Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma

Alexander Farnese was an Italian noble and condottiero, and a general of the Spanish army, who was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1586 to 1592, as well as Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592. Thanks to a steady influx of troops from Spain, during 1581–1587 Farnese captured more than thirty towns in the south and returned them to the control of Habsburg Spain. During the French Wars of Religion he relieved Paris for the Catholic League. His talents as a commander on the battlefield, strategist and organizer earned him the regard of his contemporaries and military historians as the first captain of his age.

27 August 1545

Born on the same birth day (27 August): Aaron Paul • Aase Foss Abrahamsen • Alessandro Gamberini • Amanda Fuller • Burak Kut • Chuck Girard • Denise Lewis • Eric "Bobo" Correa • Halil Berktay • Hermann Weingärtner • Jimmy Pop • Joanna McGilchrist • José Vidro • János Konrád • Mohammad Yousuf (cricketer) • Rob Burnett (American football) • Stephan Elliott • Sulley Muntari • Tuesday Weld

Born in the same month (August 1545): Andrew Melville