On This Day

Birthdays in History on January 23

  • 1350 Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary & saint, born in Valencia, Aragon (d. 1419)
  • 1574 Lucas Franchoys the Elder, Belgian painter, born in Mechelen, Belgium (d. 1643)
  • 1688 Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden, born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1741)
  • 1719 John Landen, English mathematician, born in England, United Kingdom (d. 1790)
  • 1730 Joseph Hewes, American merchant (Declaration of Independence signatory), born in Princeton, New Jersey (d. 1779)

John HancockJohn Hancock (1737-1793)

American merchant and statesman who was 1st to sign the Declaration of Independence, born in Braintree, Massachusetts

John Hancock
  • 1745 William Jessop, English canal engineer, born in Plymouth, United Kingdom (d. 1814)
  • 1761 Friedrich von Matthison, German poet (Adelaide), born in Hohendodeleben, Germany (d. 1831)
  • 1762 Christian A. Vulpius, German novelist & dramatist (Rinaldo Rinaldini), born in Weimar, Germany (d. 1827)
  • 1783 Stendhal [Marie Henri Beyle], French writer (Le Rouge et de Noir, a Chartreuse de Parme), born in Grenoble, France (d. 1842)
  • 1785 Carl Adolph Agardh, Swedish botanist & bishop of Karlstad, born in Båstad, Sweden (d. 1859)
  • 1786 Auguste de Montferrand, French architect, born in Trocadéro, Paris (d. 1858)
  • 1809 Veer Surendra Sai, Indian freedom fighter & tribal leader, born in Sambalpur district, India (d. 1884)
  • 1816 Compars Herrmann, German stage magician, born in Hanover, Germany (d. 1887)
  • 1827 Saigō Takamori, Japanese samurai & leader of Satsuma rebellion, born in Kajiyacho, Japan (d. 1877)
  • 1828 Calvin Edward Pratt, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Worcester County, Massachusetts (d. 1896)
  • 1830 Gaston, Marquis de Galliffet, French general & Minister of War (1899-1900), born in Paris, France (d. 1909)

Edouard ManetEdouard Manet (1832-1883)

French impressionist painter (Olympia, The Luncheon on the Grass), born in Paris, France

Edouard Manet
  • 1833 John Randolph Chambliss Jr, American Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), born in Greensville County, Virginia (d. 1864)
  • 1840 Ernst Abbe, German physicist & optical scientist (Carl Zeiss Optics Company), born in Eisenach, Germany (d. 1905)
  • 1855 John Moses Browning, American weapons manufacturer, born in Ogden, Utah Territory (d. 1926)
  • 1857 Andrija Mohorovicic, Croatian meteorologist & seismologist (Moho discontinuity), born in Opatija, Croatia (d. 1936)
  • 1862 David Hilbert, German mathematician (Hilbert spaces, invariant theory, axiomatization of geometry), born in Königsberg, East Prussia (d. 1943)
  • 1869 Herbert David Croly, American author (Promise of American Life), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1930)
  • 1872 Joze Plečnik, Slovenian architect, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia (d. 1957)
  • 1872 Paul Langevin, French physicist, born in Paris, France (d. 1946)
  • 1878 Oton Zupancic, Slovenian poet (Zimzelen pod Snegom), born in Vinica, Črnomelj, Slovenia (d. 1949)
  • 1888 Gilbert Ledward, English sculptor, born in Chelsea, London (d. 1960)
  • 1888 Paul Peter Ewald, German Crystallographer and physicist who devised the theory of X-ray interference by crystals and pioneered X-ray diffraction methods, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1985)
  • 1889 Prosper Arents, Belgium librarian and bibliographer (reconstructed Peter Paul Rubens library) (d. 1984)

Antonio GramsciAntonio Gramsci (1891-1937)

Italian philosopher and Marxist theorist, born in Ales, Sardinia, Italy

Antonio Gramsci
  • 1893 Frank Carlson, American politician (Gov/Rep/Sen-R-Ks), born in Cloud County, Kansas (d. 1987)
  • 1896 Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (1919-64), born in Berg Castle, Luxembourg (d. 1985)
  • 1897 Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2000)
  • 1897 Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian politician & nationalist, born in Cuttack, British India (d. 1945)
  • 1898 Freda Utley, British scholar & author, born in London, United Kingdom (d. 1978)
  • 1899 Joseph Nathan Kane, American non-fiction writer & journalist (Famous Firsts), born in NYC, New York (d. 2002)
  • 1901 Benno Stokvis, Dutch lawyer & politician, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1977)
  • 1903 Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian politician, born in Cucunubá, Colombia (d. 1948)
  • 1905 Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński, Polish poet (Zielona Ges), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1953)
  • 1907 Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist (Nobel 1949), born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 1981)
  • 1914 Napoleon L. Bonaparte, French pretender to the throne, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1997)
  • 1915 Potter Stewart, United States Supreme Court justice (1958-81), born in Jackson, Michigan (d. 1985)
  • 1915 William Arthur Lewis, Saint Lucian economist (1979 Nobel Prize in Economics for economic development research), born in Castries, Saint Lucia (d. 1991) [1]
  • 1916 Airey Neave, British soldier & politician, born in Knightsbridge, London (d. 1979)
  • 1916 David Douglas Duncan, American photo-journalist best known for his war photography, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2018)
  • 1917 Dusan Kostic, Serbian writer, born in Peja, Serbia (d. 1997)

Gertrude B. ElionGertrude B. Elion (1918-1999)

American biochemist and drug researcher who developed groundbreaking leukemia and herpes drug treatments (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1988), born in NYC, New York

Gertrude B. Elion
  • 1919 Hans Hass, Austrian zoologist and underwater scientist, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2013)
  • 1920 Gottfried Böhm, German architect (1986 Pritzker Prize), born in Offenbach am Main, Germany (d. 2021) [1]
  • 1923 Walter M. Miller Jr., American sci-fi author (Hugo, View from Stars), born in New Smyrna Beach, Florida
  • 1924 Frank Lautenberg, American politician (Sen-D-NJ, 1982-2001, 2003-2013), born in Paterson, New Jersey (d. 2013)
  • 1927 Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American entrepreneur & explorer, born in Solna Municipality, Sweden (d. 1994)
  • 1929 John Polanyi, Canadian chemist (Nobel 1986), born in Berlin, Germany
  • 1929 Patriarch Filaret (Mykhailo Denysenko) of Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate
  • 1930 Derek Walcott, Caribbean poet (Omeros), Nobel Prize for Literature 1992, born in Castries, St Lucia (d. 2017)
  • 1930 William Reid Pogue, American fighter pilot & astronaut (Skylab 4), born in Okemah, Oklahoma (d. 2014)
  • 1932 Bart LaRue, American character and voice actor, born in Foard County, Texas (d. 1990)
  • 1932 Bud Shuster, American politician (Rep-R-PA, 1973-2001), born in Glassport, Pennsylvania
  • 1934 Pierre Bourgault, Quebec politician & essayist, born in East Angus, Canada (d. 2003)
  • 1935 Robert Parris "Bob" Moses, American civil rights activist (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)), and educator (The Algebra Project), born in Harlem, New York City (d. 2021)
  • 1938 Anatoly Marchenko, Soviet dissident, born in Barabinsk, Russia (d. 1986)
  • 1942 Ivan Ivanovich Bachurin, Soviet cosmonaut, born in Kharkov Oblast, Ukrainian SSR
  • 1943 Bill Gibb, Scottish fashion designer, born in New Pitsligo, Scotland (d. 1988)
  • 1944 Marty Russo, American politician and lobbyist (Rep-D-IL, 1975-93), born in Chicago, Illinois
  • 1945 Mike Harris, Canadian lawyer and politician (Premier of Ontario, 1995-2002), born in Toronto, Ontario

Arnoldo AlemanArnoldo Aleman (77 years old)

1946 81st President of Nicaragua (1997-2002), born in Managua, Nicaragua

Arnoldo Aleman
  • 1947 Gatewood Galbraith, American author & attorney, born in Carlisle, Kentucky (d. 2012)
  • 1947 Megawati Sukarnoputri, 5th President of Indonesia, born in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • 1947 Tom Carper, American politician (D-Delaware, Senator 2001-, Governor of Delaware 1993-2001, Rep 1983-93), born in Beckley, West Virginia
  • 1949 Robert Cabana, American astronaut (STS 41, 53, 68, sk:88), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Chesley SullenbergerChesley Sullenberger (72 years old)

1951 American pilot (successfully executed emergency landing US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River), born in Denison, Texas

Chesley Sullenberger
  • 1953 Antonio Villaraigosa [Villar], Hispanic-American politician (Mayor of Los Angeles, 2005-13; California Assemblyman, 1994-2000), born in East Los Angeles, California

Pavlo LazarenkoPavlo Lazarenko (70 years old)

1953 Prime Minister of Ukraine (1996-97), born in Karpivka, Ukraine

Pavlo Lazarenko
  • 1957 Caroline Louise Marguerite Grimaldi, daughter of Princess Grace and Prince Rainer, born in Monte Carlo, Monaco
  • 1957 Lou Schuler, American fitness journalist, born in St. Louis, Missouri
  • 1961 Mas Selamat bin Kastari, Singapore's most-wanted terror fugitive, born in Kendal Regency, Indonesia
  • 1962 Elvira Lindo, Spanish writer and journalist, born in Cádiz, Spain
  • 1967 Belkis Ayón, Cuban printmaker (collography), born in Havana, Cuba (d. 1999)
  • 1967 Magdalena Andersson, Swedish politician (Prime Minister of Sweden 2021-), born in Uppsala, Sweden
  • 1974 Richard T. Slone, British artist, born in Newton-in-Furness, United Kingdom
  • 1983 Adam Mosseri, American head of Instagram, born in New York


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