1838-1917
Actor, writer and producer James Lipton founded the Actors Studio Drama School and has hosted Bravo TV's Inside the Actors Studio since 1994.
1926-
Meat Loaf is a multi-platinum musician, made famous for his rock opera, Bat Out of Hell. He's acted in cult-hit films, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fight Club.
1947-
Actress Heather Locklear was on the television series C.H.I.P.S, Dynasty, T.J. Hooker, Melrose Place and Sin City. She was also in the movie Firestarter.
1961-
Sophia Loren is an Academy Award-winning Italian actress. A striking beauty, Loren is often listed among the world's all time most attractive women.
1934-
1601-1643
King Louis XIV of France led an absolute monarchy during France’s classical age. He revoked the Edict of Nantes and is known for his aggressive foreign policy.
1638-1715
By the 1960s, gangster and drug kingpin Frank Lucas had constructed an international drug ring that spanned from New York to South East Asia.
1930-
Quarterback Andrew Luck was a two-time Heisman finalist at Stanford University. The Indianapolis Colts selected him with the number one pick in the 2012 NFL draft.
1989-
1977-
Baz Luhrmann is an Australian director and screenwriter best known for his films Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge.
1962-
1906-1987
Journalist, television personality and author Joan London was on Good Morning America for nearly two decades, and was one of the most popular TV co-hosts.
1950-
1847-1939
1767-1834
Kirkpatrick Macmillan is best known for inventing the first pedal bicycle.
1812-1878
Winnie Mandela was the controversial wife of Nelson Mandela who spent her life in varying governmental roles.
1936-
Alfred Thayer Mahan was an American naval officer and historian who was an exponent of sea power in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
1840-1914
Alice Marble was a women's tennis champion, winner of 12 U.S. Open and 5 Wimbledon titles. She also served as U.S spy in Switzerland during WWII.
1913-1990
American professional boxer and world heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano beat Jersey Joe Walcott for the title and won an unrivaled 49 straight fights.
1923-1969
Known for running a corrupt, undemocratic regime, Ferdinand Marcos was the president of the Philippines from 1966 to 1986.
1917-1989
Dan Marino was a Hall of Fame quarterback for the Miami Dolphins from 1984-2000.
1961-
American baseball player Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961 to break the single-season record held by the legendary Babe Ruth.
1934-1985
J. Willard Marriott is a 20th-century American entrepreneur who started in food service and eventually opened a hotel chain.
1900-1985
James Marsden is an American actor best known for his role as Cyclops in the action adventure movie X-Men and its two sequels.
1973-
1951-
John Marshall became the fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1801. He is largely responsible for establishing the Supreme Court's role in federal government.
1755-1835
Fantasy writer George R. R. Martin created A Song of Ice and Fire, one of the most popular book series today and includes 1996's Game of Thrones
1948-
Former U.S. Representative Eric Massa served just over a year in the House before he was accused of sexual misconduct with a male staffer.
1959-
Marcello Mastroianni often played the ideal European male in Federico Fellini's films.
1924-1996
1935-
High school teacher Christa McAuliffe was the first American civilian selected to go into space. She died in the space shuttle Challenger’s explosion in 1986.
1948-1986
Linda McCartney was a photographer who became widely known as the wife of Beatle Paul McCartney.
1941-1998
Fashion designer and committed vegetarian Stella McCartney is the daughter of ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his late wife, Linda.
1971-
Actor Roddy McDowall had a recurring role on the Batman television series, and played Cornelius in the film and TV versions of Planet of the Apes.
1928-1998
Rose McGowan in an American actress whose pin-up looks and bad-girl demeanor attracted a devoted following in the 1990s.
1973-
1950-
Kenneth McGriff was the leader of the Supreme Team gang, a main player in the Baisley Park crack-cocaine scene. In 2007, he was sentenced to life in prison.
1960-
William McGuffey was a 19th-century educator remembered chiefly for his series of elementary readers.
1800-1873
Claude McKay was a Jamaican-born poet and novelist whose Home to Harlem (1928) was the most popular novel written by an American black to that time.
1890-1948
1921-2008
Kristy McNichol is an Emmy award-winning actress and singer, active on film and television during the 1970s-1980s.
1962-
1908-2003
1943-
Jayne Meadows is an American actress best known for her television work on I’ve Got a Secret (1952-'59). She is the wife of comedian Steve Allen.
1920-
Dmitry Medvedev served under Vladimir Putin and succeeded him as president of Russia in 2008.
1965-
1880-1956
1927-
Explorer and mountaineer Reinhold Messner is famous for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.
1944-
Pippa Middleton is best known as the younger sister of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge and wife of Prince Charles.
1983-
Abby Lee Miller, who runs a Pittsburgh dance studio, is known for her tirades and tough training as star of Lifetime TV's reality show Dance Moms.
1966-
1980-
American gymnast Dominique Moceanu was a member of the "Magnificent Seven," the U.S. women's gymnastics team that won Olympic gold in 1996.
1981-
Juan Pablo Montoya reigned as the Colombian National Carting Champion from 1981 through 1984. By 1992, he was winning Colombian Formula Renault races.
1975-
Roh Moo-hyun was a lawyer and human rights activist who was the president of South Korea from 2003-'08.
1946-2009
Anne Moody is an African-American author whose writings about her personal and political struggles during the American Civil Rights Movement became classic.
1940-
Contrasting her edgy, tomboyish style with that of her female popstar peers, Pink has had huge success with hits like "You Make Me Sick" and "There You Go".
1979-
Actor Clayton Moore appeared in approximately 70 feature films and played the Lone Ranger on a ABC network television version of the radio program.
1914-1999
1765-1815
Baseball player Joe Morgan won consecutive National League MVP awards 1975–1976, when he led the Cincinnati Reds to back-to-back World Series championships.
1943-
J.P. Morgan Jr. was a finance executive who followed in his father’s footsteps to head the firm J.P. Morgan and Co.
1867-1943
1916-1978
Boxer "Sugar" Shane Mosley won championships in three separate weight classes to forge a legacy as one of the sport's most accomplished performers.
1971-
1957-
Constance Baker Motley was a legal advocate in the Civil Rights Movement. She became the first female African-American federal judge in 1966.
1921-2005
1941-
American actor Paul Muni is best known for his film and stage portrayals of noted historical figures. He was nominated five times for the Academy Awards.
1895-1967
Comedian and actor Bill Murray is best known for his roles on Saturday Night Live and in the classic comedies Caddy Shack and Stripes. More recently, he was cast as FDR in the film Hyde Park on Hudson.
1950-
East Coast rapper Nas made it big with albums Illmatic (1994), It Was Written (1996) and Stillmatic (2001).
1973-
Thomas Nast is known as the “Father of the American Cartoon,” having created satirical art during the 19th century that critiqued slavery and crime.
1840-1902
1923-1950
Jennifer Nettles is an American country music vocalist, best known as the lead singer of the popular group Sugarland.
1974-
Louise Nevelson was an iconoclast artist known for her monochromatic abstract expressionist sculptures. She rose to be an internationally known artist and worked into her 80s.
1899-1988
1948-
A.C. Nielsen was an American market-research engineer and business executive, best known for creating Nielsen ratings, a national rating of television viewing.
1897-1980
1909-1972
1950-
In the 1980s, Jessye Norman’s roles in Aïda and Les Troyen made her one of the most popular and highest paid soprano opera singers worldwide.
1945-
1963-
Bill O'Reilly is best known for his cable news program, The O'Reilly Factor, which has been airing on Fox News since 2001, and is also a bestselling author of several books. Until 2009, he ran a popular radio show, The Radio Factor.
1949-
1905-1993
1945-
1940-
1943-
1991-
American track-and-field athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. His long jump world record stood for 25 years.
1913-1980
German composer Johann Pachelbel was known for his works for organ, and was considered one of the great organ masters of the generation before J.S. Bach.
1653-1706
William S. Paley was a businessman who started what would become the CBS television network.
1901-1990
Arnold Palmer, nicknamed "The King," is a former champion golfer and is considered one of the sport's all-time greats.
1929-
Gwyneth Paltrow is an American actress known for such films as Se7en, Emma and Great Expectations. In 1998, she won an Academy Award for her role in Shakespeare in Love.
1972-
1951-
Scottish explorer Mungo Park (1771–1806) wrote Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa about his expeditions to find the source of the Niger River.
1771-1806
Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov studied "conditioned reflex" through an experiment that made hungry dogs salivate at the sound of a dinner bell.
1849-1936
J.C. Penney was best known as an American businessman who founded a retail chain under the same name. His stores today sell general merchandise for the home.
1875-1971
1964-
Writer, actor, producer, and director Tyler Perry has built an entertainment empire that consists of successful films, plays, and a best-selling book.
1969-
American actress Cassandra Peterson became famous in the 1980s for her television role as the vampy Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
1951-
Olympic medalist Mark Phillips is renowned as the commoner who married Princess Anne.
1948-
Filipino Arnel Pineda is best known as the new lead singer for the rock group Journey.
1967-
Jada Pinkett Smith is an American actress, is married to Will Smith, and is the mother of Jaden and Willow Smith.
1971-