Who Was Alive in 1917

Andrew CarnegieAge 82

1835–1919 · Business & Industry

Steel magnate, philanthropist

John D. RockefellerAge 78

1839–1937 · Business & Industry

Oil tycoon, richest American ever

Claude MonetAge 77

1840–1926 · Art

Water Lilies, father of Impressionism

Pierre-Auguste RenoirAge 76

1841–1919 · Art

Impressionist painter of joyful scenes

Thomas EdisonAge 70

1847–1931 · Science & Invention

Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents

Alexander Graham BellAge 70

1847–1922 · Science & Invention

Invented the telephone

Antoni GaudíAge 65

1852–1926 · Art

Sagrada Família architect

Sigmund FreudAge 61

1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought

Father of psychoanalysis

Nikola TeslaAge 61

1856–1943 · Science & Invention

AC electricity, visionary inventor

Woodrow WilsonAge 61

1856–1924 · Politics & Leadership

28th US President, League of Nations

Theodore RooseveltAge 59

1858–1919 · Politics & Leadership

26th US President, Rough Rider

Emmeline PankhurstAge 59

1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change

British suffragette leader

Max PlanckAge 59

1858–1947 · Science & Invention

Father of quantum theory

Arthur Conan DoyleAge 58

1859–1930 · Literature

Creator of Sherlock Holmes

Rabindranath TagoreAge 56

1861–1941 · Literature

First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature

Gustav KlimtAge 55

1862–1918 · Art

The Kiss, Art Nouveau master

Claude DebussyAge 55

1862–1918 · Music

Clair de Lune, Impressionist music

Henry FordAge 54

1863–1947 · Business & Industry

Assembly line, Model T automobile

Edvard MunchAge 54

1863–1944 · Art

The Scream

H.G. WellsAge 51

1866–1946 · Literature

The War of the Worlds, science fiction pioneer

Sun Yat-senAge 51

1866–1925 · Politics & Leadership

Father of the Republic of China

Marie CurieAge 50

1867–1934 · Science & Invention

Radioactivity, first woman Nobel laureate

Scott JoplinAge 49

1868–1917 · Music

King of Ragtime

Mahatma GandhiAge 48

1869–1948 · Politics & Leadership

Nonviolent independence leader of India

Marcel ProustAge 46

1871–1922 · Literature

In Search of Lost Time

Orville WrightAge 46

1871–1948 · Science & Invention

Co-inventor of the airplane

Roald AmundsenAge 45

1872–1928 · Exploration

First to reach the South Pole

Ernest ShackletonAge 43

1874–1922 · Exploration

Heroic Antarctic explorer, Endurance expedition

Guglielmo MarconiAge 43

1874–1937 · Science & Invention

Pioneer of long-distance radio

Winston ChurchillAge 43

1874–1965 · Politics & Leadership

British PM who led WWII effort

Harry HoudiniAge 43

1874–1926 · Film & Entertainment

Legendary escape artist & illusionist

Carl JungAge 42

1875–1961 · Philosophy & Thought

Analytical psychology, archetypes

Pancho VillaAge 39

1878–1923 · Politics & Leadership

Mexican revolutionary general

Lise MeitnerAge 39

1878–1968 · Science & Invention

Discovered nuclear fission, overlooked for Nobel

Albert EinsteinAge 38

1879–1955 · Science & Invention

Theory of relativity, E=mc²

Pablo PicassoAge 36

1881–1973 · Art

Cubism, Guernica, most prolific artist

Alexander FlemingAge 36

1881–1955 · Science & Invention

Discovered penicillin

Virginia WoolfAge 35

1882–1941 · Literature

Mrs Dalloway, modernist pioneer

James JoyceAge 35

1882–1941 · Literature

Ulysses, literary revolutionary

Igor StravinskyAge 35

1882–1971 · Music

The Rite of Spring, modern classical

Franklin D. RooseveltAge 35

1882–1945 · Politics & Leadership

32nd US President, New Deal, WWII leader

Coco ChanelAge 34

1883–1971 · Business & Industry

Fashion icon, Chanel No. 5

Franz KafkaAge 34

1883–1924 · Literature

The Metamorphosis, surreal fiction

Niels BohrAge 32

1885–1962 · Science & Invention

Atomic model, quantum mechanics pioneer

Diego RiveraAge 31

1886–1957 · Art

Mexican muralist, political artist

Erwin SchrödingerAge 30

1887–1961 · Science & Invention

Schrödinger's cat, wave equation

Georgia O'KeeffeAge 30

1887–1986 · Art

Mother of American modernism

Charlie ChaplinAge 28

1889–1977 · Film & Entertainment

The Tramp, silent film legend

Ho Chi MinhAge 27

1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership

Revolutionary leader of Vietnam

Agatha ChristieAge 27

1890–1976 · Literature

Best-selling mystery novelist ever

Dwight D. EisenhowerAge 27

1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership

WWII Supreme Commander, 34th US President

Charles de GaulleAge 27

1890–1970 · Politics & Leadership

Leader of Free France, French President

Haile SelassieAge 25

1892–1975 · Politics & Leadership

Emperor of Ethiopia, Rastafari symbol

J.R.R. TolkienAge 25

1892–1973 · Literature

The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth

Mao ZedongAge 24

1893–1976 · Politics & Leadership

Founder of the People's Republic of China

Babe RuthAge 22

1895–1948 · Sports

Baseball's Sultan of Swat

Buster KeatonAge 22

1895–1966 · Film & Entertainment

Silent film comedian, The General

F. Scott FitzgeraldAge 21

1896–1940 · Literature

The Great Gatsby

Amelia EarhartAge 20

1897–1937 · Exploration

First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic

Golda MeirAge 19

1898–1978 · Politics & Leadership

Fourth Prime Minister of Israel

Duke EllingtonAge 18

1899–1974 · Music

Jazz legend, big band pioneer

Ernest HemingwayAge 18

1899–1961 · Literature

The Old Man and the Sea, Nobel laureate

Jorge Luis BorgesAge 18

1899–1986 · Literature

Labyrinths, master of magical realism

Alfred HitchcockAge 18

1899–1980 · Film & Entertainment

Master of Suspense — Psycho, Vertigo

Humphrey BogartAge 18

1899–1957 · Film & Entertainment

Casablanca, Hollywood icon

Werner HeisenbergAge 16

1901–1976 · Science & Invention

Uncertainty principle, quantum mechanics pioneer

Louis ArmstrongAge 16

1901–1971 · Music

What a Wonderful World, jazz trumpet

Walt DisneyAge 16

1901–1966 · Film & Entertainment

Created Mickey Mouse, Disney empire

Enrico FermiAge 16

1901–1954 · Science & Invention

Father of the nuclear age, first nuclear reactor

HirohitoAge 16

1901–1989 · Politics & Leadership

Emperor of Japan during WWII

George OrwellAge 14

1903–1950 · Literature

1984, Animal Farm

Bob HopeAge 14

1903–2003 · Film & Entertainment

Comedian, entertainer for 80+ years

Robert OppenheimerAge 13

1904–1967 · Science & Invention

Father of the atomic bomb

Salvador DalíAge 13

1904–1989 · Art

The Persistence of Memory, surrealist

Jean-Paul SartreAge 12

1905–1980 · Philosophy & Thought

Existentialism, declined the Nobel Prize

Hannah ArendtAge 11

1906–1975 · Philosophy & Thought

The Banality of Evil, political theorist

Frida KahloAge 10

1907–1954 · Art

Self-portraits, Mexican cultural icon

Rachel CarsonAge 10

1907–1964 · Activism & Social Change

Silent Spring, environmental movement

Simone de BeauvoirAge 9

1908–1986 · Philosophy & Thought

The Second Sex, feminist existentialist

Kwame NkrumahAge 8

1909–1972 · Politics & Leadership

First President of Ghana

Dorothy HodgkinAge 7

1910–1994 · Science & Invention

Nobel Prize for X-ray crystallography of biochemical substances

Mother TeresaAge 7

1910–1997 · Activism & Social Change

Missionary of Charity in Calcutta

Akira KurosawaAge 7

1910–1998 · Film & Entertainment

Seven Samurai, master filmmaker

Jacques CousteauAge 7

1910–1997 · Exploration

Ocean explorer, pioneered scuba diving

Alan TuringAge 5

1912–1954 · Science & Invention

Father of computer science, codebreaker

Jackson PollockAge 5

1912–1956 · Art

Action painting, abstract expressionism

Rosa ParksAge 4

1913–2005 · Activism & Social Change

Mother of the civil rights movement

Jesse OwensAge 4

1913–1980 · Sports

4 gold medals at 1936 Berlin Olympics

Hedy LamarrAge 3

1914–2000 · Science & Invention

Hollywood star who co-invented frequency hopping

Orson WellesAge 2

1915–1985 · Film & Entertainment

Citizen Kane, War of the Worlds broadcast

Frank SinatraAge 2

1915–1998 · Music

My Way, Ol' Blue Eyes

Billie HolidayAge 2

1915–1959 · Music

Strange Fruit, jazz vocal legend

Roald DahlAge 1

1916–1990 · Literature

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

John F. KennedyAge 0

1917–1963 · Politics & Leadership

35th US President, Space Race

Ella FitzgeraldAge 0

1917–1996 · Music

First Lady of Song, jazz icon

Indira GandhiAge 0

1917–1984 · Politics & Leadership

First female Prime Minister of India