Famous People Born On May 23rd

Swedish botanist and lecturer Carl Linnaeus, who established the concept of binomial nomenclature, or the system of naming organisms, is also known as the father of modern taxonomy. His system of classification is known as Linnaean taxonomy. He was the first to include humans and apes under the header Anthropomorpha.

Bray Wyatt is a professional wrestler. Signed to the popular wrestling promotion WWE, Bray Wyatt uses intimidation as a major factor to gain an upper hand over his opponents. He also uses gimmicks, such as playing with his opponents' psychology to win matches. Wyatt has held several championship titles, such as the WWE Universal Championship and WWE Championship.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler was an American boxer and actor who reigned as the middleweight division's undisputed champion from 1980 to 1987, during which he had 12 successful title defenses. Regarded as one of the greatest middleweight boxers of all time, Hagler was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame as well as the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Scatman Crothers was an American musician and actor. Also a prolific voice-over actor, Crothers contributed immensely to the success of several animated TV series, such as Harlem Globetrotters, The Transformers, and Hong Kong Phooey. For his contribution to the American TV and film industry, Scatman Crothers was awarded a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Russian chess grandmaster, Anatoly Karpov, was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985, before finally being defeated by Garry Kasparov. With over 160 first-place finishes, Karpov is widely considered one of the greatest players in history. Since his retirement, he has involved himself in several humanitarian causes. He has an extensive stamp collection.

Rubens Barrichello is a Brazilian racing driver best known for competing in Formula One and scoring 11 Grand Prix wins between 1993 and 2011. From 2000 to 2005, he drove for Ferrari as Michael Schumacher's teammate and contributed to five constructors' titles for Ferrari.

John Ortiz is an American actor best known for his performance in the 2010 romantic drama film Jack Goes Boating, for which he received nominations for a Gotham Award and Independent Spirit Award. John Ortiz is credited with co-founding the LAByrinth Theater Company, a non-profit, Off-Broadway company, for which he serves as the current artistic director.

French nobleman Simon de Montfort gave away his family lands to become the Earl of Leicester instead. Though King Henry III married off his sister Eleanor to Simon without consulting his barons, Simon later turned against the king. After being killed by Roger Mortimer, Simon’s body was mutilated by royalists.

American engineer, physicist and Nobel laureate John Bardeen is the only person who received the Nobel Prize in Physics twice. He shared the first Nobel with William Shockley and Walter Brattain in 1956 for inventing the transistor, and the second with Leon N Cooper and John Robert Schrieffer in 1972 for proposing the BCS theory, a microscopic theory of superconductivity.

Margaret Fuller was an American journalist, critic, editor, women's rights advocate, and translator. She is best remembered for her association with the transcendentalism movement. Her 1843 book Woman in the Nineteenth Century is widely regarded as the first major feminist book in the USA. An advocate of women's rights, Margaret Fuller was the first female war correspondent in the USA.

Hitler’s legal advisor Hans Frank was made the governor-general of Poland after World War II broke out. Known as the Butcher of Poland for his atrocities against the Jews, he was hanged at the end of the Nuremberg Trials. He penned his autobiography while awaiting his execution.

Linden Ashby is an American martial artist and actor. He is best known for playing Johnny Cage in the 1995 movie Mortal Kombat, which was adapted from a video game series of the same name. Ashby is also renowned for his performance in The Young and the Restless for which he was nominated at the 2005 Soap Opera Digest Awards.

Once the deputy minister of Northern Ireland, Martin McGuinness has also served as his country’s education minister. He had also been part of the Provisional Irish Republican Army during the Northern Ireland conflict. The Sinn Féin politician had a major role to play in the Good Friday Agreement.

Herbert Marshall was an English actor best remembered for playing important roles in popular Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s. He was one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood at the peak of his career. In 1960, Herbert Marshall was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film industry.

Robert Moog was an engineering physicist widely regarded as the pioneer of electronic music.  He launched the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesizer, in 1964. A few years later, he launched the Minimoog, which went on to become the most famous and influential synthesizer in history. He taught at the University of North Carolina in his later years. 

Though a doctor, Franz Mesmer studied the influence of astronomical bodies on the human body and on an invisible fluid inside it. He was a pioneer of animal magnetism, or mesmerism, which paved the path for modern-day hypnotism. Critics slammed his ideas and called him a fraud, too.