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
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3,663 notable people

0301 ASTRONOMER

Sandra Faber

Born 1944

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0302 ACTOR

Jerry Maren

1920 - 2018

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0303 MATHEMATICIAN

Robin Hartshorne

Born 1938

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0304 ENTREPRENEUR

Reed Hastings

Born 1960

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0305 PAINTER

George Peter Alexander Healy

1813 - 1894

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0306 ACTOR

Thurston Hall

1882 - 1958

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0307 FILM

Leslie H. Martinson

1915 - 2016

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0308 ACTOR

Mark Frechette

1947 - 1975

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0309 BOTANIST

Charles Sprague Sargent

1841 - 1927

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0310 PRODUCER

Benzino

Born 1965

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0311 SCREENWRITER

Nick Sagan

Born 1970

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0312 ACTOR

Jack DeSena

Born 1987

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0313 ECONOMIST

Francis Amasa Walker

1840 - 1897

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0314 WRITER

David Rieff

Born 1952

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0315 CRIMINOLOGIST

Albert K. Cohen

1918 - 2014

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0316 PHILOLOGIST

Albert Lord

1912 - 1991

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0317 NOVELIST

Dorothy West

1907 - 1998

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0318 SAXOPHONIST

Serge Chaloff

1923 - 1957

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0319 PAINTER

Conrad Marca-Relli

1913 - 2000

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0320 ACTOR

Dorothy Loudon

1925 - 2003

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0321 PLAYWRIGHT

Annie Baker

Born 1981

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0322 SCULPTOR

Sarah Sze

Born 1969

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0323 ACTOR

Jeanie MacPherson

1887 - 1946

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0324 FILM

Ralph Ince

1887 - 1937

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0325 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Jon Kleinberg

Born 1971

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0326 CHEMIST

James Crafts

1839 - 1917

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0327 SCULPTOR

Jonathan Borofsky

Born 1942

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0328 POLITICIAN

William Hale Thompson

1869 - 1944

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0329 JESUIT

Robert Drinan

1920 - 2007

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0330 FILM

Bruce Sinofsky

1956 - 2015

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0331 SCREENWRITER

Joel Cohen (writer)

Born 1963

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0332 POLITICIAN

Bob Taft

Born 1942

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0333 ACADEMIC

A. Bartlett Giamatti

1938 - 1989

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0334 PHYSICIST

Theodore Lyman

1874 - 1954

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0335 ACADEMIC

A. Lawrence Lowell

1856 - 1943

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0336 BOTANIST

Charles-Edward Amory Winslow

1877 - 1957

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0337 WRITER

Antoine Bello

Born 1970

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0338 WRITER

Peter Abrahams (American author)

Born 1947

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0339 SCREENWRITER

George Nolfi

Born 1960

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0340 POLITICIAN

Nathaniel Gorham

1738 - 1796

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0341 WRITER

Ottessa Moshfegh

Born 1981

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0342 POLITICIAN

John W. McCormack

1891 - 1980

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0343 SCULPTOR

Korczak Ziolkowski

1908 - 1982

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0344 NOVELIST

Robin Moore

1925 - 2008

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0345 WRITER

Julian Hawthorne

1846 - 1934

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0346 POLICE

William Bratton

Born 1947

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0347 COMPOSER

Michael Land

Born 1961

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0348 LAWYER

Harold Hongju Koh

Born 1954

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0349 FILM

Alexander Hall

1894 - 1968

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0350 ACTOR

Frank Craven

1881 - 1945

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0351 BASKET

Patrick Ewing Jr.

Born 1984

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0352 NOVELIST

Harry Kemelman

1908 - 1996

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0353 WRESTLER

Eddie Edwards (wrestler)

Born 1983

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0354 POET

Angelina Weld Grimké

1880 - 1958

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0355 PHYSICIAN

John Collins Warren

1778 - 1856

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0356 ACADEMIC

Eliot A. Cohen

Born 1956

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0357 ECONOMIST

Susan Athey

Born 1970

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0358 MUSIC

Peter Guralnick

Born 1943

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0359 GUITAR

Eli "Paperboy" Reed

Born 1983

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0360 ACTOR

John Enos III

Born 1962

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0361 PALAEONTOLOGIST

David M. Raup

1933 - 2015

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0362 ACTOR

Slaine (rapper)

Born 1977

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0363 NOVELIST

Francisco Goldman

Born 1954

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0364 WRESTLING

Nancy Benoit

1964 - 2007

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0365 POLITICIAN

Christopher Gore

1758 - 1827

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0366 WRITER

Cynthia Voigt

Born 1942

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0367 MILITAR

Paul D. Harkins

1904 - 1984

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0368 ACTOR

Allen Hoskins

1920 - 1980

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0369 ATHLETIC

John Thomas (athlete)

1941 - 2013

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0370 BASKET

David Blatt

Born 1959

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0371 SOCIALITE

Babe Paley

1915 - 1978

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0372 HISTORIAN

George Ticknor

1791 - 1871

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0373 SPRINT

Thomas Burke (athlete)

1875 - 1929

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0374 ASTRONOMER

Seth Carlo Chandler

1846 - 1913

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0375 FILM

Joseph E. Levine

1905 - 1987

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0376 PHOTOGRAPHER

Carl Mydans

1907 - 2004

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0377 LAWYER

John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst

1772 - 1863

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0378 SINGER

Maria Cole

1922 - 2012

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0379 MATHEMATICIAN

George Mostow

1923 - 2017

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0380 BIOLOGIST

Robert Lanza

Born 1956

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0381 ARTIST

Frank Robbins

1917 - 1994

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0382 CHEF

Fannie Farmer

1857 - 1915

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0383 ECONOMIST

Allan H. Meltzer

1928 - 2017

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0384 POLITICIAN

Caleb Blood Smith

1808 - 1864

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0385 PAINTER

Christopher Wool

Born 1955

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0386 PHYSICIAN

John Jeffries

1744 - 1819

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0387 MUSIC

Mr. Lif

Born 1977

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0388 POLITICIAN

Alvan T. Fuller

1878 - 1958

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0389 PLAYER

Richard Sears (tennis)

1861 - 1943

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0390 POLITICIAN

Harrison Gray Otis (politician)

1765 - 1848

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0391 EDITOR

Cid Corman

1924 - 2004

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0392 LITERARY

Helen Vendler

Born 1933

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0393 POLITICIAN

Warren Rudman

1930 - 2012

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0394 ASTRONAUT

Brian Duffy (astronaut)

Born 1953

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0395 PAINTER

Dorothy Iannone

Born 1933

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0396 MUSIC

Eric Griffin

Born 1976

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0397 PAINTER

Charles Sprague Pearce

1851 - 1914

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0398 WRITER

George Francis Train

1829 - 1904

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0399 ECONOMIST

Stephen Ross (economist)

1944 - 2017

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0400 ACTOR

Franklyn Farnum

1878 - 1961

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0401 JOURNALIST

William Bundy

1917 - 2000

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0402 PALAEONTOLOGIST

Samuel Wendell Williston

1851 - 1918

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0403 MUSIC

Alexander Perls

Born 1976

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0404 WRITER

Andrea Barrett

Born 1954

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0405 WRITER

Chuck Pfarrer

Born 1957

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0406 YOUTUBER

Michelle Phan

Born 1987

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0407 ACADEMIC

Walter Charles Langer

1899 - 1981

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0408 ACTOR

Fred F. Sears

1913 - 1957

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0409 POLITICIAN

Josiah Quincy III

1772 - 1864

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0410 AUTHOR

Sarah Kemble Knight

1666 - 1727

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0411 WRESTLER

Joy Giovanni

Born 1978

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0412 HOCKEY

Chris Bourque

Born 1986

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0413 SCULPTOR

Thomas Ball (artist)

1819 - 1911

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0414 BASKET

Demetris Nichols

Born 1984

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0415 ACTOR

Ryan Sypek

Born 1982

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0416 FILM

Andrew Bujalski

Born 1977

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0417 MATHEMATICIAN

William Fogg Osgood

1864 - 1943

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0418 EDITOR

Deborah Turbeville

1932 - 2013

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0419 MATHEMATICIAN

Daniel Gorenstein

1923 - 1992

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0420 ACTOR

Eugene Roche

1928 - 2004

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0421 ABOLITIONIST

Mary Livermore

1820 - 1905

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0422 BASEBALL

Alex Cobb

Born 1987

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0423 WRITER

Tasha Tudor

1915 - 2008

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0424 BIOLOGIST

Franklin Stahl

Born 1929

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0425 COMEDIAN

Bob Elliott (comedian)

1923 - 2016

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0426 PRIEST

John Wright (cardinal)

1909 - 1979

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0427 PIANIST

Aaron Goldberg

Born 1974

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0428 LITERARY

John Brockman (literary agent)

Born 1941

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0429 SERIAL KILLER

Jane Toppan

1854 - 1938

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0430 PSYCHIATRIST

Karl Deisseroth

Born 1971

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0431 ACTOR

Natalie Trundy

1940 - 2019

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0432 MATHEMATICIAN

Maxime Bôcher

1867 - 1918

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0433 MUSIC

Ruby Braff

1927 - 2003

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0434 WRITER

Touré (journalist)

Born 1971

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0435 DRIVER

Jeff Burton

Born 1967

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0436 NATURALIST

Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz

1822 - 1907

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0437 SCREENWRITER

Richard N. Goodwin

1931 - 2018

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0438 LAWYER

Charles Devens

1820 - 1891

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0439 BASEBALL

Rich Hill (pitcher)

Born 1980

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0440 ARCHITECT

Henry N. Cobb

1926 - 2020

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0441 ACTOR

Jennifer Dundas

Born 1971

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0442 POET

Mark O'Brien (poet)

1949 - 1999

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0443 POLITICIAN

George von Lengerke Meyer

1858 - 1918

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0444 MUSIC

Chris Garneau

Born 1982

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0445 POLITICIAN

John F. Kelly

Born 1950

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0446 PRODUCER

Alan Douglas (record producer)

1931 - 2014

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0447 SCIENTIST

Arthur Caplan

Born 1950

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0448 AUTHOR

Royall Tyler

1757 - 1826

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0449 ACTOR

Anne Twomey

Born 1951

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0450 ACTOR

Jane Cowl

1883 - 1950

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0451 ACTOR

Richard McGonagle

Born 1946

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0452 JOURNALIST

Max Blumenthal

Born 1977

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0453 ACTOR

Jesse Heiman

Born 1978

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0454 MUSIC

Kane Roberts

Born 1962

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0455 ACTOR

Liam Waite

Born 1971

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0456 ORNITHOLOGIST

Charles B. Cory

1857 - 1921

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0457 PHOTOGRAPHER

Marian Hooper Adams

1843 - 1885

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0458 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Neil Asher Silberman

Born 1950

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0459 ARMY

William Dawes

1745 - 1799

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0460 PLAYER

Beals Wright

1879 - 1961

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0461 ASTRONOMER

Brian O'Leary

1940 - 2011

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0462 MUSIC

Bill Keith (musician)

1939 - 2015

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0463 NOVELIST

Barbara Delinsky

Born 1945

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0464 POLITICIAN

Paul Mitchell (politician)

Born 1956

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0465 COMPOSER

Irving Fine

1914 - 1962

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0466 OFFICER

Joseph Dunford

Born 1955

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0467 PAINTER

Walter Gay

1856 - 1937

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0468 HOCKEY

Jimmy Vesey

Born 1993

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0469 PALAEONTOLOGIST

Samuel Hubbard Scudder

1837 - 1911

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0470 ENGINEER

Norman Abramson

1932 - 2020

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0471 WRITER

David Meerman Scott

Born 1961

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0472 WRESTLER

Tommaso Ciampa

Born 1985

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0473 ARCHITECT

Dan Kiley

1912 - 2004

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0474 POLITICIAN

Neal Dunn

Born 1953

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0475 MATHEMATICIAN

John Winthrop (educator)

1714 - 1779

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0476 NOVELIST

Janet Morris

Born 1946

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0477 CHEMIST

Max Tishler

1906 - 1989

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0478 SCREENWRITER

Martin Olson

-

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0479 ENTREPRENEUR

Frederic Tudor

1783 - 1864

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0480 ACTOR

Katya Zamolodchikova

Born 1982

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0481 WRITER

Susan Minot

Born 1956

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0482 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Harriet Boyd Hawes

1871 - 1945

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0483 FILM

Neil Cicierega

Born 1986

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0484 HISTORIAN

Aviva Chomsky

Born 1957

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0485 POLITICAL

James Steinberg

Born 1953

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0486 HOCKEY

Noah Hanifin

Born 1997

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0487 WRITER

Julia Glass

Born 1956

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0488 HOCKEY

Mike Milbury

Born 1952

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0489 HOCKEY

Keith Yandle

Born 1986

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0490 MATHEMATICIAN

Victor Guillemin

Born 1937

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0491 WRITER

Charles Palliser

Born 1947

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0492 FILM

Frank Ross (producer)

1904 - 1990

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0493 LAWYER

Francis Dana

1743 - 1811

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0494 MILITAR

Gordon R. Sullivan

Born 1937

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0495 AUTHOR

Jonathan Kozol

Born 1936

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0496 DIPLOMAT

Peter Galbraith

Born 1950

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0497 COMPOSER

Wilhelm Berger

1861 - 1911

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0498 BUSINESS

Thomas W. Lawson (businessman)

1857 - 1925

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0499 WRITER

David Sheff

Born 1955

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0500 ACTOR

Tyler Faith

Born 1975

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0501 ACTOR

Kenny Delmar

1910 - 1984

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0502 SURGEON

Henry Jacob Bigelow

1818 - 1890

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0503 BOTANIST

William Gilson Farlow

1844 - 1919

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0504 ACTOR

Jack Burns

1933 - 2020

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0505 HOCKEY

John Tortorella

Born 1958

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0506 PSYCHIATRIST

Morton Prince

1854 - 1929

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0507 MUSIC

Ricky Ford

Born 1954

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0508 BOTANIST

Edward Tuckerman

1817 - 1886

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0509 RAPPER

Sammy Adams

Born 1987

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0510 ARCHITECT

Thomas Church (landscape architect)

1902 - 1978

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0511 HOCKEY

Jimmy Hayes (ice hockey)

Born 1989

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0512 ACTOR

Patrick Renna

Born 1979

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0513 HOCKEY

Kevin Hayes (ice hockey)

Born 1992

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0514 MATHEMATICIAN

Amie Wilkinson

Born 1968

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0515 WRITER

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward

1844 - 1911

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0516 WRITER

T. A. Barron

Born 1952

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0517 ARCHITECT

Eliot Noyes

1910 - 1977

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0518 NOVELIST

William Hill Brown

1765 - 1793

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0519 CHEMIST

Henry Gilman

1893 - 1986

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0520 SINGER

Dave Lambert (American jazz vocalist)

1917 - 1966

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0521 ORNITHOLOGIST

James L. Peters

1889 - 1952

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0522 ACTOR

Lexi Love

Born 1980

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0523 ACADEMIC

Charles Warren (U.S. author)

1868 - 1954

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0524 ENTREPRENEUR

Albert Augustus Pope

1843 - 1909

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0525 BASEBALL

Manny Delcarmen

Born 1982

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0526 WRESTLER

Oney Lorcan

Born 1985

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0527 HOCKEY

Chris Nilan

Born 1958

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0528 BIOLOGIST

William Stimpson

1832 - 1872

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0529 ACTOR

Raymond Griffith

1895 - 1957

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0530 FOOTBALL

Kik Pierie

Born 2000

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0531 BASKET

Dana Barros

Born 1967

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0532 AUTHOR

John Sullivan Dwight

1813 - 1893

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0533 ACTOR

Regina Carrol

1943 - 1992

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0534 FILM

Damon Santostefano

-

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0535 MUSIC

Mary Halvorson

Born 1980

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0536 MATHEMATICIAN

Lloyd N. Trefethen

Born 1955

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0537 POLITICIAN

Moses Gill

1734 - 1800

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0538 MATHEMATICIAN

Hartry Field

Born 1946

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0539 PAINTER

George Henry Hall (artist)

1825 - 1913

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0540 BASKET

Tony Gaffney

Born 1984

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0541 SCREENWRITER

Oscar Brodney

1907 - 2008

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0542 DIPLOMAT

Alexander Vershbow

Born 1952

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0543 HISTORIAN

Herbert P. Bix

Born 1938

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0544 FILM

Aaron Ryder

-

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0545 HISTORIAN

Elizabeth Fox-Genovese

1941 - 2007

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0546 COMPOSER

Deborah Lurie

Born 1974

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0547 PIANIST

William Mason (composer)

1829 - 1908

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0548 COMPOSER

Larry Goldings

Born 1968

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0549 FILM

Ray Nazarro

1902 - 1986

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0550 DIPLOMAT

Mark Andrew Green

Born 1960

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0551 HOCKEY

Walter A. Brown

1905 - 1964

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0552 ACTOR

Martha Hackett

Born 1961

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0553 SERIAL KILLER

Jesse Pomeroy

1859 - 1932

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0554 NOVELIST

J. Courtney Sullivan

Born 1981

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0555 ACTOR

Jan Miner

1917 - 2004

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0556 POLITICIAN

Charles Bass

Born 1952

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0557 ACTOR

Edith Fellows

1923 - 2011

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0558 WRITER

Seno Gumira Ajidarma

Born 1958

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0559 WRITER

Laura E. Richards

1850 - 1943

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0560 SAXOPHONIST

Jane Ira Bloom

Born 1955

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0561 ACTOR

Richard Rust

1938 - 1994

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0562 PSYCHOLOGIST

Saul Rosenzweig

1907 - 2004

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0563 NOVELIST

Edward Dahlberg

1900 - 1977

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0564 ART HISTORIAN

Henry-Russell Hitchcock

1903 - 1987

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0565 NOVELIST

Gelett Burgess

1866 - 1951

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0566 NEWS PRESENTER

Ed Herlihy

1909 - 1999

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0567 ACTOR

Hettienne Park

Born 1983

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0568 COMPOSER

Sid Ramin

1919 - 2019

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0569 HISTORIAN

Jeremy Belknap

1744 - 1798

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0570 WRITER

Harriet Hanson Robinson

1825 - 1911

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0571 BOXER

Sandy Saddler

1926 - 2001

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0572 HOCKEY

Jack O'Callahan

Born 1957

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0573 OFFICER

Paul X. Kelley

1928 - 2019

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0574 MUSIC

Clifford Jarvis

1941 - 1999

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0575 ARTIST

Lauren Greenfield

Born 1966

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0576 OFFICER

James Barnes (general)

1801 - 1869

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0577 MATHEMATICIAN

Bjorn Poonen

Born 1968

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0578 CLERIC

Solomon Stoddard

1643 - 1729

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0579 ACTOR

Dick Elliott

1886 - 1961

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0580 SINGER

Iyeoka Okoawo

Born 1975

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0581 PAINTER

Sargent Claude Johnson

1888 - 1967

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0582 PLAYER

Eleonora Sears

1881 - 1968

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0583 COMPOSER

Charles Gross

Born 1934

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0584 NOVELIST

George Weller

1907 - 2002

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0585 WRESTLER

Nicole Raczynski

Born 1979

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0586 POET

William Ellery Channing (poet)

1818 - 1901

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0587 ACTOR

Roland Winters

1904 - 1989

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0588 MUSIC

Sib Hashian

1949 - 2017

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0589 AUTHOR

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Born 1931

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0590 COMPOSER

Margaret Ruthven Lang

1867 - 1972

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0591 POET

Henry Theodore Tuckerman

1813 - 1871

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0592 MUSIC

Pat Badger

Born 1967

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0593 MUSIC

Peter Rowan

Born 1942

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0594 ACTOR

Alison Folland

Born 1978

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0595 ACTOR

Tom Long (actor)

1968 - 2020

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0596 DESIGNER

Vincent Connare

Born 1960

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0597 SKATER

Kitty Carruthers

Born 1961

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0598 SINGER

Robin Shōko Okada

Born 1993

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0599 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Paul Mockapetris

Born 1948

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0600 ACTOR

Barbara Mullen

1914 - 1979

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