Famous Birthdays for April 2nd

Pre-1600[edit]

• 747 – Charlemagne, Frankish king (d. 814)^[16]
• 1473 – John Corvinus, Hungarian noble (d. 1504)
• 1545 – Elisabeth of Valois (d. 1568)
• 1565 – Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (d. 1599)
• 1586 – Pietro Della Valle, Italian traveler (d. 1652)

1601–1900[edit]

• 1602 – Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, Franciscan abbess (d. 1665)
• 1618 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1663)
• 1647 – Maria Sibylla Merian, German-Dutch botanist and illustrator (d. 1717)
• 1653 – Prince George of Denmark (d. 1708)
• 1696 – Francesca Cuzzoni, Italian operatic soprano (d. 1778)
• 1719 – Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (d. 1803)
• 1725 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian explorer and author (d. 1798)
• 1788 – Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet and author (d. 1862)
• 1788 – Wilhelmine Reichard, German balloonist (d. 1848)
• 1789 – Lucio Norberto Mansilla, Argentinian general and politician (d. 1871)
• 1792 – Francisco de Paula Santander, Colombian general and politician, 4th President of the Republic of the New Granada (d. 1840)
• 1798 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet and academic (d. 1874)
• 1805 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1875)
• 1814 – Henry L. Benning, American general and judge (d. 1875)
• 1814 – Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (d. 1879)
• 1827 – William Holman Hunt, English soldier and painter (d. 1910)
• 1835 – Jacob Nash Victor, American engineer (d. 1907)
• 1838 – Léon Gambetta, French lawyer and politician, 45th Prime Minister of France (d. 1882)
• 1840 – Émile Zola, French novelist, playwright, journalist (d. 1902)
• 1841 – Clément Ader, French engineer, designed the Ader Avion III (d. 1926)
• 1842 – Dominic Savio, Italian Catholic saint, adolescent student of Saint John Bosco (d. 1857)
• 1861 – Iván Persa, Slovenian priest and author (d. 1935)
• 1862 – Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
• 1869 – Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (d. 1928)
• 1875 – Walter Chrysler, American businessman, founded Chrysler (d. 1940)
• 1875 – William Donne, English cricketer and captain (d. 1942)
• 1884 – J. C. Squire, English poet, author, and historian (d. 1958)^[17]
• 1888 – Neville Cardus, English cricket and music writer (d. 1975)^[18]
• 1891 – Jack Buchanan, Scottish entertainer (d. 1957)
• 1891 – Max Ernst, German painter, sculptor, and poet (d. 1976)
• 1891 – Tristão de Bragança Cunha, Indian nationalist and anti-colonial activist from Goa (d. 1958)
• 1896 – Johnny Golden, American golfer (d. 1936)
• 1898 – Harindranath Chattopadhyay, Indian poet, actor and politician (d. 1990)
• 1898 – Chiungtze C. Tsen, Chinese mathematician (d. 1940)
• 1900 – Roberto Arlt, Argentinian journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1942)
• 1900 – Anis Fuleihan, Cypriot-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1970)
• 1900 – Alfred Strange, English footballer (d. 1978)

1901–present[edit]

• 1902 – Jan Tschichold, German-Swiss graphic designer and typographer (d. 1974)
• 1902 – Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe (d. 1994)^[19]
• 1903 – Lionel Chevrier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Canadian Minister of Justice (d. 1987)
• 1906 – Alphonse-Marie Parent, Canadian priest and educator (d. 1970)
• 1907 – Harald Andersson, American-Swedish discus thrower (d. 1985)
• 1907 – Luke Appling, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)
• 1908 – Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (d. 2003)
• 1910 – Paul Triquet, Canadian general, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1980)
• 1910 – Chico Xavier, Brazilian spiritual medium (d. 2002)
• 1914 – Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)
• 1919 – Delfo Cabrera, Argentinian runner and soldier (d. 1981)
• 1920 – Gerald Bouey, Canadian lieutenant and civil servant (d. 2004)
• 1920 – Jack Stokes, English animator and director (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Jack Webb, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
• 1922 – John C. Whitehead, American banker and politician, 9th United States Deputy Secretary of State (d. 2015)
• 1923 – Gloria Henry, American actress^[20] (d. 2021)
• 1923 – Johnny Paton, Scottish footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2015)
• 1923 – G. Spencer-Brown, English mathematician, psychologist, and author (d. 2016)
• 1924 – Bobby Ávila, Mexican baseball player (d. 2004)
• 1925 – George MacDonald Fraser, Scottish author and screenwriter (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Hans Rosenthal, German radio and television host (d. 1987)
• 1926 – Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Rudra Rajasingham, Sri Lankan police officer and diplomat (d. 2006)
• 1927 – Carmen Basilio, American boxer and soldier (d. 2012)
• 1927 – Howard Callaway, American soldier and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Army (d. 2014)
• 1927 – Rita Gam, American actress (d. 2016)^[21]
• 1927 – Billy Pierce, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
• 1927 – Kenneth Tynan, English author and critic (d. 1980)
• 1928 – Joseph Bernardin, American cardinal (d. 1996)
• 1928 – Serge Gainsbourg, French singer-songwriter, actor, and director (d. 1991)
• 1928 – Roy Masters, English-American radio host (d. 2021)
• 1928 – David Robinson, Northern Irish horticulturist and academic (d. 2004)
• 1929 – Ed Dorn, American poet and educator (d. 1999)
• 1930 – Roddy Maude-Roxby, English actor
• 1931 – Keith Hitchins, American historian (d. 2020)^[22]
• 1931 – Vladimir Kuznetsov, Russian javelin thrower (d. 1986)
• 1932 – Edward Egan, American cardinal (d. 2015)
• 1933 – György Konrád, Hungarian sociologist and author
• 1934 – Paul Cohen, American mathematician and theorist (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Brian Glover, English wrestler and actor (d. 1997)
• 1934 – Carl Kasell, American journalist and game show host (d. 2018)
• 1934 – Richard Portman, American sound engineer (d. 2017)
• 1934 – Dovid Shmidel, Austrian-born Israeli rabbi
• 1936 – Shaul Ladany, Serbian-Israeli race walker and engineer
• 1937 – Dick Radatz, American baseball player (d. 2005)
• 1938 – John Larsson, Swedish 17th General of The Salvation Army
• 1938 – Booker Little, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1961)
• 1938 – Al Weis, American baseball player
• 1939 – Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (d. 1984)
• 1939 – Anthony Lake, American academic and diplomat, 18th United States National Security Advisor
• 1939 – Lise Thibault, Canadian journalist and politician, 27th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
• 1940 – Donald Jackson, Canadian figure skater and coach
• 1940 – Mike Hailwood, English motorcycle racer (d. 1981)
• 1940 – Penelope Keith, English actress
• 1941 – Dr. Demento, American radio host
• 1941 – Sonny Throckmorton, American country singer-songwriter
• 1942 – Leon Russell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2016)
• 1942 – Roshan Seth, Indian-English actor
• 1943 – Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce, South African-English admiral and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (d. 2022)
• 1943 – Caterina Bueno, Italian singer (d. 2007)
• 1943 – Larry Coryell, American jazz guitarist (d. 2017)
• 1943 – Antonio Sabàto, Sr., Italian actor (d. 2021)
• 1944 – Bill Malinchak, American football player
• 1945 – Jürgen Drews, German singer-songwriter
• 1945 – Guy Fréquelin, French race car driver
• 1945 – Linda Hunt, American actress
• 1945 – Reggie Smith, American baseball player and coach
• 1945 – Don Sutton, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2021)
• 1945 – Anne Waldman, American poet
• 1946 – Richard Collinge, New Zealand cricketer
• 1946 – David Heyes, English politician
• 1946 – Sue Townsend, English author and playwright (d. 2014)
• 1946 – Kurt Winter, Canadian guitarist and songwriter (d. 1997)
• 1947 – Paquita la del Barrio, Mexican singer-songwriter
• 1947 – Tua Forsström, Finnish writer
• 1947 – Emmylou Harris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1947 – Camille Paglia, American author and critic
• 1948 – Roald Als, Danish author and illustrator
• 1948 – Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer (d. 2012)
• 1948 – Daniel Okrent, American journalist and author
• 1948 – Joan D. Vinge, American author
• 1949 – Paul Gambaccini, American-English radio and television host
• 1949 – Bernd Müller, German footballer
• 1949 – Pamela Reed, American actress
• 1949 – David Robinson, American drummer
• 1950 – Lynn Westmoreland, American politician
• 1951 – Ayako Okamoto, Japanese golfer
• 1952 – Lennart Fagerlund, Swedish cyclist
• 1952 – Will Hoy, English race car driver (d. 2002)
• 1952 – Leon Wilkeson, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2001)
• 1953 – Jim Allister, Northern Irish lawyer and politician
• 1953 – Rosemary Bryant Mariner, 20th and 21st-century U.S. Navy aviator (d. 2019) ^[23]
• 1953 – Malika Oufkir, Moroccan Berber writer^[24]
• 1953 – Debralee Scott, American actress (d. 2005)
• 1953 – James Vance, American author and playwright (d. 2017)
• 1954 – Gregory Abbott, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1954 – Donald Petrie, American actor and director
• 1955 – Michael Stone, Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary
• 1957 – Caroline Dean, English biologist and academic
• 1957 – Hank Steinbrenner, American businessman (d. 2020)
• 1958 – Stefano Bettarello, Italian rugby player
• 1958 – Larry Drew, American basketball player and coach
• 1959 – Gelindo Bordin, Italian runner
• 1959 – David Frankel, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1959 – Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver
• 1959 – Yves Lavandier, French director and producer
• 1959 – Badou Ezzaki, Moroccan footballer and manager
• 1960 – Linford Christie, Jamaican-English sprinter
• 1960 – Brad Jones, Australian race car driver
• 1960 – Pascale Nadeau, Canadian journalist
• 1961 – Buddy Jewell, American singer-songwriter
• 1961 – Christopher Meloni, American actor
• 1961 – Keren Woodward, English singer-songwriter
• 1962 – Pierre Carles, French director and producer
• 1962 – Billy Dean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1962 – Clark Gregg, American actor
• 1963 – Karl Beattie, English director and producer
• 1963 – Mike Gascoyne, English engineer
• 1964 – Pete Incaviglia, American baseball player and coach
• 1964 – Jonathon Sharkey, American wrestler
• 1965 – Rodney King, American victim of police brutality (d. 2012)
• 1966 – Bill Romanowski, American football player and actor
• 1966 – Teddy Sheringham, English international footballer and coach^[25]
• 1967 – Greg Camp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1967 – Phil Demmel, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1969 – Ajay Devgn, Indian actor, director, and producer
• 1971 – Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto, Brazilian footballer
• 1971 – Jason Lewry, English cricketer
• 1971 – Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
• 1972 – Eyal Berkovic, Israeli footballer^[26]
• 1972 – Remo D'Souza, Indian choreographer and dancer
• 1972 – Calvin Davis, American sprinter and hurdler
• 1972 – Zane Lamprey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1973 – Dmitry Lipartov, Russian footballer
• 1973 – Roselyn Sánchez, Puerto Rican-American actress
• 1973 – Aleksejs Semjonovs, Latvian footballer
• 1974 – Tayfun Korkut, Turkish football manager and former player
• 1975 – Nate Huffman, American basketball player (d. 2015)^[27]
• 1975 – Randy Livingston, American basketball player
• 1975 – Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski, German rower
• 1975 – Pattie Mallette, Canadian author and film producer^[28]
• 1975 – Pedro Pascal, Chilean and American actor^[29]
• 1976 – Andreas Anastasopoulos, Greek shot putter
• 1976 – Rory Sabbatini, South African golfer
• 1977 – Per Elofsson, Swedish skier
• 1977 – Michael Fassbender, German-Irish actor and producer
• 1977 – Hanno Pevkur, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice
• 1980 – Avi Benedi, Israeli singer and songwriter
• 1980 – Adam Fleming, Scottish journalist
• 1980 – Gavin Heffernan, Canadian director and screenwriter
• 1980 – Ricky Hendrick, American race car driver (d. 2004)
• 1980 – Wairangi Koopu, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1980 – Carlos Salcido, Mexican international footballer^[30]
• 1981 – Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer
• 1981 – Kapil Sharma, Indian stand-up comedian, television presenter and actor
• 1982 – Marco Amelia, Italian footballer
• 1982 – David Ferrer, Spanish tennis player
• 1983 – Maksym Mazuryk, Ukrainian pole vaulter
• 1984 – Engin Atsür, Turkish basketball player
• 1984 – Nóra Barta, Hungarian diver
• 1984 – Jérémy Morel, French footballer
• 1985 – Thom Evans, Zimbabwean-Scottish rugby player
• 1985 – Stéphane Lambiel, Swiss figure skater
• 1986 – Ibrahim Afellay, Dutch footballer
• 1986 – Andris Biedriņš, Latvian basketball player^[31]
• 1987 – Pablo Aguilar, Paraguayan footballer
• 1988 – Jesse Plemons, American actor
• 1990 – Yevgeniya Kanayeva, Russian gymnast
• 1990 – Miralem Pjanić, Bosnian footballer
• 1993 – Keshorn Walcott, Trinidadian javelin thrower^[32]
• 1997 – Dillon Bassett, American race car driver^[33]
• 1997 – Abdelhak Nouri, Dutch footballer^[34]
• 2004 – Diana Shnaider, Russian tennis player^[35][36]
• 2007 – Brenda Fruhvirtová, Czech tennis player^[37][38]