Who was born on January 4?
January 4 is packed with notable birthdays. Explore 106 famous birthdays, sorted by recent English Wikipedia pageviews. Top ranked names include Victor Wembanyama, Charles Melton, D'Arcy Carden, Coco Jones, Jaeden Martell. Filter by actor, musician, athlete, and more — or open any other calendar day.
January 4
106 people
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Victor Wembanyama
Victor Wembanyama ( WEM-bən-YAH-mə; French: [viktɔʁ wɛmbanjama]; born 4 January 2004), nicknamed "Wemby" and "the Alien", is a French professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected first overall by the Spurs in the 2023 NBA draft and is considered one of the best basketball prospects ever due to his rare combination of height, agility, and skills. Wembanyama began his professional career at age 15 with Nanterre 92 of the LNB Pro A in 2019. Two years later, he moved to ASVEL and won the Pro A title in his only season with the team. In the 2022–23 season, Wembanyama signed with Metropolitans 92 and became the youngest player to win the Pro A MVP award, while earning Pro A Best Defender honours and leading the league in scoring, rebounds and blocks. He was unanimously named an LNB All-Star twice, winning the All-Star Game MVP once, and was a three-time Pro A Best Young Player from 2021 to 2023. Following a historic rookie season in the NBA in which he led the league in blocks per game, Wembanyama was unanimously named the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year and became the first rookie and youngest player ever to be named to the All-Defensive First Team. During the 2025–26 season, Wembanyama became the youngest and first unanimous winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award. That same year, he led the Spurs to the NBA Finals in his first postseason appearance. Wembanyama also plays for the French national team, with whom he won a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics. At the youth level, he led his team to two silver medals, including at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, where he set the FIBA record for blocks per game in a single tournament.
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Charles Melton
Charles Michael Melton (born January 4, 1991) is an American actor. After working as a fashion model, Melton ventured to acting with guest roles on the television series Glee (2014) and American Horror Story: Hotel (2015–2016). His breakthrough came with his portrayal of Reggie Mantle in the CW series Riverdale (2017–2023). Melton gained recognition for his leading role in the romance film The Sun Is Also a Star (2019). For his acclaimed portrayal in the drama film May December (2023), Melton earned nominations for a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 2026, he produced and starred as a personal trainer in the second season of the Netflix anthology series Beef, for which he received two nominations—Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and Outstanding Supporting Actor—at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards.
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D'Arcy Carden
D'Arcy Beth Carden (born Darcy Beth Erokan; January 4, 1980) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for portraying Janet in the NBC sitcom The Good Place (2016–2020), for which she earned a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and Greta Gill in the Prime series A League of Their Own (2022). She also played Gemma in Broad City (2014–2019) and Natalie Greer in the HBO dark comedy series Barry (2018–2023). Carden began her career performing improvisational comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She went on to make appearances in several television series, including Inside Amy Schumer (2015), Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2016), and Veep (2017). She has also acted in films such as Other People (2016), Let It Snow (2019), and Bombshell (2019). She made her Broadway debut in The Thanksgiving Play (2023).
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Coco Jones
Courtney Michaela Ann Jones (born January 4, 1998) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She first appeared on the competition series Radio Disney's Next Big Thing (2010–2011), which led to her signing with the company's Hollywood Records and being cast in several Disney Channel properties — including the sketch comedy So Random! (2011–2012) and the sitcom Good Luck Charlie (2012–2013). She had her breakthrough role as Roxanne "Roxy" Andrews in the 2012 television musical Disney Channel Original Movie Let It Shine, where she co-starred with Tyler James Williams and lent her vocals to the soundtrack for the network. She returned to a recording career in 2022, signing with High Standardz and Def Jam Recordings to release the single "ICU" in October of that year. The song was her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), also winning Best R&B Performance at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. The award was among five total nominations she received at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards—which included a nomination for Best New Artist. That same year, she was cast in the starring role for the Peacock drama series Bel-Air (2022–2025). Her other accolades include a BET Award and an NAACP Image Award. Her debut studio album, Why Not More? (2025), moderately entered the Billboard 200 and was met with critical acclaim, earning Jones her second Best R&B Album nomination at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. Its lead single, "Here We Go (Uh Oh)", was also nominated for Best R&B Song at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.
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Jaeden Martell
Jaeden Martell (né Lieberher; born January 4, 2003) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, with roles in the comedy drama St. Vincent (2014) and science fiction film Midnight Special (2016). His performance in St. Vincent earned him a nomination for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer. After playing the title character in the drama The Book of Henry (2017), Martell's breakthrough came with his portrayal of Bill Denbrough in the supernatural horror films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019). This led to further leading roles in horror films, such as The Lodge (2019) and Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022). Martell had a supporting role in Rian Johnson's mystery comedy Knives Out (2019). Venturing into projects with more mature themes, he played a reserved teenager accused of murder in the Apple TV miniseries Defending Jacob (2020). He has since starred in the comedy films Metal Lords (2022) and Y2K (2024).
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Dave Foley
David Scott Foley (born January 4, 1963) is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian, director, producer, and writer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of television, stage and film productions, most notably the 1988–1995 TV sketch comedy show of the same name, as well as the 1996 film Brain Candy. Dave Foley is also known for his roles as Dave Nelson in the sitcom NewsRadio, Flik in A Bug's Life, Troy in Blast from the Past, Dr. Fulton in The Middle, Bob in Hot in Cleveland, Gary O'Brien in Young Sheldon, and Danish Graves in Fargo. Foley also hosted Celebrity Poker Showdown.
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Derrick Henry
Derrick Lamar Henry Jr. (born January 4, 1994) is an American professional football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "King Henry", he is known for his imposing style of play and larger build than the average running back. Noted for his success at every stage of his career, Henry is the only player to have rushed for at least 2,000 yards in a season at the high school, college, and professional levels. He also led the nation in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns at all three levels. Despite being an active player, many consider him among the greatest running backs of all time. Born and raised in Yulee, Florida, Henry set the national high school football record for career rushing yards with the Yulee Hornets, breaking Ken Hall's record that had stood for almost 60 years. Henry was a five star recruit according to ESPN. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where during his junior season, he broke Herschel Walker's single-season college rushing yards record in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), won the 2015 Heisman Trophy, the Doak Walker Award, the Maxwell Award, and the Walter Camp Award, and was a key part of the 2015 Alabama Crimson Tide football team that won the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship. Henry was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft, where he was a four-time Pro Bowl selection. A backup for most of his first two seasons in the league, Henry emerged as the Titans' feature back near the end of the 2018 season. He led the NFL in rushing yards for the 2019 season, as well as rushing touchdowns (tied with Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones). In 2020, Henry again led the league in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, becoming just the eighth player in NFL history—and the second Tennessee Titan after Chris Johnson in 2009—to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a single season. He went on to win the 2020 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. After missing more than half of the 2021 season to injury, he made his third and fourth Pro Bowl appearances in the subsequent two seasons. After eight seasons in Tennessee, Henry signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2024, where he set multiple franchise records in his first season with the team. Through the 2025 season, Henry is the NFL's active leader in career rushing yards and touchdowns (ranking tenth and fourth all-time, respectively). Henry's success and dominance has also extended into the playoffs. He is the NFL's active leader in postseason rushing yards (ranking 7th all-time), holds several playoffs records, and was a key contributor to Titans' playoff wins in 2017–18 and 2019–20 and the Ravens' playoff win in 2024–25.
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Matt Frewer
Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV film and 1987 television series of the same name. He became prominent when playing roles in films, like Russell Thompson Sr. in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), Jobe Smith in Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1996), Sherlock Holmes in a 2001 film adaptation of The Sign of Four, Frank in Dawn of the Dead (2004), Moloch in Watchmen (2009), Mitch in 50/50 (2011), and Archibald Stanley in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014). His television credits include Dr. Mike Stratford in Doctor Doctor (1989–1991), Bob in Shaky Ground (1992–1993), Trashcan Man in The Stand (1994), Matt Prager in Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (1997–1999), Dr. Jim Taggart in Eureka (2006–2012) and Doctor Leekie in the Canadian science fiction drama Orphan Black (2013–2017). Frewer's more recent performances include a portrayal of "General #2" in the Steven Spielberg picture The BFG (2016), the character Carnage in the Netflix series Altered Carbon in 2018 and Logan in Fear the Walking Dead (2019). Also, he portrayed The Binder in three episodes of The Magicians and Peter Morton in eight episodes of The Order (2019−2020). His voice roles include Panic in Hercules and its 1998 television series, Inspector 47 in The Magic School Bus, the Pink Panther in the 1993 television series of the same name, Lloyd Christmas in the Dumb and Dumber animated series, Jackal in Gargoyles and Dedgar Deadman in Toonsylvania.
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Deana Carter
Deana Kay Carter (born January 4, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter who broke through in 1996 with the release of her debut album Did I Shave My Legs for This?, which was certified 5× Multi-Platinum in the United States for sales of over 5 million. It was followed by 1998's Everything's Gonna Be Alright, 2003's I'm Just a Girl, 2005's The Story of My Life, and 2007's The Chain. Overall, Carter's albums have accounted for 14 singles, including three which reached Number One on the Billboard country charts: "Strawberry Wine", "We Danced Anyway", and "How Do I Get There".
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Kris Bryant
Kristopher Lee Bryant (born January 4, 1992), nicknamed "KB", is an American professional baseball third baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants. Bryant attended the University of San Diego, where he played college baseball for the Toreros. He was named an All-American in 2012 and 2013 and won the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award in 2013. The Cubs selected him with the second overall pick in the 2013 MLB draft, and he quickly became one of the top prospects, winning the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year Award and Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award in 2014. Bryant made his major league debut in 2015. He was named an MLB All-Star and won the National League's (NL) Rookie of the Year Award. He was again named an All-Star in 2016, won a World Series championship with the Cubs, and won the NL Most Valuable Player Award. He was named an All-Star again in 2019 and 2021. The Cubs traded him to the Giants in 2021, and after that season he signed a seven-year contract with the Rockies.
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Doris Kearns Goodwin
Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin (born January 4, 1943) is an American biographer, historian, former sports journalist, and political commentator. She has written biographies of numerous U.S. presidents. Goodwin's book No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1995. Goodwin produced the American television miniseries Washington. She was also executive producer of Abraham Lincoln, a 2022 docudrama on the History Channel. This latter series was based on Goodwin's Leadership in Turbulent Times.
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Sorrell Booke
Sorrell Booke (January 4, 1930 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor. He appeared in over 130 film, television, and stage productions, and was best known for his role as "Boss" Hogg, the principal antagonist of the television series The Dukes of Hazzard (1979–1985).
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Floyd Patterson
Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title, and was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He has been named among the top 15 heavyweights of all time. In 1956 and 1960, Patterson was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. In 1995, Patterson was honored with the Barney Nagler Award by the BWAA in recognition of his long and meritorious service.
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Marc Guiu
Marc Guiu Paz (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈmark ˈgiw]; born 4 January 2006) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Chelsea.
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Rob Dillingham
Robert Deon Potasi Dillingham (born January 4, 2005) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was a five-star recruit who previously played professionally for the Cold Hearts and Blue Checks with Karter Knox in Overtime Elite during what would have been his senior year in high school. Dillingham became a guard for Kentucky during the 2023–24 season. Dillingham was selected in the 2024 NBA draft with the 8th overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs, but was immediately traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night. After nearly two seasons in Minnesota, Dillingham was traded to the Bulls in 2026.
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Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first few releases were unsuccessful, she broke through by decade's end with a cover of George Jones's "If My Heart Had Windows". Loveless issued five albums on MCA before moving to Epic Records in 1993, where she released nine more albums. Four of her albums—Honky Tonk Angel, Only What I Feel, When Fallen Angels Fly, and The Trouble with the Truth—are certified platinum in the United States. Loveless has charted 44 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including five which reached number one: "Timber, I'm Falling in Love", "Chains", "Blame It on Your Heart", "You Can Feel Bad", and "Lonely Too Long". Loveless's music is defined by a mix of sounds, including neotraditional country, honky-tonk, country rock, and bluegrass music, with her singing voice garnering favorable comparisons to Loretta Lynn and Emmylou Harris. Recurring songwriters whose work she has recorded include Matraca Berg, Kostas, Jim Lauderdale, and Steve Earle. She has collaborated with Vince Gill, George Jones, and Dwight Yoakam, among others. Nearly all of her albums were produced by her husband, Emory Gordy Jr. Although she largely retired from performing in 2009, Loveless has sporadically contributed to other artists' works in subsequent years. She has won five awards from the Country Music Association, two from the Academy of Country Music, and two Grammy Awards. Loveless was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on October 22, 2023.
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General Tom Thumb
Charles Sherwood Stratton (January 4, 1838 – July 15, 1883), better known by his stage name "General Tom Thumb", was an American with dwarfism who achieved great fame as a performer under circus pioneer P. T. Barnum.
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Odilon Kossounou
Kouakou Odilon Dorgeless Kossounou ([ɔdilɔ̃ kɔsunu]; born 4 January 2001) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Atalanta and the Ivory Coast national team.
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William Colby
William Egan Colby (January 4, 1920 – May 6, 1996) was an American intelligence officer who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from September 1973 to January 1976. During World War II, Colby served with the Office of Strategic Services. After the war, he joined the newly created Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Before and during the Vietnam War, Colby served as chief of station in Saigon, chief of the CIA's Far East Division, and head of the Civil Operations and Rural Development effort and oversaw the Phoenix Program. After the war, Colby became Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) and during his tenure, under intense pressure from the Congress and the media, adopted a policy of relative openness about U.S. intelligence activities to the Senate Church Committee and the House Pike Committee. Colby served as DCI under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford until January 30, 1976, and was succeeded at the CIA by George H. W. Bush.
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Lenora Crichlow
Lenora Isabella Crichlow (born 4 January 1985) is an English actress. She became known for her starring roles as Maria "Sugar" Sweet in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series Sugar Rush, Annie Sawyer in the BBC Three supernatural drama series Being Human, and Shania Andrews in the 2012 sports drama film Fast Girls. In 2013, Crichlow portrayed Chen Sam in the television film Burton & Taylor and Victoria Skillane in the episode "White Bear" of the dystopian sci-fi series Black Mirror. She has since had regular roles in the ABC sitcom Back in the Game and the NBC comedy series A to Z. In 2020, she was in the main cast of the HBO/Sky One comedy series Avenue 5, playing second engineer Billie McEvoy.
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Angeliño
José Ángel Esmorís Tasende (Spanish: [xoˈse ˈaŋxel esmoˈɾis taˈsende]; born 4 January 1997), better known as Angeliño ([aŋxeˈliɲo]), is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left wing-back or left-back for La Liga club Deportivo de A Coruña, on loan from Serie A club Roma.
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Josh Stamberg
Joshua Collins Stamberg (born January 4, 1970) is an American actor. He was regular cast member in the Lifetime comedy-drama series Drop Dead Diva from 2009 to 2012, and later had recurring roles on Parenthood, The Affair, and WandaVision.
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Johnny Nelson
Ivanson Ranny "Johnny" Nelson (born 4 January 1967) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 2005. He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) cruiserweight title from 1999 to 2006, and remains the longest reigning cruiserweight world champion of all time. Nelson defended the title against thirteen different opponents, more than any other cruiserweight in history, and holds a joint-record of most consecutive cruiserweight title defences (along with Marco Huck). He also never lost the title in the ring. At regional level, he held the British cruiserweight title twice between 1989 and 1997, and the European cruiserweight title twice between 1990 and 1998.
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Louis Braille
Louis Braille ( brayl; French: [lwi bʁɑj]; 4 January 1809 – 6 January 1852) was a French educator and the inventor of a reading and writing system named after him, braille, intended for use by visually impaired people. His system is used worldwide and remains virtually unchanged to this day. Braille was blinded in one eye at the age of three. This occurred as a result from an accident with a stitching awl in his father's harness-making shop. Consequently, an infection set in and spread to both eyes, resulting in total blindness. At that time, there were not many resources in place for the blind, but he nevertheless excelled in his education and received a scholarship to France's Royal Institute for Blind Youth. While still a student there, he began developing a system of tactile code that could allow blind people to read and write quickly and efficiently. Inspired by a system invented by Charles Barbier, Braille's new method was more compact and lent itself to a range of uses, including music. He presented his work to his peers for the first time in 1824, when he was fifteen years old. In adulthood, Braille served as a professor at the Institute and had an avocation as a musician, but he largely spent the remainder of his life refining and extending his system. It went unused by most educators for many years after his death, but posterity has recognized braille as a revolutionary invention, and it has been adapted for use in languages worldwide.
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Jacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the Deutsches Wörterbuch, the author of Deutsche Mythologie, and the editor of Grimms' Fairy Tales. He was the older brother of Wilhelm Grimm; together, they were the literary duo known as the Brothers Grimm.
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Max Aarons
Maximillian James Aarons (born 4 January 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club Bournemouth. A Norwich City youth product, Aarons joined the academy in 2016 at the age of sixteen. He went on to sign for the club professionally two years later in 2018, and quickly became a regular player for the side in the Championship. He got promoted with the side to the Premier League in 2019, and relegated back to the Championship a season later in 2020. After playing regularly and earning a nomination for EFL Young Player of the Season, the club were subsequently promoted back to the Premier League in 2021. The club would once again be relegated back to the Championship in 2022. Aarons joined top-tier English side Bournemouth in August 2023, ending a five-year tenure with the Canaries. He was later sent on loan to Spanish club Valencia in January 2025, and joined Scottish side Rangers on loan in June that year.
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Shane Carwin
Shane Bannister Carwin (born January 4, 1975) is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is considered to be one of the hardest hitting athletes to ever fight in the UFC.
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George P. Cosmatos
George Pan Cosmatos (4 January 1941 – 19 April 2005) was a Greek-Italian film director and screenwriter. Following early success in his home country with drama films such as Massacre in Rome with Richard Burton (based on the real-life Ardeatine massacre), Cosmatos retooled his career towards mainstream "blockbuster" action and adventure films, including The Cassandra Crossing and Escape to Athena, both of which were British-Italian co-productions. After relocating to North America, he directed the horror film Of Unknown Origin. This was followed by some of his best-known work, including the action films Rambo: First Blood Part II and Cobra (both of which star Sylvester Stallone), the science-fiction horror film Leviathan, and the critically acclaimed Western movie Tombstone.
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C. L. R. James
Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989), who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist, Trotskyist activist, and Marxist writer. His works are influential in various theoretical, social, and historiographical contexts. His work is a staple of Marxism, and he figures as a pioneering and influential voice in postcolonial literature. A tireless political activist, James is the author of the 1937 work World Revolution outlining the history of the Communist International, which stirred debate in Trotskyist circles, and in 1938 he wrote on the Haitian Revolution, The Black Jacobins. Characterised by Edward Said as an "anti-Stalinist dialectician", James was known for his autodidactism, occasional playwriting and fiction writing, and as an avid sportsman. The performance of his 1934 play Toussaint Louverture was the first time black professional actors were featured in a production written by a black playwright in the UK. James' 1936 book Minty Alley was the first novel by a black West Indian to be published in Britain. He is also famed as a writer on cricket and in 1963 he published his book Beyond a Boundary, which he himself described as "neither cricket reminiscences nor autobiography".
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Kevin Pillar
Kevin Andrew Pillar () (born January 4, 1989) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, and Texas Rangers. Pillar was an All-American center fielder in college. He set the NCAA Division II record with a 54-game hitting streak in 2010, and established his school's all-time record with a career batting average of .367. Pillar was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 32nd round (979th overall) of the 2011 MLB draft. In 2011, he batted .347, winning the Appalachian League batting title and leading the organization in batting average in his first minor league season, and was named an Appalachian League All-Star. In 2012 Pillar batted .323, while stealing 51 bases (second-most in the organization), and was named the Midwest League MVP, a mid-season and a post-season All-Star, the best hitting prospect in the league by Baseball America, and a Topps Class A All-Star and MiLB.com Organization All-Star. In 2013, he led the organization in hits for the second consecutive year, and Baseball America designated him the "Best Hitter for Average" among the Blue Jays' prospects. He made his major league debut for the Blue Jays in August 2013. In 2014, he led the International League in doubles while batting .323, and was named an IL post-season All-Star. In his minor league career through 2016, he batted .324. In 2015, Pillar led all major league outfielders in putouts, and was named the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year for center field. In 2016, he was awarded the Fielding Bible Award for the center field position. In 2017, his .997 fielding percentage as a center fielder was the best in the American League.
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Georg Elser
Johann Georg Elser (German: [ˈɡeːɔʁk ˈɛlzɐ] ; 4 January 1903 – 9 April 1945) was a German carpenter who planned and carried out an elaborate assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi leaders on 8 November 1939 at the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich (known as the Bürgerbräukeller Bombing). Elser constructed and placed a bomb near the platform from which Hitler was to deliver a speech. It did not kill Hitler, who left earlier than expected, but it did kill 8 people and injured 62 others. Elser was held as a prisoner for more than five years until he was executed at Dachau concentration camp less than a month before the surrender of Nazi Germany.
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Sarah Nurse
Sarah Nurse (born January 4, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and alternate captain for the Vancouver Goldeneyes of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and Canada women's national ice hockey team. Nurse won Olympic gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics—where she broke the single-tournament Olympic point record with 18 and became the first Black woman to win a gold medal in Olympic ice-hockey—and silver at the 2018 Winter Olympics. She has competed in six IIHF World Women's Championships, securing three golds (2021, 2022, 2024), two silvers (2023, 2025), and one bronze (2019). After a standout college career with the Wisconsin Badgers, featuring four Frozen Four appearances, she played one season with the Toronto Furies of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). Nurse co-founded the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), serving on its board, and later joined the PWHL's executive committee for the PWHL Players Association (PWHLPA) upon the PWHL's 2023 launch.
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Carlos Saura
Carlos Saura Atarés (4 January 1932 – 10 February 2023) was a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. With Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be among Spain's great filmmakers. He had a long and prolific career that spanned over half a century, and his films won many international awards. Saura began his career in 1955 making documentary shorts. He gained international prominence when his first feature-length film premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 1960. Although he started filming as a neorealist, Saura switched to films encoded with metaphors and symbolism in order to get around the Spanish censors. In 1966, he was thrust into the international spotlight when his film The Hunt won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. In the following years, he forged an international reputation for his cinematic treatment of emotional and spiritual responses to repressive political conditions. By the 1970s, Saura was the best known filmmaker working in Spain. His films employed complex narrative devices and were frequently controversial. He won Special Jury Awards for Cousin Angelica (1973) and Cría Cuervos (1975) in Cannes, and he received an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film nomination in 1979 for Mama Turns 100. In the 1980s, Saura was in the spotlight for his Flamenco trilogy – Blood Wedding, Carmen and El amor brujo, in which he combined dramatic content and flamenco dance forms. His work continued to be featured in worldwide competitions and earned numerous awards. He received two nominations for Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film for Carmen (1983) and Tango (1998). In the last two decades of the 20th century, Saura concentrated on works uniting music, dance and images.
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Jim Norton
Jim Norton (born 4 January 1938) is an Irish stage, film and television character actor, known for his work in the theatre, most notably in Conor McPherson's The Seafarer, and on television as Bishop Brennan in the sitcom Father Ted.
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Everett Dirksen
Everett McKinley Dirksen (January 4, 1896 – September 7, 1969) was an American politician. A Republican, he represented Illinois in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. As Senate Minority Leader from 1959 until his death in 1969, he played a highly visible and key role in the politics of the 1960s. He helped write and pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, both landmark pieces of legislation during the civil rights movement. He was also one of the Senate's strongest supporters of the Vietnam War. A talented orator with a florid style and a notably rich bass voice, he delivered flamboyant speeches that caused his detractors to refer to him as "The Wizard of Ooze". Born in Pekin, Illinois, Dirksen served as an artillery officer during World War I and opened a bakery after the war. After serving on the Pekin City Council, he won election to the House of Representatives in 1932. In the House, he was considered a moderate and supported much of the New Deal; he became more conservative and isolationist over time, but reversed himself to support US involvement in World War II. He won election to the Senate in 1950, unseating Senate Majority Leader Scott W. Lucas. In the Senate, he favored conservative economic policies and supported the internationalism of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Dirksen succeeded William F. Knowland as Senate Minority Leader after the latter declined to seek re-election in 1958. As the Senate Minority Leader, Dirksen emerged as a prominent national figure of the Republican Party during the 1960s. He developed a good working relationship with Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield and supported President Lyndon B. Johnson's handling of the Vietnam War. He helped break the Southern filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While still serving as Senate Minority Leader, Dirksen died in 1969. The Dirksen Senate Office Building at the Capitol Building in Washington, and the Dirksen United States Courthouse in central Chicago are named for him.
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Wessam Abou Ali
Wessam Haitham Mohammed Abou Ali (Arabic: وسام هيثم محمد أبو علي; born 4 January 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew. Born in Denmark, he plays for the Palestine national team.
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Günter Schabowski
Günter Schabowski ([ˈɡʏntɐ ʃaˈbɔfski]; 4 January 1929 – 1 November 2015) was a German politician who served as an official of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands abbreviated SED), the ruling party during most of the existence of East Germany. After climbing up the party ladder, he became the regime's unofficial spokesman. He gained worldwide fame in November 1989 when he improvised a slightly mistaken answer to a press conference question about the future of the Berlin Wall, that seemed to announce the Wall's immediate end and raised popular expectations much more rapidly than the government planned. Massive crowds gathered at the Wall the same night, which forced its opening after 28 years. Soon afterward, the entire inner German border was opened; not much later, East Germany ceased to exist.
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Chen Cheng
Chen Cheng ([ʈʂʰə̌n ʈʂʰə̌ŋ]; Chinese: 陳誠; pinyin: Chén Chéng; wugniu (Qingtian dialect): Dzan2-yin2; January 4, 1898 – March 5, 1965), courtesy name Tsi-siou (辭修; Cíxiū), was a Chinese politician, military leader, revolutionary, and the leader of the Tsotanhui Clique. He is widely regarded as the chief architect of Taiwan's post-war land reform and economic modernization programs during the 1950s. A close protégé of Chiang Kai-shek, Chen rose through the ranks of the National Revolutionary Army and played a major role as a senior commander during the Northern Expedition, the Warlord Era, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Chinese Civil War. Following the Kuomintang's retreat to Taiwan, Chen was appointed Governor of Taiwan, during which he declared martial law, and later served as Premier and Vice President. In these roles, he led Taiwan's land redistribution and industrial transformation throughout the 1950s and 1960s, reforms that scholars often identify as key precursors to the Taiwan Miracle. These programs were widely credited with curbing the spread of communism on the island and consolidating public support for the KMT regime.
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Joe Kleine
Joseph William Kleine (born January 4, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and for the US national team. He won a gold medal as a member of the United States men's basketball team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1998, he won the NBA championship as a member of the Chicago Bulls. Kleine is now a restaurant proprietor, owning a number of successful Corky's Ribs & BBQ restaurants.
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James Bond
James Bond (January 4, 1900 – February 14, 1989) was an American ornithologist and expert on the birds of the Caribbean, having written the definitive book on the subject: Birds of the West Indies, first published in 1936. He served as a curator of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Writer Ian Fleming adopted his name for his fictional British spy; references to the ornithologist permeate the resulting media franchise.
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Carter Glass
Carter Glass (January 4, 1858 – May 28, 1946) was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic politician from Lynchburg, Virginia. He represented Virginia in both houses of Congress and served as the United States secretary of the treasury under President Woodrow Wilson. He played a major role in the establishment of the U.S. financial regulatory system, helping to establish the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. After working as a newspaper editor and publisher, Glass won election to the Senate of Virginia in 1899. He was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1902, where he was an influential advocate for segregationist policies. Historian J. Douglas Smith described him as “the architect of disenfranchisement in the Old Dominion.” He also promoted progressive fiscal and regulatory reform but these contributions were often superficial since Glass generally opposed the most reformist aspects of federal legislation and was a New Deal critic. Glass won election to the United States House of Representatives in 1902 and became Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and Currency in 1913. Working with President Wilson, he passed the Federal Reserve Act, which established a central banking system for the United States. Glass served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1918 until 1920, when he accepted an appointment to represent Virginia in the United States Senate. Glass was a favorite son candidate for the presidential nomination at the 1920 Democratic National Convention. Glass was appointed to the Senate in 1920 and served until his death in 1946, becoming Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee in 1933. He also served as president pro tempore of the Senate from 1941 to 1945. He co-sponsored the 1933 Banking Act, also known as the Glass–Steagall Act, which created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and enforced the separation of investment banking firms and commercial banks. An ardent supporter of states' rights, Glass opposed much of the New Deal and clashed with President Franklin D. Roosevelt over the control of federal appointments in Virginia.
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Mick Mills
Michael Dennis Mills (born 4 January 1949) is an English former footballer who played for Ipswich Town, Southampton and Stoke City. He managed Stoke City, Colchester United and Birmingham City. During his career he achieved Ipswich Town's record number of appearances and captained England at the 1982 World Cup. He is 7th on the list of all-time appearances in the top-flight of English football (First Division and Premier League) with 658 league appearances, and fourth for outfield players. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1984 New Year Honours, for "services to association football".
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Lionel Newman
Lionel Newman (January 4, 1916 – February 3, 1989) was an American conductor, pianist, and film and television composer. He won the Academy Award for Best Score of a Musical Picture for Hello Dolly! with Lennie Hayton in 1969. He was the brother of Alfred Newman and Emil Newman, uncle of composers Randy Newman, David Newman, Thomas Newman and Maria Newman, and grandfather of Joey Newman. His 11 nominations contribute to the Newmans being the most nominated Academy Award extended family, with a collective 92 nominations in various music categories.
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John A. McCone
John Alexander McCone (January 4, 1902 – February 14, 1991) was an American businessman and government official who served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1961 to 1965, during the height of the Cold War.
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James Michael McAdoo
James Michael Ray McAdoo (born January 4, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Shimane Susanoo Magic of the B.League in Japan. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels, and twice earned second-team all-conference honors in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). McAdoo won two NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors. He has also played in various international leagues, including the EuroCup, Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL), and ABA League.
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Katsura Tarō
Prince Katsura Tarō (桂 太郎; 4 January 1848 – 10 October 1913) was a Japanese statesman and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1901 to 1906, from 1908 to 1911, and from 1912 to 1913. He was a genrō, or senior statesman who helped dictate policy during the Meiji era, and is the second-longest serving Japanese prime minister after Shinzo Abe, serving for a combined total of 7 years and 330 days. Born in the Choshu Domain to a samurai family, Katsura participated in the Boshin War that led to the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He spent several years studying military science in Germany, and became a protégé of Yamagata Aritomo. He distinguished himself in the First Sino-Japanese War, then served as governor-general of Taiwan and later as minister of war from 1898 to 1901, when he was appointed prime minister. Katsura's relatively stable tenure saw Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War before he was forced to resign in 1906 amid public outrage at the government's failure to secure an indemnity from Russia. He returned as premier in 1908, and showed authoritarian tendencies in the crackdown on the High Treason Incident of 1910, which saw the mass arrest of leftists and which was followed by the establishment of the Special Higher Police in 1911. In 1910, Korea was annexed by Japan. After Emperor Meiji's death in 1912, Katsura became prime minister again, which triggered the Taisho Political Crisis. He resigned three months later after a vote of no confidence.
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Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Giovanni Battista Draghi (Italian: [dʒoˈvanni batˈtista ˈdraːɡi]; 4 January 1710 – 16 or 17 March 1736), usually referred to as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (Italian: [perɡoˈleːzi, -eːsi]), was an Italian Baroque composer, violinist, and organist, leading exponent of the Baroque; he is considered one of the greatest Italian musicians of the first half of the 18th century and one of the most important representatives of the Neapolitan school. Despite his short life and few years of activity (he died of tuberculosis at the age of 26), he managed to create works of high artistic value and historical importance, such as La serva padrona (The Maid Turned Mistress), which played an important role in the development and diffusion of the opera buffa in Europe, L'Olimpiade, considered "one of the finest opere serie of the early eighteenth century", and Stabat Mater, which is among the most important works of sacred music of all time. In his lifetime, he wrote a total of 10 works for the stage, including 3 two-part intermezzos.
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James Ussher
James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific Irish scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his identification of the genuine letters of the church father, Ignatius of Antioch, and for his chronology that sought to establish the time and date of the creation as "the entrance of the night preceding the 23rd day of October ... the year before Christ 4004"; that is, around 6 pm on 22 October 4004 BC, per the proleptic Julian calendar.
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Paul Desmarais
Paul Guy Desmarais Sr. (4 January 1927 – 8 October 2013) was a Canadian financier and philanthropist, based in Montreal. With an estimated family net worth of US$4.5 billion (as of March 2012), Desmarais was ranked by Forbes as the fourth wealthiest person in Canada, and 235th in the world in 2013. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Power Corporation of Canada until 1996, when he passed the reins of management of Power Corporation to his sons, Paul Jr. and André. He continued as a director and as chairman of the executive committee of the board, and remained the controlling shareholder. Power Corporation of Canada is a diversified international management and holding company with interests in companies in the financial services, asset management, sustainable and renewable energy, and other business sectors. Desmarais was highly regarded for his standard of integrity and his commitment to a united and prosperous Canada.
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Michael Dickson
Michael Dickson (born 4 January 1996) is an Australian professional American football punter, holder and occasional placekicker for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and was selected by the Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft. Dickson is a two-time All-Pro, former Pro Bowler and Ray Guy Award winner and won Super Bowl LX with the Seahawks. Regarded as one of the best punters ever, his career punt average (48.3 yards per punt) is ranked at fourth in NFL history, only behind AJ Cole, Blake Gillikin, and Jack Fox. He currently holds the NFL record for career postseason punt average (49.6 yard per punt).
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Malietoa Tanumafili II
Malietoa Tanumafili II (4 January 1913 – 11 May 2007) was a Samoan paramount chief and politician who was O le Ao o le Malo (head of state) of Samoa from its independence in 1962, and the Malietoa titleholder from 1940, until his death in 2007. In his earlier career, he worked as a civil servant and parliamentarian. When Western Samoa gained independence from New Zealand as a sovereign state in 1962, he became joint head of state with Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole, who died on 5 April 1963, after which he remained the office's sole occupant until his own death.
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Max Eastman
Max Forrester Eastman (January 4, 1883 – March 25, 1969) was an American writer on literature, philosophy, and society, a poet, and a prominent political activist. Moving to New York City for graduate school, Eastman became involved with radical circles in Greenwich Village. He supported socialism and became a leading patron of the Harlem Renaissance and an activist for a number of liberal and radical causes. For several years, he edited The Masses. With his sister Crystal Eastman, he co-founded in 1917 The Liberator, a radical magazine of politics and the arts. While residing in the Soviet Union from the fall of 1922 to the summer of 1924, Eastman was influenced by the power struggle between Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin and the events leading to Stalin's eventual seizure of power. As a result of the Great Purge and the Soviet Union's totalitarianism, he became highly critical first of Stalinism and then of communism and socialism in general. While remaining an atheist, he became an advocate of free market economics and anti-communism. In 1955, he published Reflections on the Failure of Socialism. He published more frequently in National Review and other conservative journals in later life. He publicly opposed United States involvement in the Vietnam War in the 1960s.
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Brian Josephson
Brian David Josephson (born 4 January 1940) is a British theoretical physicist and emeritus professor at the University of Cambridge. He shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physics with Leo Esaki and Ivar Giaever for his discovery of the Josephson effect, made in 1962 when he was a Ph.D. student at Cambridge. Josephson has spent his academic career as a member of the Theory of Condensed Matter Group in Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory. He has been a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, since 1962, and served as Professor of Physics from 1974 until 2007. In the early 1970s, Josephson took up Transcendental Meditation and turned his attention to issues outside the boundaries of mainstream science. He set up the Mind–Matter Unification Project at Cavendish to explore the idea of intelligence in nature, the relationship between quantum mechanics and consciousness, and the synthesis of science and Eastern mysticism, broadly known as quantum mysticism. He has expressed support for topics such as parapsychology, water memory and cold fusion, which has made him a focus of criticism from fellow scientists.
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Will Bynum
William Bynum (born January 4, 1983) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach of the Birmingham Squadron of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the University of Arizona and Georgia Tech before going undrafted in the 2005 NBA draft. He was the 2007 Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP.
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Guy Forget
Guy Forget (French: [ɡi fɔʁʒɛ]; born 4 January 1965) is a French tennis administrator and retired professional player. During his career, he helped France win the Davis Cup in both 1991 and 1996. Since retiring as a player, he has served as France's Davis Cup team captain.
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Leroy Grumman
Leroy Randle "Roy" Grumman (4 January 1895 – 4 October 1982) was an American aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and industrialist. In 1929, he co-founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co., later renamed Grumman Aerospace Corporation, and now part of Northrop Grumman.
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Vladyslav Vanat
Vladyslav Andriyovych Vanat (Ukrainian: Владисла́в Андрі́йович Вана́т; born 4 January 2002) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Segunda División club Girona and the Ukraine national team.
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Ted Lilly
Theodore Roosevelt Lilly III (born January 4, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lilly attended Yosemite High School in Oakhurst, California, and Fresno City College. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1999 to 2013 for the Montreal Expos, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was a two-time MLB All-Star.
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Josef Suk
Josef Suk (4 January 1874 – 29 May 1935) was a Czech composer, violinist, and Olympic silver medalist. He studied under Antonín Dvořák, whose daughter he married.
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Norberto Alonso
Norberto Osvaldo Alonso (born 4 January 1953), better known as Beto Alonso is a former Argentine football midfielder who spent most of his career at River Plate, where he won 9 titles. He remains one of their most notable players. Alonso was regularly regarded as one of the best South American players in the world during the 1970s. He stands in fifth place in River Plate's all time goalscoring records with 149 goals and 7th place in their all time appearances record with 374 matches played. A former Copa Libertadores, Intercontinental Cup and FIFA World Cup champion.
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Arthur Conley
Arthur Lee Conley (January 4, 1946 – November 17, 2003), also known in later years as Lee Roberts, was an American soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit "Sweet Soul Music".
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Younes Kaboul
Younes Kaboul (born 4 January 1986) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for Auxerre, Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Watford. For France, Kaboul played for the under-21 team and went on to play five matches and scored one goal for the senior national team in 2011. Kaboul began his professional career with Auxerre in 2004. After an estimated £8 million move to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, he spent eleven years in England's Premier League. He won the League Cup with Tottenham in 2008.
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William Deane
Sir William Patrick Deane (born 4 January 1931) is an Australian barrister and jurist who served as the 22nd governor-general of Australia from 1996 to 2001. He was previously a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1982 to 1995, during which time he was one of the judges who decided in favour of Eddie Mabo in the Mabo case. Deane received his undergraduate education at the University of Sydney, and later studied international law at The Hague Academy of International Law in the Netherlands. Prior to joining the judiciary, Deane worked for periods as a barrister and university lecturer. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1977, and later that year was also appointed to the Federal Court of Australia. Deane was elevated to the High Court in 1982, and during his tenure was generally considered to fall on the court's progressive side. He retired from the court in 1995, and the following year was appointed governor-general on the recommendation of Paul Keating. Deane had a low profile during his five-year term, facing no major constitutional issues, but did come to international notice by officially opening the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2000 Summer Paralympics.
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Grace Bumbry
Grace Melzia Bumbry (January 4, 1937 – May 7, 2023) was an American opera singer, considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, who also ventured to soprano roles. A pioneer among African-American classical singers, she gained international acclaim as Venus in Tannhäuser at the 1961 Bayreuth Festival, the first black singer to appear there. Bumbry's voice was rich and dynamic, possessing a wide range, and was capable of producing a very distinctive plangent tone. In her prime, she also possessed good agility and bel canto technique, as for example her rendition of Eboli in Verdi's Don Carlo in the 1970s and 1980s. She was particularly noted for her fiery temperament and dramatic intensity on stage. Later, she also became known as a recitalist and interpreter of lieder, and as a teacher. From the late 1980s on, she concentrated her career in Europe, rather than in the United States. A long-time resident of Switzerland, she spent her last years in Vienna.
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Dominik Hrbatý
Dominik Hrbatý (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈdɔminiɡ ˈɦr̩batiː]; born 4 January 1978) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. Hrbatý reached the semifinals of the 1999 French Open, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in October 2005. Hrbatý is one of only three players, alongside Nick Kyrgios and Lleyton Hewitt, to have beaten each member of the Big Three (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal) the first time he played them. Hrbatý is one of a select few players to have competed on the ATP Tour with a positive winning record against Federer (2–1), Nadal (3–1), and Murray (1–0). Hrbatý's record against Djokovic stands at 1–1 (or 0–1 at tour-level events). Hrbaty, Alex Corretja and Novak Djokovic are the only players to have a winning record over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
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Sidney Green
Sidney Green (born January 4, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and former coach. He played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels and was drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) by the Chicago Bulls in 1983. After a ten-year career in the NBA he went into college coaching. He now works as a Chicago Bulls team ambassador.
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Corie Blount
Corie Kasoun Blount (born January 4, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player born in Monrovia, California. He played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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Isaac Pitman
Sir Isaac Pitman (4 January 1813 – 22 January 1897) was an English publisher and teacher of the English language who developed the most widely used system of shorthand, known now as Pitman shorthand. He first proposed this in Stenographic Soundhand in 1837. He was vice-president of the Vegetarian Society. Pitman was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1894.
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George Tryon
Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon, (4 January 1832 – 22 June 1893) was a Royal Navy officer who died when his flagship HMS Victoria collided with HMS Camperdown during manoeuvres off Tripoli, Lebanon.
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Iago Falque
Iago Falque Silva (Galician: [ˈjaɣʊ ˈfalkɪ ˈsilβɐ], Spanish: [ˈɟʝaɣo ˈfalke ˈsilβa]; born 4 January 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward.
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Rudolf Schuster
Rudolf Schuster (born 4 January 1934) is a Slovak politician who served as the second president of Slovakia from 1999 to 2004. He was elected on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated on 15 June. In the presidential elections of April 2004, in which he sought re-election, Schuster was defeated. He received only 7.4% of the vote, with three other candidates (more specifically Ivan Gašparovič, Vladimír Mečiar, and Eduard Kukan) receiving more than that. He was succeeded by Ivan Gašparovič.
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Vesa-Matti Loiri
Vesa-Matti "Vesku" Loiri (4 January 1945 – 10 August 2022) was a Finnish actor, musician and comedian, best known for his role as Uuno Turhapuro, whom he portrayed in a total of 20 movies between the years 1973 and 2004. Loiri made a strong impression early in his career with the role of Jake in the drama film The Boys. He later acted in notable films such as Rakastunut rampa, Pedon merkki, and The Howling Miller, as well as in the television series Rauta-aika. In the latter part of his career, Loiri appeared in several dramedies, including Tie pohjoiseen (Road North). Loiri's comedic career…
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Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler (born 4 January 1947) is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and (briefly) Gong/Mothergong. He has collaborated with many musicians and groups, including Fred Frith, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins, Peter Blegvad, Telectu, and The Residents, and has appeared on over 100 recordings. Cutler's career spans over four decades and he still performs actively throughout the world. Cutler created and…
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Susan Devoy
Dame Susan Elizabeth Anne Devoy (born 4 January 1964) is a New Zealand former squash player and senior public servant. As a squash player, she was dominant in the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning the World Open on four occasions. She served as New Zealand's Race Relations Commissioner from 2013 to 2018.
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Marissa Coleman
Marissa Coleman (born January 4, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player.
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Gavin Miller
Gavin John Miller (born 4 January 1960) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played the majority of his club football for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, and is an Immortal of the club. He earned two successive Dally M Player of the Year awards in 1988 and 1989. Miller's influence was at the helm of the Cronulla-Sutherland becoming Premiership contenders after having spent some years at the lower end of the ladder. During Miller's heyday, Australian…
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Gibson Gowland
Gibson Gowland (4 January 1877 – 9 September 1951) was an English film actor.
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M. Patanjali Sastri
Mandakolathur Patanjali Sastri (4 January 1889 – 16 March 1963) was the second Chief Justice of India, serving in the post from 7 November 1951 to 3 January 1954.
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Wilhelm Lehmbruck
Wilhelm Lehmbruck (4 January 1881 – 25 March 1919) was a German sculptor. One of the most important of his generation, he was influenced by realism and expressionism.
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Guy Pène du Bois
Guy Pène du Bois (January 4, 1884 – July 18, 1958) was a 20th-century American painter, art critic, and educator. Born in the U.S. to a French family, his work depicted the culture and society around him: cafes, theatres, and in the twenties, flappers.
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A. E. Coppard
Alfred Edgar Coppard (4 January 1878 – 13 January 1957) was an English author, noted for his short stories, many of which had rural settings. Largely self-taught, he was championed by Ford Madox Ford and Arnold Bennett, among others, in his lifetime, and more recently by Frank O’Connor, Doris Lessing and Russell Banks. Some of his stories were dramatised for British television in the 1960s and 1970s.
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Rob Kerin
Robert Gerard Kerin (born 4 January 1954) is a former South Australian politician who was the Premier of South Australia from 22 October 2001 to 5 March 2002, representing the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia. He was also Deputy Premier of South Australia from 7 July 1998 until he became Premier and, after losing government, leader of the opposition until after the 2006 election.
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Carl Humann
Carl Humann (first name also Karl; 4 January 1839 – 12 April 1896) was a German engineer, architect and archaeologist. He found and excavated the Pergamon Altar.
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Richard Logan
Richard James Logan (born 4 January 1982) is an English former footballer.
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Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau
Louis-Bernard Guyton, Baron de Morveau (also Louis-Bernard Guyton-Morveau after the French Revolution; 4 January 1737 – 2 January 1816) was a French chemist, politician, and aeronaut. He is credited with producing the first systematic method of chemical nomenclature.
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Javi Fuego
Javier "Javi" Fuego Martínez (Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈβjeɾ ˈxaβi ˈfweɣo maɾˈtineθ]; born 4 January 1984) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He appeared in 277 La Liga matches over ten seasons, totalling nine goals for Levante, Recreativo, Rayo Vallecano, Valencia, Espanyol and Villarreal. He added 256 games in the Segunda División, mainly in representation of Sporting de Gijón.
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Johann Friedrich Agricola
Johann Friedrich Agricola (4 January 1720 – 2 December 1774) was a German composer, organist, singer, pedagogue, and writer on music. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Flavio Anicio Olibrio.
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Bolaji Akinyemi
Akinwande Bolaji Akinyemi (born 4 January 1942) is a Nigerian professor of political science who was Nigeria External Affairs Minister from 1985 to late 1987. He is the chairman of the National Think Tank.
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Danilo Hondo
Danilo Hondo (born 4 January 1974) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. He won the German National Road Race in 2002. He competed in the men's team pursuit at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He was banned from professional cycling and then later won his appeal to return to the sport. From January 2015 to May 2019, Hondo worked as a coach for the Swiss cycling federation, first for the under-23 squad and then with the elite. He owns a bike shop on the island of Mallorca.
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Anestis Argyriou
Anestis Argyriou (Greek: Ανέστης Αργυρίου; born 4 January 1988) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
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Gary Stevens
Gary Stevens (4 January 1944 – 29 January 2025) was an Australian rugby league footballer, a hard tackling second-row forward, of the 1960s and 1970s for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the Australian national representative side. He is the grandson of Souths club great Arthur Oxford.
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Kostas Davourlis
Konstantinos Davourlis (Greek: Κώστας Δαβουρλής, 4 January 1948 – 23 May 1992) born in Agyia, Patras, popularly nicknamed The Black Prince, was a former Greek footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. A gifted and talented player, he was voted by the Greek sports magazine "Ethnosport" as one of the 50 best Greek football players ever. Having gained fame in Greece as the creative playmaker for Panachaiki, Davourlis attracted even more attention during the 1973 season, when he helped his team become the first Greek countryside football club ever to qualify for a European competition…
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Frank Høj
Frank Høj (born 4 January 1973) is a Danish retired professional road bicycle racer. Høj started as a stagiaire for the Zetelhallen–Vosschemie team in 1994, and became professional in 1995 for Collstrop–Lystex. His first win as a professional came the year after. In a live interview with Danish media station TV2 during the coverage of Tour de France 2015, Høj admitted to have used EPO in the early periods of his career, namely 1995–1998. He also competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics.
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Veikko Hakulinen
Veikko Johannes Hakulinen (4 January 1925 – 24 October 2003) was a Finnish cross-country skier, triple champion in both the Olympics and World Championships. He also competed in biathlon, orienteering, ski-orienteering, cross-country running, and rowing at a national level.
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Tommy Corcoran
Thomas William Corcoran (January 4, 1869 – June 25, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1890 to 1907 for the Pittsburgh Burghers (1890), Philadelphia Athletics (1891), Brooklyn Grooms/Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1892–1896), Cincinnati Reds (1897–1906) and the New York Giants (1907). The 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Connecticut native occasionally played second base later in his career. He batted and threw right-handed.
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Shane Walker
Shane Walker (born 4 January 1971), is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and early 2000s. Walker played for the St. George Dragons in 1990 and 1992, the Eastern Suburbs Roosters in 1993 and 1994, the Balmain Tigers between 1995 and 1999, the Wests Tigers in 2000 and 2001 and finally the Melbourne Storm in 2002.
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Edward Brooker
William Edward Brooker (4 January 1891 – 18 June 1948) was a Labor Party politician. He became the interim Premier of Tasmania on 19 December 1947 while Robert Cosgrove was facing corruption charges. He died on 18 June 1948, shortly after returning the premiership to Cosgrove on 24 February 1948.
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Hugh Boulter
Hugh Boulter (4 January 1672 – 27 September 1742) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, the Primate of All Ireland, from 1724 until his death. He also served as the chaplain to George I from 1719.
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Karl Abraham Zedlitz
Karl Abraham Freiherr von Zedlitz und Leipe (4 January 1731 – 18 March 1793) was a Prussian minister of education who was instrumental in establishing mandatory education in Prussia, which served as a model for the public education system in the United States.
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Tom Borton
Thomas William Borton (January 4, 1956 – July 26, 2011) was an American jazz saxophonist, songwriter and composer, and was the founder and CEO of Los Angeles Post Music, Inc.
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Lars Roberg
Lars Roberg (4 January 1664 – 21 May 1742) was a Swedish physician and natural science researcher. He served as a professor of anatomy and medicine at Uppsala University.
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Marianne Werner
Marianne Werner (German pronunciation: [maˈʁi̯anə ˈvɛʁnɐ] ; nee Schulze-Entrup, later Ader; 4 January 1924 – 22 July 2023) was a West German athlete who specialized in throwing events. She competed in the shot put and discus throw at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics and earned two medals in the shot put. Werner won the European title in this event in 1958 and finished fifth in 1954. Werner died on 22 July 2023, at the age of 99.
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Khondakar Ashraf Hossain
Khondakar Ashraf Hossain (Bengali: খোন্দকার আশরাফ হোসেন; 4 January 1950 – 16 June 2013) was a leading postmodernist poet, essayist, translator, and editor from Bangladesh. He wrote more than eighteen titles.
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Shergo Biran
Shergo Biran (born 4 January 1979) is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was born in West Berlin.
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Eberhard Wagner
Eberhard Wagner (born January 4, 1938, in Weimar) is a German regional dialect researcher, poet, playwright, and actor who focuses on local dialects. He is well-known for writing and publishing in the dialect of Upper Franconia (East Franconian German).
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Clara Emilia Smitt
Clara Emilia Smitt (c. 1863 – 13 January 1928) was a Swedish medical doctor and writer. Between 1896 and 1902 she ran Saltsjöbadens sanatorium in Saltsjöbaden.
Who's birthday is it today? — FAQ
Who's birthday is it today?
You're viewing January 4 (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?
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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.