Names of the last two centuries
For a few years, I had a website with around 200 pages in it. It's not currently online, but it still resides on my computer. One section in the website is about the years 1890-1910, and this is a list I compiled for it. It's much too long for a blog post, but I promise not to post this sort of thing often.
For people my age, I think the list demonstrates that, for us, 1900 and even the end of the 1800's were not so long ago. My great-grandparents might have read about many of these people in newspapers. The children and young folks of that time were important people, middle-aged and older, by the time I came along in 1951.
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What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. -- Last words of Crowfoot, 1890
Famous Americans Who Died Between 1890 and 1900
Name (Remembered As) Born-Died
- Crowfoot (Blackfoot warrior and orator) 1821-1890
- Sitting Bull (Prairie Sioux Indian chief) c. 1831-1890
- P. T. Barnum (showman) 1810-1891
- Herman Melville (novelist) 1819-1891
- John Greenleaf Whittier (poet) 1807-1892
- Walt Whitman (poet) 1819-1892
- Oliver Wendell Holmes (poet) 1809-1894
- Frederick Douglass (abolitionist) 1807-1895
- Eugene Field (poet) 1850-1895
- Charles Anderson Dana (editor) 1819-1897
- Horatio Alger (author) 1834-1899
- Harriet Beecher Stowe (novelist) 1811-1896
Famous Americans Who Were Living At The Year 1900
Age in 1900 -- Name -- Remembered As
- 80 -- Fanny J. Crosby -- Hymn writer
- 80 -- Julia Ward Howe -- Poet and reformer
- 80 -- Susan B. Anthony -- Woman suffragist
- 80 -- Florence Nightingale -- Nurse
- 79 -- Clara Barton -- Founder of American Red Cross
- 79 -- Mary Baker Eddy -- Founder of Christian Science Church
- 78 -- Red Cloud -- Ogalala Sioux chieftain
- 77 -- Harriet Tubman -- Abolitionist
- 71 -- Geronimo -- Apache chieftain
- 66 -- James McNeill Whistler -- Painter and etcher
- 65 -- Andrew Carnegie -- Industrialist
- 65 -- Mark Twain -- Author
- 64 -- Winslow Homer -- Painter
- 63 -- Grover Cleveland -- U.S. President
- 62 -- John Muir -- Naturalist
- 60 -- Chief Joseph -- Chieftain and warrior
- 57 -- Henry James -- Author
- 56 -- Mary Cassat -- Painter
- 54 -- George Westinghouse -- Inventor
- 54 -- ``Buffalo Bill'' Cody -- Scout
- 53 -- Alexander Graham Bell -- Inventor
- 53 -- Thomas A. Edison -- Inventor
- 51 -- Luther Burbank -- Horticulturalist
- 51 -- James Whitcomb Riley -- Poet
- 50 -- Samuel Gompers -- Labor Leader
- 50 -- Henry Cabot Lodge -- Legislator
- 46 -- George Eastman -- Inventor
- 45 -- Eugene Victor Debs -- Socialist leader
- 44 -- James B. Duke -- Industrialist
- 44 -- Booker T. Washington -- Educator
- 43 -- Clarence Darrow -- Lawyer
- 42 -- Theodore Roosevelt -- U.S. President
- 41 -- John Dewey -- Philosopher and educator
- 40 -- Jane Addams -- Social worker
- 40 -- William Jennings Bryan -- Orator and politician
- 40 -- Grandma Moses -- Painter
- 40 -- Annie Oakley -- Markswoman
- 40 -- John J. Pershing -- General
- 38 -- O. Henry -- Story Writer
- 37 -- Black Elk -- Ogala Sioux Holy Man
- 37 -- William Randolph Hearst -- Publisher
- 37 -- Henry Ford -- Industrialist
- 37 -- Billy Sunday -- Evangelist
- 36 -- Albert Steiglitz -- Photographer
- 33 -- Laura Ingalls Wilder -- Writer
- 33 -- Wilbur Wright -- Inventor
- 32 -- William Allen White -- Journalist
- 31 -- Edgar Lee Masters -- Poet
- 31 -- Booth Tarkington -- Novelist
- 31 -- Frank Lloyd Wright -- Architect
- 29 -- Theodore Dreiser -- Writer
- 29 -- Orville Wright -- Inventor
- 26 -- Robert Frost -- Poet
- 26 -- Herbert Hoover -- U.S. President
- 26 -- Harry Houdini -- Magician
- 26 -- Robert W. Service -- Poet and novelist
- 26 -- Gertrude Stein -- Author
- 25 -- Edgar Rice Burroughs -- Novelist
- 24 -- Sherwood Anderson -- Novelist and story writer
- 24 -- Willa Cather -- Novelist
- 24 -- Frank E. Gannett -- Editor and publisher
- 22 -- George M. Cohan -- Actor and dramatist
- 22 -- Carl Sandburg -- Poet and biographer
- 21 -- Ethel Barrymore -- Actress
- 21 -- Albert Einstein -- Physicist
- 21 -- Will Rogers -- Humorist
- 20 -- Douglas MacArthur -- Five-star general
- 20 -- George C. Marshall -- Marshall
- 20 -- Stephen Crane -- Novelist and poet
- 20 -- W. C. Fields -- Comedian
- 19 -- Cecil B. De Mille -- Film Director
- 19 -- Edgar A. Guest -- Poet
- 18 -- John Barrymore -- Actor
- 18 -- Sam Rayburn -- Legislator
- 18 -- Robert H. Goddard -- Father of modern rocketry
- 18 -- Samuel Goldwyn -- Movie producer
- 18 -- Franklin D. Roosevelt -- U.S. President
- 17 -- Eubie Blake -- Pianist
- 17 -- Lon Chaney -- Actor
- 17 -- Douglas Fairbanks -- Actor
- 17 -- Rube Goldberg -- Cartoonist
- 17 -- John Maynard Keynes -- Economist
- 16 -- Jack London -- Novelist
- 16 -- Eleanor Roosevelt -- Reformer and humanitarian
- 16 -- Harry S. Truman -- U.S. President
- 15 -- Sinclair Lewis -- Novelist
- 15 -- Chester William Nimitz -- Naval officer
- 15 -- Ezra Pound -- Poet
- 14 -- Al Jolson -- Actor and singer
- 13 -- ``Fatty'' Arbuckle -- Actor and director
- 13 -- Georgia O'Keeffe -- Painter
- 12 -- Irving Berlin -- Songwriter
- 12 -- Richard Byrd -- Polar explorer
- 12 -- Dale Carnegie -- Author
- 12 -- John Foster Dulles -- Statesman
- 12 -- Joseph P. Kennedy -- Financier
- 12 -- Bela Lugosi -- Actor
- 12 -- Eugene O'Neill -- Writer
- 11 -- Conrad Aiken -- Poet
- 11 -- Charlie Chaplin -- Actor
- 11 -- H. L. Hunt -- Industrialist
- 11 -- Walter Lippmann -- Columnist
- 10 -- Dwight D. Eisenhower -- U.S. President and general
- 10 -- Rose Kennedy -- Mother of statesmen
- 10 -- Edward V. Rickinbacker -- Aviator
- 9 -- Pearl S. Buck -- Novelist
- 9 -- Katherine Anne Porter -- Author
- 8 -- J. Paul Getty -- Oil Executive
- 8 -- Oliver Hardy -- Comedian
- 8 -- Cole Porter -- Songwriter
- 8 -- Eddie Cantor -- Actor
- 8 -- Mae West -- Actress
- 8 -- Wendell Lewis Wilkie -- Lawyer
- 7 -- Omar Bradley -- General
- 7 -- Jimmie Durante -- Comedian
- 7 -- Dorothy Parker -- Author
- 6 -- Jack Benny -- Actor and comedian
- 6 -- E. E. Cummings -- Poet
- 6 -- Martha Graham -- Choreographer
- 6 -- Norman Rockwell -- Painter and Illustrator
- 5 -- Richard Buckminster Fuller -- Architect and educator
- 5 -- J. Edgar Hoover -- FBI Director
- 5 -- Groucho Marx -- Comedian
- 5 -- George Raft -- Actor
- 4 -- F. Scott Fitzgerald -- Novelist
- 4 -- Ira Gershwin -- Lyricist
- 4 -- Lillian Gish -- Actress
- 4 -- Buster Keaton -- Comedian
- 4 -- Ethel Waters -- Entertainer
- 3 -- Lucius D. Clay -- Banker and general
- 3 -- Walter Winchell -- Columnist
- 2 -- Bud Abbott -- Comedian
- 2 -- Stephen Vincent Benèt -- Poet and storywriter
- 2 -- Amelia Earhart -- Aviator
- 2 -- George Gershwin -- Composer
- 2 -- Charles W. Mayo -- Surgeon
- 2 -- Norman Vincent Peale -- Clergyman
- 2 -- Randolph Scott -- Actor
- 1 -- Fred Astaire -- Dancer and actor
- 1 -- Humphrey Bogart -- Actor
- 1 -- James Cagney -- Actor
- 1 -- Hoagie Carmichael -- Songwriter
- 1 -- Bruce Catton -- Historian
- 1 -- Hart Crane -- Poet
- 1 -- Duke Ellington -- Jazz musician
- 1 -- Ernest Hemmingway -- Novelist
- 1 -- William C. Menninger -- Psychologist
Famous Americans Who Were Born Between 1900 and 1910
Name (Remembered As) Year Born
- Louis Armstrong (musician) 1900
- Adlai Stevenson (statesman) 1900
- Chester Gould (cartoonist) 1900
- Gary Cooper (actor) 1901
- George Gallup (poll taker) 1901
- Margaret Mead (anthropologist) 1901
- Richard J. Daley (mayor of Chicago) 1902
- Langston Hughes (poet) 1902
- Charles A. Lindbergh (aviator) 1902
- Ogden Nash (poet) 1902
- Tallulah Bankhead (actress) 1903
- George Orwell (novelist) 1903
- Benjamin Spock (author and pediatrician) 1903
- Bing Crosby (singer actor) 1904
- Count Basie (bandleader) 1904
- Lillian Hellman (playwright)1905
- Howard Hughes (industrialist and film producer) 1905
- Ayn Rand (novelist) 1905
- Josephine Baker (dancer) 1906
- Margaret Bourke-White (photographer) 1906
- John Carradine (actor) 1906
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh(writer and aviation pioneer) 1906
- Milton Caniff (cartoonist) 1907
- Rachel Carson (biologist and author) 1907
- John Wayne (actor) 1907
- Lou Costello (actor) 1908
- Bette Davis (actress) 1908
- John Kenneth Galbraith (economist) 1908
- Al Capp (cartoonist) 1909
- 'Herblock' Herbert Block (political cartoonist) 1909
- Eudora Welty(writer) 1909
- Barry Goldwater (legislator) 1909
5 comments:
You are such a keen observer of life. I really think you should write a column.
I can also sense a growing sense of anticipation (and maybe some anxiety too?) as Mr. Prarie Bluestem's return looms.
The times they are a changin'.
Runaway, I am looking forward to the day, and meanwhile I am very busy with a lot of things that I am trying to finish up.
I want to complete a set of shelves in the shed that I started a few weeks ago and do a lot of deep housecleaning, as well as try to get a 2-acre yard looking fairly good. Plus, I've been driving Isaac to school and picking him up which kills a couple hours per day.
These sorts of things limit the amount of time that is available for sitting at the computer. Honestly, I think my time for blogging will be sharply reduced for much of the foreseeable future.
I do thank you for your kind words about writing professionally. I think I will still need to get a day job, but I may try to develop some sidelines that involve writing.
FWIW, I agree with Runaway. You *should* write a column in a paper or magazine. You have a unique voice and live life in a place that few others do. Don't close off any possibilities -- one never knows, does one? ;)
Great list! Thanks for posting it! I was hoping to find something similar for a project I've been working on.
It seems you might have missed some, such as John D. Rockefeller. Do you have an updated list?
Thanks for visiting, Taylor. I created that list about ten years ago. If I am remembering right, I found a list of famous people in the World Almanac and worked out my lists from it. I do not have any updated versions.
John D. Rockefeller would be a good addition. If you think of any other well-known people who should be included, let me know.
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