PartyPlanimals welcomes you to Today In History for Sunday, February 5, 2012.

Famous birthdays for this day ..

• 1589 - Honorat de Brueil seigneur de Racan, French playwright/poet
• 1626 - Marie de S‚vign‚, Paris, letter-writer (Portrait in Letters)
• 1662 - Giuseppi Vignola, composer
• 1711 - Joseph Umstatt, composer
• 1723 - John Witherspoon, clergyman/signed Declaration of Independence
• 1732 - Nathanael Gottfried Gruner, composer
• 1744 - John Jeffries, colonial physician/meteorologist
• 1748 - Christian Gottlob Neefe, German composer/conductor/tutor of Beethoven
• 1753 - Coert L van Beyma thoe Kingma, Frisian regent/patriot
• 1770 - Alexandre Brongniart, Paris, mineralogist/geologist (Tertiary)
• 1775 - Margaretha J de Neufville, author (Small Pligten)
• 1778 - Robert Peel, British PM (1834-46)/founder (Tories)
• 1779 - Frans van Campenhout, Belgian vocalist/composer (Braban‡onne)
• 1788 - Karoly Kisfaludy, Hungarian literary (A Tat rok Magyarorsz gon)
• 1788 - Robert "Bobbie" Peel, British conservative premier/founder (Bobbies)
• 1799 - John Lindley, English botanist (Elements of Botany)
• 1804 - Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finland, poet
• 1810 - Ole Bull, composer
• 1833 - John Watkinson, founder of British Chess Magazine (oldest chess mag)
• 1837 - Dwight Lyman Moody, US, evangelist (Student Volunteer Movement)
• 1840 - Hiram Stevens Maxim, inventor (automatic single-barrel rifle)
• 1840 - John Boyd Dunlop, Scotland, developer (pneumatic rubber tire)
• 1848 - Belle Starr [Myra Belle Shirley], US female outlaw (wild west)
• 1848 - Joris-Karl Huysmans, France, writer (Against the Grain)
• 1856 - Otto Brahm, German critic/founder (Neue Deutsche Rundschau)
• 1860 - Jackson Showalter, 1st US chess champion (1888-92, 1895-97, 1906-0?)
• 1862 - Felipe Villanueva y Guti‚rrez, Mexico, composer
• 1863 - Armand Parent, composer
• 1864 - Carl Tieke, composer
• 1865 - Harvey Worthington Loomis, composer
• 1866 - Arthur Keith, Scottish anthropologist
• 1866 - Henri [Hendrik J] Hall, Dutch MP/comic (Put a Lid on it)
• 1866 - Rossetter Gleason Cole, composer
• 1867 - Casper A Lingbeek, vicar/Dutch MP (HSP, 1925..37)
• 1868 - Lodewijk Mortelmans, composer
• 1871 - Jovan Ducic, Serb poet (Blue Legends)
• 1878 - Andr‚-Gustave Citro‰n, France, auto maker
• 1879 - Edward Rigby, England, actor (Star Look Down, Young & Innocent)
• 1881 - Frederick Leonard Lonsdale, British playwright (Balkan Princess)
• 1882 - Felice Lattuada, composer
• 1887 - A P Gtersloh, writer
• 1889 - Elias Henry "Patsy" Hendren, cricketer (prolific England bat of 20's)
• 1889 - Ernest Tyldesley, cricketer (1st Lancastrian to score 100 100's)
• 1889 - Ioan Dumitru Chirescu, composer
• 1891 - Elizabeth Ryan, Anaheim Calif, doubles tennis champ (6 time Wimbled)
• 1891 - Karl L Schmidt, German/Swiss theologist (Urchristentum)
• 1892 - George Saiko, writer
• 1893 - Roman Ingarden, Polish philosopher (Studia philosophica)
• 1897 - Dirk U Stikker, director (Heineken)/Dutch foreign minister/NATO
• 1900 - Adlai E Stevenson, (Gov-D-Ill), pres candidate (D) (1952, 1956)
• 1902 - Bronislaw Kaper, composer
• 1903 - Ivan Galamian, Tabriz Persia, violinist
• 1903 - Joan Whitney Payson, owner (NY Mets & horse stables)
• 1903 - Nathaniel Owings, Indianapolis, architect (Oak Ridge, TN; Sears)
• 1906 - John Carradine, Greenwich Village NY, actor (Grapes of Wrath, Howling)
• 1907 - Jan Klaasesz, Dutch governor Suriname (1949-56)
• 1907 - Norton Simon, business executive (Simon & Schuster)
• 1907 - Pierre E J Pflimlin, premier France
• 1909 - Grazyna Bacewicz, composer
• 1910 - Martha van Och-Scholl, German/Dutch resistance fighter (WW II)
• 1912 - Willard Parker, NYC, actor (Kiss Me Kate, What A Woman)
• 1912 - Zoltan Pongracz, composer
• 1913 - Rozelle Claxton, pianist/arranger
• 1914 - Alan Hodgkin, British physicist (Nobel 1963)
• 1914 - William S Burroughs, St Louis, novelist (Naked Lunch)
• 1915 - Robert Hofstadter, US atomic physicist
• 1917 - Zsa Zsa Gabor, [Zsa Sari], Budapest, actress (Queen of Outer Space)
• 1918 - Charles J "Tim" Holt, US actor (Treasure of Sierra Madre)
• 1918 - Kara Abulfazogli Karayev, composer
• 1918 - Tim Holt, Beverly Hills CA, actor (Stagecoach, Hitler's Children)
• 1919 - Andrea George Papandreou, Greek premier (1981-89, 93- )
• 1919 - Red Buttons, [Aaron Chwatt], Bronx NYC, comedian/actor (Sayonara)
• 1921 - John M Pritchard, London England, conductor
• 1922 - Bernard Kalb, spokesman (State Dept)/actor (Dave)
• 1923 - Stephen J Cannell, TV producer/writer
• 1924 - Robert Lynn, anarchist
• 1926 - Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, NYC, publisher (NY Times)
• 1927 - Robert Brown, Herbrides Is, actor (Here Come the Brides, Primus)
• 1927 - Val Dufour, New Orleans LA, actor (Eugenie Grandet, Another World)
• 1928 - Andrew M Greeley, author/reverend
• 1928 - Pananayiotis Taki Vatikiotis, middle east scholar
• 1929 - Fred Sinowatz, (SP™), chancellor of Austria (1983-86)
• 1933 - J”rn Donner, Helsinki Finland, director (Anna, Tenderness)
• 1933 - Nick Georgiade, NYC, actor (Untouchables, Run Buddy Run)
• 1933 - Ron Wilson, US percussionist (Joy of Cooking)
• 1934 - Hank Aaron, baseball player (record 755 HRs, 1957 NL MVP)
• 1935 - Alex Harvey, rocker (Just Visiting This Planet)
• 1935 - John J "Jannie" Geldenhuys, supreme commander S Africa army 1980- )
• 1937 - Cocky van Oost, [Kommertje van Vliet], Dutch dancer (Sylphides)
• 1937 - Gaston Roelants, Belgium, world cross-country champion
• 1937 - Stuart Damon, Bkln NY, actor (Alan Quartermaine-General Hospital)
• 1938 - Dick van Niehoff, Dutch vocalist (Fouryo)
• 1938 - John Guare, US writer (6ų of Separation, Atlantic City, Taking Off)
• 1939 - Brian Luckhurst, cricketer (England opener of 60's & early 70's)
• 1939 - Jane Bryant Quinn, newscaster/financial writer (Everyone's Money Book)
• 1940 - H R Giger, artist, special effects designer, (Alien)
• 1941 - Barrett Strong, Detroit, vocalist (Money, That's What I Want)
• 1941 - David Selby, Morganstown WV, actor (Falcon Crest, Flamingo Road)
• 1941 - Rick Laird, jazz musician (Gerry Niewood & Timepiece)
• 1941 - Stephen J Cannell, producer (Rockford Files)
• 1942 - Cory Wells, Buffalo NY, rock vocalist (3 Dog Night-Joy to the World)
• 1942 - Roger Staubach, NFL quarterback (Dallas Cowboys)
• 1942 - Susan Hill, English playwright (Magic Apple Tree)
• 1943 - Charles Winfield, Penn, rocker (Blood Sweat & Tears-Spinning Wheel)
• 1943 - Craig Morton, Flint Mich, NFL quarterback (Dallas, Denver)
• 1943 - Ivan Alexandrovich Tcherepnin, composer
• 1943 - Larry Tamblyn, rock guitarist (Standells-Dirty Water)
• 1943 - Michael Mann, Chicago IL, actor/director (Sexpot, Close Friends)
• 1943 - Nolan Bushnell, founder (Atari)/creator (Pong)
• 1943 - Sven Johnson, rocker (Tangerine Dream
• 1944 - Al Kooper, rock keyboards/vocalist (Blood Sweat & Tears-When I Die)
• 1944 - Cory Wells, rocker
• 1944 - J R Cobb, Birmingham Ala, rocker (Atlanta Rhythm Section, Classic IV)
• 1946 - Charlotte Rampling, England, actress (Zardoz, Night Porter, Verdict)
• 1947 - Claude King, singer
• 1947 - David Ladd, LA Calif, actor (Raymie, Catlow, Misty, Deathline)
• 1947 - Mary Louise Cleave, Southampton NY, PhD/astronaut (STS 61-B, STS 30)
• 1948 - Barbara Hershey, [Herzstein], Atlanta, (Stuntman, Shy People)
• 1948 - Christopher Guest, NYC, actor (SNL, Heartbeeps, This is Spinal Tap)
• 1948 - David Denny, rock guitarist (Steve Miller Band-Abracadabra)
• 1948 - Elco [LC] Brinkman, Dutch minister WVC (CDA)
• 1948 - Nigel Tufnel, rocker (Spinal Tap)
• 1949 - David Sullivan, English softporno/newspaper publisher (Sunday Sport)
• 1949 - Maidarjabyn Ganzorig, Mongolia, cosmonaut (Soyuz 39 backup)
• 1949 - Nigel Olsson, rock guitarist/drummer (Elton John Band)
• 1950 - Ann Sexton, US vocalist (You're Gone too Long)
• 1951 - Elizabeth Swados, Buffalo NY, composer/playwright (1972 TONY)
• 1954 - Roseanne Katan, Jamacia, playmate (Sep, 1978)
• 1955 - Debra Jo Fondren, Los Angeles Cal, playmate of year (September, 1977)
• 1957 - Craig Wilson, Beeville TX, US water polo goalie (Olym-silver-84, 88)
• 1958 - Jennifer Jason Leigh, [Morrow], LA Cal, actress (Single White Female)
• 1959 - Glenn Dubis, Lincoln Neb, US 3x40 rifle (Olympics-1984, 88, 96)
• 1960 - Jane Geddes, Huntington NY, LPGA golfer (1987 Women's Kemper Open)
• 1960 - William John Readings, literary theorist
• 1962 - Duff McKagan, [Michael], Seattle Wash, bassist (Guns & Roses)
• 1962 - Tommy Skeoch, rock vocalist (Tesla-Psychotic Supper)
• 1964 - Jim Pugh, Burbank CA, tennis star
• 1965 - Ben Lee, Rangoon Burma, US badminton player (Olympic-92)
• 1965 - James David McGovern, Teaneck NJ, PGA golfer (1993 Shell Houston Open)
• 1965 - Tarik Benhabiles, Algeria, tennis star
• 1966 - Jose Maria Olazabal, golfer
• 1968 - Chris Barron, rocker (Spin Doctors)
• 1968 - Regina Rajchitova, Czech, tennis star
• 1968 - Roberto Alomar, Salinas Puerto Rico, infielder (Baltimore Orioles)
• 1968 - Will Furrer, NFL quarterback (Houston Oilers, St Louis Rams)
• 1969 - Bobby Brown, Roxbury Ma, vocalist (Ghostbusters, Don't Be Cruel)
• 1970 - Darren Lehmann, cricketer (SA & Vic LHB Australian ODI 1996)
• 1970 - Forey Duckett, NFL/WLAF cornerback/safety (Saints, Scot Claymores)
• 1971 - Dennis Hall, Milwaukee, 125« lbs greco-roman wrestler (Oly-sil-92, 96)
• 1971 - Dianne Norman, Sault Ste Marie Ontario, basketball forward (Oly-96)
• 1971 - Marcus Redman, actor (Raymond-Doogie Howser)
• 1971 - Peter "Chip" Cipollone, Ardmore Pa, rower (Olympics-1996)
• 1972 - Chris Bailey, ice hockey defenseman (USA, Oly-98)
• 1972 - Erin Phillips, Mexico Missouri, Miss America-Missouri (1996)
• 1972 - Tony Johnson, tight end (New Orleans Saints)
• 1973 - Diego Serrano, Quito Ecuador, actor (Tomas Rivera-Another World)
• 1973 - Israel Raybon, defensive end (Carolina Panthers)
• 1973 - Laura Espinoza-Watson, Torrance CA, female infielder (Silver Bullets)
• 1973 - Richard Matvichuk, Ft Saskatchewan C, NHL defenseman (Dallas Stars)
• 1974 - Adrienne Johnson, WNBA guard (Cleveland Rockers)
• 1975 - Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Dutch soccer player (Feyenoord)
• 1975 - Jan l'Ami, Dutch soccer player (Willem II)
• 1976 - Nancy Feber, Antwerp Belgium, tennis star (1995 Puerto Rico)
• 1978 - Kristina Cherina, Miss Croatia Universe (1997)