Famous People Who Achievement a to z

Charles Addams was an American cartoonist whose work was frequently featured in The New Yorker. His most famous creation was the humorously macabre Addams Family.

Raúl Alfonsín was an Argentine lawyer, politician and is known best for being the first democratically elected president of Argentina.

Sidney Altman is a Nobel Prize-winning Canadian-American molecular biologist.

Judd Apatow is an Emmy-winning screenwriter, producer and director known for films like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and This Is 40.

Yasser Arafat was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization from 1969 until his death in 2004, a tumultuous period in which clashes with neighboring Israel were prevalent.

Tichina Arnold is best known for portraying Pam James, opposite Martin Lawrence, on the sitcom Martin and Rochelle on the show Everybody Hates Chris.

Svante Arrhenius was a Nobel Prize winning scientist known for his revolutionary theories in various fields, including physics, chemistry and astronomy.

W.H. Auden was a literary chameleon known for his poetry but who also wrote librettos, essays and verse dramas.

In 2011, Kelly Ayotte was elected to represent New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate, after previously serving as the state's attorney general.

Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian tennis player and Olympic gold medalist. She is known for the loud grunting noise she makes when hitting the ball.

Charles Babbage was known for his contributions to the first mechanical computers, which laid the groundwork for more complex future designs.

Tammy Baldwin is the first openly gay politician elected to the U.S. Senate. She is also Wisconsin's first congresswoman.

Spanish actor Antonio Banderas starred in several of Pedro Almodóvar’s films. In America, he has played Zorro, and Puss in Boots in the Shrek film series.

Retired NBA player Charles Barkley was part of the 1992 U.S. Olympic "Dream Team" and was named one of the league's 50 greatest players in 1996.

Mikhail Baryshnikov is a Russian-American ballet dancer who choreographed several iconic pieces which have made him one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century.

Patricia Bath is the first African American to complete a residency in ophthalmology. She invented the Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment in 1986.

Sir Cecil Beaton was an English fashion photographer who is also known for his work as a diarist, interior designer, and Oscar-winning stage and costume designer.

Warren Beatty is an Oscar-winning director and actor known for such films as Bonnie and Clyde, Reds and Heaven Can Wait.

Arnold Beckman was an American chemist who founded Beckman Instruments and funded the first silicon transistor company, giving rise to Silicon Valley.

English Restoration author, playwright and poet Aphra Behn wrote the short work of fiction Oroonoko, a love story about an African slave in Surinam.

Mexican actor and director Gael García Bernal starred as Che Guevera in The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) and as Stéphane Miroux in The Science of Sleep (2006).

Perhaps the most famous actress of all time, Sarah Bernhardt is regarded as one of the finest actors of the 19th century, appearing on the stage and in some of the earliest films ever produced.

Media magnate Conrad Black once owned The London Daily Telegraph and The Chicago Sun Times, before he was convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice.

William Blake was a 19th century writer and artist who is regarded as a seminal figure of the Romantic Age. His writings have influenced countless writers and artists through the ages, and he has been deemed both a major poet and an original thinker.

Army nurse Florence Blanchfield is best known for her struggle to attain full military rank, and for equal rights in the military.

Richard Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet of the United States, the first Latino and openly gay-identified person to hold the position.

Bluford became the first African American to travel in space in 1983, as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Challenger.

Arna Bontemps was an African-American author best known for his novels, children’s books and poems written during the 1930s-1970s.

American actor Peter Boyle is best known as the grumpy dad on the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, a role he held for eleven years.

Timothy Bradley is an American boxing champion, who has won WBO and WBC titles. In June 2012,  Bradley won a bout against multi-title champion Manny Pacquia, spurring disbelief among thousands of fans and wide media speculation. 

Anne Bradstreet was a 17th century writer who is credited as being one of the first English poets in the colonies.

Wayne Brady is a comedian and actor known for his work on TV's Whose Line Is It Anyhow, The Wayne Brady Show and Don't Forget the Lyrics.

American film Charles Bronson is best known for playing tough-guy, vigilante roles in films like The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Death Wish (1974).

Charlotte Brontë was an English 19th century writer whose novel Jane Eyre is considered a classic of Western literature.

Blues Singer Charles Brown belonged to John Moore’s Three Blazers and gained fame when the band released “Driftin’ Blues.”

Charlotte Hawkins Brown was a teacher and founder of the Palmer Memorial Institute, a trailblazing Southern prep school for African-American students.

Willie Brown is a politician who became the first African-American speaker of the California State Assembly in 1980. He later served as mayor of San Francisco.

In 1949, mathematician Marjorie Lee Browne became one of the first two African-American women to earn a Ph.D. in her field.

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."

Yul Brynner was an actor of stage and screen most famous for portraying King Mongkut of Siam in The King and I.

William F. Buckley was a writer and political TV personality who helped make conservative politics popular in the 1950s-1970s.

Canadian actor Raymond Burr is best known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside.

Michael Caine is a beloved Oscar-winning actor known for his roles in films like Alfie, Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules.

Stokely Carmichael was a Trinidadian-American political activist, best known as the leader of the civil rights group SNCC in the 1960s.

A chemist, W.H. Carothers worked for DuPont and with his research laid the foundation for the synthetic fiber industry.

Brazilian racecar driver Helio Castroneves won the Indianapolis 500 three times, and finished first on the television dance competition show Dancing with the Stars.

Willa Cather was a writer of poetry and novels known for such works as O Pioneers! and My Antonia.

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle was a French explorer best known for leading an expedition down the Mississippi River, claiming the region for France.

Charlemagne was the founder of the Carolingian Empire, best known for uniting Western Europe for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire.

Charles of Blois was a rival duke of Brittany in the mid-1300s.

Charles I of Hungary was forced to surrender his power to Wenceslas of Bohemia, but later reclaimed the throne and formed a defensive alliance with Poland.

Charles II was the monarch of England, Ireland and Scotland during much of the latter half of the 17th century, marking the Restoration era.

Charles Chesnutt was a trailblazing short-story author and novelist who presented African-American life in works like The Conjure Woman and The Colonel's Dream.

Charlie Christian was a pioneering electric jazz guitarist of the mid-20th century who would go on to greatly influence his successors.

Connie Chung is known as the first Asian and the second woman to anchor one of America’s major network news programs. She has worked at CBS, ABC, NBC and CNN.

As prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill rallied the British people during WWII, and led his country from the brink of defeat to victory.

Chelsea Clinton is a media correspondent and activist who is the daughter of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton.

Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane is best known for his roles such as Hagrid the Giant in the Harry Potter series and Mr. Hyde in Van Helsing.

Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American singer, best known as one of the most popular salsa performers of all time, recording 23 gold albums. 

Ann Curry is an American television jouralist who once anchored Dateline NBC, and co-anchored NBC's Today program from 2011 to 2012.

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter and a genius in many realms of science. He is best known for two paintings: the "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper."

In 1587, Virginia Dare was the first person born to English parents in America.

Willie Davenport was an Olympic athlete and medal winner and one of only a few Americans to compete in both the Summer and Winter games.

Philippe de Broca was a French filmmaker, best known for his light-hearted comedies. He was awarded the Legion of Honor for his contributions to French culture.

Charles Coulomb was a French engineer and physicist who made pioneering discoveries in his field and came up with the theory called Coulomb’s Law.

Soccer player Ronaldo starred for the Brazilian national team and several European clubs over the course of a career that spanned nearly two decades.

Vin Diesel is an actor known for his high-energy action movies, such as The Fast and the Furious franchise.

Christian Dior was a French fashion designer whose post–World War II creations were wildly popular, and whose legacy continues to influence the fashion industry.

William Dodd was an American historian and diplomat who wrote about the antebellum South and the Civil War.

William O. Douglas was a government official who in 1939 became the second youngest Supreme Court justice in U.S. history.