Famous birthdays by year

Famous People Born in 1909

Born in 1909? Meet the well-known people who share your birth year, from the biggest names to the ones you might not expect, month by month.

Turning 117 in 2026 · Chinese zodiac: Year of the Rooster

The 1900s

The most famous people born in 190929

1909–1972

Kwame Nkrumah

Leader who won Ghana's independence from Britain in 1957, becoming its first prime minister and president and a champion of Pan-Africanism

Kwame Nkrumah (born Francis Nwia Kofi Ngonloma, /(ə)nˈkruːmə/ (ə)n-KROO-mə; 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained independence from the United Kingdom.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 117

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1909–1994

Eugène Ionesco

French-Romanian playwright and key figure of Theatre of the Absurd

Eugène Ionesco (French:; born Eugen Ionescu, Romanian:; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 116

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1909–2012100 Club

Rita Levi-Montalcini

Nobel Prize-winning Italian neurobiologist who discovered nerve growth factor

Rita Levi-Montalcini (born Rita Levi; 22 April 1909 – 30 December 2012) was an Italian neurobiologist. She was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with colleague Stanley Cohen for the discovery of nerve growth factor (NGF).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 117

View profile Photo (modified): Kurt Hagblom , Firma Hagblom-Foto, restored by Adam Cuerden · Public domain

1909–1943

Simone Weil

Influential French philosopher, mystic and social activist

Simone Adolphine Weil (French:; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, political activist and labourer. Despite her short life, her ideas concerning religion, spirituality and politics have remained widely influential in contemporary philosophy.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 117

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1909–1974

U Thant

Burmese diplomat who served as the third UN Secretary-General

Thant (Burmese: သန့်, MLCTS: san., pronounced; 22 January 1909 – 25 November 1974), known honorifically as U Thant, was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first Asian to hold the position. He held the office for a record 10 years and one month.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryWould be 117

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1909–2003

Elia Kazan

Director of award-winning films including On the Waterfront

Elias Kazantzoglou (Greek: Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου, IPA:; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( EE-lee-ə kə-ZAN), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by The New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 117

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1909–1997

Isaiah Berlin

Influential British philosopher and historian of political ideas

Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Born into a Russian-Jewish family in Riga, he moved to Petrograd at the age of six, where he witnessed the Russian Revolution.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScholarshipWould be 117

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1909–1959

Errol Flynn

Hollywood actor known for swashbuckling roles such as Robin Hood

Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 117

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Born in 1909, month by month

January
- Stepan Bandera (January 1) · Leader of the radical wing of the Ukrainian nationalist movement
- U Thant (January 22) · Burmese diplomat who served as the third UN Secretary-General
February
- Simone Weil (February 3) · Influential French philosopher, mystic and social activist
- Carmen Miranda (February 9) · Portuguese-born Brazilian entertainer famous for her elaborate fruit-topped hats
- Joseph L. Mankiewicz (February 11) · Oscar-winning director and screenwriter of All About Eve
March
- Stanisław Jerzy Lec (March 6) · Polish poet and aphorist famous for his satirical Unkempt Thoughts
April
- Stanisław Ulam (April 13) · Mathematician who helped develop the hydrogen bomb and computer science
- Alain Poher (April 17) · Long-serving President of the French Senate and acting national president
- Rita Levi-Montalcini (April 22) · Nobel Prize-winning Italian neurobiologist who discovered nerve growth factor
- Juliana of the Netherlands (April 30) · Queen of the Netherlands who reigned for over thirty years
May
- James Mason (May 15) · British actor known for classic films like Lolita and North by Northwest
- Nicholas Winton (May 19) · Humanitarian who rescued hundreds of children from the Holocaust
- Benny Goodman (May 30) · American jazz clarinettist and bandleader known as the King of Swing
June
- Isaiah Berlin (June 6) · Influential British philosopher and historian of political ideas
- Jessica Tandy (June 7) · Oscar-winning actress known for Driving Miss Daisy
- Virginia Apgar (June 7) · American physician who developed a system for assessing newborn health
- Hideo Sakai (June 10) · Early Japanese international football goalkeeper
- Burl Ives (June 14) · Folk singer and Oscar-winning actor known for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
- Osamu Dazai (June 19) · Japanese author known for the novel No Longer Human
- Errol Flynn (June 20) · Hollywood actor known for swashbuckling roles such as Robin Hood
July
- Mohammed Daoud Khan (July 18) · First President of Afghanistan who overthrew the monarchy
August
- Mohammed V of Morocco (August 10) · First King of Morocco who oversaw the country's independence
September
- Elia Kazan (September 7) · Director of award-winning films including On the Waterfront
- Kwame Nkrumah (September 21) · Leader who won Ghana's independence from Britain in 1957, becoming its first prime minister and president and a champion of Pan-Africanism
October
- Francis Bacon (October 28) · Irish-born painter known for his raw and unsettling figurative works
- Homi Jehangir Bhabha (October 30) · Nuclear physicist known as the father of India's nuclear programme
November
- Peter Drucker (November 19) · Austrian-born thinker who pioneered the field of modern management theory
- Eugène Ionesco (November 26) · French-Romanian playwright and key figure of Theatre of the Absurd
December
- Edward Lawrie Tatum (December 14) · Geneticist who shared a Nobel Prize for showing how genes control metabolism

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