Famous people born on February 12th
February 12 is a remarkably diverse birthday date, pairing world-changing statesmen with foundational scientists, influential artists, and modern screen and stage talent. The roster spans from Renaissance-era composition to 20th-century geopolitics and today's film, television, and music culture. Taken together, these lives trace how ideas travel through politics, discovery, and entertainment across centuries.
Notable highlights
- Abraham Lincoln (1809) - Led the United States through the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation, redefining the nation's constitutional and moral horizon.
- Charles Darwin (1809) - Published the theory of evolution by natural selection, reshaping biology and humanity's understanding of life's history.
- Omar N. Bradley (1893) - Rose to become America's first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a key Allied commander in World War II.
- Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884) - A sharp-tongued political celebrity whose memoir and social influence made her a Washington power broker in her own right.
- George Meredith (1828) - A major Victorian novelist and poet celebrated for psychological depth and innovative narrative style.
- Max Beckmann (1884) - A leading modernist painter whose bold, often unsettling imagery captured the turbulence of early 20th-century Europe.
- Ray Kurzweil (1948) - Prolific inventor and futurist known for advances in pattern recognition and popularizing long-range technology forecasting.
- Bill Russell (1934) - NBA legend whose championship record and civil-rights leadership made him an enduring icon beyond sports.
- Darren Aronofsky (1969) - Director noted for ambitious, psychologically intense films that blend formal experimentation with big thematic stakes.
- Christina Ricci (1980) - Actor recognized for memorable roles that balance offbeat intensity with mainstream appeal across film and television.
On this day
- 1809 - Abraham Lincoln is born in Kentucky, later becoming the 16th president of the United States and a central figure of the Civil War era.
- 1818 - Chile formally proclaims independence, marking a major milestone in Latin America's break from Spanish rule.
- 1870 - Women gain the right to vote in the Utah Territory, an early and prominent step in the wider suffrage movement in the United States.
- 2001 - NASA's NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft makes the first controlled landing on an asteroid (433 Eros), a landmark in planetary exploration.