February 29: Today's Notable Birthdays

Were you a Leap Year baby? Is February 29th your birthday? Was someone special to you born on February 29th? With whom will you choose to celebrate this excellent occasion?

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

Leap Year - February 29th was the birth date of several notable (or even notorious) individuals. Here they are:

February 29th Leap Year Birthdays: Famous Artists

Gioacchino Rossini, Italian operatic composer (Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cambiale de Matrimonio, La Cenerentola, L'Italiana in Algeri and Semiramide), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1792.

Augusta Savage, American sculptor (The Harp), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1892.

Franz von Klenze, German architect (The Hermitage), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1784.

American film director (Battleground, The High and the Mighty, A Star Is Born and Westward the Women) and Academy Award winner (1937) William Augustus Wellman was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1896.

February 29th Leap Year Birthdays: Famous Athletes

American professional baseball player Albert (Al) Autry (Atlanta Braves) was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1952.

Clarence (Chucky) Brown, American professional basketball player (Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets and Phoenix Suns), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1968.

American professional baseball player John Leonard Roosevelt (Pepper) Martin (St. Louis Cardinals) was born

Steve Mingori, American professional baseball player (Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1944.

American professional football player John Niland (Dallas Cowboys) was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1944.

Bryce Paup, American professional football player (Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1968.

Canadian professional hockey player Joseph Henri Richard (Montreal Canadiens) was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1936. Henri Richard has been called "The Rocket" and "The Pocket Rocket."

American professional baseball player Albert Leonard (Al) Rosen was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1924. Al Rosen has been called "Flip" and "The Hebrew Hammer."

Alwin Schockemohle, German equestrian jumper and Olympic gold medalist (1976), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1936.

Raisa Smetanina, Russian cross country skier and Olympic gold medalist (1976, 1980 and 1992), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1952.

February 29th Leap Year Birthdays: Famous Authors and Journalists

American science fiction writer Patricia McKillip (Book of Atrix Wolfe, Fool's Run, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld and Song for the Basilisk) was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1948.

Howard Nemerov, American poet, author (Figures of Thought and The Homecoming Game) and Pulitzer Prize winner (1978), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1920.

American science fiction author Timothy (Tim) Powers (The Anubis Gates, Epitaph in Rust, Last Call and Night Moves) was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1952.

February 29th Leap Year Birthdays: Famous Business Leaders

Herman Hollerith, American tabulating machine inventor, was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1860. After calculating results from the 1880 U.S. Census, Herman Hollerith invented punch cards and counting machines. Herman Hollerith's Tabulating Machine Compnay later became the International Business Machines Company, known as IBM.

February 29th Leap Year Birthdays: Famous Performers

British actor Sidney Edmond Jocelyn (Joss) Ackland (The House that Dripped Blood, The Hunt for Red October, Shadowlands, The Sicilian and A Woman Named Jackie) was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1928.

American rap artist Jeffrey (Ja-Rule) Atkins was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1976. Ja-Rule's most popular songs include "Always On Time," "Between Me and You," "Holla Holla," "I'm Real," "Livin' It Up," "Mesmerize," "New York," "Put It On Me" and "Wonderful."

Annie Blanche (Tempest Storm) Banks, American burlesque star and actress (Buxom Beautease, Mundo Depravados, Strip Strip Hooray, Striptease Girl and Teaserama), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1928. Tempest Storm was known as "The Fabulous 4-D Girl."

American singer Gretchen Christopher (The Fleetwoods and Two Girls and a Guy) was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1940.

Jimmy Dorsey, American jazz and Big Band musician and bandleader, was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1904.

American actor Dennis Farina (The Case of the Hillside Stranglers, Code of Silence, Crime Story, Get Shorty, Jo Jo Dancer, Law & Order, The Mod Squad, Saving Private Ryan, Striking Distance, Triplecross and Your Life Is Calling) was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1944.

Arthur Franz, American actor (The Caine Mutiny, Dream No Evil and The Member of the Wedding), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1920.

American actress Phyllis Frelich (Bridge to Silence, Children on Their Birthdays, ER, Love Is Never Silent, Santa Fe and Sweet Nothing in My Ear) was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1944.

Joe Giglio, American guitarist and singer (The Four Aces), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1940.

James Mitchell, American actor (All My Children, Deep in My Heart, Gold Rush, Oklahoma and The Toast of New Orleans), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1920.

American actor (The Blue Knight, Boris and Natasha, Cannonball Run II, Dudley Do-Right, The Famous Teddy Z, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Get Shorty, The Godfather, Herbie Goes Bananas and How to Murder a Millionaire) and voice-over artist (A Bug's Life) Alex Rocco was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1936.

French actress Simone (Michele Morgan) Roussel (Bluebeard, Everybody's Fine, The Fallen Idol and Joan of Paris) was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1920.

Antonio Sabato Jr., Italian-American model and actor (Beyond the Law, The Bold and the Beautiful, Earth 2, General Hospital, High Voltage, Melrose Place, Mindstorm, Thrill and Tribe), was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1972.

American singer ("Blues in the Night," "The Breeze and I," "Buttons and Bows," "I'll Walk Alone" and "Yes My Darling Daughter"), actress (Death Car on the Freeway and Oh God) and television personality (Dinah, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Dinah Shore Show and Dinah's Place) Dinah Shore was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1916. Dinah Shore sponsored the Dinah Shore Classic professional golf tournament for decades.

Theodore (Theo Hardeen) Weiss, American illusionist, was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1876. Theo Hardeen's brother was illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini.

February 29th Leap Year Birthdays: Famous Scientists

Karl Ernst Baer, Prussian embryologist, was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1792.

American aerospace engineer and astronaut Jack Lousma was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1936. Jack Lousma commanded the Space Shuttle Columbia on its third orbital test flight and served as a member of the 1973 Skylab Space Station crew.

John Philip Holland, Irish-American submarine inventor, was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1840.

February 29th Leap Year Birthdays: Famous World (and Other) Leaders

Venezuelan President Antonio Guzman Blanco was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1828.

Ranchhodji Morarji Desai, Premier of India, was born on Leap Year - February 29, 1896.

Do you know any others who are celebrating birthdays on Leap Year - February 29th?

If you know additional notable people (including yourself) who may be celebrating a birthday on Leap Year - February 29th, please indicate so in a comment below. Thank you!

Happy Birthday, Leap Year - February 29th.

Other Notable Birthdates:

Click here to check other calendar dates for notable birthdates.

Sources:

http://440.com/twtd/today.html

http://christianmusic.about.com/library/bl_bdjul.htm

http://halife.com/daily/trivia

http://halife.com/religion

http://thinkexist.com/birthday

http://www.arts.ufl.edu/ART/rt_room/artist_birthdays/july.html

http://www.born-today.com/bt.htm

http://www.brainyhistory.com/daysbirth

http://www.celebrity-link.com

http://www.christianactivities.com/artistspotlight/story.asp?ID=893

http://www.famousbirthdays.net

http://www.historyorb.com/today/tomorrowsbirthdays.php

http://www.holidayinsights.com/bday

http://www.infoplease.com/birthday

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/kids/artists.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday

http://www.thelizlibrary.org/collections/woa/woa.html

http://www.toonopedia.com/today.htm

http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/book

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Day_files/Now.html on Leap Year - February 29, 1904.