Born on September 18

Italian composer, singer, and instrumentalist (1587–c.1641), Francesca Caccini is the first known woman to have composed an opera, La liberazione di Ruggiero (1625). Daughter of composer Giulio Caccini, she was the highest-paid musician at the Medici court in Florence.

Nineteenth-century German librarian and linguist, regarded as a pioneer in the decipherment of Maya writing. He was the first to understand the calendar system and astronomical calculations of the Dresden Codex.

Swedish actress who became one of Hollywood's greatest stars of the 1920s–1930s. Famous for her air of mystery and restrained acting style, she voluntarily stepped away from the screen in 1941 at the age of 36.

Anna Netrebko is a Russian-Austrian soprano born in 1971, considered one of the greatest opera singers of her generation. Trained at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, she has conquered the world's most prestigious stages — the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala in Milan, and the Vienna State Opera.