Famous January Birthdays a to z

Leon Golub was an American painter who was both horrified and inspired by the Vietnam War.

Cuban musician, composer, and bandleader Juan De Marcos González formed Sierra Maestra, a musical group dedicated to traditional Cuban folk music.

Cuba Gooding Jr. is an African-American actor who is best known for his Oscar-winning role in Cameron Crowe's film Jerry Maguire.

Television producer Mark Goodson created many of the best-loved game shows of the 20th century, including What's My Line, The Price is Right and Family Feud.

Doris Kearns Goodwin is best known for authoring biographies of American presidents, including Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Hermann Göring was a leader of the Nazi Party. He was condemned to hang as a war criminal in 1946 but took his own life instead.

Bill Graham was a legendary rock concert promoter who arranged tours for bands like Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones from the 1960s until the '90s.

Seth Grahame-Smith is author of the best-selling novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and screenwriter for Dark Shadows.

Antonio Gramsci was an Italian Communist Party leader. He was arrested for speaking out against fascism and wrote his Prison Notebooks before dying in jail.

Actor Cary Grant performed in films from the 1930s through the 1960s. He starred in several Hitchcock films, including the 1959 hit North by Northwest.

Hank Greenberg became one of Major League Baseball's first Jewish super stars, while playing for the Detroit Tigers.

Arguably hockey's greatest player, Wayne Gretzky played for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers during his long career.

D.W. Griffith was one of cinema's earliest directors and producers, known for his innovations and for directing the 1915 film Birth of a Nation.

Jacob Grimm was a 19th century German scholar who, along with brother Wilhelm, published Grimms' Fairy Tales, a collection famous for its children's stories.

As drummer for Nirvana and founding member of the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl gave alternative rock its driving beat.

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

Nikki Haley was elected governor of South Carolina in 2010, becoming both the first female and Indian-American to fill the role.

Alexander Hamilton, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and major author of the Federalist papers, was the United States' first secretary of the treasury.

John Hancock was an 18th century U.S. merchant who was president of the Continental Congress and the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Jack Hanna, animal expert and former director of the Columbus Zoo, makes regular appearances on TV talk shows to teach people about exotic animals.

Eva Hart was one of the Titanic's most outspoken survivors, criticizing the White Star Line for failing to provide sufficient lifeboats for all of the passengers of the infamous ship.

Comedian Steve Harvey is a radio and TV show host who has also written relationship advice books.

Richie Havens was an American folk singer who opened the 1969 Woodstock Festival, and covered numerous pop and folk songs over his long career.

Stephen Hawking is known for his work regarding black holes and for authoring several popular science books. He suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

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.

Ed Helms is an actor, comedian, singer and musician known for his work on The Daily Show, The Office and The Hangover films.

Liam Hemsworth is an Australian actor of television and film known for his roles in Neighbours, The Last Song and The Hunger Games.

Benny Hill, the British comedian, is best known for his long running comedy series that would play in 109 countries.

As director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover had rabid anti-Communist and anti-subversive views and used unconventional tactics to monitor related activity.

Guitarist Michael was the lead guitarist for Widespread Panic, a jam band that recorded seven studio albums over a nearly 11-year career, including songs like "Ain't Life Grand" and "Blue Indian."

Janet Hubert is a stage, TV and film actress known for her role as Vivian Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

British college caretaker Ian Huntley was arrested for two murders in 2002 after a highly publicized search for his 10-year-old victims.

Chris Hurley is best known as the co-founder and former CEO of the video sharing website YouTube.com. Hurley and his partners sold YouTube to Google for $1.65 billion in stock in 2006.

Anthropologist and novelist Zora Neale Hurston was a fixture of the Harlem Renaissance before writing her masterwork, Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Stonewall Jackson was a leading Confederate general during the U.S. Civil War, commanding forces at Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

Etta James is a Grammy Award-winning singer known for hit songs like "I'd Rather Go Blind" and "At Last."

The writings of psychologist and philosopher William James had a major impact on the way we look at the mind, the body, and the world.

Jazzy Jeff is a DJ and producer known for his pioneering turntable work and his collaboration with Will Smith, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.

J.J. Johnson was a 20th century jazz musician and composer regarded as one of the greatest trombonists in history.

Shawn Johnson is an American gymnast who won a gold medal for the balance beam at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China when she was only 16 years old. In 2009, she was the winning contestant on Dancing with the Stars.

Sheila Johnson is an African-American entrepreneur who co-founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) and is part-owner of the three sports teams in the NHL, NBA and the WNBA.

Atlanta-born rapper, producer and DJ Lil Jon is known for performing a style of hip-hop called "crunk."

James Earl Jones is an American Actor, known as the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies. His film career has been vast.

January Jones is a TV and film actress known for her roles in Mad Men, X-Men: First Class and Unknown.

Roy Jones Jr. is a record-holding boxing champion known for his matches on HBO who has also done TV commentary work.

Singer Janis Joplin rose to fame in the late 1960s and was known for her powerful, blues-inspired vocals. She died of an accidental drug overdose in 1970.

Country star Naomi Judd formed The Judds with her daughter Wynonna in the 1970s. Her other daughter, Ashley, became a film actress.

Believe it or not, comedian Andy Kaufman was banned from Saturday Night Live, but beloved for his portrayal of Latka Gravas on the sitcom Taxi.

Actor and comedian Danny Kaye was enormously popular across stage, radio, TV and movie venues for his singing, dancing, impersonations and improvisations.

Diane Keaton is an Oscar-winning actress who earned early acclaim for her work in several Woody Allen films and her dramatic work in The Godfather series.

R. Kelly is a popular American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer best known for his gospel-tinged vocals and highly sexualized lyrics.

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy married John F. Kennedy Jr. and was considered a trendsetter and fashion icon. She died in a small plane crash in 1999.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the son of former New York senator and U.S. attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, and nephew of former U.S. president John F. Kennedy.

American composer Jerome Kern penned the scores to several wildly successful Broadway musicals including Show Boat, which was later performed by the New York Philharmonic.

Alicia Keys is a multiple Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter whose debut album, Songs in A Minor, went platinum five times over.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and social activist, who led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968.

King Yellowman is a Jamaican dancehall reggae performer whose stage name references his white skin due to albinism, a genetic defect causing an absence of the pigment melanin.

Singer and actress Eartha Kitt is best known for her holiday song "Santa Baby," and for playing Catwoman in the 1960's TV show Batman.

Jeff Koons is a famous contemporary artist whose work is influenced by an eclectic array of sensibilities.

Adam Lambert is an American singer best known for his finalist position in the eighth season of American Idol in 2009. His huge vocal range and glam-rocker style made him a standout. Lambert came in second place.

Actor Frank Langella portrayed Richard Nixon in the Broadway and film version of Frost/Nixon. He won a Tony Award and an Oscar nomination.

James Larkin was an Irish labor organizer and activist who founded the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union.

Gypsy Rose Lee rose from an early life in vaudeville to America's most famed burlesque performers, becoming the subject of the Broadway show Gypsy.

Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman from Virginia who made the motion for independence from Great Britain at the Second Continental Congress.

Robert E. Lee was the leading Confederate General during the U.S. Civil War and has been venerated as a heroic figure in the South.

Environmentalist Aldo Leopold served as director of the Audubon Society in the mid-1930s. He also founded the Wilderness Society.

American artist Jack Levine is best remembered for his American Social Realist paintings, including "Gangster Funeral," which satirized corruption in the modern world.

Shari Lewis was the host of Lamb Chop's Play-Along, which aired on PBS from 1992 to 1997, and received several Emmy Awards.

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.

Conservative Rush Limbaugh hosts the syndicated and controversial radio talk show, The Rush Limbaugh Show. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

Singer Kimberley Locke made a hugely successful run on American Idol and ended up placing third (behind runner-up Clay Aiken and winner Ruben Studdard).

Jack London was a 19th century American author and journalist, best known for the adventure novels White Fang and The Call of the Wild.

Singer Claudine Longet recorded seven albums from 1966 to 1972 and user her popularity to transition into an acting career. She murdered her boyfriend in 1976.

James Longstreet was the principle general of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, serving under Robert E. Lee.