a
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Bella Abzug
Women's Rights Activist, Anti-War Activist, Lawyer, U.S. Representative / 1920 - 1998
Bella Abzug was a leading liberal activist and politician in the 1960s and 1970s, especially known for her work for women’s rights.
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(1920-1998)
Women's Rights Activist, Anti-War Activist, Lawyer, U.S. Representative
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Isaac Asimov
Writer / 1920 - 1992
Scholar Isaac Asimov was one of the 20th century's most prolific writers, writing in many genres. He was known for sci-fi works like Foundation and I, Robot.
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(1920-1992)
Writer
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Otis Boykin
Inventor / 1920 - 1982
Otis Boykin’s noteworthy inventions include a wire precision resistor and a control unit for the pacemaker. When he died in 1982, he had 26 patents in his name.
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(1920-1982)
Inventor
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Ray Bradbury
Author, Poet / 1920 - 2012
American fantasy and horror author Ray Bradbury is best known for his novels Fahrenheit 451, The Illustrated Man and The Martian Chronicles.
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(1920-2012)
Author, Poet
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Dave Brubeck
Songwriter, Pianist / 1920 - 2012
Dave Brubeck was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his unconventional meters, as well as songs like "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke."
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(1920-2012)
Songwriter, Pianist
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Yul Brynner
Film Actor, Theater Actor / 1920 - 1985
Yul Brynner was an actor of stage and screen most famous for portraying King Mongkut of Siam in The King and I.
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(1920-1985)
Film Actor, Theater Actor
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Charles Bukowski
Author, Poet / 1920 - 1994
Author and poet Charles Bukowski wrote the gritty poetry book Love is a Dog from Hell, and the novels Barfly and Factotum, both of which were made into films.
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(1920-1994)
Author, Poet
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Owen Chamberlain
Physicist / 1920 - 2006
Owen Chamberlain worked on the Manhattan atomic bomb project. He and his colleague Emilio Segrè received a Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the antiproton.
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(1920-2006)
Physicist
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Montgomery Clift
Film Actor / 1920 - 1966
Actor Montgomery Clift starred in films like Red River (1948), A Place in the Sun (1951), and From Here To Eternity (1953).
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(1920-1966)
Film Actor
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Laraine Day
Film Actress, Television Actress / 1920 - 2007
American actress Laraine Day portrayed steadfast women in Hollywood films of the 1940s, including nurse Mary Lamont in seven Dr. Kildare movies.
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(1920-2007)
Film Actress, Television Actress
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I.A.L. Diamond
Screenwriter / 1920 - 1988
I.A.L. Diamond was a Romanian-born American screenwriter who worked extensively with director Bill Wilder.
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(1920-1988)
Screenwriter
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James Doohan
Film Actor, Television Actor / 1920 - 2005
Actor James Doohan will forever be remembered as the Scottish chief engineer Scotty in the popular science fiction television and film series Star Trek.
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(1920-2005)
Film Actor, Television Actor
e
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Michael Evans
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor / 1920 - 2007
Michael Evans was a British actor of stage and screen, best known for his role in Gigi, the play that made Audrey Hepburn a star.
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(1920-2007)
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor
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Richard Farnsworth
Film Actor, Television Actor / 1920 - 2000
Richard Farnsworth was a stuntman for 30 years before he started his career as an actor. He is best known for his performance in The Grey Fox (1982).
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(1920-2000)
Film Actor, Television Actor
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Federico Fellini
Director / 1920 - 1993
Italian film director Federico Fellini was one of the most celebrated and distinctive filmmakers of the period after World War II.
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(1920-1993)
Director
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Rosalind Franklin
Chemist / 1920 - 1958
British chemist Rosalind Franklin is best known for her role in the discovery of the structure of DNA ,and for her pioneering use of X-ray diffraction.
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(1920-1958)
Chemist
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Gordon Gould
Physicist / 1920 - 2005
Gordon Gould contributed to the invention of a Laser that uses visible light and the first use of the acronym LASER, in 1959.
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(1920-2005)
Physicist
h
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Arthur Hailey
Author / 1920 - 2004
Novelist Arthur Hailey wrote successful books-turned-movies Hotel (1965) and Airport (1968).
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(1920-2004)
Author
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Leona Helmsley
Business Leader / 1920 - 2007
Leona Helmsley was a New York real estate tycoon whose legal troubles were as well known as her successes.
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(1920-2007)
Business Leader
j
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François Jacob
Biologist, Physiologist / 1920 -
Follow the discoveries of François Jacob on Biography.com. He won a Nobel Prize in Physiology for discoveries involving the regulatory activities of bacteria.
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(1920-)
Biologist, Physiologist
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Janet Jagan
Activist, Nurse, World Leader, Prime Minister / 1920 - 2009
Janet Jagan co-founded the People's Progressive Party. She was the first woman to become prime minister of Guyana and was also Guyana’s first female president.
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(1920-2009)
Activist, Nurse, World Leader, Prime Minister
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Daniel James Jr.
General, Pilot / 1920 - 1978
Daniel James, an alumni of the famous Tuskegee Institute, was the first African-American four-star general in the U.S. Air Force.
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(1920-1978)
General, Pilot
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P.D. James
Author / 1920 -
P.D. James is an English mystery writer best known for her series of novels featuring fictional detective Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard.
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(1920-)
Author
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Lawrence Klein
Economist / 1920 -
American economist Lawrence Klein’s work in developing macroeconometric models won him the 1980 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
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(1920-)
Economist
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Timothy Leary
Psychologist / 1920 - 1996
Timothy Leary was an American psychologist and author who was a leading advocate for the use of LSD and other psychoactive drugs.
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(1920-1996)
Psychologist
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Peggy Lee
Film Actress, Television Actress, Songwriter, Singer / 1920 - 2002
American singer and songwriter Peggy Lee is best known as one of the most influential jazz vocalists of all time, with a career spanning six decades.
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(1920-2002)
Film Actress, Television Actress, Songwriter, Singer
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Bob Lemon
Baseball Player, Coach / 1920 - 2000
Bob Lemon was an All Star Major League Baseball pitcher who had his heyday in the 1940s and 1950s.
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(1920-2000)
Baseball Player, Coach
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John Lewis
Songwriter, Pianist / 1920 - 2001
American jazz pianist and composer John Lewis was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet, one of the longest-lived and best-received groups in jazz history.
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(1920-2001)
Songwriter, Pianist
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Walter Matthau
Film Actor / 1920 - 2000
Walter Matthau was an actor known for his gruff on-screen demeanor in such films as The Odd Couple and Grumpy Old Men.
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(1920-2000)
Film Actor
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Jayne Meadows
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress, Television Personality / 1920 -
Jayne Meadows is an American actress best known for her television work on I’ve Got a Secret (1952-'59). She is the wife of comedian Steve Allen.
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(1920-)
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress, Television Personality
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Ricardo Montalban
Actor / 1920 - 2009
Actor Ricardo Montalban is best known for playing Mr. Roarke on television's Fantasy Island—the role that launched him into true stardom.
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(1920-2009)
Actor
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Sun Myung Moon
Business Leader, Religious Leader / 1920 - 2012
Sun Myung Moon was founder and leader of the Unification Church, a religious movement whose followers were labeled "Moonies."
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(1920-2012)
Business Leader, Religious Leader
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Howard Nemerov
Educator, Author, Poet / 1920 - 1991
Twice appointed the United States' poet laureate, Howard Nemerov was a writer with wit and illuminating irony.
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(1920-1991)
Educator, Author, Poet
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Douglass C. North
Economist, Academic Author / 1920 -
Douglass C. North received the 1993 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work applying economic theory and statistical methods to the study of history.
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(1920-)
Economist, Academic Author
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Maureen O'Hara
Film Actress, Pin-up, Singer / 1920 -
Maureen O'Hara was an Irish-born actress who was billed alongside Hollywood's leading men in a slew of swashbuckling features in the 1940s.
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(1920-)
Film Actress, Pin-up, Singer
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Charlie Parker
Songwriter, Saxophonist / 1920 - 1955
Charlie Parker was a legendary Grammy Award–winning jazz saxophonist who with Dizzy Gillespie invented the musical style called bop or bebop.
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(1920-1955)
Songwriter, Saxophonist
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John Paul II
Pope / 1920 - 2005
Pope John Paul II made history in 1978 by becoming the first non-Italian pope in more than four hundred years.
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(1920-2005)
Pope
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Frank Perdue
Business Leader / 1920 - 2005
Frank Perdue transformed Perdue Farms into one of the country’s largest poultry processors and starred in a national advertising campaign.
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(1920-2005)
Business Leader
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Mario Puzo
Author, Screenwriter / 1920 - 1999
Mario Puzo became famous when he adapted his novel The Godfather into a screenplay for director Francis Ford Coppola in the 1960s.
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(1920-1999)
Author, Screenwriter
r
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Tony Randall
Television Actor / 1920 - 2004
Tony Randall was an actor who played popular television character Felix Unger on the hit series The Odd Couple.
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(1920-2004)
Television Actor
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Eric Rohmer
Director / 1920 - 2010
French film director Eric Rohmer was an editor of respected periodicals, including Cahiers du Cinéma, and the maker of films like My Night at Maud's.
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(1920-2010)
Director
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Esther Rolle
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress / 1920 - 1998
A stage, film and TV actress, Esther Rolle is best remembered as Florida Evans -- a character she played on two comedy series, Maude and Good Times.
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(1920-1998)
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress
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Mickey Rooney
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor, Comedian, Singer / 1920 -
Mickey Rooney was a child star best known for his role as Andy Hardy in a long-running film series. He a starred in a number of musicals with Judy Garland.
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(1920-)
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor, Comedian, Singer
s
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Ravi Shankar
Musician / 1920 - 2012
Ravi Shankar was an Indian musician and composer best known for popularizing the sitar and Indian classical music in Western culture.
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(1920-2012)
Musician
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Isaac Stern
Musician / 1920 - 2001
Musician, Isaac Stern was a famous violinist and was responsible for discovering Yo-Yo Ma.
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(1920-2001)
Musician
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John Paul Stevens
Supreme Court Justice / 1920 -
John Paul Stevens was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975. In 2008 he renounced the death penalty as unconstitutional.
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(1920-)
Supreme Court Justice
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David Susskind
Talk Show Host, Television Producer / 1920 - 1987
David Susskind was a TV producer and host of the talk shows Open End (1958–67) and The David Susskind Show (1967–86).
See full bio
(1920-1987)
Talk Show Host, Television Producer
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Percy Sutton
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer / 1920 - 2009
Percy Sutton was a Freedom Rider, civil rights activist and prominent African-American lawyer best known for representing Malcolm X.
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(1920-2009)
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer
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Helen Thomas
Television Personality, Journalist / 1920 -
Helen Thomas was the first female member of the White House press corps and the United Press International’s first female White House bureau chief.
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(1920-)
Television Personality, Journalist
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Gene Tierney
Film Actress, Pin-up / 1920 - 1991
Actress Gene Tierney had a rocky start in Hollywood, but is best known for her role as a memorable murder victim in the 1944 film Laura.
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(1920-1991)
Film Actress, Pin-up
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Kath Walker
Activist, Journalist, Author, Poet / 1920 - 1993
Australian Aboriginal writer and political activist Kath Walker is considered the first of the modern-day Aboriginal protest writers.
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(1920-1993)
Activist, Journalist, Author, Poet
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Shelley Winters
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Pin-up / 1920 - 2006
Shelley Winters was a popular American actress who is perhaps most remembered for her starring role in the 1951 film A Place in the Sun, for which won an Oscar.
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(1920-2006)
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Pin-up