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 19 of 471 notable people

0081 ACTOR

Al Ruscio

1924 - 2013

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0083 ACTOR

Leonard Stone

1923 - 2011

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0109 ACTOR

Reid Shelton

1924 - 1997

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0127 WRITER

Marian Babson

Born 1929

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0144 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Forman S. Acton

1920 - 2014

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0152 SINGER

Mary Curtis Verna

1921 - 2009

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0172 COLLECTOR

Arlene Schnitzer

1929 - 2020

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0207 JOURNALIST

Jess Marlow

1929 - 2014

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0211 SCREENWRITER

Gordon Russell (writer)

1929 - 1981

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0234 SAILOR

David Smith (sailor)

1925 - 2014

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0309 JOURNALIST

Marilyn Kaytor

1929 - 2007

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0325 ARCHIVIST

Philip P. Mason

Born 1927

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0337 VIROLOGIST

Phyllis T. Johnson

Born 1926

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0361 AIRMAN

Ralph K. Hofer

1921 - 1944

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0371 POLITICIAN

Thaddeus M. Buczko

Born 1926

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0373 LAWYER

James Clinton Turk

1923 - 2014

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0396 CONDUCTOR

Eugene Lacritz

1929 - 2012

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0435 LAWYER

William F. Frye

1929 - 1988

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0470 PHYSICIST

Dwight W. Berreman

Born 1928

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