Martin Luther – 1483 – a German theologian, priest and key figure of the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s writings and teachings sparked a movement that ultimately led to the split of the Christian church into Protestant and Catholic branches.

George II – 1683 – a King of Great Britain and Ireland. He was instrumental in establishing the system of constitutional monarchy that is still in place in Britain today.

Andrey Tupolev – 1888 – a Soviet aircraft designer and engineer. He designed and developed many of the Soviet Union’s most important aircraft, including the legendary ANT-25 long-range bomber, which set several world records for distance and endurance.

Claude Rains – 1889 – a British actor known for his performances in classic films such as “The Invisible Man”, “Casablanca”, “Notorious”, “The Adventures of Robin Hood”, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and “Lawrence of Arabia”.

Mikhail Kalashnikov – 1919 – a Russian inventor, best known for creating the AK-47, one of the world’s most widely used assault rifles. In 1947, he developed the AK-47, which became a standard issue firearm in the Soviet military and was later adopted by many other countries.

Russell Johnson – 1924 – an American actor best known for his role as Professor Roy Hinkley on the classic TV series “Gilligan’s Island.” Some of his other notable TV credits include “The Twilight Zone,” “Dallas,” “The Lone Ranger” and “The Outer Limits.”

Richard Burton – 1925 – a Welsh actor, considered one of the most accomplished actors of his generation. He starred in films such as “The Robe”, “Cleopatra” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”. Burton was nominated for seven Academy Awards, but never won. He was also known for his relationship with actress Elizabeth Taylor, whom he married and divorced twice.

Ennio Morricone – 1928 – an Italian composer, considered one of the most influential and innovative film composers of all time. Morricone composed music for over 500 films and television shows, including, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “Once Upon a Time in the West”. He won five Academy Awards and numerous Golden Globes and Grammy Awards.

Marilyn Bergman – 1929 – an American songwriter and lyricist. Along with her husband Alan Bergman, she has written the lyrics for numerous songs and Broadway musicals, including “The Way We Were”, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” and “The Windmills of Your Mind”. Bergman has won three Academy Awards, four Emmys and several Grammy Awards.

William Edmund Butterworth III (W. E. B. Griffin) – 1929 – an American author of military and detective fiction. Griffin published more than 200 books in his lifetime, including “The Brotherhood of War,” “The Corps” and “Badge of Honor.”

Norma Crane – 1930 – an American actress known for her role as Golde in the original Broadway production of the musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” Crane appeared in several films throughout her career, including “The King of Kings”, “The Old Man and the Sea” and “Advise and Consent”.

Don Henderson – 1931 – an English actor known for his role in the series “The Power Game” and as George Bulman in the series “Strangers”. He also appeared in several films throughout his career, including “The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission” and “Harry’s Kingdom”.

Roy Scheider – 1932 – an American actor known for his performance as Buddy Russo in the crime thriller “The French Connection”. One of Scheider’s most iconic roles was a police chief Martin Brody in the blockbuster “Jaws”. His other notable film roles include “All That Jazz”, “Marathon Man” and “Cohen and Tate”.

Tim Rice – 1944 – a British author, best known for his work in musical productions such as “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Evita” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” He also worked on the soundtrack for “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.” Rice has won three Oscars, three Tonys, three Golden Globes, and several Grammy Awards. In 1994, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to music.

Donna Fargo – 1945 – an American music singer and songwriter, known for her country song hits, such as “The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA,” “Funny Face” and “Superman”. She also hosted her own television show, “The Donna Fargo Show”.

Alaina Reed – 1946 – an American actress and singer, best known for her roles as Olivia Robinson on television series “Sesame Street” and as Rose Lee Holloway on the show “227.” Reed also appeared in several films and TV shows, including “Cruising,” “Death Becomes Her” and “ER.”

Jack Ketchum (Dallas William Mayr) – 1946 – an American author of horror fiction, best known for his graphic and controversial novels, including “The Girl Next Door,” “Red” and “Off Season.”

Ann Reinking – 1949 – an American dancer and actress, known for her role as the original Roxie Hart in the Broadway production of “Chicago.” She went on to star in numerous Broadway productions, including “A Chorus Line,” “Goodtime Charley” and “Dancin’.”

Jack Scalia – 1950 – an American actor known for his roles in television shows such as “The Devlin Connection”, “Remington Steele,” “All My Children” and “Dallas.” Scalia also appeared in a number of films, including “The Lookalike,” “Redemption of the Ghost” and “Fear City.”

Roland Emmerich – 1955 – a German film director and producer. Emmerich gained international attention with his film “Universal Soldier.” He later directed blockbuster films such as “Independence Day,” “Godzilla,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “2012” and “White House Down.”

Matt Craven – 1956 – a Canadian actor known for his work in films such as “Jacob’s Ladder,” “A Few Good Men,” “Crimson Tide” and “X-Men: First Class.” Craven has also appeared in a variety of TV shows, including “NCIS,” “The West Wing,” “CSI: Miami” and “Resurrection.”

Sinbad [David Adkins] – 1956 – an American comedian, known for hosting his own television shows, “The Sinbad Show” and “Sinbad’s Good Burger.” Sinbad has also appeared in a number of films and TV shows, including “Jingle All the Way,” “Houseguest,” “Necessary Roughness” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

Stephen Herek – 1958 – an American film director, known for directing “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “Critters” and the sports drama “The Mighty Ducks.”

MacKenzie Phillips – 1959 – an American actress best known for her role as Julie Cooper Horvath in the television series “One Day at a Time.” Phillips has also appeared in films such as, “American Graffiti,” “So Weird” and TV series “ER.”

Hugh Bonneville – 1963 – an English actor, best known for his role in the television series “Downton Abbey”. Other notable film and television roles include, “Notting Hill,” “The Vicar of Dibley,” “Paddington” and “Viceroy’s House.”

Vanessa Angel – 1966 – a British actress and model. Some of her notable roles include playing Lisa in the TV series “Weird Science”, Alison in the film “Kingpin” and Detective Carmen Olivera in the TV series “Reasonable Doubts”.

Michael Jai White – 1967 – an American actor and martial artist, known for his portrayal of boxer Mike Tyson in the movie “Tyson”. He has also starred in several action movies, including “Spawn”, “Exit Wounds” and “Black Dynamite”.

Ellen Pompeo – 1969 – an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Dr. Meredith Grey in the medical drama series “Grey’s Anatomy”. Pompeo has also appeared in several films, including “Daredevil”, “Old School”, “Catch Me If You Can” and “Life of the Party”.

Walton Goggins – 1971 – an American actor, known for his portrayal of Shane Vendrell in the crime drama “The Shield” and as Boyd Crowder in the series “Justified”. Goggins has also appeared in several films, including “The Apostle”, “Django Unchained” and “The Hateful Eight”.

Brittany Murphy – 1977 – an American actress, best known for her roles in films such as “Clueless”, “Girl, Interrupted”, “8 Mile” and “Sin City”. She also provided the voice for the character Luanne Platter in the animated TV series “King of the Hill”.

Eve (Jeffers-Cooper) – 1978 – an American rapper, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame with her debut album “Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders’ First Lady”. Aside from her music career, Eve has also pursued acting, appearing in films such as “Barbershop”, “xXx” and “The Cookout”.

Heather Matarazzo – 1982 – an American actress known for her role as Dawn Wiener in the film “Welcome to the Dollhouse”. She also appeared in several other films, including “The Princess Diaries”, “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement”, “Scream 3” and “Hostel: Part II”.

Miranda Lambert – 1983 – an American country music singer and songwriter. She gained wide recognition with her album, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”, which included the hit singles “Gunpowder & Lead” and “Famous in a Small Town”. She has since released several more albums, including “Revolution”, “Four the Record”, and “Platinum”.

Josh Peck – 1986 – an American actor, known for his starring role in the series “Drake & Josh”. He has also appeared in several films, including “Mean Creek”, “Red Dawn” and “The Wedding Ringer”.

Jessica Tovey – 1987 – an Australian actress known for her role as Belle Taylor in the soap opera “Home and Away”. Tovey has also appeared in several films, including “Redd Inc.”, “Patrick” and “Legend of the Seeker”.

Taron Egerton – 1989 – a Welsh actor best known for his portrayal of the character Gary “Eggsy” Unwin in the film “Kingsman: The Secret Service”. He has also appeared in films such as “Eddie the Eagle” and “Rocketman”.

Zoey Deutch – 1994 – an American actress. She is the daughter of actress Lea Thompson and director Howard Deutch. She gained recognition for her role as Rosemarie Hathaway in the film “Vampire Academy”. She has also appeared in several other films, including “Beautiful Creatures”, “Everybody Wants Some!!” and “Zombieland: Double Tap”.

Kiernan Shipka – 1999 – an American actress, known for her role as Sally Draper on the television series “Mad Men”. She has also appeared in a variety of other television shows and films, including “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”, “Feud: Bette and Joan” and “The Blackcoat’s Daughter”.

1885 – German engineer and inventor, Gottlieb Daimler unveiled the world’s first motorcycle. He and his partner Wilhelm Maybach developed the first practical gasoline-powered internal combustion engine, which they used to power a two-wheeled vehicle they called the “Reitwagen” or riding car.

1940 – Walt Disney begins serving as an informer for the FBI, providing information on Hollywood personalities suspected of having Communist sympathies. Disney’s cooperation with the FBI was not widely known until after his death in 1966, when his FBI file was made public.

1951 – first long distance telephone call without operator assistance made between Mayor M. Leslie Denning of Englewood, New Jersey and the mayor of Alameda, California, Frank Osborne. The call was made using newly developed direct distance dialing technology, which significantly reduced the time and cost associated with long distance calling.

1969 – “Sesame Street” premiered on PBS TV. It was created with the goal of providing early childhood education to children from low-income families. Over the years, “Sesame Street” has won numerous awards for its impact on children’s education and entertainment.

The iconic sparkly dress that Marilyn Monroe wore to serenade President John F. Kennedy with “Happy Birthday” at Madison Square Garden in 1962 was sold at auction in 2016 for $4.8 million. The dress was designed by Jean Louis and was made of silk gauze fabric, covered in thousands of hand-sewn rhinestones. It was famously form-fitting and had a flesh-coloured insert to give the illusion of Monroe being nearly nude.

In early draft of the screenplay, the original concept for the time machine in “Back to the Future” was a fridge. However, this idea was quickly discarded as impractical, due to concerns about children climbing into refrigerators and getting trapped. Ultimately, the time machine in “Back to the Future” became the DeLorean car, and has remained one of the most iconic and beloved elements of the movie.

The Statue of Liberty wears a size 879 shoe, according to the National Park Service. The statue itself stands at a height of 305 feet, and its feet are proportionally very large to help support its massive weight. Each foot measures over 25 feet long, and the shoe size is estimated based on the statue’s proportions.