December 31

December 31 – Famous Birthdays:

1901 – Nikos Ploumpidis, Greek educator and politician (d. 1954)
1902 – Lionel Daunais, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1982)
1902 – Roy Goodall, English footballer (d. 1982)
1904 – William Heynes, English engineer (d. 1989)
1905 – Helen Dodson Prince, American astronomer and academic (d. 2002)
1905 – Jule Styne, English-American composer (d. 1994)
1908 – Simon Wiesenthal, Ukrainian-Austrian nazi hunter and author (d. 2005)
1909 – Jonah Jones, American trumpet player and saxophonist (d. 2000)
1910 – Carl Dudley, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1973)
1910 – Enrique Maier, Spanish tennis player (d. 1981)
1911 – Dal Stivens, Australian soldier and author (d. 1997)
1912 – John Frost, Indian-English general (d. 1993)
1914 – Mary Logan Reddick, American neuroembryologist (d. 1966)
1915 – Sam Ragan, American journalist, author, and poet (d. 1996)
1917 – Evelyn Knight, American singer (d. 2007)
1917 – Wilfrid Noyce, English mountaineer and author (d. 1962)
1918 – Ray Graves, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
1919 – Tommy Byrne, American baseball player, coach, and politician (d. 2007)
1919 – Carmen Contreras-Bozak, Puerto Rican-American soldier (d. 2017)
1920 – Rex Allen, American actor and singer-songwriter (d. 1999)
1922 – Tomás Balduino, Brazilian bishop (d. 2014)
1922 – Halina Czerny-Stefańska, Polish pianist and educator (d. 2001)
1922 – Luis Zuloaga, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2013)
1923 – Giannis Dalianidis, Greek actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
1924 – Taylor Mead, American actor and poet (d. 2013)
1925 – Irina Korschunow, German author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1925 – Sri Lal Sukla, Indian author (d. 2011)
1925 – Daphne Oram, British composer and electronic musician (d. 2003)
1926 – Valerie Pearl, English historian and academic (d. 2016)
1926 – Billy Snedden, Australian lawyer and politician, 17th Attorney-General for Australia (d. 1987)
1928 – Ross Barbour, American pop singer (d. 2011)
1928 – Tatyana Shmyga, Russian actress and singer (d. 2011)
1928 – Siné, French cartoonist (d. 2016)
1928 – Veijo Meri, Finnish author and translator (d. 2015)
1929 – Mies Bouwman, Dutch television host (d. 2018)
1929 – Peter May, English cricketer (d. 1994)
1930 – Odetta, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (d. 2008)
1930 – Jaime Escalante, Bolivian-American educator (d. 2010)
1931 – Bob Shaw, Northern Irish journalist and author (d. 1996)
1932 – Don James, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
1932 – Felix Rexhausen, German journalist and author (d. 1992)
1933 – Edward Bunker, American author, screenwriter, and actor (d. 2005)
1934 – Ameer Muhammad Akram Awan, Indian author, poet, and scholar (d. 2017)
1935 – Salman of Saudi Arabia, King of Saudi Arabia
1937 – Avram Hershko, Hungarian-Israeli biochemist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate
1937 – Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor, director, and composer
1937 – Barry Hughes, Welsh footballer and manager
1937 – Tess Jaray, Austrian-English painter and educator
1938 – Rosalind Cash, American singer and actress (d. 1995)
1938 – Atje Keulen-Deelstra, Dutch speed skater (d. 2013)
1939 – Willye White, American sprinter and long jumper (d. 2007)
1940 – Mani Neumeier, German drummer
1941 – Alex Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
1941 – Sarah Miles, English actress
1942 – Andy Summers, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1943 – John Denver, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 1997)
1943 – Ben Kingsley, English actor
1943 – Pete Quaife, English bass player, author, and artist (d. 2010)
1944 – Taylor Hackford, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1945 – Connie Willis, American author
1946 – Roy Greenslade, English journalist and academic
1946 – Bryan Hamilton, Northern Irish footballer and coach
1946 – Raphael Kaplinsky, South African international development academic
1946 – Pius Ncube, Zimbabwean archbishop
1946 – Lyudmila Pakhomova, Russian ice dancer (d. 1986)
1946 – Cliff Richey, American tennis player
1946 – Eric Robson, Scottish journalist and author
1946 – Nigel Rudd, English businessman, founded Williams Holdings
1946 – Tim Stevens, English bishop
1946 – Diane von Fürstenberg, Belgian-American fashion designer
1947 – Burton Cummings, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1947 – Rita Lee, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
1947 – Tim Matheson, American actor, director, and producer
1948 – Joe Dallesandro, American actor
1948 – Sandy Jardine, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2014)
1948 – René Robert, Canadian ice hockey player
1948 – Donna Summer, American singer-songwriter (d. 2012)
1949 – Ellen Datlow, American anthologist and author
1949 – Susan Shwartz, American author
1950 – Phil Blakeway, Welsh-English rugby player
1950 – Bob Gilder, American golfer
1950 – Inge Helten, German sprinter
1950 – Cheryl Womack, American businesswoman
1951 – Tom Hamilton, American bass player and songwriter
1951 – Kenny Roberts, American motorcycle racer
1952 – Vaughan Jones, New Zealand mathematician and academic
1952 – Jean-Pierre Rives, French rugby player, painter, and sculptor
1953 – Jane Badler, American actress
1954 – Alex Salmond, Scottish economist and politician, 4th First Minister of Scotland
1954 – Hermann Tilke, German race car driver and engineer
1956 – Robert Goodwill, English farmer and politician
1956 – Helma Knorscheidt, German shot putter
1956 – Steve Rude, American author and illustrator
1958 – Geoff Marsh, Australian cricketer and coach
1958 – Bebe Neuwirth, American actress and dancer
1959 – Liveris Andritsos, Greek basketball player
1959 – Val Kilmer, American actor
1959 – Phill Kline, American lawyer and politician, Kansas Attorney General
1959 – Baron Waqa, Nauruan composer and politician, 14th President of Nauru
1959 – Paul Westerberg, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1960 – Steve Bruce, English footballer and manager
1961 – Rick Aguilera, American baseball player and coach
1961 – Jeremy Heywood, English economist and civil servant
1962 – Tyrone Corbin, American basketball player and coach
1962 – Chris Hallam, English-Welsh swimmer and wheelchair racer (d. 2013)
1962 – Jennifer Higdon, American composer
1963 – Scott Ian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1964 – Winston Benjamin, Antiguan cricketer
1964 – Michael McDonald, American comedian, actor, and director
1965 – Tony Dorigo, Australian-English footballer and sportscaster
1965 – Julie Doucet, Canadian cartoonist and author
1965 – Gong Li, Chinese actress
1965 – Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Indian cricketer
1965 – Nicholas Sparks, American author, screenwriter, and producer
1967 – Paul McGregor, Australian rugby league player and coach
1968 – Gerry Dee, Canadian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
1968 – Junot Diaz, Dominican-born American novelist, short story writer, and essayist
1970 – Jorge Alberto da Costa Silva, Brazilian footballer
1970 – Danny McNamara, English singer-songwriter
1970 – Carlos Morales Quintana, Spanish-Danish architect and sailor
1970 – Bryon Russell, American basketball player
1971 – Brent Barry, American basketball player and sportscaster
1971 – Esteban Loaiza, Mexican baseball player
1972 – Grégory Coupet, French footballer
1972 – Joey McIntyre, American singer-songwriter and actor
1973 – Shandon Anderson, American basketball player
1973 – Malcolm Middleton, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1973 – Curtis Myden, Canadian swimmer
1974 – Joe Abercrombie, English author
1974 – Mario Aerts, Belgian cyclist
1974 – Tony Kanaan, Brazilian race car driver
1974 – Ryan Sakoda, Japanese-American wrestler and trainer
1975 – Rami Alanko, Finnish ice hockey player
1975 – Toni Kuivasto, Finnish footballer and coach
1975 – Rob Penders, Dutch footballer
1975 – Sander Schutgens, Dutch runner
1976 – Luís Carreira, Portuguese motorcycle racer (d. 2012)
1976 – Matthew Hoggard, English cricketer
1977 – Wardy Alfaro, Costa Rican footballer and coach
1977 – Psy, South Korean singer-songwriter, producer, and dancer
1977 – Donald Trump, Jr., American businessman and son of billionaire Donald Trump
1979 – Paul O’Neill, English race car driver
1979 – Jeff Waldstreicher, American lawyer and politician
1980 – Jesse Carlson, American baseball player
1980 – Matt Cross, American wrestler
1980 – Richie McCaw, New Zealand rugby player
1980 – Carsten Schlangen, German runner
1981 – Jason Campbell, American football player
1981 – Matthew Pavlich, Australian footballer
1981 – Margaret Simpson, Ghanaian heptathlete
1981 – Ricky Whittle, English actor
1982 – Julio DePaula, Dominican baseball player
1982 – Craig Gordon, Scottish footballer
1982 – Luke Schenscher, Australian basketball player
1982 – The Rocket Summer, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1984 – Ben Hannant, Australian rugby league player
1984 – Édgar Lugo, Mexican footballer
1984 – Calvin Zola, Congolese footballer
1985 – Jonathan Horton, American gymnast
1985 – Jan Smit, Dutch singer and television host
1986 – Nate Freiman, American baseball player
1986 – Kade Snowden, Australian rugby league player
1987 – Javaris Crittenton, American basketball player
1987 – Danny Holla, Dutch footballer
1987 – Émilie Le Pennec, French gymnast
1987 – Nemanja Nikolić, Hungarian footballer
1990 – Patrick Chan, Canadian figure skater
1991 – Bojana Jovanovski, Serbian tennis player
1992 – Amy Cure, Australian track cyclist
1992 – Karl Kruuda, Estonian race car driver
1993 – Ryan Blaney, American race car driver
1995 – Gabby Douglas, American gymnast