Born/Died Today- Famous People & Quotes- Born Today.com

"Garden as though you will live forever." William Kent
(??/??/1685 – 04/12/1748)
English gardener

"Sir, I would rather be right than be President." Henry Clay
(04/12/1777 – 06/29/1852)
US Secretary of State

"Every noble acquisition is attended with its risks; he who fears to encounter the one must not expect to obtain the other." Pietro Metastasio
(01/03/1698 – 04/12/1782)
Italian writer

"Seemed to me that drumming was the best way to get close to God." Lionel Hampton
(04/12/1908 – 08/31/2002)
US jazz percussion great

"I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them." Clara Barton
(12/25/1821 – 04/12/1912)
US humanitarian, Red Cross founder

"I'd love to see Christ come back to crush the spirit of hate and make men put down their guns. I'd also like just one more hit single." Tiny Tim
(04/12/1932 – 11/30/1996)
US singer

"My mother used to say, Delia, if S-E-X ever rears its ugly head, close your eyes before you see the rest of it." Alan Ayckbourn
(04/12/1939 – )
English writer

"The ablest man I ever met is the man you think you are." Franklin Delano Roosevelt
(01/30/1882 – 04/12/1945)

US President (32) (see all US Presidents; cousin of Theodore Roosevelt; was married to Eleanor Roosevelt)

"The difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make sense." Tom Clancy
(04/12/1947 – )
US writer

"There's no business like show business, but there are several businesses like accounting." David Letterman
(04/12/1947 – )
US comic

"Long after the bomb falls and you and your good deeds are gone, cockroaches will still be here, prowling the streets like armored cars." Tama Janowitz
(04/12/1957 – )
US writer

"Beautiful? It's all a question of luck. I was born with good legs. As for the rest... beautiful, no. Amusing, yes." Josephine Baker
(06/03/1906 – 04/12/1975)
US entertainer

"Yeah, I'm scared. I'm scared I might kill Schmeling." Joe Louis
(05/13/1914 – 04/12/1981)
US boxer

"If you wrote a novel in South Africa which didn't concern the central issues, it wouldn't be worth publishing." Alan Paton
(01/11/1903 – 04/12/1988)
S. African writer

"The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it." Abbie Hoffman
(11/30/1936 – 04/12/1989)
US writer, '60s revolutionary

"You always say 'I'll quit when I start to slide,' and then one morning you wake up and realize you done slid." Sugar Ray Robinson
(05/03/1920 – 04/12/1989)
US boxer