Today in History: Born on September 18

1709 Samuel Johnson, English lexicographer, essayist, poet and moralist.

1819 Leon Foucault, French physicist.

1827 John Townsend Trowbridge, poet and author of books for boys, wrote the Jack Hazzard and Toby Trafford series.

1839 John Aitken, physician and meteorologist.

1895 John G. Diefenbaker, prime minister of Canada from 1957 to 1963.

1905 Greta Garbo, actress nominated for Oscars for her roles in Anna Christie and Ninotcha.

1908 Viktor Hambardzumyan, a Soviet Armenian scientist who was among the founders of theoretical astrophysics.

1912 Maria de la Cruz, journalist, woman's suffrage advocate; the first woman ever elected to Chile's Senate (1953).

1923 Queen Anne of Romania.

1926 Joe Kubert, comic book artist (Sgt. Rock, Hawkman), inducted into Harvey Awards' Jack Kirby Hall of Fame (1907) and Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame (1998); founder of The Kubert School.

1939 Frankie Avalon, singer ("Venus") , actor (The Alamo), playwright; teen idol of 1950s-60s.

1951 Dr. Benjamin Solomon Carson, Sr., African-American neurosurgeon.

1961 James Gandolfini, actor; won three Emmys, two Golden Globes and three Screen Actors Guild Awards (crime boss Tony Soprano in The Sopranos).