Famous Birthdays: April 1

Influencial Birthdays Today:

• 1220 – Go-Saga, Emperor of Japan – 88th Emperor of Japan.

• 1543 – François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières – French military leader.

• 1578 – William Harvey – English physician who discovered the circulation of blood.

• 1629 – Jean-Henri d’Anglebert – French composer and harpsichordist.

• 1697 – Antoine François Prévost – French author known for Manon Lescaut.

• 1753 – Joseph de Maistre – Savoyard philosopher and writer.

• 1815 – Otto von Bismarck – Prussian statesman and first Chancellor of Germany.

• 1865 – Richard Adolf Zsigmondy – Austrian chemist and Nobel Prize winner (1925).

• 1866 – Ferruccio Busoni – Italian composer and pianist.

• 1868 – Edmond Rostand – French poet and playwright, known for Cyrano de Bergerac.

• 1873 – Sergei Rachmaninoff – Russian composer, pianist, and conductor.

• 1883 – Lon Chaney – American actor known as "The Man of a Thousand Faces."

• 1902 – Maria Polydouri – Greek poet of the 1920s.

• 1908 – Abraham Maslow – American psychologist, creator of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

• 1917 – Dinu Lipatti – Romanian classical pianist and composer.

• 1917 – S. O. Davies – Welsh politician and Member of Parliament.

• 1920 – Toshirō Mifune – Japanese actor, known for his work with Akira Kurosawa.

• 1929 – Milan Kundera – Czech-French writer, author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

• 1929 – Payne Stewart – American professional golfer.

• 1932 – Debbie Reynolds – American actress and singer, known for Singin’ in the Rain.

• 1938 – Ali MacGraw – American actress and model.

• 1939 – Ali MacGraw – American actress, known for Love Story.

• 1940 – Wangari Maathai – Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner (2004).

• 1947 – Alain Connes – French mathematician, Fields Medal winner (1982).

• 1950 – Samuel Alito – Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

• 1952 – Annette O’Toole – American actress, known for Smallville.

• 1953 – Barry Sonnenfeld – American filmmaker, known for Men in Black.

• 1955 – Dirk Benedict – American actor, known for The A-Team.

• 1961 – Susan Boyle – Scottish singer, known for Britain’s Got Talent.

• 1966 – Rory Underwood – English rugby player.

• 1971 – Method Man (Clifford Smith) – American rapper and actor.

• 1973 – Rachel Maddow – American TV host and political commentator.

• 1976 – Asa Butterfield – English actor, known for Hugo and Sex Education.

• 1983 – Matt Lanter – American actor, known for 90210 and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

• 1987 – Shahd Batal – Syrian actress and singer.

• 1991 – Hiroki Yasumoto – Japanese voice actor.

• 1994 – Ezra Miller – American actor, known for The Flash and Fantastic Beasts.