A–Z index
All 973 people, filed by surname.
32 people
William Howard Taft 1857–1930Government & PoliticsOnly person to serve as both president and Chief Justice of the United States.
Gay Talese b. 1932Ideas & MediaLiterary journalist whose immersive profiles in Esquire defined New Journalism.
Roger B. Taney 1777–1864Government & PoliticsChief justice whose Court shaped federalism but is principally remembered for the disastrous Dred Scott decision.
Ida Tarbell 1857–1944Ideas & MediaInvestigative journalist whose serial history of Standard Oil contributed to the company's antitrust breakup.
Diana Taurasi b. 1982Frontier & SportWNBA's all-time leading scorer and three-time Olympic gold medalist.Helen B. Taussig 1898–1986Science & MedicineFounder of pediatric cardiology whose work helped create the first successful treatment for blue-baby syndrome.
Frederick Winslow Taylor 1856–1915Technology & BuildingMechanical engineer who pioneered scientific management, reshaping industrial efficiency worldwide.Zachary Taylor 1784–1850Government & PoliticsWar hero elected twelfth president who opposed extending slavery into western territories.
Tecumseh 1768–1813Reform & RightsShawnee leader who sought a broad Indigenous confederacy to resist U.S. territorial expansion.
Edward Teller 1908–2003Science & MedicinePhysicist and advocate of the hydrogen bomb whose work and policy influence shaped Cold War science and defense.
Studs Terkel 1912–2008Arts & LettersOral historian and Chicago broadcaster who recorded working Americans in book-length interview collections.
Nikola Tesla 1856–1943Technology & BuildingSerbian-American inventor who developed alternating current electrical systems and numerous electrical innovations.
Peter Thiel b. 1967Technology & BuildingPayPal co-founder and first outside investor in Facebook whose contrarian views shaped Silicon Valley culture.
Clarence Thomas b. 1948Government & PoliticsLong-serving justice whose originalist opinions have strongly influenced modern conservative jurisprudence.
Helen Thomas 1920–2013Ideas & MediaPioneering White House correspondent who covered every president from Kennedy to Obama.
Dorothy Thompson 1893–1961Ideas & MediaColumnist and radio broadcaster who was one of the most influential women in American media.
Hunter S. Thompson 1937–2005Ideas & MediaPioneer of gonzo journalism whose Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas blurred reportage and literature.
Ken Thompson b. 1943Technology & BuildingCo-created Unix at Bell Labs and later co-designed the Go programming language.
Henry David Thoreau 1817–1862Reform & RightsWriter and philosopher whose works on nature, individual conscience, and civil disobedience influenced environmentalism and political protest.
Kip Thorne b. 1940Science & MedicineTheoretical physicist whose work on gravitational waves earned a Nobel Prize and inspired the film Interstellar.
Jim Thorpe 1887–1953Frontier & SportNative American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and excelled in multiple professional sports.
Strom Thurmond 1902–2003Government & PoliticsLong-serving South Carolina senator who ran as a segregationist Dixiecrat and later joined the Republican Party.
Charles Townes 1915–2015Science & MedicinePhysicist who invented the maser and co-invented the laser, earning a Nobel Prize.
Harry S. Truman 1884–1972Government & Politics33rd President who authorized the atomic bomb and implemented the Marshall Plan.
Donald Trump b. 1946Government & PoliticsBusinessman, media personality, and 45th and 47th president whose populist movement transformed American politics.
Sojourner Truth 1797–1883Reform & RightsAbolitionist and women's rights activist whose Ain't I a Woman? speech became a rallying cry for equality.
Harriet Tubman 1822–1913Reform & RightsAbolitionist who escaped slavery and led hundreds to freedom via the Underground Railroad.
Nat Turner 1800–1831Reform & RightsLed the 1831 Virginia slave rebellion that prompted harsher slave codes across the South.
Ted Turner 1938–2026Ideas & MediaMedia mogul who donated a billion dollars to the United Nations Foundation and championed environmental causes.
Mark Twain 1835–1910Arts & LettersAuthor of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, often called the father of American literature.
John Tyler 1790–1862Government & PoliticsFirst vice president to assume the presidency on a president's death and to annex Texas.
Neil deGrasse Tyson b. 1958Science & MedicineAstrophysicist and science communicator who has made cosmology accessible to millions through television.