Historical figures in San Francisco
The atlas holds 73 people and 138 moments here, from 1852 to 2024. The most recorded lives are Steve Jobs, Jack London and Robin Williams. Among them Writers, Performers and Political Leaders, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
Jiang Zemin
in 1993
1 moment here
Jiang Zemin was a Chinese electrical engineer and politician who served as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party from 1989 to 2002,…
Jiddu Krishnamurti
from 1973 to 1975
2 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…
Jim Morrison
from 1957 to 1967
2 moments here
James Douglas “Jim” Morrison was an American singer, songwriter, poet, and lead vocalist of the Doors.…
John F. Kennedy
from 1944 to 1945
2 moments here
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was an American naval officer, journalist, congressman, senator, and the 35th president of the United States.…
John Lennon
in 1966
1 moment here
English musician, songwriter, artist and peace activist; co-founder of the Beatles. This chronology records documented physical presence at…
José Rizal
in 1888
1 moment here
Filipino nationalist, writer, physician, and polymath whose reform advocacy, novels, exile, trial, and execution made him a central figure in…
Kenzaburō Ōe
from 1983 to 1999
2 moments here
Japanese novelist, short-story writer, essayist, Nobel laureate, and prominent pacifist and anti-nuclear campaigner.…
Lee Kuan Yew
in 1967
1 moment here
Singaporean barrister and statesman who co-founded the People’s Action Party and served as Singapore’s first prime minister from 1959 to 1990.…
Liliʻuokalani
from 1878 to 1887
2 moments here
Liliʻuokalani was the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, reigning from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the monarchy on January…
Marilyn Monroe
in 1954
1 moment here
American actress and model born Norma Jeane Mortenson. This chronology maps verified places where Monroe lived, worked, traveled, performed, filmed,…
Mark Twain
from 1864 to 1868
2 moments here
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known as Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, journalist, lecturer, riverboat pilot, and traveler.…
Maurice Wilkins
in 1944
1 moment here
New Zealand-born British physicist and biophysicist whose career ran from solid-state physics and wartime atomic research to X-ray diffraction…
Maya Angelou
from 1942 to 1973
4 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…
Miriam Makeba
in 1964
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…
Nawal El Saadawi
in 2002
1 moment here
Egyptian physician, psychiatrist, feminist writer, and activist whose life and work challenged patriarchal authority, gender-based violence,…
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,…
Octavio Paz
in 1943
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 1919 to 1951
2 moments here
Olivia de Havilland was a British-American-French actress whose career ranged from California community theatre and Warner Bros.…
Oscar Wilde
in 1882
1 moment here
Irish author, poet, playwright, critic, and leading figure in late nineteenth-century aestheticism.…
Park Chung Hee
in 1969
1 moment here
Park Chung-hee was a South Korean army officer and politician who led the May 16 coup in 1961 and served as president from 1963 until his…
Pedro II of Brazil
in 1876
1 moment here
Pedro II (1825–1891) was the second and final emperor of Brazil, reigning from 1831 until the 1889 coup that abolished the monarchy.…
Prince
from 1977 to 2016
2 moments here
Prince Rogers Nelson was an American singer, songwriter, musician, producer, actor, and filmmaker associated with the Minneapolis sound.…
Rabindranath Tagore
in 1916
1 moment here
Bengali poet, novelist, dramatist, composer, painter, philosopher, social reformer, and educationist.…
Moments
- 1940 Medical treatment in San Francisco Frida Kahlo
- 1940 Birth at Jackson Street Hospital Bruce Lee
- 1942 Move to Oakland Maya Angelou
- 1942 Stationed at Fort Mason Ronald Reagan
- 1943 Study at the University of California Octavio Paz
- 1943 Civic Auditorium speech Soong Mei-ling
- 1944 Arrived back in San Francisco John F. Kennedy
- 1944 Manhattan Project work at Berkeley Maurice Wilkins
- 1944 San Francisco streetcar conductor Maya Angelou
- 1944 Alameda Naval Air Station duty Richard Nixon
- 1945 Covered the United Nations conference John F. Kennedy
- 1945 United Nations Charter Conference address Harry S. Truman
- 1948 Visit to Berkeley Hideki Yukawa
- 1949 Transfer to UC Berkeley Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
- 1950 Research appointment at UC Berkeley Tsung-Dao Lee
- 1950 San Francisco address after Wake conference Harry S. Truman
- 1951 Candida run at the Geary Theatre Olivia de Havilland
- 1954 Married Joe DiMaggio in San Francisco Marilyn Monroe
- 1954 Purple Onion performer Maya Angelou
- 1954 Postdoctoral work in Berkeley Sydney Brenner
- 1954 Post-state-visit stop in San Francisco Syngman Rhee
- 1955 Birth in San Francisco Steve Jobs
- 1957 High school attendance in Alameda Jim Morrison
- 1959 Arrival to stay in San Francisco Bruce Lee
- 1960 Miller Fellowship at UC Berkeley Carl Sagan
- 1964 Move to Oakland and second studio Bruce Lee
- 1964 Sun Sing Theatre presentation Bruce Lee
- 1964 Republican National Convention address Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1964 San Francisco performance Miriam Makeba
- 1966 Final Beatles paid concert John Lennon
- 1967 Family move to Tiburon Robin Williams
- 1967 Matrix Club performances Jim Morrison
- 1967 American tour stop in San Francisco Lee Kuan Yew
- 1968 American College of Cardiology address Christiaan Barnard
- 1969 Visit to Alcatraz occupation Anthony Quinn
- 1969 Graduation from Redwood High School Robin Williams
- 1969 Official visit to San Francisco Park Chung Hee
- 1971 Headline performance at Fillmore West Aretha Franklin
- 1973 Talk at Masonic Auditorium Jiddu Krishnamurti
- 1973 Marriage to Paul du Feu Maya Angelou
- 1973 Visit to San Francisco Félix Houphouët-Boigny
- 1974 Summer work at The Trident Robin Williams
- 1975 Talks in San Francisco Jiddu Krishnamurti
- 1975 San Francisco assassination attempt Gerald Ford
- 1976 First stand-up performance Robin Williams
- 1976 Lectures at UC Berkeley Sydney Brenner
- 1976 Second Carter–Ford debate Gerald Ford
- 1977 Move to Sausalito for For You Prince
- 1977 Apple II debut at West Coast Computer Faire Steve Jobs
- 1978 Meeting George Lucas about Kagemusha Akira Kurosawa