37.7775° N, 122.4165° W

SAN FRANCISCO

Most Famous People Born in San Francisco, United States

Notable people
2,619
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1943
Most distinctive
Baseball 6.1×

A city of restless reinventions. San Francisco's notables are heavily literary and athletic in the 19th century, then heavily technological and countercultural in the 20th — the same town gave the world Jack London and Steve Jobs, Ansel Adams and Bruce Lee, the Beats and the venture capitalists. The dataset doesn't show the tech industry as a category, but you can see its silhouette in the unusually high share of entrepreneurs, engineers, and screenwriters with day jobs in software.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1960s with 295 notable births.

What San Francisco Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is San Francisco's biggest profession — 15% of all notables (385).

San Francisco over-indexes on baseball6.1× the global rate.

San Francisco under-produces politician — only 0.4× the global rate.

  1. Actor385
  2. Baseball182
  3. Football144
  4. Politician136
  5. Film110
  6. Writer77
  7. Music74
  8. Singer74
  1. Baseball1826.1×
  2. Screenwriter433.8×
  3. Film1103.4×
  4. Actor3852.8×
  5. Photographer322.5×
  6. Basket732.2×
  7. Music742.0×
  8. Artist511.9×
  1. Politician1360.4×
  2. Football1440.5×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

18001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Other
All2,619
Sort By

Showing 188 of 2,619 notable people

0032 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Clifford Geertz

1926 - 2006

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0048 COMPOSER

Paul Desmond

1924 - 1977

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0053 ACTOR

Stuart Whitman

1928 - 2020

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0066 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Gordon Moore

Born 1929

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0085 PSYCHOLOGIST

Allen Newell

1927 - 1992

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0089 PHYSICIST

Owen Chamberlain

1920 - 2006

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0100 ACTOR

Richard Egan (actor)

1921 - 1987

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0110 POLITICIAN

Pierre Salinger

1925 - 2004

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0115 ACTOR

Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

1927 - 2001

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0117 ACTOR

Jerry Paris

1925 - 1986

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0128 WRITER

Walter Tevis

1928 - 1984

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0135 OFFICER

Elmo Zumwalt

1920 - 2000

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0141 COMPOSER

Vince Guaraldi

1928 - 1976

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0146 POLITICIAN

George Moscone

1929 - 1978

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0160 ACTOR

Frank Wolff (actor)

1928 - 1971

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0167 CONDUCTOR

Leon Fleisher

1928 - 2020

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0171 ACTOR

Gregg Palmer

1927 - 2015

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0233 ARCHITECT

Pierre Koenig

1925 - 2004

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0251 ACTOR

Hal March

1920 - 1970

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0253 PIANIST

Hephzibah Menuhin

1920 - 1981

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0265 ACTOR

Paula Raymond

1924 - 2003

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0272 PHOTOGRAPHER

Yasuhiro Ishimoto

1921 - 2012

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0294 ANIMATOR

Jay Ward

1920 - 1989

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0298 POET

Philip Lamantia

1927 - 2005

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0346 BASEBALL

Jackie Jensen

1927 - 1982

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0348 SPORT

Vicki Draves

1924 - 2010

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0356 PAINTER

Betty Edwards

Born 1926

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0383 SWIMMER

Ann Curtis

1926 - 2012

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0405 PIANIST

Yaltah Menuhin

1921 - 2001

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0406 MATHEMATICIAN

Victor Klee

1925 - 2007

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0437 MUSIC

Bill Perkins (saxophonist)

1924 - 2003

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0440 BASKET

Bob Feerick

1920 - 1976

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0448 ACTOR

Ron Hayes

1929 - 2004

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0471 ACTOR

Eddie Firestone

1920 - 2007

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0482 POLITICIAN

José Sarria

1923 - 2013

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0491 COMPOSER

Sam Spence

1927 - 2016

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0510 INVENTOR

Charles Ginsburg

1920 - 1992

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0518 ACTOR

Charles Cooper (actor)

1926 - 2013

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0541 COMPOSER

Eddie Duran

1925 - 2019

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0558 ARCHITECT

Gyo Obata

Born 1923

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0569 BASEBALL

Gil McDougald

1928 - 2010

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0578 BUSINESS

Donald Fisher

1928 - 2009

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0589 MATHEMATICIAN

Donald Kingsbury

Born 1929

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0618 BASKET

Howie Dallmar

1922 - 1991

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0631 BASKET

Fred Scolari

1922 - 2002

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0643 POLITICIAN

Robert W. Straub

1920 - 2002

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0658 THEORIST

Myron Tribus

1921 - 2016

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0662 GOLF

Bob Rosburg

1926 - 2009

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0723 PLAYER

Patricia Canning Todd

1922 - 2015

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0731 MATHEMATICIAN

Philip Wolfe (mathematician)

1927 - 2016

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0732 ENGINEER

Stanley Hiller

1924 - 2006

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0745 BASKET

Kevin O'Shea (basketball)

1925 - 2003

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0754 JOURNALIST

Dan Kurzman

1922 - 2010

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0797 WRITER

Russell Freedman

1929 - 2018

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0799 PRELATE

Francis Thomas Hurley

1927 - 2016

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0824 BASKET

Frank Kudelka

1925 - 1993

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0829 AERONAUTICAL

Holt Ashley

1923 - 2006

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0832 NOVELIST

Lou Cameron

1924 - 2010

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0833 BASKET

Bill Calhoun (basketball)

Born 1927

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0857 POLITICIAN

Harold S. Sawyer

1920 - 2003

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0864 BASKET

Joe McNamee

1926 - 2011

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0870 NOVELIST

David Derek Stacton

1923 - 1968

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0875 PHYSICIST

Theodore H. Geballe

Born 1920

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0893 BASEBALL

Gino Cimoli

1929 - 2011

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0935 SWIMMER

Brenda Helser

1926 - 2001

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0938 SCREENWRITER

James Gunn (screenwriter, born 1920)

1920 - 1966

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0962 SCREENWRITER

Jim Fritzell

1920 - 1979

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0985 SCREENWRITER

Hank Searls

1922 - 2017

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1000 ACTOR

Rex Downing

Born 1925

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1032 PLAYER

Barbara Scofield

Born 1926

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1050 STATISTICIAN

Allan Birnbaum

1923 - 1976

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1051 FOOTBALL

Dick Stanfel

1927 - 2015

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1088 FATHER

Kurt Chew-Een Lee

1926 - 2014

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1089 AUTHOR

Del Martin

1921 - 2008

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1136 HISTORIAN

Robert Ignatius Burns

1921 - 2008

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1141 ROWER

James Hardy (rower)

1923 - 1986

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1161 PLAYER

Sam Angel

1920 - 2007

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1165 BASKET

Dick O'Keefe

1923 - 2006

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1173 COMPOSER

John Lessard

1920 - 2003

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1203 PIANIST

Vera Franceschi

1926 - 1966

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1213 BASEBALL

Charlie Silvera

1924 - 2019

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1217 BIOGRAPHER

Jade Snow Wong

1922 - 2006

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1237 MATHEMATICIAN

Louis Leithold

1924 - 2005

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1243 ACTOR

Ralph Manza

1921 - 2000

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1251 HISTORIAN

Him Mark Lai

1925 - 2009

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1253 PHOTOGRAPHER

Philip Hyde (photographer)

1921 - 2006

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1381 PRIEST

José de Jesús Madera Uribe

1927 - 2017

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1391 WRITER

Rudy Behlmer

1926 - 2019

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1394 ACTOR

Clarice Blackburn

1921 - 1995

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1419 ACTOR

Carole Gallagher

1923 - 1966

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1432 ARTIST

Kay Sekimachi

Born 1926

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1438 HISTORIAN

Louise Nalbandian

1926 - 1974

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1441 POLITICIAN

Arthur Gietzelt

1920 - 2014

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1474 TYPOGRAPHER

Jack Stauffacher

1920 - 2017

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1479 MUSIC

Frank Haynes (musician)

1928 - 1965

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1487 PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Jerry Wunderlich

1925 - 1999

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1496 ARMY

John D. Hawk

1924 - 2013

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1502 LAWYER

Robert Francis Peckham

1920 - 1993

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1516 DRUMMER

Earl Watkins

1920 - 2007

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1526 BASKET

Gene Gallette

1921 - 1976

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1533 BIOLOGIST

Wheeler J. North

1922 - 2002

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1534 PAINTER

James Leong

1929 - 2011

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1542 BASEBALL

Joe DeMaestri

1928 - 2016

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1545 SINGER

Cesare Curzi

Born 1926

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1551 PAINTER

Betty Guy

1920 - 2016

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1572 ARCHITECT

Harold Levitt

1921 - 2003

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1574 PHOTOGRAPHER

Benjamen Chinn

1921 - 2009

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1594 PHILANTHROPIST

Marigold Southey

Born 1928

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1618 JAZZ

Ron Crotty

1929 - 2015

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1657 COLLECTOR

Russell Solomon

1925 - 2018

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1664 BASEBALL

Windy McCall

1925 - 2015

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1667 SWIMMER

Barbara Jensen

1929 - 2018

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1674 BASEBALL

Frank Lucchesi

1927 - 2019

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1684 FOOTBALL

Bob deLauer

1920 - 2002

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1693 WRITER

Lisa Ben

1921 - 2015

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1697 COXSWAIN

Samuel B. Roberts

1921 - 1942

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1700 POLITICIAN

Milton Marks

1920 - 1998

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1714 BASEBALL

Jim Baxes

1928 - 1996

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1728 BALLET

Jocelyn Vollmar

1925 - 2018

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1734 DANCER

Jewel McGowan

1921 - 1962

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1751 POLITICIAN

Alan Short

1920 - 2004

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1758 FATHER

Paul M. Ellwood Jr.

Born 1926

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1767 CONDUCTOR

Earl Bernard Murray

1926 - 2002

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1780 WRITER

Robert E. Alter

1925 - 1965

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1791 BASEBALL

Harry Elliott (baseball)

1923 - 2013

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1794 ACTOR

Shirley Dinsdale

1926 - 1999

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1821 POLITICIAN

Robert W. Crown

1922 - 1973

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1832 FOOTBALL

Jon Baker (American football)

1923 - 1992

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1868 MISSING

Edward A. Kawānanakoa

1924 - 1997

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1895 ENTOMOLOGIST

Peter D. Ashlock

1929 - 1989

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1932 PAINTER

Henry Villierme

1928 - 2013

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1945 WRITER

Joan Bodger

1923 - 2002

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1946 SOLDIER

Barbara Dulinsky

1928 - 1995

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1956 MUSIC

Miriam Solovieff

1921 - 2004

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1965 ARTIST

William Paul Morehouse

1929 - 1993

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1967 FOOTBALL

Eddie Forrest (American football)

1921 - 2001

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1970 DIPLOMAT

James G. McCargar

1920 - 2007

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1975 AERONAUTICAL

Laurel van der Wal

1924 - 2009

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1999 BASEBALL

Herb Gorman

1924 - 1953

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2004 BASEBALL

Leo Righetti

1925 - 1998

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2024 PHYSICIST

Anatole Boris Volkov

1924 - 2000

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2026 WAITER

Edsel Ford Fong

1927 - 1984

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2035 DIPLOMAT

Ken Myer

1921 - 1992

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2047 BASEBALL

Bob DiPietro

1927 - 2012

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2051 BUSINESS

J. Roderick MacArthur

1920 - 1984

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2071 COMPOSER

George Burt (Komponist)

1929 - 2015

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2092 ARMY

Robert Leahy Fair

1923 - 1983

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2100 ARTIST

Fred Martin (artist)

Born 1927

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2120 ACTOR

Delia Bogard

1921 - 1995

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2153 POLITICIAN

Roger Boas

1921 - 2017

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2161 BUSINESS

Sanford Diller

1927 - 2018

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2162 ENGINEER

Dudley Allen Buck

1927 - 1959

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2172 PHYSICIAN

Philip R. Lee

Born 1924

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2183 BASEBALL

Con Dempsey

1922 - 2006

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2194 SPORT

Rod Franz

1925 - 1999

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2239 RUNNER

Marion Irvine

Born 1929

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2246 ACTOR

Lee Van Atta

1922 - 2002

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2263 POLITICIAN

Roberto Robles Garnica

1927 - 2012

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2272 POLITICIAN

Bill Bagley

Born 1928

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2275 ADMIRAL

George P. Steele

1924 - 2018

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2284 FOOTBALL

Carl Fennema

Born 1926

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2287 BASEBALL

Ray Perry (baseball)

1920 - 1973

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2289 PLAYER

Harry Likas

1924 - 2017

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2295 PHILANTHROPIST

Rhoda Haas Goldman

1924 - 1996

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2314 ASTRONAUT

Marion Dietrich

1926 - 1974

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2336 ACADEMIC

John Lo Schiavo

1925 - 2015

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2339 ASTRONAUT

Janet Dietrich

1926 - 2008

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2360 FOOTBALL

Roy Barni

1927 - 1957

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2373 BASKET

Paul Valenti

1920 - 2014

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2378 FOOTBALL

Dick Mesak

1920 - 2009

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2380 BASKET

Rene Herrerias

Born 1926

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2382 MUSIC

Gene Merlino

Born 1928

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2389 OFFICER

Devol Brett

1923 - 2010

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2395 FILM

Edward A. Biery

1920 - 2012

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2446 MILITAR

Ivan L. Slavich Jr.

1927 - 2012

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2452 OFFICER

Eugene A. Valencia Jr.

1921 - 1972

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2481 ENGINEER

Alexander Scordelis

1923 - 2007

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2486 JUDGE

Morey Leonard Sear

1929 - 2004

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2526 BASEBALL

Jim Mangan

1929 - 2007

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2531 SCIENTIST

Charles K. Bockelman

1922 - 2002

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2536 BASKET

Bill Cowden

1920 - 2007

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2570 SINGER

Gino Baldi

1922 - 2010

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2587 POLITICIAN

Paul V. Priolo

1927 - 2018

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2591 POLITICIAN

John W. Holmdahl

1924 - 2017

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2598 POLITICIAN

Robert I. McCarthy

1920 - 2007

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2604 SPORT

Vince Tringali

1928 - 2010

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2609 ADMIRAL

Pierre N. Charbonnet Jr.

1922 - 2005

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2619 ASTRONOMER

Alexander J. Dessler

Born 1928

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