American country singer Randy Travis opened the door to young artists who sought to return to the traditional sound of country music. His 1986 album, Storms of Life, landed at No. 1 on the U.S. albums chart.
1959-
Sworn in as the 33rd president after Franklin Delano Roosevelt's sudden death, Harry S. Truman presided over the end of WWII and dropped the atomic bomb on Japan.
1884-1972
1820-1889
Ronan Tynan is Irish classical singer, most famous for his renditions of "God Bless America" at the Yankee Stadium during important games.
1960-
Irish author Colm Tóibín is famous for literary works about Irish society, creativity and homosexuality. His most popular novels include The Blackwater Lightship and The Master.
1955-
1989-
Mexican-American musician Ritchie Valens is best known for his hit "La Bamba." His successful career was cut short when he died in a plane crash at age 17.
1941-1959
Italian-American actor Rudolph Valentino was admired as the “Great Lover” of the 1920s.
1895-1926
Cornelius Vanderbilt was an industrialist in railroads and shipping. He had accumulated the largest fortune in the U.S. at the time of his death, in 1877.
1794-1877
The son of Cornelius Vanderbilt, William Henry Vanderbilt was a railroad magnate who doubled his family's fortune.
1821-1885
Punk rocker Sid Vicious became famous as bassist for the Sex Pistols before his entanglement with drugs and Nancy Spungen ended his career and life.
1957-1979
Richard Wagner is best known for creating several complex operas, including Tristan and Isolde and Ring Cycle, as well as for his anti-semitic writings.
1813-1883
Actress Nancy Walker appeared in films and on stage before playing Ida Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rosie in the Bounty paper towel commercials.
1922-1992
Blues guitarist and singer-songwriter T-Bone Walker is best known for his hit song "Stormy Monday" and has been called the Charlie Parker of Blues guitar.
1910-1975
Mike Wallace is an interviewer and reporter who has been working in TV and radio since 1939. He joined the program 60 Minutes in 1968.
1918-2012
1904-1943
Julia Ward Howe was a women's rights activist, abolitionist and writer who penned the poem "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
1819-1910
1907-1979
Veteran Australian actress Jacki Weaver has received Academy Award nominations for her work in such films as Animal Kingdom (2010) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012).
1947-
1933-
Orson Welles wrote, directed and starred in the film Citizen Kane, among others, which remains one of the most influential films ever made.
1915-1985
Jerry West is a former basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers who went on to become the team’s head coach and general manager.
1938-
1887-1948
Actress Lisa Whelchel co-starred in the popular 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life.
1963-
T.H. White was an English writer known for his novel series about King Arthur, The Once and Future King.
1906-1964
1915-1986
Walt Whitman was an American poet whose verse collection Leaves of Grass is a landmark in the history of American literature.
1819-1892
1959-
1910-1981
1958-
1949-
1860-1914
Actor Paul Winfield was best known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper in the film Sounder, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.
1939-2004
A versatile performer, actress Mare Winningham has won raves for such films as 1994's Georgia and such television work as 2011's Mildred Pierce.
1959-
Stevie Wonder is an American musician and a former child prodigy who became one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century. His hit songs include "Living in the City," "Boogie on a Reggae Woman" and "Isn't She Lovely."
1950-
Danny Wood is in New Kids on the Block, a boy band of five guys who ruled the charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and reunited in 2013.
1969-
1915-
Tammy Wynette was a Grammy Award-winning country music singer who recorded the hit "Stand By Your Man." She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998.
1942-1998
African-American leader and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X articulated concepts of race pride and black nationalism in the 1950s and '60s.
1925-1965
Iannis Xenakis was a Greek avant-garde composer of electronic music and musique concrete.
1922-2001
One-third of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, Peter Yarrow co-wrote and sang hits like "Puff the Magic Dragon." He is now a social and political activist.
1938-
1918-1997
1955-
Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis is behind Romancing the Stone, the Back to the Future trilogy, Forrest Gump, Tales from the Crypt and Cast Away.
1952-
Mark Zuckerberg is co-founder and CEO of the social-networking website Facebook, as well as one of the world's youngest billionaires.
1984-