Catherine II was empress of Russia, and led her country into the political and cultural life of Europe, carrying on the work begun by Peter the Great.
1729-1796
1964-
Mark David Chapman is a U.S. convicted murderer and former security guard, best known for shooting and killing Beatles member John Lennon.
1955-
As famous for her unusual outfits as she is for her musical talent, Cher is an American singer and actress who got her start as half of Sonny and Cher in the 1960s.
1946-
Nationalist revolutionary Ho Chi-Minh was president of North Vietnam from 1954 to 1969. He ranks among the most famous and influential politicians of the 20th century.
1890-1969
Septima Poinsette Clark was a pioneering educator and activist who championed teacher’s rights with organizations like the NAACP.
1898-1987
Kelly Clarkson is an American Idol winner who went on to record several top ten hits including "Breakaway," "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because of You."
1982-
People's sexiest man alive George Clooney is an Oscar-winning actor best known for playing Dr. Doug Ross on TV's ER and Danny Ocean in the Ocean's Eleven films.
1961-
Jacqueline Cochran is a pioneering 20th century pilot who was an advocate for female aviators during WWII and the first woman to break the sound barrier.
1910-1980
1966-
Comedian and talk show host Stephen Colbert was a mock news correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show before hosting his own spin-off, The Colbert Show.
1964-
British actress Jenna-Louise Coleman is best known for playing the Doctor's companion, Oswin, on the popular sci-fi BBC program Doctor Who, and for playing bad girl Jasmine Thomas on the British soap Emmerdale.
1986-
A folk-pop singer, Judy Collins rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s with such hits as "Both Sides Now" and "Send In the Clowns."
1939-
Singer Perry Como is best known for his warm baritone crooning which came to characterize popular music in the 40s and 50s.
1912-2001
Gary Condit served in the U.S. House of Representatives and is considered a conservative Democrat. He was inconclusively linked to the disappearance of federal intern Chandra Levy.
1948-
Rita Coolidge is an American two-time Grammy Award–winning singer best known for her hits in the 1970s, including the album Anytime...Anywhere.
1944-
Gary Cooper's movie career spanned from silent films into the 1950s. He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Alvin York in Sergeant York.
1901-1961
Sofia Coppola is a film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. She directed The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation, winning an Oscar for the latter.
1971-
Film actor Joseph Cotten was a member of Orson Welles Mercury Theater radio ensemble. He also appeared in the movie Citizen Kane.
1905-1994
1599-1658
1943-
Bing Crosby sang such hit songs as the ever-popular holiday classic "White Christmas." The beloved crooner was also a star of radio, movies and television.
1903-1977
1892-1970
Spanish actress Penelope Cruz is known for her roles in such films as Vanilla Sky, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
1974-
British singer-songwriter Taio Cruz is known for the albums Departure and Rokstarr, which includes songs like "Break Your Heart" and "Dynamite."
1983-
French physicist Pierre Curie was of founding fathers of modern physics and is best known for being a pioneer in radioactive studies.
1859-1906
Stephen Daldry is a three-time Oscar nominated director known for the films Billy Elliot, The Hours and The Reader.
1960-
Salvador Dali is best known for his long surrealist painting career.
1904-1989
1951-
Bobby Darin was an American singer, songwriter and actor who became a ubiquitous presence in pop entertainment in the late 1950s and 1960s.
1936-1973
David Suchet is a British actor who became known to international audiences as Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot.
1946-
Academy Award-winning English actor Daniel Day-Lewis is known for going to extreme lengths to prepare for a role. He has starred in several films, including Sunday, Bloody Sunday; My Beautiful Laundrette; My Left Foot; and Lincoln.
1957-
1915-1981
1904-1997
Maximilien de Robespierre was an official during the French Revolution and one of the principal architects of the Reign of Terror.
1758-1794
Marie de' Medici is best known for serving as queen consort of Henry IV of France.
1575-1642
1879-1975
Sandra Dee became the “Queen of Teens” in 1950s Hollywood, appearing in such films as Gidget and A Summer Place.
1942-2005
Eugène Delacroix, considered one of the greatest French Romantic painters, was influential in the development of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting.
1798-1863
Abolitionist Martin Robison Delany was both a physician and newspaper editor, and became one of the most influential and successful anti-slavery activists of the 19th century.
1812-1885
After playing with various rock bands in the early 1980s, C.C. DeVille became the lead guitarist for Poison, who wrote 1988's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," a No. 1 hit.
1962-
Donovan emerged onto the musical scene in the 1960s as a folk singer, but he is best remembered for such hits as “Mellow Yellow” and “Sunshine Superman,” hippie odes to the counterculture revolution swelling at the time.
1946-
Stephen A. Douglas was a 19th century U.S. senator known for the Freeport Doctrine and who ran for president against Abraham Lincoln.
1813-1861
Dame Daphne du Maurier was a novelist and playwright whose famous works Rebecca and The Birds were made into films by Alfred Hitchcock.
1907-1989
Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped by Phillip Garrido in 1991, at age 11. She spent 18 years in captivity with Garrido—who raped Jaycee repeatedly and impregnated her twice—and his wife, Nancy Garrido.
1980-
Basketball player Tim Duncan has led the San Antonio Spurs to multiple championships and is widely hailed as one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history.
1976-
Golden Globe winner Lena Dunham is best known for writing, directing, producing and acting in Girls, the original series she created for HBO.
1986-
Once a child star, actress Kirsten Dunst has garnered over 40 film and television credits and continues to command hefty sums for acting appearances.
1982-
Ashley Alexandra Dupré was the Emperor's Club VIP escort hired on several occasions by former New York governor Elliot Spitzer.
1985-
Dale Earnhardt was a champion stock car driver with NASCAR who won seven championships. He died in the final lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001
1951-2001
Grammy Award–winning singer Sheena Easton is recognized for such hits as "Morning Train," "For Your Eyes Only" and "Sugar Walls."
1959-
1284-1327
Bob Edwards is best known as the host of the long-running public radio news program Morning Edition, a post he held for close to 25 years.
1947-
1972-
An originator of big-band jazz, Duke Ellington was an American composer, pianist and bandleader who composed thousands of scores over his 50-year career.
1899-1974
1948-
Irish singer Enya performed with her family's band Clannad before making it big with her solo album Watermark in 1988.
1961-
1941-2012
Italian tennis player Sara Errani has won several honors, including two WTA singles titles and six WTA doubles titles. She lost to Maria Sharapova in the final round of the 2012 French Open.
1987-
1962-
Linda Evangelista is a Canadian-born model who was one of the leading faces of the supermodel era of the 1990s.
1965-
1836-1906
1846-1920
Soccer player Cesc Fàbregas has starred for the Arsenal and FC Barcelona clubs and led Spain to multiple championships in international competition.
1987-
Charles W. Fairbanks was a U.S. attorney and senator who was the country’s 26th vice president under Theodore Roosevelt.
1852-1918
Arab statesman Faisal I was king of Iraq from 1921 to 1933 and a leader in advancing Arab nationalism during and after World War I.
1885-1933
Louis Farrakhan has led the Nation of Islam, an African American movement that combined elements of Islam with black nationalism since 1978.
1933-
1845-1924
Jessie Fauset was a teacher and writer who worked as editor for The Crisis magazine, and penned the novels Comedy: American Style and Plum Bun.
1882-1961
Alice Faye was a Broadway actress and chorus girl who played the mother of Shirley Temple in several films.
1915-1998
Tina Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer best known for her roles on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock.
1970-
1918-1988
Henry Fielding was an English writer and justice of the peace who crafted novels like Tom Jones and Amelia.
1707-1754
As a child star, actress Kim Fields played Tootie Ramsey on the popular sitcom Diff'rent Strokes. She reprised the role for the series' spin-off, The Facts of Life.
1969-
Albert Finney is an Oscar-nominated English actor known for playing Audrey Hepburn's love interest in Two for the Road and the title role in the musical version of A Christmas Carol, among several other roles.
1936-
Ella Fitzgerald, known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist who interpreted much of the Great American Songbook.
1917-1996
Dann Florek is an actor who once had a lead role on Law & Order and later on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
1950-
Henry Fonda was an award-winning American actor best known for him film roles in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and On Golden Pond (1981).
1905-1982
Actor Glenn Ford rose to fame after serving in World War II, thanks to several film roles in the '30s and beyond.
1916-2006
Steve Fossett was an American businessman and adventurer best known for circumnavigating the globe in a hot air balloon in 2002.
1944-2007
Megan Fox is an starred in the first two blockbuster Transformers films. She is consistently ranked with the hottest up-and-coming young actresses.
1986-
English musician Peter Frampton began his career with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. He is best known for his hit album Frampton Comes Alive!.
1950-
At the 2012 London Olympics, Missy Franklin won gold in both the 100-meter and 200-meter backstrokes, and two more gold medals with the 4-by-200-meter and 4-by-100-meter relay teams.
1995-
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist best known for developing the theories and techniques of psychoanalysis.
1856-1939
Roy Halston Frowick, best known as Halston, was an iconic clothing designer of the 1970s. His sexy, yet elegant dresses became a staple in American discos.
1932-1990
British musician Dave Gahan is best known as the lead singer of electronic band Depeche Mode. His voice can be heard on the tracks "Suffer Well" and "Nothing's Impossible," among many others.
1962-
Thomas Gainsborough was an 18th century English painter known for his suggestive portraiture and landscapes.
1727-1788
John Galt was a prolific Scottish novelist admired for his depiction of country life. His masterpieces include The Ayrshire Legatees and Lawrie Todd.
1779-1839
1967-
1976-
Actress Ana Gasteyer joined Saturday Night Live in 1996 and became famous for her impersonations of Barbra Streisand, Hillary Clinton and Martha Stewart.
1967-
Jean-Paul Gaultier is a French designer known for his influential designs, especially the creation of Madonna’s infamous conical bras for her 1990 Blond Ambition tour.
1952-
A pioneer in early filmmaking, Léon Gaumont saw the possibilities of what moving pictures could be and making film equipment unavailable for the masses, establishing what is now the oldest surviving film company.
1864-1946
1777-1855
Jean-Leon Gerome was a French painter, sculptor, and teacher. His best-known works are scenes inspired by his travels in Egypt.
1824-1904
1870-1949
Melissa Gilbert came to fame playing Laura Ingalls on the NBC period drama series Little House on the Prairie (1974-82).
1964-
Louise Glück is a poet whose work has been described as technically precise, sensitive, insightful and gripping.
1943-
Tracey Gold is an actress who shot to stardom in the 1980s on the hit TV show Growing Pains.
1969-
1950-