1979-2001
Frank Abagnale became notorious for impersonating a pilot, a doctor, and a laywer. He was hired by the FBI to teach them his fradulent tricks.
1948-
Mahmoud Abbas serves as the Charmian of the Palestine Liberation Organization. In 2003, he led Palestinian peace talks that led to the Oslo Accords.
1935-
1838-1916
1898-1991
Bud Abbott was a comedian best known for playing the "straight man" of the Abbott and Costello comedy duo.
1895-1974
1887-1995
Grace Abbott is best known for her activism and work the issue of child labor.
1878-1939
Paula Abdul is best known for her hit songs and dancing in the 1990s, and for judging American Idol in the 2000s.
1962-
Tunku Abdul Rahman was chief minister of the Federation of Malaya (1955–1957), the first prime minister of an independent Malaya (1957–1963), and the prime minister of Malaysia (1963–1970).
1903-1990
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played center for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers from 1975 to 1989 and was one of the most dominant players in NBA history.
1947-
1926-1990
1939-
1966-
Bella Abzug was a leading liberal activist and politician in the 1960s and 1970s, especially known for her work for women’s rights.
1920-1998
1906-1992
Chinua Achebe is best known for his novel Things Fall Apart.
1930-
Country musician Roy Acuff performed hits suchs as "It Won't Be Long" and "Tennessee Waltz" nearly every weekend on the Grand Ole' Opry during the 1930, 40s and 50s.
1903-1992
Red Adair was an American oil well firefighter who was called in to troubleshoot major oil fires.
1915-2004
Abigail Adams was the wife of President John Adams and the mother of John Quincy Adams, who became the sixth president of the United States.
1744-1818
1902-1984
1923-2005
1948-
John Adams was a Founding Father, the first Vice President of the United States and the second President. His son, John Quincy Adams was the 6th President.
1735-1826
1947-
John Quincy Adams was the eldest son of President John Adams and the sixth president of the United States (1825-29).
1767-1848
John Bodkin Adams is best known for standing trial in the suspicious deaths of 163 former patients in England.
1899-1983
1775-1852
1722-1803
1876-1956
Joy Adamson was a conservationist who pioneered the movement to preserve African wildlife. She won renown with her books about raising the lion cub Elsa.
1910-1980
Robert Adamson was a Scottish chemist and photographer who is best known for producing 2500 Calotype photographic prints with painter David Octavius Hill.
1821-1848
Charles Addams' dark humor helped define The New Yorker magazine for five decades. His work became the basis for the 1960s TV comedy, The Addams Family.
1912-1988
Jane Addams created the first settlement house in the US, Hull-House, and became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
1860-1935
1928-1975
Singer Adele is a Grammy award-winning artist whose throwback, soulful sound has made her an international success.
1988-
600-
Ben Affleck is best known for co-writing and acting in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting.
1972-
Casey Affleck is best known as an actor in films including Gone Baby Gone, and as the brother of actor Ben Affleck.
1975-
Andre Agassi is best known for his strong, smart playing style, which helped him win tennis championships throughout the 1990s.
1970-
American author James Agee wrote the classics A Death in the Family and Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.
1909-1955
Frank Gotti Agnello is best known as the grandson of mafia boss John Gotti, and for his reality TV show.
1990-
1987-
Maria Gaetana Agnesi is best known for writing the first book discussing integral and differential calculus.
1718-1799
1918-1996
1949-
Christina Aguilera is a singer and songwriter best known for the single "Genie In A Bottle" and the controversial, sexually charged album Stripped.
1980-
Filipino leader Emilio Aguinaldo finally lived to see his country achieve independence after fighting off both the Spanish and the Americans.
1869-1964
1783-1824
Ahmadou Ahidjo was the first president of the United Republic of Cameroon. He lead one of the few successful attempts at supraterritorial African unity.
1924-1989
1956-
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was an Indian educator and politician who was the principal motivating force behind the revival of Indian Islam in the late 19th century.
1817-1898
1978-
1900-1973
1924-2004
Alvin Ailey was an American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York in 1958.
1931-1989
1916-2006
1932-
1542-1605
1933-
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan (1918–2004) was ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates 1971–2004.
1918-2004
1951-
1930-2000
Egyptian Hassan al-Banna was the founder the Muslim Brotherhood, with goals of expelling the British from Egypt and reestablishing the Caliphate.
1906-1949
1950-
Muammar al-Qaddafi seized control of the Libyan government in 1969, and ruled as an authoritarian dictator for more than 40 years before he was overthrown in 2011.
1942-2011
1974-
1981-
Lou Albano was a professional wrestler-turned-wrestling personality in the hugely popular World Wrestling Federation of the 1980s.
1933-2009
Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Edward Albee is best known for penning Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Zoo Story.
1928-
Beginning with his first film in 1911 and in the years leading up to World War II, Hans Albers was one of Germany's most beloved movie stars.
1891-1960
Albert was last grand master of the Teutonic Knights, first duke of Prussia, and known chiefly for ending the Teutonic Knights' government of East Prussia.
1490-1568
1906-2005
Bernardo Alberto Houssay was an Argentinian doctor whose research on the role of pituitary hormones regulating blood sugar won him a Nobel Prize.
1887-1971
1937-
Amos Bronson Alcott, teacher, mystic, writer and the father of Louisa May Alcott, became an itinerant teacher before settling in Boston to found his own school.
1799-1888
Louisa May Alcott was an American author who wrote the classic "Little Women" as well as numerous works under pseudonyms.
1832-1888
Actor and director Alan Alda has starred in several films, but is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce on the long-running television series M*A*S*H.
1936-
1807-1867
1930-
Ciro Alegria was a Peruvian novelist who wrote about the struggles of the Peruvian Indians, and whose militant pro-Indian activism led to his arrest and exile.
1909-1967
Nicaraguan writer Claribel Alegria, a major voice in contemporary Central American literature, was known for her volume of poetry, Flowers from the Volcano.
1924-
1859-1916
1772-1851
1891-1969
1939-
Jason Alexander is an American actor best known for his role as the neurotic George Constanza in the hit TV sitcom, Seinfeld.
1959-
Samuel Alexander was an Australian-born British philosopher. He was the first Jewish fellow of an Oxford or Cambridge college.
1859-1938
1977-
1876-1903
Alexander I was king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (1921–29) and of Yugoslavia (1929–34).
1888-1934
356-323
1927-2009
1221-1285
1832-1899
1936-2005
1950-
1738-1789
1905-1964