A–Z index
All 973 people, filed by surname.
42 people
Linda Darling-Hammond b. 1951Ideas & MediaEducation researcher and Stanford professor who shaped teacher preparation and assessment policy.
Angela Davis b. 1944Ideas & MediaPolitical activist and academic whose scholarship on race, class, and prisons became globally influential.
Bette Davis 1908–1989Arts & LettersStudio-era actress who won two Academy Awards and fought Warner Bros. over contract terms.
Jefferson Davis 1808–1889Crime & NotorietyPresident of the Confederacy whose defense of slavery and secession made him central to the Civil War and its memory.
Miles Davis 1926–1991Arts & LettersTrumpeter and bandleader who repeatedly redirected jazz through bebop, cool jazz, modal music, and fusion.
Dorothy Day 1897–1980Ideas & MediaCo-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, combining religious faith with radical commitments to peace and the poor.
Lee de Forest 1873–1961Technology & BuildingInvented the Audion triode tube that enabled electronic signal amplification and early radio broadcasting.
Willem de Kooning 1904–1997Arts & LettersAbstract expressionist whose gestural paintings helped define the New York School.
Robert De Niro b. 1943Arts & LettersAcademy Award-winning actor whose method performances in Taxi Driver and Raging Bull defined a generation.
James Dean 1931–1955Arts & LettersActor whose brief career and rebellious image in Rebel Without a Cause made him a symbol of teenage disillusionment.
Eugene V. Debs 1855–1926Business & LaborSocialist Party leader who ran for president five times from prison and championed labor rights.
John Paul DeJoria b. 1944Business & LaborCo-founder of Paul Mitchell hair products and Patrón tequila who rose from homelessness.
Michael Dell b. 1965Business & LaborFounder of Dell Technologies who built one of the world's largest PC and IT infrastructure companies.Vine Deloria Jr. 1933–2005Reform & RightsWriter and legal scholar whose work transformed public understanding of Native sovereignty, treaty rights, and Indigenous religion.
Johnny Depp b. 1963Arts & LettersVersatile actor known for transformative roles from Edward Scissorhands to Pirates of the Caribbean.
Alan Dershowitz b. 1938Ideas & MediaHarvard Law professor and constitutional scholar known for his high-profile legal defenses and writings.
John Dewey 1859–1952Ideas & MediaPhilosopher and educational reformer whose progressive ideas shaped modern American pedagogy.
Jared Diamond b. 1937Ideas & MediaGeographer and author whose Guns, Germs, and Steel offered a sweeping explanation of human inequality.
Leonardo DiCaprio b. 1974Arts & LettersOscar-winning actor and environmental activist whose career spans blockbusters and prestige dramas.
Emily Dickinson 1830–1886Arts & LettersReclusive poet whose innovative use of form and slant rhyme made her one of America's greatest literary voices.
Joan Didion 1934–2021Ideas & MediaEssayist and novelist whose precise prose captured the anxiety and disillusionment of American life.
Joe DiMaggio 1914–1999Frontier & SportYankees center fielder whose hitting streak and celebrity made him an enduring symbol of mid-century America.
Jamie Dimon b. 1956Business & LaborBank executive whose leadership of JPMorgan Chase made him one of the most influential voices in American finance.
Walt Disney 1901–1966Arts & LettersAnimator and business magnate who created Mickey Mouse and built the world's largest entertainment empire.
Dorothea Dix 1802–1887Reform & RightsSocial reformer who championed humane treatment of the mentally ill and established asylums nationwide.
Bob Dole 1923–2021Government & PoliticsWounded veteran and Senate leader who helped write the Americans with Disabilities Act.
William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan 1883–1959Government & PoliticsFounder and director of the OSS whose wartime organization became a principal institutional predecessor of the CIA.
Jack Dorsey b. 1976Technology & BuildingCo-founder of Twitter and Square who shaped social media and mobile payments.
Jennifer Doudna b. 1964Science & MedicineBiochemist who co-developed CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, revolutionizing genetics and medicine.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas 1890–1998Reform & RightsWriter and activist whose advocacy was central to preserving the Florida Everglades as a national ecological treasure.
Stephen A. Douglas 1813–1861Government & PoliticsIllinois senator whose popular-sovereignty doctrine and debates with Lincoln framed the crisis over slavery.
William O. Douglas 1898–1980Government & PoliticsLongest-serving Supreme Court justice, noted for expansive civil-liberties jurisprudence and environmental advocacy.
Frederick Douglass 1818–1895Reform & RightsFormer slave who became a leading abolitionist, orator, and advocate for equal rights.Charles Drew 1904–1950Science & MedicinePhysician-scientist whose work on blood plasma and blood banking saved countless lives.
W.E.B. Du Bois 1868–1963Ideas & MediaSociologist, historian, and civil rights activist who was the first African American to earn a Harvard doctorate.
Angela Duckworth b. 1970Ideas & MediaPsychologist whose research on grit reshaped conversations about success and character education.
Charles Duke b. 1935Frontier & SportApollo 16 lunar module pilot and youngest person to walk on the Moon at age 36.
Doris Duke 1912–1993Business & LaborTobacco heiress whose foundation supports the arts, environment, and medical research.
Allen Dulles 1893–1969Government & PoliticsLongest-serving CIA director who built the agency's covert operations capacity during the early Cold War.
John Foster Dulles 1888–1959Government & PoliticsEisenhower's Secretary of State who built Cold War alliances and advocated massive nuclear retaliation.
Carol Dweck b. 1946Ideas & MediaStanford psychologist whose growth mindset research transformed how educators approach student potential.
Bob Dylan b. 1941Arts & LettersSongwriter whose poetic lyrics transformed folk, rock, and the role of popular music in public life.