August 26 :: Historical Births Today

Famous Births

• 1469 - Ferdinand II of Naples (d. 1496)


• 1540 - King Magnus of Livonia (d. 1583)


• 1676 - Robert Walpole, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1745)


• 1694 - Elisha Williams, American rector of Yale College (d. 1755)


• 1728 - Johann Heinrich Lambert, German scientist (d. 1777)


• 1736 - Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l'Isle, French chemist (d. 1790)


• 1740 - Joseph Montgolfier, French inventor (d. 1810)


• 1743 - Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist (d. 1794)


• 1775 - William Joseph Behr, German writer (d. 1851)


• 1789 - Abbas Mirza, Prince of Persia (d. 1833)


• 1792 - Manuel Oribe, Uruguayan political figure (d. 1857)


• 1826 - Princess Alexandra of Bavaria (d. 1875)


• 1845 - Mary Ann Nichols, English victim of Jack the Ripper (d. 1888)


• 1850 - Charles Robert Richet, French physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)


• 1862 - Herbert Booth, American son of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1926)


• 1873 - Lee DeForest, American inventor (d. 1961)


• 1874 - Zona Gale, American novelist (d. 1938)


• 1875 - John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Scottish novelist, Governor General of Canada (d. 1940)


• 1880 - Guillaume Apollinaire, French poet and art critic (d. 1918)


• 1882 - James Franck, German-born physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1964)


• 1885 - Jules Romains, French author (d. 1972)


• 1894 - Sparky Adams, Baseball player (d. 1989)


• 1896 - Ivan Mihailov, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1990)


• 1897 - Yoon Boseon, President of South Korea (d. 1990)


• 1898 - Peggy Guggenheim, American art collector (d. 1979)


• 1899 - Rufino Tamayo, Mexican painter (d. 1991)


• 1900 - Hellmuth Walter, German engineer and inventor (d. 1980)


• 1901 - Maxwell Taylor, American general (d. 1987)


• 1901 - Chen Yi, Chinese communist military commander and politician (d. 1972)


• 1904 - Christopher Isherwood, English-born writer (d. 1986)


• 1906 - Albert Sabin, American polio researcher (d. 1993)


• 1908 - W. B. Henning, Prussian-born Iranist (d. 1967)


• 1908 - Aubrey Schenck, film producer (d. 1999)


• 1909 - Jim Davis, American actor (d. 1981)


• 1909 - Gene Moore, baseball player (d. 1978)


• 1910 - Mother Teresa, Roman Catholic nun, Nobel laureate (d. 1997)


• 1914 - Julio Cortázar, Argentine writer (d. 1984)


• 1920 - Brant Parker, American cartoonist (d. 2007)


• 1921 - Benjamin Bradlee, American journalist


• 1922 - Irving R. Levine, American journalist


• 1923 - Wolfgang Sawallisch, German conductor and pianist


• 1924 - Alex Kellner, baseball player (d. 1996)


• 1925 - Jack Hirshleifer, American economist (d. 2005)


• 1925 - Alain Peyrefitte, French politician and writer (d. 1999)


• 1927 - B. V. Doshi, Indian architect


• 1928 - Peter Appleyard, Canadian jazz vibraphonist


• 1928 - Naïm Kattan, Canadian novelist and essayist


• 1934 - Tom Heinsohn, American basketball player and commentator


• 1935 - Geraldine Ferraro, U.S. Vice Presidential candidate


• 1936 - Yvette Vickers, American actress


• 1940 - Don LaFontaine, American voice actor


• 1941 - Barbet Schroeder, Swiss film director


• 1941 - Akiko Wakabayashi, Japanese actress


• 1941 - Chris Curtis, English singer and drummer (The Searchers) (d. 2005)


• 1942 - Vic Dana, American singer


• 1942 - Dennis Turner, British politician


• 1944 - Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester


• 1944 - Stephen Greif, English actor


• 1944 - Maureen Tucker, American musician (The Velvet Underground)


• 1945 - Tom Ridge, first United States Secretary of Homeland Security


• 1946 - Valerie Simpson, American singer


• 1946 - Mark Snow, American composer


• 1946 - Zhou Ji, Education Minister of the People's Republic of China


• 1946 - Chantal Renaud, Quebec singer and actress


• 1947 - Emiliano Díez, Cuban actor


• 1950 - Benjamin Hendrickson, American actor (d. 2006)


• 1952 - Bryon Baltimore, Canadian ice hockey player


• 1952 - Michael Jeter, American actor (d. 2003)


• 1952 - Will Shortz, American crossword editor


• 1953 - Pat Sharkey, Irish footballer


• 1954 - Efren Reyes, Filipino pool player


• 1956 - Mark Mangino, American football coach


• 1957 - Dr. Alban, Nigerian-Swedish singer


• 1957 - Rick Hansen, Canadian paraplegic athlete


• 1958 - Jan Nevens, Belgian cyclist


• 1960 - Branford Marsalis, American saxophonist and bandleader


• 1960 - Nancy Martinez, Canadian-born singer


• 1961 - Jeff Parrett, American baseball player


• 1962 - Bob Mionske, American cyclist and attorney


• 1965 - Chris Burke, American actor


• 1965 - Bobby Duncum, Jr., wrestler (d. 2000)


• 1965 - Jon Hensley, American actor


• 1966 - Jacques Brinkman, Dutch field hockey player


• 1966 - Shirley Manson, Scottish singer


• 1967 - Kelly Madison, porn star


• 1970 - Olimpiada Ivanova, Russian athlete


• 1971 - Thalía, Mexican singer


• 1974 - Eric D. Snider, American humor columnist / movie reviewer


• 1975 - Morgan Ensberg, American baseball player


• 1976 - Amaia Montero, Spanish singer (La Oreja de Van Gogh)


• 1976 - Zemfira, Russian singer


• 1977 - Saeko Chiba, Japanese seiyuu


• 1977 - Morris Peterson, American basketball player


• 1978 - Raja Kashif, Pakistani singer


• 1979 - Jamal Lewis, American football player


• 1979 - Cristian Mora, Ecuadorian footballer


• 1979 - Rubén Pazos, Spanish footballer


• 1980 - Macaulay Culkin, American actor


• 1980 - Brendan Harris, American baseball player


• 1980 - Chris Pine, American actor


• 1981 - Jesse Martin, Australian yachtsman


• 1981 - Petey Williams, Canadian professional wrestler


• 1983 - Félix Porteiro, Spanish racing driver


• 1986 - Cassie Ventura, American singer


• 1988 - Danielle Savre, American actress


• 1988 - Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este


• 1988 - Evan Ross, American actor


• 1990 - Lil' Chris, British singer


• 1993 - Keke Palmer, American actress