List of Famous people who born in 1937

Matthew Thomas Robinson Jr. was an American actor, writer and television producer. Robinson was the first actor to portray the character of Gordon Robinson on the PBS children's TV program Sesame Street. When Sesame Street began in 1969, not only did Robinson play Gordon, but he also provided the voice of the puppet Roosevelt Franklin and also was one of the show's producers. He left the show in 1972. In later years, when producers needed a last name for the Gordon character, then played by Hal Miller and then Roscoe Orman, they used Matt's last name.

Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni was an Emeritus Professor of Law at DePaul University where he taught from 1964 to 2012. He served in numerous United Nations positions and served as the consultant to the US Department of State and Justice on many projects. He was a founding member of the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University which was established in 1990. He served as president from 1990 to 1997 and then as president emeritus. Bassiouni is often referred to by the media as “the Godfather of International Criminal Law” and a “war crimes expert.” As such, he served on the Steering Committee for The Crimes Against Humanity Initiative, which was launched to study the need for a comprehensive convention on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity, and draft a proposed treaty. He spearheaded the drafting of the proposed convention, which as of 2014 is being debated at the International Law Commission.

James MacKrell is an American television personality, best known for emceeing television game shows such as Celebrity Sweepstakes and The Game Game. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Published variations of his name include James MacKrell, Jim McKrell, and James McKrell.

Boris Alekseyevich Vasilyev was a Russian cyclist. He competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in the sprint and tandem sprint events and won a bronze medal in the tandem sprint. In 1977, aged 40, he was part of the Soviet team at the Peace Race and finished in second place in the second stage. After retirement he worked as a cycling coach. In particular, he prepared the Soviet track team for the 1980 and 1988 Summer Olympics.

James Sillars is a Scottish politician and a leading figure in the campaign for Scottish independence. Sillars served as a Labour Party MP for South Ayrshire from 1970 to 1976. He founded and led the pro-Scottish Home Rule Scottish Labour Party in 1976, continuing as MP for South Ayrshire until he lost the seat in 1979. Sillars joined the Scottish National Party in 1980 and later served as MP for Glasgow Govan after winning a by-election in 1988, and was Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party. He was married to Margo MacDonald until her death in 2014.

Joseph (Joe) Schieser Nelson was an American ichthyologist. He is best known for the book Fishes of the World, which is the standard reference in fish systematics and evolution.

Peter Gaehtgens is a German professor of physiology. In 1999, he became president of Free University of Berlin after winning the associated elections against Gesine Schwan. He stayed in this position until 2003, when he was elected president of the German "Rector's Conference" (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz). Gaethgens was a leading proponent of the country-wide introduction of tuition fees at German universities. For this reason, he was heavily criticized in public.