Famous people born on August 13th
August 13 has an unusually wide range of notable birthdays, spanning film, politics, science, sport, and social reform. The date links pioneering creators with influential public figures and innovators whose work shaped how people think, vote, play, and communicate. From classic cinema and advertising to genetics and civil rights, the roster reflects impact across both culture and public life.
Notable highlights
- Alfred Hitchcock (1899) - The "Master of Suspense" refined visual storytelling through meticulous camera choreography and psychological tension in films like Vertigo and Psycho.
- Fidel Castro (1926) - Led Cuba for decades after the 1959 revolution, becoming a defining figure of Cold War geopolitics in the Western Hemisphere.
- Frederick Sanger (1918) - One of the few people to win two Nobel Prizes in Chemistry, pivotal to protein sequencing and early DNA sequencing methods.
- Lucy Stone (1818) - A major American suffrage leader who kept her birth name after marriage, inspiring the term "Lucy Stoner" for women who did the same.
- William Bernbach (1911) - Co-founded Doyle Dane Bernbach and helped revolutionize modern advertising with witty, design-forward campaigns such as Volkswagen's "Think Small".
- Ben Hogan (1912) - A golf legend celebrated for elite ball-striking and a famed comeback after a near-fatal 1949 car accident.
- Alan Shearer (1970) - Premier League icon whose goal-scoring records and leadership made him synonymous with Newcastle United and England's 1990s era.
- Herb Ritts (1952) - Elevated fashion and celebrity photography with clean, sculptural black-and-white imagery that defined late-20th-century style.
- Dan Fogelberg (1951) - Singer-songwriter known for melodic, reflective hits including "Same Old Lang Syne" and "Leader of the Band".
- Karl Liebknecht (1871) - German socialist leader and anti-war voice during World War I, co-founding the Spartacus League amid revolutionary turmoil.
On this day
- 1521 - The Aztec capital Tenochtitlan falls to Spanish forces under Hernan Cortes, marking a turning point in the conquest of the Aztec Empire.
- 1961 - East Germany begins building the Berlin Wall, hardening the divide between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.
- 2004 - French police arrest alleged serial killer Michel Fourniret after the disappearance of a young girl, a case that later expands across multiple countries.
- 2010 - A major heatwave and wildfires in Russia drive public-health and environmental emergency responses during one of the country's hottest summers on record.