What happened on January 8 ?

1556 - Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1623)

1583 - Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian (d. 1643)

1601 - Baltasar Gracián y Morales, Spanish writer (d. 1658)

1628 - François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Luxembourg, French general (d. (1695)

1632 - Samuel Pufendorf, German jurist (d. 1694)

1635 - Luis Manuel Fernández de Portocarrero, Spanish Archbishop of Toledo (d. 1709)

1735 - John Carroll (priest), first American Catholic archbishop (d. 1815)

1763 - Edmond Charles Genêt, French ambassador to the United States (d. 1834)

1786 - Nicholas Biddle, President of the Second Bank of the United States (d. 1844)

1788 - Pavel Kiselyov, Russian general and politician (d. 1874)

1792 - Lowell Mason, American composer (d. 1872)

1805 - John Bigler, Governor of California (d. 1871)

1805 - Orson Hyde, American religious leader (d. 1878)

1817 - Sir Theophilus Shepstone, South African statesman (d. 1893)

1821 - James Longstreet, American Confederate general (d. 1904)

1821 - W.H.L. Wallace, American Union general (d. 1862)

1823 - Alfred Russel Wallace, British naturalist and biologist (d. 1913)

1824 - Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet (d. 1861)

1824 - Wilkie Collins, British novelist (d. 1889)

1836 - Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch artist (d. 1912)

1843 - Frederick Abberline, British police investigator (d. 1929)

1852 - James Milton Carroll, was a Baptist pastor, leader, historian, and author (d. 1931)

1860 - Emma Booth, the fourth child of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1903)

1867 - Emily Greene Balch, American writer and pacifist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (d. 1961)

1870 - Miguel Primo de Rivera, dictator of Spain (d. 1930)

1871 - James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 1940)

1873 - Iuliu Maniu, Romanian politician (d. 1953)

1881 - Henrik Shipstead, U.S. Senator from Minnesota (d. 1960)

1883 - Patrick J. Hurley, U.S. Secretary of War (d. 1963)

1883 - Pavel Filonov, Russian painter (d. 1941)

1885 - John Curtin, fourteenth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1945)

1885 - A. J. Muste, Dutch-born civil rights activist and pacifist (d. 1967)

1888 - Matthew Moore, Irish actor (d. 1960)

1891 - Walther Bothe, German physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (d. 1957)

1891 - Bronislava Nijinska, Russian choreographer (d. 1972)

1896 - Arthur Ford, American psychic spiritual medium, clairaudient (d. 1971)

1897 - Dennis Wheatley, British author (d. 1977)

1902 - Carl Rogers, American psychologist (1883)

1903 - Igor Kurchatov, Russian physicist (d. 1960)

1904 - Karl Brandt, Nazi war ciminal (d. 1948)

1905 - Franjo Cardinal Seper, Croatian Catholic cardinal (d. 1981)

1908 - William Hartnell, British actor (d. 1975)

1909 - Willy Millowitsch, German actor (d. 1999)

1909 - Evelyn Wood, American educator (d. 1995)

1910 - Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova, Russian ballerina (d. 1988)

1912 - José Ferrer, Puerto Rican actor (d. 1992)

1923 - Larry Storch, American actor

1923 - Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (d. 1985)

1923 - Joseph Weizenbaum, German-born computer scientist

1924 - Ron Moody, English actor

1926 - Evelyn Lear, American soprano

1926 - Hanae Mori, Japanese fashion designer

1926 - Soupy Sales, American comedian

1931 - Bill Graham, German music promoter (d. 1991)

1933 - Charles Osgood, American journalist and commentator

1934 - Jacques Anquetil, French cyclist (d. 1987)

1934 - Roy Kinnear, English actor (d. 1988)

1934 - Alexandra Ripley, American writer (d. 2004)

1935 - Elvis Presley, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)

1937 - Shirley Bassey, Welsh singer

1937 - John Hume, Irish politician

1938 - Bob Eubanks, American game show host

1941 - Graham Chapman, British comedian (d. 1989)

1941 - Boris Vallejo, Peruvian illustrator

1942 - Stephen Hawking, English physicist and author

1942 - Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan

1942 - Yvette Mimieux, American actress

1944 - Terry Brooks American writer

1946 - Robby Krieger, American musician (The Doors)

1947 - David Bowie, English musician

1947 - Samuel Schmid, Swiss Federal Councilor

1951 - Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia

1953 - Bruce Sutter, baseball player

1955 - Mike Reno, Canadian musician (Loverboy)

1959 - Paul Hester, Australian drummer (Crowded House) (d. 2005)

1961 - Calvin Smith, American athlete

1967 - Michelle Forbes, American actress

1967 - R. Kelly, American singer

1969 - Ami Dolenz, American actress

1969 - Jeff Abercrombie, American musician (Fuel (band))

1970 - Dave Eggers, American writer, publisher

1971 - Jason Giambi, baseball player

1971 - Pascal Zuberbühler, Swiss football (soccer) goalkeeper

1973 - Mark Knight, English video game composer, sound designer, and electric violin player

1973 - Sean Paul, Jamaican singer

1974 - Xzibit, American hip hop performer, actor, and television personality

1976 - Jenny Lewis, American actress and musician (Rilo Kiley)

1977 - Amber Benson, American actress

1977 - Lee Yoo-jin, Korean actress

1978 - Marco Fu, Hong Kong snooker player

1979 - Adrian Mutu, Romanian soccer player

1980 - Rachel Nichols, American actress

1981 - Jeff Francis, Canadian baseball player

1982 - Gaby Hoffmann, American actress

1983 - Chris Mordetsky, American professional wrestler

1985 - Rachael Lampa, American singer

1986 - Jaclyn Linetsky, Canadian actress (d. 2003)

1991 - Asuka Hinoi, Japanese singer