Famous Birthdays on this Day in History

May 12

• 1401 – Emperor Shōkō, 101^st Japanese Emperor (d. 1428)
• 1496 – Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1560)
• 1590 – Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1621)
• 1622 – Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor General of New France (d. 1698)
• 1626 – Louis Hennepin, Flemish missionary (d. 1705)
• 1670 – Frederick Augustus I of Poland (d. 1733)
• 1700 – Luigi Vanvitelli, Italian architect (d. 1773)
• 1725 – Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (d. 1785)
• 1767 – Manuel de Godoy, Spanish statesman (d. 1851)
• 1803 – Justus von Liebig, German chemist (d. 1873)
• 1804 – Robert Baldwin, Canadian politician (d. 1858)
• 1806 – Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish statesman (d. 1881)
• 1812 – Edward Lear, British author and poet (d. 1888)
• 1814 – Adolf von Henselt, German composer and pianist (d. 1889)
• 1820 – Florence Nightingale, British nurse (d. 1910)
• 1828 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, British painter (d. 1882)
• 1829 – Pavlos Carrer, Greek composer (d. 1896)
• 1840 – Alejandro Gorostiaga, Chilean military, participated on Battle of Huamachuco (d. 1912)
• 1842 – Jules Massenet, French composer (d. 1912)
• 1845 – Gabriel Fauré, French composer (d. 1924)
• 1850 – Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S. statesman (d. 1924)
• 1867 – Hugh Trumble, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
• 1874 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician (d. 1929)
• 1880 – Lincoln Ellsworth, American explorer (d. 1951)
• 1885 – Paltiel Daykan, Russian-born Israeli jurist (d. 1969)
• 1889 – Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank (d. 1980)
• 1892 – Fritz Kortner, Austrian-born director (d. 1970)
• 1895 – William Giauque, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1982)
• 1895 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (d. 1986)
• 1899 – Indra Devi, Latvian Yoga Instructor (d. 2002)
• 1900 – Helene Weigel, German actress (d. 1971)
• 1900 – Joseph Rochefort, American naval officer and cryptanalyst (d. 1976)
• 1903 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, British actor (d. 1991)
• 1907 – Leslie Charteris, British author and screenwriter (d. 1993)
• 1907 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (d. 2003)
• 1910 – Charles B. Fulton, American jurist (d. 1996)
• 1910 – Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, British biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1994)
• 1912 – Archibald Cox, U.S. Solicitor General (d. 2004)
• 1914 – Bertus Aafjes, Dutch poet (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Howard K. Smith, American journalist (d. 2002)
• 1914 – James Bacon, American entertainment columnist and reporter
• 1916 – Albert Murray, American writer
• 1917 – Frank Clair, American-born Canadian football coach (d. 2005)
• 1918 – Julius Rosenberg, American-born spy for the Soviet Union (d. 1953)
• 1918 – Mary Kay Ash, American businesswoman (d. 2001)
• 1921 – Joseph Beuys, German artist (d. 1986)
• 1921 – Farley Mowat, Canadian writer and naturalist
• 1922 – Marco Denevi, Argentine writer (d. 1998)
• 1924 – Alexander Esenin-Volpin, Russian mathematician
• 1924 – Tony Hancock, British comedian (d. 1968)
• 1924 – Maxine Cooper Gomberg, American actress (d. 2009)
• 1925 – Yogi Berra, American baseball player
• 1928 – Burt Bacharach, American composer
• 1928 – Henry Cosby, American songwriter (d. 2002)
• 1929 – Dollard St. Laurent, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1929 – Sam Nujoma, first President of Namibia
• 1930 – Jesús Franco, Spanish film director
• 1933 – Andrey Voznesensky, Russian poet
• 1935 – Felipe Alou, Dominican baseball player and manager
• 1935 – Johnny Bucyk, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1936 – Guillermo Endara, President of Panama (d. 2009)
• 1936 – Tom Snyder, American television personality (d. 2007)
• 1936 – Frank Stella, American painter
• 1937 – Beryl Burton, British cyclist (d. 1996)
• 1937 – George Carlin, American comedian (d. 2008)
• 1937 – Susan Hampshire, British actress
• 1938 – Millie Perkins, American film actress
• 1939 – Miltiadis Evert, Greek politician
• 1939 – Reg Gasnier, Australian Rugby League footballer
• 1939 – Ron Ziegler, U.S. White House Press Secretary (d. 2003)
• 1939 – Jalal Dabagh, Kurdish politician
• 1942 – Ian Dury, British musician (d. 2000)
• 1942 – Michel Fugain, French singer and songwriter
• 1942 – Billy Swan, American songwriter and singer
• 1944 – Chris Patten, British politician
• 1945 – Alan Ball, Jr., English footballer (d. 2007)
• 1945 – Nicky Henson, British actor
• 1945 – Ian McLagan, British keyboardist (Small Faces)
• 1945 – Patrick Ricard, French businessman
• 1946 – L. Neil Smith, American science fiction author
• 1946 – Daniel Libeskind, American architect
• 1947 – Michael Ignatieff, Canadian politician
• 1947 – Micheline Lanctôt, American film actor, director and screenwriter
• 1947 – Catherine Yronwode, American writer and editor
• 1948 – David Heineman, American politician, current governor of Nebraska
• 1948 – Joe Tasker, British mountaineer (d. 1982)
• 1948 – Steve Winwood, British musician (The Spencer Davis Group; Traffic)
• 1950 – Bruce Boxleitner, American actor
• 1950 – Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor
• 1950 – Billy Squier, American singer and musician
• 1951 – George Karl, American basketball player and head coach
• 1952 – Norbert Stolzenburg, German footballer
• 1953 – Kevin Grevey, American basketball player
• 1956 – Bernie Federko, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1956 – Glenn Robbins, Australian comedian
• 1956 – Asad Rauf, Pakistani cricket umpire
• 1957 – Lou Whitaker, American baseball player
• 1958 – Andreas Petroulakis, Greek political caricaturist
• 1958 – Eric Singer, American drummer
• 1959 – Ving Rhames, American actor
• 1960 – Paul Arcand, Quebec radio host, journalist and film director
• 1960 – Ian Khan, British racing driver
• 1961 – Paul Begala, American political commentator
• 1961 – Billy Duffy, British guitarist (The Cult)
• 1961 – Thomas Dooley, German-American soccer player
• 1961 – Lar Park Lincoln, American actress
• 1961 – Bruce McCulloch, Canadian actor
• 1962 – Emilio Estevez, American actor
• 1962 – Brett Gurewitz, American songwriter (Bad Religion) and record producer (Epitaph Records)
• 1963 – Panagiotis Fasoulas, Greek basketball player, Mayor of Piraeus
• 1963 – Gavin Hood, South African film director
• 1963 – Stefano Modena, Italian racing driver
• 1963 – Charles Pettigrew, American singer (Charles and Eddie) (d. 2001)
• 1963 – Jerry Trimble, American actor
• 1963 – Deborah Kara Unger, Canadian actress
• 1963 – Vanessa A. Williams, American actress
• 1964 – Pierre Morel, French film director
• 1966 – Stephen Baldwin, American actor
• 1966 – Bebel Gilberto, Brazilian singer
• 1967 – Paul D'Amour, American bass guitarist (Tool)
• 1967 – Joe McKinney, Irish actor
• 1968 – Mark Clark, American baseball player
• 1968 – Tony Hawk, American skateboarder
• 1968 – Scott Schwartz, American actor
• 1968 – Catherine Tate, British comedian
• 1969 – Kim Fields, American actress
• 1969 – Kevin Nalty, American YouTube personality
• 1970 – Jim Furyk, American golfer
• 1970 – Mike Weir, Canadian golfer
• 1970 – Samantha Mathis, American actress
• 1970 – Steve Palframan, South African cricketer
• 1970 – Mark Foster, British swimmer
• 1971 – Doug Basham, American professional wrestler
• 1971 – Jamie Luner, American actress
• 1973 – Kendra Kassebaum, American stage actress
• 1973 – Travis Lutter, American mixed martial arts fighter
• 1973 – Lutz Pfannenstiel, German footballer
• 1973 – Robert Tinkler, Canadian voice actor
• 1975 – Jonah Lomu, New Zealand rugby union footballer
• 1975 – Lawrence Phillips, American football player
• 1976 – Kardinal Offishall, Canadian rapper
• 1977 – Lorena Bernal, Argentine/Spanish model and actress
• 1977 – Graeme Dott, British snooker player
• 1977 – Rebecca Herbst, American actress
• 1978 – Jason Biggs, American actor
• 1978 – Malin Åkerman, Swedish-Canadian actress and model
• 1978 – Wilfred Le Bouthillier, Canadian singer
• 1978 – Aya Ishiguro, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
• 1978 – Josh Phelps, American baseball player
• 1978 – Hossein Reza Zadeh, Iranian weightlifter
• 1979 – Andre Carter, American football player
• 1979 – Callum Chambers, Australian rules footballer
• 1979 – Robert Key, English cricketer
• 1979 – Erdinç Saçan, Turkish-Dutch politician
• 1979 – Steve Smith, American football player
• 1979 – Aaron Yoo, Korean-American actor
• 1979 – Dennis Trillo, Filipino actor and singer
• 1980 – Keith Bogans, American basketball player
• 1980 – Felipe Lopez, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1981 – Kentaro Sato, Japanese composer
• 1981 – Rami Malek, American actor
• 1982 – David Thaxton, British stage actor and singer
• 1983 – Charilaos Pappas, Greek footballer
• 1983 – Alina Kabayeva, Russian gymnast
• 1983 – Virginie Razzano, French tennis player
• 1984 – Tommaso Reato, Italian rugby player
• 1985 – Tally Hall, American footballer
• 1985 – Jeroen Simaeys, Belgian footballer
• 1986 – Emily VanCamp, Canadian actress
• 1986 – Mouhamed Sene, Senegalese basketball player
• 1987 – Gianluca Sansone, Italian footballer
• 1987 – Kieron Pollard, West Indies Cricketer
• 1988 – Marky Cielo, Filipino dancer and actor (d. 2008)
• 1988 – Marcelo Vieira da Silva Júnior, Brazilian footballer
• 1989 – Matthew Hann, American basketball player
• 1990 – Jacory Harris, American football player
• 1992 – Malcolm David Kelley, American actor
• 1995 – Luke Benward, American actor