Dishonorable Mention: January 16, 1821: John C. Breckinridge. Vice President of the United States under President James Buchanan, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from his home State of Kentucky in 1860 -- and then was expelled from the Senate for accepting a commission as a General in the Confederate Army. He later served as the Confederate's Secretary of War.
Say what you want about Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney and Mike Pence, but none of them ever betrayed our country while serving as Vice President. Breckinridge did.
10. January 16, 1902: Eric Liddell. Contrary to his portrayal by Ian Charleson in the film Chariots of Fire, the Scottish sprinter, who refused to compete on Sundays due to his religious beliefs, already knew a heat for the 100 meters would be held on a Sunday before he left for the 1924 Olympics in Paris. He had plenty of time to properly prepare for the 400 meters, which fit his schedule, and which he won. He also won the Bronze Medal in the 200 meters.
He had been born in China to British missionary parents, and returned to China to resume their work. But the Japanese captured him in World War II, and he died in an internment camp, 6 months before V-J Day.
9. January 16, 1932: Dian Fossey. Paleontologist Louis Leakey hired her to do for Africa's mountain gorillas what he hired Jane Goodall to do for their chimpanzees. Her research and conservation work helped save the gorillas from extinction. It also angered poachers, and she was murdered in 1985.
8. January 16, 1935: A.J. Foyt. He's not just the 1st of 4 men to win the Indianapolis 500 4 times. Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. is the only driver to win the Indy 500, the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours of Dayton and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I am of the firm belief that auto racing is not a sport, but he is its greatest competitor, ahead of all Pettys, all Unsers, all Andrettis and all Earnhardts.
7. January 16, 1985: Joe Flacco. The Delran native is 1 of only 2 New Jerseyans to quarterback a team to win the Super Bowl. (The other is Joe Theismann.) He took the Baltimore Ravens to Super Bowl XLVII.
6. January 16, 1910: Dizzy Dean. From 1933 to 1937, Jay Hanna Dean was right there with Lefty Gomez, Carl Hubbell and Satchel Paige as one of the best pitchers in the world. In 1934, he went 30-7, and he remains the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in a season. He led the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Championship that season. He had the biggest ego in baseball at the time, but, as he said, "If you can do it, it ain't braggin'."
An injury sustained in the 1937 All-Star Game meant that he couldn't do it anymore. He won just 150 games in his career, but still made the Hall of Fame. He went on to become a broadcaster, leaning on his country boy image. Like Terry Bradshaw decades later, he realized, if people think you're dumb, or crazy, use it to your advantage before they can use it to theirs.
Honorable Mention: January 16, 1966: Jack McDowell. A 3-time All-Star, he won the American League Cy Young Award with the 1993 Chicago White Sox. He went 127-87 in 13-season major league career.
5. January 16, 1950: Debbie Allen. She starred in the TV series Fame, and also produced it, and directed 11 episodes. Of the 144 episodes of the sitcom A Different World, she produced 122 and appeared in 83. She produced the film Amistad. She's won 6 Emmy Awards and 2 Tonys. She's never won an Oscar, but has choreographed the Academy Award ceremony 4 times. She now has a recurring role on the CBS reboot of S.W.A.T.
Honorable Mention: January 16, 1924: Katy Jurado. One of the earliest Mexican actors to make it in Hollywood, she was the 1st Latina to win a Golden Globe Award, for her supporting role in High Noon; and the 1st to be nominated for an Oscar, for her supporting role in Broken Lance.
Honorable Mention: January 16, 1948: John Carpenter. He's known for fusing horror with science fiction. He directed the original versions of Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween and The Fog. He directed a reboot of The Thing, and one of the great antifascist films, the sci-fi/horror mash-up They Live.
4. January 16, 1969: Roy Jones Jr. He won his 1st world boxing championship in 1993, the IBF version of the Middleweight title. He last held one in 2004, the WBC version of the Light Heavyweight title.
Honorable Mention: January 16, 1935: Udo Lattek. He managed Bayern Munich to 3 straight Bundesliga (German national league) titles and the 1974 European Cup. Then he split with Bayern, went to , and won 2 more Bundesligas and the 1979 UEFA Cup. Then he went to Spain, and led FC Barcelona to the 1982 European Cup Winners' Cup. Then he patched things up with Bayern, and won another 3 straight Bundesligas. He won his 1st Bundesliga in 1972 and his last in 1987.
3. January 16, 1908: Ethel Merman. One of the biggest names, and biggest voices, in the history of the industry she saluted with the song "There's No Business Like Show Business." She wowed 'em from vaudeville to Match Game '78, and did everything in between.
2. January 16, 1959: Sade. Half-English and half-Nigerian, Helen Folasade Adu has the sexiest voice ever recorded. And she still looks great, too.
I put it this way. In "Smooth Operator," Sade sang, "Coast to coast, L.A. to Chicago," and she got away with it. When, in "Fancy," Charli XCX said, "I'm in the fast lane from L.A. to Tokyo," everyone said, "No, you gotta be Sade to get away with that."
Honorable Mention: January 16, 1934: Marilyn Horne. One of the top opera singers of the 20th Century, she sang at President Bill Clinton's Inauguration in 1993.
Honorable Mention: January 16, 1942: Barbara Lynn. Rhythm & blues singer best remembered for her 1962 hit "You'll Lose a Good Thing."
Honorable Mention: January 16, 1943: Ronnie Milsap. Although blind, his career has seen 35 Number 1 hits on the country charts and 6 Grammy Awards.
Honorable Mention: January 16, 1979: Aaliyah. That Sade is the biggest single-name singer on this list, speaks as much to her talent as to the all-too-brief length of the career of Aaliyah Dana Haughton.
Honorable Mention: January 16, 1980: Lin-Manuel Miranda. The biggest Broadway genius of the last decade, his musical Hamilton turned American history on its ear. Fortunately, it also inspired people to look up the real stories of the Founding Fathers.
1. January 16, 1980: Albert Pujols. He's right up there with Willie Mays and Hank Aaron as the greatest offensive force in baseball in the last 70 years. Through the 2021 season, he has 3,301 hits, including 679 home runs, 10 All-Star appearances, 2 National League Gold Gloves and 3 Most Valuable Player awards.
Still alive as of this writing: Foyt, Flacco, McDowell, Allen, Carpenter, Jones, Sade, Horne, Lynn, Milsap, Miranda and Pujols.