May 18: John Paul II

1920—2005, pope (1978—), a Pole named Karol Jozef Wojtyla, born in Wadowice; successor of John Paul I. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 17: Ayatollah Khomeini

Pronunciation: [kOmA´nE]1900–1989, Iranian Shiite religious leader. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 16: William Seward

1801–72, American statesman, born in Florida, Orange co., N.Y. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 15: Pierre Curie

Pronunciation: [kürE´]1859–1906, French Scientist. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 14: George Lucas

1944–, American film director and producer, born in Modesto, Calif. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 13: Joe Louis

1914—81, American boxer, born in Lafayette, Alabama See biography and links to other people born today...

May 12: Florence Nightingale

1820—1910, English nurse, the founder of modern nursing, b. Florence, Italy. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 11: Salvador Dali

1904—89, Spanish surrealist painter. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 10: John Wilkes Booth

Pronunciation: [wilks]1838–65, American actor, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, born near Bel Air, Md. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 9: John Brown

1800–1859, American abolitionist, born in Torrington, Conn. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 8: Harry S. Truman

1884—1972, former U.S. president, born in Lamar, Missouri. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 7: Edwin H. Land

1909—1991 American inventor and photographic pioneer. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 6: Robert Peary

1856—1920, American arctic explorer See biography and links to other people born today...

May 6: Karl Marx

1818—83, German social philosopher, the chief theorist of modern socialism and communism. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 4: Audrey Hepburn

1929—1993, actress, born in Brussels, Belgium. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 3: Niccolo Machiavelli

Pronunciation: [nEk-kOlô´ mäkyävel´lE]1469–1527, Italian author and statesman, one of the outstanding figures of the Renaissance, born in Florence. See biography and links to other people born today...

May 2: Catherine the Great

1729–96, czarina of Russia (1762–96). See biography and links to other people born today...

May 1: Arthur Wellesley

1769—1852, British soldier and statesman. See biography and links to other people born today...

Apr 30: Franz Lehár

Pronunciation: [fränts le´här]1870—1948, Hungarian composer of operettas. See biography and links to other people born today...

Apr 29: William Randolph Hearst

1863—1951, American journalist and publisher, born in San Francisco. See biography and links to other people born today...

Apr 28: James Monroe

1758—1831, American president, born in Westmoreland County, Va. See biography and links to other people born today...

Apr 27: Ulysses S. Grant

1822—1885, American president, born in Point Pleasant, Ohio. See biography and links to other people born today...

Apr 26: John James Audubon

Pronunciation: [ô´dubon]1785—1851, American ornithologist, b. Les Cayes, Santo Domingo (now Haiti). See biography and links to other people born today...

Apr 25: Ella Fitzgerald

1917—96, American jazz singer See biography and links to other people born today...

Apr 24: Robert Penn Warren

1905—89, American novelist, poet, and critic, born in Guthrie, Ky. See biography and links to other people born today...

Apr 23: William Shakespeare

1564—1616, English dramatist and poet, born in Stratford-on-Avon. See biography and links to other people born today...

Apr 22: Isabella I

1451—1504, Spanish queen of Castile and León (1474—1504), daughter of John II of Castile. See biography and links to other people born today...

Apr 21: Queen Elizabeth II

English Monarch, 1926- See biography and links to other people born today...

Apr 20: Adolf Hitler

Pronunciation: [ä´dôlf hit´lur]1889—1945, founder and leader of National Socialism (Nazis), and German dictator; born in Braunau in Upper Austria. See biography and links to other people born today...

Apr 19: Eliot Ness

1903—1957, Federal agent, born in Chicago. See biography and links to other people born today...