A–Z index
All 973 people, filed by surname.
34 people
Federico Faggin b. 1941Technology & BuildingLed design of the Intel 4004 microprocessor and later co-founded Zilog.
Jerry Falwell 1933–2007Ideas & MediaPastor and political organizer who helped make conservative evangelicalism a major Republican constituency.
Paul Farmer 1959–2022Science & MedicinePhysician and anthropologist who built influential models for delivering high-quality care in impoverished communities.
Philo Farnsworth 1906–1971Technology & BuildingDemonstrated the first fully electronic television system using his image dissector tube.
David Farragut 1801–1870Government & PoliticsThe U.S. Navy's first admiral, whose victories at New Orleans and Mobile Bay were decisive in the Civil War.
Ronan Farrow b. 1987Ideas & MediaInvestigative reporter whose exposé of Harvey Weinstein helped launch the #MeToo movement.
Anthony Fauci b. 1940Science & MedicinePhysician-scientist who shaped federal responses to HIV/AIDS, emerging infections, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
William Faulkner 1897–1962Arts & LettersNobel laureate whose stream-of-consciousness novels set in Yoknapatawpha County reshaped American fiction.Chuck Feeney 1931–2023Business & LaborDuty Free Shops founder who gave away his entire fortune anonymously through Atlantic Philanthropies.
Enrico Fermi 1901–1954Science & MedicineItalian-American physicist who built the first nuclear reactor and won the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Richard Feynman 1918–1988Science & MedicineTheoretical physicist known for his work in quantum mechanics and his accessible teaching style.
Millard Fillmore 1800–1874Government & PoliticsThirteenth president who signed the Compromise of 1850 including the Fugitive Slave Act.
Ella Fitzgerald 1917–1996Arts & LettersSinger whose technical command and interpretations helped define jazz and the Great American Songbook.
F. Scott Fitzgerald 1896–1940Arts & LettersNovelist who captured the Jazz Age in The Great Gatsby, the defining novel of the American Dream.
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn 1890–1964Business & LaborOrganized IWW strikes and helped found the American Civil Liberties Union.
Betty Ford 1918–2011Government & PoliticsFirst Lady who spoke publicly about her breast cancer and her addiction and founded a treatment center.
Gerald Ford 1913–2006Government & Politics38th president who restored basic governmental stability after Watergate and controversially pardoned Richard Nixon.
Harrison Ford b. 1942Arts & LettersIconic actor whose roles as Han Solo and Indiana Jones made him a global superstar for decades.
Henry Ford 1863–1947Business & LaborIndustrialist who revolutionized manufacturing with the assembly line and made automobiles affordable.
John Ford 1894–1973Arts & LettersDirector of Westerns and Depression dramas who won four directing Academy Awards.
Nathan Bedford Forrest 1821–1877Crime & NotorietyConfederate cavalry commander and early Ku Klux Klan leader whose legacy remains central to debates over racial violence and commemoration.
Felix Frankfurter 1882–1965Government & PoliticsSupreme Court justice and Harvard professor whose jurisprudence and government service shaped twentieth-century American law.
Aretha Franklin 1942–2018Arts & LettersSinger whose gospel-rooted artistry made her a defining voice of soul music and Black cultural pride.
Benjamin Franklin 1706–1790Government & PoliticsPolymath who invented the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among many other creations.
Morgan Freeman b. 1937Arts & LettersAcademy Award-winning actor whose commanding voice and gravitas made him a beloved cultural figure.
John C. Frémont 1813–1890Frontier & SportExplorer and military officer whose five expeditions mapped much of the American West.
Henry Clay Frick 1849–1919Business & LaborDominated coke supply for steelmaking and ran Carnegie Steel during the Homestead strike.
Betty Friedan 1921–2006Reform & RightsAuthor of The Feminine Mystique and founding president of the National Organization for Women.
Milton Friedman 1912–2006Ideas & MediaNobel Prize-winning economist whose free-market ideas profoundly influenced American economic policy.
Robert Frost 1874–1963Arts & LettersFour-time Pulitzer Prize-winning poet whose rural New England verse became synonymous with American poetry.
Francis Fukuyama b. 1952Ideas & MediaPolitical scientist whose The End of History and the Last Man sparked global debate on liberal democracy.
Buckminster Fuller 1895–1983Technology & BuildingPopularized the geodesic dome and promoted resource-efficient structural design.
R. Buckminster Fuller 1895–1983Technology & BuildingDesigner and inventor who developed the geodesic dome and promoted sustainable design principles.
Robert Fulton 1765–1815Technology & BuildingEngineer and inventor whose steamboat Clermont revolutionized American river transportation.