What happened on December 26 ?

1194 - Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1250)

1532 - Guilielmus Xylander, German classical scholar (d. 1576)

1536 - Yi I, Korean Confucian scholar (d. 1584)

1646 - Robert Bolling, English settler in Virginia (d. 1709)

1687 - Johann Georg Pisendel, German musician (d. 1755)

1716 - Thomas Gray, English writer (d. 1771)

1716 - Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French poet (d. 1803)

1723 - Friedrich Melchior, baron von Grimm, German writer (d. 1807)

1736 - Antonio Caldara, Italian composer (b. 1670)

1737 - Prince Josias of Coburg, Austrian general (d. 1815)

1751 - Clement Hofbauer, Austrian missionary and saint (d. 1820)

1780 - Mary Fairfax Somerville, British mathematician (d. 1872)

1782 - Filaret Drozdov, Metropolitan of Moscow (d. 1867)

1791 - Charles Babbage, English mathematician and inventor (d. 1871)

1819 - E. D. E. N. Southworth, American novelist (d. 1899)

1822 - Dion Boucicault, Irish actor and playwright (d. 1890)

1837 - George Dewey, U. S. admiral (d. 1917)

1853 - René Bazin, French novelist (d. 1932)

1859 - William Stephens, U.S. political figure (d. 1944)

1872 - Norman Angell, British politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1967)

1873 - Thomas Wass, English cricketer (d. 1953)

1890 - Uncle Charlie Osborne, American fiddler (d. 1992)

1891 - Henry Miller, American writer (d. 1980)

1893 - Mao Zedong, Chinese military leader and politician (d. 1976)

1902 - Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan, Russian painter (d. 1980)

1903 - Elisha Cook Jr., American actor (d. 1995)

1904 - Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer (d. 1980)

1914 - Richard Widmark, American actor

1921 - Steve Allen, American actor, comedian, composer, and author (d. 2000)

1927 - Alan King, American comedian and actor (d. 2004)

1927 - Denis Quilley, British actor (d. 2003)

1933 - Ugly Dave Grey, Australian television personality

1935 - Abdul "Duke" Fakir, American singer (The Four Tops)

1935 - Norm Ullman, Canadian ice hockey player

1937 - John Horton Conway, British mathematician

1937 - Jay Heimowitz, American poker player

1938 - Bahram Beyzayi, Iranian play writer and film director

1940 - Edward C. Prescott, American economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner

1940 - Phil Spector, American music producer

1942 - Gray Davis, Governor of California, 1998-2003

1945 - John Walsh, American talk show host

1947 - Carlton Fisk, baseball player

1949 - José Ramos Horta, Foreign Minister of East Timor, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize

1954 - Ozzie Smith, baseball player

1954 - Steve Steen, English actor

1955 - Evan Bayh, U.S. Senator from Indiana

1956 - David Sedaris, American essayist

1959 - Koji Morimoto, Japanese animated film director

1960 - Temuera Morrison, New Zealand actor

1961 - John Lynch, Northern Irish actor

1963 - Lars Ulrich, Danish drummer (Metallica)

1971 - Jared Leto, American actor

1971 - Jonathan M. Parisen, American film director

1975 - Marcelo Ríos, Chilean tennis player

1976 - Lea De Mae, Czech actress (d. 2004)

1978 - Kaoru Sugayama, Japanese volleyball player

1979 - Chris Daughtry, American Idol contestant