Born on This Day: September 15

Venetian traveler whose account expanded European knowledge and imagination of Asia.

American novelist whose frontier fiction helped establish a national literary tradition.

American president and chief justice whose career uniquely shaped both executive and judicial government.

American humorist whose essays and films influenced modern comic writing.

English novelist whose mysteries became among the most widely read works in world literature.

Canadian-American actor whose performance in King Kong became an enduring landmark of cinema.

American physicist whose quark theory transformed particle physics.

American filmmaker whose politically charged works have influenced public debate and historical cinema.