Qin Shi Huang (259-210 BC)
Founder of the Qin dynasty and 1st emperor of a unified China (220 - 210 BC), born in Handan
- 1201 Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Persian philosopher, architect and mathematician (Tadhkirah fi ʿilm al-hay), born in Ṭūs, Khorāsān (d. 1274)
- 1374 Saint Jadwiga of Poland, Queen of Poland (d. 1399)
- 1404 Leon B Alberti, Italian humanist/architect (Della Pittura)
- 1486 Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Bengali saint, inspired Chaitanya movement, born in Navadwip, India (d. 1534)
- 1516 Mary I Tudor [Bloody Mary], Queen of England (1553-58), born in Greenwich, England (d. 1558)
- 1530 Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1578)
- 1543 Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)
- 1559 Isaac Casaubon, naturalized English classical scholar, theologian
- 1602 Per Brahe (the younger), Swedish soldier (d. 1680)
- 1609 Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, English PM (1660-67), born in Dinton, England (d. 1674)
- 1635 Johan Göransson Gyllenstierna, Swedish statesman (d. 1680)
- 1658 Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French writer (d. 1743)
- 1677 Jacques Cassini, French astronomer (rings of Saturn)
Alessandro Volta (1745-1827)
Italian physicist and inventor of the 1st battery, born in Como, Italy
- 1772 Giovanni Battista Brocchi, Bassano del Grappa, Italian Geologist
- 1775 Thomas Girtin, artist/watercolorist, born in London, England
- 1781 Henry Martyn, Truro, missionary
- 1790 Marshall Hall, Basford Nottinghamshire, physician
- 1795 George Peabody, South Danvers Mass, merchant/philanthropist
- 1805 Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough, Rear Admiral (Union Navy)
- 1814 Samuel Fenton Cary, U. S. Congressman (d. 1900)
- 1815 Henri Leys, Flemish painter
- 1817 Lewis Addison Armistead, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1863)
- 1817 Walter Page Lane, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1892)
- 1829 Jean Jacques Alfred Mouton, American Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), born in Opelousas, Louisiana (d. 1864)
- 1833 James Deshler, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1863)
- 1836 Ramakrishna [Gadadhar Chatterji], Indian mystic and yogi (preached unity of religions), born in Kamarpukur, British India (d. 1886)
- 1838 Ernst Mach, Chirlitz-Turas Austria, physicist/philosopher/psychologist
- 1844 Willem Maris, Dutch painter (Hague School)
- 1848 Louis Comfort Tiffany, glassmaker (stained glass windows)
- 1849 Alexander Lange Kielland, Norwegian writer (Gist; Fortuna; St. Hans Fest), and politician (mayor; governor), born in Stavanger, Norway (d. 1906)
- 1857 Max Klinger, German graphic artist/painter/sculptor
- 1858 Louise, princess of Belgium, married and divorced Philipp, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1924)
- 1860 Anders Zorn, Swedish painter/etcher/sculptor (Gustavus Vasa)
- 1870 William Laurel Harris, American mural painter, writer (d. 1924)
- 1871 Harry Brearley, English inventor (d. 1948)
- 1875 Walter Andrae, German archaeologist (Babylon, Assur)
- 1883 Níkos Kazantzákis, prominent Greek writer and philosopher (Zorba the Greek, The Last Temptation of Christ), born in Kandiye, Ottoman Empire (d. 1957)
- 1884 Andrew Watson Myles, Canadian politician (d. 1970)
- 1889 Sybold van Ravesteyn, architect (Blijdorp, CS Rotterdam, Utrecht)
- 1890 Lauri SA Haarla, Finnish (stage)writer (Juudas, Sukeltaja)
- 1892 Wendell Wilkie, American Presidential candidate (R-1940)/author (One World), (d. 1944)
- 1895 Semjon Timoshenko, Russian marshal/inspector-general (WWII)
André Breton (1896-1966)
French writer and poet, founder of Surrealism, born in Tinchebray, France
- 1897 Charles Kuentz, WW1 veteran, changed nationality 4 times (d. 2005)
- 1898 Enzo Ferrari, racing car manufacturer, Modena
- 1898 Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet (d. 1980)
- 1899 Arthur Bryant, English historian (King Charles II)
- 1903 Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian Soviet statesman, Premier of the USSR (1965-77), born in n Karlovka, Russian Empire (d. 1983)
- 1906 Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician and eponym of Asperger syndrome, born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1980)
- 1907 Harm van Riel, Dutch politician (Dutch Liberal Party)
- 1909 Wallace Stegner, novelist/critic (Pulitzer-1971-Angle of Repose)
- 1913 Artur Axmann, nazi youth leader
- 1916 Betty Phyllis Gathergood, curator
- 1916 Jean Drapeau, mayor of Montreal (1954- )
- 1918 Jane Loevinger, American psychologist (d. 2008).
- 1922 Eric Gairy, first Prime Minister of Grenada (1974-1979)
- 1922 Helen Gurley Brown, American author/publisher and editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, born in Green Forest, Arkansas, (d. 2012)
- 1922 Juhan Smuul, Estonian author, born in Muhu, Estonia (d. 1971)
- 1924 Evald Ilyenkov, Soviet philosopher (Dialectical Logic), born in Smolensk, Soviet Union (d. 1979)
- 1924 Humberto Fernández Morán, Venezuelan scientist (d. 1999)
- 1924 Louis Laberge, Quebec labour union leader (d. 2002)
- 1924 Nicolo Rizzuto, Italian-Canadian organized crime figure, born in Cattolica Eraclea, Sicily, Italy (d. 2010)
- 1925 Marcel Barbeau, Canadian abstract artist, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2016)
- 1927 John Warner, American politician (Sen-R-VA, 1979-2009) married Elizabeth Taylor, born in Washington, D.C.
- 1929 Leonard Cyril Deighton, English author (Ipcress File, Fighter)
- 1930 Gahan Wilson, American author and cartoonist known as the "Michelangelo of the Macabre", born in Evanston, Illinois (d. 2019) [1]
- 1930 Theodore C Freeman, Haverford Penn, capt USAF/astronaut
- 1931 Johnny Hart, American cartoonist (B.C., Wizard of Id), born in Endicott, New York (d. 2007)
- 1931 Maxwell Thurman, American General
- 1931 Swraj Paul, Indian/British industrial/multi-millionaire (Caparo)
Toni Morrison (1931-2019)
American writer (Tar Baby, Beloved, Song of Solomon), first African American woman to win a Nobel Prize (2010), born in Lorain, Ohio
- 1932 Duane Michals, American photographer (Sequences; The Journey of the Spirit After Death), born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania
- 1934 Audre Lorde, American writer, feminist and activist (Black Unicorn), born in NYC, New York (d. 1992)
- 1934 Paco Rabanne [Francisco Cuervo], Spanish fashion designer & perfumer, born in Pasajes, Spain
- 1935 Michel Aoun, President of Lebanon (2016-present), born in Haret Hreik, Lebanon
- 1936 Jean M. Auel, Finnish-American writer (Earth's Children series), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1938 Elke Erb, German writer, born in Scherbach
- 1939 Claude Ake, political scientist
- 1943 Graeme Garden, Scottish writer (The Goodies), born in Aberdeen, Scotland
- 1946 Michael Buerk, British newsreader
- 1947 Eliot Engel, American politician (Rep-D-NY), born in New York City
- 1947 Princess Maria Christina [Marijke], of Netherlands
- 1948 Carolyn B. Maloney, American politician (Rep-D-NY), born in Greensboro, North Carolina
- 1949 Gary Ridgway, American serial killer, born in Salt Lake City, Utah
- 1950 Michel Gauthier, Canadian politician, born in Quebec City, Canada
- 1951 Isabel Preysler, Philippines-born Spanish socialite, born in Manila, Philippines
- 1952 Veronica "Randy" Crawford, American vocalist (One Day I'll Fly Away), born in Macon, Georgia
- 1955 Miles Tredinnick, English playwright, born in Warrington, United Kingdom
- 1957 Bruce Rauner, American politician (Governor of Illinois, 2015–19), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1960 Carol McGiffin, British TV & radio presenter, born in London, United Kingdom
- 1961 Armin Laschet, German politician (CDU), born in Aachen, West Germany
- 1963 Henry Winter, English football journalist, born in London, United Kingdom
- 1966 Guy Ferland, American television director, born in Beverly, Massachusetts
- 1974 Ruby Dhalla, Canadian politician, born in Winnipeg, Canada
- 1985 Lee Boyd Malvo, American serial killer, born in Kingston, Jamaica