This Week's Birthdays - Week of January 14

January 14, 1969 – David Eric “Dave” Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter, who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter and founder of the Foo Fighters, prior to which he was the drummer in the grunge band Nirvana.

January 15, 1957 – Jef Aérosol is a French stencil graffiti artist. He has been one of the main urban art proponents in France since 1982.

January 16, 1409 – René of Anjou (Rei Rainièr in Occitan), also known as René I of Naples and Good King René (French Le bon roi René), was Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence (1434–1480), Count of Piedmont, Duke of Bar (1430–1480), Duke of Lorraine (1431–1453), King of Naples (1435–1442; titular 1442–1480), titular King of Jerusalem (1438–1480) and Aragon (1466–1480) (including Sicily, Majorca, Corsica).

January 17, 1899 – Alphonse Gabriel “Al” Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the “Capones”, was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early 1920s to 1931.

January 18, 1904 – Archibald Alexander Leach, better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor. With his distinctive yet not quite placeable Mid-Atlantic accent, he was noted as perhaps the foremost exemplar of the debonair leading man: handsome, charismatic, and charming.

January 19, 1686 – Hakuin Ekaku was one of the most influential figures in Japanese Zen Buddhism. He revived the Rinzai school from a moribund period of stagnation, refocusing it on its traditionally rigorous training methods integrating meditation and koan practice. Hakuin’s influence was such that all Rinzai Zen masters today trace their lineage through him, and all modern practitioners of Rinzai Zen use practices directly derived from his teachings.

January 20, 1920 – Federico Fellini was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century, and is widely revered. He won five Academy Awards, becoming the person who won the highest number of Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film in history.