42.2575° N, 87.8760° W

SALEM

Most Famous People Born in Salem, United States

Notable people
471
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1899
Most distinctive
Librarian 14.5×
Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Salem during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 36 notable births.

What Salem Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Salem's biggest profession — 18% of all notables (84).

Salem over-indexes on librarian — 14.5× the global rate.

Salem under-produces football — only 0.6× the global rate.

  1. Politician84
  2. Football33
  3. Lawyer26
  4. Actor21
  5. Baseball20
  6. Writer12
  7. Basket11
  8. Business10
  1. Librarian514.5×
  2. Baseball203.7×
  3. Lawyer263.2×
  4. Judge73.1×
  5. Officer82.6×
  6. Physicist52.5×
  7. Business102.1×
  8. Basket111.9×
  1. Football330.6×
  2. Painter80.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

16501700175018001850190019502000
  • Politics & Law
  • Sports
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Film & TV
  • Military
  • Other
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Showing 17 of 471 notable people

0020 SCULPTOR

William Wetmore Story

1819 - 1895

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0055 POET

Jones Very

1813 - 1880

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0057 INVENTOR

Charles Grafton Page

1812 - 1868

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0061 DIPLOMAT

Jacob Hamblin

1819 - 1886

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0073 LAWYER

Benjamin H. Brewster

1816 - 1888

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0086 OFFICER

Robert H. Milroy

1816 - 1890

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0112 POLITICIAN

Alexander G. Cattell

1816 - 1894

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0153 POLITICIAN

Abraham J. Hostetler

1818 - 1899

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0162 POET

Charles Timothy Brooks

1813 - 1883

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0186 LAWYER

Henry T. Ellett

1812 - 1887

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0191 POLITICIAN

Charles H. Upton

1812 - 1877

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0196 OFFICER

Thomas Jackson Rodman

1816 - 1871

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0197 BUSINESS

Abiel Abbot Low

1811 - 1893

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0200 ACTIVIST

Charles Lenox Remond

1810 - 1873

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0233 BUSINESS

Benjamin Pitman (Hawaii)

1815 - 1888

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0251 OFFICER

Joseph Horace Eaton

1815 - 1896

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0423 ABOLITIONIST

John Hunt Painter

1819 - 1891

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