Born On Your Day
Charles K. Kao
David Dobkin [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Charles K. Kao

Entrepreneur · born November 4, 1933 · died 2018

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About

Sir Charles Kuen Kao was a Hong Kong electrical engineer who contributed to the development and use of fibre optics in telecommunications.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Milestones, by age

Dated facts from Wikidata; ages marked “about” come from year-only dates.

  1. ~63Received the Japan Prize1996
  2. ~76Received the Nobel Prize in Physics2009

Sources

Every fact on this page traces to one of these.

Sources (2)

Also born on November 4

Charles's most notable birthday twins

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founder

Sean Combs

Entrepreneur · Bad Boy Records · entertainment

1969 · United States

Sean John Combs, also known professionally as Diddy, is an American former rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is credited with the discovery and development of musical artists such as the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher, among others.

Nikeush, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Matthew McConaughey
actor

Matthew McConaughey

Actor

1969 · United States

Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first success as a leading man came in the legal drama A Time to Kill (1996).

Raph_PH, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Joseph Rotblat
scientist

Joseph Rotblat

Scientist

1908–2005 · Poland

Sir Joseph Rotblat was a Polish and British physicist. During World War II he worked on Tube Alloys and the Manhattan Project, but left the Los Alamos Laboratory on grounds of conscience after it became clear to him in 1944 that Germany had ceased development of an atomic bomb.

Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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David Julius
scientist

David Julius

American physiologist and Nobel laureate 2021

1955 · United States

David Jay Julius is an American physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate known for his work on molecular mechanisms of pain sensation and heat, including the characterization of the TRPV1 and TRPM8 receptors that detect capsaicin, menthol, and temperature.

Christopher Michel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Ralph Macchio
actor

Ralph Macchio

Actor

1961 · United States

Ralph George Macchio Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Daniel LaRusso in four Karate Kid films (1984–2025) and in Cobra Kai (2018–2025), a sequel television series.

John Manard, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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