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 12 of 471 notable people

0027 POLITICIAN

Charles L. McNary

1874 - 1944

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0185 SURGEON

Robert Bayley Osgood

1873 - 1956

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0194 ASTRONOMER

Royal Harwood Frost

1879 - 1950

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0205 ACADEMIC

Lotus Coffman

1875 - 1938

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0241 PRIEST

John Bertram Peterson

1871 - 1944

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0249 POLITICIAN

Edgar D. Bush

1873 - 1949

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0263 LIBRARIAN

Charles C. Williamson

1877 - 1965

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0355 LAWYER

Cyrus E. Dietz

1876 - 1929

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0369 BASEBALL

Bill Richardson (baseball)

1878 - 1949

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0406 MILITAR

Harold Benjamin Fiske

1871 - 1960

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0438 LAWYER

John W. Reynolds (Oregon attorney)

1875 - 1942

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0465 LAWYER

Robert H. Loofbourrow

1873 - 1926

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