Famous People Born In 1913

Rosa Parks, “the first lady of civil rights,” was a pioneer in the American revolution against color segregation and racism. Her refusal to leave her bus seat to a white passenger gave rise to the iconic Montgomery Bus Boycott, which also led her to work with Martin Luther King Jr.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest track and field athletes of all time, Jesse Owens' three world records in less than an hour in 1935 came to be known as the greatest 45 minutes ever in sports. He was credited with destroying Adolf Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy when he won four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Richard Nixon is the only American president in the history so far to resign from the office. His name is synonymous with the infamous Watergate scandal which led to his resignation. But his regime saw several positives too, such as end to the U.S involvement in the Vietnam War, improvement in the relationship with Soviet Union and China, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Albert Camus was a French philosopher and the second-youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. His philosophical views contributed to the rise of absurdism, a philosophical concept. Also a prolific writer, Albert Camus had an illustrious literary career; most of his philosophical essays and novels are still influential.

Gerald Ford Jr served as the 38th president of US from August 1974 to January 1977. His 895 day-long stint as the American president is the shortest in US history for any president who did not die in office. In a controversial act, he granted a presidential pardon to his predecessor Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal.

British actress Vivien Leigh gained popularity with her award winning performance in films Gone with the Wind and A Street Car named Desire and her Musical Broadway Tovarich. The beautiful actress, who went on to feature in films like That Hamilton Woman and Ship of Fools, had a troubled personal life and suffered from physical and mental health issues.

The father of actors Beau and Jeff Bridges, Lloyd Bridges was an American actor who played important roles across all the three major acting mediums. Apart from his acting career, which spanned more than 60 years, Bridges was also known for his involvement in groups, such as Heal the Bay and the American Oceans Campaign. 

Football coach, Vince Lombardi, is best known for being the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s. Beginning his career as a high school coach, he eventually started coaching  National Football League (NFL) teams. As a head coach in the NFL, he never had a losing season. He died of cancer in 1970.

Red Skelton is best remembered as the host of The Red Skelton Show. Apart from films and TV, he had also performed in vaudeville, casinos, and nightclubs. He was also a skilled painter and specialized in paintings of clowns, which earned him more than his acting projects.

Loretta Young began as a child actor. She later won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Katrin "Katy" Holstrum in The Farmer's Daughter and earned an Academy Award nomination for her role in Come to the Stable. Fans also loved her in the Emmy-winning series The Loretta Young Show.

Bear Bryant was an American football player who represented the Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama. Bryant is remembered for his illustrious career as a coach. He served as the head coach of the Crimson Tide for 25 years, during which he helped his team win six national championships. He is regarded as the greatest college football coach ever.

Dorothy Kilgallen was an American television game show panelist and journalist. After starting her career as a reporter for the New York Evening Journal, Kilgallen began writing The Voice of Broadway, a newspaper column that became popular over a period of time. She also wrote articles on controversial and sensitive subjects like John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Robert Capa was a Hungarian-American photojournalist and war photographer. Regarded as the greatest adventure and combat photographer of all time, Robert Capa is best remembered for covering five major wars, namely Second Sino-Japanese War, Spanish Civil War, World War II, First Indochina War, and the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In 1947, he was honored with the prestigious Medal of Freedom.

Path-breaking British composer, pianist, and conductor Benjamin Britten was known for his fine operas such as Peter Grimes and the War Requiem. He also created countless orchestral works and is known for his long professional partnership with tenor Peter Pears, a collaboration that led to the formation of the Britten-Pears Foundation.

British actor Trevor Howard achieved stardom with his bit role of Alec in the romantic drama film Brief Encounter. He started his career with Shakespearean stage roles and then served as a paratrooper during World War II. His performance as Walter Morel in Sons and Lovers got him nominated for the Academy Award.

The last Crow war chief, Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow was part of the Whistling Water clan of Native Americans. The legendary indigenous hero was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A published historian, too, he is remembered for his research on the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős spent most of his childhood at home, due to his mother’s overprotectiveness after his sisters died of scarlet fever. Known for his eccentricity, he used his own vocabulary. His contributions include the Ramsey theory, and he skipped many university job offers to continue working independently.

Menachem Begin was an Israeli politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. In this position, he signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, for which he and Egyptian politician Anwar Sadat shared the Nobel Prize for Peace. He implemented several reforms to improve the socio-economic condition of Israeli citizens and improve the general quality of life.

Bismillah Khan was a reputed classical musician, credited with popularizing the shehnai, an Indian oboe like woodwind instrument, at home and abroad. Until his time, shehnai was considered a folk instrument played only at traditional ceremonies, an idea he demolished with his concert performance in 1937, eventually taking it to the global audience with his appearance at Edinburgh International Festival.

Mark Felt served as the FBI associate director from 1972 to 1973. He was widely suspected of being Deep Throat, the anonymous source who provided The Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein vital information regarding the Watergate scandal, and eventually owned up a few years before his death.

Born to a Russian diplomat, designer Oleg Cassini was known as much for his affairs with femme fatales such as Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe as for his designs. Initially married to actor Gene Tierney, he had also kept his 34-year marriage to Marianne Nestor a secret till his death.

The son of an Indiana coal miner, Jimmy Hoffa was the infamous President of International Brotherhood of Teamsters union. He had long association with organised crime figures and was later sentenced to thirteen years of imprisonment for jury-tampering, bribery and fraud but released early according to a pardon agreement, only to disappear mysteriously and never to be found again.

Josef Bican was an Austrian-Czech footballer who played as a forward. According to Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, Bican scored more than 950 goals in 624 official matches, which makes him the second-most prolific goalscorer of all time in recorded history. In 2000, Josef Bican was honored with the Golden Ball by the IFFHS. 

Willy Brandt was a German statesman and politician. From 1964 to 1987, he led the Social Democratic Party of Germany. From 1969 to 1974, Brandt served as chancellor of West Germany. In 1971, he was honored with the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to achieve reconciliation between the countries of Eastern Europe and West Germany.