Historical figures in Philadelphia
The atlas holds 58 people and 105 moments here, from 1723 to 2023. The most recorded lives are Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Walt Whitman. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Scientists, across the Cold War and the Space Age.
Notable people
Abraham Lincoln
in 1861
1 moment here
American lawyer, Illinois legislator, congressman, and sixteenth president of the United States.…
Alan MacDiarmid
from 1956 to 2007
2 moments here
New Zealand-American chemist and 2000 Nobel laureate in Chemistry, known for co-developing conductive polymers.…
Alexander Graham Bell
in 1876
1 moment here
Scottish-born Canadian-American inventor, scientist, teacher of the deaf, and engineer best known for patenting the first practical telephone.…
Alexander Hamilton
from 1787 to 1791
3 moments here
American statesman, lawyer, revolutionary officer, constitutional convention delegate, and first U.S. secretary of the treasury.…
Astrud Gilberto
from 1989 to 2023
3 moments here
Brazilian-American singer and songwriter best known for her English-language vocals on “The Girl from Ipanema.” Born in Salvador, she grew up in Rio…
Benjamin Franklin
from 1723 to 1790
9 moments here
American printer, scientist, civic leader, colonial agent, revolutionary statesman, and diplomat.…
Bertrand Russell
in 1941
1 moment here
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, was an English philosopher, mathematician, logician, writer, and public campaigner.…
Charles Dickens
from 1842 to 1868
2 moments here
English novelist, journalist, editor, social reformer, actor and celebrated public reader. This chronology traces documented residences, workplaces,…
Dmitri Mendeleev
in 1876
1 moment here
Russian chemist Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev formulated the periodic law and produced a foundational periodic table.…
Dorothy Hodgkin
in 1970
1 moment here
English chemist and X-ray crystallographer Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin determined major biomolecular structures including penicillin, vitamin B12,…
Edgar Allan Poe
from 1838 to 1844
4 moments here
American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic whose work helped shape Gothic fiction, detective fiction, and early science fiction.…
Emily Dickinson
in 1855
1 moment here
American poet Emily Elizabeth Dickinson spent most of her life in Amherst, Massachusetts, with documented childhood schooling, a brief Boston…
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
from 1936 to 1944
2 moments here
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as New York state senator, assistant secretary of the Navy,…
F. W. de Klerk
in 1993
1 moment here
South African lawyer and National Party politician who served as State President of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994…
George Washington
from 1775 to 1793
6 moments here
George Washington was a Virginia surveyor, planter, military commander, revolutionary leader, constitutional statesman, and the first president of…
Gerald Ford
from 1943 to 2000
3 moments here
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 after having served as…
Golda Meir
in 1918
1 moment here
Golda Meir was an Israeli political leader who served as Israel’s prime minister from 1969 to 1974.…
Grace Kelly
from 1929 to 1947
3 moments here
American actress Grace Patricia Kelly became an internationally prominent film star in the early 1950s, then Princess of Monaco after her 1956…
Helen Keller
in 1931
1 moment here
Helen Adams Keller was an American deafblind author, lecturer, disability-rights advocate, and political activist.…
Henri Matisse
in 1930
1 moment here
French painter, sculptor, draughtsman, printmaker, and major figure of modern art. Born in Le Cateau-Cambresis, Matisse trained and worked…
Henry David Thoreau
in 1854
1 moment here
American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher associated with transcendentalism. Thoreau lived chiefly in and around Concord, Massachusetts,…
Herbert Hoover
in 1940
1 moment here
Herbert Clark Hoover was an American mining engineer, international relief administrator, U.S.…
I. M. Pei
in 1935
1 moment 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…
Isaac Asimov
in 1942
1 moment here
American writer and biochemist best known for science fiction, popular-science writing, and the Foundation and Robot series.…
Moments
- 1723 Move to Philadelphia Benjamin Franklin
- 1727 Junto founded Benjamin Franklin
- 1729 Pennsylvania Gazette publisher Benjamin Franklin
- 1762 Return to Philadelphia Benjamin Franklin
- 1774 First Continental Congress John Adams
- 1775 Returned for Second Continental Congress John Adams
- 1775 Return from Britain Benjamin Franklin
- 1775 Joins Congress in Philadelphia George Washington
- 1776 Declaration committee Benjamin Franklin
- 1776 Advocated independence in Congress John Adams
- 1776 Drafted Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson
- 1776 Continental Congress delegate in Philadelphia Thomas Jefferson
- 1778 Residence with Joseph Jones after resignation James Monroe
- 1780 Continental Congress service in Philadelphia James Madison
- 1785 Arrival home in Philadelphia Benjamin Franklin
- 1785 Visit to Philadelphia James Madison
- 1787 Constitutional Convention Benjamin Franklin
- 1787 Arrives for the Constitutional Convention George Washington
- 1787 Constitutional Convention delegate James Madison
- 1787 Early arrival for the Constitutional Convention James Madison
- 1787 Constitutional Convention speech Alexander Hamilton
- 1787 Signing the Constitution Alexander Hamilton
- 1789 Reaches Philadelphia on inaugural journey George Washington
- 1790 Medical student in Philadelphia William Henry Harrison
- 1790 Death in Philadelphia Benjamin Franklin
- 1790 Lives in the Philadelphia President's House George Washington
- 1791 Philadelphia residence during Reynolds affair Alexander Hamilton
- 1791 Leaves Philadelphia on Southern Tour George Washington
- 1793 Takes second presidential oath George Washington
- 1797 Occupied President's House John Adams
- 1807 Visits Philadelphia Simón Bolívar
- 1812 Citizenship visit to Philadelphia John James Audubon
- 1824 Publisher-seeking return to Philadelphia John James Audubon
- 1836 Reception arrival in Philadelphia William Henry Harrison
- 1838 Relocation to Philadelphia Edgar Allan Poe
- 1842 Meeting Charles Dickens Edgar Allan Poe
- 1842 Tours Eastern State Penitentiary Charles Dickens
- 1843 Residence at 530 North Seventh Street Edgar Allan Poe
- 1843 Arrival in Philadelphia on Missouri expedition John James Audubon
- 1844 Departure for New York Edgar Allan Poe
- 1847 Northern tour in Philadelphia James K. Polk
- 1847 Return through Philadelphia James K. Polk
- 1853 Works as a printer in Philadelphia Mark Twain
- 1854 Philadelphia and New York journey Henry David Thoreau
- 1854 Begins Topics of Modern Times lectures Ralph Waldo Emerson
- 1855 Family visit and meeting Charles Wadsworth Emily Dickinson
- 1861 Visited Independence Hall Abraham Lincoln
- 1868 Reads in Philadelphia Charles Dickens
- 1873 Move to Camden after stroke Walt Whitman
- 1876 Centennial Exposition visit Dmitri Mendeleev