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

3668 SOLDIER

Leon Bass

1925 - 2015

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3680 LAWYER

Henry E. Petersen

1921 - 1991

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3694 POLITICIAN

Francis Lynch

1920 - 1993

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3699 ACTOR

Laurence Haddon

1922 - 2013

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3719 ASTRONOMER

Sarah Lee Lippincott

1920 - 2019

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3727 ENGINEER

M. Robert Aaron

1922 - 2007

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3770 GUITAR

Teddy Walters

1920 - 1947

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3792 ACTOR

Fritzi Burr

1924 - 2003

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3801 FENCER

Paul Makler Sr.

Born 1920

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3805 POLITICAL SCIENTIST

Donald E. Stokes

1927 - 1997

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3827 ACTOR

Roberta Jonay

1921 - 1976

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3835 CINEMA

John Biddle (yachting cinematographer)

1925 - 2008

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3836 WRITER

John Baltadonis

1921 - 1998

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3864 TEACHER

Eleanor Ragsdale

1926 - 1998

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3874 SURGEON

Irving L. Lichtenstein

1920 - 2000

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3875 ORNITHOLOGIST

Jackson Miles Abbott

1920 - 1988

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3876 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Charles Katz

Born 1927

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3882 COMPOSER

Allen Sapp (composer)

1922 - 1999

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3883 ATHLETIC

George Guida

1924 - 2015

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3893 PUBLISHER

Irvin J. Borowsky

1924 - 2014

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3904 LAWYER

Robert N. C. Nix Jr.

1928 - 2003

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3910 ACTOR

Joseph Roman

1927 - 2018

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3924 ENGINEER

Nick DeWolf

1928 - 2006

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3971 LAWYER

Louis Charles Bechtle

Born 1927

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3976 HOCKEY

Tom Brennan (ice hockey)

1922 - 2003

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4005 DANCE

Marion Cuyjet

1920 - 1996

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4020 MILITAR

Lee R. Hartell

1923 - 1951

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4030 MUSIC

Ruth Mountaingrove

1923 - 2016

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4077 MATHEMATICIAN

Edward L. Kaplan

1920 - 2006

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4079 PRIEST

James Burke (bishop)

1926 - 1994

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4087 MILITAR

John J. McVeigh

1921 - 1944

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4099 POLITICIAN

Jean Wilson (politician)

Born 1928

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4100 FOOTBALL

Reds Bagnell

1928 - 1995

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4111 ARCHITECT

Rai Okamoto

1927 - 1993

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4118 ARTIST

Manuel Bennett

Born 1921

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4127 POLITICIAN

Henry Cianfrani

1923 - 2002

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4157 PHYSICIAN

Daniel J. McCarty

Born 1928

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4159 POLITICIAN

Luigi Di Paolantonio

1921 - 1976

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4171 BASEBALL

J. T. "Blondy" Black

1920 - 2000

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4196 DESIGNER

Gustave Tassell

1926 - 2014

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4202 BASEBALL

Walt Masterson

1920 - 2008

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4208 BASEBALL

Dick Koecher

1926 - 2020

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4225 BASEBALL

Bert Kuczynski

1920 - 1997

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4231 ACTIVIST

Barbara Handman

1928 - 2013

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4236 JUDGE

John William Ditter Jr.

1921 - 2019

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4239 DERMATOLOGIST

Harold E. Pierce

1922 - 2006

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4265 COACH

John Idzik

1928 - 2013

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4275 SPORT

Joe Faragalli

1929 - 2006

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4295 CHEMIST

Edward Arnett

Born 1922

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4299 PHYSICIST

E. Richard Cohen

Born 1922

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4318 BASEBALL

Mahlon Duckett

1922 - 2015

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4319 RESTAURATEUR

Barclay H. Warburton III

1922 - 1983

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4325 MUSIC

Perry Lopez (Musiker)

Born 1924

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4327 JOURNALIST

Iris Kelso

1926 - 2003

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4345 LAWYER

Charles R. Weiner

1922 - 2005

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4346 ATHLETIC

Vic Frank

1927 - 2010

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4350 BUSINESS

Stanley A. Weiss

Born 1926

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4369 FOOTBALL

Phil Slosburg

1926 - 2018

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4388 POLITICIAN

Frank L. Oliver

1922 - 2018

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4398 POLITICIAN

Nicholas Micozzie

1928 - 2020

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4402 WRITER

Gil Boyne

1924 - 2010

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4417 BASEBALL

Cliff Ross

1928 - 1999

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4426 BUSINESS

Clifford S. Perlman

1926 - 2016

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4438 LAWYER

Clifford Scott Green

1923 - 2007

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4439 PAINTER

Paul F. Keene Jr.

1920 - 2009

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4452 SINGER

Harry Prime

1920 - 2017

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4464 DRUMMER

Bill Carney

1925 - 2017

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4474 COACH

Carmen Piccone

1929 - 2005

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4481 LAWYER

Frank J. Lynch

1922 - 1987

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4485 POLITICIAN

H. Jack Seltzer

1922 - 2011

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4489 POLITICIAN

Herbert Fineman

1920 - 2016

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4493 BASEBALL

Maje McDonnell

1920 - 2010

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4510 MOUNTAINEER

Andrew John Kauffman

1920 - 2002

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4517 BASEBALL

Sam Lowry

1920 - 1992

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4542 LAWYER

Herbert Allan Fogel

Born 1929

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4544 LAWYER

James McGirr Kelly

1928 - 2005

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4546 AUTHOR

William J. Spahr

1921 - 2011

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4554 POLITICIAN

Louis Johanson

1929 - 2004

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4577 FOOTBALL

Mike Mandarino

1921 - 1985

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4586 POLITICIAN

Frank A. Salvatore

1922 - 2014

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4611 PHYSICIST

Frank Haig

Born 1928

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4612 COACH

Joseph Rogers (American football)

1924 - 2011

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4615 BASEBALL

Wilmer Harris

1924 - 2004

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4630 POLITICIAN

Martin P. Mullen

1921 - 1996

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4645 BASEBALL

Jimmy Wilkes

1925 - 2008

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4647 POLITICIAN

William Rieger

1922 - 2009

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4657 PAINTER

Elizabeth Gallagher

1922 - 1974

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4660 LAWYER

Norma Levy Shapiro

1928 - 2016

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4664 OFFICER

Edward Gelsthorpe

1921 - 2009

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4675 FOOTBALL

Danny Brown (American football)

1925 - 1995

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4693 COMPOSER

Helen Thorington

Born 1928

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4704 POLITICIAN

Patrick McGinnis

1927 - 1990

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4705 POLITICIAN

Marie Lederer

Born 1927

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4710 CIVIL RIGHTS

Herman Tucker

1928 - 2001

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4732 SINGER

Danny Overbea

1926 - 1994

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4756 MILITAR

Richard J. Fox

1928 - 2020

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4794 POLITICIAN

Edward Mifflin

1923 - 1971

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4809 SINGER

Mary Simmons

Born 1928

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4825 POLITICIAN

William J. Lederer (Pennsylvania politician)

1924 - 2008

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4832 POLITICIAN

James J. A. Gallagher

1928 - 1992

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4866 SURGEON

Peter Allen (physician)

1921 - 2014

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4875 ENGINEER

William C. Pfefferle

1923 - 2010

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4887 SPORT

Art McNally

Born 1925

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4912 POLITICIAN

Bernie Agrons

1922 - 2015

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4929 CLARINET

Richard Waller

Born 1929

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4931 PLAYER

Diehl Mateer

1928 - 2012

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4940 ARCHITECT

William Rupp

1927 - 2002

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4945 POLITICIAN

Thomas McCreesh

1928 - 2016

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4946 TELEVISION

Roy Neal

1921 - 2003

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4957 BUSINESS

Eugene Freedman

1925 - 2008

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4961 PHILANTHROPIST

Sylvia Hassenfeld

1920 - 2014

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4982 OFFICER

William H. Ginn Jr.

1928 - 2010

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4999 ACTOR

Walter Stocker

1925 - 2003

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5001 POLITICIAN

Charles D. Worthington

1928 - 1999

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5013 PRINTMAKER

Harriet Zeitlin

Born 1929

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5027 ROWER

Joseph Toland

1928 - 2002

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5029 INVENTOR

Lester Shubin

1925 - 2009

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5038 POLITICIAN

Mary Ann Arty

1926 - 2000

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5045 BASEBALL

Tom Kirk (baseball)

1927 - 1974

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5054 POLITICIAN

John Renninger

1924 - 2005

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5056 POLITICIAN

George W. Jackson

Born 1924

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5072 POLITICIAN

Nicholas Pucciarelli

1923 - 1983

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5087 POLITICIAN

Thomas McIntosh

1921 - 2005

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5096 POLITICIAN

David Savitt

1928 - 2018

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5122 PAEDIATRICIAN

Leonard Apt

1922 - 2013

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5124 LAWYER

Alfred Leopold Luongo

1920 - 1986

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5133 CHEMIST

Max Gergel

1920 - 2015

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5138 CONCERTMASTER

Jesse Ceci

1924 - 2006

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5155 SCIENTIST

Aaron E. Wasserman

1920 - 2015

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5167 MISSING

Marie Ciocca

1929 - 1968

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5171 PHOTOGRAPHER

John R. Hamilton (photographer)

1923 - 1997

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5191 POLITICIAN

Paul E. Zeltner

1925 - 2018

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5192 CRYPTANALYST

Minnie M. Kenny

1929 - 2005

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5215 POLITICIAN

E. Raymond Lynch

1922 - 2013

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5225 ROWER

John McIntyre (American rower)

Born 1928

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5228 POLITICIAN

Daniel Beren

1929 - 2014

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5229 POLITICIAN

James P. O'Donnell (Pennsylvania politician)

1920 - 1997

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5233 POLITICIAN

Matthew Coppolino

1929 - 2000

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5245 POLITICIAN

Francis Rush

1921 - 1985

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5252 POLITICIAN

Max Pievsky

Born 1925

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5259 LAWYER

William H. Brown III

Born 1928

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5281 PRIEST

John Baptist Minder

1923 - 2009

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5294 POLITICIAN

I. Harry Checchio

1922 - 2003

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5310 JAZZ

Joe Segal

1926 - 2020

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5332 LAWYER

Thomas Ambrose Masterson

1927 - 2000

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5337 BASEBALL

Carl Powis

1928 - 1999

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5357 HISTORIAN

Mario De Pillis

Born 1926

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5365 BUSINESS

Leroy Looper

1924 - 2011

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5386 PHYSICIST

Aaron Lemonick

1923 - 2003

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5391 WRITER

Samuel A. Krasney

Born 1922

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5397 BUSINESS

Anthony J. Calio

1929 - 2011

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5399 LAWYER

James C. Crumlish Jr.

1920 - 1992

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5406 LAWYER

Joseph Modeste Sweeney

1920 - 2000

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5413 LAWYER

I. Raymond Kremer

1921 - 1999

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5436 FOOTBALL

Barney Bircham

1924 - 2007

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5444 PHYSICIST

John Howard (optical physicist)

1921 - 2015

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5448 PUBLISHER

D. Herbert Lipson

1929 - 2017

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5454 LAWYER

Joseph Leo McGlynn Jr.

1925 - 1999

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5470 BASEBALL

Bill Peterman

1921 - 1999

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5471 BASKET

Paul Wallace (basketball)

1925 - 1998

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5477 GUERRILLA

Renato Berardinucci

1921 - 1944

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5479 ENGINEER

Bill Kurlish

1920 - 2000

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5480 BOXER

Dan Bucceroni

1927 - 2008

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5494 MILITAR

William Weise

Born 1929

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5525 POLITICIAN

Guy F. Muziani

1925 - 1988

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5545 FOOTBALL

John Furlow

1929 - 2018

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5547 POLITICIAN

Mary Virginia Weber

1927 - 2016

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5570 POLITICIAN

Wayne O. Burkes

Born 1929

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