January 25, 1938

1938Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese author and illustrator (died 1998)^[†]

Shotaro Ishinomori , né Onodera , was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, writer and director. Known as the "King of Manga", he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential manga artists of all time. Outside of manga he is also one of the most prolific creators in the history of anime, tokusatsu, and Japanese superhero fiction, creating several immensely popular long-running series such as Cyborg 009, the Super Sentai series, and the Kamen Rider series. He was twice awarded by the Shogakukan Manga Awards, in 1968 for Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae and in 1988 for Hotel and Manga Nihon Keizai Nyumon.

1938Etta James, American singer (died 2012)^[†]

Jamesetta Hawkins, known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Chitlin' Circuit, in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. She sang in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll and soul and gained fame with hits such as "The Wallflower" (1955), "At Last" (1960), "Something's Got a Hold on Me" (1962), "Tell Mama" and "I'd Rather Go Blind". She faced a number of personal problems, including heroin addiction, severe physical abuse and incarceration, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album Seven Year Itch (1988).

1938Leiji Matsumoto, Japanese author, illustrator, and animator (died 2023)^[†]

Leiji Matsumoto was a Japanese manga artist, and creator of several anime and manga series. His widow Miyako Maki is also a manga artist.

1938Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian singer-songwriter, actor, and poet (died 1980)^[†]

Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor who had an immense and enduring effect on Soviet culture. He became widely known for his unique singing style and for his lyrics, which featured social and political commentary in often-humorous street jargon. He was also a prominent stage- and screen-actor. Though the official Soviet cultural establishment largely ignored his work, he was remarkably popular during his lifetime and has exerted significant influence on many of Russia's musicians and actors.