Who Was Alive in 1926

John D. RockefellerAge 87

1839–1937 · Business & Industry

Oil tycoon, richest American ever

Claude MonetAge 86

1840–1926 · Art

Water Lilies, father of Impressionism

Thomas EdisonAge 79

1847–1931 · Science & Invention

Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents

Antoni GaudíAge 74

1852–1926 · Art

Sagrada Família architect

Sigmund FreudAge 70

1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought

Father of psychoanalysis

Nikola TeslaAge 70

1856–1943 · Science & Invention

AC electricity, visionary inventor

Emmeline PankhurstAge 68

1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change

British suffragette leader

Max PlanckAge 68

1858–1947 · Science & Invention

Father of quantum theory

Arthur Conan DoyleAge 67

1859–1930 · Literature

Creator of Sherlock Holmes

Rabindranath TagoreAge 65

1861–1941 · Literature

First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature

Henry FordAge 63

1863–1947 · Business & Industry

Assembly line, Model T automobile

Edvard MunchAge 63

1863–1944 · Art

The Scream

H.G. WellsAge 60

1866–1946 · Literature

The War of the Worlds, science fiction pioneer

Marie CurieAge 59

1867–1934 · Science & Invention

Radioactivity, first woman Nobel laureate

Mahatma GandhiAge 57

1869–1948 · Politics & Leadership

Nonviolent independence leader of India

Orville WrightAge 55

1871–1948 · Science & Invention

Co-inventor of the airplane

Roald AmundsenAge 54

1872–1928 · Exploration

First to reach the South Pole

Guglielmo MarconiAge 52

1874–1937 · Science & Invention

Pioneer of long-distance radio

Winston ChurchillAge 52

1874–1965 · Politics & Leadership

British PM who led WWII effort

Harry HoudiniAge 52

1874–1926 · Film & Entertainment

Legendary escape artist & illusionist

Carl JungAge 51

1875–1961 · Philosophy & Thought

Analytical psychology, archetypes

Lise MeitnerAge 48

1878–1968 · Science & Invention

Discovered nuclear fission, overlooked for Nobel

Albert EinsteinAge 47

1879–1955 · Science & Invention

Theory of relativity, E=mc²

Pablo PicassoAge 45

1881–1973 · Art

Cubism, Guernica, most prolific artist

Alexander FlemingAge 45

1881–1955 · Science & Invention

Discovered penicillin

Virginia WoolfAge 44

1882–1941 · Literature

Mrs Dalloway, modernist pioneer

James JoyceAge 44

1882–1941 · Literature

Ulysses, literary revolutionary

Igor StravinskyAge 44

1882–1971 · Music

The Rite of Spring, modern classical

Franklin D. RooseveltAge 44

1882–1945 · Politics & Leadership

32nd US President, New Deal, WWII leader

Coco ChanelAge 43

1883–1971 · Business & Industry

Fashion icon, Chanel No. 5

Niels BohrAge 41

1885–1962 · Science & Invention

Atomic model, quantum mechanics pioneer

Diego RiveraAge 40

1886–1957 · Art

Mexican muralist, political artist

Erwin SchrödingerAge 39

1887–1961 · Science & Invention

Schrödinger's cat, wave equation

Georgia O'KeeffeAge 39

1887–1986 · Art

Mother of American modernism

Charlie ChaplinAge 37

1889–1977 · Film & Entertainment

The Tramp, silent film legend

Ho Chi MinhAge 36

1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership

Revolutionary leader of Vietnam

Agatha ChristieAge 36

1890–1976 · Literature

Best-selling mystery novelist ever

Dwight D. EisenhowerAge 36

1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership

WWII Supreme Commander, 34th US President

Charles de GaulleAge 36

1890–1970 · Politics & Leadership

Leader of Free France, French President

Haile SelassieAge 34

1892–1975 · Politics & Leadership

Emperor of Ethiopia, Rastafari symbol

J.R.R. TolkienAge 34

1892–1973 · Literature

The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth

Mao ZedongAge 33

1893–1976 · Politics & Leadership

Founder of the People's Republic of China

Babe RuthAge 31

1895–1948 · Sports

Baseball's Sultan of Swat

Buster KeatonAge 31

1895–1966 · Film & Entertainment

Silent film comedian, The General

F. Scott FitzgeraldAge 30

1896–1940 · Literature

The Great Gatsby

Amelia EarhartAge 29

1897–1937 · Exploration

First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic

Golda MeirAge 28

1898–1978 · Politics & Leadership

Fourth Prime Minister of Israel

Duke EllingtonAge 27

1899–1974 · Music

Jazz legend, big band pioneer

Ernest HemingwayAge 27

1899–1961 · Literature

The Old Man and the Sea, Nobel laureate

Jorge Luis BorgesAge 27

1899–1986 · Literature

Labyrinths, master of magical realism

Alfred HitchcockAge 27

1899–1980 · Film & Entertainment

Master of Suspense — Psycho, Vertigo

Humphrey BogartAge 27

1899–1957 · Film & Entertainment

Casablanca, Hollywood icon

Werner HeisenbergAge 25

1901–1976 · Science & Invention

Uncertainty principle, quantum mechanics pioneer

Louis ArmstrongAge 25

1901–1971 · Music

What a Wonderful World, jazz trumpet

Walt DisneyAge 25

1901–1966 · Film & Entertainment

Created Mickey Mouse, Disney empire

Enrico FermiAge 25

1901–1954 · Science & Invention

Father of the nuclear age, first nuclear reactor

HirohitoAge 25

1901–1989 · Politics & Leadership

Emperor of Japan during WWII

George OrwellAge 23

1903–1950 · Literature

1984, Animal Farm

Bob HopeAge 23

1903–2003 · Film & Entertainment

Comedian, entertainer for 80+ years

Robert OppenheimerAge 22

1904–1967 · Science & Invention

Father of the atomic bomb

Salvador DalíAge 22

1904–1989 · Art

The Persistence of Memory, surrealist

Jean-Paul SartreAge 21

1905–1980 · Philosophy & Thought

Existentialism, declined the Nobel Prize

Hannah ArendtAge 20

1906–1975 · Philosophy & Thought

The Banality of Evil, political theorist

Frida KahloAge 19

1907–1954 · Art

Self-portraits, Mexican cultural icon

Rachel CarsonAge 19

1907–1964 · Activism & Social Change

Silent Spring, environmental movement

Simone de BeauvoirAge 18

1908–1986 · Philosophy & Thought

The Second Sex, feminist existentialist

Kwame NkrumahAge 17

1909–1972 · Politics & Leadership

First President of Ghana

Dorothy HodgkinAge 16

1910–1994 · Science & Invention

Nobel Prize for X-ray crystallography of biochemical substances

Mother TeresaAge 16

1910–1997 · Activism & Social Change

Missionary of Charity in Calcutta

Akira KurosawaAge 16

1910–1998 · Film & Entertainment

Seven Samurai, master filmmaker

Jacques CousteauAge 16

1910–1997 · Exploration

Ocean explorer, pioneered scuba diving

Alan TuringAge 14

1912–1954 · Science & Invention

Father of computer science, codebreaker

Jackson PollockAge 14

1912–1956 · Art

Action painting, abstract expressionism

Rosa ParksAge 13

1913–2005 · Activism & Social Change

Mother of the civil rights movement

Jesse OwensAge 13

1913–1980 · Sports

4 gold medals at 1936 Berlin Olympics

Hedy LamarrAge 12

1914–2000 · Science & Invention

Hollywood star who co-invented frequency hopping

Orson WellesAge 11

1915–1985 · Film & Entertainment

Citizen Kane, War of the Worlds broadcast

Frank SinatraAge 11

1915–1998 · Music

My Way, Ol' Blue Eyes

Billie HolidayAge 11

1915–1959 · Music

Strange Fruit, jazz vocal legend

Roald DahlAge 10

1916–1990 · Literature

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

John F. KennedyAge 9

1917–1963 · Politics & Leadership

35th US President, Space Race

Ella FitzgeraldAge 9

1917–1996 · Music

First Lady of Song, jazz icon

Indira GandhiAge 9

1917–1984 · Politics & Leadership

First female Prime Minister of India

Ingmar BergmanAge 8

1918–2007 · Film & Entertainment

The Seventh Seal, master of art cinema

Nelson MandelaAge 8

1918–2013 · Politics & Leadership

Anti-apartheid hero, South African President

Richard FeynmanAge 8

1918–1988 · Science & Invention

Quantum electrodynamics, bongo-playing physicist

Eva PerónAge 7

1919–1952 · Politics & Leadership

Argentina's beloved Evita

Edmund HillaryAge 7

1919–2008 · Exploration

First to summit Mount Everest

Jackie RobinsonAge 7

1919–1972 · Sports

Broke baseball's color barrier

Rosalind FranklinAge 6

1920–1958 · Science & Invention

Key to discovering DNA's structure

Stan LeeAge 4

1922–2018 · Film & Entertainment

Co-created Spider-Man, X-Men, Marvel

Marlon BrandoAge 2

1924–2004 · Film & Entertainment

The Godfather, method acting pioneer

James BaldwinAge 2

1924–1987 · Literature

Go Tell It on the Mountain, civil rights essayist

Patrice LumumbaAge 1

1925–1961 · Politics & Leadership

First Prime Minister of independent Congo

Margaret ThatcherAge 1

1925–2013 · Politics & Leadership

The Iron Lady, British Prime Minister

B.B. KingAge 1

1925–2015 · Music

King of the Blues

Marilyn MonroeAge 0

1926–1962 · Film & Entertainment

Hollywood icon, cultural legend

Fidel CastroAge 0

1926–2016 · Politics & Leadership

Cuban revolutionary leader