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

0601 ZOOLOGIST

John Treadwell Nichols

1883 - 1958

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0602 COLLECTOR

Edward Perry Warren

1860 - 1928

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0603 PHILOSOPHER

Elizabeth S. Anderson

Born 1959

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0604 ACTOR

Greg Poehler

Born 1974

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0605 SINGER

Livingston Taylor

Born 1950

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0606 POLITICIAN

Paul A. Dever

1903 - 1958

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0607 TRUMPET

Phil Napoleon

1901 - 1990

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0608 SCREENWRITER

Norm Prescott

1927 - 2005

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0609 SOLDIER

Richard Gridley

1710 - 1796

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0610 ACTOR

Samantha Logan

Born 1996

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0611 METEOROLOGIST

Joanne Simpson

1923 - 2010

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0612 ENTERTAINER

Tom Sullivan (singer)

Born 1947

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0613 POLITICIAN

Peter Plympton Smith

Born 1945

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0614 CHEMIST

John White Webster

1793 - 1850

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0615 CHEMIST

Peter Dervan

Born 1945

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0616 POLITICIAN

Henry Gardner

1819 - 1892

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0617 MUSIC

Watermelon Slim

Born 1949

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0618 PHILOSOPHER

Francis Ellingwood Abbot

1836 - 1903

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0619 THEOLOGIAN

Peter J. Gomes

1942 - 2011

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0620 PAINTER

Janet Fish

Born 1938

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0621 SCREENWRITER

Myles Connolly

1897 - 1964

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0622 ACTOR

Paul Comi

1932 - 2016

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0623 GANGSTER

Moe Dalitz

1899 - 1989

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0624 WRITER

Joe Gould (bohemian)

1889 - 1957

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0625 DIPLOMAT

Nathaniel Davis

1925 - 2011

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0626 FILM

Henry Alex Rubin

Born 1976

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0627 BOXER

Tony DeMarco

Born 1932

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0628 ACTOR

Aidan Mitchell

Born 1993

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0629 HISTORIAN

Archibald Cary Coolidge

1866 - 1928

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0630 HOCKEY

Ted Donato

Born 1969

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0631 WRITER

F. Van Wyck Mason

1901 - 1978

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0632 ACTOR

Allen Danziger

Born 1942

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0633 LAWYER

John Quincy Adams II

1833 - 1894

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0634 PHYSICIST

Arthur Zajonc

Born 1949

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0635 POET

Paul-Henri Campbell

Born 1982

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0636 PHYSICIST

Peter P. Sorokin

1931 - 2015

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0637 MUSIC

George Garzone

Born 1950

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0638 PRIEST

William Murphy (Bishop of Rockville Centre)

Born 1940

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0639 POLITICIAN

Jonathan Mason (Massachusetts politician)

1756 - 1831

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0640 EXPLORER

Joseph Ingraham

1762 - 1800

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0641 POET

Susan Howe

Born 1937

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0642 JOURNALIST

Isaac Goldberg

1887 - 1938

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0643 SCIENTIST

Paul Roazen

1936 - 2005

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0644 HOCKEY

Matt Grzelcyk

Born 1994

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0645 JOURNALIST

Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin

1842 - 1924

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0646 WRITER

Faith Salie

Born 1971

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0647 BASKET

Will Blalock

Born 1983

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0648 BOTANIST

Francis Boott

1792 - 1863

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0649 MATHEMATICIAN

William Edward Story

1850 - 1930

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0650 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Harry R. Lewis

Born 1947

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0651 MILITAR

George Patton IV

1923 - 2004

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0652 NOVELIST

Rodman Philbrick

Born 1951

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0653 MUSIC

Michael Jenkins Moynihan

Born 1969

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0654 ACTOR

Hazel Tucker

Born 1989

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0655 SKATER

Caroline Zhang

Born 1993

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0656 COMPOSER

William Finn

Born 1952

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0657 BIOLOGIST

Michael Eisen

Born 1967

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0658 HISTORIAN

Justin Winsor

1831 - 1897

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0659 PHILOSOPHER

Robert Kane (philosopher)

Born 1938

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0660 IMMUNOLOGIST

Charles Janeway

1943 - 2003

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0661 COMPOSER

Richard Wernick

Born 1934

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0662 COMPOSER

Makanda Ken McIntyre

1931 - 2001

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0663 BOTANIST

Horace Mann Jr.

1844 - 1868

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0664 ACTOR

Robert Wahlberg

Born 1967

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0665 MATHEMATICIAN

Andrea Bertozzi

Born 1965

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0666 WRITER

Henry Beston

1888 - 1968

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0667 SINGER

Mashonda

Born 1978

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0668 DANCER

Alexander Gamelin

Born 1993

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0669 HISTORIAN

J. Franklin Jameson

1859 - 1937

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0670 TELEVISION

Melissa Satta

Born 1986

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0671 FILM

Rosemary Rodriguez

-

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0672 MUSIC

Marc Ferrari

Born 1962

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0673 ACTOR

Marianne Leone Cooper

Born 1952

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0674 LAWYER

Josiah Quincy II

1744 - 1775

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0675 FOOTBALL

Prince Amukamara

Born 1989

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0676 PHYSIOLOGIST

Henry Pickering Bowditch

1840 - 1911

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0677 NOVELIST

Amor Towles

Born 1964

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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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0681 LAWYER

John T. Noonan Jr.

1926 - 2017

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0682 FILM

Jeffrey Lurie

Born 1951

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0683 COMPOSER

Jerry Gray (arranger)

1915 - 1976

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0684 CREATOR

L. Peter Deutsch

Born 1946

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0685 ARCHITECT

Henry Van Brunt

1832 - 1903

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0686 WRITER

Janet Tashjian

Born 1956

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0687 ACTOR

Charles Sellon

1870 - 1937

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0688 ACTOR

Hiram Sherman

1908 - 1989

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0689 NEUROLOGIST

James Jackson Putnam

1846 - 1918

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0690 SOLDIER

David Ochterlony

1758 - 1825

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0691 ACTOR

Lee Kinsolving

1938 - 1974

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0692 NOVELIST

George Mastras

Born 1945

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0693 ACTOR

Julia Meade

1925 - 2016

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0694 WRITER

Lydia Millet

Born 1968

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0695 BASEBALL

Matt Duffy (baseball, born 1989)

Born 1989

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0696 FILM

Daniel Adams (director)

-

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0697 ACTOR

Jennifer Jostyn

Born 1968

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0698 SCREENWRITER

Jonathan Roberts (writer)

Born 1956

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0699 PHYSICIAN

Ernest Amory Codman

1869 - 1940

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0700 PRODUCER

Michael Bivins

Born 1968

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0701 COMPOSER

Jerry Bergonzi

Born 1947

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0702 HOCKEY

Benn Ferriero

Born 1987

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0703 DIPLOMAT

Alexander Hill Everett

1792 - 1847

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0704 PAINTER

Mather Brown

1761 - 1831

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0705 ACTOR

Nathaniel Carl Goodwin

1857 - 1919

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0706 NOVELIST

Phoebe Atwood Taylor

1909 - 1976

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0707 POLITICAL

Ed Rollins

Born 1943

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0708 SKIER

Jared Goldberg

Born 1991

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0709 ACTOR

Alexandra Lydon

Born 1979

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0710 WRITER

Thomas Gold Appleton

1812 - 1884

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0711 HOCKEY

Brian Strait

Born 1988

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0712 JOURNALIST

E. J. Dionne

Born 1952

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0713 BANK

George David Woods

1901 - 1982

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0714 PROFESSOR

Arthur Asa Berger

Born 1933

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0715 BASKET

Courtney Sims

Born 1983

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0716 EXECUTIVE

Clifton R. Wharton Jr.

Born 1926

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0717 FILM

Hamilton MacFadden

1901 - 1977

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0718 PHOTOGRAPHER

William H. Mumler

1832 - 1884

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0719 LAWYER

Charles Sumner Hamlin

1861 - 1938

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0720 FOOTBALL

Sheanon Williams

Born 1990

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0721 BASKET

Torin Francis

Born 1983

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0722 POLITICIAN

Augustus Peabody Gardner

1865 - 1918

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0723 DIPLOMAT

John Moors Cabot

1901 - 1981

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0724 POLITICIAN

Robert F. Bradford

1902 - 1983

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0725 BASKET

Ron Lee

Born 1952

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0726 ACADEMIC

Noah Feldman

Born 1970

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0727 WRITER

Henry Morton Robinson

1898 - 1961

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0728 FREESTYLE

Isabel Atkin

Born 1998

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0729 BIOCHEMIST

Mahlon Hoagland

1921 - 2009

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0730 ATHLETIC

Henry Marsh (athlete)

Born 1954

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0731 WRITER

Thomas Smith Webb

1771 - 1819

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0732 ACTOR

Anne Nagel

1915 - 1966

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0733 POLITICIAN

Richard B. Spencer

Born 1978

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0734 LAWYER

Samuel D. Warren

1852 - 1910

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0735 ACTOR

Zack Norman

Born 1940

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0736 SCREENWRITER

Richard Murphy (screenwriter)

1912 - 1993

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0737 MUSIC

Tom Werman

Born 1945

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0738 POLITICIAN

Curtis Guild Jr.

1860 - 1915

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0739 ACTOR

Dick Wesson (actor)

1922 - 1996

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0740 WRITER

Derek B. Miller

Born 1970

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0741 HOCKEY

Billy Tibbetts

Born 1974

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0742 DIPLOMAT

Jeffrey Davidow

Born 1944

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0743 SKATER

Peter Carruthers (figure skater)

Born 1959

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0744 POLITICIAN

Roger Wolcott (Massachusetts)

1847 - 1900

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0745 PRIEST

Alfred Clifton Hughes

Born 1932

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0746 ENTREPRENEUR

Godfrey Lowell Cabot

1861 - 1962

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0747 SINGER

Lisbeth Scott

Born 1968

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0748 ARCHITECT

Charles B. Atwood

1849 - 1895

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0749 OFFICER

Charles Henry Davis

1807 - 1877

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0750 MUSIC

Fran Sheehan

Born 1949

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0751 POLITICIAN

Lawrence Hogan

1928 - 2017

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0752 POLITICIAN

James Lovell (Continental Congress)

1737 - 1814

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0753 JOURNALIST

William Cooper Nell

1816 - 1874

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0754 RUNNER

Arthur Blake (distance runner)

1872 - 1944

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0755 ACTOR

Lauren Koslow

Born 1953

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0756 COMPOSER

Glasser (musician)

Born 1983

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0757 COLLECTOR

Lillie P. Bliss

1864 - 1931

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0758 CHEMIST

Josiah Parsons Cooke

1827 - 1894

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0759 POLITICIAN

Joe Moakley

1927 - 2001

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0760 POET

William Henry Leonard Poe

1807 - 1831

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0761 MUSIC

Dwight York

Born 1935

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0762 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Barbara Simons

Born 1941

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0763 NOVELIST

William Landay

Born 1963

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0764 ACTOR

William Stowell

1885 - 1919

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0765 SCENOGRAPHER

Roland Anderson

1903 - 1989

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0766 ACTOR

Blanche Ring

1871 - 1961

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0767 OCEANOGRAPHER

Henry Bryant Bigelow

1879 - 1967

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0768 PAINTER

James Wells Champney

1843 - 1903

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0769 CARTOONIST

Johnny Ryan

Born 1970

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0770 HOCKEY

Ted Drury

Born 1971

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0771 ASTRONOM

Thomas Hubbard Sumner

1807 - 1876

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0772 LAWYER

Horace Gray

1828 - 1902

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0773 PAINTER

John Greenwood (artist)

1727 - 1792

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0774 MATHEMATICIAN

Griffith C. Evans

1887 - 1973

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0775 BUSINESS

Abigail Johnson

Born 1961

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0776 ZOOLOGIST

John Charles Phillips

1876 - 1936

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0777 PHYSICIAN

Charles Theodore Dotter

1920 - 1985

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0778 MUSIC

Leo Reisman

1897 - 1961

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0779 BIOLOGIST

Gerald M. Rubin

Born 1950

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0780 SCREENWRITER

George Marion Jr.

1899 - 1968

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0781 FILM

Arvin Chen

Born 1978

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0782 COMPOSER

Ward Costello

1919 - 2009

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0783 SPORT

Sumner Paine

1868 - 1904

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0784 WRITER

Annie Adams Fields

1834 - 1915

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0785 COMPOSER

Robert Beaser

Born 1954

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0786 PRODUCER

Ezra Edelman

Born 1974

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0787 MUSIC

Joe Gordon (musician)

1928 - 1963

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0788 SKATER

Ronald Ludington

1934 - 2020

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0789 ACTOR

Peter Haskell

1934 - 2010

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0790 FILM

Ty Burr

Born 1957

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0791 HOCKEY

John McCarthy (ice hockey)

Born 1986

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0792 SOLDIER

Samuel Whittemore

1696 - 1793

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0793 BOTANIST

Edward Lewis Sturtevant

1842 - 1898

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0794 POLITICIAN

Howard Phillips (politician)

1941 - 2013

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0795 LINGUIST

Marron Curtis Fort

1938 - 2019

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0796 SINGER

Brian Fair

Born 1975

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0797 EDITOR

Frederick Lewis Allen

1890 - 1954

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0798 JOURNALIST

Barbara Epstein

1928 - 2006

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0799 LAWYER

Benjamin Thomas (congressman)

1813 - 1878

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0800 MUSIC

Barry Goudreau

Born 1951

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0801 AUTHOR

Francesca Alexander

1837 - 1917

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0802 OFFICER

Josiah Snelling

1782 - 1828

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0803 SKATER

Juliana Cannarozzo

Born 1989

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0804 PSYCHIATRIST

Charles Brenner (psychiatrist)

1913 - 2008

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0805 NOVELIST

Danzy Senna

Born 1970

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0806 DIPLOMAT

Rufus Gifford

Born 1974

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0807 WRITER

Caroline Healey Dall

1822 - 1912

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0808 CHEMIST

George Frederick Barker

1835 - 1910

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0809 SCREENWRITER

Jeff Martin (writer)

-

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0810 ACTOR

Robert Kelly (comedian)

Born 1970

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0811 LAWYER

George Henry Gordon

1823 - 1886

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0812 MATHEMATICIAN

Steven Kleiman

Born 1942

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0813 DIPLOMAT

Richard B. Wigglesworth

1891 - 1960

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0814 POLITICIAN

John G. Palfrey

1796 - 1881

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0815 PHOTOGRAPHER

Paul Caponigro

Born 1932

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0816 PAINTER

David Park (painter)

1911 - 1960

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0817 BASEBALL

George Bonhag

1882 - 1960

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0818 ATHLETIC

Daniel Frank (athlete)

1882 - 1965

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0819 MODEL

Guinevere Van Seenus

Born 1977

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0820 LINGUIST

Barbara Johnson

1947 - 2009

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0821 PSYCHIATRIST

Robert Coles (psychiatrist)

Born 1929

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0822 AUTHOR

Jewelle Gomez

Born 1948

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0823 MUSIC

Walter Powers (musician)

Born 1946

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0824 MATHEMATICIAN

David Gilbarg

1918 - 2001

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0825 WITCHCRAFT

Samuel Wardwell

1643 - 1692

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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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0828 SCULPTOR

Donald De Lue

1897 - 1988

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0829 CARDIOLOGIST

Paul Zoll

1911 - 1999

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0830 POLITICIAN

Jonathan Williams (engineer)

1751 - 1815

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0831 BALLET

Suki Schorer

Born 1939

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0832 DESIGNER

Joseph Abboud

Born 1950

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0833 ACTOR

Brian Goodman

Born 1963

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0834 ACTOR

Hillary B. Smith

Born 1957

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0835 LAWYER

Robert H. Rines

1922 - 2009

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0836 PAINTER

Ralph Wormeley Curtis

1854 - 1922

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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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0839 SPORT

John Paine (sport shooter)

1870 - 1951

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0840 ACTOR

Nate Dushku

Born 1977

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0841 ACTOR

Wanda D'Isidoro

Born 1977

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0842 COMPOSER

James Cutler Dunn Parker

1828 - 1916

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0843 RABBI

Isadore Twersky

1930 - 1997

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0844 WRITER

Julian Sturgis

1848 - 1904

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0845 BASKET

Bill Curley

Born 1972

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0846 INVENTOR

Arthur Dehon Little

1863 - 1935

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0847 SINGER

Jude (singer)

Born 1970

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0848 ORNITHOLOGIST

Thomas Mayo Brewer

1814 - 1880

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0849 PAINTER

Elizabeth Boott

1846 - 1888

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0850 FILM

Alex Grasshoff

1928 - 2008

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0851 OFFICER

Joseph T. O'Callahan

1905 - 1964

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0852 PAINTER

Samuel Stillman Osgood

1808 - 1885

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0853 POLITICIAN

George Goldthwaite

1809 - 1879

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0854 ACTOR

William Morris (actor)

1861 - 1936

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0855 WRITER

Ted Dewan

Born 1961

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0856 ACTOR

Erica Lindbeck

Born 1992

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0857 RESEARCH

William Francis Channing

1820 - 1901

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0858 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Jane C. Goodale

1926 - 2008

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0859 COMEDIAN

Benny Rubin

1899 - 1986

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0860 ART HISTORIAN

Sydney Joseph Freedberg

1914 - 1997

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0861 BUSINESS

Christopher G. Kennedy

Born 1963

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0862 SUFFRAGETTE

Martha Coffin Wright

1806 - 1875

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0863 ACTOR

Peter Mackenzie

Born 1961

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0864 BASEBALL

Tommy McCarthy

1863 - 1922

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0865 ANTHROPOLOGIST

George Clapp Vaillant

1901 - 1945

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0866 MODEL

Monica Gill

Born 1990

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0867 IMMUNOLOGIST

Charles A. Dinarello

Born 1943

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0868 COMPOSER

Sidney Homer

1864 - 1953

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0869 PHYSICIAN

Linda Laubenstein

1947 - 1992

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0870 WRITER

Robert Rosenberg

1951 - 2006

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0871 WRITER

Otto Friedrich

1929 - 1995

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0872 CINEMA

Amy Vincent

Born 1959

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0873 HOCKEY

Darren Turcotte

Born 1968

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0874 MATHEMATICIAN

John Little (academic)

Born 1928

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0875 ACTOR

Richard France (writer)

Born 1938

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0876 ENTREPRENEUR

Charles Francis Adams IV

1910 - 1999

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0877 LINGUIST

James Matisoff

Born 1937

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0878 SKATER

Maribel Owen

1940 - 1961

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0879 POLITICIAN

Andrew Oliver

1706 - 1774

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0880 POLITICIAN

Samuel Atkins Eliot (politician)

1798 - 1862

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0881 MILITAR

Roger Hale Sheaffe

1763 - 1851

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0882 BASKET

Bob Bigelow

1953 - 2020

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0883 HOCKEY

Jorge Alves (ice hockey)

Born 1979

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0884 PAINTER

Susan Hale

1833 - 1910

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0885 POLITICIAN

Thomas W. Thompson

1766 - 1821

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0886 ACTOR

Lois Ayres

Born 1963

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0887 ATHLETIC

Wesley Coe

1879 - 1926

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0888 WRITER

Michael Thomas (author)

Born 1967

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0889 POLITICIAN

John Phillips (mayor)

1770 - 1823

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0890 OFFICER

Benjamin Hallowell Carew

1761 - 1834

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0891 HISTORIAN

Stanley Elkins

1925 - 2013

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0892 HISTORIAN

Francis Woodman Cleaves

1911 - 1995

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0893 SOCIOLOGIST

Matilda White Riley

1911 - 2004

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0894 MUSIC

Roland Alexander

1935 - 2006

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0895 JOURNALIST

Jack Germond

1928 - 2013

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0896 SOLDIER

Harold J. Greene

1959 - 2014

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0897 POLITICIAN

William B. Calhoun

1796 - 1865

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0898 ART CRITIC

Charles Callahan Perkins

1823 - 1886

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0899 BASEBALL

John Brebbia

Born 1990

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0900 WRITER

Ruth Sawyer

1880 - 1970

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