January 14, 1940

1940Julian Bond, American academic and politician (died 2015)^[†]

Horace Julian Bond was an American social activist, leader of the civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While he was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s, he helped establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1971, he co-founded the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, and served as its first president for nearly a decade.

1940Ron Kostelnik, American football player (died 1993)^[†]

Ronald Michael Kostelnik was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons with the Green Bay Packers and one with the Baltimore Colts. He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats. He won two Super Bowls with the Packers and was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

1940Siegmund Nimsgern, German opera singer (died 2025)^[†]

Siegmund Nimsgern was a German bass-baritone who made an international career. His signature roles were "evil, dark, ambiguous figures" such as Pizarro in Beethoven's Fidelio and Telramund in Wagner's Lohengrin. Other dark roles he performed include Kaspar in Weber's Der Freischütz, Ruthven in Marschner's Der Vampyr, Klingsor in Wagner's Parsifal, Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca, Bartók's Bluebeard and Hindemith's Cardillac. He performed at La Scala in Milan and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and portrayed Wotan in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival from 1983 to 1986. He was also known for performing works by Bach in concert and in recordings, including cantata cycles and major works with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Helmuth Rilling. He recorded Schoenberg's Die Jakobsleiter and Gurre-Lieder conducted by Pierre Boulez and took part in a 1989 recording of Lohengrin that won a Grammy Award.

1940Trevor Nunn, English director and composer^[†]

Sir Trevor Robert Nunn is an English theatre director and lyricist. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has directed dramas for the stage, including Macbeth, as well as opera and musicals, such as Cats (1981) and Les Misérables (1985).