Hugo Fawkes Rathbun

The April 28th Birthday Club

Every other person, ever, who blew out candles on this exact day. (You’ll have to share the cake.)

Pixel-art astronaut Hugo, run
Late to your own birthday party. Sprinting.

You did not pick April 28, Hugo. April 28 picked you.

But you should know who else has the day. The April 28th Birthday Club is, on balance, a very good club.

The roll call

1758

James Monroe

president

5th President of the United States. Authored the Monroe Doctrine — the foreign policy position that “European powers should stop messing with the Americas.” Held this view firmly. Two centuries later, it’s still being cited.

He shares a birthday with you. That’s a strong opener.

1874

Howard Carter

archaeology

British archaeologist. Discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 — almost completely intact, the most extraordinary archaeological find of the twentieth century.

“Yes, I see wonderful things.” — Howard Carter, the moment he peered into King Tut’s burial chamber.

Howard Carter shared his birthday with King Tut’s burial inventory. You share your birthday with Howard Carter. This is a chain.

1908

Oskar Schindler

hero

The Schindler from Schindler’s List. Saved 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories and shielding them from the SS. Spent his entire fortune doing it. Buried in Jerusalem at his request.

A heavy entry. A worthy one.

1926

Harper Lee

literature

Wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Won the Pulitzer Prize. Went on to publish exactly one other novel in her lifetime, decades later. Knew when to stop.

A good role model for a Hugo. Make one masterpiece, then mind your business.

1930

Carolyn Jones

film

The original Morticia Addams. The Addams Family, 1964. Long black hair, slow voice, the most iconic eyebrow raise in television history. Cara mia.

April 28 has had Morticia. April 28 now has Hugo. Vibes are aligning.

1941

Ann-Margret

film
Singer, dancer, actress. Co-starred with Elvis in Viva Las Vegas. Got nominated for two Oscars. Still working in her 80s. Power level: high.
1948

Sir Terry Pratchett

literature

Wrote the Discworld novels. Forty-one of them. Knighted. Beloved. Hilarious. The only author of his generation to make a sentient suitcase a recurring character. A Discworld novel is, on average, the best book in any room.

Terry Pratchett was an April 28 birthday. Hugo is now an April 28 birthday. This is — and we say this respectfully — a transfer of energy.

1949

Bruno Kirby

film

When Harry Met Sally. City Slickers. Good Morning, Vietnam. Played the best friend. The funny one. The reason every scene worked.

Birthdays have roles. This one’s gone to a great character actor.

1950

Jay Leno

comedy

Comedian. Hosted The Tonight Show for 22 years. Owns 280+ cars and 175+ motorcycles. He has more vehicles than the city of Stanwood has stoplights.

Hugo, if you decide you want a 280-car collection one day, you have an April 28 birthday precedent. Use it wisely. (Or don’t.)

1952

Mary McDonnell

film
Dances with Wolves. Battlestar Galactica (President Laura Roslin). Two Oscar nominations. Excellent eyebrows. Continues the April 28 streak of quietly great character work.
1974

Penélope Cruz

film
Won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. First Spanish actress to do so. Married to Javier Bardem. Just an extremely good actress with an extremely good birthday.
1981

Jessica Alba

film
Actress and founder of The Honest Company (a multi-billion-dollar consumer goods business). Combination of Hollywood credits and venture-scale entrepreneurship is uncommon. Hugo, take notes.
1988

Stephen Strasburg

sport
MLB pitcher for the Washington Nationals. Won the 2019 World Series MVP. Throws a fastball at 99 mph and a changeup that descends like it has a vendetta against the strike zone.
2026

HUGO FAWKES RATHBUN

the one

Born.

After James Monroe, Howard Carter, Oskar Schindler, Harper Lee, Morticia, Sir Terry Pratchett, Jay Leno, Penélope Cruz, and a man with 280 cars — the April 28th Birthday Club gets one new member.

You.

The over/under on you eventually owning 280 cars is — and we say this with love — uncertain. But the seat at the table is yours.

Welcome to the Birthday Club, Hugo.

Other things that happened on April 28

  • 1789 — Mutiny on the HMS Bounty. Fletcher Christian leads the crew against Captain William Bligh in the South Pacific. Inspired three movies.
  • 1947 — Thor Heyerdahl sets sail on the Kon-Tiki, a balsa-wood raft, from Peru. He’s testing the theory that ancient Polynesians could have come from South America. He makes it.
  • 1969 — Charles de Gaulle resigns as President of France. He’s been losing referendums and decides he’s done.
  • 1986 — The Soviet Union finally admits to the world that Chernobyl happened, two days after the disaster. Sweden detects the radiation first.
  • 1993 — The first website is published in the United States (at SLAC). Note: the first website ever (CERN, Berners-Lee) was December 1990.

You join a date with mutinies, raft journeys, presidential resignations, and the day the internet got an American outpost. Active day. Big energy.

How to celebrate

You will, in due course, develop opinions on:

  • Cake type (we recommend chocolate)
  • Candle preference
  • Whether to read Discworld as a present (yes)
  • Whether to one day attempt your own 280-car collection (no comment)

We’ll be here. The April 28 club has held a seat for you since long before you got here.

— The April 28 Birthday Club