Famous people born on August 30th
August 30 brings together an unusually wide mix of world-changing innovators, genre-defining artists, and headline-making public figures. The date spans centuries of achievement, from foundational science and classic literature to modern film, sports, and entrepreneurship. Whether you follow markets, music, oceans, or comedy, this birthday list has a little of everything.
Notable highlights
- Warren Buffett (1930) - The "Oracle of Omaha" built Berkshire Hathaway into a global investing powerhouse and is known for value investing and long-term discipline.
- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797) - Author of Frankenstein, a landmark novel that helped shape modern science fiction and enduring ethical debates about creation and responsibility.
- Ernest Rutherford (1871) - A pivotal physicist of the atomic age, he led groundbreaking work on radioactivity and the structure of the atom, earning the 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- Sylvia Earle (1935) - Oceanographer and explorer whose deep-sea research and conservation advocacy helped bring marine biodiversity into the global spotlight.
- Cameron Diaz (1972) - Film star who became a defining comedic and romantic lead of the late 1990s and 2000s, with hits spanning broad comedy and animation voice work.
- Ted Williams (1918) - Baseball legend and master hitter, remembered for his extraordinary on-base ability and his 1941 season batting .406.
- Andy Roddick (1982) - Former world No. 1 tennis player whose record-setting serve and 2003 US Open title made him a mainstay of the sport’s early-2000s era.
- Lewis Black (1948) - Comedian celebrated for sharp political commentary and an unmistakable ranting style that turned outrage into stagecraft.
- John Phillips (1935) - Musician and songwriter central to The Mamas & the Papas, helping define the sound of 1960s American pop harmony.
- Huey Long (1893) - Louisiana’s larger-than-life populist governor and senator who reshaped state politics and left a lasting legacy of controversy and reform.
On this day
- 1791 - HMS Pandora sinks on the Great Barrier Reef while returning captured Bounty mutineers, becoming one of the era’s most notorious maritime disasters.
- 1963 - A direct hotline between Washington and Moscow is established after the Cuban Missile Crisis to reduce the risk of nuclear miscommunication.
- 1991 - Azerbaijan declares independence from the Soviet Union amid the USSR’s final months.
- 2003 - The final communications are received from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft as it is intentionally sent into Jupiter to avoid contaminating its moons.