| | 1 BC (O.S.) - Jesus of Nazareth, central figure of Christianity, date celebrated by Eastern Orthodox churches as Christmas (d. circa 30) (Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25 according to the Julian Calendar, which for now coincides with January 7 on the Gregorian Calendar, but this will eventually shift.) |
| | 1355 - Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, son of Edward III of England (d. 1397) |
| | 1502 - Pope Gregory XIII (d. 1585) |
| | 1528 - Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre (d. 1572) |
| | 1647 - Wilhelm Ludwig, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1677) |
| | 1685 - Jonas Alströmer, Swedish industrialist (d. 1761) |
| | 1706 - Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (d. 1751) |
| | 1718 - Israel Putnam, American Revolutionary War general (d. 1790) |
| | 1768 - Joseph Bonaparte, King of Naples (d. 1844) |
| | 1800 - Millard Fillmore, 13th President of the United States (d. 1874) |
| | 1827 - Sir Sandford Fleming, a Canadian engineer and inventor, known for the introduction of Universal Standard Time (d. 1915) |
| | 1831 - Heinrich von Stephan, German labor organizer (d. 1897) |
| | 1834 - Johann Philipp Reis, German physicist and inventor (d. 1874) |
| | 1844 - Bernadette Soubirous, French saint (d. 1879) |
| | 1860 - Emanuil Manolov, Bulgarian composer (d. 1902) |
| | 1871 - Felix Édouard Justin Émile Borel, French mathematician, politician, and resistance fighter (d. 1956) |
| | 1873 - Adolph Zukor, Hungarian producer (d. 1976) |
| | 1875 - Thomas Hicks, American runner (d. 1963) |
| | 1891 - Zora Neale Hurston, American author (d. 1960) |
| | 1896 - Arnold Ridley, British playwright and actor (d. 1984) |
| | 1899 - Francis Poulenc, French composer (d. 1963) |
| | 1903 - Warren Hull, American actor (d. 1974) |
| | 1903 - Alan Napier, English actor (d. 1988) |
| | 1908 - Red Allen, American musician (d. 1967) |
| | 1910 - Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Pakistani poet (d. (1984) |
| | 1910 - Orval Faubus, Governor of Arkansas (d. 1994) |
| | 1911 - Butterfly McQueen, American actress (d. 1995) |
| | 1912 - Charles Addams, American cartoonist (d. 1988) |
| | 1913 - Johnny Mize, baseball player (d. 1993) |
| | 1916 - Paul Keres, Estonian chess player (d. 1975) |
| | 1922 - Vincent Gardenia, Italian-born actor (d. 1992) |
| | 1922 - Jean-Pierre Rampal, French flutist (d. 2000) |
| | 1922 - Alvin Dark, baseball player and manager |
| | 1923 - Hugh Kenner, Canadian literary critic (d. 2003) |
| | 1925 - Gerald Durrell British naturalist, zookeeper, author, and television presenter (d. 1995) |
| | 1928 - William Peter Blatty, American screenwriter |
| | 1929 - Terry Moore, American actress |
| | 1934 - Charlie Jenkins, American runner |
| | 1935 - Kenny Davern, American jazz clarinetist |
| | 1935 - Valeri Kubasov, cosmonaut |
| | 1937 - Paul Revere, American musician |
| | 1938 - Roland Topor, French illustrator (d. 1997) |
| | 1938 - Rory Storm, British singer (d. 1972) |
| | 1939 - Maury Povich, TV host (Current Affair, Maury)/Connie Chung's husband |
| | 1941 - Iona Brown, British violinist and conductor (d. 2004) |
| | 1941 - John E. Walker, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate |
| | 1942 - Vasily Alexeev, Russian weightlifter |
| | 1944 - Arne Scheie, Norwegian sports commentator |
| | 1945 - Tony Conigliaro, American baseball player (d. 1990) |
| | 1945 - Dick Marty, Swiss politician |
| | 1946 - Jann Wenner, American publisher |
| | 1947 - Shobha De, Indian writer |
| | 1947 - Hristo Spasov Tsanoff, Bulgarian composer |
| | 1948 - Kenny Loggins, American singer |
| | 1949 - Steven Williams, American actor |
| | 1950 - Erin Gray, American actress |
| | 1950 - Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer and songwriter |
| | 1951 - Helen Worth, British actress |
| | 1951 - James Beard, American wrestling referee |
| | 1952 - Sammo Hung, Hong Kong actor, producer and director |
| | 1956 - David Caruso, American actor |
| | 1957 - Nicholson Baker, American novelist |
| | 1957 - Katie Couric, American television host |
| | 1957 - Julian Solis, Puerto Rican boxer |
| | 1959 - Kathy Valentine, American musician (The Go-Gos) |
| | 1962 - Aleksandr Dugin, Russian politician |
| | 1964 - Nicolas Cage, American actor, director, and producer |
| | 1966 - Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, American publicist (d. 1999) |
| | 1967 - Mark Lamarr, British comedian and broadcaster |
| | 1967 - Guy Hebert, American professional hockey goaltender |
| | 1970 - Doug E. Doug, American actor |
| | 1970 - Joao Ricardo, Angolan footballer |
| | 1971 - David Yost, American actor |
| | 1971 - C.W. Anderson, American professional wrestler |
| | 1972 - Donald Brashear, American ice hockey player (Philadelphia Flyers) |
| | 1973 - Jonna Tervomaa, Finnish singer |
| | 1976 - Eric Gagné, Canadian baseball player |
| | 1976 - Alfonso Soriano, Dominican Major League Baseball player |
| | 1977 - Michelle Behennah, British model |
| | 1977 - Dustin Diamond, American actor |
| | 1979 - Bipasha Basu, Indian model and actress |
| | 1980 - Mariangel Ruiz, Venezuelan hostess, actress, and model |
| | 1981 - Marquis Daniels, American basketball player |
| | 1985 - Lewis Hamilton, British racing driver |
| | 1990 - Liam Aiken, American actor |
| | 1990 - Elene Gedevanishvili, Georgian figure skater |