A–Z index
All 1,176 people, filed by surname.
31 people
Thomas Eakins 1844–1916Arts & LettersRealist painter celebrated for his anatomically precise portraits and scenes of athletes and surgeons.
Charles Eames 1907–1978Arts & LettersDesigner who with Ray Eames produced molded plywood and fiberglass furniture for American manufacturers.
Amelia Earhart 1897–1937Frontier & SportAviation pioneer and the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Sylvia Earle b. 1935Frontier & SportMarine biologist and oceanographer known as Her Deepness for her record-breaking underwater explorations.
Dale Earnhardt 1951–2001Frontier & SportSeven-time NASCAR champion whose aggressive style and death at Daytona reshaped stock-car racing and safety.
George Eastman 1854–1932Business & LaborFounder of Kodak who made photography affordable and created a model of mass consumer technology.
Clint Eastwood b. 1930Arts & LettersActor and director whose Westerns and gritty dramas, from Dirty Harry to Unforgiven, defined American masculinity.
Roger Ebert 1942–2013Ideas & MediaThe first film critic to win a Pulitzer, half of the most famous thumbs in America, and a writer who kept working after cancer took his voice.
J. Presper Eckert 1919–1995Technology & BuildingCo-inventor of ENIAC and pioneer of electronic computing alongside John Mauchly.
Mary Baker Eddy 1821–1910Ideas & MediaFounder of Christian Science and a major female religious leader and publisher.
Thomas Edison 1847–1931Technology & BuildingInventor and scientist whose research laboratory model and electrical innovations transformed modern life.Jonathan Edwards 1703–1758Ideas & MediaTheologian and preacher whose role in the Great Awakening shaped American evangelical religion.
Albert Einstein 1879–1955Science & MedicineGerman-American theoretical physicist whose theory of relativity revolutionized modern physics.
Dwight D. Eisenhower 1890–1969Government & Politics34th President and Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II.
Elijah Muhammad 1897–1975Ideas & MediaLeader who built the Nation of Islam into a major religious and Black nationalist movement.
Gertrude B. Elion 1918–1999Science & MedicinePharmacologist whose rational drug-design work produced treatments for leukemia, infections, gout, and organ rejection.
Charles W. Eliot 1834–1926Ideas & MediaRebuilt Harvard into the first modern American research university and gave undergraduates the elective system.
Duke Ellington 1899–1974Arts & LettersComposer and bandleader who expanded the artistic ambition and vocabulary of jazz.
Larry Ellison b. 1944Business & LaborCo-founder of Oracle Corporation, a pioneer in database software and enterprise computing.
Ralph Ellison 1913–1994Arts & LettersAuthor of Invisible Man, a landmark exploration of race, identity, and democracy.
Daniel Ellsberg 1931–2023Reform & RightsLeaked the Pentagon Papers and put the government's own account of Vietnam on the record.
Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803–1882Arts & LettersEssayist and philosopher who led the Transcendentalist movement and shaped American intellectual thought.
Eminem b. 1972Arts & LettersBest-selling rapper in history, and the one who forced the argument about who hip-hop belongs to.
Douglas Engelbart 1925–2013Technology & BuildingEngineer who invented the computer mouse and demonstrated interactive computing in 1968.
Jeffrey Epstein 1953–2019Crime & NotorietyFinancier and convicted sex offender whose 2008 plea deal became a national scandal.
John Ericsson 1803–1889Technology & BuildingSwedish-American engineer who designed the ironclad USS Monitor, revolutionizing naval warfare.
Ahmet Ertegun 1923–2006Arts & LettersCo-founder of Atlantic Records
Jaime Escalante 1930–2010Ideas & MediaMath teacher who inspired underprivileged students in East Los Angeles to excel in advanced calculus.
Ronald Evans 1933–1990Frontier & SportApollo 17 command module pilot who holds the record for most time in lunar orbit.
Walker Evans 1903–1975Arts & LettersPhotographer of the Depression-era American South
Medgar Evers 1925–1963Reform & RightsNAACP field secretary whose 1963 assassination galvanized the civil rights movement.