in case you've ever wondered why i rule so much...
Dec. 31 Birthdays
- 1378 - Pope Callixtus III (d. 1458)
- 1491 - Jacques Cartier, French explorer (d. 1557)
- 1514 - Andreas Vesalius, Flemish anatomist (d. 1564)
- 1572 - Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan, (d. 1617)
- 1668 - Herman Boerhaave, Dutch humanist and physician (d. 1738)
- 1720 - Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the British throne (d. 1788)
- 1738 - Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British general (d. 1805)
- 1763 - Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, French admiral (d. 1806)
- 1815 - George G. Meade, American Civil War general (d. 1872)
- 1830 - Isma'il Pasha, Governor of Egypt (d. 1895)
- 1860 - Joseph S. Cullinan, American oil industrialist, founder of Texaco (d. 1937)
- 1869 - Henri Matisse, French painter (d. 1954)
- 1878 - Elizabeth Arden, Canadian businesswoman (d. 1966)
- 1880 - George C. Marshall, United States Secretary of State, Nobel Laureate (d. 1959)
- 1880 - Fred Beebe, baseball player (d. 1957)
- 1881 - Max Pechstein, German painter (d. 1955)
- 1882 - Martin O'Meara, Australian soldier (d. 1935)
- 1884 - Bobby Byrne, American baseball player (d. 1964)
- 1894 - Pola Negri, Polish actress (d. 1987)
- 1899 - Silvestre Revueltas, Mexican composer (d. 1940)
- 1902 - Lionel Daunais, Quebec singer and composer (d. 1982)
- 1903 - Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian violinist (d. 1992)
- 1905 - Jule Styne, English-born composer (d. 1994)
- 1908 - Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Holocaust survivor (d. 2005)
- 1909 - Jonah Jones, American jazz trumpeter (d. 2000)
- 1910 - Carl Dudley, American film director (d. 1973)
- 1919 - Tommy Byrne, baseball player
- 1920 - Rex Allen, American actor and singer (d. 1999)
- 1924 - Taylor Mead, American actor
- 1928 - Siné, French cartoonist
- 1930 - Odetta, American singer
- 1931 - Bob Shaw, Irish writer (d. 1996)
- 1933 - Edward Bunker, American author, screenwriter and actor (d. 2005)
- 1934 - Akram Awan, Islamic scholar
- 1937 - Avram Hershko, Israeli biologist, Nobel laureate
- 1937 - Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor
- 1938 - Rosalind Cash, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1941 - Sir Alex Ferguson, Scottish football manager
- 1941 - Sarah Miles, English actress
- 1942 - Andy Summers, British guitarist (The Police)
- 1943 - John Denver, American singer/songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1943 - Ben Kingsley, English actor
- 1943 - Pete Quaife, English bassist (The Kinks)
- 1944 - Taylor Hackford, American film producer and director
- 1945 - Diane von Fürstenberg, Belgian-born fashion designer
- 1945 - Connie Willis, American writer
- 1947 - Burton Cummings, Canadian singer & keyboardist (The Guess Who)
- 1947 - Tim Matheson, American actor
- 1948 - Donna Summer, American singer
- 1948 - René Robert, National Hockey League player (French Connection)
- 1949 - Ellen Datlow, American editor
- 1949 - Susan Shwartz, American writer
- 1951 - George Thorogood, American singer & guitarist
- 1951 - Tom Hamilton, American bassist (Aerosmith)
- 1953 - James Remar, American actor
- 1953 - Jane Badler, American actress
- 1954 - Alex Salmond, Scottish Politician
- 1958 - Bebe Neuwirth, American actress
- 1959 - Phill Kline, American politician
- 1959 - Val Kilmer, American actor
- 1959 - Paul Westerberg, American singer & guitarist (The Replacements)
- 1960 - John Allen Muhammad, American serial killer
- 1961 - Rick Aguilera, baseball player
- 1962 - Heather McCartney, British activist
- 1963 - Scott Ian, American guitarist (Anthrax)
- 1964 - Allen D'Nulderf, American stuntman
- 1965 - Gong Li, Chinese actress
- 1965 - Nicholas Sparks, American author
- 1971 - Brent Barry, American basketball player
- 1971 - Esteban Loaiza, Mexican Major League Baseball player
- 1972 - Joe McIntyre, American singer and songwriter (New Kids on the Block)
- 1976 - Vanessa Kerry, daughter of American Senator John Kerry
- 1977 - Wardy Alfaro, Costa Rican footballer
- 1977 - Donald Trump Jr., son of entrepreneur Donald Trump
- 1978 - Papoose, African American Rapper
- 1979 - Bob Bryar, American drummer (My Chemical Romance)
- 1980 - Richie McCaw, New Zealand rugby player
- 1980 - Matt Cross, American professional wrestler
- 1981 - Jason Campbell, American football player
- 1981 - Matthew Pavlich, Australian football player
- 1986 - Nicholas Stephens, King Awesome