39.9292° N, 75.2300° W
PHILADELPHIA
Most Famous People Born in Philadelphia, United States
- 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.
One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Philadelphia during each.
Notable Births by Decade
Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1940s with 556 notable births.
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.
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.
- Sports
- Politics & Law
- Film & TV
- Music
- Science
- Writing
- Other
Ed Lennon
1897 - 1947
Wilmer G. Crowell
Born 1884
William D. Strecker
Born 1944
Joe Kappel
1857 - 1929
Matt Goodwin (Canadian football)
Born 1970
Ollie Luba
Born 1964
John Hofford
1863 - 1915
Austin Meehan
1897 - 1961
Brian Duffy (chef)
-
Dave Stilley
Born 1974
Felix Rappaport
1953 - 2018
Barry Gerson
Born 1939
Francis Shunk Brown
1858 - 1940
Barry Barto
Born 1950
Alvin Katz
Born 1936
Willie Jensen
1889 - 1917
Augustus Goetz
1904 - 1976
Samuel Tranks
Born 1986
Joseph Howlett
Born 1943
Henry Meyers
1860 - 1898
Edgar Johnson
1905 - 1977
Leonard Apt
1922 - 2013
Rob Rogers (cartoonist)
Born 1959
Alfred Leopold Luongo
1920 - 1986
Brian Sullivan (Manager)
Born 1962
Isabella Fitzgerald
Born 1949
Alfred D. Jones
1814 - 1902
Reggie Showers
Born 1964
Joe Roseman
1888 - 1944
Frederick Pitts
1898 - 1988
Bernard Gross
Born 1935
Marshall Quinton
1852 - 1904
Max Gergel
1920 - 2015
Mae Kernaghan
1901 - 1980
Jack Dunn (soccer)
-
Eddie Silber
1914 - 1976
Leonard Gruppo
Born 1942
Jesse Ceci
1924 - 2006
C. Clement French
1901 - 1988
Jay Parker
1874 - 1935
Charles Duccilli
Born 1946
Mark Nathan Cohen
Born 1943
Bruce L. Gewertz
Born 1949
Peter E. Perry
1901 - 1993
Harry C. Egbert
1839 - 1899
Tom Ferrick
Born 1949
Jane Amsterdam
Born 1951
Marvin Hargrove
Born 1968
Daniel Holloway (admiral)
-
Mike Roman
-
John Deasley
1861 - 1910
Thomas E. Franklin (lawyer)
1810 - 1884
Dominick DeJoseph
1915 - 2000
Charles Drueding
1913 - 1970
Aaron E. Wasserman
1920 - 2015
Ethan Watts
Born 1972
John Swaim
1949 - 2013
Susette Schultz Keast
1892 - 1932
Dan McGarvey
1887 - 1947
Hal Marnie
1918 - 2002
John Jackson (baseball)
1909 - 1956
John Karst
1893 - 1976
Moses Levy
1757 - 1826
Adam Holland
Born 1971
Jonathan Watling
Born 1976
Nelson Greene (baseball)
1900 - 1983
Marie Ciocca
1929 - 1968
James W. McCulloh
1789 - 1861
Evelyn Mattern
1941 - 2003
Clifford Gray (politician)
Born 1940
John R. Hamilton (photographer)
1923 - 1997
Joe Kracher
1913 - 1981
Willard Graham
1882 - 1958
Joseph Wiley
1857 - 1926
Eddie Feinberg
1917 - 1986
Charles G. Nicholson
1919 - 2003
John Hanna (baseball)
1863 - 1930
Bill Dugan (rower)
1913 - 1996
Donald McCurdy
Born 1930
Joseph Parker (fencer)
1889 - 1951
Arthur Redner
1879 - 1973
Rucyl
-
J. Hinckley Clark
1835 - 1889
Jacques Michael Swaab
1894 - 1963
Phillip Price Jr.
Born 1934
Adolph Otto Niedner
1863 - 1954
Bill Fouser
1855 - 1919
Charles Nahill
1938 - 2009
Ed Roetz
1905 - 1965
Lawrence S. Margolis
1935 - 2017
Paul E. Zeltner
1925 - 2018
Minnie M. Kenny
1929 - 2005
Tammy Tiehel
Born 1964
Damian D. Pitts
Born 1969
Charles E. Warburton
1837 - 1896
B. Mitchell Simpson
1932 - 2019
Roderick Edwards
1909 - 1987
Howard Lohr
1892 - 1977
George Dahm
1916 - 1980
Cindy Marano
1947 - 2005
Perry Milou
Born 1967
Thomas Rienzi
1919 - 2010
Michael Moore (rowing)
Born 1970
Bill Yancey
1902 - 1971
Donald S. Bethune
Born 1948
Francis English
1910 - 1984
Vincent Deeney
1915 - 1999
Reggie Schell
1941 - 2012
Ken Reeves (meteorologist)
1961 - 2012
Bill Hoffman (baseball)
1918 - 2004
Art Wheeler
1872 - 1917
Maurice Watson
Born 1993
Frank Erdman Boston
1891 - 1960
Andrew Ponzi
1903 - 1950
E. Raymond Lynch
1922 - 2013
Joe O'Rourke
1904 - 1990
Christian Alfonsi
-
John H. Dialogue
1828 - 1898
Tom Curran (rower)
1910 - 1990
John Houser (rower)
1909 - 1991
George Trenwith
1851 - 1890
John McCosker (rower)
1910 - 1965
Mitchell Harry Cohen
1904 - 1991
Frances Feldman
1912 - 2008
John McIntyre (American rower)
Born 1928
Horace Helmbold
1867 - 1939
George Mattson (rower)
1908 - 1997
Daniel Beren
1929 - 2014
James P. O'Donnell (Pennsylvania politician)
1920 - 1997
Al Duncan
-
Harry Sharkey
1916 - 2002
Stuart B. Carter
1906 - 1983
Matthew Coppolino
1929 - 2000
Eleanor Caines
1880 - 1913
William Wise III
Born 1992
A. J. Pardini
1932 - 2011
Thomas J. Stapleton
Born 1947
Brett Shapiro
Born 1955
Joseph Braig
Born 1937
Tony Martin (rower)
1947 - 2005
May Beenken
1901 - 1988
Merritt Hulburd
1903 - 1939
LeRoy Myers
1919 - 2004
Henry J. Wilson
1793 - 1872
Francis Rush
1921 - 1985
Samuel Ovenshine
1843 - 1932
Mabel Marks Bacon
1876 - 1966
Eugene Gelfand
1919 - 1987
Warner Norton Grubb
1900 - 1947
Henry J. Muller
Born 1917
Vada Azeem
Born 1983
Max Pievsky
Born 1925
Emmett McCann
1902 - 1937
George Durning
1898 - 1986
Andrew Owens
-
Edwin Augustus Rigg
1822 - 1882
Amy Malkoff
Born 1966
G. Davis Greene Jr.
1931 - 2012
William H. Brown III
Born 1928
Edward McNichol
1895 - 1930
William G. Piper
1906 - 1976
Kevin Gillespie (academic)
-
Margaret Lowengrund
1902 - 1957
Thomas S. McMurry
1855 - 1918
Sylvanus William Godon
1809 - 1879
Novar Gadson
Born 1989
Sean J. Kennedy
Born 1971
Francis Gleeson (politician)
1937 - 2015
Ramzee Stanton
Born 1980
Harry Ellis Kalodner
1896 - 1977
Joseph Freeman (fencer)
Born 1948
Frances St John Chappelle
1897 - 1936
Johnny Hendren
1897 - 1964
Tod Dennehey
1899 - 1977
Ida B. Wise
1871 - 1952
John Greenig
1848 - 1913
Edward Hagen
1908 - 1963
Morgan Cephas
-
Charles Sutherland (Surgeon General)
1831 - 1895
Marty Kutyna
Born 1932
John Baptist Minder
1923 - 2009
Rob Denton
1907 - 1997
Bradford Fraley
1878 - 1942
Laura H. Carnell
1867 - 1929
Ernestine Bayer
1909 - 2006
Jonathan Haynes
Born 1971
Butch Kellem
Born 1944
Joseph Greer
1754 - 1831
Carlos Bradley
Born 1960
Gerald McMonagle
Born 1936
Chauncey McPherson
1892 - 1977
New Born (rapper)
Born 1985
Edward Adam Strecker
1896 - 1959
I. Harry Checchio
1922 - 2003
Willy Renz
1916 - 1981
Walt Hunter
Born 1949
Edward C. Bosbyshell
1822 - 1894
Devone Payne
1913 - 1958
John Sytek
Born 1943
Renée Jacobs
-
Arrah Lee Gaul
1888 - 1980
Woody Hartman
Born 1954
I. Newton Baker
-
John F. Byrne Jr.
Born 1935
Malcolm Musser
1889 - 1969
Robert T. Clifford
1835 - 1873
Gil Cohen (artist)
Born 1931
John Galloway (Medal of Honor)
1843 - 1904
Edward Walter Clark Jr.
1858 - 1946
Joe Segal
1926 - 2020
John Brazell
1837 - 1866
Alfonso Hoggard
Born 1989
John Bond Trevor
1822 - 1890
Joe Damiano
Born 1934
Helen Hinsdale Rich
1827 - 1915
Leonard Buschel
-
A. Grove Day
1904 - 1994
Daiquan Walker
Born 1994
Bill Sharsig
1855 - 1902
J. H. Schively
1848 - 1934
James R. Caldwell
1778 - 1804
Doc Parker
1872 - 1941
Gustave Maurice Heckscher
1884 - 1967
Robert Singleton (activist)
Born 1936
Sylvia Wene
Born 1930
Frank J. Sciulli
Born 1938
James J. Toner
Born 1940
Joe Scott (businessman)
1908 - 2002
Jack Clowes
1866 - 1927
Shadrick McAfee
Born 1974
Charles James Barclay (U.S. Navy officer)
Born 1843
Thomas Ambrose Masterson
1927 - 2000
Andy Rymarczuk
1951 - 1997
George A. May
1872 - 1948
William H. Paul
1844 - 1911
Jock Gibson (footballer)
1898 - 1974
Carl Powis
1928 - 1999
Rich Gunning
Born 1966
David C. Weiss
Born 1956
Lew Meehl
Born 1946
Austin M. Purves Jr.
1900 - 1977
Benjamin Alman
-
Richard Floyd (California)
1931 - 2011
Harry L. Cooper
1870 - 1935
Francis B. Foley
1887 - 1973
Jack Burke Sr.
1888 - 1943
Edgar M. Church
Born 1874
Robert S. Cutler
Born 1956
Oscar Schmidt Jr.
1896 - 1973
Benny Culp
1914 - 2000
Isaac Guggenheim
1854 - 1922
Barbara Zucker
Born 1940
Helen Chapman
1882 - 1947
Josephine Beall Willson Bruce
1853 - 1923
Wilhelmina McAlpin Godfrey
1914 - 1994
John Russell Young Blakely
1872 - 1942
Mario De Pillis
Born 1926
John Rhea Barton Willing
1864 - 1913
Amanda L. Sullivan
1936 - 2009
Laurence Salzmann
Born 1944
George Hussey Earle Sr.
1823 - 1907
Tom Foley (Pennsylvania politician)
Born 1953
Vince McNally
1902 - 1997
William R. Fox
1837 - 1888
Leroy Looper
1924 - 2011
Carol Lloyd (American singer)
-
Larry Douglas
1914 - 1996
Ree Dragonette
1918 - 1979
Lana Z Caplan
-
Aristide Rodrigue
1809 - 1857
Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell
1828 - 1879
Mike Kilroy
1869 - 1960
William Whelan (surgeon)
1808 - 1865
Alan L. Cohen
-
Terry Connell
1855 - 1924
Harold Kosoff
1930 - 1995
Brooks Cryder
Born 1955
Harry Thayer (American football)
1873 - 1936
Mary K. Trotter
1859 - 1925
George B. Cooper (historian)
1916 - 1995
Daniel McGarry
Born 1987
Thomas M. Madden
1907 - 1976
William Francis (baseball)
1879 - 1942
Studs Bancker
1853 - 1888
Dan K. Williams
-
Aaron Lemonick
1923 - 2003
Harry Shuman
1915 - 1996
George Lesyw
1957 - 2005
Anne Mary Lawler
1908 - 1980
Joseph DeFelice
-
Samuel A. Krasney
Born 1922
Dewey prueba
Born 1982
Frances Sussna
Born 1933
Johann Wagner (Politiker, 1916)
1916 - 1976
Ed Blaney
Born 1951
Margaret Redmond
1867 - 1948
Anthony J. Calio
1929 - 2011
Archibald Randall
1797 - 1846
James C. Crumlish Jr.
1920 - 1992
Andy Carter (baseball)
Born 1968