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 librarian14.5× 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
All471
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Showing 14 of 471 notable people

0030 POLITICIAN

Jennings Randolph

1902 - 1998

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0075 EXPLORER

Norman D. Vaughan

1905 - 2005

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0117 COMPOSER

Frank Perkins (composer)

1908 - 1988

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0129 BASKET

Slats Gill

1901 - 1966

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0137 PHYSICIST

Gerald Pearson

1905 - 1987

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0148 ENGINEER

Hoyt C. Hottel

1903 - 1998

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0279 ACTOR

Nina Romano

1901 - 1966

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0299 FOOTBALL

Ed Westfall (American football)

1909 - 1968

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0301 BOTANIST

Benjamin Shreve

1908 - 1985

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0331 COACH

Howard Harpster

1907 - 1980

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0354 FOOTBALL

Joe Work

1905 - 1960

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0408 FOOTBALL

Cy Wentworth (American football)

1904 - 1986

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0425 FOOTBALL

Lloyd Yoder

1903 - 1967

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0468 PRESBYTER

Kenneth Neigh

1908 - 1996

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