Famous people born on August 29th
August 29 brings together an unusually wide-ranging set of birthday figures, spanning foundational philosophy, landmark science and invention, and era-defining music and film. It is a date associated with people who reshaped how we think, build, perform, and lead. From early modern ideas about liberty to modern breakthroughs in computing and spaceflight, the roster reflects both intellectual depth and popular impact.
Notable highlights
- John Locke (1632) - His theories of natural rights and government by consent helped lay the groundwork for modern liberal democracy.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809) - A central voice of American letters whose poetry and essays helped define 19th-century New England intellectual life.
- Charles F. Kettering (1876) - Prolific inventor who helped transform the automobile age, notably advancing the electric self-starter that replaced hand cranks.
- Ingrid Bergman (1915) - A screen icon celebrated for emotionally precise performances across Hollywood and European cinema.
- Charlie Parker (1920) - A bebop pioneer whose improvisational language permanently changed modern jazz.
- John McCain (1936) - U.S. senator and presidential nominee known for a long public career shaped by military service and bipartisan moments.
- William Friedkin (1939) - Director whose tense, kinetic style produced defining films of 1970s American cinema.
- Temple Grandin (1947) - Influential educator and advocate who improved animal-handling practices while broadening public understanding of autism.
- Chris Hadfield (1959) - Astronaut and communicator who brought space science to a mass audience through vivid storytelling and demonstrations from orbit.
- Stephen Wolfram (1959) - Scientist and entrepreneur behind Mathematica and Wolfram|Alpha, shaping modern computational thinking and tools.
On this day
- 1776 - The American Revolutionary War sees the Battle of Long Island begin, a major early conflict in the New York campaign.
- 1842 - The First Opium War ends with the Treaty of Nanking, ceding Hong Kong to Britain and opening Chinese ports to foreign trade.
- 1949 - The Soviet Union conducts its first atomic bomb test, rapidly changing the global balance of power.
- 2005 - Hurricane Katrina makes landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast, triggering catastrophic flooding and a major humanitarian crisis.