Birthdays

TODAY: Mr Ed Asner, actor, 68; Mr Howard Baker, lawyer and senator, 72; Mr J.G. Ballard, science-fiction author, 67; Mr John M. Banfield, former chairman, Mobil Oil, 50; Mr Daniel Barenboim, pianist and conductor, 55; Mr Andrew Castle, tennis player and broadcaster, 34; Sir Geoffrey Chandler, chairman, Amnesty International, Business Group, 75; Miss Petula Clark, singer and actress, 65; Mr Andre Deutsch, publisher, 80; Professor Peter Dickinson, pianist and composer, 63; Mr Martin Hammond, headmaster of Tonbridge School, 53; Mr John Hobhouse, former chairman, RSPCA, 87; Miss Paula Kahn, former chief executive and chairman, Longman Group, 57; Mr Brian Low, High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, 60; Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish, former MP, 59; Mr David Rae Smith, chartered accountant, 78; Mr Paul Raymond, impresario, 72; The Rev Canon Eric Staples, former chaplain to the Queen, 87; Mr Sam Waterston, actor, 57; Sir Roger Young, former principal, George Watson's College, Edinburgh, 74.

TOMORROW: Professor Chinua Achebe, novelist, poet and educationalist, 67; Mr Peter Ainsworth MP, 41; Mr Michael Billington, author and broadcaster, 58; Miss Lisa Bonet, actress, 30; Mr Frank Bruno, boxer, 36; Mr Willie Carson, jockey, 55; Mr Tony de Leeuw, composer, 71; Sir John Hanson, Director- General, British Council, 59; Sir Colin Marshall, chairman, British Airways, 64; Miss Joanna Pettet, film actress, 53; Mr Griff Rhys Jones, actor and writer, 44; Sir Giles Shaw, former MP, 66; The Rev Canon Herbert Stuart, Canon Emeritus, Lincoln Cathedral, 71; Sir Edward Tomkins, former ambassador, 82; Sir Magdi Yacoub, cardiothoracic surgeon, 62; Professor Michael Zander, Professor of Law, LSE, 65.