1759 François Devienne – French composer (d.1833); professor of flute at the Paris Conservatory.
1797 Franz Schubert – Austrian composer (d.1828 at age 31); remarkably prolific, writing over 1,500 works in his short career; ranked among the greatest composers of the late Classical and early Romantic eras and one of the most frequently performed composers of the early 19th century; appreciation of his music was limited to a relatively small circle of admirers in Vienna, but interest in his work increased after his tragically early death, as Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms among others discovered and championed his works.
1906 Benjamin Frankel – English composer (d.1973); most famous pieces include a cycle of five string quartets and eight symphonies as well as a number of concertos for violin and viola; also wrote film scores, including Battle of the Bulge (1965).
1937 Philip Glass – American composer (87 years old); one of the most influential music makers of the late 20th century; his music is also often described as minimalist, sharing characteristics with the works of composers like La Monte Young, Terry Riley and Steve Reich; but Glass has distanced himself from the ‘minimalist’ label, describing himself instead as a composer of "music with repetitive structures".
1960 George Benjamin – English composer, conductor, pianist and teacher (64 years old); his Duet for piano and orchestra was commissioned by Roche for the 2008 Lucerne Festival, where he was Composer-in-Residence, and was premiered there by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst.
1965 Ofra Harnoy – Israeli-born Canadian cellist (59 years old); performed and recorded the world premiere of the Offenbach Cello Concerto in 1983 and the North American premiere of the Bliss Cello Concerto in 1984.