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

Showing 348 of 3,663 notable people

0013 ACTOR

Allison Janney

Born 1959

Preview
0026 ACTOR

James Remar

Born 1953

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0043 ACTOR

Colm Feore

Born 1958

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0049 DEVELOPER

Eric S. Raymond

Born 1957

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0073 MATHEMATICIAN

Alan Sokal

Born 1955

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0104 POLITICIAN

Maggie Hassan

Born 1958

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0109 ECONOMIST

Roger Myerson

Born 1951

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0111 COMPOSER

Mike Stern

Born 1953

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0139 HISTORIAN

Daniel Goldhagen

Born 1959

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0157 FILM

Alexandre Rockwell

Born 1956

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0165 ACTOR

Mario Cantone

Born 1959

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0177 WRITER

Meg Rosoff

Born 1956

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0189 BASKET

Bill Laimbeer

Born 1957

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0217 SWIMMER

Lynne Cox

Born 1957

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0234 SINGER

June Anderson

Born 1952

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0258 SCREENWRITER

Lawrence O'Donnell

Born 1951

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0273 SONGWRITER

Arthur Baker (musician)

Born 1955

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0278 WRITER

Nathaniel Philbrick

Born 1956

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0281 POLITICIAN

Stephen F. Lynch

Born 1955

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0288 POLITICIAN

Gerry Connolly

Born 1950

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0297 ACTOR

Mike McShane

Born 1955

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0314 WRITER

David Rieff

Born 1952

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0330 FILM

Bruce Sinofsky

1956 - 2015

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0348 LAWYER

Harold Hongju Koh

Born 1954

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0356 ACADEMIC

Eliot A. Cohen

Born 1956

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0363 NOVELIST

Francisco Goldman

Born 1954

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0370 BASKET

David Blatt

Born 1959

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0380 BIOLOGIST

Robert Lanza

Born 1956

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0385 PAINTER

Christopher Wool

Born 1955

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0394 ASTRONAUT

Brian Duffy (astronaut)

Born 1953

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0404 WRITER

Andrea Barrett

Born 1954

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0405 WRITER

Chuck Pfarrer

Born 1957

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0445 POLITICIAN

John F. Kelly

Born 1950

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0447 SCIENTIST

Arthur Caplan

Born 1950

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0449 ACTOR

Anne Twomey

Born 1951

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0458 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Neil Asher Silberman

Born 1950

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0464 POLITICIAN

Paul Mitchell (politician)

Born 1956

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0466 OFFICER

Joseph Dunford

Born 1955

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0474 POLITICIAN

Neal Dunn

Born 1953

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0481 WRITER

Susan Minot

Born 1956

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0484 HISTORIAN

Aviva Chomsky

Born 1957

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0485 POLITICAL

James Steinberg

Born 1953

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0487 WRITER

Julia Glass

Born 1956

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0488 HOCKEY

Mike Milbury

Born 1952

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0496 DIPLOMAT

Peter Galbraith

Born 1950

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0499 WRITER

David Sheff

Born 1955

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0505 HOCKEY

John Tortorella

Born 1958

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0507 MUSIC

Ricky Ford

Born 1954

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0516 WRITER

T. A. Barron

Born 1952

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0527 HOCKEY

Chris Nilan

Born 1958

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0536 MATHEMATICIAN

Lloyd N. Trefethen

Born 1955

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0542 DIPLOMAT

Alexander Vershbow

Born 1952

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0556 POLITICIAN

Charles Bass

Born 1952

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0558 WRITER

Seno Gumira Ajidarma

Born 1958

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0560 SAXOPHONIST

Jane Ira Bloom

Born 1955

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0572 HOCKEY

Jack O'Callahan

Born 1957

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0603 PHILOSOPHER

Elizabeth S. Anderson

Born 1959

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0605 SINGER

Livingston Taylor

Born 1950

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0637 MUSIC

George Garzone

Born 1950

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0652 NOVELIST

Rodman Philbrick

Born 1951

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0656 COMPOSER

William Finn

Born 1952

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0673 ACTOR

Marianne Leone Cooper

Born 1952

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0678 COMPOSER

Ned Rothenberg

Born 1956

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0679 NOVELIST

Stephen McCauley

Born 1955

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0680 POLITICIAN

Gina McCarthy

Born 1954

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0682 FILM

Jeffrey Lurie

Born 1951

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0686 WRITER

Janet Tashjian

Born 1956

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0698 SCREENWRITER

Jonathan Roberts (writer)

Born 1956

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0712 JOURNALIST

E. J. Dionne

Born 1952

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0725 BASKET

Ron Lee

Born 1952

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0730 ATHLETIC

Henry Marsh (athlete)

Born 1954

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0743 SKATER

Peter Carruthers (figure skater)

Born 1959

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0755 ACTOR

Lauren Koslow

Born 1953

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0779 BIOLOGIST

Gerald M. Rubin

Born 1950

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0785 COMPOSER

Robert Beaser

Born 1954

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0790 FILM

Ty Burr

Born 1957

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0800 MUSIC

Barry Goudreau

Born 1951

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0826 BIOLOGIST

Claire M. Fraser

Born 1955

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0827 ACTOR

Stuart Milligan

Born 1953

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0832 DESIGNER

Joseph Abboud

Born 1950

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0834 ACTOR

Hillary B. Smith

Born 1957

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0837 CRIMINAL

Charles Stuart (murderer)

1959 - 1990

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0838 LAWYER

John J. Sullivan (diplomat)

Born 1959

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0870 WRITER

Robert Rosenberg

1951 - 2006

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0872 CINEMA

Amy Vincent

Born 1959

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0882 BASKET

Bob Bigelow

1953 - 2020

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0896 SOLDIER

Harold J. Greene

1959 - 2014

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0907 ACTOR

Laura Duke Condominas

Born 1951

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0915 OLYMPIC

Timothy Shriver

Born 1959

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0916 RADIO

John Loftus (author)

Born 1950

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0921 ECONOMIST

George Loewenstein

Born 1955

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0926 ARTIST

Tom Jennings

Born 1955

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0938 RESEARCH

Walter Bender

Born 1956

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0941 MUSIC

Billy Yule

Born 1954

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0943 ACTOR

Richard Frank (actor)

1953 - 1995

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0955 ACTOR

Frank Renzulli

Born 1958

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0962 BASKET

Russ Lee

Born 1950

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0984 PHYSICIST

Yaneer Bar-Yam

Born 1959

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0990 ENGINEER

Brian Fox (computer programmer)

Born 1959

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1028 ACTOR

Kate Collins (actress)

Born 1958

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1037 BANK

Daniel Tarullo

Born 1952

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1039 ECONOMIST

Charles Horioka

Born 1956

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1048 NOVELIST

William Barton (writer)

Born 1950

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1051 RIDER

Karen Stives

1950 - 2015

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1074 ACTOR

Paris Themmen

Born 1959

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1077 ACADEMIC

Sarmila Bose

Born 1959

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1080 COMPOSER

Harvey Cohen

1951 - 2007

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1099 ACTOR

Christopher Randolph

Born 1959

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1136 FILM

Frederick Zollo

Born 1953

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1144 WRITER

Dave Zeltserman

Born 1959

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1148 BUSINESS

Frank McCourt (executive)

Born 1953

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1151 MUSIC

Rachel Bissex

1956 - 2005

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1160 ACADEMIC

Helen Hobbs

Born 1952

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1162 HOCKEY

Richie Dunn

1957 - 2016

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1163 SCREENWRITER

Candace Allen (author)

Born 1950

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1171 ACTOR

Danny Murphy (American actor)

1955 - 2014

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1174 FOOTBALL

Rolf Benirschke

Born 1955

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1175 MUSIC

Bob Mover

Born 1952

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1225 ROWER

Anne Marden

Born 1958

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1251 SINGER

Marcia Hines

Born 1953

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1275 BISHOP

Robert P. Reed

Born 1959

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1278 ILLUSTRATOR

Thomas Canty

Born 1952

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1290 POLITICIAN

Baruch Marzel

Born 1959

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1298 HOCKEY

Fred Ahern

Born 1952

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1299 PAINTER

Ben Aronson

Born 1958

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1323 ASTRONOMER

Martha P. Haynes

Born 1951

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1325 WRITER

Adam Begley

Born 1959

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1330 DIPLOMAT

Alan Solomont

Born 1957

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1340 DIPLOMAT

Carolina Barco

Born 1951

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1341 MODEL

Susan Bottomly

Born 1950

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1344 SAXOPHONIST

Dan Higgins

Born 1955

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1357 COMPOSER

Donal Fox

Born 1952

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1363 ACTOR

Lulu Devine

Born 1955

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1365 MONK

Maura O'Halloran

1955 - 1982

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1410 FILM

Nietzchka Keene

1952 - 2004

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1425 DIPLOMAT

Philip Goldberg

Born 1956

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1429 POET

William Logan (poet)

Born 1950

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1435 ACTOR

Edd Hall

Born 1958

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1444 ART HISTORIAN

Evelyn Welch

Born 1959

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1459 JOURNALIST

Melinda Crane

Born 1956

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1515 TRANSLATOR

Peter Theroux

Born 1956

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1518 HORNIST

Stefan de Leval Jezierski

Born 1954

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1525 POLITICIAN

Kathy Davis

Born 1956

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1531 MUSIC

David Wilczewski

1952 - 2009

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1539 BOTANIST

Laurence J. Dorr

Born 1953

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1552 ACTOR

John Snyder (actor)

Born 1950

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1566 JOURNALIST

Stephen Budiansky

Born 1957

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1567 LITERARY

Robert Polito

Born 1951

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1581 WRITER

Chris Kilham

Born 1952

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1582 PLAYWRIGHT

Emily Mann (director)

Born 1952

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1586 DIPLOMAT

Francis J. Ricciardone Jr.

Born 1951

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1589 ACTOR

Alexandra Neil

Born 1955

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1601 LAWYER

Patricia J. Williams

Born 1951

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1628 PHILOSOPHER

Geoffrey Sayre-McCord

Born 1956

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1642 JOURNALIST

Jeffrey Brown (journalist)

Born 1956

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1644 MUSIC

Deborah Sasson

Born 1959

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1645 SINGER

Heidi Berry

Born 1958

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1650 BOTANIST

Randy Wayne (biologist)

Born 1955

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1654 ACTOR

Ned Dowd

Born 1950

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1658 POET

Alan Shapiro

Born 1952

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1662 ECONOMIST

David Galenson

Born 1951

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1668 ROWER

Anne Warner (rower)

Born 1954

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1671 WRITER

Allen Zadoff

Born 1950

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1695 POET

Karl Kirchwey

Born 1956

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1705 ACTOR

David Shiner (clown)

Born 1953

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1723 CLARINETIST

Jonathan Cohler

Born 1959

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1732 COMPOSER

Gerard Alessandrini

Born 1953

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1736 SKATER

Michael Botticelli (figure skater)

Born 1959

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1738 PHYSICIST

Steven Kivelson

Born 1954

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1741 OLYMPIC

Peter Dean (sailor)

Born 1951

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1743 MISSING

Jonathan B. Tucker

1954 - 2011

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1765 ART HISTORIAN

Elizabeth A. T. Smith

Born 1958

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1777 CHESS

John Peters (chess player)

Born 1951

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1779 NOVELIST

Tom Kratman

Born 1956

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1781 COACH

Red Gendron

Born 1957

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1790 NOVELIST

Roland Merullo

Born 1953

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1798 JOURNALIST

John Rennie (editor)

Born 1959

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1814 PRODUCER

Nancy Glass

Born 1957

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1816 ETHOLOGIST

Dorothy Cheney (scientist)

1950 - 2018

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1818 POLITICIAN

Howard Koh

Born 1952

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1825 CHOREOGRAPHER

Joanie Spina

1953 - 2014

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1833 JOURNALIST

Bill Lichtenstein

Born 1956

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1838 MUSIC

Laurence Dreyfus

Born 1952

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1842 THEOLOGIAN

A. K. M. Adam

Born 1957

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1865 WRITER

Sonya Sones

Born 1950

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1869 POLICE

John Gibson (police officer)

1956 - 1998

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1878 ENTREPRENEUR

James Pallotta

Born 1958

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1897 PAINTER

David Bowes

Born 1957

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1899 PAINTER

Landon Mackenzie

Born 1954

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1914 COMPOSER

Jimmy Earl

Born 1957

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1916 ACTOR

Nike Doukas

Born 1958

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1932 CHESS

Alan Trefler

Born 1956

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1938 BASKET

Bill Collins (cestista)

1953 - 2008

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1939 POLITICIAN

Bill Cole (politician)

Born 1956

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1940 SCULPTOR

Billie Lawless

Born 1950

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1953 JOURNALIST

Charlie Wolf

Born 1959

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1983 BUSINESS

Bob Davis (businessman)

Born 1956

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1984 SCHOLAR

Richard M. Locke

Born 1959

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1985 DANCER

Dianne Walker

Born 1951

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2024 POLITICIAN

Nancy Floreen

Born 1951

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2035 ACTOR

Gordon Stanley

Born 1951

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2055 POET

Julie Kane

Born 1952

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2058 FILM

Manuel Siebenmann

Born 1959

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2076 SINGER

Johnny Contardo

Born 1951

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2088 ACTOR

Paul O'Keefe

Born 1951

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2098 SPORT

Dave Gettleman

Born 1951

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2099 ACADEMIC

John Nerbonne

Born 1951

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2104 LAWYER

Christine Griffin

Born 1950

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2107 JOURNALIST

Michael Capuzzo

Born 1957

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2116 MUSIC

Thom Gimbel

Born 1959

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2120 LAWYER

Neria Douglass

Born 1952

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2130 POLITICIAN

Willem Draps

Born 1952

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2131 BUSINESS

Dave MacLennan

Born 1950

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2136 DRUMMER

Robert Williams (drummer)

Born 1955

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2164 COMPOSER

Ron Kuivila

Born 1955

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2165 PRODUCER

Mark Driscoll (screenwriter)

Born 1959

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2175 MANAGER

André Balazs

Born 1957

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2190 BANK

Anne Finucane

Born 1950

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2201 CELLIST

Frank Sumner Dodge

Born 1950

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2204 DIPLOMAT

Marcie Berman Ries

Born 1950

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2213 PRODUCER

Larry S. Miller

Born 1957

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2223 ARTIST

Edward French (make-up artist)

Born 1951

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2227 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Jonathan S. Turner

Born 1953

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2228 BUSINESS

Eugenio Lopez III

Born 1952

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2229 AUTHOR

John Gorman (radio)

Born 1950

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2231 JOURNALIST

Alessandra Stanley

Born 1955

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2244 AUTHOR

Michael Harvey (author)

Born 1958

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2256 PRINTMAKER

Judith Rothchild

Born 1950

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2260 POET

Kate Colby

Born 1950

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2269 BALLET

Joyce Cuoco

Born 1953

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2274 ARTIST

Leslie Dick

Born 1954

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2275 LAWYER

Alberto J. Mora

Born 1951

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2276 FILM

Henry Ferrini

Born 1953

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2278 LAWYER

Catherine C. Blake

Born 1950

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2299 LAWYER

Thomas Finneran

Born 1950

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2302 POLITICIAN

Hannah-Beth Jackson

Born 1950

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2304 ECONOMIST

Laurence Ball

Born 1959

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2307 PAINTER

Aaron Fink (artist)

Born 1955

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2316 LAWYER

Raymond P. Moore

Born 1953

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2329 POET

Julie Agoos

Born 1956

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2377 SPORT

Jim Donovan (sportscaster)

Born 1956

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2392 POLITICIAN

Shannon O'Brien

Born 1959

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2402 CARTOONIST

Marty Riskin

Born 1958

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2406 LAWYER

Robert A. Sherman

Born 1953

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2416 SENATOR

Thomas Hassan

Born 1958

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2424 PUBLISHER

Thomas G. Osenton

Born 1953

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2426 LAWYER

Patti B. Saris

Born 1951

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2432 POLITICIAN

Robert G. Abboud

Born 1956

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2439 POLITICIAN

Stephen W. Doran

Born 1956

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2444 ARTIST

Steven Hughes

1954 - 2000

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2475 ACTOR

Frank Annese

Born 1950

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2478 CRIMINOLOGIST

Francis T. Cullen

Born 1951

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2480 POLITICIAN

Warren Tolman

Born 1959

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2499 OFFICER

John Flerlage

Born 1958

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2504 SINGER

Johnny Angel Wendell

Born 1956

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2521 HOCKEY

Paul O'Neil

Born 1953

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2532 LAWYER

Dwight Dudley

Born 1954

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2535 ASTRONOMER

David Louis Band

1957 - 2009

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2538 BANK

Amelia Fawcett

Born 1956

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2568 ACADEMIC

Christopher Edley Jr.

Born 1953

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2579 FOOTBALL

Glenn Hyde

Born 1951

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2581 SCIENTIST

Peter Ricchiuti

Born 1957

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2598 BANK

Jes Staley

Born 1956

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2625 HOCKEY

Jim Troy (ice hockey)

Born 1953

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2626 PHOTOGRAPHER

Susannah Hays

Born 1959

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2628 HOCKEY

Steve Baker (ice hockey)

Born 1957

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2645 HYDROLOGIST

Timothy A. Cohn

1957 - 2017

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2652 SCREENWRITER

Max Pross

Born 1957

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2661 POLITICIAN

Courtney Kennedy Hill

Born 1956

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2666 CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Sally R. Osberg

Born 1950

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2676 POLITICIAN

Stephen Kulik

Born 1950

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2680 PHYSICIST

Andrew M. Weiner

Born 1958

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2682 PAINTER

Ford Crull

Born 1952

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2696 LAWYER

Thomas J. Connolly

Born 1958

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2698 POLITICIAN

Mark Ciommo

Born 1956

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2715 FOOTBALL

Will Grant

Born 1954

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2717 FILM

Chris McGurk

Born 1957

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2726 MUSIC

Chris Julian (musician)

Born 1957

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2737 BASKET

Ken Scalabroni

Born 1956

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2764 FOOTBALL

Chris Keating

Born 1957

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2782 BUSINESS

Laurence Boschetto

Born 1954

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2797 ROWER

David Weinberg

Born 1952

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2804 JUDGE

Gregory K. Orme

Born 1953

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2806 POLITICIAN

Elizabeth Brater

Born 1951

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2808 WRITER

Denyse Woods

Born 1958

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2823 RESEARCH

Barbara Burlingame

Born 1950

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2830 LAWYER

Peter Bynoe

Born 1951

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2834 LAWYER

Harvey Rosenfield

Born 1952

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2836 HOCKEY

Peter Brown (ice hockey)

Born 1954

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2883 LAWYER

Thomas C. Wales

1952 - 2001

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2901 POLITICIAN

Frank Cousins (American politician)

Born 1958

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2903 SOCIOLOGIST

Karen Shire

Born 1959

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2906 INVESTIGATOR

Jack Palladino

Born 1950

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2908 MUSIC

Rob Schneiderman

Born 1957

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2918 ICE HOCKEY

Peter Luukko

Born 1959

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2924 SPORT

Bob DeBesse

Born 1959

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2928 POLITICIAN

David Linsky

Born 1957

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2935 WRESTLER

Tony Rumble

1956 - 1999

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2945 JOURNALIST

Kevin Cullen

Born 1959

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2952 HOCKEY

Bill Flynn (Eishockeyspieler)

Born 1950

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