Famous people born on September 23rd
September 23 brings together an unusually broad set of talents across music, literature, politics, journalism, and the visual arts. The date spans figures who shaped public debate, pushed artistic boundaries, and helped define entire genres. From household-name performers to influential thinkers and reformers, these birthdays reflect both popular impact and lasting cultural legacy.
Notable highlights
- Bruce Springsteen (1949) - The New Jersey rock storyteller behind "Born to Run" and "Born in the U.S.A". became a defining voice of American working-class narratives.
- Ray Charles (1930) - A pivotal architect of soul music, he blended gospel, blues, and jazz into a mainstream force that reshaped popular sound.
- John Coltrane (1926) - A transformative jazz saxophonist whose innovations in harmony and improvisation made albums like "A Love Supreme" enduring touchstones.
- Walter Lippmann (1889) - One of the 20th century's most influential journalists and public intellectuals, he helped shape modern political commentary and media theory.
- Victoria Woodhull (1838) - A boundary-breaking activist and publisher who challenged 19th-century norms and made history as a pioneering woman in U.S. politics.
- Ani DiFranco (1970) - An independent-music trailblazer who built a fiercely DIY career, pairing sharp songwriting with outspoken social commentary.
- Louise Berliawsky Nevelson (1899) - A landmark modern sculptor known for monumental, monochromatic assemblages that reimagined found objects as architecture-like art.
- Julio Iglesias (1943) - One of the world's best-selling Latin artists, he turned multilingual romantic pop into a truly global brand.
- Jason Alexander (1959) - A stage-and-screen performer best known for comic precision as George Costanza on "Seinfeld".
- Jerry B. Jenkins (1949) - A prolific novelist and co-creator of the "Left Behind" series, widely read for its suspense-driven approach to apocalyptic fiction.
On this day
- 1846 - Johann Gottfried Galle and Heinrich d'Arrest observe Neptune, confirming a planet predicted largely through mathematical calculations.
- 1932 - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is proclaimed, unifying regions under Abdulaziz Ibn Saud.
- 1952 - U.S. presidential candidate Richard Nixon delivers the televised "Checkers" speech, a landmark moment in modern political communication.
- 1999 - NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter is lost after a unit-conversion error, highlighting the stakes of engineering standards in spaceflight.