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
Politician136
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Showing 136 of 2,619 notable people

0012 POLITICIAN

Robert McNamara

1916 - 2009

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0019 POLITICIAN

Jerry Brown

Born 1938

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0021 POLITICIAN

Dianne Feinstein

Born 1933

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0055 POLITICIAN

Caspar Weinberger

1917 - 2006

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0061 POLITICIAN

Gavin Newsom

Born 1967

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0080 POLITICIAN

Pat Brown

1905 - 1996

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0110 POLITICIAN

Pierre Salinger

1925 - 2004

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0136 POLITICIAN

Jackie Speier

Born 1950

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0146 POLITICIAN

George Moscone

1929 - 1978

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0204 POLITICIAN

John A. McCone

1902 - 1991

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0206 POLITICIAN

Dennis Ross

Born 1948

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0220 POLITICIAN

Sam Farr

Born 1941

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0223 POLITICIAN

Liao Zhongkai

1877 - 1925

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0234 POLITICIAN

James Rolph

1869 - 1934

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0270 POLITICIAN

James D. Phelan

1861 - 1930

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0325 POLITICIAN

Joseph Alioto

1916 - 1998

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0424 POLITICIAN

George Pardee

1857 - 1941

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0482 POLITICIAN

José Sarria

1923 - 2013

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0524 POLITICIAN

Richard Edmund Lyng

1918 - 2003

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0530 POLITICIAN

Stephen M. White

1853 - 1901

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0535 POLITICIAN

David Miller (Canadian politician)

Born 1958

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0550 POLITICIAN

Robert Gordon Sproul

1891 - 1975

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0588 POLITICIAN

Eugene Schmitz

1864 - 1928

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0632 POLITICIAN

John F. Shelley

1905 - 1974

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0643 POLITICIAN

Robert W. Straub

1920 - 2002

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0724 POLITICIAN

Luis Antonio Argüello

1784 - 1830

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0828 POLITICIAN

Frank Jordan

Born 1935

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0855 POLITICIAN

Charlotte Anita Whitney

1867 - 1955

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0857 POLITICIAN

Harold S. Sawyer

1920 - 2003

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0891 POLITICIAN

George P. Miller

1891 - 1982

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0918 POLITICIAN

London Breed

Born 1974

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0937 POLITICIAN

Kathleen Brown

Born 1945

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0950 POLITICIAN

Jeffery Cohelan

1914 - 1999

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0986 POLITICIAN

Darrell Steinberg

Born 1959

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1023 POLITICIAN

Mae Nolan

1886 - 1973

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1070 POLITICIAN

Terry Miller (politician)

1942 - 1989

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1081 POLITICIAN

Mark Farrell (politician)

Born 1974

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1095 POLITICIAN

Janette Sadik-Khan

Born 1960

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1153 POLITICIAN

John I. Nolan

1874 - 1922

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1170 POLITICIAN

William J. Wynn

1860 - 1935

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1189 POLITICIAN

Thomas Rolph

1885 - 1956

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1216 POLITICIAN

Ethan Berkowitz

Born 1962

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1283 POLITICIAN

Williamson Evers

Born 1948

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1285 POLITICIAN

Howie Hawkins

Born 1952

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1337 POLITICIAN

Mónica Ridruejo

Born 1963

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1341 POLITICIAN

Charles F. Curry Jr.

1893 - 1972

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1383 POLITICIAN

Campbell Cavasso

Born 1950

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1397 POLITICIAN

Levi Richard Ellert

1857 - 1901

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1411 POLITICIAN

Kate Marshall

Born 1959

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1417 POLITICIAN

Bill Kenney

Born 1955

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1441 POLITICIAN

Arthur Gietzelt

1920 - 2014

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1451 POLITICIAN

Norman Yee

Born 1949

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1505 POLITICIAN

Lewis H. Sweetser

1868 - 1944

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1517 POLITICIAN

Kevin Shelley

Born 1955

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1605 POLITICIAN

Toni Harp

Born 1947

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1606 POLITICIAN

Nancy Skinner (California politician)

Born 1954

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1616 POLITICIAN

Jeff Hayden

Born 1966

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1624 POLITICIAN

Ed Jew

Born 1960

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1668 POLITICIAN

Eric Mar

Born 1962

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1683 POLITICIAN

Jerry Hill (politician)

Born 1947

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1688 POLITICIAN

Gherardi Davis

1858 - 1941

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1690 POLITICIAN

Tom Torlakson

Born 1949

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1691 POLITICIAN

Malia Cohen

Born 1977

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1700 POLITICIAN

Milton Marks

1920 - 1998

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1712 POLITICIAN

Steve Murphy (politician)

Born 1957

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1727 POLITICIAN

Michela Alioto-Pier

Born 1968

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1744 POLITICIAN

Peter J. Buckley

Born 1957

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1751 POLITICIAN

Alan Short

1920 - 2004

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1755 POLITICIAN

Reuven Carlyle

Born 1965

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1762 POLITICIAN

Kathy Afzali

Born 1957

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1775 POLITICIAN

Lester Petrie

1878 - 1956

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1805 POLITICIAN

Patrick Johnston (American politician)

Born 1946

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1821 POLITICIAN

Robert W. Crown

1922 - 1973

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1851 POLITICIAN

Sharon Tomiko Santos

Born 1961

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1855 POLITICIAN

Michael Sprinkle

Born 1968

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1856 POLITICIAN

Mike Guingona

Born 1962

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1872 POLITICIAN

Peter J. Barnes III

Born 1956

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1888 POLITICIAN

Liz Figueroa

Born 1951

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1921 POLITICIAN

Andrew Halcro

Born 1964

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1923 POLITICIAN

Joan Buchanan

Born 1952

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1931 POLITICIAN

Dan Logue

-

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1952 POLITICIAN

Alexander Alvina Chamberland

Born 1986

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2019 POLITICIAN

Peter S. Brunstetter

Born 1956

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2021 POLITICIAN

Arlen F. Gregorio

Born 1931

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2044 POLITICIAN

Max Gruenberg

1943 - 2016

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2081 POLITICIAN

Sean Elsbernd

Born 1976

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2085 POLITICIAN

Roger Niello

Born 1948

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2150 POLITICIAN

Edgar C. Levey

1881 - 1962

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2153 POLITICIAN

Roger Boas

1921 - 2017

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2175 POLITICIAN

Susan Leal

-

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2216 POLITICIAN

Catherine Stefani

-

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2241 POLITICIAN

Franz Rohwer

1905 - 1981

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2253 POLITICIAN

Theresa Mah

-

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2262 POLITICIAN

William E. Dargie

1854 - 1911

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2263 POLITICIAN

Roberto Robles Garnica

1927 - 2012

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2266 POLITICIAN

James Knox (Montana politician)

Born 1965

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2272 POLITICIAN

Bill Bagley

Born 1928

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2288 POLITICIAN

Yiaway Yeh

Born 1978

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2306 POLITICIAN

Carolyn Jane Rodriguez

1944 - 2002

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2317 POLITICIAN

Basim Elkarra

-

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2340 POLITICIAN

Bill Duplissea (politician)

Died 2020

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2343 POLITICIAN

Charles Casimir Poniatowski

1897 - 1980

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2348 POLITICIAN

T. A. Rottanzi

1867 - 1911

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2376 POLITICIAN

Elizabeth Hughes (legislator)

-

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2399 POLITICIAN

David Young III

Born 1905

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2414 POLITICIAN

Rafael Mandelman

-

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2430 POLITICIAN

Sophie Maxwell

-

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2445 POLITICIAN

Tony Van Vliet (American politician)

Born 1930

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2462 POLITICIAN

Thomas A. Maloney

1889 - 1986

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2465 POLITICIAN

Bob Marshall (California politician)

1934 - 2012

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2480 POLITICIAN

Tallant Tubbs

1897 - 1969

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2490 POLITICIAN

J. Eugene McAteer

1916 - 1967

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2492 POLITICIAN

Arthur Breed

1865 - 1953

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2495 POLITICIAN

Manny Diaz (California politician)

Born 1953

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2497 POLITICIAN

Bob Cline

1933 - 2020

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2501 POLITICIAN

John C. Houlihan

1910 - 1986

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2509 POLITICIAN

Mike Gotch

1947 - 2008

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2510 POLITICIAN

Dion Aroner

Born 1944

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2513 POLITICIAN

Nancy Shepherd

Born 1954

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2543 POLITICIAN

Carlene M. Walker

Born 1947

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2554 POLITICIAN

Kathleen Lynn de Brown

Born 1945

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2569 POLITICIAN

B. J. Feigenbaum

1900 - 1984

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2577 POLITICIAN

Melvyn I. Cronin

1898 - 1977

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2584 POLITICIAN

Charles Drain (politician)

1913 - 1991

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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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2593 POLITICIAN

Joseph F. Burns

-

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2594 POLITICIAN

Ray Williamson

-

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2595 POLITICIAN

Robert Lincoln Patterson

-

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2596 POLITICIAN

Leland Richard Jacobson

-

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2597 POLITICIAN

Charlie Meyers

-

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2598 POLITICIAN

Robert I. McCarthy

1920 - 2007

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2601 POLITICIAN

Edwin Grant

-

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2614 POLITICIAN

James L. Quigley

-

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2615 POLITICIAN

Mary Estill Buchanan

Born 1934

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2618 POLITICIAN

Carl-Henrik Sölvinger

Born 1980

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