Famous Birthdays for January 31st

Pre-1600[edit]

• 1512 – Henry, King of Portugal (d. 1580)^[19]
• 1543 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1616)^[20]
• 1583 – Peter Bulkley, English and later American Puritan (d. 1659)^[21]
• 1597 – John Francis Regis, French priest and saint (d. 1640)

1601–1900[edit]

• 1607 – James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby (d. 1651)
• 1624 – Arnold Geulincx, Flemish philosopher and academic (d. 1669)
• 1673 – Louis de Montfort, French priest and saint (d. 1716)
• 1686 – Hans Egede, Norwegian missionary and explorer (d. 1758)
• 1752 – Gouverneur Morris, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to France (d. 1816)
• 1759 – François Devienne, French flute player and composer (d. 1803)
• 1769 – André-Jacques Garnerin, French balloonist and the inventor of the frameless parachute (d. 1823)
• 1785 – Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová, Czech cook book author (d. 1845)
• 1797 – Franz Schubert, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1828)
• 1799 – Rodolphe Töpffer, Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricaturist (d. 1846)
• 1820 – William B. Washburn, American politician, 28th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1887)
• 1835 – Lunalilo of Hawaii (d. 1874)
• 1854 – David Emmanuel, Romanian mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
• 1865 – Henri Desgrange, French cyclist and journalist (d. 1940)
• 1865 – Shastriji Maharaj, Indian spiritual leader, founded BAPS (d. 1951)
• 1868 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
• 1872 – Zane Grey, American author (d. 1939)
• 1881 – Irving Langmuir, American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
• 1884 – Theodor Heuss, German journalist and politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Germany (d. 1963)
• 1884 – Mammad Amin Rasulzade, Azerbaijani scholar and politician, 1st President of The Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (d. 1955)
• 1889 – Frank Foster, English cricketer (d. 1958)
• 1892 – Eddie Cantor, American singer-songwriter, actor, and dancer (d. 1964)
• 1894 – Isham Jones, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1956)
• 1896 – Sofya Yanovskaya, Russian mathematician and historian (d. 1966)
• 1900 – Betty Parsons, American artist, art dealer and collector (d. 1982) ^[22]

1901–present[edit]

• 1902 – Nat Bailey, Canadian businessman, founded White Spot (d. 1978)
• 1902 – Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968)
• 1902 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish sociologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
• 1902 – Julian Steward, American anthropologist (d. 1972)
• 1905 – John O'Hara, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1970)
• 1909 – Miron Grindea, Romanian-English journalist (d. 1995)
• 1913 – Don Hutson, American football player and coach (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer and police officer (d. 1994)
• 1915 – Bobby Hackett, American trumpet player and cornet player (d. 1976)
• 1915 – Alan Lomax, American historian, author, and scholar (d. 2002)
• 1915 – Thomas Merton, American monk and author (d. 1968)
• 1915 – Garry Moore, American comedian and game show host (d. 1993)
• 1916 – Frank Parker, American tennis player (d. 1997)
• 1917 – Fred Bassetti, American architect and academic, founded Bassetti Architects (d. 2013)
• 1919 – Jackie Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1972)
• 1920 – Stewart Udall, American lawyer and politician, 37th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 2010)
• 1920 – Bert Williams, English footballer (d. 2014)
• 1921 – John Agar, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1921 – Carol Channing, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2019)
• 1921 – E. Fay Jones, American architect, designed the Thorncrown Chapel (d. 2004)
• 1921 – Mario Lanza, American tenor and actor (d. 1959)
• 1922 – Joanne Dru, American actress (d. 1996)
• 1923 – Norman Mailer, American journalist and author (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Benjamin Hooks, American minister, lawyer, and activist (d. 2010)
• 1926 – Tom Alston, American baseball player (d. 1993)
• 1926 – Chuck Willis, American singer-songwriter (d. 1958)
• 1927 – Norm Prescott, American animator, producer, and composer, co-founded Filmation Studios (d. 2005)
• 1928 – Irma Wyman, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2015)
• 1929 – Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
• 1929 – Jean Simmons, English-American actress (d. 2010)
• 1930 – Joakim Bonnier, Swedish race car driver (d. 1972)
• 1930 – Al De Lory, American composer, conductor, and producer (d. 2012)
• 1931 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player and coach (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Christopher Chataway, English runner, journalist, and politician (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Miron Babiak, Polish sea captain (d. 2013)
• 1933 – Camille Henry, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1997)
• 1933 – Morton Mower, American cardiologist and inventor
• 1934 – Ernesto Brambilla, Italian motorcycle racer and race car driver (d. 2020)
• 1934 – Gene DeWeese, American author (d. 2012)
• 1934 – James Franciscus, American actor and producer (d. 1991)
• 1934 – Bob Turner, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005)
• 1935 – Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1936 – Can Bartu, Turkish former basketball and football player (d. 2019)
• 1937 – Regimantas Adomaitis, Lithuanian actor
• 1937 – Andrée Boucher, Canadian educator and politician, 39th Mayor of Quebec City (d. 2007)
• 1937 – Philip Glass, American composer
• 1937 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (d. 2008)
• 1938 – Beatrix of the Netherlands
• 1938 – Lynn Carlin, American actress
• 1938 – James G. Watt, American lawyer and politician, 43rd United States Secretary of the Interior
• 1940 – Kitch Christie, South African rugby player and coach (d. 1998)
• 1940 – Stuart Margolin, American actor and director
• 1941 – Dick Gephardt, American lawyer and politician
• 1941 – Gerald McDermott, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
• 1941 – Jessica Walter, American actress (d. 2021)
• 1942 – Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
• 1942 – Derek Jarman, English director, stage designer, and author (d. 1994)
• 1944 – John Inverarity, Australian cricketer and coach
• 1945 – Rynn Berry, American historian and author (d. 2014)
• 1945 – Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, English lawyer, judge, and academic
• 1945 – Joseph Kosuth, American sculptor and theorist
• 1946 – Terry Kath, American guitarist and singer-songwriter (d. 1978)
• 1946 – Medin Zhega, Albanian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
• 1947 – Nolan Ryan, American baseball player
• 1947 – Matt Minglewood, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1947 – Glynn Turman, American actor
• 1948 – Volkmar Groß, German footballer (d. 2014)
• 1948 – Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician
• 1949 – Johan Derksen, Dutch footballer and journalist
• 1949 – Norris Church Mailer, American model and educator (d. 2010)
• 1949 – Ken Wilber, American sociologist, philosopher, and author
• 1950 – Denise Fleming, American author and illustrator
• 1950 – Alexander Korzhakov, Russian general and bodyguard
• 1950 – Janice Rebibo, American-Israeli author and poet (d. 2015)
• 1951 – Harry Wayne Casey, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
• 1954 – Faoud Bacchus, Guyanese cricketer
• 1954 – Adrian Vandenberg, Dutch guitarist and songwriter
• 1955 – Virginia Ruzici, Romanian tennis player and manager
• 1956 – Guido van Rossum, Dutch programmer, creator of the Python programming language
• 1956 – John Lydon, English singer-songwriter
• 1957 – Shirley Babashoff, American swimmer
• 1958 – Armin Reichel, German footballer and manager
• 1959 – Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor and producer
• 1959 – Kelly Lynch, American model and actress
• 1960 – Akbar Ganji, Iranian journalist and author
• 1960 – Grant Morrison, Scottish author and screenwriter^[23]
• 1960 – Željko Šturanović, Montenegrin politician, 31st Prime Minister of Montenegro (d. 2014)
• 1961 – Elizabeth Barker, Baroness Barker, English politician
• 1961 – Fatou Bensouda, Gambian lawyer and judge
• 1961 – Lloyd Cole, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1963 – Craig Coleman, Australian rugby league player and coach
• 1963 – Gwen Graham, American lawyer and politician
• 1964 – Martha MacCallum, American journalist
• 1964 – Dawn Prince-Hughes, American scientist^[24]
• 1965 – Giorgos Gasparis, Greek basketball player and coach
• 1965 – Ofra Harnoy, Israeli-Canadian cellist^[25]
• 1965 – Peter Sagal, American author and radio host
• 1966 – Umar Alisha, Indian journalist and philanthropist
• 1966 – Thant Myint-U, Myanmar historian, diplomat, conservationist, and former presidential advisor.
• 1966 – Dexter Fletcher, English actor and director
• 1967 – Fat Mike, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
• 1968 – John Collins, Scottish footballer and manager^[26]
• 1968 – Matt King, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1968 – Ulrica Messing, Swedish politician, 2nd Swedish Minister for Infrastructure
• 1968 – Patrick Stevens, Belgian sprinter
• 1969 – Dov Charney, Canadian-American fashion designer and businessman, founded American Apparel
• 1969 – Daniel Moder, American cinematographer
• 1970 – Minnie Driver, English singer-songwriter and actress
• 1970 – Danny Michel, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1971 – Patricia Velásquez, Venezuelan model and actress
• 1973 – Portia de Rossi, Australian-American actress
• 1974 – Othella Harrington, American basketball player and coach
• 1974 – Ariel Pestano, Cuban baseball player
• 1975 – Preity Zinta, Indian actress, producer, and television host
• 1976 – Traianos Dellas, Greek footballer and manager
• 1976 – Buddy Rice, American race car driver
• 1977 – Kerry Washington, American actress^[27]
• 1978 – Fabián Caballero, Argentinian footballer and manager
• 1979 – Daniel Tammet, English author and educator
• 1980 – James Adomian, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter ^[28]
• 1980 – Gary Doherty, Irish footballer^[29]
• 1980 – Shim Yi-young, South Korean actress
• 1981 – Julio Arca, Argentinian footballer
• 1981 – Mark Cameron, Australian cricketer
• 1981 – Gemma Collins, English media personality and businesswoman^[30]
• 1981 – Justin Timberlake, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
• 1982 – Maret Ani, Estonian tennis player
• 1982 – Allan McGregor, Scottish international footballer^[31]
• 1982 – Jānis Sprukts, Latvian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Fabio Quagliarella, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Vernon Davis, American football player
• 1984 – Josh Johnson, Canadian-American baseball player
• 1984 – Jeremy Wariner, American runner
• 1984 – Alessandro Zanni, Italian rugby player
• 1985 – Adam Federici, Australian footballer
• 1985 – Mario Williams, American football player
• 1986 – Walter Dix, American sprinter^[32]
• 1986 – Megan Ellison, American film producer, founded Annapurna Pictures
• 1986 – George Elokobi, Cameroonian footballer
• 1986 – Yves Ma-Kalambay, Belgian footballer
• 1986 – Pauline Parmentier, French tennis player^[33]
• 1987 – Marcus Mumford, American-English singer-songwriter
• 1988 – Brett Pitman, English footballer
• 1988 – Taijo Teniste, Estonian footballer
• 1990 – Jacopo Fortunato, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Jacob Markström, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1990 – Kota Yabu, Japanese idol, singer-songwriter, model, actor
• 1990 – Cro, German rapper^[34]
• 1993 – Qiu Bo, China Diver ^[35]
• 1994 – Kenneth Zohore, Danish footballer^[36]
• 1996 – Nikita Dragun, American Youtuber^[37]
• 2006 – Sára Bejlek, Czech tennis player^[38][39]