Historical figures in Los Angeles
The atlas holds 90 people and 209 moments here, from 1899 to 2024. The most recorded lives are Ronald Reagan, Jim Morrison and Alfred Hitchcock. Among them Performers, Writers and Musicians and Composers, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
Marlene Dietrich
from 1931 to 1943
4 moments here
German-American actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (Marie Magdalene Dietrich) was born in Berlin and achieved international fame through stage,…
Marlon Brando
from 1989 to 2004
2 moments here
American actor and activist whose stage and screen career ranged from Broadway in the 1940s to major films through the early 2000s.…
Martin Luther King Jr.
in 1965
1 moment here
American Baptist minister and civil-rights leader who advanced racial equality through nonviolent protest.…
Maya Angelou
in 1965
2 moments here
American memoirist, poet, performer, educator, and civil-rights activist. Her documented life moved from Missouri and Arkansas to California and New…
Mercedes Sosa
in 1995
1 moment here
Argentine folk singer and leading exponent of the nuevo cancionero movement, internationally known for interpreting Latin American popular song and…
Michael Jackson
in 2009
1 moment here
American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist whose career began with the Jackson 5 and developed into global solo stardom.…
Miriam Makeba
in 1959
1 moment here
South African singer, songwriter, actor, and anti-apartheid activist known as “Mama Africa.” Makeba’s career took her from Johannesburg and Pretoria…
Mohamed Morsi
in 1982
1 moment here
Egyptian engineer, university professor, Muslim Brotherhood politician, and Egypt’s fifth president, serving from 2012 until his removal in July…
Nelson Mandela
in 1990
1 moment here
South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, lawyer and statesman. Mandela helped lead the African National Congress, co-founded its armed wing,…
Ngô Đình Diệm
in 1957
1 moment here
Ngô Đình Diệm was a Vietnamese civil servant, nationalist politician, prime minister of the State of Vietnam, and first president of the Republic of…
Nikita Khrushchev
in 1959
1 moment here
Soviet Communist Party leader and chairman of the Council of Ministers. Khrushchev rose from industrial work in the Donbas through party posts in…
Octavio Paz
in 1916
1 moment here
Mexican poet, essayist, editor, and diplomat whose international postings and teaching appointments connected Mexico City, the United States, Europe,…
Olivia de Havilland
from 1934 to 1979
3 moments here
Olivia de Havilland was a British-American-French actress whose career ranged from California community theatre and Warner Bros.…
Olivia Hussey
from 1969 to 2024
4 moments here
British actress born in Argentina, best known for playing Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film Romeo and Juliet.…
Paramahansa Yogananda
from 1925 to 1952
5 moments here
Indian and American Hindu monk, yogi, teacher, and founder of Self-Realization Fellowship and Yogoda Satsanga Society of India.…
Paul Walker
from 1973 to 2006
5 moments here
Paul William Walker IV was an American actor best known for playing Brian O'Conner in the Fast & Furious franchise.…
P. L. Travers
in 1961
1 moment here
Pamela Lyndon Travers, born Helen Lyndon Goff, was an Australian-British writer, actress, journalist, and creator of the Mary Poppins books.…
Prince
from 1981 to 2008
5 moments here
Prince Rogers Nelson was an American singer, songwriter, musician, producer, actor, and filmmaker associated with the Minneapolis sound.…
Ravi Shankar
in 1971
1 moment here
Indian sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar (1920–2012) was a leading exponent of Hindustani classical music whose performances, teaching, recordings,…
Richard Feynman
from 1959 to 1988
4 moments here
American theoretical physicist known for foundational work in quantum electrodynamics, the path-integral formulation of quantum mechanics, and…
Robin Williams
from 1977 to 1990
4 moments here
Robin McLaurin Williams was an American actor and comedian, born in Chicago and raised in Illinois, Michigan, and California.…
Ronald Reagan
from 1937 to 2004
12 moments here
American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States.…
Salvador Dalí
in 1946
1 moment here
Spanish painter, sculptor, writer, designer, filmmaker, and leading exponent of Surrealism. Born in Figueres, Dalí trained in Madrid, joined the…
Selena
in 1994
1 moment here
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, known mononymously as Selena, was an American Tejano singer, songwriter, fashion designer, and business owner.…
Moments
- 1965 UCLA graduation and Venice Beach visit Jim Morrison
- 1965 Move back to Los Angeles Maya Angelou
- 1965 Witness to the Watts riots Maya Angelou
- 1965 Formation meeting with Ray Manzarek Jim Morrison
- 1965 Visits Watts after rebellion Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1965 World Pacific Studios demo Jim Morrison
- 1966 London Fog residency Jim Morrison
- 1966 Whisky a Go Go opening engagement Jim Morrison
- 1966 Whisky a Go Go firing Jim Morrison
- 1966 Death at St. Joseph Hospital Walt Disney
- 1967 Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute in Los Angeles Chinatown Bruce Lee
- 1968 Recording the '68 Comeback Special Elvis Presley
- 1968 Hollywood Bowl performance Jim Morrison
- 1969 Residence at 10050 Cielo Drive Olivia Hussey
- 1969 Los Angeles movie-deal visit Andy Warhol
- 1970 Los Angeles publicity trip Federico Fellini
- 1970 Jean Weigle Memorial Lecture Sydney Brenner
- 1970 Primal therapy in Los Angeles John Lennon
- 1971 L.A. Woman recording Jim Morrison
- 1971 Work on the Raga soundtrack Ravi Shankar
- 1972 Amazing Grace recording Aretha Franklin
- 1972 Home and studio near Inglewood Tina Turner
- 1972 Receives Honorary Academy Award Charlie Chaplin
- 1973 Lost Weekend in Los Angeles John Lennon
- 1973 Birth in Glendale Paul Walker
- 1973 Visit to Los Angeles Félix Houphouët-Boigny
- 1974 Caltech commencement address Richard Feynman
- 1974 Year at Caltech Stephen Hawking
- 1974 Troubadour incidents John Lennon
- 1975 Return to Hollywood for Cannon Joan Fontaine
- 1976 A Matter of Gravity tour stop in Los Angeles Katharine Hepburn
- 1977 Los Angeles comedy-club work Robin Williams
- 1978 Visiting student at USC Shinzo Abe
- 1979 Gone with the Wind anniversary tribute Olivia de Havilland
- 1979 U.S. visit to Los Angeles Ahmed Sékou Touré
- 1980 KBE papers presented at Universal Studios Alfred Hitchcock
- 1980 Los Angeles Music Center headline performance Teresa Teng
- 1980 Death at Bel Air home Alfred Hitchcock
- 1981 Rolling Stones opening appearance Prince
- 1982 Doctoral study at USC Mohamed Morsi
- 1982 Chuck Berry special at the Roxy Tina Turner
- 1982 Final U.S. concerts Freddie Mercury
- 1983 Lived in Los Angeles Douglas Adams
- 1983 Recorded The Works in Los Angeles Freddie Mercury
- 1984 Opens Los Angeles Olympics Ronald Reagan
- 1985 Purple Rain Tour with guest artists Prince
- 1985 Trip to Los Angeles for Tulum research Federico Fellini
- 1986 Co-hosting the 58th Academy Awards Robin Williams
- 1988 Final hospitalization and death Richard Feynman
- 1989 Connie Chung interview at home Marlon Brando