| | 1516 - Conrad Gessner, Swiss naturalist (d. 1565) |
| | 1554 - Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, French military leader (d. 1611) |
| | 1698 - Václav Prokop Diviš, Czech theologian and natural scientist (d. 1765) |
| | 1753 - Benjamin Thompson, American physicist and inventor (d. 1814) |
| | 1859 - Alfred Edward Housman, English poet (d. 1936) |
| | 1859 - Adolf Hurwitz, German mathematician (d. 1919) |
| | 1868 - King Fuad I of Egypt (d. 1936) |
| | 1874 - Robert Frost, American poet (d. 1963) |
| | 1875 - Max Abraham, German physicist (d. 1922) |
| | 1875 - Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea (d. 1965) |
| | 1879 - Othmar Ammann, Swiss-born bridge engineer (d. 1965) |
| | 1882 - Hermann Obrecht, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1940) |
| | 1884 - Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist (d. 1969) |
| | 1896 - Rudolf Dassler, Founder of PUMA AG (d. 1974) |
| | 1888 - Elsa Brändström, Swedish nurse (d. 1948) |
| | 1893 - Palmiro Togliatti, Italian communist leader (d. 1964) |
| | 1904 - Joseph Campbell, American author (d. 1987) |
| | 1904 - Xenophon Zolotas, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2004) |
| | 1904 - Emilio Fernández, Mexican actor, screenwriter and film director (d. 1986) |
| | 1905 - Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (d. 1997) |
| | 1911 - Bernard Katz, German-born biophysicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 2003) |
| | 1911 - Tennessee Williams, American dramatist (d. 1983) |
| | 1913 - Paul Erdős, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1996) |
| | 1914 - Toru Kumon, Japanese educator (d. 1995) |
| | 1914 - William Westmoreland, U.S. general (d. 2005) |
| | 1916 - Christian B. Anfinsen, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995) |
| | 1916 - Sterling Hayden, American actor (d. 1986) |
| | 1916 - Bill Edrich, English cricketer (d. 1986) |
| | 1917 - Rufus Thomas, American musician (d. 2001) |
| | 1919 - Strother Martin, American actor (d. 1980) |
| | 1922 - Oscar Sala, Italian-born physicist |
| | 1923 - Bob Elliott, American comedian |
| | 1925 - Pierre Boulez, French composer and conductor |
| | 1925 - James Moody, American jazz musician, composer, and actor |
| | 1930 - Gregory Corso, American poet (d. 2001) |
| | 1930 - Sandra Day O'Connor, U.S. Supreme Court Justice |
| | 1931 - Leonard Nimoy, American actor and director |
| | 1934 - Alan Arkin, American actor |
| | 1935 - Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestine National Authority |
| | 1937 - Wayne Embry, former basketball player in the National Basketball Association |
| | 1938 - Anthony James Leggett, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate |
| | 1940 - James Caan, American actor |
| | 1940 - Nancy Pelosi, American politician |
| | 1941 - Richard Dawkins, British Evolutionary Biologist |
| | 1942 - Erica Jong, American author |
| | 1943 - Bob Woodward, American journalist |
| | 1944 - Diana Ross, American singer (Supremes) |
| | 1945 - Mikhail Voronin, Soviet gymnast (d. 2004) |
| | 1946 - Johnny Crawford, American actor |
| | 1946 - Alain Madelin, French politician |
| | 1947 - Dar Robinson, American stunt man (d. 1986) |
| | 1948 - Steven Tyler, American musician (Aerosmith) |
| | 1949 - Vicki Lawrence, American actress and singer |
| | 1949 - Patrick Süskind, German writer |
| | 1950 - Teddy Pendergrass, American singer |
| | 1950 - Martin Short, Canadian comedian |
| | 1950 - Ernest Thomas, American actor |
| | 1951 - Carl Wieman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate |
| | 1952 - Didier Pironi, French Formula One driver (d. 1987) |
| | 1953 - Elaine Chao, U.S. Secretary of Labor |
| | 1953 - Lincoln Chafee, American Senator from Rhode Island |
| | 1953 - Youssouf Togoïmi, Chadian rebel (d. 2002) |
| | 1954 - Kazuhiko Inoue, Japanese seiyu (voice actor) |
| | 1954 - Curtis Sliwa, American founder of the Guardian Angels |
| | 1956 - Charly McClain, American singer |
| | 1957 - Leeza Gibbons, American television host |
| | 1960 - Marcus Allen, American football player |
| | 1960 - Jennifer Grey, American actress |
| | 1961 - William Hague, British politician |
| | 1962 - John Stockton, American basketball player |
| | 1962 - Paul de Leeuw, Dutch television host |
| | 1963 - Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Japanese writer |
| | 1963 - Roch Voisine, Canadian singer and songwriter |
| | 1964 - Martin Donnelly, Irish racecar driver |
| | 1964 - Ulf Samuelsson, Swedish hockey player |
| | 1968 - Kenny Chesney, American singer |
| | 1968 - James Iha, American musician (Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle) |
| | 1968 - Laurent Brochard, French cyclist |
| | 1971 - Behzad Ghorbani, Iranian zoologist and sociobiologist |
| | 1973 - Lawrence E. Page, American search engine pioneer |
| | 1974 - Mike Peca, Canadian hockey player |
| | 1976 - Amy Smart, American actress |
| | 1977 - Kevin Davies, English footballer |
| | 1977 - Sylvain Grenier, Canadian professional wrestler |
| | 1979 - Hiromi Uehara, Japanese jazz pianist |
| | 1982 - Mikel Arteta, Spanish footballer |
| | 1983 - Michael Brenley, Professional wrestler |
| | 1984 - Gregory Strydom, Zimbabwean cricketer |
| | 1984 - Stéphanie Lapointe, Quebec artist and singer, 2004 Star Académie winner |
| | 1984 - Sara Jean Underwood, American model |
| | 1985 - Keira Knightley, English actress |
| | 1985 - Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwean cricket captain |
| | 1987 - YUI, Japanese musician |
| | 1991 - Brittney Wilson, Canadian actress |