July 31 - Births

Births

• 1143 – Emperor Nijō of Japan (d. 1165)
• 1396 – Philip the Good, French son of John the Fearless (d. 1467)
• 1527 – Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1576)
• 1598 – Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor (d. 1654)
• 1702 – Jean Denis Attiret, French missionary and painter (d. 1768)
• 1704 – Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician (d. 1752)
• 1718 – John Canton, English physicist (d. 1772)
• 1724 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer (d. 1801)
• 1737 – Princess Augusta of Great Britain (d. 1813)
• 1777 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentine statesman and priest (d. 1849)
• 1800 – Friedrich Wöhler, German chemist (d. 1882)
• 1803 – John Ericsson, Swedish inventor and engineer, co-designed the Novelty Locomotive (d. 1889)
• 1816 – George Henry Thomas, American general (d. 1870)
• 1825 – William S. Clark, American senator and scholar (d. 1886)
• 1835 – Henri Brisson, French politician, 50th Prime Minister of France (d. 1912)
• 1835 – Paul du Chaillu, French explorer (d. 1903)
• 1837 – William Quantrill, American chemist, educator, and soldier (d. 1865)
• 1843 – Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet (d. 1918)
• 1847 – Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (d. 1905)
• 1858 – Richard Dixon Oldham, English geologist (d. 1936)
• 1860 – Mary Vaux Walcott, American painter and naturalist (d. 1940)
• 1867 – S. S. Kresge, American businessman, founded Kmart (d. 1966)
• 1877 – Auguste Daumain, French cyclist
• 1880 – Premchand, Indian author (d. 1936)
• 1883 – Ramón Fonst, Cuban fencer (d. 1959)
• 1884 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German politician (d. 1945)
• 1886 – Salvatore Maranzano, Italian-American mobster (d. 1931)
• 1886 – Fred Quimby, American animator and producer (d. 1965)
• 1886 – Harry Tate, American soccer player (d. 1954)
• 1887 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist (d. 1969)
• 1892 – Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (d. 1986)
• 1892 – Joseph Charbonneau, French-Canadian Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 1959)
• 1894 – Fred Keenor, Welsh footballer (d. 1972)
• 1901 – Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (d. 1985)
• 1904 – Brett Halliday, American writer (d. 1977)
• 1907 – Roy Milton, American singer, drummer and bandleader (d. 1983)
• 1909 – Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Austrian writer and theorist (d. 1999)
• 1911 – George Liberace, American violinist and arranger (d. 1983)
• 1912 – Bill Brown, Australian cricketer (d. 2008)
• 1912 – Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
• 1912 – Irv Kupcinet, American columnist (d. 2003)
• 1913 – Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
• 1914 – Paul J. Christiansen, American conductor and composer (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Louis de Funès, French actor and comedian (d. 1983)
• 1916 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani activist (d. 1986)
• 1916 – Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player (d. 2006)
• 1916 – Bill Todman, American game show producer (d. 1979)
• 1918 – Paul D. Boyer, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1918 – Hank Jones, American pianist, bandleader, and composer (d. 2010)
• 1918 – Frank Renouf, New Zealand businessman and financier (d. 1998)
• 1919 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster (d. 2006)
• 1919 – Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author (d. 1987)
• 1920 – James E. Faust, American religious leader, lawyer, and politician (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Percy Herbert, English actor (d. 1992)
• 1921 – Peter Benenson, English lawyer and activist, founder of Amnesty International (d. 2005)
• 1921 – Donald Malarkey, American soldier
• 1921 – Whitney Young, American civil rights activist (d. 1971)
• 1922 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
• 1923 – Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-American record producer, founded Atlantic Records (d. 2006)
• 1923 – Jimmy Evert, American tennis player and coach
• 1926 – Bernard Nathanson, American doctor and activist (d. 2011)
• 1926 – Hilary Putnam, American philosopher, mathematician, and computer scientist
• 1929 – Gilles Carle, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
• 1929 – Don Murray, American actor
• 1929 – Lynne Reid Banks, English author
• 1929 – José Santamaría, Uruguayan footballer and coach
• 1930 – Oleg Popov, Russian clown
• 1931 – Nick Bollettieri, American tennis coach
• 1931 – Kenny Burrell, American guitarist
• 1931 – Ivan Rebroff, German singer (d. 2008)
• 1932 – Ted Cassidy, American actor (d. 1979)
• 1932 – John Searle, American philosopher
• 1933 – Cees Nooteboom, Dutch writer
• 1935 – Yvon Deschamps, Canadian comedian, actor, and author
• 1935 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor
• 1936 – Vic Davalillo, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1939 – France Nuyen, French actress
• 1940 – Carol J. Clover, American academic and author
• 1940 – Roy Walker, Irish comedian, actor, and game show host
• 1941 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician (d. 2004)
• 1943 – Lobo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1943 – William Bennett, American politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Education
• 1943 – Susan Flannery, American actress
• 1943 – Sab Shimono, American actor
• 1944 – Geraldine Chaplin, American actress
• 1944 – Jonathan Dimbleby, English journalist
• 1944 – Robert C. Merton, American mathematician
• 1945 – Gary Lewis, American singer and drummer (Gary Lewis & the Playboys)
• 1945 – William Weld, American politician, 68th Governor of Massachusetts
• 1946 – Karen Zerby, American religious leader
• 1947 – Richard Griffiths, English actor
• 1950 – Lane Davies, American actor
• 1951 – Evonne Goolagong, Australian tennis player
• 1951 – Werner Novak, German footballer
• 1951 – Barry Van Dyke, American actor
• 1952 – Chris Ahrens, American ice hockey player
• 1952 – Alan Autry, American football player and politician
• 1952 – Helmuts Balderis, Latvian ice hockey player
• 1952 – João Barreiros, Portuguese writer
• 1953 – Ted Baillieu, Australian politician
• 1953 – Jimmy Cook, South African cricketer
• 1953 – James Read, American actor
• 1954 – Derek Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1955 – Jakie Quartz, French singer
• 1956 – Michael Biehn, American actor
• 1956 – Bill Callahan, American football coach
• 1956 – Ron Kuby, American lawyer and radio host
• 1956 – Deval Patrick, American politician, 71st Governor of Massachusetts
• 1957 – Daniel Ash, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, and Tones on Tail)
• 1957 – Dirk Blocker, American actor
• 1957 – Leon Durham, American baseball player
• 1958 – Bill Berry, American singer-songwriter and drummer (R.E.M. and Hindu Love Gods)
• 1958 – Wally Kurth, American actor and singer
• 1959 – Stanley Jordan, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1959 – Andrew Marr, English journalist
• 1960 – Dale Hunter, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1962 – John Chiang, American politician
• 1962 – Kevin Greene, American football player
• 1962 – Wesley Snipes, American martial artist, actor, and producer
• 1963 – Brian Skrudland, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1963 – Norman Cook, English musician and producer (The Housemartins, Freak Power, Beats International, and Pizzaman)
• 1964 – Jim Corr, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Corrs)
• 1965 – Scott Brooks, American basketball player and coach ]
• 1965 – John Laurinaitis, American wrestler
• 1965 – Julian Richards, English director
• 1965 – J. K. Rowling, English author
• 1966 – Dean Cain, American actor
• 1966 – Tatsuya Ishihara, Japanese animator and director
• 1966 – Kevin Martin, Canadian curler
• 1967 – Minako Honda, Japanese singer and actress (d. 2005)
• 1967 – Mitsuo Iwata, Japanese voice actor
• 1967 – Tony Massenburg, American basketball player
• 1967 – Tim Wright, Welsh composer
• 1968 – Saeed-Al-Saffar, Emirati cricketer
• 1968 – Mark Cuban, American businessman, inverter, and author
• 1969 – Loren Dean, American actor
• 1969 – Kid Kash, American wrestler
• 1969 – Kenneth D. Schisler, American politician
• 1970 – Ahmad Akbarpour, Iranian writer
• 1970 – Ben Chaplin, English actor
• 1970 – Andrzej Kobylański, Polish footballer
• 1970 – Giorgos Sigalas, Greek basketball player
• 1970 – Amanda Stepto, Canadian actress
• 1970 – Dave Wedge, American journalist
• 1971 – John 5, American guitarist and songwriter (2wo, Loser, and Red Square Black)
• 1971 – Gus Frerotte, American football player
• 1972 – Giorgos Kapoutzidis, Greek screenwriter and actor
• 1973 – Wail al-Shehri, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 11 (d. 2001)
• 1973 – Nathan Brown, Australian rugby player
• 1973 – Fabulous Flournoy American basketball player and coach
• 1974 – Emilia Fox, English actress
• 1974 – Jonathan Ogden, American football player
• 1975 – Randy Flores, American baseball player
• 1975 – Andrew Hall, South African cricketer
• 1975 – Simon Hirst, English radio host
• 1975 – Gabe Kapler, American baseball player and manager
• 1975 – Poesy Liang, Malaysian-Taiwanese artist, poet, and philanthropist, founder of Helping Angels
• 1975 – Mike Lincoln, American baseball player
• 1975 – Ruben Patterson, American basketball player
• 1975 – Allan von Schenkel, American bassist and producer
• 1976 – Joshua Cain, American guitarist and producer (Motion City Soundtrack)
• 1976 – Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rican footballer
• 1977 – Tim Couch, American football player
• 1978 – Will Champion, English drummer and singer (Coldplay)
• 1978 – Zeta Makripoulia, Greek actress and model
• 1978 – Nick Sorensen, American football player
• 1978 – Justin Wilson, English race car driver
• 1979 – Jaco Erasmus, South African-Italian rugby player
• 1979 – J. J. Furmaniak, American baseball player
• 1979 – Per Krøldrup, Danish footballer
• 1979 – Jade Kwan, Hong Kong singer
• 1979 – Carlos Marchena, Spanish footballer
• 1979 – B. J. Novak, American actor
• 1980 – Rina Aiuchi, Japanese singer
• 1980 – Mikko Hirvonen, Finnish race car driver
• 1980 – Mils Muliaina, New Zealand rugby player
• 1981 – Titus Bramble, English footballer
• 1981 – Vernon Carey, American football player
• 1981 – J.Son Dinant, American comedian and actor
• 1981 – D. J. Hackett, American football player
• 1981 – Eric Lively, American actor
• 1981 – Ira Losco, Maltese singer
• 1981 – M. Shadows, American singer-songwriter (Avenged Sevenfold)
• 1982 – Jeff DaRosa, American singer and bass player (Dropkick Murphys and The Exit)
• 1982 – Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spanish tennis player
• 1982 – Jack Korpela, American sportscaster
• 1982 – Blessing Mahwire, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1982 – Raymond Pickard, English actor
• 1982 – DeMarcus Ware, American football player
• 1983 – Rebecca Atkinson, English actress
• 1984 – Joseph Benavidez, American mixed martial artist
• 1984 – Felipe dal Belo, Brazilian footballer
• 1985 – Daniel Ciofani, Italian footballer
• 1985 – Shannon Curfman, American singer and guitarist
• 1985 – Rémy Di Gregorio, French cyclist
• 1986 – Evgeni Malkin, Russian ice hockey player
• 1986 – Brian Orakpo, American football player
• 1987 – Michael Bradley, American soccer player
• 1987 – Brittany Byrnes, Australian actress
• 1988 – Krystal Meyers, American singer-songwriter
• 1988 – A. J. Green, American football player
• 1980 – Harry Potter, British Wizard
• 1989 – Victoria Azarenka, Belarusian tennis player
• 1989 – Alexis Knapp, American actress
• 1989 – Joey Richter, American actor and singer
• 1989 – Jessica Williams, American comedian and actress
• 1989 – Zelda Williams, American actress
• 1990 – Mirela, Spanish singer
• 1990 – Besart Abdurahimi, Croatian footballer
• 1991 – Réka-Luca Jani, Hungarian tennis player
• 1992 – Lizzy, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (After School and Orange Caramel)
• 1993 – Christian Byers, Australian actor
• 1996 – Blake Michael, American actor
• 1997 – Barbie Forteza, Filipino actress
• 1998 – Rico Rodriguez, American actor