Born on May 19

Italian theater director and librettist (1794–1879), Merelli ran La Scala in Milan and the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. He played a decisive role in Verdi's career by commissioning Nabucco in 1842.

Nellie Melba (1861-1931) was the most celebrated Australian coloratura soprano of her time. Triumphing at Covent Garden and the Paris Opera, she embodied the prestige of bel canto and the grand operatic tradition of the Belle Époque.

Malcolm X (1925-1965), born Malcolm Little, was an African American civil rights activist and a spokesman for the Nation of Islam. An advocate of Black nationalism, he championed the pride and emancipation of Black Americans before evolving toward a more universalist Sunni Islam.

Fernand Raynaud (1926-1973) was one of the most popular French comedians of the postwar boom years. A pioneer of the French-style one-man show, he left his mark on radio, television and music hall with sketches that became classics of popular comedy.

American playwright and author (1930–1965), Lorraine Hansberry was the first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway with *A Raisin in the Sun* (1959). A civil rights activist, she wove art and political commitment together in her fight against racial segregation.

Nora Ephron (1941-2012) was an American journalist, screenwriter, director, and novelist. A major figure in Hollywood romantic comedy, she wrote and directed films that became cult classics, such as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle.

Natalia Oreiro is a Uruguayan actress and singer born in 1977 in Montevideo. She gained international fame through Argentine telenovelas of the 1990s and 2000s, and a music career that made her especially popular in Eastern Europe.