People a to z

Tex Avery was an American cartoonist best known for creating characters such as Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, Droopy and Chilly Willy.

American neuroscientist Richard Axel is best known for his work on the olfactory system, exploring how the brain interprets smell.

David Axelrod is a political consultant and strategist recognized for creating a winning campaign strategy for U.S. President Barack Obama.

Pharmacologist Julius Axelrod’s studies of neurotransmission of adrenalin and amphetamines led to his investigations into drugs for treatment of mental illness.

Dan Aykroyd is a Canadian actor and comedian known for his performances on Saturday Night Live, and in the hit films The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters.

In 2011, Kelly Ayotte was elected to represent New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate, after previously serving as the state's attorney general.

Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian tennis player and Olympic gold medalist. She is known for the loud grunting noise she makes when hitting the ball.

Charles Babbage was known for his contributions to the first mechanical computers, which laid the groundwork for more complex future designs.

Isaak Babel was a Russian writer of Jewish descent known for his masterful short stories. He was imprisoned and executed in the Stalin era.

Jessica Morales became famous in 1987, when, at 18 months old, she fell down a well in her aunt's backyard. She remained trapped for 58 hours while America watched on CNN.

Lauren Bacall is an Academy Award-nominated actress known for roles in films like The Big Sleep, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Fan and The Mirror Has Two Faces.

A magnificent classical composer, Johann Sebastian Bach is revered through the ages for his work's musical complexities and stylistic innovations.

Johann Christian Bach was a galant-style German composer of Italian opera during the early Classical period, and the youngest son of famed Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan is known for his roles in action movies like Zanjeer, and for hosting the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

Michele Bachmann is a congresswoman best known for her conservative Tea Party politics, and her candidacy for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

Jim Backus was a film and TV actor known for his roles in Rebel Without a Cause and Gilligan’s Island, as well as being the voice of Mr. Magoo.

Francis Bacon was an English Renaissance statesman and philosopher, best known for his promotion the scientific method.

Kevin Bacon is known for numerous movies (especially Footloose), his marriage to Kyra Sedgwick and the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Joan Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter and activist who is best known for her distinctive voice and for her role in popularizing the music of Bob Dylan.

Conrad Bain was a Canadian-American actor best known for his role as Philip Drummond on the hit show Diff'rent Strokes.

Scott Baio is a comedic actor and former teen heartthrob best known for his television roles as Chachi on Happy Days and as Charles on Charles in Charge.

Scottish engineer John Logie Baird was the first man to televise pictures of objects in motion. He also demonstrated color television, in 1928.

Civil rights activist Ella Baker worked with the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Considered one of the greatest drummers of all time, Ginger Baker played with the bands Cream and Blind Faith. He is known for using two bass drums in his kit.

Josephine Baker was a dancer and singer who became wildly popular in France during the 1920s. She also devoted much of her life to fighting racism.

American singer LaVern Baker helped pioneer the R&B sound in the 1950s and released multiple hits with Atlantic Records, including the famous "Tweedle Dee."

Mary Baker was best known as the imposter who posed as Princess Caraboo, a foreign princess from an exotic land.

Russell Baker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and columnist who authored the autobiographies Growing Up and The Good Times.

Vernon Baker was a highly decorated soldier and the only living black WWII veteran to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Social activist and pacifist Emily Greene Balch won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946 for being a lifetime advocate of the persecuted and oppressed.

American movie, television and theater actor Alec Baldwin is the star of the sitcom 30 Rock, for which he received Golden Globes and an Emmy.

Billy Baldwin is one of the four Baldwin brothers, all actors. He starred as a firefighter in the hit film Backdraft and is a recurring character on television's Gossip Girl.

Chuck Baldwin is a politician, writer, conservative pastor and radio talk show host. He was the Constitution Party's presidential candidate for the 2008 election.

James Baldwin was an essayist, playwright and novelist regarded as a highly insightful, iconic writer with works like The Fire Next Time and Another Country.

Roger Baldwin was an American civil rights activist who co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union.

Stanley Baldwin was a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister three times between 1923 and 1937.

Stephen Baldwin, youngest brother of actor Alec Baldwin, is known for his television and film career, and for his conservative political and religious beliefs.

Tammy Baldwin is the first openly gay politician elected to the U.S. Senate. She is also Wisconsin's first congresswoman.

Christian Bale is an award winning actor who as a child starred in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun, and is also know for his roles in Batman movies.

Cristóbal Balenciaga was a Spanish-French fashion designer and the leading couturier of Spain in the 1920s-30s. He moved to Paris during the Spanish Civil War.

One of America's most beloved comedians, Lucille Ball is particularly known for her iconic TV show I Love Lucy.

Singer Florence Ballard formed The Supremes in 1961 with childhood friends Mary Wilson and Diana Ross. She sang on 16 different Top 40 hits.

Deep-sea archaeologist and oceanographer Robert Ballard is best known for discovering the wreck of the RMS Titanic in 1985.

Anne Bancroft was an Oscar Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress famous for her roles in The Miracle Worker and The Graduate. She was married to comedian and film director Mel Brooks.

George Bancroft was known as the "father of U.S. history." His work, History of the United States, was the first comprehensive study of U.S. History.

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike was the fourth prime minister of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

Sirimavo R.D. Bandaranaike was a Sri Lankan political leader, becoming the world’s first woman prime minister in 1960.

Spanish actor Antonio Banderas starred in several of Pedro Almodóvar’s films. In America, he has played Zorro, and Puss in Boots in the Shrek film series.

Stage and screen actress Tallulah Bankhead starred in the plays They Knew What They Wanted and The Little Foxes. She was also in Hitchcock’s Lifeboat.

Elizabeth Banks is an Emmy Award-nominated film and television actress known for her work in Spider-Man, 30 Rock, W., Pitch Perfect and The Hunger Games.

Joseph Banks was a late-18th to early-19th century British explorer and botanist who pushed for the advancement of science.

A former supermodel, Tyra Banks turned her runway success into a multimedia brand and worked at the helm of two successful television series simultaneously.

Banksy is the pseudonym of a "guerrilla" street artist known for his controversial, and often politically themed, stenciled pieces.

Benjamin Banneker was a largely self-educated mathematician, astronomer, compiler of almanacs, inventor and writer.

Sir Frederick Grant Banting was a Canadian scientist and doctor, whose research led to the discovery of insulin to treat diabetic patients.

Buju Banton is a controversial Jamaican dancehall singer who is best known for his notorious single "Boom Bye Bye," which advocated violence against gays and inspired worldwide protest.

Imamu Amiri Baraka is an African-American poet and scholar. He has served as professor emeritus of Africana Studies at the State Unversity of New York at Stony Brook.

Nazi leader Klaus Barbie was head of the Gestapo in Lyon from 1942 to 1944, and was held responsible for the death and deportation thousands.

Javier Bardem is a Spanish actor, and the first Spaniard to be nominated for an Oscar. He played lead roles in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Eat, Pray, Love.

Brigitte Bardot is a French dancer, model and actress who became an international icon in the 1950s and '60s with films like And God Created Women and Contempt.

Bob Barker was the host of the TV game show

Writer and filmmaker Clive Barker is largely considered a master of the horror genre. His Books of Blood and Hellraiser films are among his best-known works.

Ma Barker is best known for supposedly leading the criminal behavior of her four sons.

Retired NBA player Charles Barkley was part of the 1992 U.S. Olympic "Dream Team" and was named one of the league's 50 greatest players in 1996.

Jim Barksdale is an American entrepreneur and business executive who served as president and CEO of Netscape from 1995 to 1999.

The first U.S. commissioner of education, Henry Barnard founded the Connecticut Common School journal and the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction.

Sometimes called Mr. Untouchable, Leroy 'Nicky' Barnes became one of the biggest drug dealers in New York City during the 1970s.

British playwright and screenplay writer Peter Barnes was well known for his unique, anti-naturalistic approach to theater and film.