December 2, 1944

1944Cathy Lee Crosby, American actress and tennis player^[†]

Cathy Lee Crosby is an American actress and former professional tennis player. She achieved TV and film success in the 1980s and was a co-host of the television series That's Incredible!

1944Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovan journalist and politician, 1st President of Kosovo (died 2006)^[†]

Ibrahim Rugova was a Kosovo-Albanian politician, scholar, and writer, who served as the President of the partially recognised Republic of Kosova, serving from 1992 to 2000 and as President of Kosovo from 2002 until his death in 2006. He oversaw a popular struggle for independence, advocating a peaceful resistance to Yugoslav rule and lobbying for U.S. and European support, especially during the Kosovo War.

1944Dionysis Savvopoulos, Greek singer-songwriter^[†]

Dionysis Savvopoulos is a prominent Greek singer-songwriter.

1944Botho Strauß, German author and playwright^[†]

Botho Strauss is a German playwright, novelist, and essayist.

1944Josef Lhévinne, Russian pianist and educator (born 1874)^[†]

Josef Lhévinne was a Russian pianist and piano teacher. Lhévinne wrote a short book in 1924 that is considered a classic: Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing. Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest it was lay-VEEN.

1944Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Egyptian-Italian poet and composer (born 1876)^[†]

Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye de Créteil between 1907 and 1908. Marinetti is best known as the author of the Manifesto of Futurism, which was written and published in 1909, and as a co-author of the Fascist Manifesto, in 1919.