1879-1957
Bradley Cooper is an actor who first made a name for himself on the TV series Alias and has since become a successful film actor.
1975-
In 2004, athlete Maritza Correia made history as the first African-American woman to earn a place on the U.S. Olympic Swim Team. She later became the first African-American woman to break an American record.
1981-
Film actor and director Kevin Costner directed and starred in the epic film Dances With Wolves (1990), which won seven Oscars.
1955-
Television journalist Katie Couric, formerly of the Today show, signed a deal with CBS in 2006 to become the first woman to anchor CBS Evening News alone.
1957-
Grammy Award-winning musician Wayne Coyne has been the frontman of the Flaming Lips since 1983.
1961-
Quentin Crisp became a gay icon in the 1970s after publication of his memoir, The Naked Civil Servant, describing his life in homophobic British Society.
1908-1999
Jim Croce was an American folk singer and songwriter. He released five studio albums between 1966 and 1973, before his untimely death in 1973.
1943-1973
1921-1998
Post-Impressionist French painter Paul Cézanne is best known for his incredibly varied painting style which greatly affected 20th century abstract art.
1839-1906
1959-
Ted Danson is an American actor best known for playing bartender Sam Malone on the hit TV sitcom Cheers.
1947-
Rubén Darío was an acclaimed Nicaraguan poet, essayist and journalist who introduced the style known as modernism to Spanish literature.
1867-1916
Glenn Woodward Davis won the 1946 Heisman Trophy as a halfback at Army, setting single season records for average yards per carry, 11.5 in 1945.
1924-2005
French writer Simone de Beauvoir laid the foundation for the modern feminist movement. Also an existentialist philosopher, she had a romance with Sartre.
1908-1986
1600-1681
Actress Drea de Matteo played mob girlfriend Adriana La Cerva for five seasons on HBO's The Sopranos.
1972-
Madame de Pompadour became the mistress of French King Louis XV in the mid-1700s. She greatly influenced French culture during this time, including decorative arts, architecture and statecraft.
1721-1764
1449-1492
Deadmau5 is a Grammy Award-nominated and Juno Award-winning electronic DJ/dance artist known for his trademark helmet and popular live shows. He's released albums like 4x4=12 and >album title goes here<.
1981-
Dizzy Dean was a Major League Baseball pitcher who led the St. Louis Cardinals to World Series victory in 1937.
1911-1974
1779-1820
Paula Deen is best known for her Food Network shows on Southern cooking, including Paula's Home Cooking, Paula's Party and Paula's Best Dishes.
1947-
American actor & high school dropout Patrick Dempsey is best known for his role as Dr. Derek Shepherd on the hit medical drama Grey's Anatomy.
1966-
Bob Denver played the title role on the goofy 1960s TV sitcom Gilligan's Island.
1935-2005
John Denver was one of the most successful singer-songwriters of the 1970s. His hits include "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Thank God I'm a Country Boy."
1943-1997
1948-
Actress Zooey Deschanel has appeared in such films as (500) Days of Summer, and on the hit TV sitcom New Girl.
1980-
1837-1917
Dustin Diamond is a former child actor known for his role as Screech on Saved by the Bell. He later appeared in a sex video and on reality TV.
1977-
1928-2008
1901-1963
Film actress Marlene Dietrich was known for her sultry, sex appeal. She was a major leading lady in the 1930s and 1940s.
1901-1992
Taye Diggs is an American actor best known for his role as the opportunistic landlord Benny in the Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking musical Rent.
1971-
Writer E.L. Doctorow is the author of novels such as Ragtime, Billy Bathgate and The Book of Daniel.
1931-
1898-1959
1896-1970
Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas is best known as the first African American to win the individual all-around event. She also won a team gold medal for the U.S. at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
1995-
1952-
1936-
Faye Dunaway is a revered Oscar-winning actress known for her work in films like Bonnie and Clyde, The Thomas Crown Affair, Chinatown and Network.
1941-
Actor Robert Duvall has been in some of the most acclaimed films of all time, including To Kill A Mockingbird, Apocalypse Now, Lonesome Dove and The Godfather.
1931-
Esther Dyson, named by Forbes magazine as one of the most powerful women in American business, is regarded as one of the most influential voices in technology.
1951-
Steve Earle is a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter whose albums seamlessly blend rock, folk and country. He has also appeared on the HBO series The Wire and Treme.
1955-
1932-
As lead singer of the grunge rock band Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder belted out hits like "Evenflow," "Alive" and "Jeremy."
1964-
First a child star on Charles in Charge, Actress Nicole Eggert is best known for her role as lifeguard Summer Quinn on Baywatch.
1972-
1876-1936
Anwar el-Sadat was the one-time president of Egypt (1970-1981) who shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for establishing peace agreements with Israel.
1918-1981
1709-1762
Jaime Escalante became famous for his work with troubled, "unteachable" high school math students. His story was told in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver.
1930-2010
1935-2005
1946-
1961-
1906-1999
Alex Ferguson is a Scottish soccer player known for his highly successful, long-term management of the Manchester United league.
1941-
1953-
1912-1992
Ralph Fiennes is a British film actor best known for his performances in Schindler's List, The English Patient and The Constant Gardener.
1962-
Millard Fillmore is best known for assuming the presidency after the death of Zachary Taylor, becoming the 13th U.S. president.
1800-1874
1830-1913
Heidi Fleiss is an American criminal best known as the "Hollywood Madam" of a high class prostitution ring that catered to wealthy clients like Charlie Sheen.
1965-
Sandford Fleming was a civil engineer and scientist best known as the chief railway engineer of Canada in the 19th century.
1827-1915
Dave Foley was a founding member of the comedy troupe Kids in the Hall and was one of the leads on the TV sitcom NewsRadio.
1963-
George Foreman is a retired American boxer who twice won boxing's heavyweight championship. After retiring, he became a popular pitchman.
1949-
Writer and critic E.M. Forster is the author of Howards End, A Passage to India and A Room With a View.
1879-1970
Dian Fossey was a zoologist best known for researching the endangered gorillas of the Rwandan mountain forest from the 1960s to the '80s, and for her mysterious murder.
1932-1985
Benjamin Franklin is best known as one of the Founding Fathers who drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
1706-1790
Bonnie Franklin is best known for playing Ann Romano, a loving but tough divorced mother on the hit television show One Day at a Time.
1944-2013
1915-2009
Sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce became the first Jamaican woman to win the 100-meter Olympic gold medal in 2008. She won her second straight 100-meter Olympic gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
1986-
Joe Frazier was the world heavyweight boxing champion from February 1970 until January 1973 and fought in the famous "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975.
1944-2011
1929-
1933-
Actress Ava Gardner was a sultry beauty famous for playing femme fatale roles, and for her marriages to Frank Sinatra, Artie Shaw and Mickey Rooney.
1922-1990
Henry Highland Garnet was an African-American best known as an abolitionist whose “Call to Rebellion” speech encouraged slaves to rebel against their owners.
1815-1882
As a member of the Bee Gees, Maurice Gibb scored numerous hits during the 1970s.
1949-2003
Singing with two of his brothers as the Bee Gees, Robin Gibb scored numerous hits in the 1970s, including "Stayin' Alive" and "How Deep Is Your Love."
1949-2012
Philosophical essayist, novelist, poet and artist Khalil Gibran wrote The Prophet, a book of poetic essays that achieved cult status among American youth.
1883-1931
Mel Gibson is a well-known film actor, director and producer, having starred in Braveheart, Hamlet, Maverick and both the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon series.
1956-
1809-1898
Barry Goldwater was an American politician best known as a senator from Arizona and the Republican candidate for president in 1964.
1909-1998
Cuba Gooding Jr. is an African-American actor who is best known for his Oscar-winning role in Cameron Crowe's film Jerry Maguire.
1968-
Television producer Mark Goodson created many of the best-loved game shows of the 20th century, including What's My Line, The Price is Right and Family Feud.
1915-1992
Doris Kearns Goodwin is best known for authoring biographies of American presidents, including Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
1943-
American inventor Charles Goodyear discovered the process of vulcanizing rubber. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was posthumously named after him.
1800-1860
Hermann Göring was a leader of the Nazi Party. He was condemned to hang as a war criminal in 1946 but took his own life instead.
1893-1946
Bill Graham was a legendary rock concert promoter who arranged tours for bands like Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones from the 1960s until the '90s.
1931-1991
Seth Grahame-Smith is author of the best-selling novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and screenwriter for Dark Shadows.
1976-
Actor Cary Grant performed in films from the 1930s through the 1960s. He starred in several Hitchcock films, including the 1959 hit North by Northwest.
1904-1986
Hank Greenberg became one of Major League Baseball's first Jewish super stars, while playing for the Detroit Tigers.
1911-1986
The heavy set British actor Sydney Greenstreet made a name for himself as a character actor, taking on villainous, scheming roles, such as Kasper Gutman in The Maltese Falcon.
1879-1954
Jacob Grimm was a 19th century German scholar who, along with brother Wilhelm, published Grimms' Fairy Tales, a collection famous for its children's stories.
1785-1863
As drummer for Nirvana and founding member of the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl gave alternative rock its driving beat.
1969-
Journalist and lawyer Savannah Guthrie replaced Ann Curry as co-anchor of NBC's Today show in 2012.
1971-
Corey Haim was a Canadian actor who was a teen hearthrob in the 1980s (often paired with Corey Feldman). He battled addiction and died of an overdose in 2010.
1971-2010
Alexander Hamilton, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and major author of the Federalist papers, was the United States' first secretary of the treasury.
1755-1804
Jack Hanna, animal expert and former director of the Columbus Zoo, makes regular appearances on TV talk shows to teach people about exotic animals.
1947-
Jim Harbaugh is a former American football player who became a highly successful coach for Stanford University and the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.
1963-
William S. Harley was an American entrepreneur and one of the founders of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company.
1880-1943