Daily historical facts, events, famous birthdays, world history. Discover what happened today in history.
Day History: November-12

Famous Birthdays
1528- Qi Jiguang -Chinese general (d. 1588)
1547- Claude of Valois -(d. 1575)
1606- Jeanne Mance -French-Canadian nurse, founded the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (d. 1673)
1615- Richard Baxter -English clergyman, poet, and theologian (d. 1691)
1651- Juana Inés de la Cruz -Mexican nun, poet, and scholar (d. 1695)
1684- Edward Vernon -English admiral and politician (d. 1757)
1729- Louis Antoine de Bougainville -French admiral and explorer (d. 1811)
1755- Gerhard von Scharnhorst -Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (d. 1813)
1780- Pieter Mauritz Retief -South African Boer leader (d.1838)
1790- Letitia Christian Tyler -American wife of John Tyler, 11th List of First Ladies of the United States|First Lady of the United States (d. 1842)
1793- Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz -Livonian physician and botanist (d. 1831)
1795- Thaddeus William Harris -American entomologist and botanist (d. 1856)
1815- Elizabeth Cady Stanton -American activist (d. 1902)
1817- Bahá'u'lláh -Persian spiritual leader, founded the Bahá'í Faith (d. 1892)
1833- Alexander Borodin -Russian composer and chemist (d. 1887)
1840- Auguste Rodin -French sculptor, created The Thinker (d. 1917)
1842- John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh -English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize for Physics|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
1848- Eduard Müller (Swiss politician)|Eduard Müller -Swiss politician, 51st President of Switzerland (d. 1919)
1850- Mikhail Chigorin -Russian chess player (d. 1908)
1866- Sun Yat-sen -Chinese physician and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (d. 1925)
1872- William Fay -Irish actor and producer (d. 1947)
1881- Olev Siinmaa -Estonian architect (d. 1948)
1881- Maximilian von Weichs -German field marshal (d. 1954)
1886- Günther Dyhrenfurth -German geologist and mountaineer (d. 1975)
1886- Ben Travers -English author and playwright (d. 1980)
1889- DeWitt Wallace -American publisher, co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' (d. 1981)
1890- Lily Kronberger -Hungarian figure skater (d. 1974)
1892- Tudor Davies -Welsh tenor (d. 1958)
1896- Salim Ali -Indian ornithologist and author (d. 1987)
1896- Nima Yooshij -Iranian poet (d. 1960)
1897- Karl Marx (composer)|Karl Marx -German composer and conductor (d. 1985)
1898- Leon Štukelj -Slovenian gymnast (d. 1999)
1901- James Luther Adams -American minister and theologian (d. 1994)
1903- Jack Oakie -American actor and singer (d. 1978)
1905- Louise Thaden -American pilot (d. 1979)
1906- George Dillon (poet)|George Dillon -American poet (d. 1968)
1908- Harry Blackmun -American judge and educator (d. 1999)
1910- Dudley Nourse -South African cricketer (d. 1981)
1911- Buck Clayton -American trumpet player and academic (d. 1991)
1915- Roland Barthes -French philosopher, theorist, and critic (d. 1980)
1916- Rogelio de la Rosa -Filipino actor and politician (d. 1986)
1916- Paul Emery -English race car driver (d. 1993)
1916- Jean Papineau-Couture -Canadian composer and academic (d. 2000)
1917- Jo Stafford -American singer and actress (d. 2008)
1919- Jackie Washington -Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
1920- Richard Quine -American actor, singer, director, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
1922- Peggy Fenner -English politician
1922- Kim Hunter -American actress (d. 2002)
1923- Ian Graham -English archaeologist and explorer
1923- Rubén Bonifaz Nuño -Mexican poet and scholar (d. 2013)
1923- Vicco von Bülow -German actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
1924- Sam Jones (musician)|Sam Jones -American bassist, cellist, and composer (d. 1981)
1926- Robert Goff, Baron Goff of Chieveley|Robert Goff -British judge
1927- František Šťastný -Czech motorcycle racer (d. 2000)
1927- Yutaka Taniyama -Japanese mathematician and theorist (d. 1958)
1928- Bob Holness -English radio and television host (d. 2012)
1928- Marjorie W. Sharmat -American author
1929- Anthony di Bonaventura -American pianist and academic (d. 2012)
1929- Michael Ende -German anthroposophist and author (d. 1995)
1929- Grace Kelly -American-Monacan actress and singer (d. 1982)
1930- Bob Crewe -American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2014)
1933- Jalal Talabani -Iraqi politician, 6th President of Iraq
1934- Ann Flood -American actress
1934- Charles Manson -American cult leader and murderer
1934- John McGahern -Irish author (d. 2006)
1936- Mills Lane -American boxer, referee, lawyer, and judge
1936- Mort Shuman -American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1991)
1937- Ina Balin -American actress (d. 1990)
1937- Jack Betts -American actor
1937- Richard H. Truly -American admiral, pilot, and astronaut
1938- Denis DeJordy -Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1938- Benjamin Mkapa -Tanzanian journalist and politician, 3rd President of Tanzania
1939- Ruby Nash Garnett -American singer (Ruby & the Romantics)
1939- Terry McDonald (footballer)|Terry McDonald -English footballer
1939- Lucia Popp -Slovak soprano (d. 1993)
1940- Michel Audet -Canadian economist and politician
1940- Jürgen Todenhöfer -German politician and author
1941- Carol Gluck -American historian, author, and academic
1943- Julie Ege -Norwegian model and actress (d. 2008)
1943- Brian Hyland -American singer and guitarist
1943- Wallace Shawn -American actor and playwright
1943- Björn Waldegård -Swedish race car driver (d. 2014)
1943- John Walker (musician)|John Walker -American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Walker Brothers) (d. 2011)
1944- Booker T. Jones -American pianist, saxophonist, songwriter, and producer (Booker T and the MG's and The Mar-Keys)
1944- Al Michaels -American sportscaster
1944- Jennifer Page -English businesswoman
1945- Michael Bishop (author)|Michael Bishop -American author and educator
1945- Tracy Kidder -American journalist and author
1945- Neil Young -Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Squires (Canadian band)|The Squires, The Mynah Birds, Northern Lights (Canadian band)|Northern Lights, and The Ducks)
1946- Alexandra Charles -Swedish nightclub owner
1946- Krister Henriksson -Swedish actor
1947- Ron Bryant -American baseball player
1947- Buck Dharma -American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Blue Öyster Cult)
1947- Patrice Leconte -French director and screenwriter
1948- Errol Brown -Jamaican-English singer-songwriter (Hot Chocolate (band)|Hot Chocolate)
1948- Cliff Harris -American football player
1948- Hassan Rouhani -Iranian lawyer and politician, 7th President of Iran
1949- Ron Lapointe -Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1992)
1949- Jack Reed (politician)|Jack Reed -American soldier and politician
1950- Barbara Fairchild -American singer-songwriter
1950- Urmas Lõoke -Estonian architect
1952- Ronald Burkle -American businessman, co-founded the Yucaipa Companies
1952- Max Grodénchik -American actor
1953- Vasilis Karras -Greek singer
1953- Baaba Maal -Senegalese singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954- Rob Lytle -American football player (d. 2010)
1954- Rhonda Shear -American model and actress, Miss Louisiana USA|Miss Louisiana USA 1975
1955- Louan Gideon -American actress (d. 2014)
1955- Les McKeown -Scottish singer (Bay City Rollers)
1955- Katharine Weber -American author
1957- Paul Dennis Reid -American murderer (d. 2013)
1957- Tim Samaras -American engineer and storm chaser (d. 2013)
1958- Megan Mullally -American actress and singer
1958- Nick Stellino -Italian-American chef and author
1959- Vincent Irizarry -American actor
1959- Toshihiko Sahashi -Japanese composer
1960- Maurane -Belgian singer
1960- Ismo Alanko -Finnish singer-songwriter (Hassisen Kone, Sielun Veljet, and Ismo Alanko Säätiö)
1961- Nadia Comăneci -Romanian gymnast
1961- Enzo Francescoli -Uruguayan footballer
1961- Michaela Paetsch -American violinist
1962- Mariella Frostrup -Norwegian journalist
1962- Mark Hunter (ice hockey)|Mark Hunter -Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
1962- Neal Shusterman -American author
1962- Brix Smith -American singer and guitarist (The Fall (band)|The Fall and The Adult Net)
1962- Naomi Wolf -American author and activist
1963- Sam Lloyd -American actor and singer (The Blanks)
1963- Michael Rogers (blogger)|Michael Rogers -American journalist, blogger, and activist
1963- Susumu Terajima -Japanese actor
1964- Vic Chesnutt -American singer-songwriter and guitarist (brute. and The Undertow Orchestra) (d. 2009)
1964- David Ellefson -American bass player and songwriter (Megadeth, Avian (band)|Avian, F5 (band)|F5, Killing Machine (band)|Killing Machine)
1964- Wang Kuang-hui -Taiwanese baseball player and coach
1965- Lex Lang -American voice actor and producer
1965- Eddie Mair -Scottish journalist
1967- Iryna Khalip -Belarusian journalist
1967- Michael Moorer -American boxer
1967- Grant Nicholas -Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist (Feeder and Raindancer)
1967- Mihhail Rõtšagov -Estonian chess player
1968- Kathleen Hanna -American singer-songwriter (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, and The Julie Ruin)
1968- Aya Hisakawa -Japanese voice actress and singer
1968- Disco Inferno (wrestler)|Disco Inferno -American wrestler
1968- Sharon Shannon -Irish accordion player and fiddler
1968- Sammy Sosa -Dominican-American baseball player
1968- Aaron Stainthorpe -English-German singer-songwriter (My Dying Bride)
1968- Nick D'Virgilio -American drummer (Big Big Train and Spock's Beard)
1969- Ian Bremmer -American political scientist and author
1969- Jason Cundy -English footballer and sportscaster
1969- Johnny Gosch -American kidnap victim
1970- Elektra (wrestling)|Elektra -American wrestler, model, and dancer
1970- Tonya Harding -American figure skater
1970- Sarah Harmer -Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Weeping Tile (band)|Weeping Tile and The Saddletramps)
1970- Craig Parker -Fijian-New Zealand actor
1970- Harvey Spencer Stephens -English actor
1971- Chen Guangcheng -Chinese-American lawyer and activist
1972- Vassilios Tsiartas -Greek footballer
1973- Mayte Garcia -American singer, dancer, and actress (The New Power Generation)
1973- Radha Mitchell -Australian actress
1973- Ethan Zohn -American soccer player
1974- Tamala Jones -American actress
1975- Nina Brosh -Israeli model and actress
1975- Dario Šimić -Croatian footballer
1975- Katherine Grainger -Scottish-English rower
1975- Jason Lezak -American swimmer
1975- Angela Watson -American actress
1976- Tevin Campbell -American singer-songwriter and actor
1976- Judith Holofernes -German singer-songwriter and guitarist (Wir sind Helden)
1976- Richelle Mead -American author
1976- Mirosław Szymkowiak -Polish footballer
1977- Dalene Kurtis -American model
1977- Benni McCarthy -South African footballer
1977- Lee Murray -English mixed martial artist
1978- Aaron Heilman -American baseball player
1978- Alexandra Maria Lara -Romanian-German actress
1978- Ashley Williams (actress)|Ashley Williams -American actress
1978- Lena Yada -American actress, model, surfer and wrestler
1979- Matt Cappotelli -American wrestler
1979- Cote de Pablo -Chilean-American actress and singer
1979- Lucas Glover -American golfer
1979- Corey Maggette -American basketball player
1979- Matt Stevic -Australian footballer and umpire
1980- Trent Acid -American wrestler (d. 2010)
1980- Shaun Cooper (musician)|Shaun Cooper -American bass player (Taking Back Sunday, Straylight Run, and Destry (band)|Destry)
1980- Ryan Gosling -Canadian-American actor, singer, and producer (Dead Man's Bones)
1980- Charlie Hodgson -English rugby player
1980- Ricky Sinz -American porn actor
1981- Annika Becker -German pole vaulter
1981- D. J. Campbell -English footballer
1981- Sergio Floccari -Italian footballer
1982- Anne Hathaway -American actress and singer
1982- Mikele Leigertwood -English footballer
1983- Carlton Cole -English footballer
1983- Charlie Morton (pitcher)|Charlie Morton -American baseball player
1984- Omarion -American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor (B2K)
1984- Sepp De Roover -Belgian footballer
1984- Benjamin Okolski -American figure skater
1984- Sandara Park -South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (2NE1)
1984- Conrad Rautenbach -Zimbabwean race car driver
1984- Zi Yan -Chinese tennis player
1985- Arianny Celeste -American model and actress
1985- Adlène Guedioura -French-Algerian footballer
1986- Robert Müller (footballer)|Robert Müller -German footballer
1986- Nedum Onuoha -English footballer
1986- Ignazio Abate -Italian footballer
1986- Evan Yo -Taiwanese singer-songwriter
1987- Bryan Little -Canadian ice hockey player
1988- Alistair Brammer -English actor and singer
1988- Russell Westbrook -American basketball player
1990- Farahnaz Amirsoleymani -American author and illustrator
1990- Florent Manaudou -French swimmer
1990- Harmeet Singh (footballer)|Harmeet Singh -Norwegian footballer
1990- Siim-Sander Vene -Estonian basketball player
1992- Giulietta (singer)|Giulietta -Australian singer-songwriter
1992- Trey Burke -American basketball player
1992- Adam Larsson -Swedish ice hockey player
1994- Anna Khnychenkova -Ukrainian figure skater