Ralph D. Abernathy was a Baptist minister who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was a close adviser to Martin Luther King Jr.
1926-1990
1926-2007
Tony Bennett is an American jazz vocalist, best known for performing standards and his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."
1926-
Chuck Berry was one of the most popular and influential performers of rhythm-and-blues and rock 'n' roll music during the 1950s, '60s and '70s. He's known for songs like "Johnny B. Goode" and "My Ding-a-Ling."
1926-
American poet and activist Robert Bly is best known for writing Iron John: A Book About Men which is credited for starting the Mythopoetic men's movement.
1926-
Mel Brooks is an iconic filmmaker known for comedies like The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, among other works.
1926-
1926-2002
Marxist Cuban political leader Fidel Castro helped lead the Cuban Revolution, and served as president of Cuba from 1976 to 2008.
1926-
John Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer, and is an iconic figure of 20th century jazz.
1926-1967
Roger Corman is a film director and producer who helmed B-Movie classics and helped launch the careers of James Cameron, John Sayles, Ron Howard and others.
1926-
Nine-time Grammy Award winner Miles Davis was a major force in the jazz world, as both a trumpet player and a bandleader.
1926-1991
Ruth Ellis is best known for the murder of her lover, leading to her execution, the last of a woman in England.
1926-1955
1926-1984
Writer John Fowles's works include The French Lieutenant's Woman and combine a respect for the Victorian novel and an interest in contemporary French novels.
1926-2005
Clifford Geertz was a leading proponent of a form of anthropology that stresses the importance of symbols and interpretation in human social life.
1926-2006
Allen Ginsberg is one of the 20th century's most influential poets, regarded as a founding father of the Beat Movement and known for works like "Howl."
1926-1997
Peter Graves was an enormously successful film and TV actor. He is known for his role in Airplane! and for hosting A&E's signature series Biography.
1926-2010
Alan Greenspan is a financial adviser best known for his service as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of the United States from 1987 to 2006.
1926-
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
Gus Grissom transitioned from successful Air Force test pilot to NASA astronaut, despite a controversial landing in the Liberty Bell 7.
1926-1967
Fred Gwynne was an actor known for his roles as Herman Munster on the sitcom The Munsters and as the crusty judge in the film My Cousin Vinny.
1926-1993
1926-1993
Hugh Hefner created the adult entertainment magazine Playboy. Today, the Playboy brand includes an extensive publishing, TV and internet empire.
1926-
Entertainer, author and famous transsexual Christine Jorgensen, made headlines in the early 1950s for having a sex change from a man to a woman.
1926-1989
Actor Klaus Kinski made his mark in such films as Aguirre (1972), Nosferatu (1979) and Fitzcarraldo (1982).
1926-1991
1926-2006
1926-2004
Tim LaHaye is an evangelical Christian minister who helped found the Moral Majority and co-wrote the best-selling Left Behind series.
1926-
American actress Cloris Leachman has had a long, successful career in television and film, playing a range of dramatic and comedic roles.
1926-
Harper Lee is best known for writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning best-seller To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)—her one and only published novel.
1926-
1926-
Jerry Lewis rose to fame as Dean Martin's comedic partner. The two performed on stage before their film career began in 1949.
1926-
Actor, writer and producer James Lipton founded the Actors Studio Drama School and has hosted Bravo TV's Inside the Actors Studio since 1994.
1926-
Actor Paul Lynde is best known for his work on the fledgling game show Hollywood Squares, where he worked for 15 years.
1926-1982
Actress Marilyn Monroe overcame a difficult childhood to become of the world's biggest and most enduring sex symbols. She died of a drug overdose in 1962.
1926-1962
Patricia Neil was an American film and stage actress who is best known for her performances in The Day The Earth Stood Still and Breakfast at Tiffany's.
1926-2010
Leslie Neilsen was an actor known for his deadpan comic delivery in such films as Airplane! and The Naked Gun
.
1926-2010
Milo O'Shea was an Irish actor known for starring on the BBC sitcom Me Mammy and in Staircase, Broadway's first serious depiction of homosexual men.
1926-2013
As head football coach at Pennsylvania State University, Joe Paterno was one of the most successful coaches in the history of collegiate football.
1926-2012
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain was crowned in 1953. Her 60 years on the throne was celebrated in June 2012, with the Diamond Jubilee.
1926-
Actress Charlotte Rae is best known for her role as Mrs. Garrett on the TV series Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life.
1926-
1926-2000
Pete Rozelle is a U.S. sports executive best known for helping to turn the National Football League into one of the most successful leagues in the world.
1926-1996
Betye Saar is best known for her art work that critiques American racism toward blacks.
1926-
Comedian and pie-throwing television personality Soupy Sales was the popular host of such shows as Lunch with Soupy Sales and the Soupy Sales Show.
1926-2009
1926-2003
1926-
1926-
Dame Joan Sutherland is an Australian operatic soprano internationally acclaimed for her coloratura roles.
1926-2010
1926-1984
Businessman Claus Von Bulow was twice accused of attempting to kill his socialite wife, a diabetic, with doses of insulin, and was defended by Alan Dershowitz.
1926-
Jiang Zemin was president of China from 1993-2003 and worked to improve relations with the United States.
1926-