingha, composer, dies at 56
• 1754 - Henry Pelham, English premier (1745, 46-54), Gin Act, dies at about 57
• 1836 - Davy Crockett, US pioneer (Alamo), killed in battle at 49
• 1846 - Nikoli A Poveloi, Russian writer/publisher, dies at 49 [NS]
• 1851 - Alexander Aliabiev, composer, dies at 63
• 1854 - Caspar GC Reinwardt, German/Dutch biologist, dies at 80
• 1867 - Wiktor Kazynski, composer, dies at 54
• 1888 - Louisa May Alcott, US author (Old-fashioned Girl), dies at 55
• 1900 - Gottlieb Daimler, designed 1st motorcycle, dies at 65
• 1917 - Jules HPFX Vandenpeereboom, premier of Belgium (1899), dies at 73
• 1924 - Meyer E van Beem, actor (Moittige Janus), dies at 85
• 1930 - William Milton, cricketer (S Afr Test capt in 3 Tests 1889-92), dies
• 1932 - John Philip Sousa, US composer (Stars & Stripes Forever), dies at 77
• 1933 - Anton J Cermak, US mayor of Chicago, murdered
• 1936 - Josef Stransky, composer, dies at 63
• 1936 - Rubin Goldmark, composer, dies at 63
• 1937 - Frank Vosper, actor/writer (Jew Suss), dies at 37
• 1939 - [Carl L] Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician, dies at 86
• 1941 - Gutzon Borglum, sculptor (Mt Rushmore), dies at 73
• 1941 - John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum, sculptor (Mount Rushmore), dies at 73
• 1941 - Leen Schijvenschuurder, Dutch February strike leader, executed
• 1945 - Jan Thijssen, Dutch resistance fighter, executed at Savage Farm
• 1945 - Rudolph Karel, composer, dies at 64
• 1947 - Ludwig Weber, composer, dies at 55
• 1950 - Lew Lehr, comedian (Stop Me if I heard this One), dies at 54
• 1951 - Ivor Novello, actor/writer (Lodger, Phantom Fiend), dies at 58
• 1954 - Jan Kalf, Dutch literature/art historian, dies at 80
• 1954 - Louis Zimmermann, violinist, dies at 80
• 1959 - Fred Stone, actor (Hideaway, Westerner), dies at 85
• 1961 - George Formby, British singer/comedian, dies at 56
• 1961 - Kjeld Abell, Danish playwright/director of Tivoli, dies at 59
• 1962 - Rezso Kokai, composer, dies at 56
• 1963 - Kornelis ter Laan, 1st Dutch socialist mayor (Zaandam), dies at 91
• 1964 - King Paul I, of Greece (1947-64), dies at 62
• 1965 - Margaret Dumont [Daisy Baker], actress (Animal Crackers), dies at 75
• 1965 - Ruvim Pergament, composer, dies at 58
• 1966 - Richard Hageman, composer, dies at 83
• 1967 - Nelson Eddy, US baritone/actor (Phantom of the Opera), dies at 65
• 1967 - Oscar Shaw, actor (Rhythm on the River, Marianne), dies at 76
• 1967 - Zolt n Kod ly, Hungarian composer (H ry Janos), dies at 84
• 1968 - Isa Krejci, composer, dies at 63
• 1968 - Joseph Martin Jr, Speaker of the House, dies at 83
• 1970 - William Hopper, actor (Paul Drake-Perry Mason), dies at 55
• 1971 - Raymond Herreman, Flemish writer (Don't Forget to Live), dies at 74
• 1973 - Paul Klecki/Kletzki, Polish violinist/composer/conductor, dies at 72
• 1973 - Pearl S[ydenstricker] Buck, author (Good Earth-Nobel 1938), dies at 80
• 1973 - Vera Fjodorova Panova, Russian author (Sputniki), dies at 67
• 1976 - "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom, lt-hvywgt box champ (1930-34), dies at 71
• 1979 - Charles Wagenheim, actor (Halligan-Gunsmoke), dies at 83
• 1981 - George Geary, cricketer (14 Tests for England, 46 wickets), dies
• 1981 - Klaus Grabowski, child molester, shot by parent
• 1982 - Ayn Rand, author-philosopher (Atlas Shrugged), dies in NY at 77
• 1982 - Jan Lemaire, Dutch actor/writer (Beautiful Juultje), dies at 97
• 1983 - Thelma Pelish, actress (Pajama Game), dies at 55
• 1984 - Henry Wilcoxon, actor (Cleopatra, Dragnet, Jericho), dies at 78
• 1984 - Ian Cromb, cricketer (5 Tests for NZ, 123 runs, 8 wkts), dies
• 1984 - Martin Niem”ller, German submarine capt/anti-nazi minister, dies at 92
• 1984 - Pierre Cochereau, composer, dies at 59
• 1985 - Eric Sloane, US artist, dies at 80
• 1986 - Adolph Caesar, actor (Club Paradise, Soldier's Story), dies
• 1986 - Georgia O'Keefe, US painter (Flowers), dies at 98
• 1988 - Konstantin Iliev, composer, dies at 63
• 1989 - Harry Andrews, actor (Equus, Helen of Troy, Hill), dies at 77
• 1992 - Elvia Allman, actress (Night at Earl Carroll's), dies of pneumonia
• 1992 - Emmy Huf, Dutch cabaret performer/writer (I Want Warm Meat), dies
• 1992 - Maria Vieira da Silva, Portuguese painter (Mirror Palace), dies at 83
• 1993 - Cyril Collard, French director (Lesson nuits fauves), dies at 35
• 1993 - Douglas Marland, soap writer (As the World Turns), dies at 58
• 1993 - Nicholas Ridley, English Minister of Finance, dies at 64
• 1994 - Leighton Noble, singer/Bandleader, dies at 81
• 1994 - Max Schubert, winemaker, dies at 89
• 1994 - Melina Mercouri, Greek actress (Never on a Sunday), dies at about 68
• 1994 - Moses Rascoe, blues singer, dies at 77
• 1994 - Tengis Abuladze, Georgia SSR MP (Penalty), dies at 71
• 1995 - David Beinhoff, mayor, dies at 24
• 1995 - Delroy George Wilson, singer, dies at 46
• 1995 - Emile van Moerkerken, photographer (Ice Princess), dies at 78
• 1995 - Helene Weijel, author (In Two Worlds), dies at 44
• 1996 - Douglas Patrick Thomas Jay, politician, dies at 88
• 1996 - Herbert "Herb" Hall, clarinetist/saxophonist, dies at 88
• 1996 - Simon Cadell, actor (Enemy at the Door), dies at 45
• 1997 - Anthony Hopkins, clinical Neurologist, dies at 59
• 1997 - Jagan Guyanes, PM of Guyana (1953, 57-64), dies
• 1997 - Michael Manley, Jamaican PM (PNP, 1972-80, 89-92), dies
• 1998 - Adem Jasari, Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leader, killed