BORN THIS WEEK
OCTOBER 19
MICHAEL GAMBON
Irish actor born in 1940. He made his professional debut on stage in 1962 and on film in 1965. He has appeared in films like The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, played Dumbledore in six Harry Potter films and in TV series such as The Singing Detective.
OCTOBER 20 PATRICK MATTHEW
Scottish agriculturalist and farmer born in 1790. His interest in horticulture led him to propose a theory similar to natural selection several years before Darwin. He died in 1874.
OCTOBER 21 MANFRED MANN
Musician and vocalist born Manfred Lubowitz in South Africa in 1940. Best known as founder of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band with hits including a cover of Blinded by the Light.
OCTOBER 22 TIMOTHY LEARY
American psychologist, author and counterculture guru born in 1920. He is best known for his experimentation with mindaltering drugs, urging people to “turn on, tune in, drop out”. He died in 1996.
OCTOBER 23 PELE
Brazilian football player born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in 1940.
His playing career stretched from the 1950s to the ’70s during which time he was considered the game’s greatest living player, scoring 541 goals in his 560 games. He retired in 1977.
OCTOBER 24
IAN BAKER-FINCH
Australian golfer born in 1960. He turned professional in 1979 and at the peak of his career in 1991 won the British Open. He later became a commentator.
OCTOBER 25 THOMAS MACAULEY
Politician and historian born in Leicestershire in 1800. He studied law and was called to the Bar in 1826. He entered parliament in 1830, serving as paymastergeneral and secretary of war, but is perhaps best known today for his History of England published in the 1840s. He died in 1859.