Famous Birthdays for May 12th

Pre-1600[edit]

• 1325 – Rupert II, Elector Palatine (d. 1398)
• 1401 – Emperor Shōkō of Japan (d. 1428)
• 1479 – Pompeo Colonna, Catholic cardinal (d. 1532)^[21]
• 1496 – Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1560)^[22]
• 1590 – Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1621)^[23]

1601–1900[edit]

• 1606 – Joachim von Sandrart, German art-historian and painter (d. 1688)
• 1622 – Louis de Buade de Frontenac, French-Canadian soldier and politician, third Governor General of New France (d. 1698)
• 1626 – Louis Hennepin, Flemish priest and missionary (d. 1705)
• 1670 – Augustus II the Strong, Polish king (d. 1733)
• 1700 – Luigi Vanvitelli, Italian architect and engineer, designed the Palace of Caserta and Royal Palace of Milan (d. 1773)
• 1725 – Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (d. 1785)
• 1739 – Johann Baptist Wanhal, Czech-Austrian organist and composer (d. 1813)
• 1754 – Franz Anton Hoffmeister, German composer and publisher (d. 1812)
• 1755 – Giovanni Battista Viotti, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1824)
• 1767 – Manuel Godoy, Spanish field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1851)
• 1774 – Ellis Cunliffe Lister, English politician (d. 1853)
• 1777 – Mary Reibey, Australian businesswoman (d. 1855)^[24]
• 1803 – Justus von Liebig, German chemist and academic (d. 1873)^[25]
• 1804 – Robert Baldwin, Canadian lawyer and politician, third Premier of West Canada (d. 1858)
• 1806 – Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish philosopher and politician (d. 1881)
• 1812 – Edward Lear, English poet and illustrator (d. 1888)^[26]
• 1814 – Adolf von Henselt, German pianist and composer (d. 1889)
• 1820 – Florence Nightingale, Italian-English nurse, social reformer, and statistician (d. 1910)^[27]
• 1825 – Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, French lawyer and explorer (d. 1878)
• 1828 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (d. 1882)^[28]
• 1829 – Pavlos Carrer, Greek composer and educator (d. 1896)
• 1839 – Tôn Thất Thuyết, Vietnamese mandarin (d. 1913)
• 1840 – Alejandro Gorostiaga, Chilean colonel (d. 1912)
• 1842 – Jules Massenet, French composer (d. 1912)
• 1845 – Gabriel Fauré, French pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1924)
• 1850 – Henry Cabot Lodge, American historian and politician (d. 1924)
• 1850 – Frederick Holder, Australian politician, 19th Premier of South Australia (d. 1909)
• 1859 – William Alden Smith, American lawyer and politician (d. 1932)
• 1859 – Frank Wilson, English-Australian politician, ninth Premier of Western Australia (d. 1918)
• 1863 – Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer, technologist and entrepreneur (d. 1915)
• 1867 – Hugh Trumble, Australian cricketer and accountant (d. 1938)
• 1869 – Carl Schuhmann, German gymnast, wrestler, and weightlifter (d. 1946)
• 1872 – Anton Korošec, Slovenian priest and politician, tenth Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 1940)
• 1873 – J. E. H. MacDonald, English-Canadian painter (d. 1932)
• 1874 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian pediatrician and immunologist (d. 1929)
• 1875 – Charles Holden, English architect, designed the Bristol Central Library (d. 1960)
• 1880 – Lincoln Ellsworth, American explorer (d. 1951)
• 1885 – Paltiel Daykan, Lithuanian-Israeli lawyer and jurist (d. 1969)
• 1885 – Saneatsu Mushanokōji, Japanese author (d. 1976)
• 1886 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and pilot (d. 1937)
• 1889 – Abelardo L. Rodríguez, substitute president of Mexico (d. 1967)^[29]
• 1889 – Otto Frank, German-Swiss businessman and Holocaust survivor; father of diarist Anne Frank (d. 1980)
• 1892 – Fritz Kortner, Austrian-German actor and director (d. 1970)
• 1895 – William Giauque, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)^[30]
• 1895 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (d. 1986)
• 1900 – Helene Weigel, Austrian-German actress (d. 1971)^[31]

1901–present[edit]

• 1901 – The Duke of Paducah, American country comedian, radio host and banjo player (d. 1986)
• 1903 – Faith Bennett, British actress and ATA pilot during WWII (d. 1969) ^[32]
• 1903 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, English actor (d. 1991)
• 1905 – Édouard Rinfret, Canadian lawyer and politician, Postmaster General of Canada (d. 1994)
• 1907 – Leslie Charteris, English author and screenwriter (d. 1993)
• 1907 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (d. 2003)
• 1908 – Nicholas Kaldor, Hungarian-English economist (d. 1986)
• 1910 – James Dudley, American baseball player, wrestling manager and executive (d. 2004)
• 1910 – Johan Ferrier, Surinamese educator and politician, first President of Suriname (d. 2010)
• 1910 – Dorothy Hodgkin, English biochemist, crystallographer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)^[33]
• 1910 – Gordon Jenkins, American pianist and composer (d. 1984)
• 1911 – Charles Biro, American author and illustrator (d. 1972)
• 1912 – Henry Jonsson, Swedish runner (d. 2001)
• 1914 – Bertus Aafjes, Dutch poet and author (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Howard K. Smith, American journalist and actor (d. 2002)
• 1915 – Tony Strobl, American comics artist and animator (d. 1991)
• 1916 – Albert Murray, American author and critic (d. 2013)
• 1918 – Mary Kay Ash, American businesswoman, founded Mary Kay Cosmetics (d. 2001)
• 1918 – Julius Rosenberg, American spy (d. 1953)
• 1921 – Joseph Beuys, German sculptor and illustrator (d. 1986)
• 1921 – Farley Mowat, Canadian environmentalist and author (d. 2014)
• 1921 – Lily Renée, American comic-book artist (d. 2022)
• 1922 – Marco Denevi, Argentinian lawyer and author (d. 1998)
• 1922 – Murray Gershenz, American actor and businessman (d. 2013)^[34]
• 1922 – Bob Goldham, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 1991)
• 1922 – Roy Salvadori, English racing driver and manager (d. 2012)^[35]
• 1924 – Maxine Cooper, American actress and photographer (d. 2009)^[36]
• 1924 – Alexander Esenin-Volpin, Russian-American mathematician and poet (d. 2016)
• 1924 – Tony Hancock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1968)^[37]
• 1925 – Yogi Berra, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2015)
• 1926 – Paulette Poujol-Oriol, Haitian educator and writer (d. 2011)^[38]
• 1926 – Viren J. Shah, Indian politician, 21st Governor of West Bengal (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Burt Bacharach, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer^[39]
• 1929 – Sam Nujoma, Namibian politician, first President of Namibia
• 1929 – Dollard St. Laurent, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)^[40]
• 1930 – Jesús Franco, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1932 – Joel Joffe, Baron Joffe, South African-English lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
• 1933 – Andrei Voznesensky, Russian poet (d. 2010)
• 1935 – Felipe Alou, Dominican-American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1935 – Johnny Bucyk, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1936 – Guillermo Endara, Panamanian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Panama (d. 2009)
• 1936 – Tom Snyder, American journalist and talk show host (d. 2007)
• 1936 – Frank Stella, American painter and sculptor^[39]
• 1937 – Beryl Burton, English cyclist (d. 1996)
• 1937 – George Carlin, American comedian, actor, and author (d. 2008)
• 1937 – Susan Hampshire, English actress^[41]
• 1937 – Miriam Stoppard, English physician and author
• 1938 – Millie Perkins, American actress^[39]
• 1939 – Cyril Chantler, English pediatrician and academic^[42]
• 1939 – Jalal Dabagh, Kurdish journalist and politician
• 1939 – Miltiadis Evert, Greek minister and politician, 69th Mayor of Athens (d. 2011)
• 1939 – Reg Gasnier, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2014)
• 1939 – Ron Ziegler, American politician, White House Press Secretary (d. 2003)
• 1940 – Norman Whitfield, American songwriter and producer (d. 2008)
• 1941 – Ruud de Wolff, Dutch singer (d. 2000)
• 1942 – Ian Dury, English singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
• 1942 – Billy Swan, American country singer-songwriter^[43]
• 1942 – Dragoljub Velimirović, Serbian chess player and theoretician (d. 2014)
• 1944 – Chris Patten, English academic and politician, 28th Governor of Hong Kong^[44]
• 1945 – Alan Ball, Jr., English footballer and manager (d. 2007)
• 1945 – Ian McLagan, English keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2014)^[45]
• 1945 – Patrick Ricard, French businessman (d. 2012)
• 1946 – Daniel Libeskind, American architect, designed the Imperial War Museum North and Jewish Museum
• 1947 – Michael Ignatieff, Canadian journalist and politician
• 1948 – Lindsay Crouse, American actress^[39]
• 1948 – Dave Heineman, American captain and politician, 39th Governor of Nebraska
• 1948 – Richard Riehle, American actor
• 1948 – Steve Winwood, English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist^[39]
• 1949 – Ross Bleckner, American painter
• 1950 – Bruce Boxleitner, American actor and author^[39]
• 1950 – Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor, director, and producer^[39]
• 1950 – Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, Scottish lawyer, academic, and politician
• 1950 – Billy Squier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1951 – George Karl, American basketball player and coach
• 1955 – Kix Brooks, American country music singer-songwriter and musician
• 1956 – Bernie Federko, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
• 1956 – Sergio Marchi, Argentinean-Canadian urban planner and politician, tenth Canadian Minister of International Trade
• 1956 – Greg Phillinganes, American keyboardist
• 1956 – Asad Rauf, Pakistani cricketer and umpire
• 1957 – Ziya Onis, Turkish economist and academic
• 1958 – Kim Greist, American actress^[39]
• 1958 – Andreas Petroulakis, Greek cartoonist
• 1958 – Dries van Noten, Belgian fashion designer
• 1959 – Ving Rhames, American actor^[39]
• 1960 – Lisa Martin, Australian runner
• 1961 – Thomas Dooley, German-American soccer player and manager
• 1961 – Bruce McCulloch, Canadian actor and comedian
• 1962 – Emilio Estevez, American actor^[46]
• 1962 – Brett Gurewitz, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1962 – Gregory H. Johnson, English-born American astronaut^[47]
• 1963 – Panagiotis Fasoulas, Greek basketball player and politician
• 1963 – Gavin Hood, South African actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1963 – Stefano Modena, Italian racing driver
• 1963 – Vanessa A. Williams, American actress and producer
• 1964 – Pierre Morel, French director and cinematographer
• 1965 – Renée Simonsen, Danish model and writer
• 1965 – Stacy Wilson, Canadian ice hockey player^[48]
• 1966 – Stephen Baldwin, American actor^[49]
• 1966 – Bebel Gilberto, American-Brazilian singer-songwriter
• 1966 – Deborah Kara Unger, Canadian actress^[50]
• 1967 – Mireille Bousquet-Mélou, French mathematician
• 1967 – Bill Shorten, Australian politician
• 1968 – Tony Hawk, American skateboarder and actor^[51]
• 1969 – Suzanne Clément, Canadian actress
• 1969 – Kim Fields, American actress^[39]
• 1970 – Mark Foster, English swimmer
• 1970 – Jim Furyk, American golfer
• 1970 – Samantha Mathis, American actress
• 1970 – Mike Weir, Canadian golfer
• 1970 – Raj Chandarlapaty, American educator and author^[52]
• 1971 – Doug Basham, American wrestler
• 1971 – Jamie Luner, American actress^[39]
• 1972 – Christian Campbell, Canadian-American actor, writer and photographer^[39]
• 1973 – Mackenzie Astin, American actor^[39]
• 1973 – Lutz Pfannenstiel, German footballer and manager
• 1975 – Jonah Lomu, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2015)
• 1975 – Ricky Ortiz, American professional wrestler and football player
• 1977 – Graeme Dott, Scottish snooker player and coach
• 1977 – Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematician (d. 2017) ^[53]
• 1977 – Onur Saylak, Turkish actor, filmmaker and director
• 1977 – Rachel Wilson, Canadian actress and voice actress
• 1977 – Mareile Höppner, German television presenter^[54]
• 1978 – Malin Åkerman, Swedish-Canadian model, actress, and singer
• 1978 – Jason Biggs, American actor and comedian^[39]
• 1978 – Aya Ishiguro, Japanese singer and fashion designer
• 1979 – Adrian Serioux, Canadian soccer player
• 1980 – Rishi Sunak, English politician^[55]
• 1981 – Rami Malek, American actor^[39]
• 1981 – Kentaro Sato, Japanese-American composer and conductor
• 1982 – Donnie Nietes, Filipino boxer
• 1983 – Domhnall Gleeson, Irish actor^[39]
• 1983 – Alina Kabaeva, Russian gymnast and politician
• 1983 – Yujiro Kushida, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
• 1983 – Charilaos Pappas, Greek footballer
• 1983 – Virginie Razzano, French tennis player^[56]
• 1983 – Francisco Javier Torres, Mexican footballer
• 1984 – Clare Bowen, Australian actress and singer^[39]
• 1985 – Paolo Goltz, Argentinian footballer
• 1985 – Andrew Howe, Italian long jumper and sprinter
• 1985 – Jeroen Simaeys, Belgian footballer
• 1986 – Jonathan Orozco, Mexican footballer
• 1986 – Emily VanCamp, Canadian actress^[39]
• 1987 – Kieron Pollard, Trinidadian cricketer
• 1988 – Marcelo, Brazilian footballer
• 1989 – Eleftheria Eleftheriou, Greek Cypriot singer, musician, and actress
• 1990 – Florent Amodio, French figure skater
• 1990 – Etika, American YouTuber and live streamer (d. 2019)^[57]
• 1992 – Volha Khudzenka, Belarusian kayaker^[58]
• 1995 – Tamara Korpatsch, German tennis player^[59]
• 1997 – Morgan Lake, English athlete^[60]