Born into slavery in 1760, Richard Allen bought his freedom at age 17 and went on to found the first national black church in the United States, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1816.
1760-1831
English singer-songwriter Richard Ashcroft was the lead vocalist for the Verve. After the band broke up, Ashcroft started a new band, RPA & The United Nations of Sound, in 2010.
1971-
Richard Attenborough is an award-winning actor and director known for helming acclaimed works like Gandhi and Cry Freedom.
1923-
American photographer Richard Avedon was best known for his work in the fashion world and for his minimalist, large-scale character-revealing portraits.
1923-2004
American neuroscientist Richard Axel is best known for his work on the olfactory system, exploring how the brain interprets smell.
1946-
1981-
Richard Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet of the United States, the first Latino and openly gay-identified person to hold the position.
1968-
Entrepreneur Richard Branson launched Virgin Records in 1973. Today Virgin Group holds more than 200 companies in more than 30 countries.
1950-
African American actor Richard Brooks is best known for his role as Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette in the first three seasons of NBC's Law & Order.
1962-
Sir Richard Burton was a British explorer and linguist. He translated The Arabian Nights, and wrote extensively about his travels in Asia, Africa and America.
1821-1890
Richard Burton was a highly regarded Welsh actor of stage and screen. He earned seven Oscar nominations and was married twice to actress Elizabeth Taylor.
1925-1984
1888-1957
1790-1843
Richard Chamberlain was a leading television heartthrob of the early 1960s, best known for his role as Dr. Kildare on the television show Dr. Kildare.
1934-
1951-
British comedian Richard Dawson is best known for his role as Corporal Newkirk in the World War II sitcom Hogan's Heroes and as the host of Family Feud.
1932-2012
Richard Dreyfuss is an American actor known for his roles in Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, American Graffiti and The Goodbye Girl.
1947-
1920-2000
1918-1988
1895-1983
Richard Gere is an American actor best known for his status as an American sex symbol and his leading film roles, including in Report to the Commissioner, American Gigolo, An Officer and A Gentleman, Pretty Woman and Chicago.
1949-
Musician, singer. Moby was born as Richard Melville Hall on September 11, 1965, in Harlem, New York. However, his parents felt that such a grand name was unsuited for such a small, fragile child and instead decided to call him Moby, after the eponymous
1965-
Irish actor Richard Harris is best known for his performances as King Arthur in Broadway's Camelot and Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films.
1930-2002
1812-1866
Actor Richard Jeni was best known as a popular stand-up comedian, appearing often on television comedy shows, including a few of his own HBO comedy specials.
1957-2007
1780-1850
Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman from Virginia who made the motion for independence from Great Britain at the Second Continental Congress.
1732-1794
Angst-ridden and neurotic, Richard Lewis turned his private pain into a comic persona that served him as a standup comedian and versatile actor, adding author to his credits when he penned a memoir of struggling with sobriety.
1947-
Richard Loeb, of Leopold and Loeb, is best known for murdering 14-year old Bobby Franks with Nathan Leopold in an attempt to carry out the 'perfect crime'.
1905-1936
Richard Nixon was the 37th U.S. president and the only commander-in-chief to resign from his position, after the 1970s Watergate scandal.
1913-1994
Puppeteer Frank Oz is the man behind such iconic characters as Yoda, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Grover, and Animal. He's also directed several films.
1944-
1948-
Richard Petty is a champion NASCAR driver who was nicknamed "The King" for his record setting Daytona 500 and NASCAR championship wins.
1937-
Richard Pryor was a groundbreaking African-American comedian and one of the top entertainers of the 1970s and '80s.
1940-2005
1960-
1157-1199
Richard III was king of England for two turbulent years. He is best known for being accused of murdering his nephews to protect his throne.
1452-1485
From The Sound of Music to Oklahoma! to South Pacific, Richard Rodgers helped change the face of Broadway musicals, giving them stories and making them both memorable and "hum-able."
1902-1979
1952-
1863-1914
1913-1997
1943-2005
In 1966, Richard Speck committed one of the most horrifying mass murders in American history when he brutalized and killed eight student nurses living on Chicago's South Side.
1941-1991
Richard Wagner is best known for creating several complex operas, including Tristan and Isolde and Ring Cycle, as well as for his anti-semitic writings.
1813-1883
1914-2008
Richard Wilson is one of Britain's earliest landscape painters and is best known for the picturesque effects and serenity in his pieces.
1714-1782
Pioneering African-American writer Richard Wright is best known for the classic texts Black Boy and Native Son.
1908-1960