On This Day

Birthdays in History on October 9

  • 1201 Robert de Sorbon, French theologian and founder of the Sorbonne College, born in Sorbon, France (d. 1274)
  • 1221 Salimbene di Adam, Italian chronicler, born in Parma, Italy (d. 1288)
  • 1261 Denis of Portugal, King of Portugal (1279-1325), born in Lisbon, Portugal (d. 1325)
  • 1328 Peter I of Cyprus, King of Cyprus (1358-69), born in Nicosia, Cyprus (d. 1369)
  • 1469 John Fisher, British Catholic clergyman (Bishop of Rochester, 1504-35; Cardinal, 1535), martyr, and saint, born in Beverley, England (beheaded 1535) [birth date disputed]
  • 1581 Claude Gaspard Bachet de Meziriac, French mathematician and poet, born in Bourg-en-Bresse, France (d. 1638)
  • 1586 Jan III van Foreest, Dutch lawyer, poet and mayor of Hoorn, born in Alkmaar, Netherlands (d. 1651)
  • 1586 Leopold V, Archduke of Austria, born in Graz, Austria (d. 1632)
  • 1663 Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni, Italian literary and critic (Arcadia), born in Macerata, Italy (d. 1728)
  • 1704 Ján Andrej Segner, Slovak and German mathematician, physicist, and physician, born in Bratislava, Slovakia (d. 1777)

Charles XCharles X (1757-1836)

King of France (1824-30), born in Palace of Versailles, France

Charles X
  • 1771 Frederik Willem, Duke of Brunswick (1813-15), born in Brunswick, Germany (d. 1815)
  • 1782 Lewis Cass, American military officer and politician (U.S. Senator-Michigan), born in Exeter, New Hampshire (d. 1866)
  • 1796 Joseph Bonomi the Younger, English artist and Egyptologist, born in London, England (d. 1878)
  • 1813 John J. Pettus, American politician, Confederate governor (D-Miss, 1859-63), born in Wilson County, Tennessee (d. 1867)
  • 1822 George Sykes, American Major General (Union Army), born in Dover, Delaware (d. 1880)

Mary Ann Shadd CaryMary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893)

American-Canadian publisher and anti-slavery campaigner, 1st African American newspaper publisher ('Provincial Freeman'), born in Wilmington, Delaware

Mary Ann Shadd Cary
  • 1830 Harriet Hosmer, American neoclassical sculptor, born in Watertown, Massachusetts (d. 1908)
  • 1840 Simeon Solomon, English Pre-Raphaelite painter, born in London, England (d. 1905)
  • 1847 Andre Dumont, Belgian mine engineer (Limburg's coal basin), born in Liège, Belgium (d. 1920)
  • 1847 Stephanus Jacobus du Toit, South African theologist and journalist (Afrikaner Bond), born in Paarl, South Africa (d. 1911)

Emil FischerEmil Fischer (1852-1919)

German chemist, discovered Fischer esterification (Nobel Prize 1902), born in Euskirchen, Rhine Province

Emil Fischer
  • 1858 Gerard Philips, Dutch industrialist and manufacturer (Philips), born in Zaltbommel, Netherlands (d. 1942)
  • 1858 Mihajlo "Micheal" Pupin, Serbian-American physicist and telephone pioneer, born in Idvor, Military Frontier of Austria (now Kovačica, Serbia) (d. 1935)

Alfred DreyfusAlfred Dreyfus (1859-1935)

French Jewish artillery officer (Dreyfus Affair), born in Mulhouse, France

Alfred Dreyfus
  • 1871 Didak Buntić, Croatian monk and scholar, born in Paoča, Bosnia and Herzegovina (d. 1922)
  • 1871 George Gauthier, Bishop of Montreal and rector of the Université de Montréal, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1940)
  • 1871 Gerrit Bolkestein, Dutch minister of Education (1939-45), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1956)
  • 1873 Karl Schwarzschild, German astronomer (Schwarzschild effect), born in Frankfurt, Germany (d. 1916)
  • 1874 Nicholas Roerich, Russian painter, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1947)
  • 1879 Max von Laue, German physicist who discovered the diffraction of X-rays by crystals, born in Pfaffendorf, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1960)
  • 1884 Helene Deutsch [Rosenbach], Polish-American psychoanalyst, born in Przemyśl, Poland (d. 1982)
  • 1888 Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin, Russian politician and intellectual, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1938)
  • 1890 Aimee Semple McPherson, Canadian-American evangelist (Pentecostal), born in South-West Oxford, Canada (d. 1944)
  • 1892 Ivo Andric, Yugoslavian novelist (Bridge on Drina, Nobel 1961), born in Dolac, Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina (d. 1975)
  • 1892 Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (The Train of Life), born in Moscow (d. 1941)
  • 1893 Mário de Andrade, Brazilian writer, photographer and modernist, born in São Paulo (d. 1945)

Eugene BullardEugene Bullard (1895-1961)

1st African-American military pilot, flew for France in World War I as part of the French Foreign Legion, born in Columbus, Georgia

Eugene Bullard
  • 1899 Bruce Catton, American historian and writer (Civil War), born in Petoskey, Michigan (d. 1978)
  • 1904 Johannes Karel Marie Ditto, Dutch dominican and broadcast chairman (KRO, 1938-45), born in Velsen, Netherlands (d. 1977)
  • 1906 John Dalrymple, 13th earl of Stair, Lord-Lieutenant of Wigtownshire (1961-83)

Léopold Sédar SenghorLéopold Sédar Senghor (1906-2001)

Senegalese poet and 1st President of Senegal (1960-80), born in Joal-Fadiouth, Senegal

Léopold Sédar Senghor
  • 1907 Jacques Tati, French director (Traffic, Playtime), born in La Pecq, France (d. 1982)
  • 1907 Quintin Hogg, British politician, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, born in London (d. 2001)
  • 1908 Harry Hooton, Australian poet, born in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England (d. 1961)
  • 1908 Jim Folsom, American politician (Alabama-Gov, 1947-51, 1955-59), born in Coffee County, Alabama (d. 1987)
  • 1910 Donald Coggan, 101st Archbishop of Canterbury (1974-80), born in Highgate, London (d. 2000)
  • 1911 Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (Pulitzer Prize-Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2006)
  • 1915 Clifford M. Hardin, American politician (17th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture), born in Knightstown, Indiana (d. 2010)
  • 1918 E. Howard Hunt, American intelligence officer involved in Watergate break-in, born in Hamburg, New York (d. 2007)
  • 1919 Irmgard Seefried, German soprano, born Köngetried, Bavaria (d. 1988)
  • 1920 Jens Bjørneboe, Norwegian poet and writer (Dikt, Jonas), born in Kristiansand, Norway (d. 1976)
  • 1924 Robert A. Rushworth, American test pilot (X-15), born in Madison, Maine (d. 1993)
  • 1925 Robert Finch, American politician (8th U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare), born in Tempe, Arizona (d. 1995)
  • 1927 Ivan Metropolitan Ioann Snychev, Russian Orthodox Priest, born in Novo-Mayachka, Russia (d. 1995)
  • 1933 Bill Tidy, English cartoonist (Fosdyke Saga), born in Tranmere, England
  • 1933 Peter Mansfield, British Physician whose discoveries led to MRI (2003 Nobel Prize), born in London (d. 2017)
  • 1934 Jacobo Majluta Azar, 47th President of the Dominican Republic (1978-82), born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (d. 1996)
  • 1934 Jill Ker Conway, Australian-American author, first female president of Smith College, born in Hillston, Australia (d. 2018)
  • 1935 Don McCullin, British photographer, born in London, England
  • 1935 Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, born in London, England
  • 1938 Heinz Fischer, Austrian politician (11th President of Austria), born in Graz, Austria
  • 1939 Pierre Mertens, French-Belgian writer (Lettres Clandestines), born in Brussels, Belgium
  • 1940 Gordon J. Humphrey, US Senator (R) New Hampshire (1979-90), born in Bristol, Connecticut
  • 1941 Brian Lamb, American founder of c-span, born in Lafayette, Indiana
  • 1941 Trent Lott, American politician (Rep-R-MS, 1973-1989, Senator-R-MS 1989-2007), born in Grenada, Mississippi
  • 1942 Shukri Ghanem, Libyan Prime Minister (2003-2006), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2012)
  • 1943 Mike Peters, American cartoonist (Mother Goose and Grimm), born in St. Louis, Missouri
  • 1947 William E. McAnulty, Jr., American lawyer (1st African American justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 2007)
  • 1948 Luiza Trajano, Brazilian businessperson (Magazine Luiza), born in Franco, Brazil
  • 1950 Jody Williams, American political activist and aid worker (Nobel Peace Prize 1997), born in Rutland, Vermont
  • 1957 Yuri Usachyov, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-18, TM-23), born in Donetsk, Russia
  • 1959 Bill Lee, American politician, Governor of Tennessee (2019-), born in Franklin, Tennessee
  • 1959 Boris Nemtsov, Russian politician, born in Sochi, Soviet Union (d. 2015)
  • 1966 Christopher Östlund, Swedish publisher and entrepreneur, born in Uppsala, Sweden

David CameronDavid Cameron (56 years old)

1966 British Prime Minister (Conservative: 2010-16), born in London, England

David Cameron
  • 1971 Simon Atlee, British fashion photographer (d. 2004)
  • 1984 Marie Kondo, Japanese organizational guru (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up), born in Tokyo, Japan


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