Who Was Alive in 1928

John D. RockefellerAge 89

1839–1937 · Business & Industry

Oil tycoon, richest American ever

Thomas EdisonAge 81

1847–1931 · Science & Invention

Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents

Sigmund FreudAge 72

1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought

Father of psychoanalysis

Nikola TeslaAge 72

1856–1943 · Science & Invention

AC electricity, visionary inventor

Emmeline PankhurstAge 70

1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change

British suffragette leader

Max PlanckAge 70

1858–1947 · Science & Invention

Father of quantum theory

Arthur Conan DoyleAge 69

1859–1930 · Literature

Creator of Sherlock Holmes

Rabindranath TagoreAge 67

1861–1941 · Literature

First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature

Henry FordAge 65

1863–1947 · Business & Industry

Assembly line, Model T automobile

Edvard MunchAge 65

1863–1944 · Art

The Scream

H.G. WellsAge 62

1866–1946 · Literature

The War of the Worlds, science fiction pioneer

Marie CurieAge 61

1867–1934 · Science & Invention

Radioactivity, first woman Nobel laureate

Mahatma GandhiAge 59

1869–1948 · Politics & Leadership

Nonviolent independence leader of India

Orville WrightAge 57

1871–1948 · Science & Invention

Co-inventor of the airplane

Roald AmundsenAge 56

1872–1928 · Exploration

First to reach the South Pole

Guglielmo MarconiAge 54

1874–1937 · Science & Invention

Pioneer of long-distance radio

Winston ChurchillAge 54

1874–1965 · Politics & Leadership

British PM who led WWII effort

Carl JungAge 53

1875–1961 · Philosophy & Thought

Analytical psychology, archetypes

Lise MeitnerAge 50

1878–1968 · Science & Invention

Discovered nuclear fission, overlooked for Nobel

Albert EinsteinAge 49

1879–1955 · Science & Invention

Theory of relativity, E=mc²

Pablo PicassoAge 47

1881–1973 · Art

Cubism, Guernica, most prolific artist

Alexander FlemingAge 47

1881–1955 · Science & Invention

Discovered penicillin

Virginia WoolfAge 46

1882–1941 · Literature

Mrs Dalloway, modernist pioneer

James JoyceAge 46

1882–1941 · Literature

Ulysses, literary revolutionary

Igor StravinskyAge 46

1882–1971 · Music

The Rite of Spring, modern classical

Franklin D. RooseveltAge 46

1882–1945 · Politics & Leadership

32nd US President, New Deal, WWII leader

Coco ChanelAge 45

1883–1971 · Business & Industry

Fashion icon, Chanel No. 5

Niels BohrAge 43

1885–1962 · Science & Invention

Atomic model, quantum mechanics pioneer

Diego RiveraAge 42

1886–1957 · Art

Mexican muralist, political artist

Erwin SchrödingerAge 41

1887–1961 · Science & Invention

Schrödinger's cat, wave equation

Georgia O'KeeffeAge 41

1887–1986 · Art

Mother of American modernism

Charlie ChaplinAge 39

1889–1977 · Film & Entertainment

The Tramp, silent film legend

Ho Chi MinhAge 38

1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership

Revolutionary leader of Vietnam

Agatha ChristieAge 38

1890–1976 · Literature

Best-selling mystery novelist ever

Dwight D. EisenhowerAge 38

1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership

WWII Supreme Commander, 34th US President

Charles de GaulleAge 38

1890–1970 · Politics & Leadership

Leader of Free France, French President

Haile SelassieAge 36

1892–1975 · Politics & Leadership

Emperor of Ethiopia, Rastafari symbol

J.R.R. TolkienAge 36

1892–1973 · Literature

The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth

Mao ZedongAge 35

1893–1976 · Politics & Leadership

Founder of the People's Republic of China

Babe RuthAge 33

1895–1948 · Sports

Baseball's Sultan of Swat

Buster KeatonAge 33

1895–1966 · Film & Entertainment

Silent film comedian, The General

F. Scott FitzgeraldAge 32

1896–1940 · Literature

The Great Gatsby

Amelia EarhartAge 31

1897–1937 · Exploration

First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic

Golda MeirAge 30

1898–1978 · Politics & Leadership

Fourth Prime Minister of Israel

Duke EllingtonAge 29

1899–1974 · Music

Jazz legend, big band pioneer

Ernest HemingwayAge 29

1899–1961 · Literature

The Old Man and the Sea, Nobel laureate

Jorge Luis BorgesAge 29

1899–1986 · Literature

Labyrinths, master of magical realism

Alfred HitchcockAge 29

1899–1980 · Film & Entertainment

Master of Suspense — Psycho, Vertigo

Humphrey BogartAge 29

1899–1957 · Film & Entertainment

Casablanca, Hollywood icon

Werner HeisenbergAge 27

1901–1976 · Science & Invention

Uncertainty principle, quantum mechanics pioneer

Louis ArmstrongAge 27

1901–1971 · Music

What a Wonderful World, jazz trumpet

Walt DisneyAge 27

1901–1966 · Film & Entertainment

Created Mickey Mouse, Disney empire

Enrico FermiAge 27

1901–1954 · Science & Invention

Father of the nuclear age, first nuclear reactor

HirohitoAge 27

1901–1989 · Politics & Leadership

Emperor of Japan during WWII

George OrwellAge 25

1903–1950 · Literature

1984, Animal Farm

Bob HopeAge 25

1903–2003 · Film & Entertainment

Comedian, entertainer for 80+ years

Robert OppenheimerAge 24

1904–1967 · Science & Invention

Father of the atomic bomb

Salvador DalíAge 24

1904–1989 · Art

The Persistence of Memory, surrealist

Jean-Paul SartreAge 23

1905–1980 · Philosophy & Thought

Existentialism, declined the Nobel Prize

Hannah ArendtAge 22

1906–1975 · Philosophy & Thought

The Banality of Evil, political theorist

Frida KahloAge 21

1907–1954 · Art

Self-portraits, Mexican cultural icon

Rachel CarsonAge 21

1907–1964 · Activism & Social Change

Silent Spring, environmental movement

Simone de BeauvoirAge 20

1908–1986 · Philosophy & Thought

The Second Sex, feminist existentialist

Kwame NkrumahAge 19

1909–1972 · Politics & Leadership

First President of Ghana

Dorothy HodgkinAge 18

1910–1994 · Science & Invention

Nobel Prize for X-ray crystallography of biochemical substances

Mother TeresaAge 18

1910–1997 · Activism & Social Change

Missionary of Charity in Calcutta

Akira KurosawaAge 18

1910–1998 · Film & Entertainment

Seven Samurai, master filmmaker

Jacques CousteauAge 18

1910–1997 · Exploration

Ocean explorer, pioneered scuba diving

Alan TuringAge 16

1912–1954 · Science & Invention

Father of computer science, codebreaker

Jackson PollockAge 16

1912–1956 · Art

Action painting, abstract expressionism

Rosa ParksAge 15

1913–2005 · Activism & Social Change

Mother of the civil rights movement

Jesse OwensAge 15

1913–1980 · Sports

4 gold medals at 1936 Berlin Olympics

Hedy LamarrAge 14

1914–2000 · Science & Invention

Hollywood star who co-invented frequency hopping

Orson WellesAge 13

1915–1985 · Film & Entertainment

Citizen Kane, War of the Worlds broadcast

Frank SinatraAge 13

1915–1998 · Music

My Way, Ol' Blue Eyes

Billie HolidayAge 13

1915–1959 · Music

Strange Fruit, jazz vocal legend

Roald DahlAge 12

1916–1990 · Literature

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

John F. KennedyAge 11

1917–1963 · Politics & Leadership

35th US President, Space Race

Ella FitzgeraldAge 11

1917–1996 · Music

First Lady of Song, jazz icon

Indira GandhiAge 11

1917–1984 · Politics & Leadership

First female Prime Minister of India

Ingmar BergmanAge 10

1918–2007 · Film & Entertainment

The Seventh Seal, master of art cinema

Nelson MandelaAge 10

1918–2013 · Politics & Leadership

Anti-apartheid hero, South African President

Richard FeynmanAge 10

1918–1988 · Science & Invention

Quantum electrodynamics, bongo-playing physicist

Eva PerónAge 9

1919–1952 · Politics & Leadership

Argentina's beloved Evita

Edmund HillaryAge 9

1919–2008 · Exploration

First to summit Mount Everest

Jackie RobinsonAge 9

1919–1972 · Sports

Broke baseball's color barrier

Rosalind FranklinAge 8

1920–1958 · Science & Invention

Key to discovering DNA's structure

Stan LeeAge 6

1922–2018 · Film & Entertainment

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

Marlon BrandoAge 4

1924–2004 · Film & Entertainment

The Godfather, method acting pioneer

James BaldwinAge 4

1924–1987 · Literature

Go Tell It on the Mountain, civil rights essayist

Patrice LumumbaAge 3

1925–1961 · Politics & Leadership

First Prime Minister of independent Congo

Margaret ThatcherAge 3

1925–2013 · Politics & Leadership

The Iron Lady, British Prime Minister

B.B. KingAge 3

1925–2015 · Music

King of the Blues

Marilyn MonroeAge 2

1926–1962 · Film & Entertainment

Hollywood icon, cultural legend

Fidel CastroAge 2

1926–2016 · Politics & Leadership

Cuban revolutionary leader

Gabriel García MárquezAge 1

1927–2014 · Literature

One Hundred Years of Solitude

James WatsonAge 0

1928–present · Science & Invention

Co-discovered the structure of DNA

Andy WarholAge 0

1928–1987 · Art

Pop art icon, Campbell's Soup Cans

Stanley KubrickAge 0

1928–1999 · Film & Entertainment

2001: A Space Odyssey, perfectionist auteur

Maya AngelouAge 0

1928–2014 · Literature

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Che GuevaraAge 0

1928–1967 · Politics & Leadership

Argentine revolutionary icon

Vera RubinAge 0

1928–2016 · Science & Invention

Discovered evidence for dark matter

Noam ChomskyAge 0

1928–present · Philosophy & Thought

Father of modern linguistics, political activist