December 20 - Births

Births

• 1494 – Oronce Finé, French mathematician (d. 1555)
• 1537 – King John III of Sweden (d. 1592)
• 1566 – Edward Wightman, English Baptist preacher (d. 1612)
• 1579 – (baptized) John Fletcher, English playwright (d. 1625)
• 1626 – Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff, German statesman (d. 1692)
• 1629 – Pieter de Hooch, Dutch painter (d. 1684)
• 1717 – Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French statesman and diplomat (d. 1787)
• 1740 – Arthur Lee, American diplomat (d. 1792)
• 1786 – Pietro Raimondi, Italian composer (d. 1853)
• 1792 – Nicolas Charlet, French painter (d. 1845)
• 1833 – Samuel Mudd, American physician (d. 1883)
• 1838 – Edwin Abbott Abbott, English schoolmaster, theologian, and author (d. 1926)
• 1841 – Ferdinand Buisson, French pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1932)
• 1860 – Dan Leno, English entertainer (d. 1904)
• 1861 – Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian painter (d. 1926)
• 1865 – Elsie De Wolfe, American socialite and interior decorator (d. 1950)
• 1868 – Harvey Firestone, American automobile pioneer (d. 1938)
• 1873 – Kwan-Ichi Asakawa, Japanese historian (d. 1948)
• 1881 – Branch Rickey, baseball executive (d. 1965)
• 1886 – Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, American tennis player (d. 1974)
• 1888 – Yitzhak Baer, German-born Israeli historian (d. 1980)
• 1888 – Fred Merkle, American baseball figure (d. 1958)
• 1890 – Yvonne Arnaud, French-born actress (d. 1958)
• 1890 – Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
• 1894 – Sir Robert Menzies, twelfth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1978)
• 1898 – Irene Dunne, American actress (d. 1990)
• 1901 – Robert Van de Graaff, American physicist and inventor (d. 1967)
• 1902 – Sidney Hook, American philosopher (d. 1989)
• 1902 – George Edward Alexander Windsor, Duke of Kent (d. 1942)
• 1904 – Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian writer (d. 1977)
• 1904 – Spud Davis, baseball player (d. 1984)
• 1905 – Bill O'Reilly, Australian cricket player (d. 1992)
• 1907 – Paul Francis Webster, songwriter (d. 1984)
• 1908 – Dennis Morgan, American actor (d. 1994)
• 1909 – Vakkom Majeed, Indian politician (d. 2000)
• 1911 – Hortense Calisher, American author (d. 2009)
• 1914 – Harry F. Byrd Jr, American politician
• 1916 – Michel Chartrand, Quebec union leader (d. 2010)
• 1917 – David Bohm, American-born physicist, philosopher, and neuropsychologist (d. 1992)
• 1918 – Jean Marchand, French Canadian trade unionist and politician (d. 1988)
• 1918 – Audrey Totter, American actress
• 1922 – George Roy Hill, American film director (d. 2002)
• 1922 – Beverly Pepper, American sculptor and painter
• 1924 – Charlie Callas, American comedian
• 1924 – Judy LaMarsh, Canadian politician and broadcaster (d. 1980)
• 1925 – Benito Lorenzi, Italian footballer (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Mahathir bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia
• 1926 – Sir Geoffrey Howe, British politician
• 1926 – Otto Graf Lambsdorff, German politician
• 1927 – Kim Young-sam, 14th President of South Korea
• 1931 – Mala Powers, American film actress (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Terry Sanders, American filmmaker
• 1932 – John Hillerman, American actor (Magnum, P.I.)
• 1933 – Jean Carnahan, U.S. Senator
• 1933 – Rik van Looy, Belgian cyclist
• 1935 – Khalid Ibadulla, Pakistani cricket player
• 1938 – John Harbison, American composer
• 1940 – Pat Chapman, English Author, Founder The Curry Club
• 1941 – Tommy Cole, American makeup artist, actor and singer
• 1942 – Rana Bhagwandas, Former Pakistani Chief Justice
• 1942 – Jean-Claude Trichet, French banker and economist
• 1944 – Bobby Colomby, American musician (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
• 1944 – Jean Fergusson, English actress
• 1945 – Peter Criss, American drummer and singer (Kiss)
• 1945 – Sivakant Tiwari, senior legal officer of the Singapore Legal Service (d. 2010)
• 1946 – Uri Geller, Israeli mentalist
• 1946 – Lesley Judd, English TV presenter and dancer
• 1946 – Lloyd Mumphord, NFL football player
• 1946 – John Spencer, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1946 – Sonny Perdue, American politician, governor of Georgia
• 1946 – Dick Wolf, American television series creator
• 1947 – Gigliola Cinquetti, Italian singer
• 1948 – Alan Parsons, British music producer and artist
• 1948 – Stevie Wright, English-born Australian musician and songwriter
• 1949 – Soumaïla Cissé, Malian politician
• 1949 – Cecil Cooper, American baseball player
• 1950 – Arturo Marquez, Mexican composer
• 1951 – Gilbert Montagné, French musician
• 1951 – Peter May, Scottish novelist and scriptwriter
• 1952 – Jenny Agutter, English actress
• 1952 – Sky Gilbert, Canadian writer
• 1954 – Michael Badalucco, American actor
• 1954 – Sandra Cisneros, American writer
• 1955 – David Breashears, American mountaineer
• 1955 – Ed Kuepper, German-born Australian musician (The Saints, Laughing Clowns)
• 1955 – Rory Markas, American sportscaster (d. 2010)
• 1956 – Blanche Baker, American actress
• 1956 – Junji Hirata, Japanese professional wrestler
• 1957 – Billy Bragg, English singer and songwriter
• 1957 – Mike Watt, American bassist
• 1957 – Stephen Bicknell, British organ builder and scholar (d. 2007)
• 1957 – Joyce Hyser, American actress
• 1957 – Anna Vissi, Greek-Cypriot singer
• 1958 – Steve Sailer, American political commentator
• 1959 – Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, Polish politician
• 1959 – Trent Tucker, American basketball player
• 1960 – Nalo Hopkinson, Canadian writer
• 1960 – Kim Ki-duk, Korean filmmaker
• 1961 – Mohammad Fouad, Arab singer and actor
• 1961 – Mike Keneally, American musician
• 1963 – Infanta Elena of Spain
• 1963 – Joel Gretsch, American actor
• 1964 – Mark Coleman, American Mixed Martial Artist, UFC Hall of Famer
• 1965 – Robert Cavanah, Scottish actor
• 1965 – Jim Carr (US), Digital Strategist
• 1965 – Rich Gannon, American football player
• 1966 – Matt Neal , British Race Driver
• 1966 – Chris Robinson, American singer (Black Crowes)
• 1966 – Myrra Malmberg, Swedish singer
• 1968 – Karl Wendlinger, Austrian racing driver
• 1968 – Joe Cornish, British comedian
• 1969 – Bobby Phills, American basketball player (d. 2000)
• 1970 – Nicole DeBoer, Canadian actress
• 1970 – Alister McRae, Scottish rally driver
• 1970 – Grant Flower, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1971 – Roger J. Beaujard, American musician
• 1972 – Anders Odden, Norwegian musician
• 1973 – Cory Stillman, National Hockey League forward
• 1974 – Die, Japanese musician (Dir en grey)
• 1975 – Bartosz Bosacki, Polish footballer
• 1975 – Jaydy Michel, Mexican model
• 1976 – Jang Hyuk, Korean actor
• 1976 – Aubrey Huff, American baseball player
• 1976 – Adam Powell, Neopets creator
• 1976 – Ramon Stoppelenburg, world traveler and Dutch author
• 1977 – Saukrates, Canadian rapper
• 1978 – Geremi Njitap, Cameroon footballer
• 1978 – Andrei Markov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1978 – Tony Moore, American comic book artist
• 1979 – David DeJesus, American baseball player
• 1979 – Michael Rogers, Australian cyclist
• 1980 – Ashley Cole, English footballer
• 1980 – Fitz Hall, English footballer
• 1980 – Tony, French-born Portuguese footballer
• 1980 – Martín Demichelis, Argentine footballer
• 1981 – Roy Williams, American football player
• 1981 – James Shields, American baseball player
• 1981 – Royal Ivey, American basketball player
• 1982 – David Cook, American singer, winner of American Idol.
• 1982 – David Wright, American baseball player
• 1982 – David Tavaré, Spanish singer
• 1982 – Keny Arkana, French rapper & singer
• 1982 – Mohammed Asif, Pakistani cricket player
• 1982 – Kasper Klausen, Danish footballer
• 1983 – Jonah Hill, American actor
• 1983 – Lucy Pinder, British model
• 1983 – Darren Sammy, St. Lucian West Indies cricketer
• 1983 – Adrián Varela, Mexican singer
• 1986 – Benjamin Brierley, English-born German rugby player
• 1986 – Anoop Desai, American singer and former American Idol contestant
• 1987 – Tariel Zintiridis, Greek judoka
• 1988 – Andrés Bottiglieri Italian–Argentine footballer
• 1990 – JoJo, American singer
• 1991 – Hunter Gomez, American actor
• 1992 – Ksenia Makarova, Russian-American figure skater