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Desi Arnaz
Film Actor, Television Actor, Musician / 1917 - 1986
Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born actor and musician who is remembered for his marriage to Lucille Ball and their TV show, I Love Lucy.
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(1917-1986)
Film Actor, Television Actor, Musician
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Edith Bouvier Beale
Actress, Model / 1917 - 2002
Edith Bouvier Beale ("Little Edie") was an eccentric cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. She became a cult figure and fashion icon after her appearance in the documentary Grey Gardens.
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(1917-2002)
Actress, Model
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Ernest Borgnine
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor / 1917 - 2012
Actor Ernest Borgnine’s role in the film Marty transformed him from a stereotyped character actor to a leading man, earning him an Academy Award as Best Actor.
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(1917-2012)
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor
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Tom Bradley
Police Officer, Lawyer, Mayor / 1917 - 1998
Tom Bradley was a lawyer and police officer who became the first African-American mayor of Los Angeles, serving from 1973 to 1993.
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(1917-1998)
Police Officer, Lawyer, Mayor
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Maeve Brennan
Journalist, Author / 1917 - 1993
Maeve Brennan was an Irish short story writer and journalist known for her wit, charm and tragic end.
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(1917-1993)
Journalist, Author
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Gwendolyn Brooks
Poet / 1917 - 2000
Gwendolyn Brooks was a postwar poet best known as the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize, for her 1949 book Annie Allen.
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(1917-2000)
Poet
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Anthony Burgess
Literary Critic, Songwriter, Author, Poet / 1917 - 1993
Anthony Burgess was an English novelist and composer best known for his novel A Clockwork Orange, which became a popular 1971 Stanley Kubrik film.
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(1917-1993)
Literary Critic, Songwriter, Author, Poet
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Raymond Burr
Film Actor / 1917 - 1993
Canadian actor Raymond Burr is best known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside.
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(1917-1993)
Film Actor
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Robert C. Byrd
U.S. Representative / 1917 - 2010
Robert C. Byrd is best known as the longest-serving senator and longest-serving member in the history of the United States Congress.
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(1917-2010)
U.S. Representative
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Arthur C. Clarke
Author / 1917 - 2008
An author of more than 100 books, Arthur C. Clarke’s imagination and insight influenced modern science via works like his classic 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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(1917-2008)
Author
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John Warcup Cornforth
Academic, Chemist / 1917 -
John Warcup Cornforth is an Australian scientist who won the 1975 Nobel Prize for his research in stereochemistry and enzyme-based synthesis.
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(1917-)
Academic, Chemist
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Lloyd N. Cutler
Lawyer / 1917 - 2005
Known as a Washington insider, attorney Lloyd Cutler was chief counsel to President Jimmy Carter.
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(1917-2005)
Lawyer
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Ossie Davis
Civil Rights Activist, Actor, Director, Writer / 1917 - 2005
Ossie Davis was an American actor, writer, social activist and humanitarian. He often performed with wife Ruby Dee in plays, in film and on television.
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(1917-2005)
Civil Rights Activist, Actor, Director, Writer
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Phyllis Diller
Film Actress, Comedian, Pianist / 1917 - 2012
First noticed as a contestant on Groucho Marx's game show in 1955, Phyllis Diller went on to become a successful comedian, actress and author.
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(1917-2012)
Film Actress, Comedian, Pianist
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Will Eisner
Illustrator / 1917 - 2005
Will Eisner was a cartoonist and writer known for creating Hawks of the Sea and, more notably, The Spirit.
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(1917-2005)
Illustrator
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Ella Fitzgerald
Singer / 1917 - 1996
Ella Fitzgerald, known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist who interpreted much of the Great American Songbook.
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(1917-1996)
Singer
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Joan Fontaine
Film Actress / 1917 -
Academy Award-winning actress Joan Fontaine has appeared in such films as Rebecca (1940), Suspicion (1941), Jane Eyre (1944) and Othello (1952).
See full bio
(1917-)
Film Actress
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June Foray
Actress / 1917 -
June Foray is an American actress best known for her voice work on classic Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera television shows.
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(1917-)
Actress
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Zsa Zsa Gabor
Actress / 1917 -
Zsa Zsa Gabor is an actress and socialite famous for her bubbly, flirtatious persona -- referring to nearly everyone as "darling." She's been married nine times.
See full bio
(1917-)
Actress
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Indira Gandhi
Prime Minister / 1917 - 1984
Indira Gandhi was India's third prime minister, serving from 1966 until 1984, when her life ended in assassination. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister.
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(1917-1984)
Prime Minister
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Dizzy Gillespie
Songwriter, Singer, Trumpet Player / 1917 - 1993
A jazz trumpeter and composer, Dizzy Gillespie played with Charlie Parker and developed the music known as "bebop." His best-known compositions include "Oop Bob Sh' Bam," "Groovin' High," "Salt Peanuts" and "A Night in Tunisia."
See full bio
(1917-1993)
Songwriter, Singer, Trumpet Player
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Katharine Graham
Business Leader, Publisher, Journalist / 1917 - 2001
Katharine Graham was an owner and publisher of news publications. Her best-selling autobiography, Personal History, earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1997.
See full bio
(1917-2001)
Business Leader, Publisher, Journalist
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Fannie Lou Hamer
Civil Rights Activist, Philanthropist / 1917 - 1977
Fannie Lou Hamer was a civil rights activists who helped African Americans register to vote and who cofounded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
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(1917-1977)
Civil Rights Activist, Philanthropist
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Susan Hayward
Film Actress, Pin-up / 1917 - 1975
Film actress Susan Hayward earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress for her role in Smash-Up, and later won for her performance in I Want to Live.
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(1917-1975)
Film Actress, Pin-up
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Celeste Holm
Actress / 1917 - 2012
Academy Award-winning actress Celeste Holm is known for her roles in the 1943 Broadway musical Oklahoma! and the film Gentleman's Agreement.
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(1917-2012)
Actress
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John Lee Hooker
Guitarist, Singer / 1917 - 2001
Blues singer and guitarist John Lee Hooker was one of the most distinguished figures in blues and was a great influence on bands such as The Rolling Stones.
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(1917-2001)
Guitarist, Singer
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Lena Horne
Civil Rights Activist, Actress, Dancer, Pin-up, Singer / 1917 - 2010
Actress and singer Lena Horne was one of the most popular performers of her time, known for films such as The Wiz and her trademark song, "Stormy Weather."
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(1917-2010)
Civil Rights Activist, Actress, Dancer, Pin-up, Singer
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John F. Kennedy
Civil Rights Activist, U.S. President, U.S. Representative / 1917 - 1963
John F. Kennedy, the 35th U.S. president, negotiated the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and initiated the Alliance for Progress. He was assassinated in 1963.
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(1917-1963)
Civil Rights Activist, U.S. President, U.S. Representative
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Jacob Lawrence
Academic, Painter / 1917 - 2000
Jacob Lawrence was an American painter, and the most widely acclaimed African-American artist of the 20th century. He is best known for his Migration Series.
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(1917-2000)
Academic, Painter
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Robert Lowell
Civil Rights Activist, Anti-War Activist, Poet / 1917 - 1977
Robert Lowell is the founder of the confessional poetry movement which emphasizes the intimate and often unflattering details about the poet's personal life.
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(1917-1977)
Civil Rights Activist, Anti-War Activist, Poet
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Arthur Leslie Lydiard
Coach, Track and Field Athlete / 1917 -
Arthur Leslie Lydiard is a former marathon runner from from New Zealand and a coach of Olympic gold medalists. He popularized jogging in the 1960s.
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(1917-)
Coach, Track and Field Athlete
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Ferdinand Marcos
Lawyer, Dictator / 1917 - 1989
Known for running a corrupt, undemocratic regime, Ferdinand Marcos was the president of the Philippines from 1966 to 1986.
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(1917-1989)
Lawyer, Dictator
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Dean Martin
Actor, Comedian, Singer / 1917 - 1995
Actor, singer Dean Martin starred in several films with Jerry Lewis and belonged to the "Rat Pack," which included Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr.
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(1917-1995)
Actor, Comedian, Singer
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Carson McCullers
Author, Playwright / 1917 - 1967
The work of Carson McCullers, author of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and The Member of the Wedding, is must-read southern gothic fiction.
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(1917-1967)
Author, Playwright
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Robert Merrill
Film Actor, Singer, Journalist / 1917 - 2004
Baritone Robert Miller was best known as a favorite of the Metropolitan Opera for 30 years, also appearing in orchestras, films and musical comedies.
See full bio
(1917-2004)
Film Actor, Singer, Journalist
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Robert Mitchum
Film Actor, Songwriter, Singer / 1917 - 1997
A legendary tough guy on and off-screen, Robert Mitchum was one of the most memorable leading men of the twentieth century.
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(1917-1997)
Film Actor, Songwriter, Singer
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Thelonious Monk
Songwriter, Pianist / 1917 - 1982
Thelonious Monk is one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time and one of first creators of modern jazz.
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(1917-1982)
Songwriter, Pianist
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I.M. Pei
Architect / 1917 -
I.M. Pei is a Chinese-born American architect, perhaps best known for his controversial glass pyramid in the courtyard at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
See full bio
(1917-)
Architect
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Irving Penn
Photographer / 1917 - 2009
The stunning portraits of photographer Irving Penn have been collected in several books and exhibitions.
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(1917-2009)
Photographer
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Byron R. White
Football Player, Lawyer, Supreme Court Justice, Government Official / 1917 - 2002
President John F. Kennedy appointed Byron R. White deputy U.S. attorney general in 1961. A year later White was appointed to the Supreme Court where he served until 1993.
See full bio
(1917-2002)
Football Player, Lawyer, Supreme Court Justice, Government Official
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Buddy Rich
Drummer / 1917 - 1987
Buddy Rich played drums in swing bands with Artie Shaw and Tommy Dorsey, and was known for his drumming speed.
See full bio
(1917-1987)
Drummer
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Phil Rizzuto
Baseball Player, Radio Personality / 1917 - 2007
Italian-American Phil Rizzuto was an American Major League Baseball
shortstop who spent his 13 year athletic career playing for the New York
Yankees.
See full bio
(1917-2007)
Baseball Player, Radio Personality
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Augusto Roa Bastos
Author / 1917 - 2005
Paraguayan author Augusto Roa Bastos received the Premio Cervantes prize in 1989 for books like I, the Supreme (1947).
See full bio
(1917-2005)
Author
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Isabel Sanford
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress / 1917 - 2004
Isabel Sanford was an American actress, best known for her role as Louise "Weezy" Jefferson on the hit TV sitcoms All in the Family and The Jeffersons.
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(1917-2004)
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress
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Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
Historian, Academic Author / 1917 - 2007
Historian and political adviser Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. won his second Pulitzer Prize for A Thousand Days, a study of the Kennedy administration.
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(1917-2007)
Historian, Academic Author
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Sidney Sheldon
Author, Screenwriter / 1917 - 2007
Sidney Sheldon was a best-selling novelist who won Oscar, Tony and Emmy awards for his work on the stage and screen.
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(1917-2007)
Author, Screenwriter
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Helen Suzman
Civil Rights Activist, Government Official / 1917 - 2009
Helen Suzman was a white South African legislator who for many years was the only government official speaking out against apartheid measures.
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(1917-2009)
Civil Rights Activist, Government Official
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Oliver Tambo
Activist / 1917 - 1993
Oliver Tambo was the acting president of the African National Congress, the South African anti-apartheid political party. Tambo served primarily in exile.
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(1917-1993)
Activist
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Caspar Weinberger
Lawyer, Government Official / 1917 - 2003
Caspar Weinberger served in three U.S. presidential administrations. He was appointed Secretary of Defense after Reagan’s election in 1980.
See full bio
(1917-2003)
Lawyer, Government Official
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Andrew Wyeth
Painter / 1917 - 2009
Andrew Wyeth was an American realist painter who painted subjects around his hometown pf Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. His most famous work is Christina's World.
See full bio
(1917-2009)
Painter
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Jane Wyman
Actress / 1917 - 2007
Jane Wyman was a Academy Award-winning American screen actress who was also Ronald Reagan's first wife.
See full bio
(1917-2007)
Actress