10. January 25, 1783: William Colgate. The native Kent moved to Baltimore, and built a soap factory into what became the Colgate-Palmolive corporate empire.
9. January 25, 1882: Virginia Woolf. She might not be the highest-ranking British writer on this list -- or even the 2nd-highest -- but she wrote Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, and A Room of One's Own.
8. January 25, 1927: Antônio Carlos Jobim. The guitarist and composer, "The Father of Bossa Nova," is probably the most famous native of Brazil other than soccer players. But he is not the highest-ranking Portuguese speaker on this list.
7. January 25, 1874: W. Somerset Maugham. He might not be the highest-ranking British writer on this list, but he wrote Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, Cakes and Ale and The Razor's Edge. In their 1965 obituary of him, The Times of London wrote, "no writer of his generation... graced the world of English letters with more complete or more polished assurance."
6. January 25, 1981: Alicia Keys. She burst onto the music scene with her 2001 album Songs in A Minor, and soon needed a forklift for her Grammy Awards. I've often said that if Billy Joel and Ronnie Spector had a child, and she inherited the best of both of them, she'd be Alicia Keys.
5. January 25, 1933: Etta James. No, she wasn't the first, nor the last, person to have a hit with the song "At Last." But it was hardly her only great song.
4. January 25, 1860: Charles Curtis. The most successful Native American in the history of American politics, and likely to remain so for a long time. He was first elected to Congress from Kansas in 1892, and to the U.S. Senate in 1906. He was named Senate Majority Leader from 1924.
In 1928, the Republican Party nominated him for Vice President on a ticket with Herbert Hoover. Hoover's failure as President was not Curtis' fault in the slightest. He was already 72 years old when Hoover was defeated for re-election by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and died in 1936.
3. January 25, 1942: Eusébio da Silva Ferreira. The most celebrated soccer player to come from the African continent, he was forced to play his "international football" for Portugal, then the colonial masters of his homeland, Mozambique. He helped them reach the Semifinals of the 1966 World Cup.
Starring for Benfica in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, he won the national league title 11 times, and the European Cup (the tournament now known as the UEFA Champions League) in 1962. He came to America, played for the Boston Minutemen, and in 1976 helped the Toronto Metros win the North American Soccer League title.
In 1978, he played 4 home games for the New Jersey Americans at Memorial Stadium in New Brunswick. I lived just 8 miles away, and could have gone to see him, cheap. I found this out in 2011.
He became beloved wherever Portuguese is spoken, including Brazil (home to Pelé, like whom he was known as The King and the Black Pearl); and Portuguese sectors in America, such as in Massachusetts and New Jersey. A statue of him was placed at Gillette Field, home of the NFL's New England Patriots and MLS' New England Revolution.
Honorable Mention: January 25, 1942: Carl Eller. A 6-time Pro Bowler, the defensive end was a member of "The Purple People Eaters," the defense that led the Minnesota Vikings to 4 Super Bowls in 8 seasons, although they lost them all. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Honorable Mention: January 25, 1924: Lou Groza. A tackle on both sides of the ball for the Cleveland Browns, he was also pro football's most prolific placekicker at the time of his retirement. He helped the Browns win 8 League titles, and was even the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1954. He was named not only to the Hall of Fame, but to the NFL's 50th Anniversary Team. His brother Alex Groza was a basketball legend at the University of Kentucky.
2. January 25, 1759: Robert Burns. Although he lived only 37 years, his work made him Scotland's national poet. He gave the world "Auld Lang Syne" and the expression "Of mice and men."
1. January 25, 1933: Corazon Aquino. President of the Philippines, mother of another, and widow of one who should have been, her country could use someone like her now, but someone like her is rare, indeed.
Still alive as of this writing: Only Keys and Eller.