January 12. I think the most famous person born on my Birthday was John Hancock, but take a look for yourself and tell me who you think is more famous than "Mr. Signature"??
1483 – Henry III of Nassau-Breda, German nobleman (d. 1538)
1562 – Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1630)
1576 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch writer (d. 1660)
1577 – Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist (d. 1644)
1580 – Lord Alexander Ruthven, Scottish nobleman (d. 1600)
1591 – José Ribera, Spanish painter (d. 1652)
1597 – François Duquesnoy, French sculptor (d. 1643)
1628 – Charles Perrault, French folklorist (d. 1703)
1715 – Jacques Duphly, French composer (d. 1789)
1716 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general (d. 1795)
1721 – Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, Prussian general (d. 1792)
1723 – Samuel Langdon, American college educator (d. 1797)
1729 – Edmund Burke, Irish statesman and philosopher (d. 1797)
1737 – John Hancock, American merchant, statesman, & Founding Father; 4th & 13th President of the Continental Congress; and 1st & 3rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1793)
1746 – Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss pedagogue (d. 1827)
1751 – King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1825)
1772 – Count Mikhail Speransky, Russian reformer (d. 1839)
1786 – Sir Robert Inglis, Bt, English politician (d. 1855)
1792 – Johan August Arfwedson, Swedish chemist (d. 1841)
1797 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician (d. 1873)
1810 – King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1859)
1822 – Étienne Lenoir, French engineer (d. 1900)
1837 – Adolf Jensen, German pianist, composer (d. 1879)
1849 – Jean Béraud, French painter (d. 1935)
1856 – John Singer Sargent, American artist (d. 1925)
1863 – Swami Vivekananda, Indian philosopher (d. 1902)
1873 – Spiridon Louis, Greek marathon runner (d. 1940)
1876 – Jack London, American author (d. 1916)
1876 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (d. 1948)
1876 – Fevzi Çakmak, Turkish Field Marshal and Prime Minister (d. 1950)
1877 – Frank J. Corr, American politician (d. 1934)
1878 – Ferenc Molnár, Hungarian writer (d. 1952)
1879 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver (d. 1968)
1879 – Anton Uesson, Estonian politician and engineer (d. 1942)
1882 – Milton Sills, American actor (d. 1930)
1884 – Texas Guinan, American actress (d. 1933)
1892 – Mikhail Gurevich, Russian aircraft designer (d. 1976)
1893 – Hermann Göring, German Nazi official (d. 1946)
1893 – Alfred Rosenberg, German Nazi official (d. 1946)
1894 – Georges Carpentier, French boxer (d. 1975)
1895 – Leo Aryeh Mayer, Israeli professor and scholar of Islamic art (d. 1959)
1896 – David Wechsler, American psychologist (d. 1981)
1899 – Pierre Bernac, French baritone (d. 1979)
1899 – Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)
1903 – Igor Kurchatov, Russian physicist (d. 1960)
1904 – Fred McDowell, American blues musician (d. 1972)
1905 – James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (d. 1997)
1905 – Tex Ritter, American country singer and actor (d. 1974)
1906 – Emmanuel Levinas, French philosopher (d. 1995)
1907 – Sergei Korolev, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1966)
1908 – Jean Delannoy, French film director (d. 2008)
1908 – Clement Hurd, American illustrator (d. 1988)
1910 – Patsy Kelly, American actress (d. 1981)
1910 – Luise Rainer, German actress
1915 – Paul Jarrico, American writer (d. 1997)
1915 – Joseph-Aurèle Plourde, Catholic archbishop of Ottawa
1916 – P. W. Botha, South African politician (d. 2006)
1916 – Jay McShann, American musician (d. 2006)
1916 – William Pleeth, British cellist (d. 1999)
1917 – Walter Hendl, American conductor (d. 2007)
1917 – Jimmy Skinner, Canadian hockey coach (d. 2007)
1917 – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian spiritualist (d. 2008)
1920 – James L. Farmer, Jr., American activist (d. 1999)
1920 – Prof Jerzy Zubrzycki, Polish-born Australian sociologist (d. 2009)
1922 – Tadeusz Żychiewicz, Polish journalist and art historian (d. 1994)
1923 – Ira Hayes, US Marine (d. 1955)
1924 – Olivier Gendebien, Belgian racing driver (d. 1998)
1924 – Grethe Holmer, Danish actress (d. 2004)
1925 – Bill Burrud, American television host (d. 1990)
1925 – Scottie MacGregor, American actress
1925 – Bodil Udsen, Danish actress (d. 2008)
1926 – Morton Feldman, American composer (d. 1987)
1926 – Ray Price, American singer
1928 – Ruth Brown, American singer (d. 2006)
1928 – Lloyd Ruby, American race car driver (d. 2009)
1929 – Alasdair MacIntyre, Scottish-born American philosopher
1930 – Tim Horton, Canadian hockey player (d. 1974)
1930 – Glenn Yarborough, American singer
1932 – Tzeni Karezi, Greek actress (d. 1992)
1932 – Des O'Connor, British television presenter
1933 – Michael Aspel, English broadcaster
1934 – Mick Sullivan, English rugby league footballer
1935 – Kreskin, American mentalist
1935 – Tomiko Ishii, Japanese actress
1936 – Raimonds Pauls, Latvian Composer
1937 – Marie Dubois, French actress
1937 – Shirley Eaton, British actress
1937 – Vicente Sardinero, Spanish baritone (d. 2002)
1938 – Lewis Fiander, Australian actor
1941 – Long John Baldry, British blues singer (d. 2005)
1942 – Bernardine Dohrn, former leader of the radical leftist organization Weather Underground
1944 – Joe Frazier, American boxer
1944 – Hans Henning Atrott, Prussian euthanasia advocate
1944 – Vlastimil Hort, Czechoslovakian chess player
1944 – Viktoria Postnikova, Russian pianist
1944 – Carlos Villagrán, Mexican actor
1945 – Maggie Bell, Scottish singer (Stone the Crows)
1946 – Lady Cosgrove, Scottish judiciary figure
1946 – George Duke, American musician
1946 – Cynthia Robinson, American musician (Sly & the Family Stone)
1947 – Tom Dempsey, American football player
1948 – Kenny Allen, English footballer
1948 – Anthony Andrews, English actor
1948 – Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia
1948 – Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (d. 2001)
1948 – William Nicholson, English writer
1949 – Kentarō Haneda, Japanese composer (d. 2007)
1949 – Ottmar Hitzfeld, German football manager
1949 – Haruki Murakami, Japanese novelist
1949 – Michael W. Vannier, American radiologist
1949 – Wayne Wang, Hong Kong-born American film director
1950 – Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician
1950 – Göran Lindblad, Swedish politician
1950 – Bob McEwen, American politician
1950 – Dorrit Moussaieff, First Lady of Iceland
1950 – Ricky Ray Rector, American murderer (d. 1992)
1951 – Kirstie Alley, American actress
1951 – Ann Althouse, American law professor
1951 – Rush Limbaugh, American radio personality, author and political commentator
1951 – Drew Pearson, American football player
1952 – Charles Faulkner, American motivational speaker and author
1952 – Walter Mosley, American author
1952 – John Walker, New Zealand middle distance runner
1953 – Mary Harron, Canadian screenwriter
1954 – Howard Stern, American radio personality and author
1955 – Rockne S. O'Bannon, American screenwriter
1957 – John Lasseter, American animation director
1958 – Christiane Amanpour, American news anchor
1958 – Curt Fraser, American ice hockey coach
1959 – Blixa Bargeld, German singer and musician (Einstürzende Neubauten, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
1959 – Per Gessle, Swedish songwriter and musician (Roxette)
1959 – Nick Nairn, British celebrity chef
1960 – Oliver Platt, Canadian actor
1960 – Jorge Pupo, Cuban American actor
1960 – Dominique Wilkins, American basketball player
1962 – Luna Vachon, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 2010)
1963 – Nando Reis, Brazilian singer and composer
1963 – François Girard, French-Canadian film director and screenwriter
1964 – Jeff Bezos, American entrepreneur
1964 – Laura Gildemeister, Argentine tennis player
1964 – Clare Holman, British actress
1965 – Mark Moore, British record producer
1965 – Rob Zombie, American musician and film director (White Zombie, Solo)
1966 – Olivier Martinez, French actor
1967 – Vendela Kirsebom, Swedish supermodel
1968 – Keith Anderson, American country music singer-songwriter
1968 – Rachael Harris, American actress
1968 – Junichi Masuda, Japanese composer
1968 – Heather Mills, British activist and model
1968 – Mauro Silva, Brazilian footballer
1969 – Margaret Nagle, American screenwriter and TV producer
1969 – Robert Prosinečki, Croatian footballer
1970 – Mig Ayesa, Australian musician
1970 – Raekwon, American rapper
1970 – Zack de la Rocha, American musician (Rage Against the Machine)
1971 – Scott Burrell, American basketball player
1972 – Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of Rajiv Gandhi
1972 – Espen Knutsen, Norwegian ice hockey player
1972 – Jason Sklar, American comedian
1972 – Randy Sklar, American comedian
1973 – Dan Haseltine, American singer (Jars of Clay)
1973 – Matthew Wong, American musician (Reel Big Fish)
1973 – Hande Yener, Turkish singer
1974 – Melanie Chisholm, British singer (Spice Girls)
1974 – Claudia Conserva, Chilean television presenter
1974 – Tor Arne Hetland, Norwegian cross-country skier
1975 – Jason Freese, American musician (Green Day)
1975 – Jocelyn Thibault, Canadian ice hockey player
1976 – Miki Nakatani, Japanese actress and singer
1977 – Yoandy Garlobo, Cuban baseball player
1977 – Cade McNown, American football player
1977 – Piolo Pascual, Filipino actor
1978 – Luis Ayala, Mexican baseball pitcher
1978 – Jeremy Camp, American musician
1978 – Bonaventure Kalou, Ivorian footballer
1978 – Kim Sa-rang, Korean actress
1978 – Kris Roe, American musician (The Ataris)
1978 – Maurizio Zaffiri, Italian rugby player
1979 – King Patrick
1979 – Lee Bo-young, South Korean actress and model
1979 – Marián Hossa, Slovak ice hockey player
1979 – Grzegorz Rasiak, Polish footballer
1979 – David Zabriskie, American cyclist
1980 – Bobby Crosby, American baseball player
1981 – Amerie, American singer
1981 – Dan Klecko, American football player
1981 – Angus Macdonald, New Zealand All Black rugby player
1981 – João Paulo, Brazilian footballer
1982 – Sherzod Abdurahmonov, Uzbek boxer
1982 – Paul-Henri Mathieu, French tennis player
1982 – Chris Ray, American baseball player
1982 – Dimitrios Tsiamis, Greek triple jumper
1982 – Hans Van Alphen, Belgian decathlete
1982 – Dontrelle Willis, American baseball player
1984 – Scott Olsen, American baseball player
1984 – Daniel Sepulveda, American football player
1985 – Yohana Cobo, Spanish actress
1985 – Gerard Lawson, American football player
1985 – Artem Milevskiy, Ukrainian footballer
1986 – Gemma Arterton, English actress
1986 – Pablo Daniel Osvaldo, Italian Argentine footballer
1986 – Kehoma Brenner, Greman rugby player
1986 – Miguel Ángel Nieto, Spanish footballer
1986 – Kieron Richardson, English actor
1987 – Naya Rivera, American actress
1987 – Will Rothhaar, American actor
1987 – Salvatore Sirigu, Italian footballer
1988 – Chris Casement, Irish footballer
1988 – Claude Giroux, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Andrew Lawrence, American actor
1988 – Ytalo, Brazilian footballer
1990 – Sergey Karjakin, Ukrainian chess player
1991 – Pixie Lott, English singer
1992 – Mao Kobayashi, Japanese gravure idol
1993 – Aika Mitsui, Japanese singer
1995 – Laurel McGoff, American reality show contestant
1998 – Nathan Gamble, American actor