Considered one of the best baseball players of all time, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record when he hit his 715th home run in 1974, before setting a new Major League Record with 755 home runs in the same year.
1934-
Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner made a record-breaking, supersonic skydive from 24 miles above the earth in October 2012.
1969-
1964-
Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake holds the world record for the 4-by-100-meter relay. In 2012, he won a silver medal in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races, losing to rival and fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt in both events.
1989-
Nellie Bly was an American journalist known for her investigative and undercover reporting. She earned acclaim in 1887 for her exposé on the conditions of patients at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, and achieved further fame after the New York World sent her on a trip around the world in 1889.
1864-1922
Usain Bolt became the first man in Olympic history to win both the 100-meter and 200-meter races in world record times in 2008. Four years later, at the London Olympics, he became the first man to win gold medals in both the 100 and 200 at consecutive Olympic Games and the first man in history to set three world records in a single Olympic Games competition.
1986-
1913-1983
Agatha Christie was a mystery writer who was one of the world's top-selling authors with works like Murder on the Orient Express and The Mystery of the Blue Train.
1890-1976
Outfielder Roberto Clemente broke National League batting records while playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1960s.
1934-1972
1961-
French bicyclist Henri Desgrange is best known for organizing the first Tour de France.
1865-1940
Annie Edson Taylor was a teacher and daredevil who was the first person to ride down Niagara Falls in a barrel.
1838-1921
Allyson Felix is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, she won two gold medals, in the women's 200 and the 4-by-100-meter relay.
1985-
Tim Ferriss is an author, blogger and motivational speaker known for his books The 4-Hour Workweek and The 4-Hour Body.
1977-
At the 2012 London Olympics, Missy Franklin won gold in both the 100-meter and 200-meter backstrokes, and two more gold medals with the 4-by-200-meter and 4-by-100-meter relay teams.
1995-
1937-
Yuri Gagarin was a Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 became the first man to travel into space
1934-1968
Matt Groening is a cartoonist and creator of The Simpsons, the longest-running entertainment series in prime time television.
1954-
1942-2002
1980-
Olympic gold medalist Florence Joyner brought style to track and field with form-fitting bodysuits, six-inch fingernails and amazing speed. She still holds the world records in the 100- and 200-meter events.
1959-1998
One of the greatest athletes of all time, track and field star Jackie Joyner-Kersee has won three Olympic gold medals, as well as one silver and two bronze.
1962-
1890-1968
1963-
1938-2007
1955-
Member of the legendary Four Musketeers of French tennis, Renee Lacoste also invented the metal tennis racket and was founder of the Lacoste line of sportswear.
1904-1996
British runner Eric Lidell won a gold medal in the 1924 Olympic Games. The movie Chariots of Fire (1981) tells the story of his triumph.
1902-1945
Actress and singer Jennifer Lopez is one of Hollywood’s leading ladies who’s also forged a successful pop and dance music career.
1969-
American diving champion Greg Louganis won 13 world championships and made history at the 1982 Olympics as the first diver ever awarded a perfect score.
1960-
Mickey Mantle played for the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968, and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
1931-1995
One of the most powerful hitters in baseball history, Mark McGwire briefly held the record for most home runs in a single season.
1963-
Explorer and mountaineer Reinhold Messner is famous for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.
1944-
1955-
1956-
French artist Nadar was a caricaturist and photographer who became famous for his portrait studio and the images snapped from his giant hot air balloon.
1820-1910
American track-and-field athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. His long jump world record stood for 25 years.
1913-1980
Annie Smith Peck was a trailblazing scholar, writer and athlete who set records as a mountain climber in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
1850-1935
French daredevil Philippe Petit is best known for his 1974 high-wire walk between the twin towers in New York City.
1949-
Swimmer Michael Phelps has set the record for winning the most medals, 22, of any Olympic athlete in history.
1985-
International R&B star Rihanna released her first album in 2005 and is known for such hits as "Umbrella," Pon de Replay," "SOS" and "Disturbia."
1988-
Basebally player Cal Ripken, Jr. played 21 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles. By the time he retired in 2001, he set a new record by playing in 2,632 consecutive games.
1960-
Cristiano Ronaldo is a professional soccer player who has set records while playing for both Manchester United and Real Madrid.
1985-
1895-1948
Nolan Ryan played professional baseball until age 46. He pitched 3,509th career strikeouts, becoming the first pitcher to surpass Walter Johnson's 1927 record.
1947-
1968-
1928-2012
American swimmer Mark Spitz set a world record at the 1972 Olympic Games, when he won seven gold medals across individual and team events.
1950-
Dana Vollmer is a swimmer and three-time Olympic gold medalist. She set the world record for the 100-meter butterfly at the London Olympics in 2012, and won two gold medals there.
1987-
Professional golf player Tiger Woods was the youngest man (at the age of 21) and the first African-American to win the U.S. Masters.
1975-
Orville Wright is best known for inventing the airplane with his brother, Wilbur.
1871-1948
Wilbur Wright is best known for developing the first successful airplane with his brother, Orville.
1867-1912
1867-1955
Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1914–1956) was named "Woman Athlete of the Half Century" in 1950 for her skills in basketball, track & field, and golf.
1911-1956