In the year 1931, Thomas Edison submits his very last patent application (Jan 6), the Empire State Building is completed (May 1), the Huang He floods killed between 850,000 and 4,000,000 people (the deadliest historic natural disaster), the George Washington Bridge is dedicated (opening to traffic Oct 25) - and all these fine people were born:

1931-0101 Furio Colombo* journalist/politician - Châtillon, Kingdom of Italy (2025/94) 1931-0102 1931-0105 Robert Duvall* actor - San Diego, CA USA **** 1931-0106 Dickie Moore* hockey player (NHL 100)/businessman - Montreal, QC Canada (2015/84) 1931-0111 Mary Rodgers* composer/author/ screenwriter - New York City, NY USA (2014/83) 1931-0117 James Earl Jones* actor - Arkabutla, MS USA (2024/93) 1931-0119 Carl Brashear* U.S. Navy officer - Sonora, KY USA (2006/75) 1931-0120 1931-0122 Sam Cooke* singer/ songwriter/ entrepreneur - Clarksdale, MS USA (1964/33) 1931-0122 Helen Hays* ornithologist/ conservationist - Johnstown, NY USA (2025/94) 1931-0122 Claire Rayner* (b Chetwynd) nurse/ journalist/advice columnist - Stepney, London, England (2010/79) 1931-0125 Paavo Haavikko* poet/playwright/essayist - Helsinki, Finland (2008/77) 1931-0126 1931-0127 Marion Wiesel* (b Erster) Austrian-American Holocaust survivor/humanitarian/m to Elie Wiesel - Vienna, Austria (2025/94) 1931-0128 Felicia Donceanu* painter/sculptor/composer - Bacău, Romania (2022/90) 1931-0131 1931-0201 Boris Yeltsin* politician/P - Sverdlovsk, Russia, Soviet Union (2007/76) 1931-0204 Isabel Perón* (b Cartas) politician/P - La Rioja, Argentina **** 1931-0206 Rip Torn* actor - Temple, TX USA (2019/88) 1931-0208 James Dean* actor - Marion, IN USA (1955/24) 1931-0208 Larry Dolan* attorney/principal owner of the Cleveland Guardians - Cleveland Heights, OH USA (2025/94) 1931-0212 Göran Graffman* actor/director - Gothenburg, Sweden (2014/83) 1931-0214 Bernie Geoffrion* hockey player (NHL 100)/coach/color commentator - Montreal, QC Canada (2006/75) 1931-0215 Claire Bloom* actress - Finchley, Middlesex, England **** 1931-0218 Toni Morrison* novelist/editor/teacher/N - Lorain, OH USA (2019/88) 1931-0218 Laura Valenzuela* (b Rocío López-Cepero) model/actress/television presenter - Seville, Spain (2023/92) 1931-0220 Margareta Hallin* opera singer/ composer/ actress - Karlskoga, Sweden (2020/88) 1931-0224 James Abourezk* attorney/ politician - Wood, SD USA (2023/92) 1931-0226 Josephine Tewson* actress - Hampstead, London, England (2022/91) 1931-0228 Gavin MacLeod* (b Allan George See) actor/Christian activist/ author - Mount Kisco, NY USA (2021/90) 1931-0228 Dean Smith* basketball coach - Emporia, KS USA (2015/83) 1931-0301 1931-0302 Mikhail Gorbachev* politician/P - Stavropol, Russia, Soviet Union (2022/91) 1931-0304 Kenneth H. Cooper* Air Force officer/the “father of aerobics”/originator of the Cooper test - Oklahoma City, OK USA **** 1931-0309 León Febres Cordero* businessman/ politician/P - Guayaquil, Ecuador (2008/77) 1931-0309 Masahiro Shinoda* film director - Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Empire of Japan (2025/94) 1931-0311 Rupert Murdoch* media mogul - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia **** 1931-0313 Helen Renton* flying officer at WRAF - Denny, Falkirk, Scotland (2016/85) 1931-0314 Lisbet Palme* (b Beck-Friis) child psychologist/married to Olof Palme/UNICEF chairperson - Stockholm, Sweden (2018/87) 1931-0320 Norman Francis* academic/ long-time president of Xavier University of Louisiana - Lafayette, LA USA **** 1931-0322 William Shatner* actor/producer/ director - Montreal, QC Canada **** 1931-0322 Ann Shulgin* (b Gotlieb) American medical transcriber/ therapist/author - Wellington, New Zealand (2022/91) 1931-0323 James Hammerstein* theater director/ producer - USA (1999/67) 1931-0326 Leonard Nimoy* actor/ director/ singer - Boston, MA USA (2015/83) 1931-0331 1931-0401 1931-0404 Catherine Tizard* politician/mayor - Auckland, New Zealand (2021/90) 1931-0406 Ram Dass* (b Richard Alpert) psychologist/ spiritual leader/ author - Boston, MA USA (2019/88) 1931-0407 Daniel Ellsberg* economist/ political activist/United States military analyst - Chicago, IL USA (2023/92) 1931-0408 John Gavin* actor/ ambassador- Los Angeles, CA USA (2018/86) 1931-0410 1931-0411 Johnny Sheffield* actor/businessman - Pasadena, CA USA (2010/79) 1931-0413 Hannes Nikel* film editor - Munich, Bavaria, Germany (2001/70) 1931-0413 Jon Stone* children’s television writer (Sesame Street)/director/producer - New Haven, CT USA (1997/65) 1931-0414 Hugh Leatherman* politician - Lincoln County, NC USA (2021/90) 1931-0415 Dolores Cannon* hypnotherapist/ reincarnation - St. Louis, MO USA (2014/83) dolorescannon.com 1931-0415 Tomas Tranströmer* poet/ psychologist/ translator/N - Stockholm, Sweden (2015/83) 1931-0419 Fred Brooks* computer architect/software engineer/computer scientist - Durham, NC USA (2022/91) 1931-0420 1931-0423 Chuck Feeney* Irish-American businessman/philanthropist  - Elizabeth, NJ USA (2023/92) 1931-0427 Ida Nudel* Israeli refusenik/political activist - Novorossiysk, Russia, Soviet Union (2021/90) 1931-0429 Lonnie Donegan* skiffle singer/songwriter/musician - Glasgow, Scotland (2002/71) 1931-0430 1931-0501 1931-0507 Eino Oksanen* marathon runner/criminal investigator - Puuppola, Finland (2022/91) 1931-0507 Gene Wolfe* science fiction writer - New York City, NY USA (2019/87) 1931-0510 Eldon George* amateur geologist/fossil collector - Parrsboro, NS Canada (2018/87) 1931-0515 Robert Rutman* visual artist/musician/instrument builder - Berlin, Weimar Republic (2021/90) 1931-0520 1931-0523 Patience Cleveland* actress - New York City, NY USA (2004/73) 1931-0526 Martti Tapola* entrepreneur (mustamakkara) - Finland (2001/69) 1931-0527 1931-0528 Carroll Baker* actress - Johnstown, PA USA **** 1931-0529 Oiva Toikka* glass designer - Viipuri, Finland (2019/87) 1931-0601 1931-0603 Raúl Castro* politician/P - Birán, Cuba **** 1931-0606 Ken Knowlton* computer graphics pioneer/mosaicist/portraitist - Springville, NY USA (2022/91) 1931-0610 João Gilberto* singer/songwriter/guitarist - Juazeiro, Bahia, Brazil (2019/88) 1931-0611 Brad Pye Jr.* sports journalist/ broadcaster/community activist - Plain Dealing, LA USA (2020/89) 1931-0614 Alf Lowe* British-New Zealand petty officer/salesman/to New Zealand at age 32 - London, England **** 1931-0615 Bernice Gera*secretary/ first female baseball umpire in the U.S. - Ernest, PA USA (1992/61) 1931-0615 Budd Hopkins* painter/sculptor/alien abduction researcher - Wheeling, WV USA (2011/80) 1931-0617 Mary Sue Hubbard*  leading figure in Scientology - Rockdale, TX USA (2002/71) 1931-0619 Ken Hashimoto* 橋本 健 physician/dermatologist - Niigata, Japan (2017/86) 1931-0620 Olympia Dukakis* actress/director/activist - Lowell, MA USA (2021/89) 1931-0620 Zia Mohyeddin* British-Pakistani actor/film director/producer, director - Lyallpur, Punjab, British India (2023/91) 1931-0623 Ola Ullsten* politician - Teg, Västerbotten, Sweden (2018/86) 1931-0626 Robert Colbert* actor - Long Beach, CA USA **** 1931-0628 Hasse Alfredsson* actor - Malmö, Sweden (2017/86) 1931-0629 Palmirinha Onofre* cook/ television presenter/the “grandmother of Brazil” - São Paulo, Brazil (2023/91) 1931-0702 Nils Hasselmo* Swedish-American teacher/ president of the University of Minnesota - Köla, Värmland, Sweden (2019/87) 1931-0706 Della Reese* singer/actress/ ordained minister - Detroit, MI USA (2017/86) 1931-0707 Kerstin Abram-Nilsson* artist/ debater/social activist - Stockholm, Sweden (1998/67) 1931-0710 Alice Munro* short story writer/N - Wingham, ON Canada (2024/92) 1931-0715 Kanti Bhatt* journalist/author/columnist - Bhavnagar, India (2019/88) 1931-0723 Jan Troell* film director - Limhamn, Malmö, Sweden **** 1931-0731 Nick Bollettieri* tennis coach - Pelham, NY USA (2022/91) 1931-0801 Hal Connolly* athlete (hammer/OG)/m to Czech Olympian Olga Fikotova a.o. - Somerville, MA USA (2010/79) 1931-0803 1931-0806 Max Gros-Louis* (a.k.a. Oné Onti) businessman/ politician/Grand Chief of the Huron-Wendat First Nation - Huron Village Indian Reservation, QC Canada (2020/89) 1931-0808 Roger Penrose* mathematical physicist/mathematician/N - Colchester, England **** 1931-0812 William Goldman* novelist/playwright/ screenwriter - Chicago, IL USA (2018/87) 1931-0814 1931-0818 Kjell-Olof Feldt* politician - Holmsund, Sweden (2025/93) 1931-0818 Donald Kennedy* scientist/public administrator/ academic - New York City, NY USA (2020/88) 1931-0823 Barbara Eden* actress/singer - Tucson, AZ USA **** 1931-0824 Ciputra* Indonesian real estate developer/ philanthropist - Parigi, Central Sulawesi, Dutch East Indies (2019/88) 1931-0825 Regis Philbin* media personality/talk show host/game show host - The Bronx, NY USA (2020/88) 1931-0831 Jean Béliveau* hockey player (NHL 100) - Trois-Rivières, QC Canada (2014/83) 1931-0831 Hal Connolly* athlete (hammer)/OG - Somerville, MA USA (2010/79) 1931-0901 1931-0903 Albert DeSalvo* criminal/Boston strangler? - Chelsea, MA USA (1973/42) 1931-0905 1931-0910 Idelisa Bonnelly* marine biologist/the mother of marine conservation in the Caribbean - Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic (2022/90) 1931-0910 Philip Baker Hall* actor - Toledo, OH USA (2022/90) 1931-0911 1931-0912 Ian Holm* actor - Goodmayes, Essex, England (2020/88) 1931-0912 Bill McKinney* actor - Chattanooga, TN USA (2011/80) 1931-0915 1931-0917 Jean-Claude Carrière* novelist/ screenwriter/actor - Colombières-sur-Orb, France (2021/89) 1931-0921 Larry Hagman* actor/director/producer - Fort Worth, TX USA (2012/81) 1931-0929 James Cronin* particle physicist/N - Chicago, IL USA (2016/84) 1931-0930 1931-1001 Fabrizio Ciano* grandson of Benito Mussolini - Shanghai, China (2008/76) 1931-1003 Glenn Hall* hockey goalie (NHL 100) - Humboldt, SK Canada **** 1931-1004 Kaarlo Allan Kivi** smith/hobby artist - Helsinki, Finland (2001/69) 1931-1005 Nadezhda Konyayeva* athlete (javelin/OB) - Chapkino, Russia, Soviet Union **** 1931-1006 Riccardo Giacconi* astrophysicist/N - Genoa, Italy (2018/87) 1931-1006 1931-1007 Ruth Butler* art historian/academic - Buffalo, NY USA  (2024/93) 1931-1007 Desmond Tutu* bishop/human rights activist/N - Klerksdorp, South Africa (2021/90) 1931-1013 Jorma Etto* librarian/ journalist/writer - Rovaniemi, Finland (2016/85) 1931-1015 A. P. J. Abdul Kalam* aerospace scientist/politician/P - Rameswaran, Madras, British India (2015/83) 1931-1019 John le Carré* (b David John Cornwell) author - Poole, Dorset, England (2020/89) 1931-1020 Mickey Mantle* baseball player - Spavinaw, OK USA (1995/63) 1931-1022 Ann Rule* author of true crime books (The Stranger Beside Me) and articles - Lowell, MI USA (2015/83) 1931-1028 Gerald Talbot* civil rights leader/author/politician - Bangor, ME USA **** 1931-1101 James S. Ketchum* psychiatrist/U.S. Army Medical Corps officer (psychochemical warfare) - Manhattan, NY USA (2019/87) 1931-1102 1931-1103 Monica Vitti* actress - Rome, Italy (2022/90) 1931-1105 Reese Schonfeld* journalist/co-founder of CNN - Newark, NJ USA (2020/88) 1931-1106 Mike Nichols* (b Peschowsky) German-American film and theater director - Berlin, Weimar Republic (2014/83) 1931-1111 Liu Shahe* 流沙河 writer/poet - Chengdu, Sichuan, China (2019/88) 1931-1115 Esko Elstelä* director of theater and film/son-in-law of Mika Waltari - Pori, Finland (2007/75) 1931-1115 John Kerr* actor - New York City, NY USA (2013/81) 1931-1115 Kulanthai Shanmugalingam* Sri Lankan Tamil theatre artist/playwright - Jaffna, Ceylon (2025/93) 1931-1120 Rosita Missoni* (b Jelmini) knitwear designer - Golasecca, Kingdom of Italy (2025/93) 1931-1123 Rauno Rintajouppi* automobile enterpreneur - Vähäkyrö, Finland (2023/91) - HS 1931-1126 Eila Roine* actress - Turku, Finland **** 1931-1128 Tomi Ungerer* artist/writer - Strasbourg, Alsace, France (2019/87) 1931-1130 Jack Ging* actor - Alva, OK USA (2022/90) 1931-1201 1931-1203 Paul G. Hewitt* physicist/uranium prospector/cartoonist - Saugus, MA USA **** 1931-1204 Alex Delvecchio* hockey player (NHL 100)/coach/GM - Fort William, ON Canada **** 1931-1211 Rita Moreno* (b Rosa Marcano) actress/dancer/ singer - Humacao, Puerto Rico **** 1931-1215 Klaus Rifbjerg* writer - Copenhagen, Denmark (2015/83) 1931-1217 Dave Madden* American actor - Sarnia, ON Canada (2014/82) 1931-1220 1931-1221 Margaret M. McGowan* dance historian/historian of early modern France - Deeping St James, Lincolnshire, England (2022/90) 1931-1223 Maria Tipo* pianist - Naples, Kingdom of Italy (2025/93) 1931-1224 1931-1228 Martin Milner* actor/ radio host - Detroit, MI USA (2015/83) 1931-1230 Charles Bassett* electrical engineer/astronaut - Dayton, OH USA (1966/34) 1931-0 1931-0 1931-0 Updated 2025-0330 Helsinki-Tampa Search for another year here