Terence Powderly served as union leader of the Knights of Labor from 1879 to 1893. Under his leadership, the union saw both unprecedented growth and sudden decline.
1849-1924
Canadian poet E.J. Pratt is the author of several collections of verse, including The Titans (1926) and Brébeuf and His Brethren (1940).
1882-1964
Steve Prefontaine is best known as the runner who once held the U.S. record in every long-distance event. He died in a car crash in 1974 at age 24.
1951-1975
Lisa Marie Presley is a singer and actress who is familiar to most as the only daughter of Elvis Presley and the ex-wife of Michael Jackson.
1968-
Leontyne Price is a lyric soprano who has been credited as the first African-American singer to achieve an international reputation in opera.
1927-
Known as the 'wild child' of Monaco for her scandalous affairs, Princess Stephanie's diverse career path has included singing, swimwear design and modeling.
1965-
1947-
1905-1982
President Ronald Reagan helped redefine the purpose of government and pressured the Soviet Union to end the Cold War. He solidified the conservative agenda for decades after his presidency.
1911-2004
Called “the greatest actress of our time” by Tennessee Williams, Vanessa Redgrave is an acclaimed actress of stage and screen.
1937-
Actress Donna Reed charmed audiences in the film It's a Wonderful Life and on television's The Donna Reed Show.
1921-1986
1926-2000
1910-1953
Mary Lou Retton is a retired champion gymnast who won gold, silver and bronze medals at the 1984 Olympics. She was featured on the Wheaties cereal box.
1968-
1936-
Countess of Wessex Sophie Rhys-Jones is married to Edward, Earl of Wessex, and is the mother of Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn.
1965-
Actress Christina Ricci played Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family movie. By the late 1990s, she was one of the most in-demand young actresses in Hollywood.
1980-
Model and actress Denise Richards is best known for her role in 1998's Wild Things, and for her tumultuous marriage and divorce with actor Charlie Sheen.
1971-
1949-
Serial killer Joel Rifkin killed 17 women in the 1990s before the police tried to pull him over for a missing license plate (and discovered his latest victim).
1959-
Molly Ringwald is an American actress known for the series of teen films she did with directer John Hughes in the 1980s, including Sixteen Candles.
1968-
Emma Roberts, best known for being the daughter of actor Eric Roberts and niece of actress Julia Roberts, has established her own career in television and film.
1991-
John Roberts became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after he was nominated by George W. Bush in 2005.
1955-
1918-2009
Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play major league baseball, becoming Rookie of the Year in 1947, National League MVP in 1949 and a World Series champ in 1955.
1919-1972
Former Saturday Night Live castmember Chris Rock has appeared in such films as Bad Company and is the creator of the television show Everybody Hates Chris.
1965-
Philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. was the only son of John D. Rockefeller and heir to his fortune. He is known for building Rockefeller Center in New York City.
1874-1960
1894-1978
Actor and dancer Cesar Romero performed in movies from the '30s through the '60s. He became a pop culture icon in the 1966 Batman television series.
1907-1994
Filmmaker George A. Romero has created such classic horror films as Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead.
1940-
Cristiano Ronaldo is a professional soccer player who has set records while playing for both Manchester United and Real Madrid.
1985-
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only U.S. president to be elected four times. He led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II.
1882-1945
Civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger, spurring the Montgomery boycott and other efforts to end segregation.
1913-2005
Founder and lead singer of Guns N' Roses, Axl Rose, is a celebrated but controversial figure in the world of rock.
1962-
1960-
Kelly Rowland is a member of the top-selling American R&B girl group Destiny's Child.
1981-
Art Rubinstein was a famous Polish pianist who is regarded by many as the greatest Chopin interpreter of the 20th century.
1887-1982
1819-1900
Hailed as the greatest winner in sports, Basketball Hall of Fame center Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented 11 championships in just 13 seasons.
1934-
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-
U.S. Representative Paul Ryan is a Republican from Wisconsin known for his conservative positions. In the 2012 presidential election, Ryan was the running mate of Republican nominee Mitt Romney, who was defeated by President Barack Obama.
1970-
Sebastião Salgado is an award-winning photographer known for his arresting documentation of communities across the world.
1944-
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky made headlines in November 2011, when he was arrested on several sexual offenses related to children. He was later found guilty of 45 charges and sentenced to serve 30 to 60 years in prison.
1944-
Cristina Saralegui hosts the talk show The Cristina Show for the Univision Network. It has been on the air since 1989 and has won 11 Emmys.
1948-
Nicolas Sarkozy served as France's 23rd president from 2007 to 2012. His term was marked by controversy, which included his marriage to Carla Bruni in 2008.
1955-
Telly Savalas was an American actor best known for his role as a tough, New York City detective in the 1970’s television series Kojak.
1922-1994
1926-2003
Franz Schubert is considered the last of the classical composers and one of the first romantic ones. Schubert's music is notable for its melody and harmony.
1797-1828
Liberal political commentator Ed Schultz is the host of a radio talk show called The Ed Schultz Show and the MSNBC television program The Ed Show.
1954-
British actor Paul Scofield is one of only a handful of actors who have won an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony.
1922-2008
Tom Selleck is an actor best known for portraying Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television series Magnum, P.I., and for films including Three Men and a Baby.
1945-
1898-1948
Emmy Award-winning British actress Jane Seymour starred on the dramatic TV series Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, and was in the James Bond film Live and Let Die.
1951-
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton was an Irish-born British explorer who was a principal figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
1874-1922
Born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira is a hugely popular Colombian pop singer who is known for the hits "Whenever, Wherever" and "Hips Don't Lie."
1977-
Dr. Anna Howard Shaw was the first female minister in the Methodist Protestant Church. She spent most of her life working for the cause of women's suffrage.
1847-1919
Sidney Sheldon was a best-selling novelist who won Oscar, Tony and Emmy awards for his work on the stage and screen.
1917-2007
1950-
1949-
William Tecumseh Sherman was a U.S. Civil War Union Army leader known for "Sherman's March," in which he and his troops laid waste to the South.
1820-1891
1952-
William Shockley was an engineer and co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1956 for his development of the transistor.
1910-1989
1923-2006
Film critic Gene Siskel reviewed movies with co-host Roger Ebert on the nationally syndicated program Siskel & Ebert & the Movies.
1946-1999
Captain Edward J. Smith played a role in one of the most famous disasters at sea in history, the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
1850-1912
Dame Muriel Spark was a Scottish novelist, poet and literary critic best known for her novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
1918-2006
Charlotta Spears Bass was a journalist and activist who, as editor of the California Eagle, championed African-American equality and freedom.
1874-1969
Arlen Specter was Philadelphia District Attorney and was elected to the senate five times. He helped initiate the reauthorization of the Patriot Act.
1930-2012
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-
Jerry Springer is an American talk show host, best known for his tabloid talk show, The Jerry Springer Show. He is also a former mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.
1944-
1848-1889
Roger Staubach is a former NFL quarterback who led the Dallas Cowboys to win two Super Bowls. He’s also a businessman and sports commentator.
1942-
1937-1995
1953-
Gertrude Stein was an American author and poet best known for her modernist writings, extensive art collecting and literary salon in 1920s Paris.
1874-1946
1961-
Alexander Stephens was the Confederate vice president during the American Civil War.
1812-1883
1957-1999
1915-1985
Theater director Lee Strasberg co-founded the Group Theatre, where he directed experimental plays, and later became artistic director of the Actors Studio.
1901-1982
David Strathairn is an American actor best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Good Night, and Good Luck, and performances in We Are Marshall, The Bourne Ultimatum, Temple Grandin and Lincoln.
1949-
Julius Streicher was a Nazi demagogue and politician who gained infamy as one of the most virulent advocates of the persecution of Jews during the 1930s.
1885-1946
Jeb Stuart was a General and cavalry leader for the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He worked closely with General Robert E. Lee.
1833-1864
English-born singer and teen heartthrob Harry Styles is best known as one of the five members of boy band One Direction.
1994-
1947-
Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger is a former US Airlines pilot, who successfully ditched his passenger plane on the Hudson River after it struck a flock of Canada geese, thereby saving all 155 people aboard.
1951-
A student of such famed physicists as Albert Einstein and Max Planck, Leo Szilard was key in getting the United States to work on the atomic bomb.
1898-1964
Ice-T is best known for his raps about street life and violence, and his influence on the gangster rap genre.
1958-
1800-1877
Maria Tallchief was a revolutionary American ballerina who broke barriers for Native American women.
1925-2013
Model and actress Sharon Tate is best remembered for her tragic and untimely death at the hands of serial killer Charles Manson.
1943-1969
American football player Lawrence Taylor was a member of the New York Giants and is considered one of the best linebackers in the history of the game.
1959-
Manti Te'o is an American football player who became embroiled in controversy in early 2013, when the story of his girlfriend's tragic death was revealed to be a fabrication.
1991-
Italian operatic soprano Renata Tebaldi was best known for her exquisite and emotional quality of her singing.
1922-2004
1987-
1909-1974
Ahmir Khalib Thompson, also known as Questlove, is known as a founding member of the hip-hop/neo-soul group the Roots.
1971-
Entrepreneur Charles Tiffany co-founded Tiffany & Young, which later became the premier jewelry store Tiffany & Co.
1812-1902
Son of Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Tiffany, Louis Tiffany was an internationally renowned glass maker and a leader of the Art Nouveau movement.
1848-1933