39.9292° N, 75.2300° W

PHILADELPHIA

Most Famous People Born in Philadelphia, USA

Notable people
5,575
Peak decade
1940s
Median birth year
1928
Most distinctive
Baseball 6.0×

The original American capital, then the capital of nothing in particular, then a sports town. Philadelphia's notables run thick through the 18th century — lawyers, philanthropists, financiers — and then settle into a long, steady output of baseball players, basketball players, jazz bandleaders, and character actors. The city has one of the highest shares of notables in organized labor of the early 20th century and one of the deepest benches of soul singers of the late 20th.

Standouts

What Philadelphia Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Philadelphia's biggest profession — 9% of all notables (482).

Philadelphia over-indexes on baseball 6.0× the global rate.

Philadelphia under-produces football — only 0.4× the global rate.

  1. Politician 482 0.7×
  2. Actor 414 1.4×
  3. Baseball 383 6.0×
  4. Basket 260 3.7×
  5. Football 251 0.4×
  6. Music 206 2.6×
  7. Lawyer 185 1.9×
  8. Singer 161 1.4×
  1. Baseball 383 6.0×
  2. Basket 260 3.7×
  3. Boxer 72 3.3×
  4. Rower 57 2.8×
  5. Music 206 2.6×
  6. Officer 84 2.3×
  7. Lawyer 185 1.9×
  8. Film 113 1.6×
  1. Football 251 0.4×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Other
All5,575
Sort By

Showing 468 of 5,575 notable people

0001 ACTOR

Grace Kelly

1929 - 1982

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0010 FILM

Sidney Lumet

1924 - 2011

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0023 SAXOPHONIST

Stan Getz

1927 - 1991

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0025 SINGER

Mario Lanza

1921 - 1959

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0026 ACTOR

Jack Klugman

1922 - 2012

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0032 ACTOR

Eddie Fisher (singer)

1928 - 2010

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0034 MILITAR

Alexander Haig

1924 - 2010

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0044 FILM

Irvin Kershner

1923 - 2010

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0047 FILM

Arthur Penn

1922 - 2010

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0051 ARCHITECT

Robert Venturi

1925 - 2018

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0062 ASTRONOMER

Vera Rubin

1928 - 2016

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0067 SINGER

Al Martino

1927 - 2009

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0092 COMPOSER

Benny Golson

Born 1929

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0109 ACTOR

Nancy Walker

1922 - 1992

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0114 ACTOR

Norman Fell

1924 - 1998

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0119 MATHEMATICIAN

John Backus

1924 - 2007

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0125 BASEBALL

Roy Campanella

1921 - 1993

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0130 DRUMMER

Philly Joe Jones

1923 - 1985

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0139 AUTHOR

Robert Leckie (author)

1920 - 2001

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0182 ENTREPRENEUR

Amar Bose

1929 - 2013

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0193 WRITER

Lloyd Alexander

1924 - 2007

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0209 BOXER

Angelo Dundee

1921 - 2012

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0217 ACTOR

Val Avery

1924 - 2009

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0220 LAWYER

Nicholas Katzenbach

1922 - 2012

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0225 ACTOR

Richard Deacon (actor)

1921 - 1984

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0234 FILM

Chuck Barris

1929 - 2017

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0236 BASKET

Jack Ramsay

1925 - 2014

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0265 SCREENWRITER

Abby Mann

1927 - 2008

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0267 ACTOR

Grayson Hall

1922 - 1985

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0274 ACTOR

Julius Harris

1923 - 2004

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0280 MILITAR

William Guarnere

1923 - 2014

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0289 NOVELIST

William Wharton (author)

1925 - 2008

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0293 PRELATE

John O'Connor (cardinal)

1920 - 2000

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0300 LINGUIST

Joshua Fishman

1926 - 2015

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0301 PIANIST

David Tudor

1926 - 1996

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0307 POET

Maxine Kumin

1925 - 2014

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0318 SCREENWRITER

Alvin Sargent

1927 - 2019

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0319 BASKET

Paul Arizin

1928 - 2006

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0326 ECONOMIST

Edward S. Herman

1925 - 2017

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0330 COMPOSER

Jimmy Heath

1926 - 2020

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0354 MUSIC

Emmaline Henry

1928 - 1979

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0379 SCREENWRITER

Peter Mark Richman

Born 1927

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0395 SCREENWRITER

Joseph Stefano

1922 - 2006

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0402 TELEVISION

Jim McKay

1921 - 2008

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0441 PRIEST

Joseph Fitzmyer

1920 - 2016

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0445 FILM

Paul Wendkos

1925 - 2009

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0447 PLAYER

Vic Seixas

Born 1923

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0448 SINGER

Kitty Kallen

1922 - 2016

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0449 SINGER

Buddy Greco

1926 - 2017

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0483 BIOLOGIST

Margaret Oakley Dayhoff

1925 - 1983

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0505 MUSIC

Red Rodney

1927 - 1994

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0508 LINGUIST

Charles A. Ferguson

1921 - 1998

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0517 MILITAR

Edward Heffron

1923 - 2013

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0534 COMPOSER

Jacob Druckman

1928 - 1996

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0542 POLITICIAN

Frank Rizzo

1920 - 1991

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0552 MUSIC

Clara Ward

1924 - 1973

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0559 ACTOR

Jimmy Woode

1929 - 2005

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0563 FOOTBALL

Walter Bahr

1927 - 2018

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0597 CARTOONIST

Bil Keane

1922 - 2011

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0605 LAW

William Thaddeus Coleman Jr.

1920 - 2017

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0623 ACTIVIST

Edith Windsor

1929 - 2017

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0624 ACTOR

Bill Scott (voice actor)

1920 - 1985

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0626 BIOLOGIST

Leonard Hayflick

Born 1928

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0668 PSYCHIATRIST

Leon Eisenberg

1922 - 2009

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0682 ROWER

John B. Kelly Jr.

1927 - 1985

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0687 CRIMINAL

Edgar Ray Killen

1925 - 2018

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0710 TEACHER

James N. Rosenau

1924 - 2011

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0727 FILM

Sidney Kimmel

Born 1928

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0741 FILM

Murray Lerner

1927 - 2017

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0752 POLITICIAN

C. Delores Tucker

1927 - 2005

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0771 SCREENWRITER

Marvin Albert

1924 - 1996

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0786 PHOTOGRAPHER

Stan Levey

1926 - 2005

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0787 ACTOR

Anthony Eisley

1925 - 2003

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0817 PROGRAMMER

Frances Spence

1922 - 2012

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0818 DESIGNER

James Galanos

1924 - 2016

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0848 COACH

John Rauch

1927 - 2008

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0863 DRAMA

Arnold Schulman

Born 1925

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0889 SCULPTOR

Richard Stankiewicz

1922 - 1983

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0892 BASKET

Red Klotz

1921 - 2014

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0907 ACTIVIST

Staughton Lynd

Born 1929

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0909 BASKET

Jim Phelan (basketball)

Born 1929

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0934 MUSIC

Lem Winchester

1928 - 1961

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0935 CONDUCTOR

Elliot Lawrence

Born 1925

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0938 MUSIC

Jymie Merritt

1926 - 2020

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0945 CONDUCTOR

Anshel Brusilow

1928 - 2018

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0955 SINGER

Gogi Grant

1924 - 2016

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0971 MUSIC

Lou Bennett

1926 - 1997

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0995 FILM

Sheldon Reynolds (producer)

1923 - 2003

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0999 CLARINET

John LaPorta

1920 - 2004

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1025 AMBASSADOR

Thomas M. Foglietta

1928 - 2004

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1056 SCREENWRITER

Bob Haney

1926 - 2004

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1061 CELLIST

David Soyer

1923 - 2010

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1071 MUSIC

Steve Davis (bassist)

1929 - 1987

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1072 COMPOSER

Ralph Shapey

1921 - 2002

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1079 MUSIC

Shafi Hadi

Born 1929

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1080 PROGRAMMER

Marlyn Meltzer

1922 - 2008

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1084 HISTORIAN

Philip D. Curtin

1922 - 2009

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1095 KILLER

Marie Noe

Born 1928

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1099 MUSIC

Charlie Biddle

1926 - 2003

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1105 PAINTER

Sonia Gechtoff

1926 - 2018

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1128 PHILOSOPHER

Paul Taylor (philosopher)

1923 - 2015

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1130 BOXER

Harold Johnson (boxer)

1928 - 2015

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1132 MUSIC

Billy Butler (guitarist)

1925 - 1991

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1139 HISTORIAN

Stanley Weintraub

1929 - 2019

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1149 PHYSICIST

Stanley Corrsin

1920 - 1986

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1157 MUSIC

Ernie Andrews

Born 1927

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1163 PHYSICIST

Robert Kraichnan

1928 - 2008

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1186 SINGER

Frank Guarrera

1923 - 2007

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1192 SCHOLAR

Moshe Greenberg

1928 - 2010

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1195 ILLUSTRATOR

Arnold Roth

Born 1929

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1212 WRITER

Ethel Portnoy

1927 - 2004

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1228 HISTORIAN

David Bushnell (historian)

1923 - 2010

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1229 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Walter B. Miller

1920 - 2004

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1236 ACTOR

Sydney Walker

1921 - 1994

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1259 ECONOMIST

Carl Kaysen

1920 - 2010

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1262 SWIMMER

Joe Verdeur

1926 - 1991

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1286 SCULPTOR

John Ernest

1922 - 1994

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1291 ACTOR

Iggie Wolfington

1920 - 2004

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1350 SPORT

Jack Whitaker

1924 - 2019

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1359 MUSIC

Nick Travis

1925 - 1964

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1368 ARTIST

Sarai Sherman

1922 - 2013

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1375 BANDLEADER

Warren Covington

1921 - 1999

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1393 POLITICIAN

Richard T. Schulze

Born 1929

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1405 VIOLIN

Berl Senofsky

1926 - 2002

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1429 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Herman Lukoff

1923 - 1979

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1430 JOURNALIST

William Gardner Smith

1927 - 1974

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1439 POLITICIAN

Charles W. Sandman Jr.

1921 - 1985

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1462 NOVELIST

Robert Gover

1929 - 2015

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1466 PSYCHOLOGIST

Eugene Galanter

1924 - 2016

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1467 MUSIC

Willie Dennis

1926 - 1965

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1482 LINGUIST

Samuel G. Armistead

1927 - 2013

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1488 COMPOSER

Bill Barron (musician)

1927 - 1989

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1498 THERAPIST

Sidney Blatt

1928 - 2014

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1529 BASKET

Jerry Rullo

1923 - 2016

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1544 EGYPTOLOGIST

Henry George Fischer

1923 - 2006

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1548 BIOCHEMIST

Roscoe Brady

1923 - 2016

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1551 PHOTOGRAPHER

Jerry Yulsman

1924 - 1999

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1561 ACTOR

John Connell (actor)

1923 - 2015

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1576 ONCOLOGIST

Peter Nowell

1928 - 2016

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1582 ASTRONOMER

William Liller

Born 1927

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1590 EPIDEMIOLOGIST

Alvan Feinstein

1925 - 2001

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1620 MUSIC

Cal Massey

1927 - 1972

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1628 POLITICIAN

Tom Lewis (American politician)

1924 - 2003

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1632 PSYCHOLOGIST

Lester Luborsky

1920 - 2009

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1633 PHILOSOPHER

Jerome Ravetz

Born 1929

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1651 POLITICIAN

Harold M. Williams

1928 - 2017

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1661 NEUROSCIENTIST

Louis Sokoloff

1921 - 2015

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1667 POLITICIAN

Joshua Eilberg

1921 - 2004

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1670 ACTOR

Sylvia Kauders

1921 - 2016

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1712 BANDLEADER

Vincent Montana Jr.

1928 - 2013

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1715 PRELATE

Francis B. Schulte

1926 - 2016

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1717 ECONOMIST

Richard Wall Lyman

1923 - 2012

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1726 ACTOR

Billy Beck

1920 - 2011

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1727 FOOTBALL

Benny McLaughlin

1928 - 2012

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1740 LAWYER

Gil Stein (ice hockey)

Born 1928

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1745 MUSIC

Specs Wright

1927 - 1963

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1758 ACTOR

Hazel Shermet

1921 - 2016

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1790 ACTOR

Lon Satton

Born 1929

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1804 MATHEMATICIAN

Philip Rabinowitz (mathematician)

1926 - 2006

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1817 PIANIST

Lou Stein

1922 - 2002

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1835 BASKET

George Dempsey (basketball)

1929 - 2017

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1855 PRODUCER

Roger Gimbel

1925 - 2011

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1857 COMPOSER

Paul Fetler

1920 - 2018

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1865 PRIEST

Louis A. DeSimone

1922 - 2018

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1872 GYMNAST

Marian Barone

1924 - 1996

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1873 BASKET

Stan Brown (basketball)

1929 - 2009

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1884 PSYCHOLOGIST

Robert Perloff

1921 - 2013

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1892 MATHEMATICIAN

Richard Lashof

1922 - 2010

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1900 PIANIST

Herman Foster

1928 - 1999

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1902 POLITICIAN

Ethel D. Allen

1929 - 1981

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1913 PIANIST

Beryl Booker

1922 - 1978

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1919 BASEBALL

Cal Abrams

1924 - 1997

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1928 FOOTBALL

Bucko Kilroy

1921 - 2007

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1946 GYMNAST

Clara Schroth

1920 - 2014

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1962 BASKET

Nelson Bobb

1924 - 2003

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1965 PHYSICIST

George Wetherill

1925 - 2006

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1971 PSYCHOLOGIST

Morton Hunt

1920 - 2016

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1983 CIVIL SERVICE

Lawrence A. Rainey

1923 - 2002

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1985 PARATROOPER

Thomas Meehan III

1921 - 1944

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2001 BASEBALL

Del Ennis

1925 - 1996

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2016 ARTIST

Paul Smith (artist)

1921 - 2007

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2022 FILM

N. Paul Kenworthy

1925 - 2010

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2034 MUSIC

Charlie Rice

1920 - 2018

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2095 WRITER

Alfred Bloom (Buddhist)

1926 - 2017

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2106 JOURNALIST

Judy Stone (journalist)

1924 - 2017

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2108 BASKET

Art Spector

1920 - 1987

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2110 PRODUCER

Herb Sargent

1923 - 2005

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2122 POET

F. D. Reeve

1928 - 2013

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2138 PALAEONTOLOGIST

Arthur James Boucot

1924 - 2017

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2140 WRITER

Lillian Hoban

1925 - 1998

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2162 PRIEST

David B. Thompson

1923 - 2013

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2164 SPORT

Abe Pollin

1923 - 2009

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2184 ACTOR

Joey Forman

1929 - 1982

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2195 BASKET

Al Guokas

1925 - 1990

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2202 ZOOLOGIST

Murray S. Blum

Born 1929

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2241 ORGANIST

Eddie Layton

1925 - 2004

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2249 ROWER

Robert Perew

1923 - 1999

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2263 BASKET

Sherman White (basketball)

1928 - 2011

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2280 POLITICIAN

Douglas Hemphill Elliott

1921 - 1960

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2283 PSYCHIATRIST

Herbert Needleman

1927 - 2017

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2290 PAINTER

Hugh Weiss

1925 - 2007

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2296 POLITICIAN

Phillip Martin

1926 - 2010

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2299 SOCIOLOGIST

Lillian B. Rubin

1924 - 2014

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2346 SINGER

Guy Marks

1923 - 1987

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2347 BASKET

Mendy Rudolph

1926 - 1979

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2377 FILM

Richard Bartlett

1922 - 1994

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2391 IMPRESARIO

Lee Guber

1920 - 1988

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2394 LAWYER

Goler T. Butcher

1925 - 1993

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2410 BASKET

Bill McCahan

1921 - 1986

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2456 FILM

Bob Brooks

1927 - 2012

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2480 LAWYER

Arlin M. Adams

1921 - 2015

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2484 FOOTBALL

Mike Jarmoluk

1922 - 2004

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2496 BOBSLED

William Dodge (bobsleigh)

1925 - 1987

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2501 ARCHITECT

Robert Geddes (architect)

Born 1923

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2512 POLITICIAN

Joseph F. Smith (Pennsylvania politician)

1920 - 1999

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2537 ARTIST

Philip Jamison

Born 1925

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2540 PRODUCER

Frank Chirkinian

1926 - 2011

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2542 PSYCHIATRIST

George Winokur

1925 - 1996

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2560 ACTOR

Dolores Donlon

1920 - 2012

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2567 LITERARY

Virginia Kidd

1921 - 2003

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2581 LAWYER

Charles Alan Wright

1927 - 2000

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2600 BASSIST

Jimmy Rowser

1926 - 2004

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2607 PROFESSOR

George Avery (professor)

1927 - 2004

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2620 ARTIST

Joe Maneely

1926 - 1958

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2623 WRITER

Bernard Waber

1924 - 2013

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2633 PASTOR

Howard Hendricks

1924 - 2013

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2651 PRODUCER

Dave Miller (producer)

1925 - 1985

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2655 PAINTER

Felice Pazner Malkin

Born 1929

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2698 PAINTER

Joe Stefanelli (painter)

1921 - 2017

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2707 PHYSICIAN

Angelo DiGeorge

1921 - 2009

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2711 FOOTBALL

John Sandusky

1925 - 2006

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2726 GUITAR

Thornel Schwartz

1927 - 1977

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2744 SINGER

Dave Appell

1922 - 2014

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2758 COMPOSER

John Wallowitch

1926 - 2007

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2767 SINGER

Little Joe Cook

1922 - 2014

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2805 DIPLOMAT

David Nalle

1924 - 2013

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2820 BASKET

Sherwin Raiken

1928 - 2009

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2834 BIOLOGIST

Cyrus Levinthal

1922 - 1990

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2877 COMPOSER

Romeo Cascarino

1922 - 2002

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2890 NAVY

George Eiferman

1925 - 2002

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2898 MUSIC

William Ashbrook

1922 - 2009

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2899 FOOTBALL

Bill Mackrides

1925 - 2019

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2905 PHYSICIST

Coleman Dupont Donaldson

1922 - 2009

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2906 LAWYER

Lawrence W. Pierce

1924 - 2020

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2919 POLITICIAN

Thomas C. McGrath Jr.

1927 - 1994

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2947 ARCHITECT

Taylor Hardwick

1925 - 2014

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2948 POLITICIAN

Thacher Longstreth

1920 - 2003

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2964 DANCER

LaVaughn Robinson

1927 - 2008

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2985 SINGER

Natalie Nevins

1925 - 2010

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2990 MUSIC

Dave Black (drummer)

1928 - 2006

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2994 BASKET

Jack Kraft

1921 - 2014

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3002 MUSIC

Chaino

1927 - 1999

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3023 WRITER

Richard A. Long

1927 - 2013

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3028 HYDROLOGIST

Peter S. Eagleson

Born 1928

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3030 COMPOSER

Claire Polin

1926 - 1995

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3057 FILM

Max Raab

1926 - 2008

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3113 FOOTBALL

Walt Stickel

1922 - 1987

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3157 WRITER

Richard E. Sprague

1921 - 1996

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3165 LAWYER

Jay Rabinowitz (jurist)

1927 - 2001

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3166 BIOCHEMIST

Martin Gibbs

1922 - 2006

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3172 BUSINESS

Samuel Cummings

1927 - 1998

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3183 PRODUCER

Ernest Leiser

1921 - 2002

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3185 LAWYER

Gus Cifelli

1926 - 2009

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3194 MATHEMATICIAN

Edward William Barankin

1920 - 1985

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3195 NOVELIST

Shelly Gross

1921 - 2009

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3197 WRITER

Gayraud Wilmore

1921 - 2020

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3222 DIPLOMAT

Robert J. McCloskey

1922 - 1996

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3223 COACH

Earl Banks

1924 - 1993

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3236 BOXING

Frank Cappuccino

1929 - 2015

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3241 DANCER

Mary Hinkson

1925 - 2014

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3258 AUTHOR

Charles Hutchison Clark

1920 - 2009

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3282 SINGER

Micki Marlo

1928 - 2016

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3285 PAINTER

Charles Semser

1922 - 2011

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3294 CARTOONIST

Jay Scott Pike

1924 - 2015

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3309 PUBLISHED

Marvin Mudrick

1921 - 1986

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3314 ACTOR

Rebecca Welles

1928 - 2017

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3332 FOOTBALL

John Papit

1928 - 2015

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3345 BASKET

Rookie Brown

1925 - 1971

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3386 COMPOSER

Robert Parris

1924 - 1999

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3402 PRIEST

Walter C. Righter

1923 - 2011

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3419 LAWYER

William J. Castagna

Born 1924

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3436 WRITER

Christopher Davis

Born 1928

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3443 MODEL

Frances Marie Burke

1922 - 2017

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3460 CINEMA

Joseph V. Noble

1920 - 2007

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3470 FILM

Steve Hopkins

1929 - 1971

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3475 BASEBALL

Chuck Kress

1921 - 2014

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3513 DESIGNER

E. Keith Eddington

1923 - 2007

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3533 PREACHER

R. W. Schambach

1926 - 2012

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3546 WIDOW

Maggie Lettvin

Born 1927

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3550 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Isaac L. Auerbach

1921 - 1992

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3562 BASEBALL

Jack Crimian

1926 - 2019

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3565 PRODUCER

Marion Stokes

1929 - 2012

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3581 PAINTER

Hank Laventhol

1927 - 2001

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3583 LAWYER

Albert F. Sabo

1920 - 2002

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3597 PHILANTHROPIST

Anne Moen Bullitt

1924 - 2007

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3619 SINGER

Bas Sheva

1925 - 1960

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3623 ARCHAEOLOGIST

Charles Lagrand

1920 - 2004

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3658 BASKET

Tom Sealy

1921 - 2000

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3662 POLITICIAN

John James Sweeney

Born 1927

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3663 DRIVER

Bob Grossman

1923 - 2002

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