- 1048 Emperor Shenzong of China, 6th emperor of the Song dynasty in China, born in Kaifeng, China (d. 1085)
- 1334 Emperor Sukō, Japanese Emperor of the Northern Court (1348-51) (d. 1398)
- 1458 Mahmud Begada, Sultan of Gujarat (successfully captured Pavagadh and Junagadh forts in battles), born in Ahmedabad, India (d. 1511)
- 1494 Jacopo da Pontormo [Carucci], Italian painter (Sepulture of Christ), born in Pontormo, Italy (d. 1557)
- 1550 Camillus de Lellis, Italian Roman Catholic saint (founder of the Ministers of the Sick), born in Bucchianico, Kingdom of Naples (d. 1614)
- 1606 Charles Garnier, French Jesuit missionary in New France, born in Paris (d. 1649)
- 1661 Claude Buffier, French philosopher and historian, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1737)
- 1713 John Stuart, 3rd earl of Bute, Prime Minister of Great Britain (1760-63), born in Parliament Square, Edinburgh, Midlothian (d. 1792)
- 1725 Samuel Ward, American politician (31st and 33rd Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations), born in Newport, Rhode Island (d. 1776)
- 1729 Jean de Neufville, Dutch-American merchant (started 4th English war), born in Amsterdam (d. 1796)
- 1779 Hendrik Marcus de Kock, Dutch general and politician (Lieutenant Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies 1826-30), born in Heusden, Dutch Republic (d. 1845)
- 1781 Ferdinand Karl Joseph, Archduke of Austria-Este, born in Milan (d. 1850)
- 1783 Philip Pendleton Barbour, American politician and U.S. Supreme Court justice, born in Gordonsville, Virginia (d. 1841)
- 1789 Simon Paap, Dutch dwarf (71 cm/28 inches tall) cabaret artist, born in Zandvoort, Holland (d. 1828)
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
American essayist and philosopher (Concord Hymn), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- 1818 Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss cultural historian, born in Basel, Switzerland (d. 1897)
- 1830 Jules de Geyter, Belgian poet (International), born in Lede, Belgium (d. 1905)
- 1839 John Eliot, English meteorologist, born in Lamesley, Durham (d. 1908)
- 1846 Naim Frashëri, Albanian poet and writer, born in Frashër, Janina Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (d. 1900)
- 1846 Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria, born in Buckingham Palace, London (d. 1923)
- 1847 John Alexander Dowie, Scottish-American evangelist (founded the city of Zion, Illinois), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1907)
- 1856 Louis Franchet d'Espèrey, French general during WWI, born in Mostaganem, French Algeria (d. 1942)
- 1860 James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist, born in Easton, Pennsylvania (d. 1944)
- 1865 Frederick Augustus III, King of Saxony (1904-18), born in Dresden, Germany (d. 1932)
- 1865 John Mott, American evangelist and organizer (YMCA, Nobel 1946), born in Livingston Manor, Sullivan County, New York (d. 1955)
- 1865 Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist (Zeeman effect, Nobel Prize 1902), born in Zonnemaire, Schouwen-Duiveland (d. 1943)
- 1879 William Maxwell Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, Canadian English newspaper publisher (Daily Express), born in Maple, Ontario (d. 1964)
- 1880 Jean Alexandre Barré, French neurologist who helped identify the Guillain-Barré-Strohl syndrome, born in Nantes, France (d. 1967)
- 1883 Elsa Maxwell, American writer (Jack Paar Show), born in Keokuk, Iowa (d. 1963)
- 1886 Philip Murray, 1st president of the United Steelworkers and longest-serving president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, born in Blantyre, Scotland (d. 1952)
- 1886 Rash Behari Bose, Indian revolutionary leader against the British Raj in India, born in Bengal, India (d. 1945)
- 1887 Padre Pio, Roman Catholic saint, born in Pietrelcina, Benevento, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1968)
Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972)
Russian-American pioneer of aviation in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, born in Kyiv, Ukraine
- 1891 Robert Willem Pieter Peereboom, Dutch editor in chief (Haarlem Newspaper), born in Haarlem, North Holland, Netherlands (d. 1956)
- 1894 Dirk Vansina, Flemish playwright (Verschaeve Gives Evidence), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1967)
- 1896 Jan Nicolaas Bakhuizen van den Brink, Dutch theologist and church historian, born in Joure, Netherlands (d. 1987)
- 1898 Bennett Cerf, American publisher (Random House) and panelist (What's My Line), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1971)
- 1898 Gustav Regler, German writer, born in Merzig (d. 1963)
- 1900 Alain Grandbois, French Canadian poet (Né à Québec: Louis Jolliet), born in Saint-Casimir, Quebec (d. 1975)
- 1907 U Nu, 1st Prime Minister of Burma (1948-56, 1960-62), born in Wakema, Myaungmya District, British Burma (d. 1995)
- 1908 Theodore Roethke, American poet (Words for the Wind), born in Saginaw, Michigan (d. 1963)
- 1909 Alfred Kubel, German politician, born in Braunschweig, Germany (d. 1999)
- 1912 Princess Deokhye of Korea, last princess of the Korean Empire, born in Changdeok Palace, Keijo, Japanese Korea (d. 1989)
- 1913 J. Peter Grace, American businessman and industrialist, born in Manhasset, New York (d. 1995)
- 1915 Daniel Wolf, American journalist (d. 1996)
- 1916 Lou van Rees, Dutch impresario, born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1993)
- 1921 Jack Steinberger, American physicist (1988 Nobel Prize for Physics - Neutrinos), born in Bad Kissingen, Germany (d. 2020) [1]
- 1923 John Weitz, American author and fashion designer (Friends in High Places), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2002)
- 1925 Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet (Balún Canán), born in Mexico City (d. 1974)
- 1927 Robert Ludlum, American spy novelist (Bourne Identity), born in NYC, New York (d. 2001)
- 1928 Mary Tuck, British social researcher and civil servant (d. 1996)
- 1929 David Sturtevant Ruder, 23rd chairman of Security & Exchange Commission, born in Wausau, Wisconsin
- 1930 Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer, born in Paris, France (d. 2016)
- 1932 Georgy Grechko, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz 17, 26, T-14), born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (d. 2017)
- 1932 John Gregory Dunne, American writer (Up Close & Personal, True Confessions), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2003)
- 1934 Ron Nesson, American press secretary (Gerald Ford), born in Washington, D.C.
- 1938 Raymond Carver, American poet and short story writer (Furious Season), born in Clatskanie, Oregon (d. 1988)
- 1943 Wynand Charl Malan, South African lawyer and politician, born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- 1944 Bob Payton, American pizza magnate (The Chicago Pizza Pie Factory), born in Miami, Florida (d. 1994)
- 1944 Robert MacPherson, American mathematician (invention of intersection homology with Mark Goresk), born in Lakewood, Ohio
- 1945 Dave Lee Travis [David Griffin], British DJ and presenter (Top of the Pops], convicted of indecent assault, born in Buxton, Derbyshire
- 1946 David A. Hargrave, American role-playing games (RPGs) designer (d. 1988)
- 1946 Janet Morris, American sci-fi author (Golden Sword, Tempus), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- 1946 Tommy Cecil, Irish ferryman, born on Rathlin Island, County Antrim (d. 1997)
- 1947 Mitch Margo, American rocker (The Tokens, The Lion Sleeps Tonight), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2017)
- 1949 Jamaica Kincaid [Elaine Cynthia Potter Richardsonn], Antiguan-American journalist (NYer), born in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda
- 1952 Al Sarrantonio, American writer (999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense), born in NYC, New York
- 1952 Gordon Smith, American politician (U.S. Senator from Oregon), born in Pendleton, Oregon
- 1952 Jeffrey Bewkes, American media executive (CEO of Time Warner from 2008-18), born in Paterson, New Jersey
- 1953 Eve Ensler, American playwright (The Vagina Monologues), born in NYC, New York
- 1953 Stan Sakai, Japanese-American cartoonist (Usagi Yojimbo), born in Kyoto, Japan
- 1954 Alison Stern, American wife of radio personality Howard Stern (Private Parts), born in Newton, Massachusetts
- 1955 Alistair Burt, British Conservative Party politician, born in Bury, Lancashire, England
- 1956 Larry Hogan, American politician, Governor of Maryland (2015-), born in Washington, D.C.
- 1957 Edward Lee, American writer (Mr. Torso), born in Washington, D.C.
- 1958 Dorothy Straight, American 4 year old author (How the World Began), born in Washington, D.C.
- 1959 Manolis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician (Minister for Mercantile Marine), born in Heraklion, Greece
- 1960 Amy Klobuchar, American politician (D), senator for Minnesota (2007-), born in Plymouth, Minnesota
- 1964 Ivan Bella, Slovak cosmonaut who was the 1st Slovak citizen to fly in space, born in Brezno, Czechoslovakia
- 1966 Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, wife of Prince Constantijn and sister-in-law of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, born in Leiden, Netherlands
- 1967 Poppy Z. Brite [Billy Martin], American author (Lost Souls, Drawing Blood), born in Bowling Green, Kentucky
- 1969 Stacy London, American stylist and fashion consultant (What Not To Wear), born in NYC, New York
- 1971 Marco Cappato, Italian politician (Member of the European Parliament), born in Milan, Italy
- 1973 Daz Dillinger [Delmar Drew Arnaud], American hip-hop performer, born in Long Beach, California
- 1979 Carlos Bocanegra, American sports executive and footballer, born in Alta Loma, California
- 1993 Dilley sextuplets, American sextuplets (United States' first set of surviving sextuplets), born in Indianapolis, Indiana