Born on the Fourth of July

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804): D.H. Lawrence once noted that “there could be no more perfect work of the American imagination than The Scarlet Letter.” Perhaps that’s because the novel’s author, shares a birthday with the United States itself—he was born in Massachusetts, 28 years after the nation’s founding.

Stephen Foster (1826): Long considered the father of American music, composed such classic songs as “Oh! Susanna,” and “My Old Kentucky Home.”

Calvin Coolidge (1872): Coolidge may be the only American president born on the Fourth of July, but three presidents have died on Independence Day. James Monroe passed away on July 4, 1831, and five years earlier, in 1826, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on America’s birthday.

Rube Goldberg (1883): A Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, Goldberg was best known for his drawings of complex devices that performed very simple tasks. The annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest, in which college students build gadgets in the style of Goldberg, is named in his honor.

Eppie Lederer and Pauline Phillips (1918): The twin sisters gave advice to millions of Americans for nearly fifty years. Lederer took over the “Ask Ann Landers” column in 1955 and a her sister began a rival column, “Dear Abby.”

Eva Maria Saint (1924): Marie Saint won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in On the Waterfront. She also famously climbed across the face of Mount Rushmore with Cary Grant in North By Northwest.

Neil Simon (1927): “Simon takes his work seriously,” President Clinton said when naming the playwright a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1995. Simon wrote Lost in Yonkers, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1991. In 2006, he was awarded another serious honor—the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Al Davis (1929): Among the most controversial and charismatic owners in NFL history, Al Davis modeled the Oakland Raiders in his own outlaw image and pushed the team with his all-American mantra, “Just win, baby.”

George Steinbrenner (1930): In the 37 years he owned the New York Yankees the team won seven world championships. Before he purchased the Yankees, Steinbrenner also owned the American Shipbuilding Company.

Bill Withers (1938): Born in Slab Fork, West Virginia, Withers recorded such hits as “Lean on Me,” “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Just the Two of Us.” Now 75, Withers has not recorded a new album or performed in public since 1985.

Geraldo Rivera (1943): Among the most acclaimed and controversial television personalities, Rivera appears regularly on Fox News Channel.

Ron Kovic (1946): joined the Marine Corps after graduating high school in 1964 and served several tours in Vietnam. After becoming paralyzed from the chest down, Kovic returned home and became a vocal anti-war activist. His 1976 memoir, Born on the Fourth of July, was made into an Oscar-winning movie by Oliver Stone starring Tom Cruise.

Mike Sorrentino (1982): He became famous as “The Situation” on MTV’s Jersey Shore, but Sorrentino was actually born in Staten Island. Having those tanned abs has paid off for “The Situation”—big time. In 2010, he earned a reported $5 million, making him the second highest-paid reality TV star after Kim Kardashian.

Malia Obama (1998): Born in Chicago, Malia Obama has a perfectly patriotic birthday for a First Daughter. Shortly after his inauguration in 2009, Barack Obama published a public letter to both daughters in which he cited the lessons of 1776.