Born on This Day: April 18

Italian noblewoman and patron whose life and court became central to Renaissance political and cultural history.

English playwright whose dark comedies and tragedies became major works of Jacobean theater.

Austrian composer whose operettas and overtures helped define nineteenth-century popular theater music.

American lawyer and civil libertarian whose courtroom advocacy influenced debates over labor, capital punishment, education, and free thought.

American pharmacologist whose rational approach to drug development produced important treatments for cancer, infections, and other diseases.

Hungarian-American composer whose dramatic film scores shaped the sound of classical Hollywood cinema.

French critic and theorist whose writing helped establish modern film studies and influenced the French New Wave.

British-American computer scientist whose research, teaching, and online education have broadened the development and public understanding of artificial intelligence.