Famous People Named John a to z

John Hinckley Jr. gained national notoriety in 1981 when he attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan outside of a Washington, D.C. hotel.

Film director and screenwriter John Hughes directed a string of hit teen films, including Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink.

Award-winning, bestselling American novelist John Irving is known for works like The Cider House Rules and The World According to Garp.

J.J. Jackson was disc jockey, television personality and one of the first VJs (video jockeys) on MTV.

English Romantic lyric poet John Keats was dedicated to the perfection of poetry marked by vivid imagery that expressed a philosophy through classical legend.

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.

Later the publisher of political magazine George, JFK Jr. was the first child ever born to a president-elect, the son of JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy,

Senator John Kerry has supported free trade, expansive foreign and military policy and education spending. In 2004, he was a democratic presidential nominee.

The foremost leader of the Scottish Reformation, John Knox set the moral tone of the Church of Scotland and shaped the democratic form of government it adopted.

Author John Le Carré’s first published novel, Call for the Dead, introduced his ‘anti-hero’ George Smiley, who appears in most of his stories.

Singer-songwriter John Legend won his first Grammy Award with 2004's Get Lifted. The album went platinum, thanks in part to the hit single "Ordinary People."

John Lennon, pop star, composer, songwriter and recording artist, founded the Beatles, a band that impacted the music scene like no other before or since.

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.

John Lindsay was a U.S. congressman and was the mayor of New York City during the 1960s. He is known for his "ghetto walks" and clashes with labor groups.

Equally versed in comedy and drama, John Lithgow has won raves for his work in World According to Garp, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Dexter.

English philosopher John Locke's works lie at the foundation of modern philosophical empiricism and political liberalism.

John Lydon, a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, was the lead singer and front man for the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols.

John Major was a member of the British Parliament's Conservative Party and England's prime minister from 1990 to 1997.

John Malkovich is an award-winning actor who's known for his roles in films like Places in the Heart, Dangerous Liaisons and Being John Malkovich.

John Marshall became the fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1801. He is largely responsible for establishing the Supreme Court's role in federal government.

John McCain is a military hero and Republican U.S. Senator defeated by Barack Obama in the 2008 United States presidential election.

John McEnroe is a world champion tennis player famous for his temperamental outbursts. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999.

A pop sensation in the 1980s, singer-songwriter John Mellencamp has evolved into one of rock’s most enduring acts, and given voice to the small-town experience.

John Stuart Mill, who has been called the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the 19th century, was a British philosopher, economist, and moral and political theorist. His works include books and essays covering logic, epistemology, economics, social and political philosophy, ethics, and religion, among them A System of Logic, On Liberty, and Utilitarianism.

John Everett Millais was a 19th century English painter who co-founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

John Mills was an award-winning actor, dancer and producer whose career spanned eight decades with works like Great Expectations and Ryan’s Daughter.

J.P. Morgan founded the banking company J.P. Morgan & Co., one of the leading financial firms in the country, in 1871.

J.P. Morgan Jr. was a finance executive who followed in his father’s footsteps to head the firm J.P. Morgan and Co.

John Allen Muhammad became an infamous figure as part of a sniper team that terrorized the Washington, DC, area for several weeks in October 2002

Naturalist, writer, and advocate of U.S. forest conservation, John Muir founded the Sierra Club and helped establish Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.

John G. Nicolay served as secretary to President Abraham Lincoln, and later co-wrote a 10-volume biography on the president, Abraham Lincoln: A History.

St. John of the Cross was a Spanish poet whose work is considered the summit of mystical Spanish literature. He was glorified as a saint in 1726 by Pope Bendict XIII.

American Gymnast John Orozco is best known for his rise to the top of the gymnastics world and participation in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England.

British playwright John Osborne's Look Back in Anger ushered in a new movement in British drama and made him known as the first of the "Angry Young Men."

Pope John Paul II made history in 1978 by becoming the first non-Italian pope in more than four hundred years.

John Prine is an American singer-songwriter who has issued a prodigious number of albums. His work has been covered by Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Cash and George Strait.

American actor John Ratzenberger, best known as mailman Cliff Clavin from the television series Cheers, has also contributed voice-acting to every animated Pixar feature film.

John Ringling co-founded the Ringling Bros., and later co-owned the Barnum & Bailey Circus.

John Roberts became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after he was nominated by George W. Bush in 2005.

Philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. was the only son of John D. Rockefeller and heir to his fortune. He is known for building Rockefeller Center in New York City.

John D. Rockefeller was the head of the Standard Oil Company and one of the world's richest men. He used his fortune to fund ongoing philanthropic causes.

Virginia planter and colonial official John Rolfe was the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the Indian chief Powhatan. He sold Virginia tobacco to England.

John Singer Sargent was an Italian-born American painter whose portraits of the wealthy and privileged provide an enduring image of Edwardian-age society.

John Scopes is best known as the Tennessee teacher found guilty of breaking the law for teaching evolution in his class room.

Former Apple Computers Inc. CEO John Sculley famously clashed with Steve Jobs, leading to Jobs's departure from the company he helped found.

Screenwriter and director John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood led to a Academy Award for Best Director, making him the first African-American ever nominated.

Actor John Slattery played Julia Roberts's love interest in the film Mona Lisa Smile, and a government official in the World War II drama Flags of Our Fathers.

John Smith was a British soldier who was a founder of the American colony of Jamestown in the early 1600s.

John Steinbeck was a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist whose book The Grapes of Wrath portrayed the plight of migrant workers during the Depression.

British fashion icon John Stephen is considered the leader of the 1960s male "peacock revolution."

Bassist John Taylor first rose to fame in the 1980s as a member of the internationally successful band Duran Duran.

Republican John Thune won the 2004 Senate election against Democrat Tom Daschle to become senator of South Dakota.

J.R.R. Tolkien is an internationally renowned fantasy writer. He is best known for authoring The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

John Travolta is a Golden Globe-winning actor whose breakout role was in "Saturday Night Fever." He had a career revival in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction."

John Tyler was the 10th president of the United States.

Writer John Updike's works are known for their subtle depiction of American middle-class life. His popular Rabbit series earned him two Pulitzer prizes.