Famous people born on June 12th
June 12 gathers an unusually wide-ranging set of birthdays, spanning national leadership, literature, visual art, science, and stagecraft. The date pairs enduring historical voices with modern pop-culture figures, showing how influence can travel through politics, performance, and the written word. From celebrated diarists to presidents and innovators, these birthdays reflect both public service and creative daring.
Notable highlights
- George H. W. Bush (1924) - Served as the 41st U.S. president and led the U.S.-backed coalition during the 1991 Gulf War.
- Anne Frank (1929) - Her wartime diary became one of the most widely read personal testimonies of the Holocaust.
- Egon Schiele (1890) - A leading Austrian Expressionist known for raw, psychologically charged portraits and figure studies.
- Djuna Barnes (1892) - Modernist author of Nightwood, celebrated for its dense style and groundbreaking queer themes.
- Uta Hagen (1919) - A defining acting teacher whose books and approach shaped generations of stage performers.
- Chick Corea (1941) - Jazz keyboard innovator who helped pioneer jazz fusion and amassed a career-spanning set of Grammy wins.
- Adriana Lima (1981) - Became one of the most recognizable runway and lingerie models of her era through long-running global campaigns.
- Len Wein (1948) - Influential comics writer/editor who co-created characters central to modern superhero storytelling, including Wolverine.
On this day
- 1776 - Virginia adopts the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a milestone document influencing later constitutional protections.
- 1942 - Anne Frank receives a diary for her 13th birthday, beginning the record that would later be published worldwide.
- 1963 - Medgar Evers, a leading U.S. civil rights activist, is assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi.
- 1991 - Boris Yeltsin is elected president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in a landmark vote preceding the USSR's dissolution.