Born on Christmas Day

Christmas is a special day, a time to celebrate - a time of rejoicing of solemn thanksgiving, a time of being together with family and friends.

On this day also, throughout the centuries, people from different walks of life were born on this special day and have achieved wonderful and extraordinary things that have made them famous in different field of endeavours. Their achievements, inventions, jobs created through their business, their accomplishments have made a big difference in the world we lived in now.

Here is my list of famous people who were born on Christmas Day.

Born on December 25, 1642 in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. Newton is the most influential scientist who ever lived. His accomplishments in mathematics, optics, and physics laid the foundations for modern science and revolutionized the world.

• As mathematician, Newton invented integral calculus.
• He was the first to understand and explain gravity in mathematical terms.

• He defined the laws of motion and universal gravitaiton which he used to predict precisely the motions of stars and the planets around the sun.
• Using his discoveries in optics Newton constructed the first reflecting telescope.

Newton died in London on March 20, 1727 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, the first scientist to be accorded this honor.

American businessman, Conrad Hilton was born 25 December 1887, at San Antonio, New Mexico Territory (now New Mexico)

Conrad Hilton founded the international chain of business hotels which bear his name. He bought his first hotel in 1919 and founded the first Hilton Hotel in 1925 in Dallas, Texas.

Conrad Hilton died in 1979. Conrad Hilton is the great-grandfather of Paris and Nicky Hilton.

A quote from Conrad Hilton:

"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit."

Helena Rubenstein was born on December 25, 1870 at Cracow, Poland. At the age of 18, she emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, and at the age of 20 began her cosmetics business with a single product, a simple face cream.

At a time when career opportunities for women were virtually nonexistent, Helena Rubinstein created a successful business enterprise, which expanded from Melbourne to London in 1902, to Paris in 1906, and to New York in 1912. The international cosmetics empire she created earned her a reputation as one of the world's most successful businesswomen.

Quotes from Helena Rubenstein:

• "There are no ugly women, only lazy ones"
• "All the American women had purple noses and gray lips and their faces were chalk white from terrible powder. I recognized that the United States could be my life's work."
• "Men are just as vain as women, and sometimes even more so."

Robert Ripley was born on December 25, 1893. Ripley was an artist, a reporter, an explorer and a collector.

Ripley searched for the odd and the unusual. In his quest, he documented the customs and beliefs of many ancient and exotic civilizations. Whenever possible he brought home artifacts from his journeys, which today form the heart of the greatest collection of oddities ever assembled. These artifacts can be seen in Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums.

He also created the world famous Ripley's Believe It or Not! newspaper panel series, featuring odd but true facts from around the world. Subjects covered in Ripley'scartoons and text ranged from sports feats to little known facts about unusual and exotic sites.

Humphrey Bogart was on December 25,1899, in New York City. In 1999 he was, the American Film Institute name Bogart as the Greatest Male Star of All Time.

Bogart' most notable films are : The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Key Largo and The African Queen, The Left Hand of God. The character he played are smart, playful and reckless characters anchored by an inner moral code while surrounded by a corrupt world. Altogether, he appeared in 75 feature motion pictures.

In 1952, he won an OSCAR for Best Actor in his role in the film The African Queen (1951).

Other famous people who were born on Christmas day includes, Rod Serling (1924) and best know as the creator of The Twilight Zone;

Anwar Sadat, (1918) former President of Egypt (1970-1981); Clara Barton (1821) Co-Founder of the American Red Cross; Sissy Spacek (1949) Academy Award -winning American actress and singer.

Annie Lennox (1954) a Scottish, musician, vocalist and award winning songwriter and the lead singer of Eurythmics,

HRH Princess Alexandra (1936), member of the British Royal Family. Her father was the Prince George, Duke of Kent.