December 31 - Births

Births

• 695 – Muhammad bin Qasim, Syrian general (d. 715)
• 1378 – Pope Callixtus III (d. 1458)
• 1491 – Jacques Cartier, French explorer (d. 1557)
• 1514 – Andreas Vesalius, Flemish anatomist (d. 1564)
• 1572 – Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan, (d. 1617)
• 1668 – Herman Boerhaave, Dutch humanist and physician (d. 1738)
• 1720 – Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the British throne (d. 1788)
• 1738 – Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British general (d. 1805)
• 1741 – Isabella Maria of Parma, wife of future Holy Roman emperor (d. 1763)
• 1763 – Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, French admiral (d. 1806)
• 1815 – George Meade, American Civil War general (d. 1872)
• 1823 – Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet (d. 1849)
• 1830 – Isma'il Pasha, Governor of Egypt (d. 1895)
• 1830 – Alexander Smith, Scottish poet (d. 1867)
• 1864 – Robert Grant Aitken, American astronomer (d. 1951)
• 1855 – Giovanni Pascoli, Italian poet (d. 1912)
• 1857 – King Kelly, American baseball player (d. 1894)
• 1860 – Joseph S. Cullinan, American oil industrialist (d. 1937)
• 1869 – Henri Matisse, French painter (d. 1954)
• 1877 – Lawrence Beesley, English journalist and author (d. 1967)
• 1878 – Elizabeth Arden, Canadian businesswoman (d. 1966)
• 1878 – Horacio Quiroga, Uruguayan-Argentinian writer (d. 1937)
• 1880 – George C. Marshall, United States Secretary of State, Nobel Laureate (d. 1959)
• 1880 – Fred Beebe, American baseball player (d. 1957)
• 1881 – Max Pechstein, German painter (d. 1955)
• 1882 – Martin O'Meara, Australian soldier (d. 1935)
• 1884 – Bobby Byrne, American baseball player (d. 1964)
• 1885 – Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1970)
• 1894 – Pola Negri, Polish actress (d. 1987)
• 1899 – Silvestre Revueltas, Mexican composer (d. 1940)
• 1901 – Nikos Ploumpidis, Greek resistance fighter (d. 1954)
• 1901 – Julia Bathory, Hungarian glass designer(d. 2000)
• 1902 – Lionel Daunais, Canadian singer and composer (d. 1982)
• 1903 – Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian violinist (d. 1992)
• 1904 – Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer and actress (d. 1975)
• 1905 – Jule Styne, English-born composer (d. 1994)
• 1908 – Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Holocaust survivor (d. 2005)
• 1909 – Jonah Jones, American jazz trumpeter (d. 2000)
• 1910 – Carl Dudley, American film director (d. 1973)
• 1911 – Dal Stivens, Australian novelist (d. 1997)
• 1912 – Maj-Gen John Frost, British para commander (d. 1993)
• 1917 – Wilfrid Noyce, English mountaineer (d. 1962)
• 1919 – Tommy Byrne, American baseball player (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Rex Allen, American actor, singer, and songwriter (d. 1999)
• 1924 – Taylor Mead, American actor
• 1926 – Billy Snedden, Australian politician (d. 1987)
• 1928 – Siné, French cartoonist
• 1930 – Odetta, American singer (d. 2008)
• 1930 – Jaime Escalante, American teacher (d. 2010)
• 1931 – Bob Shaw, Irish writer (d. 1996)
• 1933 – Edward Bunker, American author and actor (d. 2005)
• 1934 – Akram Awan, Islamic scholar
• 1937 – Avram Hershko, Israeli biologist, Nobel laureate
• 1937 – Sir Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor
• 1938 – Rosalind Cash, American actress (d. 1995)
• 1940 – Mani Neumeier, German musician (Guru Guru)
• 1941 – Sir Alex Ferguson, Scottish football manager
• 1941 – Sarah Miles, English actress
• 1942 – Andy Summers, British guitarist (The Police)
• 1943 – John Denver, American singer and songwriter (d. 1997)
• 1943 – Sir Ben Kingsley, English actor
• 1943 – Pete Quaife, English bassist (The Kinks) (d. 2010)
• 1944 – Taylor Hackford, American producer and director
• 1944 – Neil Ross, British-American voice actor
• 1945 – Diane von Fürstenberg, Belgian-born fashion designer
• 1945 – Barbara Carrera, Nicaraguan actress and model
• 1945 – Connie Willis, American writer
• 1946 – Pius Ncube, Zimbabwean human rights advocate
• 1947 – Burton Cummings, Canadian keyboardist (The Guess Who)
• 1947 – Tim Matheson, American actor
• 1947 – Rita Lee, Brazilian Rock Star
• 1948 – Donna Summer, American singer
• 1948 – Joe Dallesandro American actor
• 1948 – René Robert, National Hockey League player
• 1949 – Ellen Datlow, American editor
• 1949 – Susan Shwartz, American writer
• 1949 – Seub Nakhasathien, Thai conservationist (d. 1990)
• 1951 – Tom Hamilton, American bassist (Aerosmith)
• 1953 – James Remar, American actor
• 1953 – Jane Badler, American actress
• 1954 – Alex Salmond, Scottish politician
• 1954 – Hermann Tilke, German racing circuit architect
• 1956 – Steve Rude, American comics artist
• 1958 – Bebe Neuwirth, American actress
• 1959 – Liveris Andritsos, Greek basketball player
• 1959 – Alfie Anido, Filipino actor (d. 1981)
• 1959 – Val Kilmer, American actor
• 1959 – Phill Kline, American politician
• 1959 – Baron Waqa, Nauruan politician and musician
• 1959 – Paul Westerberg, American musician (The Replacements)
• 1960 – John Allen Muhammad, American spree killer (d. 2009)
• 1960 – Steve Bruce, English football player & manager
• 1961 – Rick Aguilera, American baseball player
• 1961 – Nina Li Chi, Chinese actress
• 1962 – Heather McCartney, British activist
• 1962 – Tyrone Corbin, American basketball player
• 1963 – Scott Ian, American guitarist (Anthrax)
• 1963 – Konishiki, American sumo wrestler
• 1964 – Michael McDonald, American actor-comedian
• 1965 – Julie Doucet, Canadian underground cartoonist
• 1965 – Gong Li, Chinese actress
• 1965 – Nicholas Sparks, American author
• 1965 – Tony Dorigo, English Footballer (soccer)
• 1966 – Lisa Joyner, American entertainment reporter
• 1968 – Gerry Dee, Canadian comedian and actor
• 1969 – Dominik Diamond, Scottish presenter and newspaper columnist
• 1969 – Are Kalvø, Norwegian writer and satirist
• 1969 – Lance Reddick, American actor
• 1970 – Jorjão, Brazilian footballer
• 1970 – Carlos Morales Quintana, husband of Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark
• 1970 – Bryon Russell, American basketball player
• 1971 – Brent Barry, American basketball player
• 1971 – Esteban Loaiza, Mexican Major League Baseball player
• 1971 – Ricardo López Felipe, Spanish footballer
• 1972 – Joe McIntyre, American singer (New Kids on the Block)
• 1973 – Shandon Anderson, American basketball player
• 1973 – Malcolm Middleton, Scottish musician (Arab Strap)
• 1974 – Mario Aerts, Belgian cyclist
• 1974 – Tony Kanaan, Brazilian racing driver
• 1974 – Ryan Sakoda, Japanese American professional wrestler
• 1975 – Toni Kuivasto, Finnish footballer
• 1975 – Rob Penders, Dutch footballer
• 1976 – Craig Reucassel, Australian comedian, member of The Chaser
• 1977 – Wardy Alfaro, Costa Rican footballer
• 1977 – Donald Trump Jr., son of Donald Trump and Ivana Trump
• 1978 – Papoose, American rapper
• 1979 – Elaine Cassidy, Irish actress
• 1979 – Paul O'Neill, British racing driver
• 1980 – Jesse Carlson, American baseball player
• 1980 – Richie McCaw, New Zealand rugby player
• 1980 – Matthew Capiccioni, American professional wrestler
• 1981 – Jason Campbell, American football player
• 1981 – Matthew Pavlich, Australian football player
• 1982 – Bryce Avary, The Rocket Summer, American musician
• 1982 – Julio DePaula, Dominican baseball player
• 1982 – Craig Gordon, Scottish footballer
• 1982 – Luke Schenscher, Australian basketball player
• 1983 – Mike Williams, American football player
• 1984 – Paul Rodriguez Jr., Professional skateboarder
• 1985 – Jan Smit, Dutch singer
• 1986 – Bronson Pelletier, Canadian actor
• 1987 – Javaris Crittenton, American basketball player
• 1987 – Émilie Le Pennec, French gymnast
• 1990 – Patrick Chan, Canadian figure Skater