Who was born on December 19?
December 19 is packed with notable birthdays. Explore 107 famous birthdays, sorted by recent English Wikipedia pageviews. Top ranked names include Al Kaline, Albert Abraham Michelson, Alexis Sánchez, Alphonse Kirchhoffer, Amy Locane. Filter by actor, musician, athlete, and more — or open any other calendar day.
December 19
107 people
-
Al Kaline
Albert William Kaline ( KAY-line; December 19, 1934 – April 6, 2020), nicknamed "Mr. Tiger", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played his entire 22-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers. For most of his career, Kaline played in the outfield, mainly as a right fielder where he won ten Gold Glove Awards and was known for his strong throwing arm. He was selected to 18 All-Star Games, including selections each year between 1955 and 1967. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980 in his first year of eligibility. Near the end of his career, Kaline also played as first baseman and, in his last season, was the Tigers' designated hitter. He retired soon after reaching the 3,000 hit milestone late in the 1974 season. Immediately after retiring from playing, he became the Tigers' TV color commentator, a position he held from 1975 until 2002. Kaline worked for the Tigers as a front office assistant from 2003 until his death in 2020.
-
Albert Abraham Michelson
Albert Abraham Michelson (December 19, 1852 – May 9, 1931) was an American experimental physicist known for his work on measuring the speed of light and especially for the Michelson–Morley experiment. In 1907, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics, becoming the first American to win the Nobel Prize in a science. He was the founder and the first head of the physics departments of the Case School of Applied Science and the University of Chicago.
-
Alexis Sánchez
Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈleksis ˈsantʃes]; born 19 December 1988), also known mononymously as Alexis, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a winger or a striker for the Chile national team. He is regarded as one of best forwards of his generation and one of the greatest Chilean players of all time. Dubbed "El Niño Maravilla" (The Wonderboy), Sánchez began his senior club career playing for Cobreloa, aged 15, and signed with Udinese in 2006, aged 18; he won consecutive league titles while on loan to Colo-Colo and River Plate. Sánchez was the subject of a record association football transfer when he signed for Barcelona in 2011 in a transfer worth €37.5 million, becoming the most expensive Chilean player of all time. There, Sánchez won six trophies, including a La Liga title and a Copa del Rey. Sánchez joined Arsenal in 2014 in a transfer worth £31.7 million (€35 million). In England, he experienced his peak years individually, helping Arsenal win two FA Cups, being awarded the 2015 PFA Fans' Player of the Year, and being voted into the 2015 PFA Team of the Year. In 2018, he moved to league rivals Manchester United in a swap deal; he signed for Inter Milan a year later, and won a Serie A title and a Coppa Italia. In 2022, he signed for Ligue 1 club Marseille, before returning to Inter a year later and winning a second Serie A title in 2024. Sánchez made his senior international debut for Chile in 2006 at age 18, and has since earned 168 caps, appearing in eight major tournaments and becoming both his country's most capped player and all-time top goalscorer. He led Chile to their first victory in a major tournament by winning the 2015 Copa América, scoring the winning penalty in the final; he captained the team to a repeat of this triumph at the Copa América Centenario in 2016, winning the Golden Ball for the tournament's best player.
-
Alphonse Kirchhoffer
Simon Alphonse Kirchhoffer (December 19, 1873 in Paris – June 30, 1913 in Paris) was a French fencer who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century. He participated in Fencing at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris and won the silver medal in the master's foil. He was defeated by Lucien Mérignac in the final. He would fall victim to a disease that would lead to amputation of both of his feet around 1911. He would then be made Knight of the french Legion of Honour.
-
Amy Locane
Amy Locane is an American retired actress known for her role in John Waters' 1990 musical comedy Cry-Baby. In 1992, Locane portrayed Sandy Harling in the first season of the prime time soap opera Melrose Place. She appeared in the 1992 film School Ties alongside Matt Damon and Brendan Fraser, as the object of their affections. In September 2020, Locane began serving an eight-year sentence for a fatal DUI car crash she caused in 2010. She had previously been sentenced to three years in prison, of which she served two and a half, and was re-sentenced due to the leniency of the original sentence. She was released on December 20, 2024.
-
Anca Giurchescu
Anca Giurchescu née Ciortea (19 December 1930 – 4 April 2015) was a Romanian researcher of folk dance, and an ethnochoreologist, one of the founders of the discipline. Born in Bucharest to a family formerly from Translylvania, she lived in that region as a child. Entering university, she studied dance at the National Institute of Physical Education. During her schooling, she participated in competitive target shooting and was a silver (team) and bronze (individual) medalist in the 1955 European Shooting Championship. While still studying, she began working as a researcher at the Folklore Institute and in 1962 became a member of the International Council for Traditional Music. The Council established a working group which included Giurchescu, that laid the foundation for the science of ethnochoreology. In 1979, Giurchescu joined her husband in Copenhagen, after attending a seminar in Belfast, and defected. She continued her research into the cultural, historical, and social context of dance and taught throughout Europe and the United States. In 1989, the family returned to Romania, when the Socialist Republic of Romania was overthrown and remained for four years before returning to Copenhagen. She led numerous international research trips to study rituals and dance traditions among various ethnic minorities with roots in Romania and the surrounding countries. She was chair of the Study Group on Ethnochoreology of the International Council for Traditional Music from 1998 to 2006 and founding chair of their Ethnochoreology Sub-Study Group on Field Research Theory and Methods, leading it from 1990 to 2014.
-
Andrea Baldini
Andrea Baldini (born 19 December 1985) is an Italian foil fencer, several-time European and World champion and team Olympic champion in 2012. He is the only foil fencer in history to have obtained four golds (European and World - individual and team event) and the final victory in the World Cup in the same season.
-
Andreas Osiander
Andreas Osiander (German: [ˈoːziˌandɐ]; 19 December 1498 – 17 October 1552) was a German Lutheran theologian and Protestant reformer.
-
Antoine Louis Dugès
Antoine Louis Dugès (19 December 1797 – 1 May 1838) was a French obstetrician and naturalist born in Charleville-Mézières, Ardennes. He was the father of zoologist Alfredo Dugès (1826–1910), and a nephew to midwife Marie-Louise Lachapelle (1769–1821).
-
Antonín Zápotocký
Antonín Zápotocký (Czech pronunciation: [ˈantoɲiːn ˈzaːpototskiː]; 19 December 1884 – 13 November 1957) was a Czech communist politician and statesman in Czechoslovakia. He served as the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1953, and then as President of Czechoslovakia from 1953 to 1957.
-
Bernard Friedberg
Bernard Friedberg (Hebrew: ברנרד פרידברג) was an Austrian Hebraist, scholar and bibliographer. Friedberg was born in Kraków on December 19, 1876. He moved to Frankfurt in 1900; initially he worked for publisher Isaac Kauffmann and later set up his own firm. During The Holocaust his library was destroyed and his daughter and son were killed along with her husband and two daughters. Friedberg escaped to Vittel, France and later went to Mandatory Palestine. He died on January 27, 1961. Friedberg published some of his work.
-
Bernice Pauahi Bishop
Bernice Pauahi Pākī Bishop (December 19, 1831 – October 16, 1884) was an aliʻi (noble) of the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii and a well-known philanthropist.
-
Bob Brookmeyer
Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre, before rejoining Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band. He received eight Grammy Award nominations during his lifetime.
-
Bobby Layne
Robert Lawrence Layne (December 19, 1926 – December 1, 1986) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns before being selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the third overall pick of the 1948 NFL draft and traded to the Chicago Bears. Layne played one season with the Bears, and then with the New York Bulldogs in 1949, the Detroit Lions from 1950 to 1958, and the Steelers from 1958 to 1962. Layne was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968. His number 22 is retired by the Texas Longhorns and the Lions.
-
Béatrice Dalle
Béatrice Dalle (born 19 December 1964) is a French actress and model. She has appeared in over fifty films and is best known internationally for her debut role in the 1986 film 37°2 le matin (also released as Betty Blue). Béatrice Dalle is renowned for her intense and unconventional roles, often portraying characters that are both provocative and transgressive.
-
Calvin Andrew
Calvin Hyden Andrew (born 19 December 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Andrew began his career at Luton Town, debuting in the 2004–05 League One title-winning season. He was loaned out to Grimsby Town and Bristol City before becoming a first-team regular for Luton in the 2007–08 relegation season. He moved on to Championship club Crystal Palace, where injuries dogged him. He spent four years at Selhurst Park and spent time on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion, Millwall, Swindon Town, and Leyton Orient. He signed with Port Vale in November 2012 and helped the club to secure promotion out of League Two in 2012–13. He joined Mansfield Town for a brief stay in August 2013. He signed with York City for a brief spell in March 2014 before joining Rochdale four months later. He stayed at Rochdale for six seasons, making 231 league and cup appearances. He briefly joined Barrow in March 2021.
-
Carlo Chiti
Carlo Chiti (19 December 1924 – 7 July 1994) was an Italian racing car and engine designer best known for his long association with Alfa Romeo's racing department. He also worked for Ferrari and was involved in the design of the Ferrari 156 Sharknose car, with which Phil Hill won the 1961 championship.
-
Charles Fitzpatrick
Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, (December 19, 1851 – June 17, 1942) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Justice of Canada, as Chief Justice of Canada and then as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.
-
Chito Martínez
Reyenaldo Ignacio "Chito" Martínez (December 19, 1965 – April 20, 2025) was a Belizean Major League Baseball (MLB) player, the first in MLB history to be born in his country. He played for the Baltimore Orioles from 1991 to 1993.
-
Chuckii Booker
Eugene Allen Booker Jr. (born December 19, 1962), known professionally as Chuckii Booker, is an American producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader from Los Angeles, California.
-
Cornell Dupree
Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz fusion and R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis, and Steve Gadd, appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, and wrote a book on soul and blues guitar, Rhythm and Blues Guitar. He reportedly recorded on 2,500 sessions.
-
Criss Angel
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos (born December 19, 1967), known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist and musician. Angel began his career in New York City, before moving his base of operations to the Las Vegas Valley. He is known for starring in the hit television show Criss Angel Mindfreak and the stage show Criss Angel MINDFREAK LIVE! (previously Criss Angel Believe) at the Luxor casino in Las Vegas. Following his departure from The Luxor after a decade-long run, Angel opened the new MINDFREAK show in the Criss Angel Theater at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. He also produced and starred in the TV series Criss Angel's Magic with the Stars on CW, Criss Angel BeLIEve on Spike TV, a one-hour special Trick'd on A&E, and the reality competition show Phenomenon on NBC. He also holds multiple world records made during his magic performances, and was named Magician of the Decade in 2009, Magician of the Century in 2010 by the International Magicians Society. In 2017, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Vanish magazine awarded him the "Greatest of All Time" award in 2019. In addition to his career as an illusionist, Angel was the lead singer for his industrial band Angeldust, which released five albums. He also authored the book Mindfreak: Secret Revelations.
-
Cyril Collard
Cyril Collard (French: [kɔlaʁ]; 19 December 1957, Paris − 5 March 1993, Versailles) was a French author, filmmaker, composer, musician and actor. He is known for his unapologetic portrayals of bisexuality and HIV in art, particularly his autobiographical novel and film Les Nuits fauves (Savage Nights). Openly bisexual, Collard was also one of the first French artists to speak openly about his HIV-positive status.
-
Cédric Baseya
Cédric Baseya (born 19 December 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in France, he made one appearance for the DR Congo U20 national team.
-
Derrick Jensen
Derrick Jensen is an American environmental activist, author and ecophilosopher in the anarcho-primitivist tradition. He believes that human civilization is and has always been unsustainable for the planet.
-
Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ Authority), which oversaw the introduction of a state television service in Ireland. He is perhaps best remembered as the UK host of This Is Your Life from its inception in 1955 until his death in 1987.
-
Eduard Ivakdalam
Eduard Ivakdalam (born 19 December 1974 in Merauke, Irian Jaya) is an Indonesian former professional footballer. Ivakdalam normally plays as a midfielder and he is a former player for Indonesia national football team.
-
Edward Bernard Raczyński
Count Edward Bernard Raczyński (19 December 1891 – 30 July 1993) was a Polish diplomat, writer, and politician who served as President of Poland-in-exile (between 1979 and 1986). He was the longest living (101), and the oldest serving Polish President (from the age of 87 to 94).
-
Eve Bunting
Eve Bjørgum Bunting (née Bolton, December 19, 1928 – October 1, 2023), better known as Eve Bunting, was a Northern Irish-born American writer of more than 250 books. Her work covered a broad array of subjects and included fiction and non-fiction books. Her novels are primarily aimed at children and young adults, but she has also written the text for picture books. While many of her books are set in Northern Ireland where she grew up, her topics and settings range from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. Bunting's first book, The Two Giants, was published in 1971. Due to the popularity of her books with children, she has been listed as one of the Educational Paperback Association's top 100 authors.
-
Ford C. Frick
Ford Christopher Frick (December 19, 1894 – April 8, 1978) was an American sportswriter and baseball executive. After working as a teacher and as a sportswriter for the New York American, he served as public relations director of the National League (NL) and then as the league's president from 1934 to 1951. He was the third commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1951 to 1965. While Frick was NL president, he had a major role in the establishment of the Baseball Hall of Fame as a museum that honors the best players in baseball history. He extinguished threats of a player strike in response to the racial integration of the major leagues. During Frick's term as commissioner, expansion occurred and MLB faced the threat of having its antitrust exemption revoked by Congress. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970. The Ford C. Frick Award recognizes outstanding MLB broadcasters.
-
Franck Kessié
Franck Yannick Kessié (born 19 December 1996) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains the Ivory Coast national team. After advancing through Atalanta, Kessié joined AC Milan in 2017 on loan, securing a permanent move two years later and playing a pivotal role in their Serie A success in the 2021–22 season. In 2022, he joined Barcelona, clinching titles in La Liga and Supercopa de España, before his transfer to Al-Ahli in 2023. An Ivorian international since 2014, Kessié was part of the squad that won the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil.
-
Fritz Reiner
Frederick Martin Reiner (Hungarian: Reiner Frigyes; December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was an American conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose to prominence as a conductor with several orchestras. He reached the pinnacle of his career while music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the 1950s and early 1960s.
-
Gabriel Magalhães
Gabriel dos Santos Magalhães (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɡabɾiˈɛw dus ˈsɐ̃tuz maɡaˈʎɐ̃js]; born 19 December 1997), also known mononymously as Gabriel, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays primarily as centre-back for Premier League club Arsenal and the Brazil national team. Known for his strength, aggression, tackling, passion and aerial threat, he is regarded as one of the best defenders in the world. Gabriel began his senior club career at Avaí, having graduated from the club's youth academy in 2016. After Avaí achieved promotion to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A the same year, he departed for French side Lille. Gabriel was loaned out to Troyes and Dinamo Zagreb before returning to Lille. In 2020, he signed for Arsenal in a deal worth £27m. In the 2025–26 season, Gabriel won the Premier League. He also finished as a runner-up in EFL Cup and the UEFA Champions League, missing the decisive penalty in the latter final. Gabriel made his international debut for Brazil in 2023. He scored his first international goal during 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.
-
Gary Fleder
Gary Fleder (; born December 19, 1965) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His most recently completed film, Homefront, was released by Open Road Films and Millennium Films in November 2013. In recent years he has been a prolific director of television pilots.
-
George Davis Snell
George Davis Snell NAS (December 19, 1903 – June 6, 1996) was an American mouse geneticist and basic transplant immunologist.
-
George Frederick Bristow
George Frederick Bristow (December 19, 1825 – December 13, 1898) was an American composer, conductor, violinist, and educator, born in Brooklyn, New York. A prominent advocate for American classical music during a period of European dominance in U.S. concert life, Bristow worked to promote native composers and establish a national musical identity. His body of work includes five symphonies, two operas, oratorios, choral pieces, and chamber music. His Fifth Symphony, titled Niagara, premiered at Carnegie Hall in January 1898, only months before his death. Through his compositions and advocacy, Bristow helped lay the foundation for a distinctly American tradition in classical music. He figured prominently in a public dispute with critic William Henry Fry and the New York Philharmonic Society, criticizing the society's decision to exclude American composers.
-
Ginger Stanley
Ginger Stanley (December 19, 1931 – January 19, 2023) was an American stuntwoman, model and bit-part actress. Stanley was best known for her stunt work in the horror films Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), swimming as a double for lead actress Julie Adams, and the movie's sequel, Revenge of the Creature (1955), swimming as a double for lead actress Lori Nelson.
-
Greg Bretz
Gregory Bretz (born December 19, 1990) is an American professional snowboarder and two-time Olympian (2010 and 2014). He also won the FIS Snowboard World Cup for halfpipe in 2008 and finished first in the Dew Tour over Shaun White in 2013.
-
Grégory Dufer
Grégory Dufer (born 19 December 1981) is a Belgian former international footballer.
-
Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, and later became chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company. Frick's management of Carnegie Steel was characterized by vehement opposition to unions, a trait reflected most notably by his violent suppression of the Homestead Strike. In the later years of his career as an industrialist, he was instrumental in the founding of U.S. Steel, which became the world's largest steel manufacturer. In his life outside of the steel industry, Frick was a prominent investor who had extensive real estate holdings in Pittsburgh and throughout the state of Pennsylvania. As a founding member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, he was also in large part responsible for the alterations to the South Fork Dam that caused its failure, thereby leading to the catastrophic Johnstown Flood. After he retired from business, Frick oversaw the construction of the Frick Mansion in Manhattan (now designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark). He bequeathed his extensive collection of old master paintings and fine furniture to create the Frick Collection art museum.
-
Ian Kennedy
Ian Patrick Kennedy (born December 19, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Between 2007 and 2023, he played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, and Philadelphia Phillies. A standout pitcher at La Quinta High School in California, Kennedy played three seasons of college baseball for the USC Trojans. The Yankees selected him 21st overall in the 2006 MLB draft and he quickly rose through the team's farm system, making his major league debut the next year. The Yankees traded Kennedy to the Diamondbacks after the 2009 season, and he became Arizona's ace, leading the National League in wins during the 2011 season. The Royals moved Kennedy to the bullpen in 2019 after a series of injuries, and he found a new role as the team's closer, and he continued to work as a relief pitcher for the remainder of his career.
-
Iker Muniain
Iker Muniain Goñi (Basque: [iker muniain ɡoɲi], Spanish: [ˈikeɾ muˈnjajŋ ˈɡoɲi]; born 19 December 1992) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as a winger but also as a forward. He began his career with Athletic Bilbao, debuting aged 16 in 2009 as their youngest player in a competitive match. He helped the team reach the final of the UEFA Europa League in 2012 and played in Copa del Rey finals in 2012, 2020 and 2021, but finished on the losing side each time. He took part in 560 games for the club while scoring 76 goals, and lifted the Spanish Cup as captain in 2024 a few months before leaving to end a 19-year association. Following his departure, he joined San Lorenzo of Argentina. Muniain made 59 appearances for Spain at youth level, winning the European Under-21 Championship in 2011 and 2013. He also featured at the 2012 Olympics, in the same year as his senior Spain debut. He was selected again in 2019, gaining a second international cap seven years after the first.
-
Ingeborg Refling Hagen
Ingeborg Refling Hagen (19 December 1895 – 30 October 1989) was a Norwegian author, poet, and artistic director. Her writings and activities in support of the arts made her a significant cultural figure in Norway during much of the 20th century.
-
Irving Kahn
Irving Kahn (December 19, 1905 – February 24, 2015) was an American investor and philanthropist. He was the oldest living active investor. He was an early disciple of Benjamin Graham, who popularized the value investing methodology. Kahn began his career in 1928 and continued to work until his death. He was chairman of Kahn Brothers Group, Inc., the privately owned investment advisory and broker-dealer firm that he founded with his sons, Thomas and Alan, in 1978. Kahn was the oldest active money manager on Wall Street. He made his first trade—a short sale of a copper mining company—in the summer of 1929, months before the famous market crash in October of the same year.
-
Italo Svevo
Aron Hector Schmitz (19 December 1861 – 13 September 1928), better known by the pseudonym Italo Svevo (Italian: [ˈiːtalo ˈzvɛːvo]), was an Italian and Austro-Hungarian writer, businessman, novelist, playwright, and short story writer. A close friend of Irish novelist and poet James Joyce, Svevo was considered a pioneer of the psychological novel in Italy and is best known for his modernist novel La coscienza di Zeno (1923), which became a widely appreciated classic of Italian literature. He was also the cousin of the Italian academic Steno Tedeschi.
-
Iván Vallejo
Iván Vallejo (born 19 December 1959) is a high-altitude mountaineer from Ecuador. On 1 May 2008, he became the 14th person to reach the summit of all 14 mountains above 8,000 meters (the “eight-thousanders”), and the 7th without use of supplemental oxygen. He is the first, and still the only, Southern Hemisphere climber to complete all 14 eight-thousanders, without supplemental oxygen.
-
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal ( JIL-ən-hawl, Swedish: [ˈjʏ̂lːɛnˌhɑːl]; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor whose career on screen and stage has spanned more than three decades. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and the younger brother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal began acting as a child, making his debut in City Slickers (1991), followed by roles in his father's films A Dangerous Woman (1993) and Homegrown (1998). His breakthrough came as Homer Hickam in the biopic October Sky (1999), before starring in the thriller Donnie Darko (2001), the romantic comedy The Good Girl (2002), and the disaster film The Day After Tomorrow (2004). He earned praise for his performance as Jack Twist in Ang Lee's romantic drama Brokeback Mountain (2005), including the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award nomination. Gyllenhaal emerged as a leading man with roles in acclaimed films such as Zodiac (2007), End of Watch (2012), Prisoners (2013), Nightcrawler (2014), Southpaw (2015), Nocturnal Animals (2016), Stronger (2017), and Wildlife (2018). His other major successes include Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), Source Code (2011), Everest (2015), and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019); the latter became his highest grossing release. He has since starred in various action and thriller projects, including the films The Guilty (2021), Ambulance (2022) and Road House (2024), as well as the Apple TV series Presumed Innocent (2024). Gyllenhaal has performed on stage, starring in a West End production of the play This Is Our Youth (2002) and Broadway productions of the musical Sunday in the Park with George (2017) as well as the plays Constellations (2014) and Sea Wall/A Life (2019), the last of which earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Aside from acting, he is vocal about political and social issues.
-
James Booth
James Booth (born David Noel Geeves; 19 December 1927 – 11 August 2005) was an English film, stage and television actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Private Henry Hook in Zulu. Variety called him "a punchy blend of toughness, potential evil and irresistible charm."
-
James J. Archer
James Jay Archer (December 19, 1817 – October 26, 1864) was a lawyer and an officer in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War. He later served as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army (CSA) during the American Civil War. Taken as a prisoner of war on the first morning of the Battle of Gettysburg, Archer was the first general officer captured from Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.
-
James L. Jones
James Logan Jones Jr. (born December 19, 1943) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general and consultant who served as the 21st United States national security advisor from 2009 to 2010. During his military career, he served as the 32nd commandant of the Marine Corps from July 1999 to January 2003, and commander, United States European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 2003 to 2006. Jones retired from the Marine Corps on February 1, 2007, after 40 years of service. After retiring from the Marine Corps, Jones remained involved in national security and foreign policy issues. In 2007, Jones served as chairman of the Congressional Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq, which investigated the capabilities of the Iraqi police and armed forces. In November 2007, he was appointed by the U.S. secretary of state as special envoy for Middle East security. He served as chairman of the Atlantic Council from June 2007 to January 2009, when he assumed the post of National Security Advisor which he held until resigning in November 2010. Jones owns the consulting firms Ironhand Security LLC and Jones Group International LLC.
-
Jay Arnette
Jay Hoyland Arnette (born December 19, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns. Arnette played professionally for the Cincinnati Royals of the NBA from 1963 to 1965. A 6'2" guard born in Austin, Texas and from Austin's University of Texas, Arnette competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics, where he won a gold medal with the United States men's national basketball team. From 1963 to 1965, he played in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Cincinnati Royals, averaging 3.7 points per game. In 2010, the 1960 United States men's Olympic basketball team on which Arnette played was collectively inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. While playing basketball Arnette attended a dental school at Baylor College of Dentistry. He later obtained licenses in dentistry and pharmacy, but practiced orthodontics in Austin, Texas.
-
Jean Genet
Jean Genet (; French: [ʒɑ̃ ʒənɛ]; (1910-12-19)19 December 1910 – (1986-04-15)15 April 1986) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels The Thief's Journal and Our Lady of the Flowers and the plays The Balcony, The Maids and The Screens.
-
Jeff Allam
Jeffrey Frank Allam (born 19 December 1954 in Epsom, England) is a former British racing driver who made his name in Saloon Car racing. He now works as Head of Business for Allam Motor Services in Epsom which are a Skoda sales and service and Vauxhall servicing dealership.
-
Jennifer Beals
Jennifer Beals (born December 19, 1963) is an American actress. She made her film debut in My Bodyguard (1980), before receiving critical acclaim for her performance as Alexandra Owens in Flashdance (1983), for which she won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. Beals has appeared in several films including Vampire's Kiss (1988), Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), The Last Days of Disco (1998), Roger Dodger (2002), The Book of Eli (2010), Before I Fall (2017), and Luckiest Girl Alive (2022). On television, she starred in shows such as The Chicago Code (2011), Proof (2015), Taken (2017), and The Book of Boba Fett (2021). Her portrayal of Bette Porter on the Showtime drama series The L Word (2004–2009) earned her a nomination for the Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. She reprised her role as Bette Porter and served as an executive producer on the sequel series The L Word: Generation Q (2019–2023).
-
Jimmy Bain
James Stewart Bain (19 December 1947 – 23 January 2016) was a Scottish musician, best known for playing bass guitar in the bands Rainbow and Dio. He also worked with Kate Bush and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo albums.
-
Jimmy McLarnin
James Archibald McLarnin (19 December 1907 – 28 October 2004) was an Irish professional boxer who became a two-time Undisputed Welterweight World Champion and an International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee. As of September 10, 2025, BoxRec ranks McLarnin as the second greatest pound for pound fighter of all time, only behind Sugar Ray Robinson.
-
John McEuen
John McEuen (born December 19, 1945) is an American folk musician and a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
-
John Winthrop
John Winthrop (December 19, 1714 – May 3, 1779) was an American mathematician, physicist and astronomer. He was the 2nd Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Harvard College.
-
Jorge Garbajosa
Jorge Garbajosa Chaparro (born 19 December 1977) is a Spanish former professional basketball player, the outgoing president of the Spanish Basketball Federation, and the current President of FIBA Europe. Standing at 2.07 m (6 ft 9 1⁄2 in), he played both power forward and small forward. He was an All-EuroLeague first team selection in 2003, and an All-EuroLeague second team selection in 2006, while playing for Unicaja. During his stint in the NBA, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2007. A serious injury the following season cut his NBA career short, and he never truly recovered until his retirement. He played internationally with the senior Spain national team, which won a bronze medal at the EuroBasket 2001, two silver medals at the EuroBasket 2003 and 2007, and a gold medal at the EuroBasket 2009. During his tenure their highest achievement was the gold medal at the 2006 World Cup, where his stellar play earned him All-tournament honors. In 2006, Garbajosa was named Mr Europa Player of the year by Italian weekly magazine SuperBasket.
-
Ken Brown
Kenneth Murray Brown (December 19, 1948 – July 22, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He played one game in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1971, and 52 games in the World Hockey Association with the Alberta/Edmonton Oilers between 1972 and 1975. The rest of his career lasted from 1968 to 1975 and was spent in the minor leagues.
-
Kevan Gosper
Richard Kevan Gosper, AO (19 December 1933 – 19 July 2024) was an Australian athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres. He was a Vice President of the International Olympic Committee, and combined chairman and CEO of Shell Australia. Gosper died on 19 July 2024, at the age of 90.
-
Kevin Devine
Kevin Devine (born December 19, 1979) is an American songwriter and musician from Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York City. He is a contemporary member of the underground indie rock and indie folk musical scenes, and his influences range from older indie artists such as Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliott Smith and Pavement to more mainstream and well known acts such as Nirvana and Bob Dylan. In 2013, Kevin Devine rejoined his previous band, Miracle of 86, for a series of reunion shows.
-
King Princess
Mikaela Mullaney Straus (born December 19, 1998), known professionally as King Princess, is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and actor from Brooklyn, New York. She was signed to Mark Ronson's label Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records. In February 2018, she released her debut single "1950", from her debut extended play (EP) Make My Bed, released later that year. The song was a commercial success, charting in multiple territories, and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her second single, "Talia", was certified gold in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). King Princess released her debut studio album Cheap Queen in 2019 to widespread critical acclaim. She left Zelig Records before the release of her 2025 album Girl Violence, which was released by Section1. She made her acting debut in the 2025 show Nine Perfect Strangers.
-
Kristina Keneally
Kristina Marie Kerscher Keneally (born 19 December 1968) is an American-born Australian politician who served as the first female Premier of New South Wales from 2009 to 2011 and was later a Labor Senator for New South Wales from February 2018 until April 2022. She resigned from the Senate to contest the House of Representatives seat of Fowler, but was unsuccessful. From 2019 to 2022 she served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, and Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. Keneally was born in the United States to an American father and an Australian mother. She grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and is a graduate of the University of Dayton. After marrying an Australian, Ben Keneally, she settled in Australia permanently and became a naturalised citizen in 2000. Keneally was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Heffron at the 2003 state election, succeeding Deirdre Grusovin after a controversial preselection process. After being re-elected to parliament at the 2007 state election, she became the Minister for Ageing and Disability Services and was subsequently appointed Minister for Planning by Premier Nathan Rees in 2008. She was also the state government's spokeswoman for World Youth Day 2008. By December 2009 Keneally had emerged as the preferred leadership candidate of the Labor Right faction, and defeated incumbent Premier Nathan Rees (who had been in office for just 15 months) in a party room ballot, winning by 47 votes to 21. The Keneally Government went on to suffer a 16.5 percent two-party preferred statewide swing at the 2011 state election – the biggest swing in Australian political history. She resigned as Labor Party leader on election night and was succeeded by John Robertson, who was elected unopposed, on 31 March 2011. She resigned from Parliament in June 2012. In 2014 Keneally joined Sky News Live as a political commentator, later becoming co-host of To The Point. She took leave in November 2017 to stand as the Labor candidate for the Bennelong by-election, achieving a swing to Labor but losing to previous member John Alexander. In February 2018 she was appointed to the Senate to fill a casual vacancy caused by Sam Dastyari's resignation. After the 2019 leadership election, Keneally was selected as deputy Senate leader in the shadow cabinet of new Labor leader Anthony Albanese. She was also given the portfolios of Home Affairs and Immigration and Citizenship. At the 2022 federal election Keneally, whose main residency is in the Northern Beaches, was parachuted over the local Labor branch candidate Tu Le, into the traditionally safe Labor seat of Fowler, which has one of the highest concentrations of Vietnamese Australians in the country. As a result of community backlash against her candidacy, Labor suffered a 15.6% swing against them, and she was defeated by independent challenger Dai Le, a Vietnamese-Australian journalist and former Liberal Party candidate. Keneally was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2026 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to the people and the Parliament of Australia, to the Parliament of New South Wales, particularly as Premier, and to the community".
-
Lee Myung-bak
Lee Myung-bak (pronounced /ˌmjʌŋ ˈbɑːk/; Korean: 이명박; pronounced [i.mjʌŋ.bak̚]; born 19 December 1941), often referred to by his initials MB, is a South Korean politician and business executive who served as the tenth president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. A member of the then Saenuri Party, he was the mayor of Seoul from 2002 to 2006. Before entering politics, he was the chief executive officer of Hyundai Engineering and Construction. Born in Osaka during the Empire of Japan, Lee graduated from Korea University. He is married to Kim Yoon-ok and has three daughters and one son. His older brother, Lee Sang-deuk, was a South Korean politician. He is a Christian attending Somang Presbyterian Church. In 2011, Lee received an honorary degree from Paris Diderot University. Lee altered the South Korean government's approach to North Korea, preferring a more hardline strategy in the wake of increased provocation from the North, though he was supportive of regional dialogue with Russia, China and Japan. Under Lee, South Korea increased its visibility and influence in the global scene, resulting in the hosting of the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit. However, significant controversy remains in Korea regarding high-profile government initiatives which have caused some factions to engage in civil opposition and protest against the incumbent government and President Lee's Saenuri Party (formerly the Grand National Party). The reformist faction within the Saenuri Party was at odds with Lee. He ended his five-year term on 24 February 2013, and was succeeded by Park Geun-hye. On 22 March 2018, Lee was arrested on charges of bribery, embezzlement, and tax evasion alleged to have occurred during his presidency. Prosecutors accused Lee of receiving bribes totaling 11 billion won and channeling assets of 35 billion won to an illicit slush fund. Shortly before his arrest, Lee posted a handwritten statement on Facebook denying the charges. Lee's arrest occurred roughly a year after the arrest of former president Park Geun-Hye, who was arrested on charges stemming from the 2016 South Korean political scandal. Lee was convicted on 5 October 2018 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. On 29 October 2020, the Korean Supreme Court upheld a 17-year sentence against Lee given to him by an appellate court. On 27 December 2022, President Yoon Suk-yeol granted Lee a special pardon, cancelling the remaining 15 years of the sentence.
-
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 1906 – 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until his death in 1982. He also held office as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (head of state) from 1960 to 1964 and later from 1977 to 1982. His tenure as General Secretary and leader of the Soviet Union was second only to Joseph Stalin's in duration. Brezhnev was born to a working-class family in Kamenskoye within the Yekaterinoslav Governorate of the Russian Empire. After the October Revolution created the Soviet Union, he joined the ruling Communist party's youth league in 1923 before becoming an official party member in 1929. When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, he joined the Red Army as a commissar and rose rapidly through the ranks to become a major general during World War II. After the war ended, Brezhnev was promoted to the party's Central Committee in 1952 and became a full member of the Politburo by 1957. In 1964, he took part in the removal of Nikita Khrushchev as leader of the Soviet Union and replaced him as First Secretary of the CPSU. When Khrushchev was ousted, Brezhnev formed a triumvirate alongside Premier Alexei Kosygin and CC Secretary Nikolai Podgorny that initially led the country in Khrushchev's place. By the end of the 1960s, he had successfully consolidated power to become the dominant figure within the Soviet leadership. In the short term, Brezhnev's governance improved the Soviet Union's international standing while stabilizing the position of its ruling party at home. Whereas Khrushchev regularly enacted policies without consulting the Politburo, Brezhnev was careful to minimize dissent among the party elite by reaching decisions through consensus, thereby restoring the semblance of collective leadership. Additionally, while pushing for détente between the two Cold War superpowers, he achieved nuclear parity with the United States and strengthened Moscow's dominion over Central and Eastern Europe. Furthermore, the country's massive arms buildup and widespread military interventionism under Brezhnev's leadership served to substantially expand Soviet influence abroad, particularly in the Middle East and Africa. By the mid-1970s, numerous observers argued that the Soviet Union had surpassed the United States to become the world's strongest military power. Conversely, Brezhnev's leadership also witnessed a significant increase in repression and censorship throughout the Soviet Union compared with the relatively liberal years of the Khrushchev Thaw. Ultimately, Brezhnev's hostility towards political and economic reform ushered in an era of socioeconomic decline referred to as the Era of Stagnation. In addition to pervasive corruption within the country, this period was characterized by the shrinking availability of consumer goods and declining economic growth. After 1975, Brezhnev's health rapidly deteriorated and he increasingly withdrew himself from governing the country despite remaining its highest authority. He eventually died on 10 November 1982 and was succeeded as General Secretary by Yuri Andropov. Upon coming to power in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev denounced Brezhnev's government for its inefficiency and inflexibility before launching a campaign to liberalize the Soviet Union. Notwithstanding the backlash to his regime's policies in the mid-1980s, Brezhnev's rule has received consistently high approval ratings in public polls conducted in post-Soviet Russia.
-
Lincoln Hall
Lincoln Ross Hall OAM (19 December 1955 – 20 March 2012) was a veteran Australian mountaineer, adventurer and author. Lincoln was part of the first Australian expedition to climb Mount Everest in 1984, which successfully forged a new route. He reached the summit of Mount Everest on his second attempt in 2006, miraculously surviving the night at 8,700 m (28,543 ft) on descent, after his family had been told he had died. Lincoln Hall was the author of seven books, a founding member of the philanthropic organisation the Australian Himalayan Foundation and a speaker who shared his climbing experiences with audiences around the world. In 1987 Lincoln Hall was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to mountaineering and in 2010 he won the Australian Geographic Society's Lifetime of Adventure award. He was a life member of the Australian National University Mountaineering Club. Lincoln Ross Hall died of mesothelioma aged 56 on 20 March 2012.
-
Little Jimmy Dickens
James Cecil Dickens (December 19, 1920 – January 2, 2015), better known by his stage name Little Jimmy Dickens, was an American country music singer and songwriter famous for his humorous novelty songs, his small size (4'10" [150 cm]), and his rhinestone-studded outfits (which he is given credit for introducing into live country music performances). He started as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1948 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983. Before his death, he was the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry.
-
Makis Belevonis
Makis Belevonis (Greek: Μάκης Μπελεβώνης, born 19 December 1975) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a right back. Belevonis spent many years in the Greek first division with OFI, Kalamata and Panetolikos.
-
Manuel Bretón de los Herreros
Manuel Bretón de los Herreros (19 December 1796 – 8 November 1873) was a Spanish dramatist.
-
Martin Luther King Sr.
Martin Luther King (born Michael King; December 19, 1899 – November 11, 1984), commonly known as Daddy King, was an American Baptist pastor, missionary, and civil rights activist who was an early figure in the civil rights movement. He served as the senior pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church from 1931 to 1975, and was also the father of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
-
Mary Livermore
Mary Ashton Livermore (née Rice; December 19, 1820 – May 23, 1905) was an American journalist, abolitionist, and advocate of women's rights. In addition to articles, she published numerous books of poetry, essays, and stories. When the American Civil War broke out, Livermore volunteered at the regional headquarters of the United States Sanitary Commission at Chicago and worked extensively for it as a nurse and also an organizer. She helped to organize the 1863 North-western Sanitary Fair and in 1887 published her reminiscences of nursing during the war as My Story of the War. After the war, she instituted a newspaper advocating for women's suffrage called the Agitator, where she continued as an associate editor after its merger with the Woman's Journal. She also lectured widely, mostly on behalf of the women's suffrage and temperance movements. She delivered the historical address for the centennial celebration of the first settlement in the Northwest Territory in Marietta, Ohio on July 15, 1788. For many years, she traveled 25,000 miles (40,000 km) annually and spoke five nights each week for five months of the year.
-
Maudy Ayunda
Ayunda Faza Maudya, commonly known as Maudy Ayunda (born 19 December 1994) is an Indonesian actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. Ayunda made her debut in the entertainment industry through the film "Untuk Rena" in 2005. After finding success as a child actress, Maudy gained further recognition for her female lead roles in "Perahu Kertas" (2022), "Refrain" (2013), and "Habibie & Ainun 3" (2019). In addition to her acting career, Ayunda also maintains a musical career. She released her first album "Panggil Aku…", featuring the single "Tiba-tiba Cinta Datang", in 2011. Ayunda has released four studio albums and has featured in numerous film soundtracks. Also known for her advocacy in various social issues, particularly education and youth empowerment, Ayunda has been involved in initiatives that promote access to education and foster impactful ripples for Indonesia. Her work has garnered various accolades, including a spot on Forbes Asia 30 Under 30, double nominations at the Indonesian Film Festival (FFI), and multiple nominations at the Anugerah Music Indonesia (AMI).
-
Mel Shaw
Mel Shaw (born Melvin Schwartzman; December 19, 1914 – November 22, 2012) was an American animator, design artist, writer, and artist. Shaw was involved in the animation, story design, and visual development of numerous Disney animated films, beginning with Bambi, which was released in 1942. His other animated film credits, usually involving animation design or the story, included The Rescuers in 1977, The Fox and the Hound in 1981, The Black Cauldron in 1985, The Great Mouse Detective in 1986, Beauty and the Beast in 1991, and The Lion King in 1994. He was named a Disney Legend in 2004 for his contributions to The Walt Disney Company.
-
Michael Bates
Michael Dion Bates (born December 19, 1969) is an American former two-sport athlete who gained fame as a sprinter who won an Olympic bronze medal in the 200-meter dash in 1992. He also played football as a kick returner in the National Football League (NFL), where he was a five-time Pro Bowl selection. He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats.
-
Michalis Grigoriou
Michalis Grigoriou (Greek: Μιχάλης Γρηγορίου; born 19 December 1973) is a Greek professional football manager. He is the current manager of Super League club Aris.
-
Mileva Marić
Mileva Marić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милева Марић, pronounced [milěːva mǎːritɕ]; 19 December 1875 – 4 August 1948), sometimes called Mileva Marić-Einstein (Милева Марић-Ајнштајн, Mileva Marić-Ajnštajn), was a Serbian mathematician. She also was the first wife of Albert Einstein from 1903 to 1919. She was the only woman among Einstein's fellow students at Zurich Polytechnic. Marić and Einstein were study colleagues and lovers, and had a daughter Lieserl in 1902, who likely died of scarlet fever at one and a half years old. They later had two sons, Hans Albert and Eduard. The question of whether she contributed to Einstein's early work (in particular the annus mirabilis papers) has been debated.
-
Minnie Maddern Fiske
Minnie Maddern Fiske (born Marie Augusta Davey; December 19, 1865 – February 15, 1932), but often billed simply as Mrs. Fiske, was one of the leading American actresses of the late 19th and early 20th century. She also spearheaded the fight against the Theatrical Syndicate for the sake of artistic freedom. She was widely considered the most important actress on the American stage in the first quarter of the 20th century. Her performances in several Henrik Ibsen plays helped introduce American audiences to the Norwegian playwright. She was also an influential campaigner for improving animal welfare.
-
Mo Williams
Maurice Williams (born December 19, 1982) is an assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Kentucky and a former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a successful high school career at Murrah High School in Jackson, Mississippi, Williams attended college at the University of Alabama, where he led his team as a freshman to a 27–8 record, and also shared an SEC regular-season championship. After two seasons at Alabama, Williams entered the 2003 NBA draft where he was selected with the 47th overall pick by the Utah Jazz. Throughout his career, he has also played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2009, Williams was selected as an NBA All-Star. In the 2016 NBA Finals, he won his only NBA championship with the Cavaliers. He retired as a player in 2017. In May 2018, Williams became an assistant coach for the Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball team. In May 2020, he became the head coach for the Alabama State Hornets basketball team, but stayed for just two seasons before resigning in March 2022. A few days later he was named head coach at Jackson State University in his home town, replacing Wayne Brent. On March 30, 2026, Williams was hired as an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky.
-
Mohammad Reza Aref
Mohammad Reza Aref (Persian: محمدرضا عارف; born 19 December 1951) is an Iranian engineer, academic and reformist politician who is the eighth and current first vice president of Iran since 2024, under President Masoud Pezeshkian; he previously served as the first vice-president from 2001 to 2005 under Mohammad Khatami. He is also currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council since 2002. He was the parliamentary leader of reformists' Hope fraction in the Iranian Parliament, representing Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr. Aref has also been heading the Reformists' Supreme Council for Policymaking since its establishment in 2015. He was also the second first vice president from 2001 to 2005 under Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He previously served as Minister Information and Communications Technology and head of Management and Planning Organization in Khatami's first cabinet. He was a member of Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution until 2021. He is also an electrical engineer and a professor at University of Tehran and Sharif University of Technology. He was a candidate in the 2013 presidential election but withdrew his candidacy in order to give the reformist camp a better chance to win. During the mass anti-government protests in 2026, he tendered his resignation, but it was not accepted by President Pezeshkian.
-
Nektarios Alexandrou
Nektarios Alexandrou (Greek: Νεκτάριος Αλεξάνδρου; born 19 December 1983 in Nicosia, Cyprus) is a Greek Cypriot former professional footballer. He was a left flank specialist, but he primarily played as the left winger.
-
Orna Berry
Orna Berry (Hebrew: ארנה ברי; born December 19, 1949), is an Israeli computer scientist, high-tech entrepreneur, and senior executive in the Israeli science and technology industries. In 1996, Berry became the first woman to serve as chief scientist and head of the industrial R&D operation of the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour. She was awarded the "Yekirat Hanegev" award from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in 2012. Since 2021 Berry serves as Director of Technology in the office of the CTO at Google Cloud.
-
Patrick Casey
Joshua Miller (born September 23, 1978), sometimes credited under the alias Worm Miller, is an American filmmaker, podcaster, and actor. He often collaborates with his high school friend Patrick Casey (born December 19, 1978), an American screenwriter, producer, and actor. They are best known for creating the Fox animated series Golan the Insatiable and writing Sonic the Hedgehog and its sequels, as well as directing the horror-comedy Hey, Stop Stabbing Me!. Miller is the host and co-founder of the long-running Los Angeles–based horror screening series Friday Night Frights. Miller was a frequent contributor to the now-defunct cinema website CHUD.com, contributing reviews, criticism, and interviewing filmmakers, writers, and actors such as Zach Braff, Charlie Day, and Don Cheadle.
-
Phil Harris
Phillip Charles Harris (December 19, 1956 – February 9, 2010) was an American captain and part owner of the crab fishing vessel F/V Cornelia Marie, which has been featured on Discovery Channel's documentary reality TV series Deadliest Catch. He suffered a stroke while offloading C. opilio crab in port at Saint Paul Island, Alaska, on January 29, 2010. Despite improvements in his condition, Harris died on February 9, 2010, at the age of 53, while suffering an intracranial hemorrhage in the hospital. The episode of Deadliest Catch featuring the Captain's death aired on July 20, 2010, followed by a special tribute episode.
-
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter, protest singer (or, as he preferred, "topical singer"), and political activist. Ochs's songwriting frequently addressed political issues, often with humor. He wrote about 200 songs in the 1960s and 1970s and released eight albums. Ochs performed at many political events, including the 1968 Democratic National Convention, mass demonstrations sponsored by the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, civil rights rallies, student events, and organized labor events. Ochs initially described himself as a democratic socialist but grew more radical after the police riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. After years of prolific writing in the 1960s, Ochs' mental stability declined in the 1970s as he struggled with bipolar disorder and alcoholism. He died by suicide on April 9, 1976. Ochs's influences included Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Bob Gibson, Faron Young, and Merle Haggard. His best-known songs include "I Ain't Marching Anymore", "When I'm Gone", "Changes", "Crucifixion", "Draft Dodger Rag", "Love Me, I'm a Liberal", "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends", "Power and the Glory", "There but for Fortune", and "The War Is Over".
-
Professor Longhair
Henry Roeland Byrd (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980), better known as Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday of early rhythm and blues and later in the resurgence of interest in traditional jazz after the founding of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1970. His piano style has been described as "instantly recognizable, combining rumba, mambo, and calypso". Music journalist Tony Russell (in his book The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray) wrote that "The vivacious rhumba-rhythmed piano blues and choked singing typical of Fess were too weird to sell millions of records; he had to be content with siring musical offspring who were simple enough to manage that, like Fats Domino or Huey "Piano" Smith. But he is also acknowledged as a father figure by subtler players like Allen Toussaint and Dr. John."
-
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor. Along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave and Laurence Olivier, he made up a quartet of male actors who dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. Neverthless, he worked in films throughout most of his career, playing more than sixty cinema roles. From an artistic but not theatrical background, Richardson had no thought of a stage career until a production of Hamlet in Brighton inspired him to become an actor. He learned his craft in the 1920s with a touring company and later the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. In 1931 he joined the Old Vic, playing mostly Shakespearean roles. He led the company the following season, succeeding Gielgud, who had taught him much about stage technique. After he left the company, a series of leading roles took him to stardom in the West End and on Broadway. In the 1940s, together with Olivier and John Burrell, Richardson was the co-director of the Old Vic company. There, his most celebrated roles included Peer Gynt and Falstaff. He and Olivier led the company to Europe and Broadway in 1945 and 1946, before their success provoked resentment among the governing board of the Old Vic, leading to their dismissal from the company in 1947. In the 1950s, in the West End and occasionally on tour, Richardson played in modern and classic works including The Heiress, Home at Seven, and Three Sisters. He continued on stage and in films until shortly before his sudden death at the age of eighty. He was celebrated in later years for his work with Peter Hall's National Theatre and his frequent stage partnership with Gielgud. He was not known for his portrayal of the great tragic roles in the classics, preferring character parts in old and new plays. Richardson's film career began as an extra in 1931. He was soon cast in leading roles in British and American films including Things to Come (1936), The Fallen Idol (1948), Long Day's Journey into Night (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). He received nominations and awards in the UK, Europe and the US for his stage and screen work from 1948 until his death. Richardson was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, first for The Heiress (1949) and again (posthumously) for his final film, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984). Throughout his career, and increasingly in later years, Richardson was known for his eccentric behaviour on and off stage. He was often seen as detached from conventional ways of looking at the world, and his acting was regularly described as poetic or magical.
-
Robert V. Bruce
Robert Vance Bruce (December 19, 1923 in Malden, Massachusetts – January 15, 2008 in Olympia, Washington) was an American historian specializing in the American Civil War, who won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for History for his book The Launching of Modern American Science, 1846–1876 (1987). After serving in the Army during World War II, Bruce graduated from the University of New Hampshire, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. He received his Master of Arts in history and his Doctor of Philosophy from Boston University, where he was later a professor. He also taught at the University of Bridgeport, Lawrence Academy at Groton, and the University of Wisconsin. Bruce was also a lecturer at the Fortenbaugh Lecture at Gettysburg College.
-
Rosa Blasi
Rosa Blasi Harris (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress, author, model, singer and therapist. She is known for her roles as Luisa Delgado in the Lifetime medical drama series Strong Medicine and Barb Thunderman in the Nickelodeon series The Thundermans.
-
Rosemary Conley
Rosemary Jean Neil Conley CBE, DL (née Weston, born 19 December 1946) is an English businesswoman, author and broadcaster on exercise and health. Conley authored a low-fat diet and exercise programme, The Hip & Thigh Diet in 1988, which sold more than two million copies. However, her spot theory of fat reduction, which claims people can lose fat specifically from the hips and thighs, has no scientific basis.
-
Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker (born Roy Horace Baker; 19 December 1916 – 5 October 2010) was an English film director. He was known professionally as Roy Baker until 1967, when he adopted Roy Ward Baker as his screen credit.
-
Rudolf Hell
Rudolf Hell (19 December 1901 – 11 March 2002) was a German inventor and engineer.
-
Salvador Elizondo
Salvador Elizondo Alcalde (December 19, 1932, in Mexico City – March 29, 2006) was a Mexican writer of the 60s Generation of Mexican literature. Regarded as one of the creators of the most influential cult noirè, experimental, intelligent style literature in Latin America, he wrote as a novelist, poet, critic, playwright, and journalist. His most famous novels are Farabeuf (1965) and El hipogeo Secreto (1968). He is also known for El grafógrafo (1972) which is a series of short texts based on linguistic abbreviatory experimentation. Farabeuf (tr. John Incledon) was published in English by Ox & Pigeon in 2015. His style is considered innovative among Mexican contemporary literature for introducing a cosmopolitan view of language and narrative, bringing elements from external literary currents and languages to a refined dialogue of thought and communication. His technique is considered rather unrealistic and proto-fictional, as opposed to magical realism. Some critics have highlighted his literary works as postmodern literature since it challenges fiction through autofiction, metafiction, metalepsis, and by intertwining possible fictional worlds. His works are associated with writers such as Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Julio Cortázar, Juan Rulfo and Georges Bataille. He was also a professor at UNAM for 25 years (mentor of writers such as Pablo Soler Frost) and received many international grants, such as the Guggenheim and Rockefeller, and was the recipient of the 1990 national prize of literature. Elizondo died in Mexico City on March 29, 2006, of cancer. His funeral was held at the Palacio de Bellas Artes.
-
Scott Cohen
Scott Cohen (born December 19, 1961) is an American actor best known for his supporting role as Max Medina on the first three seasons of The WB comedy drama series Gilmore Girls (2000–03), as well as his lead roles as Detective Chris Ravell on the NBC legal drama series Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005–06), Dominic Eugene "Nico" Careles on the USA Network comedy drama series Necessary Roughness (2011–13), Ezra Wolf on the ABC legal drama series The Fix (2019), and Luca Falcone on the HBO crime drama miniseries The Penguin (2024). He is also known for his roles in films such as The Mambo Kings (1992), Kissing Jessica Stein (2001), Love & Other Drugs, Please Give (both 2010), Anesthesia, James White (both 2015), As You Are (2016), Who We Are Now (2017), Braid, and Write When You Get Work (both 2018).
-
Steven Berghuis
Steven Berghuis (born 19 December 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Eredivisie club Ajax. Berghuis made his debut for the Netherlands in 2016, and represented the national team at UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
-
Steven Isserlis
Steven John Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. An acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, educator, writer and broadcaster, he is widely regarded as one of the leading musicians of his generation. He is also noted for his diverse repertoire and distinctive sound which is partly from his use of gut strings. Isserlis has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award in 1993, the Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau in 2000, and both the Wigmore Hall Medal and Glashütte Original Music Festival Award in 2017. His recordings have garnered two Gramophone Awards, a Classical BRIT Award, a BBC Music Magazine Award, and two Grammy Award nominations among others. He is also one of the only two living cellists inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame. Isserlis currently plays on the 1726 Marquis de Corberon cello made by Antonio Stradivari on loan from the Royal Academy of Music.
-
Tankred Dorst
Tankred Dorst (19 December 1925 – 1 June 2017) was a German playwright and storyteller. Dorst lived and worked in Munich. His farces, parables, one-act-plays and adaptations were inspired by the theatre of the absurd and the works of Ionesco, Giraudoux and Beckett. His monumental drama Merlin oder das wüste Land, which was premiered in 1981 in Düsseldorf, has been compared to Goethe's Faust. Some critics see it as the first major drama of the 1980s. In his tribute to Tankred Dorst on the occasion of the conferment of the Georg Büchner Prize in 1990, Georg Hensel remarked that Dorst's plays all have a direct connection to the present: "For 30 years Dorst's plays have responded to the great transformations. He has always been a companion to the times." Dorst first directed the Ring of the Nibelung in Bayreuth in 2006.
-
Tony Taylor
Antonio Nemesio Taylor Sánchez (December 19, 1935 – July 16, 2020) was a Cuban professional baseball second baseman who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and Detroit Tigers from 1958 until 1976. He batted and threw right-handed and also played third base and first base. Taylor was signed as an amateur free agent by the New York Giants in 1954 and played for three of their minor league affiliates until 1957, when the Chicago Cubs drafted him in that year's Rule 5 draft and promoted him to the major leagues. After spending two seasons with the organization, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960, the same year he was selected twice as an All-Star. He was subsequently dealt in mid-1971 to the Detroit Tigers, who released him after two seasons. He returned to the Phillies and played his last game on September 29, 1976.
-
Tyson Beckford
Tyson Beckford (born December 19, 1970) is a Jamaican-American model and actor best known as a Ralph Lauren Polo model. He was also the host of both seasons of the Bravo program Make Me a Supermodel. Beckford has been described as one of the most successful male supermodels of all time, achieving fame and huge contracts similar to the female models who had huge success in the 1990s.
-
W. A. Criswell
Wallie Amos Criswell Jr. (December 19, 1909 – January 10, 2002), was an American Baptist pastor, author, and a two-term elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1968 to 1970. As senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas for five decades, he became widely known for his biblical expositions as a great expositor and outstanding orator in Southern Baptist preaching at a popular level. He is regarded as a key figure in the late 1970s "Conservative Resurgence" within the Southern Baptist Convention.
-
Wallace Bryant
Wallace Bryant (December 19, 1863 – May 2, 1953) was an American archer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He won the bronze medal in the team competition. In the Double York round he finished fourth and in the Double American round he finished eighth. Bryant was also a famous portrait artist.
-
Walter Murphy
Walter Anthony Murphy Jr. (born December 19, 1952) is an American composer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for the instrumental "A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony which topped the charts in 1976 and was featured on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in 1977. Further classical-disco fusions followed, such as "Flight '76", "Toccata and Funk in 'D' Minor" "Bolero", and "Mostly Mozart", but were not as successful. In a career spanning over five decades, Murphy has written music for numerous films and TV shows, including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Savage Bees, Stingray, Wiseguy, The Commish, Profit, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Looney Tunes, and How Murray Saved Christmas. He has had a long-running partnership with Seth MacFarlane, composing music for his films and TV shows such as Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show, Ted, Ted 2 and the Ted television series.
-
William Bowyer
William Bowyer (; 19 December 1699 – 13 November 1777) was an English printer known as "the learned printer".
-
William Christie
William Lincoln Christie (born December 19, 1944) is an American-born French conductor and harpsichordist. He is a specialist in baroque and classical repertoire and is the founder of the ensemble Les Arts Florissants.
-
Yong Jun-hyung
Yong Jun-hyung (Korean: 용준형; born Yong Jae-soon, December 19, 1989), known mononymously as Junhyung, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. He rose to fame as a member of South Korean boy band Highlight (formerly known as Beast), formed in 2009. He departed from Highlight in 2019, amidst a controversy where he admitted to having watched a video of singer Jung Joon-young making out with a woman, which was filmed with consent but shared without. As a solo artist, he released one extended play, Flower (2013), and one full-length album, Goodbye 20's (2018). He also starred in the Korean dramas Monstar (2013) and Coffee, Do Me a Favor (2018).
-
Young K
Kang Young-hyun (Korean: 강영현; born December 19, 1993), known professionally as Young K (영케이), is a South Korean musician, singer, songwriter, and rapper. He is best known as the bassist and vocalist of South Korean pop rock band Day6.
-
Édith Piaf
Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (French: [edit pjaf]), was a French singer and lyricist. She is regarded as France's greatest popular singer and one of the most celebrated performers in the world. She is best known for performing songs in the cabaret and modern chanson genres. Having begun her career touring with her father at age fourteen, she was discovered in 1935 in Paris by night club owner Louis Leplée. Her fame increased during the German occupation of France, shortly after which (in 1945) she wrote the lyrics to her signature song, "La Vie en rose" ('life in pink'). She became France's most popular entertainer in the late 1940s, also touring Europe, South America and the United States, where her popularity led to eight appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Piaf continued to perform, including several series of concerts at the Paris Olympia music hall, until a few months before her death in 1963 at age 47. Her last song, "L'Homme de Berlin", was recorded with her husband Théo Sarapo in April 1963. Since her death, several documentaries and films have been produced about Piaf's life as a touchstone of French culture, including the Academy Award winning La Vie en Rose in 2007. Piaf's music was often autobiographical, and she specialized in chanson réaliste and torch ballads about love, loss and sorrow. In addition to her signature song, her most widely known songs include "Non, je ne regrette rien" (1960), "Hymne à l'amour" (1949), "Milord" (1959), "La Foule" (1957), "L'Accordéoniste" (1940), and "Padam, padam..." (1951).
Who's birthday is it today? — FAQ
Who's birthday is it today?
You're viewing December 19 (not today). See who's birthday it is today.
How are famous birthdays ranked?
Each person gets a popularity index from recent English Wikipedia pageviews. Higher visits means they appear higher in the “who birthday today” list.
Can I check another date?
Yes — use the day picker above, or open clean URLs like /birthday/december-19. Every calendar day has its own page for famous birthdays.
Where does the data come from?
Birth lists are scraped from English Wikipedia on-this-day pages. Gender and living status come from Wikidata when available.
Is there an API for apps and AI assistants?
Yes. Use /api/today for today's ranked birthdays (JSON), /api/birthdays for any date, /openapi.json for the schema, and /llms.txt for LLM-oriented site instructions.