- 976 Sanjō, 67th Emperor of Japan (1011-16), born in Kyōto, Japan (d. 1017)
- 1505 Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian (d. 1572)
- 1519 René of Châlon, (d. 1544)
- 1534 Giovanni de' Bardi, Italian writer (d. 1612)
- 1589 Esteban Manuel de Villegas, Spanish poet (d. 1669)
- 1589 Honorat de Brueil seigneur de Racan, French aristocrat playwright and poet, born in Aubigné-Racan, France (d. 1670)
- 1608 Gaspar Schott, German mathematician (d. 1666)
- 1626 Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French author (d. 1696)
- 1703 Gilbert Tennent, Irish-born religious leader (d. 1764)
John Witherspoon (1723-1794)
Scottish-American president of the College of New Jersey who signed the Declaration of Independence, born in Gifford, Scotland
- 1725 James Otis, American lawyer and patriot, born in Barnstable, Massachusetts (d. 1783)
- 1744 John Jeffries, American physician and meteorologist (1st balloon flight across English Channel), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1819)
- 1753 Court Lambertus van Beyma, Frisian regent and leader of the Frisian patriots (d. 1820)
- 1770 Alexandre Brongniart, French geologist and mineralogist (arranged geologic formations of the Tertiary Period), born in Paris, France (d. 1847)
- 1775 Margaretha Jacoba de Neufville, Dutch author (De Schildknaap - 1st Dutch historical novel) (d. 1856)
- 1784 Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of Abraham Lincoln, born in Hampshire County, West Virginia (d. 1818)
- 1788 Karoly Kisfaludy, Hungarian pioneering dramatist (A Tat rok Magyarorsz gon), born in Tét, Hungary (d. 1830)
Robert Peel (1788-1850)
British Prime Minister (Tory/Conservative/Peelite: 1834-35; 1841-46), founder of the British Conservative Party and the modern police force (Bobbies), born in Bury, Lancashire, England
- 1795 Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist (d. 1871)
- 1799 John Lindley, English botanist (Elements of Botany), born in Catton, England (d. 1865)
- 1804 Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finnish poet (Finland's national anthem "Maamme"), born in Jakobstad, Finland (d. 1877)
- 1808 Carl Spitzweg, German painter (d. 1885)
- 1837 Dwight Lyman Moody, American evangelist (Moody Church), born in Northfield, Massachusetts (d. 1899)
- 1840 Hiram Maxim, American-British inventor (Maxim gun, 1st automatic machine gun), born in Sangerville, Maine (d. 1916)
- 1840 John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish vet and inventor (pneumatic rubber tire), born in Dreghorn, Scotland (d. 1888)
- 1848 Belle Starr [Myra Belle Shirley] American outlaw (American wild west), born in Carthage, Missouri (d. 1889)
- 1848 Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chilean war hero (d. 1882)
- 1848 Joris-Karl Huysmans, French writer (Against the Grain), born in Paris, France (d. 1907)
- 1852 Terauchi Masatake, Japanese soldier and politician (Prime Minister of Japan 1916-18), born in Hirai Village, Japan (d. 1919)
- 1856 Otto Brahm, German critic, theatre director (founded Neue Deutsche Rundschau), born in Hamburg (d. 1912)
- 1866 Arthur Keith, Scottish anthropologist (human evolution), born in Persley Aberdeenshire (d. 1955)
- 1871 Jovan Dučić, Herzegovinian Serb poet (Blue Legends), born in Trebinje, Ottoman Empire (d. 1943)
- 1878 André Citroën, French automobile pioneer (d. 1935)
- 1881 Frederick Lonsdale, British playwright (Balkan Princess), born in St Helier, Jersey (d. 1954)
- 1891 Karl Ludwig Schmidt, German-Swiss theologist (Urchristentum), born in Frankfurt, Germany (d. 1956)
- 1892 George Saiko, Austrian writer, born in Seestadtl, Bohemia (d. 1962)
- 1893 Roman Ingarden, Polish philosopher (Studia philosophica), born in Kraków, Austria-Hungary (d. 1970)
- 1897 Dirk Stikker, Dutch politician, diplomat (Ambassador to Great Britain, 1952-58; Secretary General of NATO, 1961-64), and CEO (Heineken), Born in Winschoten, Netherlands (d. 1979)
Adlai Stevenson II (1900-1965)
American politician (US Ambassador to UN, 1961-65; Governor of Illinois, 1949-53; Democratic presidential candidate, 1952 & 1956), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1903 Nathaniel Owings, American architect (Oak Ridge, TN; Sears Tower), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d.1984)
- 1907 Jan Klaasesz, Dutch Governor of Suriname (1949-56), born in IJlst, Netherlands (d. 1997)
- 1907 Norton Simon, American industrialist (Hunts Foods, Norton Simon Museum), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1993)
- 1907 Pierre Pflimlin, French politician (briefly French Prime Minister 1958), born in Roubaix, France (d. 2000)
- 1908 Daisy and Violet Hilton, British conjoined twins, born in Brighton, England (d. 1969)
- 1910 Charles Leblond, Canadian Cell Biologist (d. 2007)
- 1914 Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British biophysicist (Nobel 1963), born in Banbury (d. 1998)
William S. Burroughs (1914-1997)
American writer (Naked Lunch, The Nova Trilogy) and visual artist, born in St. Louis, Missouri
Robert Hofstadter (1915-1990)
American atomic physicist and Nobel laureate (electron scattering in atomic nuclei), born in NYC, New York
- 1919 Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece (1981-89, 1993-96), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA (d. 1996)
- 1923 Doris Bohrer [Sharrar], American WWII spy, born in Basin, Wyoming (d. 2016)
- 1924 Robert Lynn, anarchist
- 1926 Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, American publisher (NY Times), born in NYC, New York
- 1927 Ruth Fertel, American entrepreneur (Ruth's Chris Steak Houses), born in Nw Orleans, Louisiana. (d. 2002)
- 1928 Andrew M Greeley, author/reverend
- 1928 Pananayiotis Taki Vatikiotis, Middle Eastern scholar (d. 1997)
- 1929 Fred Sinowatz, Austrian politician
- 1933 Jorn Donner, Helsinki Finland, director (Anna, Tenderness)
- 1935 John J "Jannie" Geldenhuys, supreme commander South African army
- 1937 Wang Xuan, Chinese computer scientist, born in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China (d. 2006)
- 1940 H. R. Giger, Swiss artist and special effects designer (Alien), born in Zürich (d. 2014)
- 1941 Kaspar Villiger, Swiss Federal Councilor
- 1941 Stephen J. Cannell, American TV producer (The Rockford Files, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street) and writer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2010)
- 1942 Susan Hill, English playwright (Magic Apple Tree)
Nolan Bushnell (79 years old)
1943 American electrical engineer (founded Atari, created Pong), born in Clearfield, Utah
- 1945 Sarah Weddington, American attorney (represented "Jane Roe" in Roe v. Wade before US States Supreme Court), born in Abilene, Texas (d. 2021)
- 1947 Mary Louise Cleave, American engineer and NASA astronaut (STS 61-B, STS 30), born in Southampton, New York
- 1948 Elco Brinkman, Dutch politician, born in Dirksland, Netherlands
- 1949 Maidarjabyn Ganzorig, Mongolian scientist & cosmonaut (Soyuz 39 backup), born in Tsetserleg, Mongolia
- 1956 Betty Ong, flight attendant that died on September 11, 2001, on American Airlines Flight 11
- 1959 Jennifer Granholm, Canadian-American politician, born in Vancouver, British Columbia
- 1966 Rok Petrovič, Slovenian skier, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia (d. 1993)
- 1967 Olafur Eliasson, Icelandic-Danish artist (The Weather Project), born in Copenhagen, Denmark
- 1972 Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, born in Hobart, Australia
- 1979 Paulo Gonçalves, Portuguese rally racing motorcycle rider (FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship 2013), born in Gemeses, Portugal (d. 2020)
- 1980 Brad Fitzpatrick, American programmer (LiveJournal), born in Iowa, United States
- 1980 Jo Swinson, British politician, born in Glasgow, United Kingdom
- 1980 Prince Peter, American-born Yugoslav royalty, born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1995 Trayvon Martin, Black American teenager (shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Florida), born in Miami, Florida (d. 2012)
- 2016 Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, heir to throne of Bhutan, born in Thimphu, Bhutan
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