Famous June Birthdays a to z

Scottish social philosopher and political economist Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations and achieved the first comprehensive system of political economy.

African-American track and field star Tommie Smith broke both the Olympic and world records and won the 200-meter race in the 1968 Olympics.

Actress Leelee Sobieski’s debut film was the Disney comedy Jungle to Jungle. Shortly after, she landed her breakthrough role in Deep Impact.

Nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, Sonia Sotomayor became the first Latina Supreme Court Justice in US history.

Maureen Stapleton was an American actress known primarily for her stage work in the plays of Tennessee Williams.

Parker Stevenson is best known for his role as Frank Hardy in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries.

Jerry Stiller is an actor and comedian known for his roles on Seinfeld and The King of Queens. He is the father of actors, Amy Stiller and Ben Stiller.

Harriet Beecher Stowe was an author and social activist best known for her popular anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian composer best known as one of the most influential composers in the twentieth century for ballets such as The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring.

Award-winning actress Meryl Streep is a star of stage and screen, known for her work in such diverse films as The Deer Hunter, Adaptation, Mamma Mia! and Doubt.

Novelist William Styron won a Pulitzer Prize for The Confessions of Nat Turner and wrote Sophie’s Choice, the basis of an Academy Award-winning film.

Sukarno is best known as the first president of the Republic of Indonesia.

Hilary Swank is an American actress who has won Academy Awards for her starring roles in the films Million Dollar Baby and Boys Don't Cry.

Helen Taft was a schoolteacher, political adviser and U.S. First Lady who was the wife of President William Howard Taft.

Jessica Tandy was an English-born U.S. actress well known for her role in Broadway's Foxfire and her Oscar-winning performance in the film Driving Miss Daisy.

Henry Ossawa Tanner was an American painter who frequently depicted biblical scenes and is best known for the paintings "Nicodemus Visiting Jesus," "The Banjo Lesson" and "The Thankful Poor." He was the first African-American painter to gain international fame.

Bassist John Taylor first rose to fame in the 1980s as a member of the internationally successful band Duran Duran.

Clarence Thomas is the second African-American justice to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. He was appointed in 1991 and leans conservative.

Irish republican and rebel Wolfe Tone led a French military force to Ireland during the insurrection of 1798.

Donald Trump is a real estate mogul and billionaire. He is also owner of Trump Plaza and host of the NBC reality series, The Celebrity Apprentice.

Famed mathematician Alan Turing proved in his 1936 paper, "On Computable Numbers," that a universal algorithmic method of determining truth in math cannot exist.

Mike Tyson is a former heavyweight boxing champion who's served jail time and also appeared in several films.

Kate Upton is known for her appearances in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue in 2011 and 2012, and on the July 2012 cover of GQ magazine. She's also known for a popular video of her provocatively dancing to the Rej3ctz's song, "Cat Daddy."

James Van Der Zee was a renowned, Harlem-based photographer known for his posed, storied pictures capturing African-American citizenry and celebrity.

Comedic actor Jim Varney played his signature character Ernest P. Worrell in hundreds of commercials and five Disney films including Ernest goes to Camp (1987).

Diego Velázquez was a renowned Spanish painter and portraitist, and an icon of Western art.

Star Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's promising career has been tainted by illegal activities including involvement in an illegal dog-fighting ring.

Pancho Villa was a top military leader of the Mexican Revolution whose exploits were regularly filmed by a Hollywood company.

Lana Wachowski, along with brother Andy, is a producer, director and screenwriter known for The Matrix film trilogy, V for Vendetta and Cloud Atlas.

Mark Wahlberg got his start headlining the musical group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, later going on to a modeling career and acting success in Hollywood.

Ralph Waite is an American actor whose most notable role was playing John Walton Sr. on the 1970s television series The Waltons.

LeRoy Walker was the first black coach of an American Olympic team and the first black president of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Known for balancing modern designs with traditional elegance, Vera Wang is arguably the most prominent designer of bridal wear in America.

Elizabeth Warren is a Democrat from Massachusetts who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012. She previously worked as an assistant to President Barack Obama and helped design the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, among several other roles.

J. Robin Warren is a Nobel Prize-winning pathologist who, with Barry J. Marshall, identified the bacteria that causes ulcers.

As the original U.S. first lady, Martha Washington set many of the standards and customs that came to be observed by future president's wives.

André Watts is an award-winning, renowned pianist known for his virtuosic playing and rhapsodic interpretations of classical music greats.

Charlie Watts is best known for playing drums as part of the famed rock 'n' roll group the Rolling Stones. He is also a noted jazz musician.

Comedian and actor Keenen Ivory Wayans hosted his own late night show, The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show. His famous siblings are Damon, Shawn, Marlon and Kim.

Weegee was a photographer noted for his gritty yet compassionate images of the aftermath of New York street crimes and disasters.

Dorothy West is a writer remembered for her sharp observations of varied issues within the African American community.

Kanye West is a Grammy-winning rapper and sought-after producer who is as well known for his outrageous statements as he is for his broad musical palette.

Samuel West is a British actor best known for his roles in the films Howards End, Notting Hill, Van Helsing and Hyde Park on Hudson.

Dr. Ruth Westheimer is one of the world's most recognized authorities on sex. She has delivered her advice on TV, radio and the web for decades and has written numerous books.

Joss Whedon is a writer and director best known as the creator of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Charles Whitman was a former Marine and sniper who killed 16 people at the University of Texas in 1966.

British musician and producer Alan Wilder is best known as a keyboardist and songwriter for the band Depeche Mode. Wilder wrote songs like "The Great Outdoors," "The Landscape Is Changing" and "In Your Memory."

Actor Gene Wilder became a children's hero as the star of Mel Brook's film adaptation of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Model Kendra Wilkinson was one of Hugh Hefner's Playboy girlfriends. She co-starred in the TV series The Girls Next Door about the Playboy Mansion.

Venus Williams rose from a tough childhood in Compton, Los Angeles to become a champion women's tennis player and four-time Olympic gold medalist.

Ann Wilson is best known as the vocalist for Heart, the rock band that became famous for songs like "Barracuda."

English rocker Ron Wood became the Rolling Stones' guitarist in the mid-1970s, and is now a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.

Frank Lloyd Wright was a modern architect who developed an organic and distinctly American style. He designed numerous iconic buildings.

William Butler Yeats was one of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century and received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.

Brigham Young was an American Mormon leader and colonizer who significantly influenced the development of the American West.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1914–1956) was named "Woman Athlete of the Half Century" in 1950 for her skills in basketball, track & field, and golf.

One of soccer's all-time greats, Zinedine Zidane led France to victory at the 1998 World Cup, but was thrown out of the '06 Cup final for striking an opponent.