August 12 - Births

Births

• 1503 – King Christian III of Denmark and Norway (d. 1559)
• 1566 – Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain (d. 1633)
• 1604 – Tokugawa Iemitsu, Japanese shogun (d. 1651)
• 1629 – Tsar Alexei I of Russia (d. 1676)
• 1644 – Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Bohemian composer (d. 1704)
• 1647 – Johann Heinrich Acker, German writer (d. 1719)
• 1686 – John Balguy, English philosopher (d. 1748)
• 1696 – Maurice Greene, English composer (d. 1755)
• 1720 – Konrad Ekhof, German actor (d. 1778)
• 1762 – King George IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1830)
• 1774 – Robert Southey, English poet and biographer (d. 1843)
• 1831 – H. P. Blavatsky, Russian theosophist (d. 1891)
• 1856 – Diamond Jim Brady, American financier (d. 1917)
• 1859 – Katharine Lee Bates, American poet (d. 1929)
• 1866 – Jacinto Benavente, Spanish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1954)
• 1867 – Edith Hamilton, German-born American classicist (d. 1963)
• 1872 – Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1956)
• 1876 – Mary Roberts Rinehart, American mystery writer (d. 1958)
• 1880 – Radclyffe Hall, British poet, novelist and LGBT activist (d. 1943)
• 1880 – Christy Mathewson, American baseball player (d. 1925)
• 1881 – Cecil B. DeMille, American film director (d. 1959)
• 1883 – Pauline Frederick, American actress (d. 1938)
• 1883 – Marion Lorne, American actress (d. 1968)
• 1885 – Jean Cabannes, French physicist (d. 1959)
• 1886 – Sir Keith Murdoch, Australian journalist and newspaper owner (d. 1952)
• 1887 – Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1961)
• 1889 – Zerna Sharp, American writer and educator (Dick and Jane) (d. 1981)
• 1891 – C. E. M. Joad, English philosopher and broadcaster (d. 1953)
• 1892 – Alfred Lunt, American actor (d. 1977)
• 1897 – Maurice Fernandes, Guyanese West Indies cricketer (d. 1981)
• 1899 – Ben Sealey, Trinidadian West Indies cricketer (d. 1963)
• 1902 – Mohammad Hatta, first Vice President of Indonesia (d. 1980)
• 1904 – Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia, only son of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia (d. 1918)
• 1906 – Harry Hopman, Australian tennis player and coach (d. 1985)
• 1906 – Tedd Pierce, American animator (d. 1972)
• 1907 – Joe Besser, American actor and comedian (d. 1988)
• 1907 – Benjamin Henry Sheares, second President of Singapore (d. 1981)
• 1910 – Jane Wyatt, American actress (d. 2006)
• 1910 – Yusof bin Ishak, first President of Singapore (d. 1970)
• 1911 – Cantinflas, Mexican actor (d. 1993)
• 1913 – Richard Bare, American director
• 1912 – Samuel Fuller, American film director (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Gerd Buchdahl, German philosopher (d. 2001)
• 1914 – Ruth Lowe, Canadian pianist and composer (I'll Never Smile Again) (d. 1981)
• 1915 – Michael Kidd, American choreographer (d. 2007)
• 1918 – Guy Gibson, British aviator, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1944)
• 1919 – Vikram Sarabhai, Indian physicist (d. 1971)
• 1923 – John Holt, Jamaican West Indies cricketer (d. 1997)
• 1924 – Derek Shackleton, English cricketer (d. 2007)
• 1924 – Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, 6th President of Pakistan (d. 1988)
• 1925 – Norris McWhirter, Scottish co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records (d. 2004)
• 1925 – Ross McWhirter, Scottish co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records (d. 1975)
• 1925 – George Wetherill, American physicist (d. 2006)
• 1926 – John Derek, American actor (d. 1998)
• 1926 – Joe Jones, American R&B singer (d. 2005)
• 1926 – Wallace Markfield, American writer (d. 2002)
• 1927 – Porter Wagoner, American singer (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Charles Blackman, Australian artist
• 1928 – Bob Buhl, American baseball player (d. 2001)
• 1928 – Dan Curtis, American film and television producer and director (d.2006)
• 1929 – Buck Owens, American singer (d. 2006)
• 1930 – George Soros Hungarian-born American financier and political activist
• 1930 – Jacques Tits, Belgian mathematician
• 1931 – William Goldman, American screenwriter
• 1932 – Dallin H. Oaks, American LDS apostle and former Utah Supreme Court Justice
• 1932 – Charlie O'Donnell, American game show announcer (d. 2010)
• 1932 – Sirikit, Queen consort of Thailand, wife of Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX)
• 1933 – Parnelli Jones, American race car driver and team owner
• 1935 – John Cazale, American actor (d. 1978)
• 1937 – Walter Dean Myers, American novelist and poet
• 1938 – Jean-Paul L'Allier, Canadian politician, 38th Mayor of Quebec
• 1939 – Skip Caray, American TV and radio baseball announcer (Atlanta Braves) (d. 2008)
• 1939 – George Hamilton, American actor
• 1939 – Roy Romanow, Canadian politician
• 1939 – Michael D. Antonovich, American politician
• 1940 – Eddie Barlow, South African cricketer (d. 2005)
• 1941 – Réjean Ducharme, Canadian novelist and playwright
• 1943 – Deborah Walley, American actress (d. 2001)
• 1944 – Peter Hofmann, German tenor
• 1945 – Ron Mael, American keyboardist (Sparks)
• 1946 – Terry Nutkins, British TV presenter
• 1947 – Sam Rosen, American sportscaster
• 1949 – Panagiotis Chinofotis, Greek politician
• 1949 – Mark Knopfler, British singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dire Straits)
• 1949 – Rick Ridgeway, American mountaineer
• 1950 – Jim Beaver, American actor and writer
• 1951 – Willie Horton, American murderer and rapist
• 1952 – Chen Kaige, Chinese film director
• 1954 – Sam J. Jones, American actor
• 1954 – Pat Metheny, American guitarist
• 1955 – Ann M. Martin, American children's writer
• 1955 – Terry Taylor, American professional wrestler
• 1956 – Bruce Greenwood, Canadian actor
• 1956 – Sidath Wettimuny, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1957 – Friedhelm Schütte, German footballer
• 1958 – Jürgen Dehmel, German bass player and songwriter (Nena)
• 1959 – Amanda Redman, English actress
• 1960 – Laurent Fignon, French cyclist (d. 2010)
• 1960 – Greg Thomas, England cricketer
• 1960 – Eduardo Tokeshi, Peruvian artist
• 1961 – Roy Hay, British guitarist and keyboardist (Culture Club)
• 1961 – Lawrence, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Felt, Denim, Go Kart Mozart)
• 1961 – Mark Priest, New Zealand cricketer
• 1963 – Sir Mix-a-Lot, American rapper
• 1963 – Kōji Kitao (Futahaguro Koji), Japanese sumo wrestler (the 60^th Yokozuna) and professional wrestler
• 1965 – Peter Krause, American actor
• 1967 – Regilio Tuur, Dutch boxer
• 1967 – Andrey Plotnikov, Russian race walker
• 1967 – Andy Hui, Hong Kong actor and singer
• 1968 – Thorsten Boer, German footballer
• 1968 – Andras Jones, American actor
• 1969 – Tanita Tikaram, British singer
• 1969 – Aga Muhlach, Filipino actor
• 1969 – Stuart Williams, Nevisian West Indies cricketer
• 1970 – Anthony Swofford, American novelist
• 1970 – Jim Schlossnagle, American baseball coach
• 1970 – Charles Mesure, British actor
• 1971 – Michael Ian Black, American comedian
• 1971 – Yvette Nicole Brown, American actress
• 1971 – Rebecca Gayheart, American actress
• 1971 – Pete Sampras, American tennis player
• 1972 – Mark Kinsella, Irish footballer
• 1972 – Takanohana Kōji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 65^th Yokozuna
• 1972 – Gyanendra Pandey, Indian cricketer
• 1972 – Del tha Funkee Homosapien, American hip hop artist
• 1973 – Joseba Beloki, Spanish cyclist
• 1973 – Jonathan Coachman, American professional wrestler and executive
• 1973 – Todd Marchant, American ice hockey player
• 1973 – Richard Reid, British Islamist terrorist (the "Shoe Bomber")
• 1973 – Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraqi theologian and political leader
• 1974 – Matt Clement, American baseball player
• 1975 – Casey Affleck, American actor
• 1976 – Mikko Lindström, Finnish guitarist (HIM)
• 1976 – Antoine Walker, American basketball player
• 1976 – Wednesday 13, American vocalist (Wednesday 13, Murderdolls)
• 1976 – Brad Lukowich, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1976 – Richard McCourt, English children's television presenter
• 1976 – Henry Tuilagi, Samoan rugby union footballer
• 1976 – Pedro Collins, Barbadian West Indies cricketer
• 1977 – Plaxico Burress, American football player
• 1977 – Jesper Grønkjær, Danish footballer
• 1977 – Park Yong-ha, South Korean actor and singer (d. 2010)
• 1978 – Hayley Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1978 – Chris Chambers, American football player
• 1979 – D.J. Houlton, American baseball player
• 1979 – Cindy Klassen, Canadian speed skater
• 1979 – Austra Skujytė, Lithuanian athlete
• 1980 – Maggie Lawson, American actress
• 1980 – Dominique Swain, American actress
• 1980 – Matt Thiessen, Canadian singer-songwriter (Relient K)
• 1980 – Jade Villalon, American singer-songwriter
• 1981 – Tony Capaldi, Northern Irish footballer
• 1981 – Djibril Cissé, French footballer
• 1982 – Alexandros Tzorvas, Greek footballer
• 1982 – Iza Calzado, Filipino TV actress
• 1983 – Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Dutch footballer
• 1983 – Manoa Vosawai, Fijian-born Italian rugby player
• 1984 – Marian Rivera, Filipino actress
• 1985 – Franck Moutsinga, German rugby player
• 1988 – Justin Gaston, American actor, model and singer
• 1988 – Leah Pipes, American actress
• 1990 – Mario Balotelli, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Saumitra Chaturvedi, Indian Lawyer
• 2000 – Prince Achileas-Andreas of Greece and Denmark, son of Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece