Gerry Adams is president of Sinn Féin, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army.
1948-
Hafez al-Assad served as president of Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000. He is widely criticized for his brutal tactics but also praised for stabilizing the country.
1930-2000
1937-
Le Corbusier was a Swiss-born French architect who belonged to the first generation of the so-called International school of architecture.
1887-1965
Silent film actress Janet Gaynor won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Actress in 1929, for her role in the movie Seventh Heaven.
1906-1984
Ioan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor best known for playing Horatio Hornblower in the Emmy Award-winning A&E miniseries.
1973-
Fannie Lou Hamer was a civil rights activists who helped African Americans register to vote and who cofounded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
1917-1977
Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl made a celebrated journey aboard a raft called Kon-Tiki in 1947, and later wrote an international best-seller about his amazing expedition.
1914-2002
Lonnie G. Johnson is an engineer and inventor who worked on the Cassini mission to Jupiter and invented the Super Soaker.
1949-
Opera singer, teacher and philanthropist Jenny Lind, a.k.a. the "Swedish Nightingale,” was the prima donna at the Royal Opera in Stockholm during the 1800s.
1820-1887
1908-1942
1773-1850
Civil rights leader, social activist and minister Joseph Lowery has fought against prejudice and discrimination against African-Americans for more than 50 years.
1921-
Tennis player Helen Wills Moody was the first female athlete to become an international star, winning 31 Grand Slam titles during her career.
1905-1998
1846-1914