April 15: Today's Notable Birthdays

Is April 15th your birthday? Was someone special to you born on April 15th? With whom will you choose to celebrate this excellent occasion?

If today is your birthday, then you are in excellent company.

(If someone you love is celebrating another year today, why not forward this list to the birthday boy or girl? Click SHARE at the bottom of this page to email the entire article with your "Happy Birthday" message.)

April 15th was the birth date of several notable (or even notorious) individuals. Here they are:

April 15th Birthdays: Famous Artists

American Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton (Boy Fishing, Cave Spring, Interior of a Farm House, Jesse James and Threshing Wheat), was born on April 15, 1889.

Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452. Leonardo da Vinci is best remembered for The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and The Virgin of the Rocks.

Elizabeth Catlett Mora, American printmaker (Sharecropper) and sculptress (Mother and Child), was born on April 15, 1919.

American portrait painter Charles Willson Peale was born on April 15, 1741. Charles Willson Peale painted portraits of George Washington and other American Revolutionary War leaders.

Jim Timmens, American jazz composer ("Aren't You Glad You're You") and New York's Radio City Music Hall musical director, was born on April 15, 1920.

April 15th Birthdays: Famous Athletes

Evelyn Ashford, American track and field star and Olympic gold medalist (1984 and 1992), was born on April 15, 1957.

American professional baseball player William Henry (Willie) Davis was born on April 15, 1940. Willie Davis played for the California Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers.

Woodrow Thompson (Woody) Fryman, American professional baseball player, was born on April 15, 1940. Woody Fryman played for the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos.

American professional basketball player and Olympic gold medalist (1964) Walter Raphael (Walt) Hazzard was born on April 15, 1942. Walt Hazzard played for the Atlanta Hawks, Buffalo Braves, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Seattle Supersonics.

Edy Hubacher, Swiss bobsledder and Olympic gold medalist (1972), was born on April 15, 1940.

American race car driver Mel Kenyon was born on April 15, 1933. Mel Kenyon has been called the Champion of Midget Auto Racing, the King of the Midgets and Miraculous Mel.

Sergei Krivokrasov, Russian professional hockey player and Olympic silver medalist (1998), was born on April 15, 1974. Sergei Krivokrasov played for the Chicago Blackhawks.

American professional baseball player Richard Louis (Dick) Sharon was born on April 15, 1950. Dick Sharon played for the Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres.

Ted Crawford Sizemore, American professional baseball player, was born on April 15, 1945. Ted Sizemore played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals.

Angelena Dara Torres, American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist (1984, 1992 and 2000), was born on April 15, 1967.

April 15th Birthdays: Famous Authors and Journalists

British Parliamentarian and author Jeffrey Archer (A Matter of Honor) was born on April 15, 1940.

American syndicated advice columnist Ponce Kiah Marchelle Heloise Cruse Evans (better known as Heloise) was born on April 15, 1951. Heloise became popular by writing newspaper (The Honolulu Advertiser and King Features Syndicate) and magazine (Good Housekeeping) articles to offer helpful household how-to's in her column, "Hints from Heloise."

Henry James, Jr., American literary critic (Atlantic Monthly) and author (The Ambassadors, The American, The Bostonians, Daisy Miller, The Golden Bowl, The Portrait of a Lady, The Princess Casamassima, Roderick Hudson, The Sacred Fount, The Tragic Muse, The Turn of the Screw, What Maisie Knew and The Wings of the Dove), was born on April 15, 1843. Henry James, Jr., was the son of Swedenborgian theologian Henry James, Sr., and brother to philosopher William James.

Boris Strugatski, Russian science fiction writer (Tale of Troika), was born on April 15, 1933.

April 15th Birthdays: Famous Business Leaders

Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, American television producer (Designing Women and Murphy Brown), was born on April 15, 1947.

April 15th Birthdays: Famous Performers

American actor Michael Ansara (Broken Arrow and Centennial) was born on April 15, 1922.

Claudia Cardinale, Tunisian actress (Blindfold, Henry the IV, Jesus of Nazareth, A Man in Love, Once Upon a Time in the West and The Pink Panther), was born on April 15, 1938.

American model and actress Lois Cleveland Chiles was born on April 15, 1947. Lois Chiles appeared in Broadcast News, Coma, Creepshow 2, Dallas, Death on the Nile, Diary of a Hit Man, The Great Gatsby, Moonraker, Speed 2; Cruise Control, Together for Days, The Way We Were and Wish Upon a Star.

Roy Clark, American country music banjoist, guitarist, singer, songwriter, comedian and television personality (Hee Haw), was born on April 15, 1933. Roy Clark's most popular songs included "Come and Live with Me," "Somewhere Between Love and Tomorrow," "Thank God and Greyhound You're Gone," "Through the Eyes of a Fool" and "Tips of My Fingers."

American actor (The Bullwinkle Show, Bus Stop, Make Room for Daddy, The Monster That Challenged the World, My Friend Irma, Oh God: Book 2 and Tut & Tuttle) and television personality (Fractured Flickers) Hans Conried was born on April 15, 1917.

Dave Edmunds, Welsh rock guitarist and singer (Rockpile), was born on April 15, 1944.

British pop singer Samantha Fox ("Naughty Girls Need Love Too" and "Touch Me") was born on April 15, 1966.

Ben Kasica, American Christian rock guitarist (Skillet), was born on April 15, 1984.

American comedian, choreographer (New Jack City) and actor mark Alexander (Flex) Knox was born on April 15, 1970. Flex Knox has appeared in The Cosby Mysteries, Girlfriends

The Hills Have Eyes 2, Homeboys in Outer Space, Juice, Man In The Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story, Moesha, Money Train, New York Undercover, One on One, Sister Sister, Snakes on a Plane, Total Security and Where I Live.

Robert Glynn (Bob) Luman, American country music singer, was born on April 15, 1937. Bob Luman's most well known songs included "Every Day I Have to Cry Some, Let's Think About Living," "The Pay Phone" and "Proud of You Baby."

American actress Elizabeth Montgomery (Bewitched and Robert Montgomery Presents) was born on April 15, 1933.

Alice Braga Moraes, Brazilian actress (Ciudade de Deus and I Am Legend), was born on April 15, 1983.

British alternative rock guitarist and singer Edward John (Ed) O'Brien (Radiohead) was born on April 15, 1968. Rolling Stone Magazine has ranked Ed O'Brien among the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."

Daniel (Danny) Pino, American actor, was born on April 15, 1974. Danny Pino has appeared in Cold Case, Flicka, The Lost City, Lucy: The Lucille Ball Story and The Shield.

Canadian comedian, voice-over artist (Horton Hears a Who, Kung Fu Panda, Monsters vs. Aliens, Shrek the Third and The Spiderwick Chronicles) and actor (Anchorman, Donnie Darko, Fanboys, Freaks and Geeks, Knocked Up, Observe and Report, Pineapple Express, Step Brothers, Superbad, Undeclared and You Me and Dupree) Seth Rogan was born on April 15, 1982.

American blues singer Elizabeth Mae (Bessie) Smith ("Dixie Flyer Blues," "A Good Man is Hard to Find," "I Ain't Got Nobody," "My Man's Blues," "Poor Man's Blues" and "St. Louis Blues") was born on April 15, 1894. Bessie Smith, known as The Empress of the Blues, and with Louis Armstrong and provided the inspiration for the play The Death of Bessie Smith, by Edward Albee.

Julie Sommars, American actress (Barnaby Jones, Diagnosis Murder, The Fugitive, The Governor and J.J., Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, Magnum, P.I., Matlock, McCloud, Perry Mason, The Rockford Files and Sex and the Single Parent), was born on April 15, 1942.

British actress and Academy Award winner (1992 and 1995) Emma Thompson was born on April 15, 1959. Emma Thompson, who married actors Kenneth Branagh and Greg Wise, has appeared in Angels in America,The Boat That Rocked, Carrington, An Education, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Henry V, Howard's End, In the Name of the Father, Last Chance Harvey, Look Back in Anger, Love Actually, Nanny McPhee, The Remains of the Day, Sense and Sensibility and Stranger than Fiction. Emma Thompson is the daughter of actress Phyllida Law and film producer Eric Thompson. Actress Sophie Thompson is Emma Thompson's sister.

Robert Walker, Jr., American actor (Ceremony, Ensign Pulver and Ms. Don Juan), was born on April 15, 1940.

British actress Emma Watson (Ballet Shoes, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Tale of Despereaux) was born on April 15, 1990.

John Williams, British actor (Dial M for Murder and Family Affair), was born on April 15, 1903.

American actress Amy Wright (The Accidental Tourist, The Amityville Horror, Breaking Away, Crossing Delancey, The Deer Hunter, Final Verdict, Inside Moves, The Scarlet Letter and Wise Blood) was born on April 15, 1950.

April 15th Birthdays: Famous Scientists

Leonhard Euler, Swedish mathematician (Euler's Constant), was born on April 15, 1707.

German physicist and Nobel Prize winner (1919) Johannes Stark (The Stark Effect) was born on April 15, 1874.

Nicholas Tinbergen, Dutch-British biologist, zoologist and Nobel Prize winner (1973), was born on April 15, 1907.

April 15th Birthdays: Famous World (and Other) Leaders

Catherine I, Empress of Russia, was born on April 15, 1684.

North Korean President Kim II Sung was born on April 15, 1912.

Do you know any others who are celebrating birthdays on April 15th?

If you know additional notable people (including yourself) who may be celebrating a birthday on April 15th, please indicate so in a comment below. Thank you!

Happy Birthday, April 15th.

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