Famous Birthdays on February 15

Birthdays 1 - 200 of 272

• 1368 Sigismund, Holy Roman emperor (1410-37), born in Nuremberg, Kingdom of Germany (d. 1437)
• 1458 Ivan the Young, Ruler of Tver (d. 1490)
• 1471 Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici [Piero the Unfortunate], Italian ruler of Florence (1492-94), born in Florence, Republic of Florence (d. 1503) [1]

• 1497 Philipp Melanchthon, German Protestant reformer and theologian (Martin Luther's right-hand man), born in Bretten, Palatinate (d. 1560)
• 1506 Juliana van Stolberg, German countess, mother of William of Orange and Jan Nassau, born at Stolberg, County of Stolberg, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1580)
• 1519 Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Spanish admiral and explorer who founded St. Augustine, Florida, born in Avilés, Spain (d. 1574)
• 1524 Charles de Guise, French 2nd Cardinal de Lorraine (political influential and wealthy member of House of Guise), born in Joinville, France (d. 1574)
• 1557 Alfonso Fontanelli, Italian composer (Ferrara school), born in Reggio nell'Emilia, Duchy of Modena and Reggio (d. 1622)

• 1620 François Charpentier, French scholar and archaeologist, born in Paris, France (d. 1702)
• 1650 Anne Jules de Noailles, French general under Louis XIV (marshal of France), born in Paris, France (d. 1708)
• 1660 Frans Anneessens, Belgian merchant (Dean of Brussels Guild accessed of involvement in uprising) (d. 1719)
• 1666 Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist (anatomy of the ear), born in Imola (d. 1723)
• 1705 Charles-André Van Loo, French Rococo painter, born in Nice, France (d. 1765)
• 1707 Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French satirical novelist (The Skimmer), born in Paris, France (d. 1777)
• 1710 Louis XV, King of France (1715-74) known as "Louis the Beloved", born in the Palace of Versailles, France (d. 1774)
• 1726 Abraham Clark, American politician, signed US Declaration of Independence, born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey (d. 1794)
• 1739 Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect (d. 1813)
• 1740 Ernst Eichner, German composer and bassoonist, born in Arolsen, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1777)

• 1759 Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist (Prolegomena), born in Hainrode (d. 1824)
• 1760 Jean-François Le Sueur, French composer, noted for his operas and oratorios, born in Drucat-Plessiel, France (d. 1837)
• 1764 Jens Baggesen, Danish writer and linguist (Labyrinth), born in Korsør, Denmark (d. 1826)
• 1768 Joseph Bernard Cannaert [Olim], Flemish lawyer, born in Ghent (d. 1848)
• 1774 Frederick, Dutch Prince of Orange, General and Second son of King William V, born in the Hague, Netherlands (d. 1799)
• 1783 Johann Nepomuk Poissl, Bavarian composer, born in Rattiszell, Electorate of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1865)
• 1789 Friedrich Fesca, German violinist, and composer, born in Magdeburg, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1826)
• 1795 Charles Niellon, Belgian general (Liberation of Antwerp during Belgian Revolution), born in Strasbourg, France (d. 1871)
• 1797 Heinrich [Henry] Engelhard Steinway, German American piano maker (Steinway & Sons), born in Wolfshagen im Harz, Duchy of Brunswick (d. 1871)
• 1800 Frederick Willem Conrad, Dutch hydraulic engineer and railway pioneer (Katwyk), born near Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1869)
• 1803 John Augustus Sutter, Swiss-American immigrant on whose land the California gold rush began (New Helvetia, Sutter Mill), born in Kandern, Baden (d. 1880)
• 1807 Ignacy Feliks Dobrzynski, Polish composer, born in Romanów, Russian Empire (d. 1867)
• 1809 André Dumont, Belgian geologist, born in Liège, Belgium (d. 1857)

• 1811 Domingo F Sarmiento, President of Argentina (1868-74), born in San Juan, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (d. 1888)

• 1817 Charles-François Daubigny, French painter of the Barbizon school, born in Paris (d. 1878)

• 1821 Abraham de Amorie van der de Have, Dutch theologist and poet, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1848)
• 1822 Theodor Uhlig, German composer and violinist, born in Wurzen, Kingdom of Saxony (d. 1853)
• 1823 Li Hung-Tshang, Chinese modernizing politician and general (governor-general of Zhili province), born in Hefei, Anhui province, China (d. 1901)
• 1825 Carter Harrison, Sr., American politician (d. 1893)
• 1826 George Johnstone Stoney, Irish physicist (introduced term electron), born in Oakley Park, Ireland (d. 1911)
• 1828 Johan Hendrik van Dale, Dutch schoolmaster and lexicographer(Van Dale's Great Dictionary of the Dutch Language), born in Sluis, Netherlands (d. 1872)
• 1829 Silas Weir Mitchell, American physician (discovered causalgia, erythromelalgia) and author (Roland Blake, Hugh Wynne), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1914)
• 1834 William Henry Preece, Welsh electrical engineer/wireless pioneer, born in Caernarfon, Wales (d. 1913)
• 1835 Alexander Stuart Webb, Major General (Union Army), (d. 1911)
• 1835 Demetrius Vikelas, Greek businessman and writer (first President International Olympic Committee 1894-1896), born in Ermoupoli, Greece (d. 1908)
• 1841 Manoel Ferraz de Campos Salles, Brazilian lawyer, politician (President of Brazil, 1898-1902), and coffee grower, born in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil (d. 1913)

• 1847 Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer, and teacher (Vienna Conservatory, 1875-1912), born in Frauental, Austria (d. 1927)
• 1855 Gustav Hollaender, German violinist, conductor, and composer, born in Leobschütz, Germany (d. 1915)

• 1858 William Henry Pickering, American astronomer (9th & 10th moons of Saturn), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1938)

• 1861 Halford John Mackinder, British geographer (Britain and the British Seas), born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England (d. 1947)
• 1866 Bannister Fletcher, English architect and architectural historian (A History of Architecture), born in London (d. 1953)
• 1873 Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-born Swedish biochemist who investigated the fermentation of sugar and enzymes (Nobel 1929), born in Augsburg, Kingdom of Bavaria (d. 1964)
• 1874 Emilis Melngailis, Latvian composer and ethnomusicologist, born in Vidriži, Russian Empire (d. 1954)

• 1876 Ernest Wilson, English botanist (plant collector in China), born in Chipping Campden, England (d. 1930)

• 1883 Sax Rohmer [Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward], English author (Dr Fu Manchu novels), born in Birmingham, England (d. 1959)

• 1885 Richard Würz, German composer, and music critic, born in Munich, Germany (d. 1965)
• 1887 H. M. Bateman, British cartoonist (The Man Who... series), born in Sutton Forest, Australia (d. 1970)
• 1890 Robert Ley, German Nazi politician, born in Niederbreidenbach, Germany (d. 1945)
• 1890 Semyon Bogatyrev, Russian and Soviet musicologist and composer (completed a symphony abandoned by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky), born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Russian Empire (d. 1960)
• 1892 James Forrestal, American banker and administrator (Secretary of the Navy, 1944-47, 1st US Secretary of Defense 1947-49), born in Beacon, New York (d. 1949) [1]
• 1893 Harm Kamerlingh Onnes, Dutch painter, etcher and ceramist, born in Zoeterwoude, Netherlands (d. 1985)
• 1893 Walter Donaldson, American pianist and popular song composer ("Makin' Whoopee"; "My Blue Heaven"; My Buddy"), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1947)
• 1894 Oswaldo Aranha, Brazilian politician and statesman (President of the UN General Assembly 1948-49), born in Alegrete, Brazil (d. 1960)
• 1895 Earl Thomson, Canadian athlete (d. 1971)
• 1896 Arthur Shields, Irish actor ("The River"; "Enchanted Island"), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1970)
• 1897 Earl Blaik, American College Football coach (NCAA C'ship 1944–46; AFCA Coach of the Year 1946; Army) and executive (AD Army 1948–59, born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1989)
• 1898 Allen Woodring, American runner (d. 1982)
• 1898 Totò [Antonio Clemente], Italian actor (Motorizzate, Noi Duri) commonly referred to as the most popular Italian comedian of all time, born in Naples, Italy (d. 1967)
• 1899 Gale Sondergaard, American actress (The Letter, Road to Rio), born in Litchfield, Minnesota (d. 1985)
• 1899 Georges Auric, French composer (one of Les Six), born in Lodève, Hérault, France (d. 1983)
• 1899 Lillian Disney, wife of animator Walt Disney, born in Spalding, Idaho (d. 1997)
• 1900 George Earnshaw, American baseball pitcher (World Series 1929-30; Philadelphia Athletics), born in Little Rock, Arkansas (d. 1976)
• 1901 Andre Parrot, French archaeologist (Mari, Assur), born in Désandans, France (d. 1980)
• 1901 Christmas Humphreys, English lawyer and prominent British Buddhist (Awakening of Zen), born in Ealing, England (d. 1983)
• 1901 James "Kokomo" Arnold, American blues slide guitarist, and singer, born in Lovejoy's Station, Georgia (d. 1968) [some sources give birth year as 1896]
• 1901 Paul Haesaerts, Belgian architect and painter (Animisme), born in Boom, Belgium (d. 1974)
• 1904 Antonin Magne, French cyclist (Tour de France 1931, 34), born in Ytrac, France (d. 1983)
• 1904 Mary Adshead, English muralist and painter, born in London, England (d. 1995)

• 1905 Nise da Silveira, Brazilian psychiatrist (made advances in occupational therapy), born in Maceió, Brazil (d. 1999)

• 1907 Jean Langlais, French organist, and composer (Missa Salve Regina), born in La Fontenelle, Brittany, France (d. 1991)
• 1908 Sarto Fournier, Quebec politician (d. 1980)
• 1908 Sidney Gilliat, English screenwriter (Night Train to Munich) and director, born in Stockport, Cheshire, England (d. 1994)
• 1908 Ypk van der Fear, Dutch writer (Reade Runen), born in Sondel, Netherlands (d. 1983)
• 1909 Harold Beeley, British diplomat to the Arab world, born in Manchester, England (d. 2001)
• 1909 Miep Gies, Dutch discoverer of Anne Frank's diary and friend of the Frank family, born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 2010)
• 1910 Irena Sendler [née Krzyżanowska], Polish nurse, social worker, and WWII heroine who helped smuggle Jewish ghetto children to safety, born in Warsaw, Russian Poland (d. 2008) [1]
• 1911 Leonard Woodcock, American labor leader (United Auto Workers) and US ambassador to China, born in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 2001)
• 1912 George Mikes, Hungarian-British writer and humorist (How to Be an Alien), born in Siklós, Hungary (d. 1987)
• 1913 Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (grandmaster 1952), born in Innsbruck, Austria (d. 1997)
• 1913 Willy Vandersteen, Belgian cartoonist (Suske & Wiske), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1990)
• 1914 (Thomas) Hale Boggs, American politician (US Representative from Louisiana, 1947-73), born in Long Beach, Mississippi (d. 1972)
• 1914 Arthur Sydney Martin, British M15 spy catcher, (d. 1996)
• 1914 Kevin McCarthy, American actor (Invasion of Body Snatchers, Death of a Salesman), born in Seattle, Washington (d. 2010)
• 1916 Ian Ballantine, American publisher (Ballantine Books), born in New York City (d. 1995)
• 1916 Mary Jane Croft, American actress (Our Miss Brooks: The Lucy Show), born in Muncie, Indiana (d. 1999)
• 1916 Ronnie Aldrich, British easy listening and jazz pianist, arranger, and composer, born in Erith, Kent, England (d. 1993)
• 1918 Allan Arbus, American commercial photographer, and actor (M*A*S*H - "Dr. Sidney Freeman"; Greaser's Palace; Curb Your Enthusiasm), born in New York City (d. 2013)
• 1920 Endicott Peabody, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1997)
• 1920 Ingmar Milveden, Swedish organist, composer, and musicologist, born in Gothenburg, Sweden (d. 2007)
• 1920 Piet van Aken, Flemish writer (Klinkaart, Het begeren), born in Terhagen, Flanders, Belgium (d. 1984)
• 1920 Richard O'Brien, British Industrial relations expert (Manpower Services Commission) (d. 2009)
• 1921 Radha Krishna Choudhary, Indian historian and writer (d. 1985)
• 1922 Herman Kahn, American, writer and military strategist (Thinking About the Unthinkable), born in Bayonne, New Jersey (d. 1983)
• 1922 John B. Anderson, American politician and 1980 Republican presidential candidate, born in Rockford, Illinois (d. 2017)
• 1923 Keene Curtis, American character actor (The Rothschilds, Cheers, Amanda's), born in Salt Lake City, Utah (d. 2002)

• 1927 Frank Dunlop, director (Edinburgh International Festival)
• 1927 Gottfrid Gräsbeck, Finnish choral director, and composer, born in Turku, Finland (d. 2010)
• 1927 Harvey Korman, American actor (The Carol Burnett Show; Blazing Saddles; High Anxiety), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2008)
• 1928 (Mary) Norma Procter, British contralto singer, born in Cleethorpes, England (d. 2017)
• 1928 Norman Bridwell, American author and cartoonist (Clifford the Big Red Dog), born in Kokomo, Indiana (d. 2014)
• 1929 Bob Moore, American food entrepreneur (Bob's Red Mill), and philanthropist, born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2024) [1]
• 1929 Fred Martinelli, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (Ashland University 1959-93), born in Columbus, Ohio (d. 2021)
• 1929 Gerald Harper, British broadcaster and actor (Tunes of Glory, Extra Day), born in London

• 1929 James Schlesinger, American economist and public servant (US Secretary of Energy, 1977-79; US Secretary of Defense, 1973-75; Chair of Atomic Energy Commission, 1973-75), born in NYC (d. 2014)
• 1930 Christopher Payne, British police officer (Chief Constable of the Cleveland Constabulary, 1976-90), born in South London, England (d. 2019)
• 1930 Frank Navarro, American college football coach (Williams College, Columbia University, Princeton University), born in White Plains, New York (d. 2021)
• 1930 Nico Minardos, Greek-American actor (The Twilight Zone; Twelve Hours to Kill), born in Pangrati, Athens (d. 2011)
• 1931 Geoff Edwards, American television game show host, (d. 2014)
• 1931 W K Reid, British ombudsman
• 1931 [Patricia] Claire Bloom, British actress (Charly, Look Back in Anger), born in London, England
• 1932 Adrian Swire, British aircraft magnate (Cathay Pacific), born in Marylebone, London, England (d. 2018)
• 1933 Adolfo [Sardiña], Cuban fashion designer (Nancy Reagan)Adolfo [ Sardiña], born in Cárdenas, Cuba (d. 2018)
• 1934 Graham Kennedy, Australian actor "the King of Australian television", born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2005)
• 1934 Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist who invented nine programming languages (Pascal, Oberon) and won the Turing Award in 1984, born in Winterthur, Switzerland (d. 2024) [1]
• 1934 Paul Ekman, American psychologist, born in Washington, D.C.
• 1935 John R Block, US Secretary of Agriculture (1981-86)
• 1935 Roger B Chaffee, Lt Cmdr USN/astronaut, born in Grand Rapids Michigan
• 1935 Susan Brownmiller, feminist author (Against Our Wills), born in Brooklyn, New York
• 1937 Coen Moulijn, Dutch soccer winger (38 caps; Feyenoord 487 games, European Cup 1970), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 2011)
• 1937 Gregory Mcdonald, American author
• 1937 Terry Everett, American politician (Rep-R-Alabama 1993-2009), born in Dothan, Alabama
• 1937 Zoltán Peskó, Hungarian opera conductor and composer, born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2020)
• 1938 Jack Tinker, British drama critic (d. 1996)
• 1938 Lord Justice Ward, British judge
• 1939 Alvin Cash [Welch], American pop singer ("Twine Time"; "The Philly Freeze"), and actor, born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1999)
• 1939 Jo Clayton, American sci-fi author (Irsud, Maeve, Star Hunters)
• 1939 Ole Ellefsæter, Norwegian cross-country skier (Olympic gold 50km & 4×10km relay 1968; World C'ship gold 4×10km relay 1966), born in Furnes, Norway (d. 2022)
• 1939 Robert Hansen, American serial killer
• 1939 Tony Bloom, deputy CEO (Sketchley)
• 1940 Hamzah Haz, Indonesian politician
• 1940 John Hadl, American College Football HOF quarterback (Uni of Kansas; 4 x AFL All-Star; Pro Bowl 1972, 73; First Team All Pro 1973; AFL C'ship 1963; SD Chargers; LA Rams), born in Lawrence, Kansas (d. 2022)
• 1940 Trygve Madsen, Norwegian pianist and composer (The Dream of the Rhinoceros; Aurora), born in Fredrikstad, Norway
• 1941 Austin Savage, Welsh hockey player, born in St Asaph, Wales
• 1941 Brian Holland, American pianist, songwriter and producer (Holland–Dozier–Holland - "Heat Wave"; "Where Did Our Love Go"; "You Keep Me Hanging On"), born in Detroit, Michigan
• 1941 Florinda Bolkan [Bulcão], Brazilian model and actress (Damned, Last Valley, Word), born in Uruburetama, Brazil
• 1942 Glyn Johns, British recording engineer and producer (Eagles; The Who; Eric Clapton), born in Epsom, Surrey, England
• 1942 László Hammerl, Hungarian sport shooter (Olympic gold 50m rifle prone 1964; silver 1968; bronze rifle three 1964), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2024)
• 1942 Sherry Jackson, American actress (Make Room for Daddy. 1953-58 - "Terry"; The Mini-Skirt Mob), born in Wendell, Idaho
• 1943 Ian Heads, Australian sports journalist, commentator and author who was rugby league's foremost historian (Rugby League Week), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2024)
• 1944 Aleksandr Serebrov, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz T-7, T-8, TM-8, TM-17), born in Moscow, USSR (d. 2013)
• 1944 Henry Threadgill, American composer, saxophonist and flautist (2016 Pulitzer Prize "In for a Penny, In for a Pound"), born in Chicago, Illinois
• 1944 Mick Avory, British rock drummer (The Kinks, 1964-84 - "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy"), born in East Molesey, Surrey, England
• 1944 Tineke Netelenbos, Dutch director and politician (PvdA), born in Wormerveer, Holland

• 1945 John Helliwell, British rock Saxophonist (Supertramp - "The Logical Song"), born in Todmorden, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
• 1946 Esko Seppänen, Finnish politician
• 1947 David Brown, American rock bassist (Santana, 1967-1971, 1974-76), born in New York City (d. 2000)
• 1947 John Adams, American composer (Nixon In China), born in Worcester, Massachusetts
• 1947 Marisa Berenson, American actress (Barry Lyndon; Death in Vienna; SOB), born in New York City
• 1947 Russell "Rusty "Hamer, American actor (Make Room for Daddy - "Rusty"), born in Tenafly, New Jersey (d. 1990)
• 1948 Art Spiegelman, American cartoonist
• 1948 Ron "Penguin" Cey, American MLB 3rd baseman (LA Dodgers), born in Tacoma, Washington
• 1949 Billy Nicholls, British singer ("Would You Believe?") and songwriter ("I Can't Stop Loving You (Though I Try)", born in White City, London, England
• 1949 Christopher Rouse, American Grammy Award-winning composer (Trombone Concerto - Pulitzer Prize for Music, 1993), and educator (Eastman School, 1981-2002; Juilliard, 1997-2017), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 2019)
• 1949 George Howard, English nobleman (13th Earl of Carlisle), English hereditary peer, and academic, born in England
• 1949 Hans Graf, Austrian conductor, and educator, born in Marchtrenk, Austria
• 1949 Jess Walton, Mich, actress (Jill Foster Abbott-Young & Restless)
• 1949 Ken Anderson, NFL quarterback (Cincinnati Bengals)
• 1950 Donna Hanover Giuliani (née Kofnovec;), American TV news anchor (WPIX), and second wife of New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (1994-2002), born in Oakland, California
• 1950 Nikolai Sergeivich Grekov, Russian cosmonaut
• 1951 Jane Seymour [Joyce Frankenberg], British actress (Live and Let Die; Somewhere in Time; Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman), born in London, England
• 1951 Melissa Manchester, American pop singer ("Don't Cry Out Loud"; "Midnight Blue"), born in The Bronx, New York
• 1952 Michel Talagrand, French mathematician, 2024 Abel Prize for probability theory and describing randomness, born in Béziers, France [1]
• 1953 Tony Adams, Irish film producer (d. 2005)
• 1954 Brad Little, American politician, Governor of Idaho (2019-), born in Emmett, Idaho

• 1954 Pamela Theresa Jiles, American 4X400m relayer (Olympic silver 1976), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
• 1955 Bev Francis, Australia, world women's power-lifting champion
• 1955 Christopher McDonald, American actor
• 1955 Clive Aslet, British editor (Country Life)
• 1955 Hugh Padgham, British record producer and audio engineer (Phil Collins; The Police; Spandau Ballet), born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England
• 1956 Desmond Haynes, West Indian cricket batsman and administrator (116 Tests; 7,487 runs @ 42.29; 238 ODIs; Director WI Cricket Board), born in Saint James, Barbados
• 1956 Hilda Beatriz "Hildita" Guevara, Cuba, daughter of "Che" Guevara
• 1956 Hitoshi Ogawa, Japanese racing driver (d. 1992)
• 1957 Bienvenida Buck, Spanish lover of Peter Harding, born in Valencia, Spain
• 1957 Jake E Lee, American rock guitarist (Badlands, 1988-93; Ozzy Osborne, 1982-89), born in Norfolk, Virginia
• 1957 Jimmy Spencer, American race car driver

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