Famous people born on September 25th
September 25 is a remarkably eclectic birthday, spanning literary modernism, Hollywood stardom, cultural criticism, and breakthroughs in science and the arts. The date gathers voices that reshaped how stories are told, how societies are analyzed, and how popular culture is performed. From baroque architecture to contemporary film and television, its roster reflects global influence across centuries.
Notable highlights
- William Faulkner (1897) - A Nobel-winning novelist whose Yoknapatawpha County saga helped redefine narrative structure in American fiction.
- Will Smith (1968) - A rare crossover superstar who moved from chart-topping rap and sitcom fame to blockbuster leading man status.
- Christopher Reeve (1952) - Remembered for embodying Superman and for later becoming a prominent advocate for spinal cord injury research and disability rights.
- Bell Hooks (1952) - A pioneering critic whose accessible writing connected race, gender, class, and media in modern feminist thought.
- Michael Douglas (1944) - An actor-producer whose career spans major hits and acclaimed, risk-taking roles across decades.
- Barbara Walters (1931) - A trailblazing television journalist known for high-profile interviews that helped shape modern broadcast news.
- Mark Hamill (1951) - The face of Luke Skywalker who also built a celebrated parallel career as a prolific voice actor.
- Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866) - A foundational geneticist whose fruit-fly experiments provided crucial evidence for the chromosome theory of inheritance.
- Francesco Borromini (1599) - A revolutionary Baroque architect famous for daring curves and complex geometry in Roman church design.
- Mark Rothko (1903) - An abstract painter whose luminous color fields became icons of postwar modern art and museum culture.
On this day
- 1513 - Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and first sighted the Pacific Ocean from the Americas.
- 1789 - The U.S. Congress adopted the Bill of Rights, sending twelve amendments to the states for ratification.
- 1957 - Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, was integrated under federal protection in a landmark civil-rights confrontation.
- 1981 - Belize gained independence from the United Kingdom, becoming a sovereign nation within the Commonwealth.