National Left-Handers Day: Here are some famous southpaws

It’s a day when left-handers are always right.

Saturday is Left-Handers Day, and history has had plenty of southpaws. From politics to sports, and from music to the silver screen, left-handers have made their mark.

Here is a sampling of several famous left-handers.

Music

Two members of The Beatles are lefties. Music fans are familiar with Paul McCartney, who played bass for the Fab Four, but drummer Ringo Starr is also left-handed.

Jimi Hendrix, acknowledged as one of rock music’s greatest guitarists, played left-handed. Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath is also a lefty. While Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain played the guitar left-handed, he was actually right-handed.

Singer Lady Gaga is also a southpaw.

Lefty Lady: Lady Gaga is one of many left-handed entertainers. (Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Sports

Babe Ruth, the “Sultan of Swat,” powered 714 home runs batting left-handed, mostly with the New York Yankees. Early in his career, Ruth was a left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Barry Bonds, the current all-time home run leader, also threw and batted left-handed.

Sandy Koufax threw four no-hitters for the Los Angeles Dodgers, including a perfect game.

Basketball great Larry Bird, golfer Phil Mickelson and Pro Football Hall of Famers Ken Stabler and Steve Young are also left-handed.

Soccer great Pelé is not only left-handed but also left-footed. Diego Maradona was also a southpaw.

Famous lefties in tennis include Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe.

Lefty in golf: Phil Mickelson has won six major championships on the PGA Tour. ( Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

Leaders

Eight U.S. presidents have been left-handed. The first, James A. Garfield, was also ambidextrous. Other presidents who were southpaws were Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Truman wrote left-handed as a child and was forced by his parents to become a right-hander.

In world history, Julius Caesar and Queen Victoria were left-handers. Currently, Prince William, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, writes with his left hand. Queen Victoria was William’s great-great-great-grandmother.

Left-handed duke: Britain's Prince William, left, is a famous left-handed member of Britain's royalty. (Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP)

Science

Left-handers have not been blinded by science. Famous left-handed scientists include Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton and Marie Curie.

Celebrities

Not surprisingly many celebrities of film and television are left-handers. That list starts with “The Little Tramp” -- Charlie Chaplin -- and includes Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Julia Roberts. Director Spike Lee is also in the mix, along with host and activist Jon Stewart.

Innovators

Billionaire Bill Gates and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg are left-handers.

Information from online sources, including Left-Handers Day.com, was used in compiling this report. For transparency’s sake, the author of this article is also a southpaw.

1 of 11