Historical figures in New York City
The atlas holds 252 people and 669 moments here, from 1772 to 2023. The most recorded lives are Nikola Tesla, Andy Warhol and Isaac Asimov. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Performers, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
Benazir Bhutto
from 1971 to 2002
3 moments here
Pakistani political leader who served twice as prime minister, from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996.…
Bhumibol Adulyadej
in 1960
1 moment here
Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) was King of Thailand from 1946 to 2016. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he grew up partly in Thailand and Switzerland,…
Bob Marley
from 1968 to 1980
4 moments here
Jamaican singer, songwriter and guitarist whose work with the Wailers made reggae an international musical force.…
B. R. Ambedkar
from 1913 to 1916
3 moments here
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer, politician, principal architect of India’s Constitution, and a leading…
Carl Sagan
in 1934
1 moment here
American astronomer, planetary scientist, educator, author, and science communicator. Sagan studied at the University of Chicago, held appointments…
Carrie Fisher
from 1973 to 2009
4 moments here
Carrie Frances Fisher was an American actress, writer, and public advocate, internationally known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars films.…
Celia Cruz
from 1957 to 2003
7 moments here
Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American singer celebrated internationally as the “Queen of Salsa.” Born in Havana, she rose to fame with Sonora Matancera,…
Charles de Gaulle
in 1945
1 moment here
French army officer, leader of Free France during the Second World War, head of France's Provisional Government, and president of the French Fifth…
Charles Dickens
from 1842 to 1868
6 moments here
English novelist, journalist, editor, social reformer, actor and celebrated public reader. This chronology traces documented residences, workplaces,…
Charlie Chaplin
from 1918 to 1952
4 moments here
English actor, comedian, director, writer, producer and composer whose screen persona, the Tramp, became an international icon.…
Che Guevara
in 1964
2 moments here
Ernesto "Che" Guevara (1928–1967) was an Argentine physician, Marxist revolutionary, Cuban government official, diplomat, and guerrilla commander.…
Chien-Shiung Wu
from 1944 to 1997
3 moments here
Chinese-American experimental physicist whose career moved from Jiangsu and eastern China to California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York,…
Claude Simon
from 1968 to 1981
2 moments here
French novelist, painter, photographer, viticulturist, Resistance participant, and 1985 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate.…
Dalida
from 1958 to 1978
2 moments here
Dalida, born Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, was an Egyptian-born Italian-French singer, actress and model.…
Desmond Tutu
from 1973 to 2003
4 moments here
South African Anglican bishop, theologian, anti-apartheid activist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Archbishop of Cape Town, and chair of South Africa’s…
Diana, Princess of Wales
in 1989
1 moment here
Diana Frances Spencer (1961–1997) was Princess of Wales from 1981 until her divorce in 1996.…
Diego Rivera
from 1931 to 1933
4 moments here
Mexican painter and muralist Diego Rivera was a central figure in Mexican muralism. His documented movements include study in Mexico and Europe, work…
Dolores del Río
from 1938 to 1959
2 moments here
Mexican actress Dolores del Río (María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete) was a major star of silent-era Hollywood and the Golden Age of…
Dwight D. Eisenhower
from 1948 to 1960
3 moments here
Dwight D. Eisenhower was a United States Army officer, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II, and the 34th president of the United…
Ebrahim Raisi
from 2022 to 2023
3 moments here
Iranian cleric, judicial official, and politician who served as president of Iran from 2021 until his death in a helicopter crash in 2024.…
Edgar Allan Poe
from 1831 to 1846
2 moments here
American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic whose work helped shape Gothic fiction, detective fiction, and early science fiction.…
Edgar Lungu
from 2015 to 2018
4 moments here
Edgar Chagwa Lungu was a Zambian lawyer and politician who served as Zambia's sixth president from 2015 to 2021.…
Édith Piaf
from 1947 to 1959
9 moments here
French singer and lyricist Édith Giovanna Gassion, known as Édith Piaf, rose from street performance in Paris to international prominence in chanson…
Edmund Hillary
in 1959
1 moment here
New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, diplomat, and philanthropist. Hillary became internationally known after reaching Mount Everest’s summit with…
Moments
- 1867 Arrival in New York Jules Verne
- 1867 Stays at the Westminster Hotel Mark Twain
- 1867 Departs New York aboard Quaker City Mark Twain
- 1867 Returns to New York from the Quaker City voyage Mark Twain
- 1867 Reads at Steinway Hall Charles Dickens
- 1868 Reads at Plymouth Church Charles Dickens
- 1868 Departs New York aboard Russia Charles Dickens
- 1868 Gives final American reading Charles Dickens
- 1869 Moves to New York City Thomas Edison
- 1873 Lectures at Steinway Hall Mark Twain
- 1879 Speech at Steck Hall José Martí
- 1879 First Lincoln lecture Walt Whitman
- 1880 Meeting New York party leaders James A. Garfield
- 1880 New York with his son José Martí
- 1880 Returned to New York for Columbia Law School Theodore Roosevelt
- 1880 Arrival in New York Sarah Bernhardt
- 1880 Adrienne Lecouvreur at Booth's Theatre Sarah Bernhardt
- 1881 Return to New York from Venezuela José Martí
- 1881 Takes up residence in Manhattan Thomas Edison
- 1882 Arrival in New York on SS Arizona Oscar Wilde
- 1883 Return to New York for Vera Oscar Wilde
- 1884 Emigration and Edison Machine Works Nikola Tesla
- 1884 Birth in Manhattan Eleanor Roosevelt
- 1886 Dedicates the Statue of Liberty Grover Cleveland
- 1886 Works at Harrison lamp factory Thomas Edison
- 1887 Tesla Electric Company laboratory Nikola Tesla
- 1887 Lincoln lecture at Madison Square Theater Walt Whitman
- 1889 Grand Street laboratory Nikola Tesla
- 1889 Returns to private legal work in New York Grover Cleveland
- 1891 International Monetary Conference participation José Martí
- 1891 Wireless-lighting lecture Nikola Tesla
- 1891 Arrival in New York Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- 1891 Carnegie Hall opening concert Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- 1891 Conducting the Piano Concerto in New York Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- 1892 South Fifth Avenue laboratory Nikola Tesla
- 1892 Pre-convention correspondence in New York Grover Cleveland
- 1893 Meeting Rubén Darío at Hardman Hall José Martí
- 1893 Rents a room at The Players Mark Twain
- 1894 Visits Nikola Tesla's laboratory Mark Twain
- 1894 Founding Vedanta Society of New York Swami Vivekananda
- 1894 Visit to Bedloe's Island Helen Keller
- 1894 Wright-Humason School studies Helen Keller
- 1895 East Houston Street laboratory Nikola Tesla
- 1895 New York City Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt
- 1895 First visit to New York Winston Churchill
- 1898 Radio-controlled boat demonstration Nikola Tesla
- 1900 Waldorf-Astoria residence Nikola Tesla
- 1900 Returns to the United States Mark Twain
- 1901 Final North American lecture at Carnegie Hall Winston Churchill
- 1902 Debut at the Waldorf-Astoria Eleanor Roosevelt