Famous people born on May 23rd
May 23 brings together an unusually wide-ranging set of birthdays, spanning pioneering science, influential writing, championship sport, and modern entertainment. The date is notable for minds that reshaped how we understand the natural world, how we build technology, and how we tell stories on page and screen. From Enlightenment-era scholarship to contemporary pop culture, this roster reflects both lasting institutions and vivid individual voices.
Notable highlights
- Carolus Linnaeus (1707) - Created the binomial naming system that still underpins modern biological classification.
- Margaret Fuller (1810) - A leading Transcendentalist who advanced early American feminist criticism and literary culture.
- Alfred P. Sloan (1875) - Helped professionalize large-scale corporate management at General Motors and inspired a major business school namesake.
- John Bardeen (1908) - The only person to win the Nobel Prize in Physics twice, including for co-inventing the transistor.
- Rosemary Clooney (1928) - A defining mid-century vocalist whose warm phrasing made her a standard-bearer of American popular song.
- Joan Collins (1933) - Became an international television icon through her star-making role on "Dynasty".
- Robert Moog (1934) - Popularized the Moog synthesizer, changing the sound of electronic and popular music.
- Anatoly Karpov (1951) - A dominant world chess champion celebrated for positional mastery and endgame precision.
- Drew Carey (1961) - Rose from stand-up to mainstream fame, later becoming a long-running host of "The Price Is Right".
- Mitch Albom (1958) - Reached a global audience with "Tuesdays with Morrie", blending memoir and life philosophy.
On this day
- 1430 - Joan of Arc was captured at Compiegne, a turning point in the Hundred Years' War.
- 1701 - Captain William Kidd was hanged in London for piracy after a notorious trial.
- 1934 - Outlaws Bonnie and Clyde were killed in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
- 1949 - The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was formally established with the promulgation of its Basic Law.