Famous People Born in Massachusetts a to z

Abigail Adams was the wife of President John Adams and the mother of John Quincy Adams, who became the sixth president of the United States.

John Adams was a Founding Father, the first vice president of the United States and the second president. His son, John Quincy Adams, was the sixth president.

John Quincy Adams was the sixth president of the United States. He was also the eldest son of President John Adams, the second U.S. president.

American Revolutionary Samuel Adams organized the Boston Tea Party and signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

Sheldon Adelson developed COMDEX, a computer trade show, which made him a fortune and launched him into the casino resort business.

Casey Affleck is best known as an actor in films including Gone Baby Gone, and as the brother of actor Ben Affleck.

Actress Jane Alexander won Emmy Awards for her roles in Playing for Time and Warm Springs. In 1992, she became chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Susan B. Anthony was a prominent American civil rights activist and leader during the women's suffrage movement of the 1800s.

Johnny Appleseed is a folk hero based on frontier nurseryman John Chapman, who established orchards throughout the American Midwest.

Lillian Asplund was a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic and the last living American survivor.

Crispus Attucks was an African-American man killed during the Boston Massacre, making him the first casualty of the American Revolution.

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

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

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.

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.

Clara Barton was an educator, nurse and founder of the American Red Cross.

A professor and a poet, Katharine Lee Bates wrote the poem "America the Beautiful." Her poem became the lyrics to the popular American ballad still enjoyed today.

Robert Benchley was an American humorist, drama critic and film actor who is best known for his small roles in over 40 films, including How To Sleep.

Leonard Bernstein was one of the first American-born conductors to receive worldwide fame. He composed the score for the Broadway musical West Side Story.

Thomas Blanchard was an American inventor whose patents contributed to the development of the mass production system.

Michael Bloomberg is a billionaire buisnessman and a three-term mayor of New York City.

Lizzie Borden is best known for her arrest and trial for the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother. She was acquitted in 1893.

Acting since college, Connie Britton finally found real fame on television in her mid-30s with Friday Night Lights, American Horror Story and Nashville.

American clergyman Phillips Brooks, ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1860, is best known for authoring the Christmas carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem."

Singer Bobby Brown, known for hits including "Don't Be Cruel" and "Humpin' Around," is also famous for his troubled marriage to Whitney Houston.

James "Whitey" Bulger was a preeminent figure in Boston's organized crime scene from the 1970s until the mid-'90s, when he fled the area. He was captured in California in 2011, and now faces numerous charges, including money laundering, extortion and participating in 19 murders.

The 41st president of the United States, George H.W. Bush served as vice president under Ronald Reagan. He is the father of George W. Bush, the 43rd president.

Susan Butcher was a champion American dog musher and four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Television and film actor Steve Carell earned recognition on The Dana Carvey Show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Office and in The 40 Year Old Virgin.

U.S. short-story writer and novelist John Cheever’s story collections include The Stories of John Cheever, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1978.

Connie Mack was manager of the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Athletics, and owner of the Athletics. He helped establish the American League.

Comedian Dane Cook released multiple comedy albums, including Harmful if Swallowed (2003) and Retaliation (2005). He has since done multiple comedy acts and acted in film.

Jeff Corwin is a conservationist and the television host and producer of The Jeff Corwin Experience on the Animal Planet network.

In 1997 Erin Crocker became the youngest race car driver to win a feature at Whip City Speedway en route to Rookie-of-the-Year honors.

Marcia Cross is best known for her role in Desperate Housewives as Bree Van De Kamp, opposite Terri Hatcher and Eva Longoria.

American actress Jane Curtin rose to fame in 1975 as one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live. She went on to star in the popular sitcoms Kate & Allie (1984) and 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996). 

Nicknamed "the Black Dahlia," Elizabeth Short was brutally murdered in Los Angeles in 1947, her body cut in half and severely mutilated. The Black Dahlia's killer was never found, making her murder one of the oldest cold case files in L.A. to date, and the city's most famous.

Matt Damon is an American actor and Academy Award-winning screenwriter for his work on Good Will Hunting. He plays Jason Bourne in the hit film series.

Bette Davis is remembered as one of Hollywood's legendary leading ladies, famous for her larger-than-life persona and for her nearly 100 film appearances.

Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis played Thelma in the 1991 cult classic Thelma & Louise, starring opposite Susan Sarandon.

Ferdinand Waldo Demara, Jr. traveled the country posing as a Navy officer, a surgeon, a teacher, and more, beginning in the 1940s. He is known as the "Great Imposter" for pulling off some of the greatest identity hoaxes in history.

Cecil B. DeMille was an actor, director and producer who became a giant of the 20th century film industry, known for epics like The Ten Commandments.

Alberto DeSalvo is best known for confessing to be the Boston Strangler.

While never popular in her lifetime, Emily Dickinson has become one of the most widely known, most revered poets in history.

Dorothea Dix was an educator and social reformer whose devotion to the welfare of the mentally ill led to widespread international reforms.

W.E.B. Du Bois was one of the most important African-American activists during the first half of the 20th century. He co-founded the NAACP and supported Pan-Africanism.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American Transcendentalist poet, philosopher and essayist during the 19th century. One of his best-known essays is "Self-Reliance.”

Actress Kathryn Erbe starred on the HBO prison drama Oz, and was also cast on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, a spin-off of the popular crime drama Law & Order.

June Foray is an American actress best known for her voice work on classic Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera television shows.

Benjamin Franklin is best known as one of the Founding Fathers who drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.

Margaret Fuller is best known for feminist writing and literary criticism in 19th century America.

William Lloyd Garrison was an American journalistic crusader who helped lead the successful abolitionist campaign against slavery in the United States.

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.

Mike Gravel is a former U.S. senator from Alaska, known for his efforts to end the draft during the Vietnam War and for releasing the Pentagon Papers.

Hetty Green was an American businesswoman who lived in the 1800s and was best known as one of the first women to make a fortune on Wall Street.

American psychologist G. Stanley Hall was a trailblazer in his field. He established the concept of child psychology and founded Clark University.

John Hancock was an 18th century U.S. merchant who was president of the Continental Congress and the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.

An influential teacher in the 19th century, theologian Mark Hopkins stressed moral values over intellectual achievement and self-education over dogmatic education.

Inventor Elias Howe patented his plans for the first practical sewing machine in 1846, and successfully sued Isaac Singer for the rights in 1854.

Howard Johnson was a 20th century entrepreneur who opened up a pioneering chain of restaurants and motels.

Lois Mailou Jones was a painter whose works reflect a command of widely varied styles, from traditional landscape to African-themed abstraction.

Madeleine Kahn was an actress of stage and screen known for her roles in Mel Brooks' comedies such as Blazing Saddles and High Anxiety.

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.

Joseph P. Kennedy is best known as the father of three political leaders: President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Representative Ted Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, who served as a U.S. senator and attorney general.

A part of the famed American political dynasty, Joseph P. Kennedy became the latest member of his family to win public office in 2012. He won a seat to the U.S. House of Representatives, taking over for the retiring Barney Frank.

Robert Kennedy was Attorney General during his brother JFK's administration. He later served as a U.S. Senator and was assassinated during his run for the presidency.