- 1207 Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, Persian mystic and poet, born in Khorassan, Afghanistan (d. 1273)
- 1227 Nicholas IV [Girolamo Masci], Italian Pope (1288-92) who was the 1st Franciscan elected, born in Lisciano, Kingdom of Naples (d. 1292)
- 1530 Geronimo Mercuriali, Italian philologist and physician (d. 1606)
- 1550 Michael Maestlin, German mathematician (d. 1631)
- 1627 Robinson Crusoe, Fictional character, according to Daniel Defoe
- 1631 William Stoughton, American judge at the Salem witch trials (d. 1701)
- 1700 Stanisław Konarski, Polish political writer and Catholic priest who influenced education reform in Poland, born in Żarczyce Duże, Poland (d. 1773)
- 1710 John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, British statesman (d. 1771)
- 1715 Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, French philosopher (d. 1780)
Jacques Necker (1732-1804)
French finance minister of Louis XVI whose decisions contributed to the outbreak of the French Revolution, born in Geneva, Switzerland
- 1765 José María Morelos, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1815)
- 1788 FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, British Army officer (commander of the British forces during the Crimean War), born in Badminton, England (d. 1855)
- 1800 Decimus Burton, British architect (Hyde Park, Palm House Kew Gardens), born in London, England (d. 1881)
- 1805 Samuel Peter Heintzelman, American Major General (Union Army), born in Manheim, Pennsylvania (d. 1880)
- 1808 Lambertus GC Ledeboer, Dutch vicar (Folies-old Calvinist communities)
- 1811 Augusta of Saxe-Weimar, Queen of Prussia and German Empress (d. 1890)
- 1827 Ellis H. Roberts, American politician, Treasurer of the US (Rep-R-New York), born in Utica, New York(d. 1918)
- 1827 Kenner Garrard, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Bourbon County, Kentucky (d. 1879)
- 1832 Frederick Sleigh "Bobs" Roberts, British governor of Natal (Ireland-Boer war)
- 1833 Ferdinand von Saar, Austrian novelist, playwright and poet, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1906)
- 1847 Wilhelmina Drucker [Lensing], Dutch feminist
- 1857 Hermann Sudermann, German writer (Honor, That Ehre, Frau Sorge), born in Matziken, East Prussia (d. 1928)
- 1861 William Wrigley Jr., American industrialist (Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1932)
Reinhard Scheer (1863-1928)
German admiral and commander of the High Seas Fleet in World War I (Battle of Jutland), born in Obernkirchen, Electorate of Hesse
- 1870 Jean Perrin, French physicist, studied Brownian motion (Nobel 1926), born in Lille, France (d. 1942)
- 1870 Thomas W. Lamont, American banker; father of Corliss Lamont; great-grandfather of Ned Lamont (d. 1948)
- 1871 Jan Fabricius, Dutch-English playwright (Dolle Hans), born in Assen, Netherlands (d. 1964)
- 1882 Hans Geiger, German physicist (co-inventor of the Geiger counter), born in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, German Empire (d. 1945)
- 1883 Bernhard Rust, German Nazi politician and Minister of Science, Education and National Culture (1934-45), born in Hanover, German Empire (d. 1945)
- 1883 Robert Lightfoot, English theologist and exegetist (St John's Gospel) (d. 1953)
- 1893 Lansdale Ghiselin Sasscer, American politician (REP-Maryland 1939-53), born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland (d. 1964)
- 1894 Dirk J Bush, Dutch-American mathematician (Concise History of Mathematics)
- 1896 Jolie Gabor [Janka Tilleman], Hungarian-American jeweler and mother of Magda, Zsa Zsa, & Eva, born in Budapest, Hungary (birth date disputed)
- 1898 Felix Kersten, Baltic-German Finnish masseuse (masseuse to Heinrich Himmler who helped save people from Nazi persecution), born in Tartu, Imperial Russia (d. 1960)
- 1898 Princess Charlotte of Monaco, illegitimate daughter of Louis II and mother of Prince Rainier III born in Constantine, French Algeria (d. 1977)
- 1899 Hendrik Marsman, Dutch poet, writer and critic, born in Zeist, Netherlands (d. 1940)
- 1902 Piet[er J] "Piet" Lieftinck, Dutch minister of Finance (1945-52)
- 1905 Nevill Francis Mott, English physicist (Nobel Prize for Physics 1977 for work on amorphous semiconductors), born in Leeds, England (d. 1996)
- 1905 Savitri Devi [Maximiani Portas], Greek French Nazi writer, born in Lyon, France (d. 1982)
- 1908 Edzard H. Schaper, German Swiss sailor and UP correspondent and antifascist, born in Ostrowo
- 1912 Oliver Anderson, English novelist (Rotten Borough), born in Snitterby, England (d. 1996)
- 1915 Lester Maddox, American politician (Governor-D-Georgia 1967-71) and restaurant owner, born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2003)
- 1915 Robert Morris, American lawyer, born in Jersey City (d. 1996)
- 1917 Chung Hee Park, Korean general and President of South Korea (1961-79), assassinated in office, born in Gumi, Japanese Korea (d. 1979)
- 1917 Irving B. Kahn, American inventor of the teleprompter, born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 1994)
- 1917 Yuri "Petrovich" Lyubimov, Soviet director (Taganka Theatre), born in Yaroslavl, Russia (d. 2014)
- 1918 Lewis Nixon, American WWII soldier (depicted in "Band of Brothers), born in New York City (d. 1996)
- 1921 Eileen Chang, Chinese-American writer, scriptwriter and feminist, born in Shanghai, China (d. 1995)
- 1922 Alan Stretton, Australian general (managed the response to 1974 Cyclone Tracey in Darwin), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2012)
Truman Capote (1924-1984)
American author (Breakfast At Tiffany's; In Cold Blood), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
Elie Wiesel (1928-2016)
Jewish Auschwitz survivor and author (Night), Nobel Prize winner 1986, born in Sighet, Romania
- 1929 Leticia Ramos-Shahani, Filipino Senator, lawmaker and women's rights activist who led the drafting of the international women’s bill of rights, born in Lingayen, Philippine Islands (d. 2017)
- 1932 Shintaro Ishihara, Japanese author and politician (Governor of Tokyo), born in Suma-ku, Kobe, Japan (d. 2022)
- 1933 Mars Rafikov, Russian cosmonaut (one of the 20 original cosmonauts), born in Jalal-Abad, Soviet Union (d. 2000)
- 1936 Butler Derrick, American politician (Rep-D-SC, 1974-95), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 2014)
- 1936 Jim Sasser, American politician (Senator-D-Tennessee, 1977-97), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- 1937 Jurek Becker, Polish-born German writer (Jacob the Liar), born in Łódź, Poland (d. 1997)
- 1938 Salvatore Michael Caruana, American criminal (FBI Most Wanted List)
- 1939 Piet Blauw, Dutch politician (VVD)
- 1943 Jody Powell, American White House press secretary for Jimmy Carter, born in Cordele, Georgia (d. 2009)
- 1943 Johann Deisenhofer, German biochemist (1988 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for determining structure of proteins essential to photosynthesis), born in Zusamaltheim, Germany
- 1945 Bob Lassiter 'Mad Dog', American radio personality, born in Camden, New Jersey (d. 2006)
- 1945 Ehud Olmert, Israeli politician (twelfth Prime Minister of Israel 1988-92), born near Binyamina, Palestine
- 1946 Raël [Claude Vorilhon] French founder of Raelism, a UFO religion, born in Vichy, France
- 1946 William Thurston, American mathematician (Fields Medal, 1982), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2012)
- 1949 Michel Tognini, French test pilot and astronaut (Soyuz TM-15, sk: STS 93), born in Vincennes, France
- 1951 Barry Marshall, Australian physician, (1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovery bacterium Helicobacter pylori causes peptic ulcers), born in Kalgoorlie, Australia
- 1951 Nicholas Yermakov, American sci-fi author (Epiphany, Jehad, Clique)
- 1953 S.M. Stirling, Canadian-American author (Draka series), bon in Metz, France
- 1956 Maria Esmeralda, Belgian princess/daughter of Leopold III and Lilian Baels
- 1957 Gladys Portugues, American atress, Mrs Jean-Claude Van Damme (It's Alive 3), born in NYC, New York
- 1959 Xiomara Castro, Honduran politician (1st female President of Honduras 2022-), born in Santa Bárbara, Honduras
- 1960 Blanche Lincoln, American politician (Senator-Arkansas 1999-2011, youngest person elected to the Senate at 38), born in Helena, Arkansas
- 1962 Massimo Bottura, Italian restaurateur (Osteria Francescana), born in Modena, Italy
- 1964 Stephen N. Frick, American naval commander and astronaut, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 1966 Kerry G. Johnson, African American graphic designer and caricaturist
- 1972 Ari Behn, Norwegian author, born in Aarhus, Denmark
- 1975 Jay Asher, American writer, born in Arcadia, California
- 1975 Laure Péquégnot, French skier, born in Isère, France
- 1975 Ta-Nehisi Coates, American author, born in Baltimore, Maryland
- 1980 Camilla D'Errico, Canadian comic book artist and painter
- 1980 Virgil Abloh, American designer (Louis Vuitton menswear), 1st African American artistic director at a French fashion house, born in Rockford, Illinois
- 1992 Marina Windsor, English granddaughter of English prince Edward