39.2868° N, 76.6201° W

BALTIMORE

Most Famous People Born in Baltimore, United States

Notable people
2,329
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1939
Most distinctive
Baseball 7.0×

A port city whose distinctive professions are baseball at seven times the global rate, basketball, and an unusually thick column of officers, novelists, and lawyers — the shape of a Mid-Atlantic city that has always sat at the meeting point of the Navy yard, the courts, and the literary establishment. Frank Zappa, Babe Ruth, Michael Phelps, and Edgar Allan Poe (who died here, not born) all belong to this bench, and the 19th-century tail is heavier than in most American cities its size.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Baltimore during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 245 notable births.

What Baltimore Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Baltimore's biggest profession — 11% of all notables (255).

Baltimore over-indexes on baseball7.0× the global rate.

Baltimore under-produces painter — only 0.6× the global rate.

  1. Politician255
  2. Actor189
  3. Baseball186
  4. Football149
  5. Basket102
  6. Lawyer88
  7. Writer66
  8. Music54
  1. Baseball1867.0×
  2. Basket1023.5×
  3. Officer422.7×
  4. Novelist232.5×
  5. Lawyer882.2×
  6. Music541.6×
  7. Actor1891.5×
  1. Painter350.6×
  2. Football1490.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Baltimore's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Music
  • Other
All2,329
Sort By

Showing 32 of 2,329 notable people

0082 AUTHOR

Frances Harper

1825 - 1911

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0232 WRITER

Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe

1822 - 1847

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0289 PAINTER

Richard Caton Woodville

1825 - 1855

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0348 POLITICIAN

William Pinkney Whyte

1824 - 1908

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0363 MILITAR

George H. Steuart (brigadier general)

1828 - 1903

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0381 BIOLOGIST

John Donnell Smith

1829 - 1928

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0442 LAWYER

Henry P. H. Bromwell

1823 - 1903

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0483 THEATRE

John T. Ford

1829 - 1894

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0486 INVENTOR

Martha Coston

1826 - 1904

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0494 ACTOR

Junius Brutus Booth Jr.

1821 - 1883

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0548 BANK

John W. Garrett

1820 - 1884

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0625 POLITICIAN

William Mungen

1821 - 1887

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0688 POLITICIAN

Thomas Beall Davis

1828 - 1911

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0770 WRITER

George Henry Miles

1824 - 1871

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0782 PASTOR

Charles Deems

1820 - 1893

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0803 PRIEST

Francis Asbury Baker

1820 - 1865

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0838 PUBLISHER

George William Childs

1829 - 1894

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0933 PAINTER

Francis Blackwell Mayer

1827 - 1899

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0993 POLITICIAN

George Proctor Kane

1820 - 1878

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1094 JUDGE

Hugh Lennox Bond

1828 - 1893

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1100 COLLECTOR

George A. Lucas

1824 - 1909

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1326 POLITICIAN

Franklin A. Alberger

1825 - 1877

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1461 OFFICER

Horatio Gates Gibson

1827 - 1924

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1554 SURGEON

Phineas Jonathan Horwitz

1822 - 1904

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1558 PRIEST

Thomas Patrick Roger Foley

1822 - 1879

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1588 MILITAR

Thomas Jones (Medal of Honor)

1820 - 1892

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1637 THEATRE

Belle Cora (Arabella Ryan)

1827 - 1862

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1842 PRIVATEER

Thomas Egenton Hogg

1828 - 1898

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1865 MILITAR

William M. Carr

1829 - 1884

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1994 MILITAR

Benjamin Swearer

1825 - 1902

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2027 COXSWAIN

Edward Ringold

1827 - 1864

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2191 EDUCATOR

William H. Gibson (educator)

1829 - 1906

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