26 historically significant individuals born on November 15. November 15 is the birth date of 18 notable individuals throughout history, covering fields such as science, politics, and religious leadership. Some prominent figures born on this day are Danish physiologist August Krogh (1874), who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and Manuel II of Portugal (1889), the last king of Portugal. Other noteworthy individuals include Bolivian president Enrique Peñaranda (1893), Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki (1931), and Syrian Catholic patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan (1944).
Total Born
26
Countries
21
Top Century
20th· 15
Top Field
politician
5 individuals
Headline Figures
scientist
Gerhart Hauptmann
1862 – 1946Nobel laureate: Nobel Prize in Literature (1912)
economist
Mwai Kibaki
1931 – 2022Third President of Kenya (2002-2013) and economist who led the country's transition from single-party rule to multi-party democracy.
economist
Ingrida Šimonytė
1974 – PresentCurrent Prime Minister of Lithuania since 2020 and former Finance Minister, known for implementing significant economic reforms and leading Lithuania's COVID-19 response.
Birth Distribution by Century
20th (15)
19th (6)
15th C.21st C.
21st Century
1Figure
Lifespan
Notes
Origin
Roony Bardghji
association football player
Swedish footballer who plays as a winger for FC Copenhagen and represented Sweden at youth international levels.
20th Century
15Figure
Lifespan
Notes
Origin
Mwai Kibaki
economistminister
Third President of Kenya (2002-2013) and economist who led the country's transition from single-party rule to multi-party democracy.
Ingrida Šimonytė
economistpolitician
Current Prime Minister of Lithuania since 2020 and former Finance Minister, known for implementing significant economic reforms and leading Lithuania's COVID-19 response.
Sania Mirza
tennis player
Indian professional tennis player who became the country's highest-ranked female player, reaching World No. 27 in singles and winning six Grand Slam doubles titles.
Karl-Anthony Towns
basketball player
NBA center who plays for the New York Knicks and has been selected as an All-Star four times.
Ray Thorburn
electrical engineerpolitician
Australian politician (1930–1986)
Patrick M'Boma
association football player
Cameroonian striker who scored 33 goals in 57 international appearances and won the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations. He played professionally in France, Japan, and other countries during his club career.
Aleksander Kwaśniewski
journalistpolitician
Polish politician who served as President of Poland from 1995 to 2005, representing the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance during Poland's democratic transition.
Edna Kiplagat
athletics competitorlong-distance runner
Kenyan marathon runner who won the Boston Marathon in 2017 and earned silver medals at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships in Athletics. She also served as a police officer in Kenya before focusing on her professional running career.
Anni-Frid Lyngstad
dansband singerdisco singer
Swedish singer best known as "Frida," one of the four members of the internationally successful pop group ABBA.
Jimmy Choo
businesspersondesigner
Luxury shoe designer whose handcrafted women's shoes became favorites of celebrities and royalty, founding the eponymous Jimmy Choo fashion house.
John Heitinga
association football coachassociation football player
Dutch defender who played for Ajax, Atletico Madrid, Everton, and the Netherlands national team, winning 87 international caps.
Professional boxer from Uzbekistan who competed in the light heavyweight division during the 1990s and 2000s.
Vanessa Nakate
climate activistphilanthropist
Climate activist who gained international recognition after being cropped out of a photo with Greta Thunberg at the 2020 World Economic Forum, highlighting the marginalization of African voices in climate discussions.
Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don
Catholic bishopCatholic priest
Catholic Cardinal who serves as Archbishop of Colombo and has been a vocal advocate for human rights and reconciliation in post-war Sri Lanka.
Ignatius Joseph III Younan
Catholic bishopCatholic priest
Syrian Catholic prelate who serves as Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Catholic Church worldwide since 2009.
19th Century
6Figure
Lifespan
Notes
Origin
Gerhart Hauptmann
scientist
Nobel laureate: Nobel Prize in Literature (1912)
Enrique Peñaranda
military personnelpolitician
Bolivian general who served as President of Bolivia from 1940 to 1943 during World War II.
Erich von Tschermak
biologistbotanist
Austrian geneticist (1871-1962)
Manuel II of Portugal
monarch
The last King of Portugal who reigned from 1908 to 1910 before being overthrown in the Republican Revolution and living in exile until his death.
Charles Auguste Maximilien Globensky
politicianwriter
Canadian politician
August Krogh
pedagoguephysician
Danish physiologist who won the 1920 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the mechanism of regulation of capillaries in skeletal muscle. His research on how blood flow is controlled at the microscopic level revolutionized understanding of circulation and oxygen delivery to tissues.
18th Century
1Figure
Lifespan
Notes
Origin
Michel Chasles
geometerhistorian of mathematics
French mathematician (1793–1880)
16th Century
2Figure
Lifespan
Notes
Origin
Alvaro Alonso Barba
chemistengineer
Metallurgist
Werner Rolfinck
botanistchemist
Physician, chemist, botanist, philosopher (1599-1673)
15th Century
1Figure
Lifespan
Notes
Origin
Juana I of Castile
monarch
Queen of Castile from 1504 and of Aragon from 1516
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the most famous person born on November 15?
August Krogh, a Danish physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1920, was born on November 15, 1874. Mwai Kibaki, Kenya's third President from 2002 to 2013, is also a widely known figure in African politics.
Are there any royals or political leaders born on November 15?
Yes, notable political figures born on November 15 include Manuel II of Portugal (1889), the last King of Portugal, and Enrique Peñaranda (1893), a former President of Bolivia. Mwai Kibaki (1931) also led Kenya as President for over a decade.
How many famous people were born on November 15?
There are 18 notable individuals born on November 15 throughout history. They include people from various areas such as science, politics, and religion, from the 19th century to today.