Honorable Mention: January 28, 1981: Elijah Wood. He'll forever be Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. But he's also played Tom Thumb, Percy Shelley, Jack "the Artful Dodger" Dawkins, Huckleberry Finn, and novelist Jonathan Safran Foer. And, if you're an American soccer fan, he played Matt Buckner in Green Street.
All together now: "Arsenal: Great football, shit firm. Tottenham: Shit football and shit firm!"
Dishonorable Mention: January 28, 1972: Amy Coney Barrett. The 1st Justice confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States who was born after I was. I take no comfort in that fact: Putting her in Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat was much like putting Clarence Thomas in Thurgood Marshall's seat. It would be like replacing Derek Jeter as Yankee shortstop with Joe Shlabotnik.
10. January 28, 1912: Jackson Pollock. He was not a nice guy, but "Jack the Dripper" was the king of American abstract art.
9. January 28, 1457: King Henry VII of England. Victor of Bosworth Field over Richard III, founder of the House of Tudor, father of Henry VIII, and grandfather of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I.
Also great-grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots; and thus great-great-grandfather of King James I of England and VI of Scotland. Thus, while Henry VIII has no living legitimate descendants, every British monarch since James I is descended from King Henry VII, including Queen Elizabeth II.
8. January 28, 1940: Carlos Slim. It sounds like a stage name, but his full birth name was Carlos Slim Helú. The Mexican telecommunications magnate is the richest man in Latin America, and was once the richest man in the world. He is also the leading stockholder in the New York Times Company. And, unlike the few men who can compete with him, fortune-wise, he seems to have engendered little controversy.
7. January 28, 1822: Alexander Mackenzie. The 2nd Prime Minister of Canada, the 1st from the Liberal Party, he instituted many reforms, and founded both the country's Supreme Court and its military academy.
6. January 28, 1887: Arthur Rubinstein. One of the greatest classical pianists who ever lived.
Honorable Mention: January 28, 1929: Acker Bilk. Someone had to be the 1st British performer to have a Number 1 hit on America's music charts. But, given the success of rock bands thereafter, it seems strange that it was, in 1962, a 33-year-old clarinetist who did so with a soft instrumental ballad he titled "Stranger On the Shore."
Honorable Mention: January 28, 1968: Sarah McLachlan. To answer your question, Sarah: Yes, as you can see, I did remember you.
Somewhat Honorable Mention: January 28, 1976: Rick Ross. I'm not a fan, but lots of people are fans of the rapper MTV named "The Hottest MC in the Game" in 2012.
Somewhat Honorable Mention: January 28, 1977: Joey Fatone. I couldn't stand any of the 1990s "boy bands," including NSYNC, with Fatone. But lots of people (read: Women born in the 1980s) loved them.
Somewhat Honorable Mention: January 28, 1980: Nick Carter. I couldn't stand any of the 1990s "boy bands," including Backstreet Boys (there is no "The" in their name), with Carter. But lots of people (read: Women born in the 1980s) loved them.
5. January 28, 1853: José Marti. A poet and a soldier, he inspired a movement he would not live to see succeed, the independence of his native Cuba. One of his poems was adapted into the folk song "Guantanamera," which became popular in America thanks to Pete Seeger, and in Britain thanks to its adaptation by soccer fans to songs on various subjects.
4. January 28, 1978: Gianluigi Buffon. He is on the short list for the title of the greatest goalkeeper in soccer history. He helped Turin team Juventus win 10 Serie A (Italian national league) titles, and Italy win the 2006 World Cup -- with some irony, winning the Final over France by stopping a penalty by his Juventus teammate David Trezeguet.
3. January 28, 1949: Gregg Popovich. He has coached the San Antonio Spurs to 5 NBA Championships, and the U.S. basketball team to the Gold Medal at the 2020 (well, 2021) Olympics in Tokyo. Before the 2021-22 season is out, he will probably surpass Don Nelson's total of 1,335 regular-season wins, to become the winningest coach in NBA history.
2. January 28, 1936: Alan Alda. He's done a lot more than play Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, M.D., U.S. Army on M*A*S*H. But if that were all he were known for, he would still make this Top 10.
1. January 28, 1934: Bill White. A very good-hitting, and even better-fielding, 1st baseman, he helped the St. Louis Cardinals win the 1964 World Series. In 1971, he became the 1st black person to be a regular broadcaster for a Major League Baseball team, calling games for the New York Yankees until 1988. At that point, he was elected President of the National League, holding the post until 1994.
Surely, there must be a category into which he can be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, preferably while he's still alive.