A–Z index
All 973 people, filed by surname.
78 people
Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964Government & PoliticsCommander who led major Pacific campaigns, oversaw Japan’s occupation, and became central to the Korean War controversy.
Madam C. J. Walker 1867–1919Business & LaborEntrepreneur who built a major Black hair-care company and used her wealth for philanthropy and civil-rights causes.
Rachel Maddow b. 1973Ideas & MediaMSNBC host and author whose in-depth political analysis has made her a leading progressive voice.
Dolley Madison 1768–1849Government & PoliticsFirst Lady who built the political salon of early Washington and saved the Washington portrait in 1814.
James Madison 1751–1836Government & PoliticsFourth President and Father of the Constitution who co-authored the Federalist Papers.
Bernie Madoff 1938–2021Crime & NotorietyFinancier who ran the largest Ponzi scheme in history — costing investors tens of billions of dollars.
Madonna b. 1958Arts & LettersThe Queen of Pop who reshaped the music industry and became a symbol of female empowerment and reinvention.
Norman Mailer 1923–2007Arts & LettersNovelist and journalist who won two Pulitzer Prizes and helped establish literary nonfiction.
Malcolm X 1925–1965Reform & RightsCivil-rights leader whose critique of racism and advocacy of Black dignity reshaped American political thought.
Benoit Mandelbrot 1924–2010Science & MedicineDeveloped fractal geometry during a long research career at IBM and Yale.
Wilma Mankiller 1945–2010Reform & RightsFirst woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, known for institution-building and community development.
Horace Mann 1796–1859Ideas & MediaReformist who championed public education and is considered the father of the American public school system.
Charles Manson 1934–2017Crime & NotorietyCult leader whose followers’ murders became a lasting symbol of violence and the collapse of 1960s countercultural idealism.
Mickey Mantle 1931–1995Frontier & SportSwitch-hitting Yankees star whose power, championships, and celebrity made him an enduring icon of postwar baseball.Jacqueline Mars b. 1939Business & LaborHeiress and board member of Mars Inc., one of the world's largest privately held confectionery companies.
George C. Marshall 1880–1959Government & PoliticsArmy chief of staff who organized U.S. victory in World War II and later designed the Marshall Plan.
John Marshall 1755–1835Government & PoliticsChief justice who established judicial review and strengthened the Supreme Court and federal government.
Thurgood Marshall 1908–1993Government & PoliticsFirst African American Supreme Court Justice and lead attorney in Brown v. Board of Education.
Abraham Maslow 1908–1970Ideas & MediaProposed the hierarchy of needs and helped found humanistic psychology.
George Mason 1725–1792Government & PoliticsFounding-era statesman whose Virginia Declaration of Rights helped inspire the Bill of Rights.
John Mauchly 1907–1980Technology & BuildingCo-inventor of ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic digital computer.
Maria Goeppert Mayer 1906–1972Science & MedicinePhysicist and Nobel laureate who developed the nuclear shell model, a fundamental account of atomic nuclei.
Marissa Mayer b. 1975Technology & BuildingFormer Yahoo CEO and early Google engineer who was one of Silicon Valley's most prominent female executives.
Willie Mays 1931–2024Frontier & SportBaseball icon known as the Say Hey Kid, widely considered one of the greatest all-around players ever.
Christa McAuliffe 1948–1986Frontier & SportTeacher selected for the Teacher in Space program who died in the Challenger disaster.
John McCain 1936–2018Government & PoliticsSenator and war hero whose bipartisan spirit and military service defined his political career.
Cormac McCarthy 1933–2023Arts & LettersNovelist whose stark, violent prose in Blood Meridian and The Road earned him a Pulitzer Prize.
John McCarthy 1927–2011Technology & BuildingCoined the term artificial intelligence and created the Lisp programming language.
Joseph McCarthy 1908–1957Crime & NotorietySenator whose unsupported accusations and investigations gave “McCarthyism” its name and damaged civil liberties.
Barbara McClintock 1902–1992Science & MedicineCytogeneticist who discovered transposable elements and won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Mitch McConnell b. 1942Government & PoliticsLongest-serving Senate party leader who reshaped the federal judiciary through confirmation strategy.
Cyrus McCormick 1809–1884Technology & BuildingInventor of the mechanical reaper that transformed agriculture and fed a growing nation.
Frank McCourt 1930–2009Ideas & MediaPulitzer Prize-winning memoirist and New York City teacher whose Angela's Ashes became a global bestseller.
George McGovern 1922–2012Government & PoliticsSouth Dakota senator and 1972 presidential nominee who led opposition to the Vietnam War.
William McKinley 1843–1901Government & PoliticsTwenty-fifth president who led the Spanish-American War and overseas expansion before being assassinated.
Robert McNamara 1916–2009Government & PoliticsSecretary of Defense who applied systems analysis to the Pentagon and escalated the Vietnam War.
Aimee Semple McPherson 1890–1944Ideas & MediaEvangelist and media innovator who founded the Foursquare Church and pioneered religious broadcasting and celebrity ministry.
Timothy McVeigh 1968–2001Crime & NotorietyDomestic terrorist whose Oklahoma City bombing became one of the deadliest attacks in American history.
Margaret Mead 1901–1978Ideas & MediaCultural anthropologist whose studies of Pacific Island societies shaped 20th-century social science.
George G. Meade 1815–1872Government & PoliticsUnion general whose command victory at Gettysburg marked a turning point in the Civil War.
Russell Means 1939–2012Reform & RightsAmerican Indian Movement leader whose occupations drove Native activism into national view.
Deborah Meier b. 1931Ideas & MediaPioneer of small-school reform who founded Central Park East and won a MacArthur Genius Grant.
Andrew W. Mellon 1855–1937Business & LaborBanker and art collector whose foundation built the National Gallery of Art.
Herman Melville 1819–1891Arts & LettersNovelist whose Moby-Dick is considered one of the greatest works of American literature.
H.L. Mencken 1880–1956Ideas & MediaSatirist and cultural critic whose biting prose defined American journalism in the early 20th century.Thomas Merton 1915–1968Ideas & MediaTrappist monk and writer whose books popularized contemplative spirituality, social criticism, and interfaith dialogue.
Metacom 1638–1676Reform & RightsWampanoag leader whose war against New England colonies marked a decisive struggle over Indigenous sovereignty.
Robert Metcalfe b. 1946Technology & BuildingCo-invented Ethernet at Xerox PARC and founded 3Com to commercialize local area networking.
Harvey Milk 1930–1978Reform & RightsFirst openly gay elected official in California whose assassination made him a martyr for LGBTQ rights.
Arthur Miller 1915–2005Arts & LettersPlaywright whose Death of a Salesman and The Crucible are cornerstones of American drama.
Patsy Mink 1927–2002Reform & RightsFirst woman of color elected to Congress and a principal author and defender of Title IX.
Hyman Minsky 1919–1996Ideas & MediaFormulated the financial instability hypothesis explaining how stability breeds speculative crises.
Lucy Sprague Mitchell 1878–1967Ideas & MediaProgressive educator who founded Bank Street College and revolutionized early childhood education.
Maria Mitchell 1818–1889Science & MedicineFirst American woman professional astronomer who discovered a comet and taught at Vassar College.
Ralph Modjeski 1861–1940Technology & BuildingPolish-American bridge engineer who designed major spans including the Bay Bridge and Benjamin Franklin Bridge.
Thelonious Monk 1917–1982Arts & LettersPianist and composer whose distinctive harmonies, rhythms, and repertory became central to modern jazz.
James Monroe 1758–1831Government & PoliticsFifth president associated with the Monroe Doctrine and an era of territorial expansion and one-party dominance.
Marilyn Monroe 1926–1962Arts & LettersActress and cultural icon whose blend of vulnerability and glamour made her a symbol of Hollywood's golden age.Betty Moore 1929–2024Business & LaborCo-founder of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, one of the largest environmental philanthropies.
Gordon Moore 1929–2023Technology & BuildingCo-founder of Intel whose observation became Moore's Law, driving decades of semiconductor progress.
Garrett Morgan 1877–1963Technology & BuildingInventor who created the traffic signal and gas mask, saving countless lives.
J. P. Morgan 1837–1913Business & LaborBanking titan who stabilized the economy during the Panic of 1907 and shaped modern finance.
Julia Morgan 1872–1957Technology & BuildingFirst woman licensed as an architect in California and designer of Hearst Castle.
Toni Morrison 1931–2019Arts & LettersNobel laureate whose novels, including Beloved, explored the African American experience with profound lyricism.
Samuel Morse 1791–1872Technology & BuildingPainter and inventor who developed the telegraph and Morse code, enabling instant long-distance communication.
Robert Moses 1888–1981Technology & BuildingMaster builder whose roads, parks, and public works reshaped metropolitan New York while displacing communities and entrenching car dependence.
Robert Parris Moses 1935–2021Ideas & MediaCivil rights leader and math educator who founded the Algebra Project to empower poor students.
Dustin Moskovitz b. 1984Business & LaborFacebook co-founder who left to build Asana and became one of the youngest self-made billionaires.
Mother Jones 1837–1930Business & LaborOrganizer whose militant campaigns for miners and against child labor made her an icon of American labor.
Lucretia Mott 1793–1880Reform & RightsAbolitionist and women’s-rights organizer who helped convene the Seneca Falls Convention.
Muddy Waters 1913–1983Arts & LettersChicago bluesman who electrified Delta blues and supplied a foundation for rock music.
John Muir 1838–1914Reform & RightsNaturalist and organizer whose advocacy helped create national parks and the modern wilderness movement.
Rupert Murdoch b. 1931Ideas & MediaMedia mogul whose News Corp and Fox Corporation shaped global news and entertainment.
Audie Murphy 1925–1971Government & PoliticsMost decorated American soldier of World War II who later became a film actor.
Pauli Murray 1910–1985Reform & RightsLawyer and activist whose legal arguments laid groundwork for Brown v. Board and LGBTQ rights.
Edward R. Murrow 1908–1965Ideas & MediaBroadcast journalist whose reporting from London during WWII and confrontation with McCarthy set journalistic standards.
Story Musgrave b. 1935Frontier & SportNASA astronaut who flew on six Space Shuttle missions and performed the first Shuttle spacewalk.
Elon Musk b. 1971Technology & BuildingEngineer and entrepreneur whose companies have advanced electric vehicles, reusable rockets, and neural interfaces.