HistoryData

Famous Birthdays on August 8

15 notable people were born on August 8.

August 8 is the birth date of several notable historical figures. Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata was born on this day in 1879. Nobel Prize-winning author Shmuel Yosef Agnon, born in 1887, and theoretical physicist Paul Dirac, born in 1902, who contributed to quantum mechanics, also share this date. Additionally, Bosnian politician Alija Izetbegović was born in 1925, and Bolivian military leader Luis García Meza Tejada in 1929.

20th Century13 people

Mohamed Morsi

Mohamed Morsi

1951 – 2019

Egypt's first democratically elected president (2012-2013) and Muslim Brotherhood leader who was removed from power in a military coup.

engineermaterials scientistmember of parliamentEgypt
Paul Dirac

Paul Dirac

1902 – 1984

Theoretical physicist who formulated the Dirac equation describing the behavior of fermions and predicted the existence of antimatter, winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933.

academiceducatormathematicianUnited Kingdom
Alija Izetbegović

Alija Izetbegović

1925 – 2003

First President of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1990-1996, 1996-2000) who led the country's independence from Yugoslavia and authored influential Islamic philosophical works including 'Islam Between East and West'.

lawyerphilosopherpolitical commissarBosnia And Herzegovina
Shawn Mendes

Shawn Mendes

1998

Canadian pop singer who rose to fame through social media and achieved global success with hits like "Stitches" and "Señorita."

composerguitaristpianistCanada
Louis van Gaal

Louis van Gaal

1951

Dutch football manager who led the Netherlands national team and managed top clubs including Ajax, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich.

association football coachassociation football playerNetherlands
Giuseppe Conte

Giuseppe Conte

1964

Italian law professor who served as Prime Minister from 2018 to 2021, leading two coalition governments during periods of political instability.

juristlawyerpoliticianItaly
Roger Federer

Roger Federer

1981

Swiss tennis legend who won 20 Grand Slam singles titles and held the world No. 1 ranking for 310 weeks.

tennis playerSwitzerland
Sesil Karatantcheva

Sesil Karatantcheva

1989

Bulgarian professional tennis player who reached a career-high WTA ranking and represented Bulgaria in international competitions.

tennis playerBulgaria
Joël Matip

Joël Matip

1991

Cameroonian center-back who has played over 200 games for Liverpool in the Premier League and Champions League. He chose to represent Cameroon internationally despite being born and raised in Germany.

association football playerCameroon
Abel Hernández

Abel Hernández

1990

Uruguayan striker who has earned over 30 caps for the national team and played in the 2018 World Cup. He has been a consistent goalscorer in European leagues, including Hull City and CSKA Moscow.

association football playerUruguay
Svetlana Savitskaya

Svetlana Savitskaya

1948

Soviet cosmonaut who became the second woman in space in 1982 and the first woman to perform a spacewalk. She flew two missions aboard Salyuz space stations and later served in the Russian State Duma.

aircraft pilotexplorerpoliticianRussia
Luis García Meza Tejada

Luis García Meza Tejada

1929 – 2018

Military general who led a brutal coup in 1980 and ruled Bolivia as dictator for one year, later convicted of genocide and human rights violations.

military officerpoliticianBolivia
Jostein Gaarder

Jostein Gaarder

1952

Norwegian author best known for his philosophical novel Sophie's World, which became an international bestseller introducing philosophy to young readers.

novelistphilosopherNorway

19th Century2 people

Shmuel Yosef Agnon

Shmuel Yosef Agnon

1887 – 1970

Hebrew novelist and short story writer who won the 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature for his deeply original narrative art. Born in Galicia, he immigrated to Palestine in 1908.

novelistpoetshort story writerUkraine
Emiliano Zapata

Emiliano Zapata

1879 – 1919

Mexican revolutionary leader who championed agrarian reform and indigenous rights during the Mexican Revolution, becoming a symbol of social justice.

farmerpartisanrevolutionaryMexico

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the most famous person born on August 8?
Emiliano Zapata, born in 1879, is the most recognized person born on August 8. He played a major role in the Mexican Revolution and became a symbol of peasant resistance and social justice.
Are there any Nobel Prize winners born on August 8?
Yes, two Nobel Prize winners were born on August 8: Paul Dirac, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933 for quantum mechanics, and Shmuel Yosef Agnon, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1966.
What types of professions are represented among famous people born on August 8?
August 8 includes various professions, with revolutionary leaders like Emiliano Zapata, scientists like physicist Paul Dirac, writers such as Nobel laureate Shmuel Yosef Agnon, and political figures like Bosnian leader Alija Izetbegović.