April 8 - Births

Births

• 1320 – King Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
• 1336 – Tamerlane (Timur), Central Asian, Turkic conqueror (d. 1405)
• 1533 – Claudio Merulo, Italian composer (d. 1604)
• 1541 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician (d. 1593)
• 1605 – King Philip IV of Spain, (d. 1665)
• 1641 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English statesman (d. 1704)
• 1692 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian composer (d. 1770)
• 1732 – David Rittenhouse, American astronomer, inventor, and mathematician (d. 1796)
• 1818 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist (d. 1892)
• 1818 – King Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906)
• 1826 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican war heroine (d. 1890)
• 1827 – Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican politician, medical doctor and diplomat (d. 1898)
• 1842 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, wife of George Armstrong Custer (d. 1933)
• 1859 – Edmund Husserl, Austrian philosopher (d. 1938)
• 1865 – Charles W. Woodworth, American entomologist (d. 1940)
• 1869 – Harvey Cushing, American neurosurgeon (d. 1939)
• 1871 – Clarence Hudson White American photographer (d. 1925)
• 1874 – Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (d. 1960)
• 1875 – King Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)
• 1883 – R. P. Keigwin, English academic (d. 1972)
• 1885 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek composer (d. 1951)
• 1888 – Dennis Chavez, American politician (d. 1964)
• 1889 – Sir Adrian Boult, British conductor (d. 1983)
• 1892 – Richard Neutra, American architect (d. 1970)
• 1892 – Mary Pickford, Canadian actress (d. 1979)
• 1896 – Yip Harburg, American lyricist (d. 1981)
• 1902 – Andrew Irvine, British mountaineer (d. 1924)
• 1904 – John Hicks, British economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1989)
• 1904 – Hirsch Jacobs, American thoroughbred horse trainer and owner (d. 1970)
• 1905 – Helen Joseph, South African anti-apartheid activist (d. 1992)
• 1905 – Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971)
• 1906 – Raoul Jobin, French Canadian tenor (d. 1974)
• 1908 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentine film director (d. 1987)
• 1909 – John Fante, American novelist (d. 1983)
• 1910 – George Musso, American football player (d. 2000)
• 1911 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1997)
• 1911 – Emil Cioran, Romanian philosopher and essayist (d. 1995)
• 1912 – Alois Brunner, Austrian Nazi
• 1912 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater and actress (d. 1969)
• 1914 – María Félix, Mexican actress (d. 2002)
• 1916 – Alfie Bass, English actor (d. 1987)
• 1918 – Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States
• 1918 – Glendon Swarthout, American author (d. 1992)
• 1919 – Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Carmen McRae, American jazz singer (d. 1994)
• 1921 – Franco Corelli, Italian tenor (d. 2003)
• 1921 – Jan Novák, Czech composer (d. 1984)
• 1923 – George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
• 1923 – Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (d. 1997)
• 1924 – Frédéric Back, German-born Canadian short film director and screenwriter
• 1924 – Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English soldier and historian (d. 2006)
• 1926 – Henry N. Cobb, American architect
• 1926 – Shecky Greene, American comedian
• 1926 – Shirley Mills, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1926 – Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian
• 1928 – Leah Rabin, widow of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (d. 2000)
• 1928 – Monty Sunshine, English jazz clarinetist
• 1929 – Walter Berry, Austrian bass-baritone (d. 2000)
• 1929 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer/composer (d. 1978)
• 1929 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian (d. 1996)
• 1930 – Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma, Duke of Parma
• 1931 – John Gavin, American actor and politician
• 1932 – Sultan Iskandar of Johor, also the 8th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (d. 2010)
• 1933 – Fred Ebb, American composer (d. 2004)
• 1934 – Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect (d. 2007)
• 1935 – Albert Bustamante, American politician
• 1935 – Oscar Zeta Acosta, American attorney, politician, and Chicano Movement activist (d. 1974?)
• 1937 – Seymour Hersh, American journalist
• 1938 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and former United Nations Secretary General
• 1939 – Mary Leona Gage, American beauty pageant contestant and actress (d. 2010)
• 1940 – John Havlicek, American basketball player
• 1941 – Darlene Gillespie, Canadian-born American actress
• 1941 – Peggy Lennon, American singer (The Lennon Sisters)
• 1941 – Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer
• 1942 – Roger Chapman, British rock singer (Family, Streetwalkers)
• 1942 – Douglas Trumbull, American film director
• 1943 – Tony Banks, British politician (d. 2006)
• 1943 – Michael Bennett, American dancer/choreographer (d. 1987)
• 1943 – Miller Farr, American football player
• 1944 – Hywel Bennett, Welsh actor
• 1944 – Odd Nerdrum, Norwegian painter
• 1945 – Derrick Walker, British racing team owner
• 1946 – Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (d. 1999)
• 1946 – Stuart Pankin, American actor
• 1946 – Tim Thomerson, American actor
• 1947 – Tom DeLay, American politician
• 1947 – Steve Howe, English guitarist (Yes, Asia, GTR)
• 1947 – Robert Kiyosaki, American investor
• 1947 – Larry Norman, American singer/songwriter (d. 2008)
• 1947 – Pascal Lamy, Director-General of WTO
• 1948 – Michael Leshner, Canadian lawyer and gay rights advocate
• 1949 – John Madden, English film director
• 1949 – Brenda Russell, American singer/songwriter
• 1950 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer
• 1951 – Gerd Andres, German politician
• 1951 – Geir Haarde, former Icelandic prime minister
• 1954 – G.V. Loganathan, American professor (d. 2007)
• 1954 – Gary Carter, American baseball player
• 1955 – Ricky Bell, American football player (d. 1984)
• 1955 – Kane Hodder, American actor and stuntman
• 1955 – Ron Johnson, American politician, senator-elect from Wisconsin.
• 1955 – Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist
• 1955 – David Wu, Taiwanese-born American politician
• 1956 – Christine Boisson, French actress
• 1956 – Jim Piddock, English actor, writer and producer
• 1956 – Justin Sullivan, English musician (New Model Army)
• 1957 – Fred Smerlas, American football player
• 1958 – Detlef Bruckhoff, German footballer
• 1960 – John Schneider, American actor
• 1961 – Richard Hatch, American reality television personality
• 1962 – Izzy Stradlin, American musician (Guns N' Roses)
• 1963 – Julian Lennon, English musician and singer
• 1963 – Terry Porter, American basketball player and coach
• 1963 – Alec Stewart, English cricketer
• 1963 – Seth Tobias, American financial commentator (d. 2007)
• 1964 – Lisa Guerrero, American sports broadcaster
• 1964 – Biz Markie, American rapper/disc jockey
• 1964 – John McGinlay, Scottish footballer
• 1965 – Michael Jones, New Zealand rugby player and coach
• 1966 – Mark Blundell, British racing driver
• 1966 – Mazinho, Brazilian footballer
• 1966 – Bobby Ologun, Nigerian television personality
• 1966 – Evripidis Stylianidis, Greek politician
• 1966 – Robin Wright Penn, American actress
• 1966 – Dalton Grant, British high jumper
• 1967 – Arwyn Davies, Welsh actor
• 1968 – Patricia Arquette, American actress
• 1968 – Patricia Girard-Léno, French athlete (100 m hurdles)
• 1968 – Tracy Grammer, American folk singer
• 1972 – Paul Gray, American bassist (Slipknot)
• 1973 – Khaled Badra, Tunisian footballer
• 1973 – Emma Caulfield, American actress
• 1973 – Alex S. Gonzalez, American baseball player
• 1974 – Chino XL, American rapper
• 1974 – Holger Hott Johansen, Norwegian orienteerist
• 1974 – Nnedi Okorafor, Nigerian American writer
• 1974 – Nayden Todorov, Bulgarian conductor
• 1975 – Anouk, Dutch singer
• 1975 – Timo Pérez, Dominican baseball player
• 1977 – Mehran Ghassemi, Iranian journalist (d. 2008)
• 1977 – Mark Spencer, American computer programmer
• 1978 – Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress
• 1978 – Bernt Haas, Swiss footballer
• 1978 – Rachel Roberts, Canadian model and actress
• 1979 – Jeremy Guthrie, American baseball player
• 1979 – Alexi Laiho, Finnish guitarist and singer (Children of Bodom, Sinergy, Kylähullut)
• 1980 – Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer
• 1980 – Katee Sackhoff, American actress
• 1981 – Brian Burres, American baseball player
• 1981 – Lito Sheppard, American football cornerback
• 1981 – Taylor Kitsch, Canadian actor and model
• 1981 – Fred Bousquet, French swimmer
• 1983 – Allu Arjun, Indian film actor
• 1983 – Adrian Bellani, American actor
• 1984 – Júlia Liptáková, Slovakian model
• 1984 – Taran Noah Smith, American actor
• 1984 – Kirsten Storms, American actress
• 1984 – Ezra Koenig, American singer (Vampire Weekend)
• 1985 – Patrick Schliwa, German rugby player
• 1986 – Igor Akinfeev, Russian footballer
• 1986 – Félix Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1986 – Erika Sawajiri, Japanese actress, model and singer
• 1987 – Royston Drenthe, Dutch footballer
• 1989 – Hitomi Takahashi, Japanese singer
• 1989 – Alex DeLeon, American singer (The Cab)
• 1990 – Kim Jonghyun, South Korean singer, lead vocalist of boy band SHINee
• 1992 – Shelby Young, American actress