happy birthday
Births
1388 - Claudius Claussön Swart, Danish geographer
1486 - Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, German alchemist (d. 1535)
1543 - Claudio Aquaviva, Italian Jesuit (d. 1615)
1547 - Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch statesman (d. 1619)
1656 - Thomas Baker, British antiqurian (d. 1746)
1713 - Johann Kies, German mathematician (d. 1781)
1721 - Eliphalet Dyer, American statesman and judge (d. 1807)
1737 - Michael Haydn, Austrian composer (d. 1806)
1760 - Luigi Cherubini, Italian composer (d. 1842)
1769 - Alexander von Humboldt, German naturalist and explorer (d. 1859)
1771 - Nikolay Raevsky, Russian general and statesman (d. 1829)
1804 - John Gould, British ornithologist (d. 1881)
1804 - Louis Maigret, French Catholic prelate (d. 1882)
1837 - Nikolai Bugaev, Russian mathematician (d. 1903)
1849 - Ivan Pavlov, Russian scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1936)
1864 - Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, British politician and diplomat, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1958)
1867 - Charles Dana Gibson, American artist (d. 1944)
1869 - Kid Nichols, baseball player (d. 1953)
1879 - Margaret Sanger, American birth control advocate (d. 1966)
1880 - Archie Hahn, American athlete (d. 1955)
1886 - Jan Masaryk, Czech foreign minister and diplomat (d. 1948)
1889 - Maria Capovilla, Previous oldest living person (d. 2006)
1891 - Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov, Russian mathematician (d. 1983)
1898 - Hal B. Wallis, American film producer (d. 1986)
1909 - Peter Scott, British naturalist, artist, and explorer (d. 1989)
1910 - Jack Hawkins, British actor (d. 1973)
1913 - Jacobo Arbenz, President of Guatemala (d. 1971)
1914 - Lída Baarová, Czech actress (d. 2000)
1914 - Clayton Moore, American actor (d. 1999)
1914 - Kay Medford, American actress (d. 1980)
1920 - Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan writer
1920 - Lawrence Klein, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
1920 - Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician (d. 1998)
1921 - Dario Vittori, Argentinean actor (d. 2001)
1926 - Michel Butor, French novelist
1929 - Larry Collins, American writer (d. 2005)
1932 - Harry Sinden, National Hockey League executive
1933 - Harve Presnell, American actor
1934 - Kate Millett, American feminist writer
1936 - Walter Koenig, American actor
1936 - Ferid Murad, American physician and pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1936 - Harry Danielsen, Norwegian politician
1938 - Nicol Williamson, Scottish-born actor
1940 - Larry Brown, American basketball coach
1941 - Alberto Naranjo, Venezuelan musician
1942 - Bernard MacLaverty, Northern Irish writer
1944 - Joey Heatherton, American actress and singer
1947 - Jon "Bowzer" Bauman,"Bowzer" singer in musical group "Sha Na Na"
1947 - Sam Neill, New Zealand actor
1949 - Tommy Seebach, Danish musician (d. 2003)
1949 - Eikichi Yazawa, Japanese singer
1949 - Steve Gaines, American guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977)
1949 - Ed King, American guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
1950 - Paul Kossoff, British guitarist (Free) (d. 1976)
1950 - Masami Kuwashima, Japanese Formula One driver
1957 - Tim Wallach, Major League Baseball player
1959 - Morten Harket, Norwegian singer (a-ha)
1960 - Callum Keith Rennie, Canadian actor
1968 - Michelle Stafford, American actress
1970 - Ben Garant, American actor
1970 - Craig Montoya, American musician (Everclear)
1970 - Francesco Casagrande, Italian cyclist
1971 - Kimberly Williams, American actress
1972 - David Bell, Baseball player
1973 - Nas, American rapper
1974 - Chad Bradford, Reliever for the New York Mets
1974 - Hicham El Guerrouj, Moroccan athlete
1978 - Carmen Kass, Estonian model
1980 - Phillip Tobias, American illustrator and musician
1981 - Miyavi, Japanese singer and actor
1982 - Shawn Cloninger, Radio Personality
1985 - Paolo Gregoletto, American Bassist (Trivium)
1985 - Aya Ueto, Japanese actress idol and singer
1986 - Ai Takahashi, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
1986 - Alan Sheehan, Irish footballer
1989 - Jesse James, American actor
today in
786 - Harun al-Rashid (pictured) became the Abbasid caliph upon the death of his brother al-Hadi.
1752 - The British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar, skipping eleven days (September 2 was followed directly by September 14).
1812 - Napoleon's invasion of Russia: Napoleon and his Grande Armée captured Moscow, only to find the city deserted and burning.
1959 - The Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 crashed onto and became the first man-made object to reach the Moon.
1960 - The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.