Famous July Birthdays a to z

Bella Abzug was a leading liberal activist and politician in the 1960s and 1970s, especially known for her work for women’s rights.

John Quincy Adams was the sixth president of the United States. He was also the eldest son of President John Adams, the second U.S. president.

Todd Akin is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 2nd District, best known for his controversial statement on abortion made during his 2012 senate bid.

Lou Albano was a professional wrestler-turned-wrestling personality in the hugely popular World Wrestling Federation of the 1980s.

Ira Aldridge was a 19th century African-American actor who became a renowned interpreter of Shakespearean tragedy on the European stage.

Alexander the Great was the King of Macedonia. During his leadership he united Greece, reestablished the Corinthian League and conquered the Persian Empire.

Eugene Allen was a distinguished butler for the White House who served under eight presidents, including Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

One of America's best-loved comediennes, Gracie Allen developed the Burns and Allen weekly radio program with husband George Burns.

African-American entrepreneur Wally Amos founded the Famous Amos cookie brand. He also worked as a talent agent and discovered Simon & Garfunkel.

Pamela Anderson first gained fame in the pages of Playboy and rose to international fame with her role on Baywatch. She garnered more fame in 2010, when she competed on Dancing with the Stars.

One of the biggest classic pop performers, Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka moved from teen heartthrob to adult artist with a slew of hits.

Jodi Arias was convicted of brutally murdering her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, at his Arizona home in 2008.

After the Duvalier family of dictators was overthrown, Salesian Priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide was chosen as president of Haiti in its first democratic election.

Alexis Arquette is a transgendered actor and member of the Arquette acting family. She performs in drag as "Eva Destruction."

Arthur Ashe is the first African American to win the men's singles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and the first black American to be ranked No. 1 in the world.

Julian Assange came to international attention as the founder of the whistle-blowing Web site, Wikileaks.

Fur trader and real estate investor John Jacob Astor was one of the leading businessmen of his day and the founder of an American fur trade dynasty.

Financier John Jacob Astor IV was the great-grandson of John Jacob Astor. He helped build the Waldorf-Astoria hotel and died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

William Atherton is an American actor known for playing heavies in films like Ghostbusters and Die Hard.

Alan Autry is best known for his role as Captain "Bubba" Skinner on the television series In the Heat of the Night. In later life, he was a successful mayor of Fresno, California.

American neuroscientist Richard Axel is best known for his work on the olfactory system, exploring how the brain interprets smell.

Dan Aykroyd is a Canadian actor and comedian known for his performances on Saturday Night Live, and in the hit films The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters.

Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian tennis player and Olympic gold medalist. She is known for the loud grunting noise she makes when hitting the ball.

Isaak Babel was a Russian writer of Jewish descent known for his masterful short stories. He was imprisoned and executed in the Stalin era.

Kevin Bacon is known for numerous movies (especially Footloose), his marriage to Kyra Sedgwick and the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Buju Banton is a controversial Jamaican dancehall singer who is best known for his notorious single "Boom Bye Bye," which advocated violence against gays and inspired worldwide protest.

A popular humorist, Dave Barry has poked fun at an array of topics, from bad songs to historical events, for more than 30 years.

Jean Baudrillard was a French postmodern social theorist and philosopher who developed theories of "hyperreality" and "simulacrum."

Film actor. Kate Beckinsale is an actress whose starring role in the Underworld films catapulted her to international stardom.

Gertrude Bell was a British writer, archaeologist and political officer best known for helping to establish modern Iraq after World War I.

Kristen Bell is an American actress known for her roles on TV's Veronica Mars and in such films as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Couples Retreat and Get Him to the Greek.

Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director and producer best known for films such as The Seventh Sea (1956), Cries and Whispers (1971) and Autumn Sonata (1978).

Milton Berle was a Jewish-American comedian who started in vaudeville acts, and was a success in the early days of TV, becoming known as "Uncle Miltie."

Mary McLeod Bethune was an educator and activist, serving as president of the National Association of Colored Women and founding the National Council of Negro Women.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum became prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates in 2006, and is responsible for Dubai’s transformation into a lavish business destination.

Rubén Blades is an acclaimed Panamanian singer, musician and actor known for albums like Buscando America and hits like "Pedro Navaja."

Jean-Pierre Blancard was a French balloonist who crossed the English Channel by balloon in 1785. He spurred interest in ballooning in Europe and the United States.

Franz Boas was a German-born anthropologist who founded the relativistic, culture-centered school of American anthropology that dominated 20th century thought.

Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military leader who was instrumental in the revolutions against the Spanish empire.

Lizzie Borden is best known for her arrest and trial for the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother. She was acquitted in 1893.

American motion-picture actress Clare Bow personified the flapper of the 1920s. From 1927 to 1930 she was one of the top five Hollywood box-office attractions.

Thomas Bowdler was a physician and self-appointed editor of great literature. He published The Family Shakespeare, a family friendly version of Shakespearean works, in 1807, and gave rise to the term "Bowdlerized."

Camilla Parker Bowles married Prince Charles in a civil service in 2005. The two had been romantically involved for more than 25 years.

Entrepreneur Richard Branson launched Virgin Records in 1973. Today Virgin Group holds more than 200 companies in more than 30 countries.

Emily Brontë is best known for authoring the novel Wuthering Heights. She was the sister of Charlotte and Anne Brontë, also famous authors.

For 40 years, Actor and comedian Albert Brooks has worked steadily in Hollywood, appearing both in other people's movies and in his own self-directed projects.

Alton Brown is best known as a celebrity chef, best-selling author and award-winning Food Network star.

Molly Brown was best known for her social welfare work on behalf of women and children, and for surviving the Titanic sinking.

Yul Brynner was an actor of stage and screen most famous for portraying King Mongkut of Siam in The King and I.

Betty Buckley is an American actress best known for roles in the television show, Eight is Enough, and later film roles.

Academy Award-winning actress Sandra Bullock is known for her roles in such films as Speed, While You Were Sleeping, The Proposal, and The Blind Side.

British astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell assisted in constructing a large radio telescope and discovered pulsars, cosmic sources of peculiar radio pulses.

British-born Mark Burnett produced and directed a number of highly popular shows in the United States, including Survivor and The Apprentice.

George W. Bush was the 43rd president of the United States. He led his country's response to the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and initiated the Iraq War in 2003.

Brazilian-born beauty Gisele Bündchen is a top fashion model, and the wife of professional football player Tom Brady.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and helped Italian-American immigrants. She was canonized in 1946.

James Cagney was an Academy Award-winning actor who was known for playing gangsters and short-fused tough guys.

Theologian John Calvin was the leading French Protestant Reformer and the most important figure in the second generation of the Protestant Reformation.

Jose Canseco is best known for his record-breaking Major League Baseball career.

Pierre Cardin is an Italian-born French fashion designer best known for his haute couture geometric avant-garde designs.

Ted Cassidy was a 6’9” American actor known for his work in The Addams Family TV series and the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Marc Chagall was a French artist whose work was generally based on emotional association rather than traditional pictorial fundamentals.

Actress Kristin Chenoweth is best known for her Broadway roles in Wicked and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, as well as on TV show The West Wing.

Judy Chicago is an American artist, educator and writer, and a leading figure in feminist art. She received critical acclaim in the 1970s for her art project "The Dinner Party."

Charlie Christian was a pioneering electric jazz guitarist of the mid-20th century who would go on to greatly influence his successors.

Hugo Chávez served as president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013. During his presidency, he sold oil to Cuba and resisted efforts to stop narcotic trafficking in Columbia, and subsequently strained relations with the United States.

Julio César Chávez is a retired Mexican professional boxer and world lightweight champion who, for many years, was one of Mexico's most popular sports figures.

Psychologist and educator Kenneth Bancroft Clark was the first black president of the American Psychological Association.

Vince Clarke is best known for his membership in the snythpop group Erasure and the technopop group Depeche Mode.

When Frances Cleveland married Grover Cleveland, she became the youngest first lady ever, and the first to be married in the White House.