REMEMBERING May 21 birthdays

1916 HAROLD ROBBINS American author

After dropping out of high school to work a variety of jobs, Robins wrote more than 25 bestsellers. His books sold more than 750 million copies. Robbins has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1921 ANDREI SAKHAROV Russian nuclear physicist

Sakharov was the designer of the Soviet Union’s RDS-37, a codename for development of thermonuclear weapons. He later became an advocate for civil liberties and civil reforms in the Soviet Union, for which he faced state persecution.

1930 MALCOLM FRASER Australian Prime Minister

After an initial defeat, Fraser was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1955 federal election as the Member for Wannon. Fraser became prime minister in 1975 after Gough Whitlam was dismissed by the Governor-General.

1942 JOHN KONRADS Australian swimmer

Konrads set 26 individual world records during his career. He won gold in the 1500m at the 1960 Rome Olympics and bronze in the 400m and 4x200m relay. Konrads was a campaigner for Sydney’s Olympics bid.

1952 MR T American actor

Mr T was a professional wrestler as well as an actor. He is best known for his roles as B.A. Baracus in the TV series The A-Team and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1882 film Rocky III. Mr T’s hairstyle was inspired by Mandinka warriors.