Who Was Alive in 1921

John D. RockefellerAge 82

1839–1937 · Business & Industry

Oil tycoon, richest American ever

Claude MonetAge 81

1840–1926 · Art

Water Lilies, father of Impressionism

Thomas EdisonAge 74

1847–1931 · Science & Invention

Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents

Alexander Graham BellAge 74

1847–1922 · Science & Invention

Invented the telephone

Antoni GaudíAge 69

1852–1926 · Art

Sagrada Família architect

Sigmund FreudAge 65

1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought

Father of psychoanalysis

Nikola TeslaAge 65

1856–1943 · Science & Invention

AC electricity, visionary inventor

Woodrow WilsonAge 65

1856–1924 · Politics & Leadership

28th US President, League of Nations

Emmeline PankhurstAge 63

1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change

British suffragette leader

Max PlanckAge 63

1858–1947 · Science & Invention

Father of quantum theory

Arthur Conan DoyleAge 62

1859–1930 · Literature

Creator of Sherlock Holmes

Rabindranath TagoreAge 60

1861–1941 · Literature

First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature

Henry FordAge 58

1863–1947 · Business & Industry

Assembly line, Model T automobile

Edvard MunchAge 58

1863–1944 · Art

The Scream

H.G. WellsAge 55

1866–1946 · Literature

The War of the Worlds, science fiction pioneer

Sun Yat-senAge 55

1866–1925 · Politics & Leadership

Father of the Republic of China

Marie CurieAge 54

1867–1934 · Science & Invention

Radioactivity, first woman Nobel laureate

Mahatma GandhiAge 52

1869–1948 · Politics & Leadership

Nonviolent independence leader of India

Marcel ProustAge 50

1871–1922 · Literature

In Search of Lost Time

Orville WrightAge 50

1871–1948 · Science & Invention

Co-inventor of the airplane

Roald AmundsenAge 49

1872–1928 · Exploration

First to reach the South Pole

Ernest ShackletonAge 47

1874–1922 · Exploration

Heroic Antarctic explorer, Endurance expedition

Guglielmo MarconiAge 47

1874–1937 · Science & Invention

Pioneer of long-distance radio

Winston ChurchillAge 47

1874–1965 · Politics & Leadership

British PM who led WWII effort

Harry HoudiniAge 47

1874–1926 · Film & Entertainment

Legendary escape artist & illusionist

Carl JungAge 46

1875–1961 · Philosophy & Thought

Analytical psychology, archetypes

Pancho VillaAge 43

1878–1923 · Politics & Leadership

Mexican revolutionary general

Lise MeitnerAge 43

1878–1968 · Science & Invention

Discovered nuclear fission, overlooked for Nobel

Albert EinsteinAge 42

1879–1955 · Science & Invention

Theory of relativity, E=mc²

Pablo PicassoAge 40

1881–1973 · Art

Cubism, Guernica, most prolific artist

Alexander FlemingAge 40

1881–1955 · Science & Invention

Discovered penicillin

Virginia WoolfAge 39

1882–1941 · Literature

Mrs Dalloway, modernist pioneer

James JoyceAge 39

1882–1941 · Literature

Ulysses, literary revolutionary

Igor StravinskyAge 39

1882–1971 · Music

The Rite of Spring, modern classical

Franklin D. RooseveltAge 39

1882–1945 · Politics & Leadership

32nd US President, New Deal, WWII leader

Coco ChanelAge 38

1883–1971 · Business & Industry

Fashion icon, Chanel No. 5

Franz KafkaAge 38

1883–1924 · Literature

The Metamorphosis, surreal fiction

Niels BohrAge 36

1885–1962 · Science & Invention

Atomic model, quantum mechanics pioneer

Diego RiveraAge 35

1886–1957 · Art

Mexican muralist, political artist

Erwin SchrödingerAge 34

1887–1961 · Science & Invention

Schrödinger's cat, wave equation

Georgia O'KeeffeAge 34

1887–1986 · Art

Mother of American modernism

Charlie ChaplinAge 32

1889–1977 · Film & Entertainment

The Tramp, silent film legend

Ho Chi MinhAge 31

1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership

Revolutionary leader of Vietnam

Agatha ChristieAge 31

1890–1976 · Literature

Best-selling mystery novelist ever

Dwight D. EisenhowerAge 31

1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership

WWII Supreme Commander, 34th US President

Charles de GaulleAge 31

1890–1970 · Politics & Leadership

Leader of Free France, French President

Haile SelassieAge 29

1892–1975 · Politics & Leadership

Emperor of Ethiopia, Rastafari symbol

J.R.R. TolkienAge 29

1892–1973 · Literature

The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth

Mao ZedongAge 28

1893–1976 · Politics & Leadership

Founder of the People's Republic of China

Babe RuthAge 26

1895–1948 · Sports

Baseball's Sultan of Swat

Buster KeatonAge 26

1895–1966 · Film & Entertainment

Silent film comedian, The General

F. Scott FitzgeraldAge 25

1896–1940 · Literature

The Great Gatsby

Amelia EarhartAge 24

1897–1937 · Exploration

First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic

Golda MeirAge 23

1898–1978 · Politics & Leadership

Fourth Prime Minister of Israel

Duke EllingtonAge 22

1899–1974 · Music

Jazz legend, big band pioneer

Ernest HemingwayAge 22

1899–1961 · Literature

The Old Man and the Sea, Nobel laureate

Jorge Luis BorgesAge 22

1899–1986 · Literature

Labyrinths, master of magical realism

Alfred HitchcockAge 22

1899–1980 · Film & Entertainment

Master of Suspense — Psycho, Vertigo

Humphrey BogartAge 22

1899–1957 · Film & Entertainment

Casablanca, Hollywood icon

Werner HeisenbergAge 20

1901–1976 · Science & Invention

Uncertainty principle, quantum mechanics pioneer

Louis ArmstrongAge 20

1901–1971 · Music

What a Wonderful World, jazz trumpet

Walt DisneyAge 20

1901–1966 · Film & Entertainment

Created Mickey Mouse, Disney empire

Enrico FermiAge 20

1901–1954 · Science & Invention

Father of the nuclear age, first nuclear reactor

HirohitoAge 20

1901–1989 · Politics & Leadership

Emperor of Japan during WWII

George OrwellAge 18

1903–1950 · Literature

1984, Animal Farm

Bob HopeAge 18

1903–2003 · Film & Entertainment

Comedian, entertainer for 80+ years

Robert OppenheimerAge 17

1904–1967 · Science & Invention

Father of the atomic bomb

Salvador DalíAge 17

1904–1989 · Art

The Persistence of Memory, surrealist

Jean-Paul SartreAge 16

1905–1980 · Philosophy & Thought

Existentialism, declined the Nobel Prize

Hannah ArendtAge 15

1906–1975 · Philosophy & Thought

The Banality of Evil, political theorist

Frida KahloAge 14

1907–1954 · Art

Self-portraits, Mexican cultural icon

Rachel CarsonAge 14

1907–1964 · Activism & Social Change

Silent Spring, environmental movement

Simone de BeauvoirAge 13

1908–1986 · Philosophy & Thought

The Second Sex, feminist existentialist

Kwame NkrumahAge 12

1909–1972 · Politics & Leadership

First President of Ghana

Dorothy HodgkinAge 11

1910–1994 · Science & Invention

Nobel Prize for X-ray crystallography of biochemical substances

Mother TeresaAge 11

1910–1997 · Activism & Social Change

Missionary of Charity in Calcutta

Akira KurosawaAge 11

1910–1998 · Film & Entertainment

Seven Samurai, master filmmaker

Jacques CousteauAge 11

1910–1997 · Exploration

Ocean explorer, pioneered scuba diving

Alan TuringAge 9

1912–1954 · Science & Invention

Father of computer science, codebreaker

Jackson PollockAge 9

1912–1956 · Art

Action painting, abstract expressionism

Rosa ParksAge 8

1913–2005 · Activism & Social Change

Mother of the civil rights movement

Jesse OwensAge 8

1913–1980 · Sports

4 gold medals at 1936 Berlin Olympics

Hedy LamarrAge 7

1914–2000 · Science & Invention

Hollywood star who co-invented frequency hopping

Orson WellesAge 6

1915–1985 · Film & Entertainment

Citizen Kane, War of the Worlds broadcast

Frank SinatraAge 6

1915–1998 · Music

My Way, Ol' Blue Eyes

Billie HolidayAge 6

1915–1959 · Music

Strange Fruit, jazz vocal legend

Roald DahlAge 5

1916–1990 · Literature

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

John F. KennedyAge 4

1917–1963 · Politics & Leadership

35th US President, Space Race

Ella FitzgeraldAge 4

1917–1996 · Music

First Lady of Song, jazz icon

Indira GandhiAge 4

1917–1984 · Politics & Leadership

First female Prime Minister of India

Ingmar BergmanAge 3

1918–2007 · Film & Entertainment

The Seventh Seal, master of art cinema

Nelson MandelaAge 3

1918–2013 · Politics & Leadership

Anti-apartheid hero, South African President

Richard FeynmanAge 3

1918–1988 · Science & Invention

Quantum electrodynamics, bongo-playing physicist

Eva PerónAge 2

1919–1952 · Politics & Leadership

Argentina's beloved Evita

Edmund HillaryAge 2

1919–2008 · Exploration

First to summit Mount Everest

Jackie RobinsonAge 2

1919–1972 · Sports

Broke baseball's color barrier

Rosalind FranklinAge 1

1920–1958 · Science & Invention

Key to discovering DNA's structure