- 1074 Conrad, King of Germany and Italy (d. 1101)
- 1211 Henry VII, Roman catholic German king (1220-35)
- 1218 Kujo Yoritsune, Japanese shogun (d. 1256)
- 1438 Adolf van Egmond, duke of Gelre/earl of Zutphen
- 1474 Lorenzo Campeggi(o), archbishop of Bologna/diplomat
- 1584 Casparus Barleaus, Flemish theologist/poet (Muiderkring)
- 1585 Caspar Bartholin the Elder, Danish physician, theologian, writer on anatomy, born in Malmö, Denmark (modern Sweden) (d. 1629)
- 1606 John Winthrop, the Younger, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1676)
- 1636 Herman Witsius [Wits], Dutch reformed theologist
- 1637 Jan Swammerdam, Amsterdam, Dutch anatomist and entomologist (Bible of Nature)
Cotton Mather (1663-1728)
American Puritan minister (Salem witchcraft trials), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- 1665 Rudolph Jakob Camerarius, German botanist and physician (sexuality of plants), born in Tübingen, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1721)
- 1704 Charles Pinot Duclos, French writer (d. 1772)
- 1706 Josef Christian, German sculptor
- 1728 Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect (d. 1799)
- 1753 François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers, French admiral (d. 1798)
- 1768 Francis II, Florence Italy, last Holy Roman emperor (1792-1806)
- 1775 Louisa Adams, US First Lady (1825-29), born in London (d. 1852)
- 1777 Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, German poet (d. 1843)
- 1785 Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist (d. 1838)
- 1791 Jan D Zocher Jr., Dutch garden architect (Vondelpark, Amsterdam)
- 1791 Peter Cooper, American industrialist, inventor and philanthropist (Cooper Union, steam locomotive), born in NYC, New York (d. 1883)
- 1792 Ferdinand de Braekeleer, Belgian painter
- 1804 Heinrich Lenz, German physicist (d. 1865)
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
16th US President (Republican: 1861-65), born in Hardin County, Kentucky
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
English naturalist (Origin of the Species) who conceived the theory of evolution by natural selection, born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire
- 1815 Edward Forbes, English Naturalist and pioneer in the field of biogeography, born in Douglas, Isle of Man (d. 1854)
- 1818 Otto Ludwig, German writer (Die Heiterethei)
- 1824 Dayananda Sarasvati, Indian hindu leader, founder of Arya Samaj reform movement, born in Tantara, India (d. 1883)
- 1828 George Meredith, England, poet and novelist (Shaving of Shagpat)
- 1828 Robert Ransom Jr, Major General (Confederate Army), (d. 1892)
- 1838 Charles C. Walcutt, American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, born in Columbus, Ohio (d. 1898)
- 1841 Gijsbert van Tienhoven, Dutch mayor (Amsterdam) and Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1891-1894
- 1850 Amaat Vyncke, Flemish missionary (Flemish Flag)
- 1852 Hendrik Blink, Dutch geographer (Van de Eems tot de Schelde) (d. 1931)
- 1861 Lou [Andreas-]Salome, Russian German author (Im Kampf um Gott)
- 1865 Kazimierz P. Tetmajer, Polish writer and poet (Young Poland)
- 1867 Hedwig Courths-Mahler, German author (Warbride) [or Febr 18]
- 1868 Jan Schaper, Dutch publicist and politician (SDAP)
- 1869 Hendrik P. Marchant, Dutch minister of Education/Arts (VVD)
- 1876 Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama, born in Thakpo Langdun (d. 1933)
- 1877 Louis Renault, French automobile executive, born in Paris, France (d. 1944)
- 1880 John Llewellyn Lewis, American union leader (United Mine Workers, 1920-60), born near Lewis, Iowa (d. 1969)
- 1882 Walter Vaes, Flemish painter/etcher
- 1884 Johan Laidoner, Estonian military commander (d. 1953)
- 1884 Marie Vassilieff, Russian artist (d. 1957)
- 1884 Max Beckmann, German painter and graphic artist, born in Leipzig, German Empire (d. 1950)
- 1893 Marcel Minnaert, Dutch astronomer, born in Bruges, Belgium (d. 1970)
Omar Bradley (1893-1981)
American WWII General (Invasion of Normandy) and 1st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1949-53), born in Clark, Missouri
- 1907 Clifton C. Edom, American photojournalism educator (d. 1991)
- 1908 Jacques Herbrand, French logician and mathematician (d. 1931)
- 1908 Jean Effel, French painter and journalist (d. 1982)
- 1910 Forsyth Hardy, Scottish documentary film pioneer and critic, born in Bathgate, Scotland (d. 1994)
- 1910 Lee Byung Chull, Korean industrialist, founder of Samsung, born in Uiryeong County, Korean Empire (d. 1987)
- 1911 Frank Hercules, Trinidadian-American novelist (On Leaving Paradise; Sunrise at Midnight), and teacher, born in Port of Spain, Trinidad (d. 1996)
- 1911 Stephen H. Sholes, American recording executive (d. 1968)
- 1911 Sylvstre A. Guzman Fernandez, president (Dominican Republic)
- 1912 R. F. Delderfield, English author (d. 1972)
- 1913 Fusata Iida, Japanese Navy Air Service fighter pilot (commander of the Japanese 3rd Air Group), considered the 1st "kamikaze", born in Tonda, Japan (d. 1941)
- 1913 Pedro Gastao de Orleans e Braganca, grandson of Emperor Pedro I
- 1914 Arvid Pardo, Maltese diplomat, a.k.a "Father of the Law of the Sea Conference", born in Rome, Italy (d. 1999)
- 1914 Nello Celio, Swiss politician, born in Quinto, Switzerland (d. 1995)
- 1915 Andrew J. Goodpaster, American general, supreme commander (NATO-Europe)
- 1916 Joseph L Alioto, American politician (Mayor-San Francisco), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1998)
- 1917 Raizo Matsuno, Japanese politician (d. 2006)
- 1918 Julian Schwinger, US physicist (1965 Nobel Prize in Physics for quantum electrodynamics), born in New York City (d. 1994)
- 1920 William Roscoe Estep, American academic, Baptist minister, and church historian, born in Williamsburg, Kentucky (d. 2000)
- 1923 Chaskel Besser, Orthodox rabbi
- 1923 Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director (Romeo & Juliet), born in Florence, Italy (d. 2019)
- 1923 James Abdnor, (Sen-R-SD, 1981-87), (d. 2012)
James Chichester-Clark (1923-2002)
Irish politician, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (1969-71), born in Moyola Park, Londonderry
- 1924 Hans Berghuis, Dutch author/poet (3 Women, Adam)
- 1925 Anthony Berry, British politician (killed in the Brighton hotel bombing by the IRA) (d. 1984)
- 1925 Joan Mitchell, American painter and printmaker, born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1926 Charles Van Doren, American quiz show contestant (Twenty-One), born in New York City
- 1926 Paul Hamlyn, English publisher/multi-millionaire (Octopus)
- 1930 Arlen Specter, American Senator (Republican-PA, 1981- 2011), born in Wichita, Kansas (d. 2012)
- 1931 Constance Morella, American politician (Rep-R-Maryland 1987-2003), born in Somerville, Massachusetts
- 1931 Janwillem van de Wetering, Dutch author
- 1932 Axel Jensen, Norwegian author (d. 2003)
- 1933 Costa-Gavras, director
- 1933 Ivan Nikolayevich Anikeyev, Russian cosmonaut
- 1933 Juanita [Ruth] Coulson, sci-fi author (Web of Wizardry, Space Trap)
- 1934 Anne Krueger, American economist
- 1936 Fang Lizhi, Chinese astrophysicist/dissident (Tiananmen Square, 1989), born in Beijing, China (d. 2012)
- 1938 Judy Blume, American author (Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret), born in Elizabeth, New Jersey
- 1940 Hank Brown, American politician (Senator-R-CO 1991-97, Rep-R-CO, 1981-91), born in Denver, Colorado
- 1941 Dennis Sullivan, American mathematician (2022 Abel prize for work on topography), born in Port Huron, Michigan
- 1941 Naomi Uemura, Japanese mountain climber (1st Japanese to scale Everest)
- 1942 Chananjit Vohra, Kenyan/British hotel magnate/multi-millionaire
- 1942 Ehud Barak, Prime Minister of Israel
- 1944 Desmond Nuttall, English educator
- 1944 Jackie Torrence, story teller/artist
- 1945 David D Friedman, American economist, physicist, legal scholar, and libertarian theorist (The Machinery of Freedom), born in NYC, New York
- 1947 Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Indian leader of Damdami Taksal (d. 1984)
- 1948 Raymond Kurzweil, American inventor and author (Kurzweil reading machine, text-to-speech synthesis), born in NYC, New York
- 1951 Steven Parent, Manson murder victim (d. 1969)
- 1954 Philip Zimmermann, American cryptographer, born in Camden, New Jersey
- 1956 Ad P Melkert, Dutch minister of Social Affairs (1994- ), born in Gouda, Netherlands
- 1959 Nancy Remy, reporter (NYC's Shadow Traffic)
- 1961 Jim Harris, Canadian author, environmentalist, and politician, born in Toronto, Ontario
- 1963 Ed Lover, US radio personality, born in Hollis, New York
- 1966 Boty Goodwin, British artist (d. 1995)
- 1967 Chris McKinstry, Canadian computer scientist, born in Winnipeg, Canada (d. 2006)
- 1968 Christopher McCandless, American nomad, subject of biography Into the Wild, born in El Segundo, California (d. 1992)
- 1969 Darren Aronofsky, American director and writer, born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1970 Judd Winick, American writer and artist, born in Long Island, New York
- 1974 Fonzworth Bentley, US hip-hop artist, born in Atlanta, Georgia
- 1978 Silver Meikar, Estonian human rights activist and politician, born in Tartu, Estonia
- 1991 Faisal bin Hamad Al Khalifa, prince of Bahrain, born in Riffa, Bahrain (d. 2006)
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists