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 25 of 471 notable people

0010 BASEBALL

Sparky Anderson

1934 - 2010

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0037 COMPOSER

John Chowning

Born 1934

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0043 MATHEMATICIAN

George Andrews (mathematician)

Born 1938

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0047 NEUROSCIENTIST

Patricia Goldman-Rakic

1937 - 2003

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0051 PIANIST

Hal Galper

Born 1938

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0088 AMBASSADOR

William J. Hughes

1932 - 2019

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0128 POLITICIAN

Michael J. Harrington

Born 1936

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0135 THEOLOGIAN

Robert L. Saucy

1930 - 2015

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0157 PHYSICIST

Bernard Eastlund

1938 - 2007

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0187 DRIVER

Bruce Jacobi

1935 - 1987

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0198 EDUCATOR

Thomas A. Bartlett

Born 1930

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0210 PHYSICIST

Edward Alan Knapp

1932 - 2009

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0227 AUTHOR

Raymond E. Fowler

Born 1933

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0237 SENATE

Max Sherman

Born 1935

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0314 LAWYER

Leander J. Shaw Jr.

1930 - 2015

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0330 FOLKLORIST

Robert Ellis Cahill

1934 - 2005

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0356 GOLF

Dick Hart (golfer)

1935 - 2013

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0388 LAWYER

Wallace P. Carson Jr.

Born 1934

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0400 MANAGEMENT

Wallace Stickney

1934 - 2019

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0407 CRICKET

Kevin Flaherty

Born 1939

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0418 POLITICIAN

John W. Anunsen

Born 1931

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0429 ADMIRAL

Anthony A. Less

Born 1937

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0436 BASKET

Jim Goddard (basketball)

Born 1930

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0454 POLITICIAN

Thomas A. Pankok

Born 1931

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0466 POLITICIAN

Daniel G. Marsh

Born 1937

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