Dishonorable Mention: February 2, 1905: Ayn Rand. As screenwriter John Rogers has written, "There are two novels that can change a bookish 14-year-old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged." One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."
Somewhat Honorable Mention: February 2, 1754: Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord. Like a later fictional Frenchman, Captain Renault in Casablanca, he "blew with the prevailing wind," in turn serving, then betraying, the old monarchy (the Ancien Régime), the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte and the Bourbon Restoration. He was best known as Napoleon's Foreign Minister, but always put (choose one: France, himself) ahead of the little Emperor.
The name "Talleyrand" has become a byword for crafty, cynical diplomacy. The 8th President of the United States, Martin Van Buren, a former Secretary of State, had among his many nicknames "The American Talleyrand."
10. February 2, 1926: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. The President of France from 1974 to 1981, and one of America's strongest allies.
Honorable Mention: February 2, 1915: Abba Eban. He held several offices in the early days of the State of Israel, including Foreign Minister during the 1967 Six-Day War. I'm not saying he had it harder than Valéry Giscard, since he was never elected his country's head of government. But he had it pretty hard.
9. February 2, 1949: Brent Spiner. He played Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation and in its accompanying films.
8. February 2, 1977: Shakira Mebarak. The Colombian-born, Lebanese-ancestry singer merged Middle Eastern and Latin American styles to become one of the biggest music stars of the 21st Century. But she is not the biggest music personality with a February 2 birthday.
7. February 2, 1942: Graham Nash. He is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: As a member of The Hollies, and as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash (& sometimes Young). But he is not the biggest music personality with a February 2 birthday.
Honorable Mention: February 2, 1927: Stan Getz. One of the top jazz saxophonists of the 1950s and '60s. But he is not the biggest music personality with a February 2 birthday.
6. February 2, 1923: Red Schoendienst. A 2nd baseman, Albert Fred Schoendienst made 10 All-Star Games, and helped 2 different teams win the World Series: The 1946 St. Louis Cardinals and the 1957 Milwaukee Braves. He managed the Cardinals to win the 1967 World Series, and remained in the organization until his death in 2018. At that point, he had won a major league uniform, in one capacity or another, for 74 consecutive seasons, an all-time record.
Honorable Mention: February 2, 1908: Wes Ferrell. A pitcher, he went 191-128 for his career. In 1931, he won 22 games and hit 9 home runs. In 1935, he won 25 and hit 7. In other words, twice, he won at least 20 games and hit at least 7 home runs. The only other pitchers to do that even once are Don Newcombe in 1955 and Don Drysdale in 1965.
His brother Rick Ferrell was a catcher, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. A lot of fans think the wrong brother was elected.
5. February 2, 1947: Farrah Fawcett. The pinup girl of the 1970s.
4. February 2, 1937: Tom Smothers. His brother Dick was born 2 years later. For the record, my mother has always liked Tommy best.
3. February 2, 1901: Jascha Heifetz. The greatest violinist of the 20th Century.
Honorable Mention: February 2, 1875: Fritz Kreisler. Also a pretty good violinist. His name led to Princeton and Michigan football coach Herbert Crisler being nicknamed "Fritz."
2. February 2, 1882: James Joyce. In 1999, Time magazine called him the greatest novelist of the 20th Century. His reputation rests largely on his controversial -- some said, "obscene" -- novel Ulysses, which was published on his 40th birthday.
Honorable Mention: February 2, 1883: Johnston McCulley. A novelist and screenwriter, he created the character of Zorro, precursor to many superheroes, including Batman.
Honorable Mention: February 2, 1923: James Dickey. He would probably have preferred to be known for his poetry. Instead, we remember him for his novel Deliverance.
Honorable Mention: February 2, 1923: Liz Smith. Longtime gossip columnist for the New York Post, so long that she was there when it was still a liberal paper, and she didn't let publisher Rupert Murdoch change her.
Honorable Mention: February 2, 1931: Judith Viorst. She and her husband Milton have written for both children and adults. I would have put her onto this list if the only thing she had ever written was the she put in the voice of her then-6-year-old youngest son: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. (For the record: Alexander grew up and went into real estate, and oldest son Anthony and middle son Nicholas became lawyers.)
1. February 2, 1895: George Halas. "Papa Bear" starred in football at the University of Illinois, led the Great Lakes Naval Station team to victory in the 1919 Rose Bowl, was one of the founders of the NFL, founded the Chicago Bears, was one of the best two-way ends in pro football in the 1920s, coached the team, and still owned them at his death in 1983.
He signed Red Grange, Bronko Nagurski, Sid Luckman, Mike Ditka, Gale Sayers, Dick Butkus, Walter Payton and Mike Singletary. He won 8 NFL Championships and laid the foundation for a Super Bowl winner. He was the 1st person inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Why not? Without him, it might not exist. Without him, the NFL might not still exist.
Still alive as of this writing: Spiner, Shakira, Nash, Smothers, Viorst.