42.3449° N, 71.0753° W

BOSTON

Most Famous People Born in Boston, United States

Notable people
3,663
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1926
Most distinctive
Novelist 3.5×

America's oldest civic intelligentsia. Boston's notables are unusually concentrated in the 1700s and 1800s by American standards, and the distinctive shelves still read like a Yankee almanac — novelists, lawyers, military officers, mathematicians, and diplomats, the trades of a city where Harvard, the State House, and the Old North Church share a few square miles. The modern half tilts more conventionally toward Red Sox baseball, actors, and a deep college-bred music scene.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 348 notable births.

What Boston Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Boston's biggest profession — 9% of all notables (314).

Boston over-indexes on novelist3.5× the global rate.

Boston under-produces football — only 0.2× the global rate.

  1. Actor314
  2. Politician312
  3. Writer149
  4. Lawyer135
  5. Baseball110
  6. Painter106
  7. Music102
  8. Football87
  1. Novelist503.5×
  2. Baseball1102.6×
  3. Officer632.6×
  4. Mathematician452.5×
  5. Lawyer1352.1×
  6. Music1021.9×
  7. Diplomat371.7×
  8. Actor3141.6×
  1. Football870.2×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

16501700175018001850190019502000
  • Politics & Law
  • Sports
  • Writing
  • Film & TV
  • Science
  • Music
  • Other
All3,663
Sort By

3,663 notable people

0001 POET

Edgar Allan Poe

1809 - 1849

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0002 POLYMATH

Benjamin Franklin

1706 - 1790

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0003 ACTOR

Leonard Nimoy

1931 - 2015

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0004 ESSAYIST

Ralph Waldo Emerson

1803 - 1882

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0005 ACTOR

Uma Thurman

Born 1970

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0006 SINGER

Donna Summer

1948 - 2012

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0007 POET

Sylvia Plath

1932 - 1963

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0008 ACTOR

Mark Wahlberg

Born 1971

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0009 ACTOR

Edward Norton

Born 1969

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0010 BUSINESS

Michael Bloomberg

Born 1942

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0011 PAINTER

Samuel Morse

1791 - 1872

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0012 ACTOR

Chris Evans (actor)

Born 1981

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0013 ACTOR

Allison Janney

Born 1959

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0014 POLITICIAN

Samuel Adams

1722 - 1803

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0015 ACTOR

James Spader

Born 1960

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0016 SINGER

James Taylor

Born 1948

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0017 BUSINESS

Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.

1888 - 1969

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0018 PHILOSOPHER

Daniel Dennett

Born 1942

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0019 ACTOR

Ben Foster

Born 1980

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0020 BIOLOGIST

Jared Diamond

Born 1937

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0021 SILVERSMITH

Paul Revere

1735 - 1818

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0022 SINGER

Donnie Wahlberg

Born 1969

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0023 ZOOLOGIST

Temple Grandin

Born 1947

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0024 ACTOR

Clark Gregg

Born 1962

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0025 ARCHITECT

Louis Sullivan

1856 - 1924

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0026 ACTOR

James Remar

Born 1953

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0027 MINISTER

Cotton Mather

1663 - 1728

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0028 MATHEMATICIAN

John McCarthy (computer scientist)

1927 - 2011

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0029 ACTOR

Connie Britton

Born 1967

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0030 PAINTER

Winslow Homer

1836 - 1910

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0031 ACTOR

Madeline Kahn

1942 - 1999

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0032 FILM

John Slattery

Born 1962

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0033 ACTOR

Jennifer Coolidge

Born 1961

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0034 ACTOR

Taylor Schilling

Born 1984

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0035 SINGER

Bobby Brown

Born 1969

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0036 JOURNALIST

Barbara Walters

Born 1929

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0037 WRITER

Dave Eggers

Born 1970

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0038 ASTRONOMER

Percival Lowell

1855 - 1916

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0039 PLAYWRIGHT

Lisa Edelstein

Born 1967

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0040 LAWYER

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

1841 - 1935

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0041 ACTOR

Alessandro Nivola

Born 1972

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0042 CHEMIST

Robert Burns Woodward

1917 - 1979

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0043 ACTOR

Colm Feore

Born 1958

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0044 ACTOR

Jane Alexander

Born 1939

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0045 FATHER

Rose Kennedy

1890 - 1995

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0046 ACTOR

Dane Cook

Born 1972

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0047 JUDGE

Albert Pike

1809 - 1891

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0048 FILM

Laura Poitras

Born 1964

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0049 DEVELOPER

Eric S. Raymond

Born 1957

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0050 HISTORIAN

Henry Adams

1838 - 1918

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0051 POLITICIAN

Charles Sumner

1811 - 1874

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0052 ECONOMIST

Eugene Fama

Born 1939

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0053 POLITICIAN

Henry Cabot Lodge

1850 - 1924

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0054 OFFICER

Henry Knox

1750 - 1806

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0055 ACTOR

Daniela Ruah

Born 1983

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0056 MUSIC

Black Francis

Born 1965

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0057 GUITAR

Dick Dale

1937 - 2019

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0058 GUITAR

Myles Kennedy

Born 1969

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0059 POET

Robert Lowell

1917 - 1977

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0060 ACTOR

Misha Collins

Born 1974

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0061 ARTIST

John Singleton Copley

1738 - 1815

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0062 ACTOR

Jonathan Tucker

Born 1982

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0063 ACTOR

Jack Nance

1943 - 1996

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0064 ASTRONAUT

Christa McAuliffe

1948 - 1986

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0065 ACTOR

Eve Torres

Born 1984

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0066 FILM

Frederick Wiseman

Born 1930

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0067 SINGER

Nicky Jam

Born 1981

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0068 ACTOR

Jasmine Guy

Born 1962

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0069 ACTOR

Paul Guilfoyle

Born 1949

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0070 SINGER

Jack Haley

1898 - 1979

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0071 EDITOR

Ben Bradlee

1921 - 2014

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0072 MILITAR

Robert Gould Shaw

1837 - 1863

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0073 MATHEMATICIAN

Alan Sokal

Born 1955

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0074 ACTOR

John Michael Higgins

Born 1963

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0075 LITERARY

Stephen Greenblatt

Born 1943

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0076 POLITICIAN

Frances Perkins

1882 - 1965

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0077 MUSIC

Guru (rapper)

1961 - 2010

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0078 LAWYER

Charles Francis Adams Sr.

1807 - 1886

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0079 ECONOMIST

William F. Sharpe

Born 1934

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0080 PSYCHOLOGIST

Ram Dass

1931 - 2019

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0081 WRITER

Richard Scarry

1919 - 1994

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0082 ACTOR

Ari Graynor

Born 1983

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0083 POLITICIAN

Charles Colson

1931 - 2012

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0084 PRODUCER

Armand Van Helden

Born 1970

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0085 LAWYER

Elliot Richardson

1920 - 1999

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0086 ACTOR

Mary Carlisle

1914 - 2018

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0087 CRIMINAL

Whitey Bulger

1929 - 2018

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0088 ARTIST

Chris Burden

1946 - 2015

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0089 ECONOMIST

Merton Miller

1923 - 2000

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0090 SINGER

Poppy (entertainer)

Born 1995

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0091 ECONOMIST

Harry Dexter White

1892 - 1948

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0092 BIOGRAPHER

Arlene Francis

1907 - 2001

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0093 ACTOR

Mike O'Malley

Born 1966

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0094 ACTOR

Betty Field

1916 - 1973

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0095 HISTORIAN

Daniel Pipes

Born 1949

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0096 ACTOR

T. J. Thyne

Born 1975

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0097 CARTOONIST

Scott McCloud

Born 1960

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0098 ENTREPRENEUR

William C. Durant

1861 - 1947

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0099 ACTOR

Kenny Wormald

Born 1984

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0100 SAXOPHONIST

Sonny Stitt

1924 - 1982

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0101 ACTOR

Julia Jones

Born 1981

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0102 ACTOR

Scott Wolf

Born 1968

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0103 PHYSICIST

Walter Gilbert

Born 1932

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0104 POLITICIAN

Maggie Hassan

Born 1958

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0105 ACTOR

Nat Faxon

Born 1975

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0106 SCREENWRITER

William Monahan

Born 1960

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0107 ACTOR

Anne Dudek

Born 1975

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0108 ADVISOR

McGeorge Bundy

1919 - 1996

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0109 ECONOMIST

Roger Myerson

Born 1951

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0110 DRUMMER

Roy Haynes

Born 1925

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0111 COMPOSER

Mike Stern

Born 1953

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0112 HISTORIAN

Samuel Eliot Morison

1887 - 1976

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0113 BASSIST

Tony Levin

Born 1946

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0114 PAINTER

Lilla Cabot Perry

1848 - 1933

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0115 PHYSICIST

Henry Way Kendall

1926 - 1999

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0116 MUSIC

Oneohtrix Point Never

Born 1982

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0117 ASTRONAUT

Story Musgrave

Born 1935

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0118 WRITER

Nat Hentoff

1925 - 2017

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0119 ACTOR

G Hannelius

Born 1998

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0120 MUSIC

Jon Foster

Born 1984

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0121 SINGER

Alan Wilson (musician)

1943 - 1970

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0122 ENTREPRENEUR

Sheldon Adelson

Born 1933

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0123 MERCHANT

Elihu Yale

1649 - 1721

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0124 PHOTOGRAPHER

Bill Cunningham (American photographer)

1929 - 2016

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0125 MATHEMATICIAN

Richard M. Karp

Born 1935

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0126 ACTOR

Barry Newman

Born 1938

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0127 ACTOR

Uzo Aduba

Born 1981

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0128 DIPLOMAT

Joseph Grew

1880 - 1965

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0129 SINGER

Susan Tedeschi

Born 1970

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0130 POLITICIAN

Frank Knox

1874 - 1944

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0131 FILM

Alexander Mackendrick

1912 - 1993

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0132 ASTRONOMER

Edward Charles Pickering

1846 - 1919

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0133 WRITER

Piper Kerman

Born 1969

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0134 ACTOR

Jamie Walters

Born 1969

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0135 ACTOR

Susan Cabot

1927 - 1986

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0136 ACTOR

Lillian Roth

1910 - 1980

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0137 ATHLETE

James Brendan Connolly

1868 - 1957

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0138 HOCKEY

Jeremy Roenick

Born 1970

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0139 HISTORIAN

Daniel Goldhagen

Born 1959

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0140 PHYSICIAN

George Minot

1885 - 1950

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0141 LOYALIST

Thomas Hutchinson (governor)

1711 - 1780

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0142 BANK

Peter R. Orszag

Born 1968

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0143 ENTREPRENEUR

Sumner Redstone

1923 - 2020

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0144 ACTOR

Callie Thorne

Born 1969

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0145 ACTOR

Blanchard Ryan

Born 1967

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0146 PAINTER

Abbott Handerson Thayer

1849 - 1921

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0147 POLITICIAN

William M. Evarts

1818 - 1901

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0148 LAWYER

Wendell Phillips

1811 - 1884

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0149 WRESTLER

Fandango (wrestler)

Born 1981

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0150 ACTOR

Guinevere Turner

Born 1968

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0151 MUSIC

Arthur Fiedler

1894 - 1979

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0152 ACTOR

Richard Herd

1932 - 2020

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0153 BASEBALL

Jeff Bagwell

Born 1968

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0154 HORTICULTURIST

Francis Parkman

1823 - 1893

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0155 LAWYER

Gardiner Greene Hubbard

1822 - 1897

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0156 PHOTOGRAPHER

Alvin Langdon Coburn

1882 - 1966

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0157 FILM

Alexandre Rockwell

Born 1956

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0158 ACTOR

Christine Elise

Born 1965

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0159 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Richard Evans Schultes

1915 - 2001

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0160 POLITICIAN

John F. Fitzgerald

1863 - 1950

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0161 PRODUCER

Joe Boyd

Born 1942

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0162 BASKET

John Amaechi

Born 1970

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0163 ACTOR

Kevin Chapman

Born 1962

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0164 SCREENWRITER

Sean Gullette

Born 1968

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0165 ACTOR

Mario Cantone

Born 1959

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0166 ACTOR

Peggy Cass

1924 - 1999

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0167 ECONOMIST

George C. Homans

1910 - 1989

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0168 PHILOLOGIST

Francis James Child

1825 - 1896

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0169 MUSIC

Josiah Warren

1798 - 1874

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0170 LINGUIST

John Boswell

1947 - 1994

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0171 SINGER

Evan Dando

Born 1967

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0172 WRITER

Edward Everett Hale

1822 - 1909

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0173 FILM

Kevin Feige

Born 1973

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0174 ACTOR

Brian J. White

Born 1975

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0175 COMEDIAN

John Pinette

1964 - 2014

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0176 OBOIST

Charlie Mariano

1923 - 2009

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0177 WRITER

Meg Rosoff

Born 1956

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0178 ACTOR

Sam Jones III

Born 1983

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0179 GYMNAST

Alicia Sacramone

Born 1987

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0180 EDITOR

Lew Rockwell

Born 1944

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0181 ARTIST

Kurt Busiek

Born 1960

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0182 POLITICIAN

Edward Seaga

1930 - 2019

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0183 ACTOR

Ian Keith

1899 - 1960

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0184 PROFESSOR

Carroll Quigley

1910 - 1977

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0185 POLITICIAN

Thomas Menino

1942 - 2014

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0186 ACTOR

George Wyner

Born 1945

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0187 PRIEST

Richard Cushing

1895 - 1970

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0188 SOCIOLOGIST

Elaine Showalter

Born 1941

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0189 BASKET

Bill Laimbeer

Born 1957

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0190 COMPOSER

James Lord Pierpont

1822 - 1893

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0191 ACADEMIC

Charles William Eliot

1834 - 1926

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0192 SOCIOLOGIST

Arlie Russell Hochschild

Born 1940

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0193 POLITICIAN

John E. Sununu

Born 1964

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0194 ACTOR

Stephen Dunham

1964 - 2012

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0195 ACTOR

Peyton List (actress, born 1986)

Born 1986

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0196 SINGER

Stephin Merritt

Born 1966

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0197 IMPRESSIONIST

Walter Russell

1871 - 1963

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0198 COMPOSER

Jimmy McHugh

1894 - 1969

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0199 POLITICIAN

James Michael Curley

1874 - 1958

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0200 NOVELIST

Joanna Barnes

Born 1934

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0201 WRITER

Kristin Cashore

Born 1976

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0202 PHOTOGRAPHER

F. Holland Day

1864 - 1933

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0203 POLITICIAN

James Bowdoin

1726 - 1790

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0204 ACTOR

Meshach Taylor

1947 - 2014

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0205 WRESTLER

Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)

Born 1949

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0206 ACTOR

David Walton (actor)

Born 1978

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0207 ACTOR

John Schuck

Born 1940

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0208 POLITICIAN

Samuel Dexter

1761 - 1816

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0209 ARCHITECT

Charles Bulfinch

1763 - 1844

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0210 ACTOR

Pauline Frederick

1883 - 1938

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0211 OFFICER

Charles Francis Adams Jr.

1835 - 1915

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0212 ACTOR

Dorothy Davenport

1895 - 1977

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0213 HOCKEY

Tom Barrasso

Born 1965

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0214 SINGER

Tracy Bonham

Born 1967

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0215 ACTOR

Jeremy Strong (actor)

Born 1978

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0216 ACTOR

Charlotte Cushman

1816 - 1876

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0217 SWIMMER

Lynne Cox

Born 1957

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0218 OFFICER

David Porter (naval officer)

1780 - 1843

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0219 FILM

Peter Guber

Born 1942

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0220 MUSIC

Shar Jackson

Born 1976

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0221 COMPOSER

Toby Fox

Born 1991

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0222 POET

Harry Crosby

1898 - 1929

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0223 HACKER

Adrian Lamo

1981 - 2018

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0224 CHEMIST

Roger Adams

1889 - 1971

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0225 PAINTER

Albert Henry Munsell

1858 - 1918

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0226 ASTRONOMER

William Henry Pickering

1858 - 1938

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0227 DRUG TRAFFICK

George Jung

Born 1942

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0228 ACTOR

Noah Bean

Born 1978

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0229 OPERA

Sonny Tufts

1911 - 1970

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0230 WRITER

Chuck Hogan

Born 1967

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0231 SCREENWRITER

David Lindsay-Abaire

Born 1969

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0232 LAWYER

Robert Treat Paine

1731 - 1814

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0233 MUSIC

Don Costa

1925 - 1983

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0234 SINGER

June Anderson

Born 1952

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0235 PHYSICIAN

Samuel Gridley Howe

1801 - 1876

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0236 PROGRAMMER

John Resig

Born 1984

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0237 POLITICIAN

Robert Charles Winthrop

1809 - 1894

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0238 SKATER

Alex Shibutani

Born 1991

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0239 CLARINET

Harry Carney

1910 - 1974

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0240 ACTOR

Ashley C. Williams

Born 1984

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0241 ACTOR

Michael Sheard

1938 - 2005

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0242 MUSIC

H. C. Robbins Landon

1926 - 2009

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0243 ACTOR

Romi Rain

Born 1988

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0244 SCULPTOR

Horatio Greenough

1805 - 1852

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0245 ACTOR

Frankie Shaw

Born 1981

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0246 WRITER

Judith Merril

1923 - 1997

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0247 ACTOR

William Farnum

1876 - 1953

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0248 POLITICIAN

Sixto Durán Ballén

1921 - 2016

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0249 SINGER

Jerry Colonna (entertainer)

1904 - 1986

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0250 CHEMIST

Carolyn R. Bertozzi

Born 1966

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0251 ACTOR

Vaughn Taylor (actor)

1910 - 1983

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0252 ASTRONOMER

Benjamin Apthorp Gould

1824 - 1896

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0253 WRITER

Frances Sargent Osgood

1811 - 1850

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0254 FILM

Ruth Orkin

1921 - 1985

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0255 ECONOMIST

J. Bradford DeLong

Born 1960

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0256 EDUCATION

Donald Schön

1930 - 1997

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0257 PRIEST

Phillips Brooks

1835 - 1893

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0258 SCREENWRITER

Lawrence O'Donnell

Born 1951

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0259 ENTREPRENEUR

Oliver Winchester

1810 - 1880

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0260 NATURALIST

William Healey Dall

1845 - 1927

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0261 SCREENWRITER

Norman Corwin

1910 - 2011

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0262 ECONOMIST

Burton Malkiel

Born 1932

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0263 POLITICIAN

Richard Armitage (naval officer)

Born 1945

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0264 DIPLOMAT

Adolf A. Berle

1895 - 1971

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0265 LIBRARIAN

Charles Ammi Cutter

1837 - 1903

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0266 MUSIC

Danny Wood

Born 1969

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0267 SOCIOLOGIST

James Petras

Born 1937

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0268 PAINTER

Edwin Lord Weeks

1849 - 1903

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0269 MATHEMATICIAN

Elliott H. Lieb

Born 1932

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0270 HISTORIAN

Alfred W. Crosby

1931 - 2018

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0271 ACTOR

Beth Howland

1941 - 2015

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0272 MUSIC

Shifty Shellshock

Born 1974

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0273 SONGWRITER

Arthur Baker (musician)

Born 1955

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0274 COMEDIAN

Tabitha St. Germain

Born 1976

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0275 HISTORIAN

James MacGregor Burns

1918 - 2014

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0276 ACTOR

Kenneth Harlan

1895 - 1967

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0277 ASTRONAUT

Bruce McCandless II

1937 - 2017

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0278 WRITER

Nathaniel Philbrick

Born 1956

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0279 ACTOR

Veda Ann Borg

1915 - 1973

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0280 ARTIST

Will H. Bradley

1868 - 1962

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0281 POLITICIAN

Stephen F. Lynch

Born 1955

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0282 OFFICER

Edwin Vose Sumner

1797 - 1863

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0283 ACTOR

Gary Conway

Born 1936

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0284 PAINTER

Thomas Dewing

1851 - 1938

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0285 CHEMIST

Frank Wigglesworth Clarke

1847 - 1931

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0286 POLITICIAN

William Hooper

1742 - 1790

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0287 POET

John Ciardi

1916 - 1986

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0288 POLITICIAN

Gerry Connolly

Born 1950

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0289 SINGER

Eric Turner (singer)

Born 1977

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0290 PAINTER

Lois Mailou Jones

1905 - 1998

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0291 ACTOR

Michelle Thomas

1969 - 1998

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0292 ACTOR

Joseph Pilato

1949 - 2019

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0293 FILM

George B. Seitz

1888 - 1944

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0294 COMPOSER

William Billings

1746 - 1800

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0295 PAINTER

Jack Levine

1915 - 2010

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0296 ACTOR

Christopher Allport

1947 - 2008

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0297 ACTOR

Mike McShane

Born 1955

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0298 WRITER

Madeline Miller

Born 1978

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0299 POLITICIAN

P. J. Kennedy

1858 - 1929

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0300 JUDGE

Harold Hitz Burton

1888 - 1964

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