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

1. Henry David Thoreau

   in 1843

   1 moment here

   American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher associated with transcendentalism. Thoreau lived chiefly in and around Concord, Massachusetts,…

2. Henry Ford

   from 1915 to 1916

   3 moments here

   American industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company. Ford grew up in rural Michigan, worked in Detroit engineering and machine shops, developed…

3. Herbert Hoover

   from 1952 to 1964

   2 moments here

   Herbert Clark Hoover was an American mining engineer, international relief administrator, U.S.…

4. Hideki Yukawa

   from 1939 to 1949

   2 moments here

   Japanese theoretical physicist and the first Japanese Nobel laureate, awarded the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physics for predicting mesons.…

5. Ho Chi Minh

   in 1912

   1 moment here

   Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, born Nguyễn Sinh Cung, who led the Việt Minh, proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, and…

6. Hugo Chávez

   from 1999 to 2006

   2 moments here

   Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan army officer and politician who led the failed February 1992 coup attempt, became president of Venezuela in…

7. Igor Stravinsky

   from 1948 to 1971

   3 moments here

   Russian-born composer, conductor, and pianist who became a French citizen in 1934 and an American citizen in 1945.…

8. I. M. Pei

   from 1948 to 2019

   2 moments here

   Ieoh Ming Pei was a Chinese-American architect whose work ranged from U.S. civic and cultural buildings to major projects in China, France, and the…

9. Indira Gandhi

   from 1968 to 1983

   3 moments here

   Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was an Indian stateswoman who served as prime minister from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.…

10. Ingmar Bergman

    in 2003

    1 moment here

    Swedish filmmaker, screenwriter, theatre director, theatre manager and author. Bergman’s career moved between Stockholm’s student and professional…

11. Isaac Asimov

    from 1923 to 1992

    12 moments here

    American writer and biochemist best known for science fiction, popular-science writing, and the Foundation and Robot series.…

12. Islam Karimov

    from 2000 to 2010

    3 moments here

    Uzbek political leader who became first secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan in 1989 and served as Uzbekistan’s first president from…

13. Italo Calvino

    from 1959 to 1983

    2 moments here

    Italian novelist, short-story writer, editor, journalist, and member of Oulipo. Born in Cuba, raised chiefly in Sanremo, and active across Italy,…

14. James A. Garfield

    in 1880

    1 moment here

    James Abram Garfield was an Ohio educator, Union Army general, U.S. representative, and the 20th president of the United States.…

15. James Buchanan

    in 1860

    1 moment here

    James Buchanan Jr. was an American lawyer, diplomat, senator, secretary of state, and the fifteenth president of the United States.…

16. James K. Polk

    in 1847

    1 moment here

    James Knox Polk was the eleventh president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. Born in North Carolina and raised largely in Tennessee,…

17. James Madison

    from 1785 to 1789

    4 moments here

    James Madison (1751–1836) was a Virginia planter, revolutionary politician, delegate to the Continental and Confederation congresses, architect of…

18. James Monroe

    from 1786 to 1831

    4 moments here

    James Monroe was an American Revolutionary War officer, Virginia politician, diplomat, secretary of state and war, and fifth president of the United…

19. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar

    from 1981 to 1991

    5 moments here

    Peruvian diplomat and politician who became the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations (1982–1991).…

20. Jawaharlal Nehru

    in 1960

    1 moment here

    Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and statesman who became independent India’s first prime minister, serving from 15 August 1947 until his…

21. Jiddu Krishnamurti

    from 1930 to 1985

    6 moments here

    Indian philosopher, speaker, and writer. Raised within the Theosophical Society, he became head of the Order of the Star in the East, dissolved it at…

22. Jim Morrison

    in 1967

    1 moment here

    James Douglas “Jim” Morrison was an American singer, songwriter, poet, and lead vocalist of the Doors.…

23. Jimmy Carter

    in 1976

    1 moment here

    James Earl Carter Jr. was an American naval officer, Georgia state senator and governor, the 39th president of the United States, and a…

24. Joan Fontaine

    from 1954 to 1961

    2 moments here

    British-American actress Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland, professionally Joan Fontaine, was an Academy Award-winning performer known especially for…

Moments

1. 1923 Immigration arrival in the United States Isaac Asimov
2. 1923 World Court address to Associated Press Warren G. Harding
3. 1924 Educational-reform lecture at Columbia Gabriela Mistral
4. 1924 Returns publicly at Democratic convention Franklin Delano Roosevelt
5. 1924 New York engagement with Fletcher Henderson Louis Armstrong
6. 1925 Attempted writing career in New York John Steinbeck
7. 1927 Relocated to Riverdale John F. Kennedy
8. 1928 Family home in the Bronx Stanley Kubrick
9. 1928 Oswald negotiation trip Walt Disney
10. 1928 Ticker-tape parade Amelia Earhart
11. 1928 Birth at Lying-In Hospital Stanley Kubrick
12. 1928 Broadway debut in These Days Katharine Hepburn
13. 1930 Courses and lectures at Barnard Gabriela Mistral
14. 1930 Visit to New York Henri Matisse
15. 1930 Lecture tour in New York City Jiddu Krishnamurti
16. 1930 Attends Madison Square Garden Hanukkah celebration Albert Einstein
17. 1930 Attends Metropolitan Opera Albert Einstein
18. 1930 Returns to New York Albert Einstein
19. 1930 Tours Riverside Church Albert Einstein
20. 1931 Museum of Modern Art visit Frida Kahlo
21. 1931 Attends New York City Lights premiere Charlie Chaplin
22. 1931 Departs New York on longest journey Charlie Chaplin
23. 1931 World Conference on Work for the Blind Helen Keller
24. 1931 Death at St. Vincent's Hospital Kahlil Gibran
25. 1932 Foreign-missions address at the Hotel Astor Pearl S. Buck
26. 1932 Opening of The Warrior's Husband Katharine Hepburn
27. 1933 Lecture at the Metropolitan Opera House George Bernard Shaw
28. 1933 Return to New York for Rockefeller Center work Frida Kahlo
29. 1933 The Lake opens at the Martin Beck Theatre Katharine Hepburn
30. 1934 Boys High School literary-journal publication Isaac Asimov
31. 1934 Hotel New Yorker residence Nikola Tesla
32. 1934 Birth in Bensonhurst Carl Sagan
33. 1934 Makes first New York visit Salvador Dalí
34. 1935 Student at Seth Low Junior College Isaac Asimov
35. 1935 Arrival in New York Kwame Nkrumah
36. 1937 Order of the White Lion ceremony Nikola Tesla
37. 1938 First visit to Astounding's publisher Isaac Asimov
38. 1938 First voyage to New York Alfred Hitchcock
39. 1938 Honorary doctorate at Columbia University Thomas Mann
40. 1938 First solo exhibition in New York Frida Kahlo
41. 1939 Emigration arrival in New York Enrico Fermi
42. 1939 First U.S. fission experiment Enrico Fermi
43. 1939 Return voyage to New York Frida Kahlo
44. 1939 Disembarkation in New York Hideki Yukawa
45. 1939 Bachelor's degree at Columbia Isaac Asimov
46. 1939 The Philadelphia Story opens on Broadway Katharine Hepburn
47. 1939 Attendance at the first World Science Fiction Convention Isaac Asimov
48. 1939 The Wizard of Oz New York premiere Judy Garland
49. 1940 MoMA retrospective installation Frank Lloyd Wright
50. 1940 Arrival in New York Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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