A–Z index
All 973 people, filed by surname.
52 people
John Kenneth Galbraith 1908–2006Ideas & MediaEconomist and public intellectual whose The Affluent Society critiqued American consumerism.
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet 1787–1851Ideas & MediaFounded the first permanent American school for deaf students.
Howard Gardner b. 1943Ideas & MediaDevelopmental psychologist whose theory of multiple intelligences transformed educational philosophy.
James A. Garfield 1831–1881Government & PoliticsTwentieth president assassinated months into office prompting federal civil service reform.
Judy Garland 1922–1969Arts & LettersActress and singer best known for The Wizard of Oz, whose life and talent became emblematic of Hollywood.
William Lloyd Garrison 1805–1879Reform & RightsEditor of The Liberator and founder of the American Anti-Slavery Society.
Bill Gates b. 1955Technology & BuildingCo-founder of Microsoft who, through the Gates Foundation, has donated billions to global health and education.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. b. 1950Ideas & MediaLiterary critic and Harvard professor who has shaped African American studies and popularized genealogy.
Melinda French Gates b. 1964Business & LaborPhilanthropist and former co-chair of the Gates Foundation focused on women's empowerment and global health.
Atul Gawande b. 1965Science & MedicineSurgeon and writer who popularized surgical checklists and led global health work at USAID.
Marvin Gaye 1939–1984Arts & LettersSinger-songwriter whose Motown recordings expanded soul music through intimacy, political commentary, and studio experimentation.
Lou Gehrig 1903–1941Frontier & SportYankees star whose durability, performance, and public farewell became enduring symbols of courage.
Frank Gehry 1929–2025Technology & BuildingDeveloped a sculptural architectural language seen in the Walt Disney Concert Hall and other landmarks.
Murray Gell-Mann 1929–2019Science & MedicineTheoretical physicist who discovered quarks and won the Nobel Prize for his standard model of particle physics.
Henry George 1839–1897Ideas & MediaArgued for the single tax on land values in Progress and Poverty.
Geronimo 1829–1909Reform & RightsApache leader whose prolonged resistance became a powerful symbol of Indigenous opposition to U.S. expansion.
George Gershwin 1898–1937Arts & LettersComposer who fused jazz, popular song, Broadway, and concert music into a distinctly American style.
Amadeo Giannini 1870–1949Business & LaborFounded Bank of Italy and grew it into Bank of America by lending to ordinary depositors.
Josiah Willard Gibbs 1839–1903Science & MedicineFounded chemical thermodynamics and statistical mechanics through his work on heterogeneous equilibrium at Yale.
Althea Gibson 1927–2003Frontier & SportTennis champion who broke the sport's color barrier and became the first Black player to win major singles titles.
Newt Gingrich b. 1943Government & PoliticsSpeaker who engineered the 1994 Republican House majority and the Contract with America agenda.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1933–2020Government & PoliticsSupreme Court Justice whose advocacy for gender equality made her a cultural icon.
Malcolm Gladwell b. 1963Ideas & MediaStaff writer for The New Yorker whose books on social science became publishing phenomena.
John Glenn 1921–2016Frontier & SportFirst American to orbit Earth and later the oldest person to fly in space at age 77.
Robert Goddard 1882–1945Technology & BuildingPhysicist and engineer who built the first liquid-fueled rocket, laying the foundation for space exploration.
Robert H. Goddard 1882–1945Technology & BuildingBuilt and launched the first liquid-fueled rocket and patented foundational rocket propulsion methods.
Kurt Gödel 1906–1978Science & MedicineProved the incompleteness theorems and spent his later career at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Joseph Goldberger 1874–1929Science & MedicineShowed that pellagra was a dietary deficiency rather than an infectious disease.
Emma Goldman 1869–1940Reform & RightsAnarchist orator and editor whose free-speech and birth-control agitation led to her 1919 deportation.
Barry Goldwater 1909–1998Government & PoliticsSenator and presidential nominee whose 1964 campaign helped create the modern conservative movement.
Samuel Gompers 1850–1924Business & LaborFounding leader of the American Federation of Labor who established durable craft-union organization.
Andrew Goodman 1943–1964Reform & RightsCivil rights volunteer killed alongside James Chaney and Michael Schwerner in Mississippi in 1964.
Charles Goodyear 1800–1860Technology & BuildingSelf-taught chemist who discovered the vulcanization process that made rubber commercially viable.
Al Gore b. 1948Government & PoliticsVice president and 2000 presidential candidate who became a leading advocate for climate policy.
Neil Gorsuch b. 1967Government & PoliticsSupreme Court justice known for textualist statutory interpretation and skepticism of agency deference.
Jay Gould 1836–1892Business & LaborControlled major railroad and telegraph systems through aggressive stock manipulation.
Stephen Jay Gould 1941–2002Science & MedicinePaleontologist and essayist who advanced punctuated equilibrium and became a leading public interpreter of evolution.
Benjamin Graham 1894–1976Business & LaborEstablished value investing and securities analysis as a professional discipline.
Billy Graham 1918–2018Ideas & MediaEvangelist whose mass crusades, media reach, and presidential relationships made him a defining figure in modern American Protestantism.
Katharine Graham 1917–2001Ideas & MediaPublisher who strengthened The Washington Post and backed its reporting on the Pentagon Papers and Watergate.
Temple Grandin b. 1947Reform & RightsAnimal scientist whose livestock handling designs reshaped American slaughterhouse welfare standards.
Ulysses S. Grant 1822–1885Government & Politics18th President and Union Army general whose leadership was decisive in winning the Civil War.
Horace Greeley 1811–1872Ideas & MediaFounding editor of the New-York Tribune whose editorials shaped antebellum and Reconstruction-era debate.
Nathanael Greene 1742–1786Government & PoliticsContinental Army general whose Southern Campaign strategy helped exhaust British forces and secure American independence.
Alan Greenspan 1926–2026Ideas & MediaChaired the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006 across several financial crises.
Wayne Gretzky b. 1961Frontier & SportHockey legend known as The Great One, holding the most records in NHL history.Ken Griffin b. 1968Business & LaborHedge fund manager who founded Citadel and became one of the most successful investors in history.
Gus Grissom 1926–1967Frontier & SportOne of the original Mercury Seven astronauts who died in the Apollo 1 fire.
Andrew Grove 1936–2016Business & LaborLed Intel through its shift to microprocessors and shaped American technology management practice.
Andy Grove 1936–2016Business & LaborIntel leader who helped make microprocessors central to computing and shaped Silicon Valley management culture.
Solomon R. Guggenheim 1861–1949Business & LaborIndustrialist whose foundation established the Guggenheim Museum of modern art.
Woody Guthrie 1912–1967Arts & LettersDust Bowl balladeer whose songs shaped American folk and protest music for later generations.