Famous people born on October 23rd
October 23 gathers an unusually wide-ranging set of birthdays, spanning politics, film, literature, science, music, and sports. The date mixes globally recognized entertainers with influential public servants and researchers whose ideas reshaped modern life. Together, they form a snapshot of creativity and leadership across centuries.
Notable highlights
- Johnny Carson (1925) - As host of The Tonight Show, he helped define modern late-night television and launched countless comedy careers.
- Ryan Reynolds (1976) - A major box-office star, he blended sharp comedy with action and became strongly associated with the Deadpool franchise.
- Michael Crichton (1942) - The author-physician turned techno-thriller icon wrote Jurassic Park, a landmark blend of science, suspense, and pop culture.
- Anita Roddick (1942) - Founder of The Body Shop, she pushed ethical consumerism into the mainstream and tied retail success to activism.
- Ang Lee (1954) - Known for genre-spanning films, he won Academy Awards for Best Director and demonstrated rare versatility across cultures and styles.
- Weird Al Yankovic (1959) - A pop-parody institution, he turned accordion-driven comedy into enduring chart success and cultural commentary.
- Sam Raimi (1959) - A director with cult roots, he helped popularize modern superhero cinema with his early-2000s Spider-Man films.
- Paul Kagame (1957) - Rwanda's long-serving leader, central to the country's post-1994 reconstruction and its debated governance model.
- Felix Bloch (1905) - A Nobel Prize-winning physicist recognized for foundational work in nuclear magnetic resonance, crucial to later scientific and medical advances.
- Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875) - A key figure in modern chemistry, he introduced the electron-pair bond concept and the familiar Lewis dot structures.
On this day
- 42 BC - The Second Battle of Philippi ends with the defeat of Brutus and Cassius, consolidating the power of the Second Triumvirate.
- 1707 - The first Parliament of Great Britain meets after the Acts of Union unite England and Scotland.
- 1915 - Thousands of women march in New York City in a major suffrage parade advocating voting rights.
- 1942 - The Battle of El Alamein begins, a turning point in the North African campaign of World War II.
- 1956 - The Hungarian Revolution starts with mass protests against Soviet influence, escalating rapidly into a nationwide uprising.