People a to z

Inventor Thomas Edison created such great innovations as the electric light bulb, the telephone and the phonograph. A savvy businessman, he held more than a 1,000 patents for his inventions.

Rayful Edmond III was a notorious drug dealer in the 1980s in Washington, D.C., who made millions supplying the city with crack cocaine.

Annie Edson Taylor was a teacher and daredevil who was the first person to ride down Niagara Falls in a barrel.

King Edward I reigned England from 1272 to 1307, during which time he conquered Wales, expelled the Jews and signed many parliamentary statutes.

King Edward VII took over the British throne after the death of Queen Victoria. He was a popular ruler who strengthened his country prior to World War I.

Edward VIII became king of the United Kingdom following the death of his father, George V, but ruled for less than a year. He abdicated the throne in order to marry his lover, Wallis Simpson, thereafter taking the title Duke of Windsor.

Blake Edwards was an American film director, producer and screenwriter who was perhaps best known for The Pink Panther and its sequels.

Bob Edwards is best known as the host of the long-running public radio news program Morning Edition, a post he held for close to 25 years.

Edwin Edwards served four terms as governor of Louisiana, from 1972 to 1980, and then from 1984 to 1996. In 1998, he was convicted on several charges stemming from a casino license scheme.

John Edwards served in the U.S. Senate from 1998 to 2004. He was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in the 2004 election, and twice ran for president.

Teresa Edwards is an American basketball player best known for winning five Olympic medals in women’s basketball including four gold and one bronze.

Zac Efron is a teen heartthrob who appears in films and on TV, notably in the High School Musical films.

Samantha Eggar is a British film and television actress. She recently performed as Hera in the Disney film Hercules.

First a child star on Charles in Charge, Actress Nicole Eggert is best known for her role as lifeguard Summer Quinn on Baywatch.

Paul Ehrlich is a German Jewish medical scientist best known for discovering the first effective treatment for syphilis.

Adolf Eichmann would be executed by the state of Israel for his role as coordinator of logistics for "the final solution to the Jewish question."

Gustave Eiffel was a French engineer who designed and oversaw construction of the Eiffel Tower in 1889.

Albert Einstein was a German-born physicist who developed the theory of relativity. He is considered the most influential physicist of the 20th century.

Willem Einthoven was a physiologist who discovered the electrical properties of the heart and developed the EKG.

American actor Jesse Eisenberg is known for memorable performances in movies from indie drama The Squid and the Whale to Oscar contender The Social Network.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, promoted Atoms for Peace at the United Nations General Assembly in order to ease Cold War tensions.

Mamie Eisenhower was first lady of the United States when her husband, Dwight Eisenhower, was president from 1953 to 1961.

El Greco was a Greek artist whose painting and sculpture helped define the Spanish Renaissance and influence various movements to come.

Anwar el-Sadat was the one-time president of Egypt (1970-1981) who shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for establishing peace agreements with Israel.

M. Joycelyn Elders is a physician who briefly served as U.S. Surgeon General under President Clinton.

Golden-Globe winning film and television actress Jenna Elfman played the free-spirited wife Dharma opposite Thomas Gibson on the popular sitcom Dharma and Greg.

American biochemist and pharmacologist Gertrude B. Elion helped develop drugs to treat leukemia and prevent kidney transplant rejection. She won a Nobel Prize for medicine in 1988.

T.S. Eliot was an American-born English poet, playwright, and literary critic, arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century.

An originator of big-band jazz, Duke Ellington was an American composer, pianist and bandleader who composed thousands of scores over his 50-year career.

Cass "Mama Cass" Elliot was known for her heavyset figure, and was one of four members of the late 1960s pop sensation The Mamas and the Papas.

Actor and writer Chris Elliott wrote for and appeared on the David Letterman Show, winning four Emmy Awards for writing. He also starred in the cult comedy series Get a Life.

Joe Elliott is known for his singing career with metal band Def Leppard, made popular by such songs as "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Love Bites."

Missy Elliott is a Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist. A rapper and producer, she won the BET Award for best female hip-hop artist numerous times.

Throughout his career, American actor Sam Elliott has played gun-slinging cowboys on TV and in films, including The Quick and the Dead and Tombstone.

Alton Ellis was a Jamaican singer and songwriter with a smooth vocal style, known widely as the "Godfather of Rocksteady," a slow, soulful Jamaican music genre.

Hortense Ellis, younger sister of the "Godfather of Rock Steady" Alton Ellis, was a pop singer who was regarded as Jamaica’s first locally based female singing star.

Nelsan Ellis achieved breakout success when he took the part of Lafayette on the hit HBO vampire series True Blood.

Fashion designer Perry Ellis launched a new wave of fashion that was defined by his signature baggy look. His clothes were lauded as both classic and adventurous.

Ruth Ellis is best known for the murder of her lover, leading to her execution, the last of a woman in England.

Brooke Ellison became a quadriplegic after she was struck by a car as a seventh-grader. In 2002, her inspirational life story was published in Miracles Happen: One Mother, One Daughter, One Journey.

Ralph Ellison was a 20th century African-American writer and scholar best known for his renowned, award-winning novel Invisible Man.

Daniel Ellsberg strengthened public opposition to the Vietnam War in 1971 when he leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times.

Politician Rahm Emanuel was White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama, and was elected as mayor of Chicago in 2011.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American Transcendentalist poet, philosopher and essayist during the 19th century. One of his best-known essays is "Self-Reliance.”

Tracey Emin is a British artist who emerged in the 1980s, during the "Young British Artists" movement. She is noted for her provocative and controversial pieces, including "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995," "My Bed" and "The Last Thing I Said To You is Don't Leave Me Here."

Eminem is an American rapper, record producer, and actor, who is known as one of the most controversial and best-selling artists of the early 21st century.

Douglas C Engelbart is a pioneer in the design of interactive computer environments and the inventor of the mouse.

Robert F. Engle is a co-recipient of the 2003 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, honored for developing methods to analyze unpredictable movements in the financial market.

British track and field star Jessica Ennis won a gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Nicknamed "The Ox," bass guitarist John Entwistle was a founding member of the legendary rock band the Who.

Irish singer Enya performed with her family's band Clannad before making it big with her solo album Watermark in 1988.

Actress Kathryn Erbe starred on the HBO prison drama Oz, and was also cast on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, a spin-off of the popular crime drama Law & Order.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan became prime minister of Turkey in 2003, and is best known for his vision of Turkey's economic interdependence in the Arab world.

Erik the Red was the founder of the first European settlement on Greenland ( 986) and the father of Leif Eriksson, one of the first Europeans to reach North America.

Personality development, in Erik H. Erikson's view, occurs through a series of identity crises that occur in stages that must be overcome and internalized.

Icelandic explorer Leif Eriksson, the second son of Erik the Red, was possibly the first European to reach North America.

Italian tennis player Sara Errani has won several honors, including two WTA singles titles and six WTA doubles titles. She lost to Maria Sharapova in the final round of the 2012 French Open.

Hall of Fame basketball forward Julius Erving, or "Dr. J," was an acrobatic player in the NBA and ABA. His dunks and graceful play helped change the game.

Jaime Escalante became famous for his work with troubled, "unteachable" high school math students. His story was told in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver.

Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar's ambition and ruthlessness made him one of the wealthiest, most powerful, and most violent criminals of all-time.

Boxer Marlen Esparza is the first American female to qualify in her sport at the Olympics. At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, she won a bronze medal.

Musician Emilio Estefan founded the Miami Sound Machine, won multiple Grammy Awards and produced Latino superstars like Ricky Martin and Marc Antony.