#1Writing & Arts
Edgar Allan Poe
1809–1849American writer and literary critic
225 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Boston
48 famous people were born in Boston, more of them scientists and doctors than in most towns
Edgar Allan Poe, the American writer and literary critic, is the most widely known, written about in 225 languages. Second and third on the list are Benjamin Franklin and Ralph Waldo Emerson. More than half were born between 1920 and 1969, 29 in all. For its size the list is short: 0.7 for every 10,000 residents, against 4.5 in the typical Massachusetts town.
Born here
48
notable people
Best known
Edgar Allan Poe
in 225 Wikipedia languages
First
1706
Benjamin Franklin
Youngest
1998
G Hannelius
Most common field
Film, TV & Stage
15 people
Also called it home
14
notable residents
What stands out about Boston’s famous people
Known worldwideEdgar Allan Poe has an article in 225 languages, more than anyone else from here.A town of scientists and doctorsAmong the 48 people born here, 15 are scientists and doctors: 5.3 times the usual share.Still making namesBirths since 1950 number 20, the most recent in 1998.A chosen home14 more notable people chose to live here, Isaac Asimov among them.
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Boston
Two of the three are writers and artists.
#1
#2Politics & Law
Benjamin Franklin
1706–1790American polymath and statesman
216 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Known for
What Boston is known for
Set against the usual town, scientists and doctors come out 5.3 times as common.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Boston’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1960s, with 8 people born in that decade.
Film, TV & StageScience & MedicineWriting & ArtsMusicPolitics & LawBusinessSports
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Boston
Another 45, the earliest born in 1722.
Michael Bloomberg
born 1942American businessman and politician; 108th Mayor of New York City
BusinessWikipedia ↗
John McCarthy
1927–2011American computer scientist and cognitive scientist
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Henry Way Kendall
1926–1999American particle physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Samuel Adams
1722–1803American statesman, political philosopher, governor of Massachusetts and Founding Father of the United States
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Temple Grandin
born 1947American doctor of animal science, author, and autism activist
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Daniel Pipes
born 1949American historian, writer, journalist and political scientist
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
A chosen home
Also called Boston home
Notable people Wikidata lists as living in Boston, though born elsewhere.
Steven Pinker
born 1954Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, linguist, and author, an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of the mind
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
The town’s pick
Town Square →Who’s the most famous person from Boston?
Pick one and say why. Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Milton has the longest list next door: 59.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Boston and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (48)
- Edgar Allan Poe: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Benjamin Franklin: Joseph-Siffred Duplessis, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ralph Waldo Emerson: User:Scewing derivative work: 2009, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Sylvia Plath: Giovanni Giovannetti/Grazia Neri, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Uma Thurman: Siebbi, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Donna Summer: Harry Langdon., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Daniel Dennett: Dmitry Rozhkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Burns Woodward: Robert_Burns_Woodward_in_1965.jpg: The original uploader was Peter Geymayer at German Wikipedia. (Original text: Dr. Peter Geymayer) derivative work: ≈ Chamal talk ¤, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jared Diamond: Aude, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- John McCarthy: "null0", CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Way Kendall: Tom Frost, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Percival Lowell: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Samuel Adams: John Singleton Copley, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Adams: William Notman, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Barbara Walters: John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Louis Sullivan: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Walter Gilbert: Douglas A. Lockard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Spader: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George Minot: The Nobel Foundation, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Roger Myerson: The original uploader was MS!Mit8rd; at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kevin Feige: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Clark Gregg: gdcgraphics, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eric S. Raymond: southeastlinuxfest, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eugene Fama: Bengt Nyman, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Misha Collins: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ben Foster: Romina Espinosa at http://www.rominaespinosa.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jane Alexander: Diane Rooney at https://www.flickr.com/photos/dianesf/, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Taylor: Chuck Fadely - photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward Charles Pickering: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Isaac Asimov: Phillip Leonian [1] from New York World-Telegram & Sun.[2], Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Louisa May Alcott: Adam Cuerden, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Liv Ullmann: Nasjonalbiblioteket, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Norman Foster Ramsey: ENERGY.GOV, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Steven Pinker: Christopher Michel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Elizabeth Bishop: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Brady: Congressman Charlie Crist, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Louis C.K.: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bengt Holmström: Soppakanuuna, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Phillis Wheatley: Phillis Wheatley (author), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Williamina Fleming: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George H. W. Bush: David Valdez, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Chick Corea: Tore Sætre, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert F. Kennedy: Harry Warnecke, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Lemmon: Wire photo, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lee Remick: Original photograph by Allan Warren, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Benjamin Lee Whorf: Bachrach Studios, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Matt Damon: PhilipRomano, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Fisher Ames: Gilbert Stuart, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons