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 45 of 2,329 notable people

0103 PRIEST

James Gibbons

1834 - 1921

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0160 MILITAR

Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II

1830 - 1893

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0165 CHEMIST

Eli Lilly

1838 - 1898

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0318 POLITICIAN

John Lee Carroll

1830 - 1911

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0340 POET

James Ryder Randall

1839 - 1908

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0359 POLITICIAN

William Campbell Preston Breckinridge

1837 - 1904

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0504 TREASURER

William Wirt Winchester

1837 - 1881

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0547 PHYSICIST

Alfred M. Mayer

1836 - 1897

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0602 WRITER

Francis Hopkinson Smith

1838 - 1915

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0624 ENTOMOLOGIST

Philip Reese Uhler

1835 - 1913

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0660 PAINTER

Granville Perkins

1830 - 1895

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0676 POLITICIAN

Henry Smith (Wisconsin)

1838 - 1916

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0705 POLITICIAN

Garretson W. Gibson

1832 - 1910

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0721 PRIEST

Silas Chatard

1834 - 1918

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0733 POLITICIAN

James D. Lynch

1839 - 1872

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0739 POLITICIAN

Ferdinand Claiborne Latrobe

1833 - 1911

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0740 LAWYER

William J. O'Brien

1836 - 1905

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0750 POLITICIAN

William Hinson Cole

1837 - 1886

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0761 POLITICIAN

John Lewis Thomas Jr.

1835 - 1893

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0851 LAWYER

John P. Poe Sr.

1836 - 1909

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0892 POLITICIAN

John I. Rinaker

1830 - 1915

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0946 ACTOR

John Sleeper Clarke

1833 - 1899

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0991 MILITAR

Robert C. Tyler

1833 - 1865

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1091 TRADE UNION

Isaac Myers

1835 - 1881

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1106 PRIEST

William Hickley Gross

1837 - 1898

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1198 LAWYER

Robert Jefferson Breckinridge Jr.

1833 - 1915

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1520 PRIEST

John Samuel Foley

1833 - 1918

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1527 WRITER

Minnie S. Davis

1835 - 1927

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1567 OFFICER

Edward Lea

1837 - 1863

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1601 OFFICER

Levin Major Lewis

1832 - 1866

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1706 MILITAR

Francis Oliver (Medal of Honor)

1832 - 1880

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1712 INVENTOR

Robert F. Flemming Jr.

1839 - 1919

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1716 WRITER

Mary Spear Nicholas Tiernan

1835 - 1891

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1779 WIFE OF

Hetty Cary

1836 - 1892

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1784 BASEBALL

Lew Carl

1832 - 1885

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1844 MILITAR

Daniel Lakin

Born 1834

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1876 ACTOR

John W. Albaugh

1837 - 1909

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1919 POLITICIAN

Martha McClellan Brown

1838 - 1916

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1920 MILITAR

William H. Brown

1836 - 1896

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1927 BUSINESS

Charles T. Howard

1832 - 1885

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2059 LAWYER

Thomas John Morris

1837 - 1912

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2062 MILITAR

Alexander H. Truett

1833 - 1898

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2130 POLITICIAN

James Lynd

1830 - 1862

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2200 MINISTER

John W. Stevenson (minister)

1835 - 1898

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2261 MILITAR

James E. Sterling

Born 1838

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