British novelist William Golding wrote the critically acclaimed classic Lord of the Flies, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983.
1911-1993
Leon Golub was an American painter who was both horrified and inspired by the Vietnam War.
1922-2004
Television producer Mark Goodson created many of the best-loved game shows of the 20th century, including What's My Line, The Price is Right and Family Feud.
1915-1992
Doris Kearns Goodwin is best known for authoring biographies of American presidents, including Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
1943-
American inventor Charles Goodyear discovered the process of vulcanizing rubber. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was posthumously named after him.
1800-1860
1923-1990
Jeff Gordon is best known as an American stock car race driver with the most wins in NASCAR modern history (1972-present).
1971-
Berry Gordy Jr. founded Motown Records, the most successful black owned music company in the history of the United States.
1929-
Lesley Gore is a singer-songwriter best remembered for her 1963 smash single "It's My Party." Gore also scored hits with "Maybe I Know" and "You Don't Own Me."
1946-
Charles Goren was an American lawyer and world champion bridge player known for his books and television program on the game.
1901-1991
1931-2005
Ryan Gosling is a Canadian actor best known for his film roles in The Notebook, Half Nelson and Crazy, Stupid, Love.
1980-
1936-
Stephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, and the best-selling writer of popular science books.
1941-2002
1933-2007
Billy Graham was an evangelist at revival meetings, and on radio and television for over 40 years. He preached to more individuals than anyone else in history.
1918-
1967-
Martha Graham is considered by many to be the 20th century's most important dancer and the mother of modern dance.
1894-1991
Antonio Gramsci was an Italian Communist Party leader. He was arrested for speaking out against fascism and wrote his Prison Notebooks before dying in jail.
1891-1937
Temple Grandin is a noted animal expert and advocate for autistic populations who has penned the books Animals in Translation and Animals Make Us Human.
1947-
1903-1991
Hugh Grant is a Golden Globe Award-winning British actor who starred in Four Weddings and a Funeral and the film adaptation of Bridget Jones's Diary.
1960-
British poet Robert Graves is best known for writing his first volumes of poetry, primarily about war, while serving at the Western Front during World War I.
1895-1985
Linda Gray is an American actress and director best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing on the popular series Dallas.
1940-
1955-
Adrian Grenier is an American actor recognized for his roles in independent films like The Adventures of Sebastian Cole, as well as for his longtime the popular cable television series Entourage.
1976-
Arguably hockey's greatest player, Wayne Gretzky played for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers during his long career.
1961-
American professional baseball player Ken Griffey, Jr. was a dominant power hitter of the 1990s and ranked among the best defensive outfielders of all time.
1969-
Andy Griffith is an actor and singer best known for his 1960s starring role in The Andy Griffith Show. He later returned to TV in the drama Matlock.
1926-2012
1957-
1968-
Charles Grodin is an actor, comedian and talk show host known for his roles in The Heartbreak Kid and Beethoven.
1935-
Ioan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor best known for playing Horatio Hornblower in the Emmy Award-winning A&E miniseries.
1973-
Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness was the grandson of Arthur Guinness, the founder of Guinness Brewery. Benjamin Guiness made the stout beer brand famous.
1798-1868
Thom Gunn was an award-winning poet known for works that included Fighting Terms, Touch and The Man With Night Sweats.
1929-2004
An early 20th century filmmaking pioneer and one of the first to make a narrative fiction film, Alice Guy-Blaché made more than 1,000 films and ran her own film studio in New Jersey, experimenting with sound syncing, color tinting, interracial casting and special effects.
1873-1968
1926-1993
1977-
Daryl Hall is a musician whose group Hall & Oates burned up the charts in the 1970s and early 1980s.
1946-
Michael C. Hall is an award-winning stage and television actor known for his starring roles on the series Six Feet Under and Dexter.
1971-
Virginia Hamilton was a multiple award-winning children's author whose work celebrated diversity and the African-American experience.
1934-2002
In 2007, actor Jon Hamm took on his most famous character to date, playing philandering ad executive Don Draper in the American Movie Classics show Mad Men.
1971-
1908-2002
1940-
1942-
W.C. Handy was an African-American composer and a leader in popularizing blues music in the early 20th century, with hits like "Memphis Blues" and "St. Louis Blues."
1873-1958
Jack Hanna, animal expert and former director of the Columbus Zoo, makes regular appearances on TV talk shows to teach people about exotic animals.
1947-
1910-2001
Scottish actor John Hannah played a supporting role opposite Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell in Four Weddings and a Funeral and was also in Sliding Doors.
1962-
Playwright and activist Lorraine Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun and was the first black playwright and the youngest American to win a New York Critics’ Circle award.
1930-1965
Jim Harbaugh is a former American football player who became a highly successful coach for Stanford University and the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.
1963-
John Harbaugh is an American football coach in the NFL and the older brother of former player-turned-coach Jim Harbaugh.
1962-
1971-
Actor Ed Harris played John Glenn in The Right Stuff, fought a water monster in The Abyss, and was a tormented artist in Pollack.
1950-
Jared Harris is a prolific British actor known for his role on the TV series Mad Men, and his performances in the films Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Lincoln.
1961-
Naomie Harris is a British actress best known for her roles in 28 Days Later, After the Sunset, the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and Skyfall (2012).
1976-
Irish actor Richard Harris is best known for his performances as King Arthur in Broadway's Camelot and Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films.
1930-2002
George Harrison was lead guitarist of The Beatles as well as a singer-songwriter on many of their most memorable tracks.
1943-2001
Rex Harrison was a Tony- and an Oscar-winning English actor known for his film and stage performances. His most famous role is that of Henry Higgins in the film musical My Fair Lady.
1908-1990
1935-
Teri Hatcher is an American Actress best known for her role on the hit television series Desperate Housewives.
1964-
Issac Hayes was an American musician. His hit song "Soul Man" and the musical score for the 1971 film Shaft are legendary contributions to modern music.
1942-2008
American film actress Rita Hayworth is best known for her stunning explosive sexual charisma on screen in films throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
1918-1987
Film and television actress Tippi Hedren was discovered by director Alfred Hitchcock and starred in two of his best known films, The Birds and Marnie.
1930-
Dorothy Height was a civil rights and women's rights activist focused primarily on improving the circumstances of and opportunities for African-American women.
1912-2010
1869-1936
Painter, Al Held was know for his painting complex cube-like structures in the 1960s, and his precise and brightly colored geometric forms in the 1980s.
1928-2005
1958-
1982-
1797-1878
Matthew Henson was an African American explorer best known as the co-discoverer of the North Pole with Robert Edwin Peary in 1909.
1866-1955
1965-
1750-1848
1877-1962
Jennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress and singer-songwriter best known for her role on the TV show Party of Five and her part in I Know What You Did Last Summer.
1979-
Taylor Hicks is an American singer-songwriter who rose to fame after his win on the fifth season of American Idol.
1976-
Mary Higgins Clark is a bestselling author of mystery and suspense books, best known for the novel Where Are the Children?
1927-
American fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger created a brand of clothing that was extremely popular with several different communities in the 1990s.
1951-
Writer and actor Jonah Hill starred in the teen hit Superbad. In 2011, he received an Oscar nomination for his performance in Moneyball.
1983-
Known for his photo collages and paintings of Los Angeles swimming pools, David Hockney is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century.
1937-
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has gained recognition for his work in a series of successful films including Capote and Doubt.
1967-
1939-
William Holden was an actor who perfected the role of the cynic who acts heroically in spite of his scorn or pessimism.
1918-1981
1969-
Ian Holm is best known for playing Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. He also had notable parts in Alien, The Fifth Element and The Sweet Hereafter.
1931-
1949-
1836-1910
Maxine Hong Kingston is a Chinese American author of memoirs and fiction. Her best known work is The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among the Ghosts.
1940-
Bob Hope was a entertainer and comic actor, known for his rapid-fire delivery of jokes and for his success in virtually all entertainment media.
1903-2003
Roy Horn is half of the headlining Las Vegas magical duo Siegfried & Roy who survived severe injuries after an onstage tiger attack.
1944-
1964-
Charles H. Houston was an attorney and vice-dean who worked in important civil rights cases, ultimately helping to end Jim Crow laws.
1895-1950
Brittany Howard is the lead singer for the popular rock group Alabama Shakes.
Moe Howard was the leader of the vaudeville and film comedy team, The Three Stooges.
1897-1975
Terrence Howard is an American actor best known for his award-nominated performance in the 2005 film Hustle & Flow.
1969-
C. Thomas Howell is best known for his acting roles in hit 1980s films E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (directed by Steven Spielberg), The Outsiders (1983) and The Hitcher (1986).
1966-
Dolores Huerta is an activist and labor leader who co-founded what would become the United Farm Workers.
1930-
Writer Ted Hughes wrote poetry, non-fiction and children’s books. He was married to poet Sylvia Plath who committed suicide a year after he left her.
1930-1998
Hubert H. Humphrey was an assistant majority leader of the Senate who became the 38th U.S. vice president under Lyndon B. Johnson.
1911-1978