April 19, 1944

1944James Heckman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate^[†]

James Joseph Heckman is an American economist and Nobel laureate who serves as the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago, where he is also a professor at the college, a professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, Director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development (CEHD), and co-director of Human Capital and Economic Opportunity (HCEO) Global Working Group. He is also a professor of law at the Law School, a senior research fellow at the American Bar Foundation, and a research associate at the NBER. He received the John Bates Clark Medal in 1983, and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2000, which he shared with Daniel McFadden. He is known principally for his pioneering work in econometrics and microeconomics.

1944Bernie Worrell, American keyboard player and songwriter (died 2016)^[†]

George Bernard Worrell, Jr. was an American keyboardist and record producer, best known as a founding member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, and a touring member of the Talking Heads in the 1980s. He also worked with such producers and musicians as Keith Richards, Yoko Ono, Bill Laswell, Mos Def, Sly and Robbie, Fela Kuti and Cream's Jack Bruce. The New York Times journalist Jon Pareles, described Worrell as "the kind of sideman who is as influential as some bandleaders" and stated that his music "indelibly changed the sound of funk and hip-hop." Worrell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic, along with 15 other members the band. He also appeared with the Talking Heads when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Worrell was the uncle of rapper and actor Chino XL.