Famous people born on January 24th
January 24 brings together a notably wide-ranging set of birthday figures, spanning Renaissance poetry, Enlightenment statecraft, modern entertainment, and influential voices in science and psychology. From writers who reshaped literary style to performers who defined eras on stage and screen, the date reflects both creative daring and public impact. It is also a day associated with thinkers whose work shaped how we study behavior, memory, and culture.
Notable highlights
- John Donne (1572) - A leading Metaphysical poet and Anglican cleric whose inventive imagery and argument-driven verse still anchor English literature syllabi.
- Edith Wharton (1862) - The first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, celebrated for razor-sharp portrayals of Gilded Age society.
- Warren Zevon (1947) - A cult-favorite songwriter whose dark wit and storytelling ("Werewolves of London") made him a critics' staple and musicians' musician.
- John Belushi (1949) - A foundational Saturday Night Live star whose intense physical comedy helped define modern sketch and film comedy.
- Neil Diamond (1941) - One of pop's most enduring hitmakers, known for arena-ready anthems that crossed rock, folk, and adult contemporary.
- Desmond Morris (1928) - A zoologist and popular science communicator who brought human behavior into mainstream conversation through accessible, provocative writing.
- Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850) - A pioneer of experimental psychology whose work on memory and the forgetting curve helped establish quantitative study of cognition.
- Mary Lou Retton (1968) - An Olympic gymnastics icon whose 1984 all-around gold made her a defining figure in U.S. sports culture.
- Nastassja Kinski (1959) - An internationally known actress associated with European and Hollywood cinema, remembered for a distinctive screen presence in 1980s film.
On this day
- 1848 - Gold is discovered at Sutter's Mill in California, igniting the California Gold Rush.
- 1965 - Winston Churchill dies, prompting international mourning for the wartime British prime minister.
- 1972 - The Guam airliner crash (Koza/Dawson's Field-related context varies by source) underscores a deadly era in aviation safety investigations and reforms.
- 1984 - Apple releases the Macintosh, popularizing the graphical user interface for a mass market.