Adams, Evangeline (8 February 1868–10 November 1932), astrologer, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the fifth child and first surviving daughter of George Adams and his wife Harriet Adams, born Smith. Although she would imply that she was a descendant of the presidential Adamses, her paternal ancestors came from a separate branch of the Adams family....
Article
Adams, Evangeline (8 February 1868–10 November 1932), astrologer
William E. Burns
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Aiken, George David (20 August 1892–19 November 1984)
Maker: Clara Sipprell
In
George David Aiken (20 August 1892–19 November 1984), by Clara Sipprell, c. 1960
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; bequest of Phyllis Fenner
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Akeley, Carl Ethan (19 May 1864–17 November 1926)
Maker: unknown
Akeley, Carl Ethan (19 May 1864–17 November 1926), by unknown artist, c. 1922
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Article
Baker, Russell Wayne (14 August 1925–21 January 2019), journalist and humorist
Ann T. Keene
Baker, Russell Wayne (14 August 1925–21 January 2019), journalist and humorist, was the eldest child and only son born to Benjamin Baker, a stonemason, and Lucy Robinson Baker, a schoolteacher, in rural Morrisonville, Loudoun County, Virginia. Lucy Baker was the daughter of a country lawyer who had died during her first year in college, and reduced circumstances forced her to work as a teacher in rural schools. In ...
Article
Batson, Ruth (3 August 1921–28 October 2003), educator, community organizer, and civil right activist
Michelle Valletta
Batson, Ruth (3 August 1921–28 October 2003), educator, community organizer, and civil right activist, was born Ruth Marion Watson in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, to Jamaican immigrants Joel Watson and Cassandra Buchanan. Growing up, she experienced and observed racial discrimination all around Boston. Her propensity to challenge these injustices came from her early exposure to activism. She and her brother were raised mostly by her mother, a health-care worker and a staunch follower of Jamaican political activist and Black nationalist ...
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Berle, Milton (12 July 1908–27 March 2002)
Maker: Harry Warnecke and Gus Schoenbaechler
In
Milton Berle (12 July 1908–27 March 2002), by Harry Warnecke and Gus Schoenbaechler, 1953
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
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Budge, Don (13 June 1915–26 January 2000)
Maker: Samuel Johnson Woolf
In
Don Budge (13 June 1915–26 January 2000), by Samuel Johnson Woolf, c. 1933
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time magazine
Article
Bulger, James Joseph, Jr. (3 September 1929–30 October 2018), organized crime leader
Ann T. Keene
Bulger, James Joseph, Jr. (3 September 1929–30 October 2018), organized crime leader, was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, to James Bulger Sr., a union laborer and sometime longshoreman, and Jane McCarthy Bulger. James Sr., of Irish heritage, was originally from Newfoundland; his wife, nicknamed Jean, was a first-generation Irish immigrant. Having lost an arm in a work-related accident, the senior Bulger struggled to support his family in the midst of the Great Depression. In the late 1930s, they moved to a public housing project in the slums of South Boston....
Article
Burroughs, Margaret (1 November 1917–21 November 2010), artist, educator, and institution builder
Mary Ann Cain
Burroughs, Margaret (1 November 1917–21 November 2010), artist, educator, and institution builder, was born Victoria Margaret Taylor (later reversed to Margaret Victoria) in St. Rose Parish, Louisiana, the youngest of three daughters, to Christopher Alexander “Tooker” Taylor, a farmer and laborer, and Octavia Pierre, a teacher and domestic worker. Margaret Taylor’s first five years were idyllic, playing along Mississippi River levees, roaming fields and woods, and gaining an early education in the back of a Baptist church where her mother conducted classes. Unlike many descendants of enslaved people, the Taylors and Pierres were unusually fortunate to know their ancestry. Throughout her life, Taylor would emphasize the importance of identity and knowing one’s roots. Mae-Mae, her full-blooded Creole maternal grandmother, lived across the river in Ama and regaled Margaret with stories about their family, experiences during slavery, and African heritage. Such stories bolstered Taylor when she met her own life’s challenges....
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Byrns, Joseph Wellington (20 July 1869–04 June 1936)
Maker: Samuel Johnson Woolf
In
Joseph Wellington Byrns (20 July 1869–04 June 1936), by Samuel Johnson Woolf, 1935
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time magazine
Article
Cassidy, Claudia (18 November 1899–21 July 1996), theater critic
Ann T. Keene
Cassidy, Claudia (18 November 1899–21 July 1996), theater critic, was born in the southeastern Illinois hamlet of Shawnee (later Old Shawneetown) to George P. Cassidy, a physician whose parents had emigrated from Ireland, and Olive Gratton Cassidy. Following George Cassidy’s death from pneumonia in ...
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Clark, Mark Wayne (01 May 1896–17 April 1984)
Maker: Harry Warnecke and Robert F. Cranston
In
Mark Wayne Clark (01 May 1896–17 April 1984), by Harry Warnecke and Robert F. Cranston, 1945
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Article
Collins, Michael (31 October 1930–28 April 2001), astronaut
Bruce J. Evensen
Collins, Michael (31 October 1930–28 April 2001), astronaut, was born in Rome to James Lawton Collins, a major general in the U.S. Army, and Virginia Caroline (Stewart) Collins. Michael was the youngest of three children and grew up on military bases. He loved ...
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Collins, Michael (31 Oct. 1930–28 Apr. 2001)
Maker: NASA
In
Michael Collins (31 Oct. 1930 – 28 Apr. 2001), NASA, 1969
NASA
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Cortissoz, Royal (10 February 1869–17 October 1948)
Maker: Clara Sipprell
In
Royal Cortissoz (10 February 1869–17 October 1948), by Clara Sipprell, c. 1940
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; bequest of Phyllis Fenner
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Damrosch, Walter Johannes (30 January 1862–22 December 1950)
Maker: Oscar White
In
Walter Johannes Damrosch (30 January 1862–22 December 1950), by Oscar White, c. 1944
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
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Dana, John Cotton (19 August 1856–21 July 1929)
Maker: Clara Sipprell
Dana, John Cotton (19 August 1856–21 July 1929), by Clara Sipprell, c. 1923
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Article
Dixon, Maynard (24 January 1875–13 November 1946), painter, illustrator, muralist, and poet
Jeffrey Cronin
Dixon, Maynard (24 January 1875–13 November 1946), painter, illustrator, muralist, and poet, was born in Fresno, California, the son of Harry St. John Dixon, a lawyer and rancher, and Constance Maynard. He was formally named Lafayette Maynard Dixon after his maternal grandfather, but he abandoned Lafayette as an adult. His father, a Confederate veteran from Mississippi, was a settler of Fresno County, a destination for Southerners after the Civil War....
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Douglas, Lewis Williams (02 July 1894–07 March 1974)
Maker: Samuel Johnson Woolf
Douglas, Lewis Williams (02 July 1894–07 March 1974), by Samuel Johnson Woolf, c. 1930
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time magazine
