Famous Birthdays for April 20th

Pre-1600[edit]

• 1494 – Johannes Agricola, German theologian and reformer (d. 1566)^[15]
• 1544 – Renata of Lorraine, Duchess consort of Bavaria (d. 1602)
• 1586 – Rose of Lima, Peruvian mystic and saint (d. 1617)

1601–1900[edit]

• 1633 – Emperor Go-Kōmyō of Japan (d. 1654)
• 1646 – Charles Plumier, French botanist and author (d. 1704)
• 1650 – William Bedloe, English spy (d. 1680)
• 1718 – David Brainerd, American missionary (d. 1747)
• 1723 – Cornelius Harnett, American merchant, farmer, and politician (d. 1781)^[16]
• 1727 – Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Belgian-Austrian minister and diplomat (d. 1794)
• 1745 – Philippe Pinel, French physician and psychiatrist (d. 1826)
• 1748 – Georg Michael Telemann, German composer and theologian (d. 1831)
• 1808 – Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France (d. 1873)
• 1816 – Bogoslav Šulek, Croatian philologist, historian, and lexicographer (d. 1895)
• 1818 – Heinrich Göbel, German-American mechanic and engineer (d. 1893)
• 1826 – Dinah Craik, English author and poet (d. 1887)
• 1836 – Eli Whitney Blake, Jr., American scientist and academic (d. 1895)
• 1839 – Carol I of Romania, King of Romania (d. 1914)
• 1840 – Odilon Redon, French painter and illustrator (d. 1916)
• 1850 – Daniel Chester French, American sculptor, designed the Lincoln statue (d. 1931)
• 1851 – Alexander Dianin, Russian chemist (d. 1918)
• 1851 – Siegmund Lubin, Polish-American businessman, founded the Lubin Manufacturing Company (d. 1923)
• 1860 – Justinien de Clary, French target shooter (d. 1933)
• 1871 – Sydney Chapman, English economist and civil servant (d. 1951)
• 1873 – James Harcourt, English character actor (d. 1951)
• 1875 – Vladimir Vidrić, Croatian poet and lawyer (d. 1909)
• 1879 – Paul Poiret, French fashion designer (d. 1944)
• 1882 – Holland Smith, American general (d. 1967)
• 1884 – Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1966)
• 1884 – Oliver Kirk, American boxer (d. 1960)
• 1884 – Daniel Varoujan, Armenian poet and educator (d. 1915)
• 1889 – Albert Jean Amateau, Turkish rabbi, lawyer, and activist (d. 1996)
• 1889 – Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland (d. 1918)
• 1889 – Marie-Antoinette de Geuser, French mystic (d. 1918)
• 1889 – Adolf Hitler, Austrian-born German politician, Führer of Nazi Germany (d. 1945)
• 1889 – Tonny Kessler, Dutch footballer (d. 1960)
• 1890 – Maurice Duplessis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Quebec (d. 1959)
• 1890 – Adolf Schärf, Austrian soldier and politician, 6th President of Austria (d. 1965)
• 1891 – Dave Bancroft, American baseball player and manager (d. 1972)
• 1893 – Harold Lloyd, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1971)
• 1893 – Joan Miró, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 1983)
• 1895 – Emile Christian, American trombonist and composer (d. 1973)
• 1895 – Henry de Montherlant, French essayist, novelist, and dramatist (d. 1972)
• 1896 – Wop May, Canadian captain and pilot (d. 1952)
• 1899 – Alan Arnett McLeod, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)

1901–present[edit]

• 1904 – Bruce Cabot, American actor (d. 1972)
• 1907 – Augoustinos Kantiotes, Greek bishop (d. 2010)
• 1908 – Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player, pianist, bandleader, and actor (d. 2002)
• 1910 – Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, Turkish diplomat and politician (d. 1961)
• 1913 – Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor and poet (d. 1986)
• 1913 – Willi Hennig, German biologist and entomologist (d. 1976)
• 1914 – Betty Lou Gerson, American actress (d. 1999)
• 1915 – Joseph Wolpe, South African psychotherapist and physician (d. 1997)
• 1916 – Nasiba Zeynalova, Azerbaijani actress (d. 2004)
• 1918 – Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
• 1919 – Richard Hillary, Australian lieutenant and pilot (d. 1943)
• 1920 – Frances Ames, South African neurologist, psychiatrist, and human rights activist (d. 2002)
• 1920 – Clement Isong, Nigerian banker and politician, Governor of Cross River State (d. 2000)
• 1920 – John Paul Stevens, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2019)
• 1923 – Mother Angelica, American nun and broadcaster, founded Eternal Word Television Network (d. 2016)^[17]
• 1923 – Irene Lieblich, Polish-American painter and illustrator (d. 2008)
• 1923 – Tito Puente, American drummer and producer (d. 2000)^[18]
• 1924 – Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (d. 2008)^[19]
• 1924 – Leslie Phillips, English actor and producer (d. 2022)
• 1924 – Guy Rocher, Canadian sociologist and academic
• 1925 – Ernie Stautner, German-American football player and coach (d. 2006)
• 1925 – Elena Verdugo, American actress (d. 2017)
• 1927 – Bud Cullen, Canadian judge and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Employment and Immigration (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Phil Hill, American race car driver (d. 2008)
• 1927 – K. Alex Müller, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1928 – Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Johnny Gavin, Irish international footballer (d. 2007)^[20]
• 1929 – Harry Agganis, American baseball and football player (d. 1955)
• 1929 – Bobby Hollander, American film director, actor, and magazine publisher (d. 2002)
• 1930 – Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Antony Jay, English director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
• 1931 – Michael Allenby, 3rd Viscount Allenby, English lieutenant and politician (d. 2014)
• 1931 – John Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles, English businessman and politician
• 1932 – Myriam Bru, French actress
• 1933 – Kristaq Dhamo, Albanian actor and film director
• 1936 – Lisa Davis, English-American actress
• 1936 – Pauli Ellefsen, Faroese technician, surveyor, and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 2012)^[21]
• 1936 – Pat Roberts, American captain, journalist, and politician^[22]
• 1937 – Jiří Dienstbier, Czech journalist and politician, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2011)
• 1937 – Antonios Kounadis, Greek discus thrower
• 1937 – Harvey Quaytman, American painter and educator (d. 2002)
• 1937 – George Takei, American actor^[23]
• 1938 – Betty Cuthbert, Australian sprinter (d. 2017)^[24]
• 1938 – Manfred Kinder, German runner^[25]
• 1938 – Eszter Tamási, Hungarian actress (d. 1991)
• 1939 – Elspeth Ballantyne, Australian actress
• 1939 – Peter S. Beagle, American author and screenwriter
• 1939 – Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian physician and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Norway
• 1939 – Johnny Tillotson, American singer-songwriter
• 1940 – James Gammon, American actor (d. 2010)
• 1941 – Ryan O'Neal, American actor
• 1942 – Giles Henderson, English lawyer and academic
• 1942 – Arto Paasilinna, Finnish journalist and author (d. 2018)
• 1943 – Alan Beith, English academic and politician
• 1943 – John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor and director
• 1943 – Edie Sedgwick, American model and actress (d. 1971)
• 1944 – Toivo Aare, Estonian journalist and author (d. 1999)
• 1945 – Michael Brandon, American actor and director
• 1945 – Olga Karlatos, Greek actress and Bermudian lawyer
• 1945 – Thein Sein, Burmese general and politician, 8th President of Burma
• 1945 – Naftali Temu, Kenyan runner (d. 2003)
• 1945 – Steve Spurrier, American football player and head coach, 1966 Heisman Trophy winner^[26]
• 1946 – Sandro Chia, Italian painter and sculptor
• 1946 – Julien Poulin, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1946 – Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (d. 1982)
• 1947 – Rita Dionne-Marsolais, Canadian economist and politician
• 1947 – David Leland, English actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Viktor Suvorov, Russian intelligence officer, historian, and author
• 1948 – Gregory Itzin, American actor (d. 2022)
• 1948 – Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (d. 2015)
• 1949 – Veronica Cartwright, English-American actress
• 1949 – Toller Cranston, Canadian-Mexican figure skater and painter (d. 2015)
• 1949 – Massimo D'Alema, Italian journalist and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Italy
• 1949 – Jessica Lange, American actress
• 1950 – Steve Erickson, American author and critic
• 1950 – Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (d. 2002)
• 1950 – N. Chandrababu Naidu, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
• 1951 – Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2005)
• 1952 – Louka Katseli, Greek economist and politician
• 1953 – Sebastian Faulks, English journalist and author
• 1955 – Donald Pettit, American engineer and astronaut
• 1956 – Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician, Swedish Minister for Justice^[27]
• 1956 – Peter Chelsom, English film director, writer, and actor
• 1956 – Kakha Bendukidze, Georgian economist and politician (d. 2014)
• 1958 – Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian ice hockey player and coach
• 1960 – Debbie Flintoff-King, Australian hurdler and coach^[28]
• 1961 – Don Mattingly, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1961 – Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor
• 1963 – Rachel Whiteread, English sculptor
• 1964 – John Carney, American football player^[29]
• 1964 – Andy Serkis, English actor and director
• 1964 – Rosalynn Sumners, American figure skater^[30]
• 1965 – Kostis Chatzidakis, Greek politician, Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism
• 1965 – Léa Fazer, Swiss film director, screenwriter and actress
• 1966 – David Chalmers, Australian philosopher and academic
• 1966 – David Filo, American businessman, co-founded Yahoo!
• 1967 – Mike Portnoy, American drummer and songwriter^[31]
• 1968 – Julia Morris, Australian entertainer
• 1969 – Will Hodgman, Australian politician, 45th Premier of Tasmania^[32]
• 1970 – Shemar Moore, American actor^[33]
• 1972 – Carmen Electra, American model and actress^[34]
• 1973 – Julie Powell, American food writer and memoirist (d. 2022)^[35