Famous people born on May 11th
May 11 brings together an unusually wide-ranging set of birthdays, spanning modern art, computing, physics, dance, aviation, politics, and pop culture. The day includes foundational thinkers who reshaped how we design algorithms and understand the physical world, alongside performers who changed the language of stage and screen. With 34 notable births represented, the date showcases both pioneering innovators and enduring entertainers.
Notable highlights
- Salvador Dali (1904) - A defining Surrealist, he fused meticulous technique with dream logic, turning self-mythology into an artistic medium.
- Richard P. Feynman (1918) - Nobel-winning physicist celebrated for Feynman diagrams and for making complex ideas vividly teachable.
- Edsger Dijkstra (1930) - A towering computer scientist whose shortest-path algorithm and views on program correctness shaped modern software thinking.
- Martha Graham (1894) - A revolutionary choreographer who helped build modern dance with a vocabulary centered on contraction and release.
- Jacqueline Cochran (1906) - Trailblazing aviator who set multiple speed and altitude records and helped expand opportunities for women in flight.
- Irving Berlin (1888) - Prolific songwriter behind enduring standards, known for an unmatched ability to write directly for the American ear.
- Natasha Richardson (1963) - Acclaimed actress whose work on stage and screen reflected a powerful theatrical lineage and modern versatility.
- Sabrina Carpenter (1999) - Singer and actress who evolved from teen stardom into a charting pop presence with a distinctive vocal style.
- Robert Jarvik (1946) - Biomedical inventor associated with early artificial-heart development, emblematic of high-stakes innovation in medicine.
- Jeremy Paxman (1950) - Influential broadcaster known for sharp, forensic interviewing that helped define modern political journalism.
On this day
- 330 - Constantinople (formerly Byzantium) is officially dedicated, becoming a long-lasting center of the Roman/Byzantine world.
- 1949 - Israel is admitted to the United Nations.
- 1960 - Israeli intelligence captures Adolf Eichmann in Argentina, leading to a landmark trial on crimes of the Holocaust.
- 1997 - IBM's Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov in their match, a milestone moment for computer chess and AI history.