Leonard Bernstein was one of the first American-born conductors to receive worldwide fame. He composed the score for the Broadway musical West Side Story.
1918-1990
Media magnate Conrad Black once owned The London Daily Telegraph and The Chicago Sun Times, before he was convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice.
1944-
Director, producer and screenwriter Tim Burton is known for such films as Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, which blend themes of fantasy and horror.
1958-
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.
1930-
1954-
Billy Ray Cyrus is a country singer/songwriter who is perhaps now more famous for his TV and film roles than for his music.
1961-
Tennis star Althea Gibson was the first African American to play at Wimbledon. She also broke racial barriers in professional golf.
1927-2003
1924-
German Communist Erich Honecker oversaw the building of the Berlin Wall, then watched it be torn down. He was forced to resign as head of East Germany in 1989.
1912-1994
Ivan the Terrible, or Ivan IV, was the first tsar of all Russia. During his reign (1533-1584), Ivan acquired vast amounts of land through ruthless means, creating a centrally controlled government.
1530-1584
Blake Lively is an actress notable for her role as Serena van der Woodsen on the CW network's teen drama Gossip Girl.
1987-
1921-1999
Bill Nye is a humorous writer best known for founding the Laramie Boomerang. His newspaper and writings quickly became popular across America.
1850-1896
Regis Philbin is a well-known TV personality who co-hosted his own daytime talk show for almost three decades, also working in prime time and writing several books.
1931-
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish-born detective and founder of a famous American private detective agency, the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.
1819-1884
Hashemi Rafsanjani, an ally of Ayatollah Khomeini during the Iranian Revolution, served as president of Iran from 1989 to 1997 before his defeat by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
1934-
1968-
Supermodel Claudia Schiffer starred in a campaign for Guess jeans, and appeared on the covers of more than 500 magazines, including Vogue and Rolling Stone.
1970-
1933-
Gene Simmons is best known as the frontman for KISS, the rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s, as well as for his TV show Gene Simmons Family Jewels.
1949-
1976-
Jeff Tweedy is a singer and songwriter who belongs to the influential alternative rock band Wilco.
1967-
1919-1998