Five People Born on January 23

Today is January 23, 2010 and the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 342 days left in the year 2010. According the Mayan calendar, there are 1063 days till the end of the current cycle. On this date in 1941, Charles Lindberg recommends to the U.S. Congress that we should negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolph Hitler. Here are five people that share a birthday on this day:

John Hancock (1737-1793)
American Revolutionary leader and first signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. After graduating from Harvard (1754), Hancock entered a mercantile house in Boston owned by his uncle Thomas Hancock, who later left him a large fortune. In 1765 he became a selectman of Boston and from 1769 to 1774 was a member of the Massachusetts General Court. He was chairman of the Boston town committee formed immediately after the Boston Massacre in 1770 to demand the removal of British troops from the city.In 1774 and 1775 Hancock was president of the first and second provincial congresses, and he shared with Samuel Adams the leadership of the Massachusetts Patriots. With Adams he was forced to flee Lexington for Philadelphia when warned in April 1775 that he was being sought by General Thomas Gage's troops, approaching from Boston. Hancock was a member of the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1780; he served as its president from May 1775 to October 1777. He hoped to become commander in chief of the Continental Army, but George Washington was selected instead.Hancock was a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1780 and in the same year was elected governor of the state. He served in Congress under the Articles of Confederation in 1785–86 and then returned to the governorship. He presided over the Massachusetts Convention of 1788 that ratified the federal Constitution, although he had been unfriendly at first toward the document. Hancock died while serving his ninth term as governor.

Ernie Kovacs (1919-1962)
An American comedian who often used ad-libbed –and uninhibited – skits pioneered some of the most famous comedy shows of the day. Craig Ferguson and David Letterman both attribute Kovacs as an early inspiration. Additionally, several famous television shows, such as Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street and the Electric Company also copied Kovacs. He was one of the first comics to use video effects in his skits, such as superimpositions and quick blackouts in his skits. He’d also do a thing which is called, “breaking the fourth wall” – a way of talking directly to the audience by looking into the camera. Kovacs was killed at the age of 42 in an auto accident after he lost control of his car and struck a telephone pole in Los Angeles.

Chita Rivera (Born 1933)
American actress, singer and dancer of Puerto Rican descent who is best known for her musical theater. She has pioneered Hispanic entertainment by being the first woman to be given the Kennedy Center Honors and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She made her way onto Broadway with such roles in Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, and Call Me Madam, but it was as the part of Anita in West Side Story that made her a Broadway icon. That role would eventually go to Rita Moreno in the film version of the play. In recent years, she has appeared as a guest star on television and has parts in the movies.

Chesley Sullenberger (Born 1951)
Known as “The Hero of the Hudson”, Sullenberger was the captain of the U.S. Airways Flight 1549 that crashed into the Hudson River on January 15, 2009. Thanks to his quick thinking and piloting expertise, Sullenberger was able to save the lives of all 155 people aboard the airplane. He is currently an international speaker on airline safety and the author of “The Highest Duty”, a book surrounding the events of his famous flight.

Tito Ortiz (Born 1975)
Born Jacob Christopher Ortiz in Santa Ana, California, he is an American Mixed Martial Artist that has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championships. While in the UFC, he held the title of Lightweight Champion from 2000 to 2003. He is currently the CEO of Punishment Athletics – a mixed martial arts equipment and clothing line. Since his retirement from the UFC, he has been approached by several other fighting organizations, but his contract with his former affiliation has forbidden him to keep fighting in other organizations. He underwent back surgery in 2008. Afterward, he returned to the UFC in 2009 and continues to fight. In his personal life, he has been in the spotlight by dating professional porn actress, Jenna Jameson, whom he met on mySpace.