Famous People Born in 1930 a to z

Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist and author of Things Fall Apart, a work that in part led to his being called the "patriarch of the African novel."

Hafez al-Assad served as president of Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000. He is widely criticized for his brutal tactics but also praised for stabilizing the country.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin was one of the first people to walk on the moon. He and flight commander Neil Armstrong made the Apollo 11 moonwalk in 1969.

Astronaut, military pilot, and educator, Neil Armstrong made history on July 20, 1969, by becoming the first man to walk on the moon.

Self-described ‘street reporter’ Jimmy Breslin wrote columns for a sequence of New York papers. Also a novelist, he won a 1986 Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

Known as the "Oracle of Omaha," Warren Buffett is an investment guru and one of the richest and most respected businessmen in the world.

Ray Charles was a pioneer of soul music, integrating R&B, gospel, pop and country to creat hits like "Unchain My Heart," "Hit the Road Jack" and "Georgia on My Mind." A blind genius, he is considered one of the greatest artists of all time.

Michael Collins is a former astronaut who was part of the Gemini 10 and Apollo 11 missions, the latter of which included the first lunar landing in history.

Oscar-winning Scottish actor Sean Connery played "007" in the first James Bond spy movies. He also played the Indiane Jones's father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Jacques Derrida was an influential postmodern French philosopher who developed the analytic method known as Deconstruction.

Clint Eastwood has made his name as a popular TV and film actor. He went on to become a famed director, working on several Academy Award-winning films.

Jaime Escalante became famous for his work with troubled, "unteachable" high school math students. His story was told in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver.

Actor Ben Gazzara starred in the Broadway debut of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and in films such as 1998's The Big Lebowski.

Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director and critic who was a leader of the French New Wave in film during the 1950s-60s.

Mike Gravel is a former U.S. senator from Alaska, known for his efforts to end the draft during the Vietnam War and for releasing the Pentagon Papers.

Gene Hackman is an Academy Award-winning actor known for his range and versatility in several flims.

Playwright and activist Lorraine Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun and was the first black playwright and the youngest American to win a New York Critics’ Circle award.

Irish actor Richard Harris is best known for his performances as King Arthur in Broadway's Camelot and Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films.

Film and television actress Tippi Hedren was discovered by director Alfred Hitchcock and starred in two of his best known films, The Birds and Marnie.

Dolores Huerta is an activist and labor leader who co-founded what would become the United Farm Workers.

Writer Ted Hughes wrote poetry, non-fiction and children’s books. He was married to poet Sylvia Plath who committed suicide a year after he left her.

Katherine Jackson is best known for being the mother of international pop superstar Michael Jackson.

Helmut Kohl served as chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1988, during which time he oversaw the reunification of East and West Germany.

Lord Snowdon was married to Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, from 1960 to 1978. He is also a world-renowned photographer and documentarian.

By the 1960s, gangster and drug kingpin Frank Lucas had constructed an international drug ring that spanned from New York to South East Asia.

Pulitzer Prize winning author Frank McCourt wrote the biography Angela’s Ashes after retiring from teaching for 30 years in New York City.

American film star Steve McQueen was one of the most popular and well-paid actors of the 1960s and ‘70s. He starred in films like The Great Escape, Bullit and The Getaway.

Harvey Milk became one of the first openly gay officials in the United States in 1977, when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Tragically, he was killed the following year.

Sara Jane Moore gained national notoriety in 1975, when she attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford outside a San Francisco hotel.

Actor and singer Jim Nabors came to fame playing the lovable and bumbling Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show and later on the spinoff sitcom Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. A Republican, she was considered a moderate conservative and served for 24 years.

American businessman Ross Perot ran for the U.S. presidency as an independent candidate twice, in 1992 and 1996. He is one of the most successful third-party candidates in American history.

Harold Pinter is a renowned British playwright who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005.

Congressman Charles Rangel has served New York's Harlem district since 1971. He was censured by his peers for ethics violations in 2010.

Lamar State College of Technology

Faith Ringgold is an American artist and author who became famous for innovative, quilted narrations like Tar Beach that communicate her political beliefs.

Pat Robertson is a television evangelist best known for founding the Christian Coalition, an influential conservative political organization.

Sonny Rollins is a jazz saxophonist and composer associated with the "hard bop" movement.

Dick Sargent was an actor of film and television mostly remembered for his portrayal of Darrin Stephens on TV's Bewitched.

Mobutu Sésé Seko was president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was also known as Zaire for much of his reign, from 1965 to 1997.

Shel Silverstein was a poet and musician known for children’s books such as The Giving Tree and Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Stephen Sondheim is one of Broadway’s most successful and revered composers, responsible for works like Follies, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd.

George Soros is a self-made billionaire known for his investment savvy and his vast body of philanthropic work.

Arlen Specter was Philadelphia District Attorney and was elected to the senate five times. He helped initiate the reauthorization of the Patriot Act.

Paul Taylor is a renowned modern dance choreographer who helms the Paul Taylor Dance Company. His works include "Aureole," "Esplanade" and "Arden Court."

Willie Thrower was a pioneer for African Americans in football, the first to play quarterback professionally.

Joanne Woodward is an award-winning American actress best known for her roles in The Three Faces of Eve (1957), Rachel Rachel (1968) and Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973). Woodward is the widow of actor Paul Newman.