Historical figures in Seattle
The atlas holds 18 people and 30 moments here, from 1895 to 2009. The most recorded lives are Kurt Cobain, Bruce Lee and Mark Twain. Among them Writers, Musicians and Composers and Performers, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
Bruce Lee
from 1959 to 1973
4 moments here
Bruce Lee (Lee Jun-fan) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and founder of Jeet Kune Do.…
Carl Sagan
in 1996
1 moment here
American astronomer, planetary scientist, educator, author, and science communicator. Sagan studied at the University of Chicago, held appointments…
Carrie Fisher
in 2009
1 moment here
Carrie Frances Fisher was an American actress, writer, and public advocate, internationally known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars films.…
Deng Xiaoping
in 1979
1 moment here
Chinese revolutionary, statesman, and paramount leader of the People’s Republic of China from 1978 to 1989.…
Dorothy Hodgkin
in 1986
1 moment here
English chemist and X-ray crystallographer Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin determined major biomolecular structures including penicillin, vitamin B12,…
Eusébio
in 1976
1 moment here
Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (1942–2014) was a Portuguese footballer, born in Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), who became Benfica's record goalscorer and…
Fidel V. Ramos
in 1997
1 moment here
Filipino military officer and politician who served as president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998.…
Gherman Titov
in 1962
1 moment here
Soviet Air Force pilot, cosmonaut, and later Russian politician. Titov flew Vostok 2 on 6–7 August 1961, becoming the second human to orbit Earth and…
Jack London
in 1912
1 moment here
American novelist, journalist, sailor, war correspondent, and socialist activist. Born John Griffith Chaney in San Francisco, he grew up around the…
Kurt Cobain
from 1986 to 1994
10 moments here
American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and founding member of Nirvana. This chronology maps documented residences, recording sessions, performances,…
Mark Twain
in 1895
1 moment here
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known as Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, journalist, lecturer, riverboat pilot, and traveler.…
Rabindranath Tagore
in 1916
1 moment here
Bengali poet, novelist, dramatist, composer, painter, philosopher, social reformer, and educationist.…
Roald Amundsen
in 1921
1 moment here
Norwegian polar explorer Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (1872–1928) led the first successful transit of the Northwest Passage, reached the South…
Soong Ching-ling
in 1907
1 moment here
Chinese politician and activist, wife of Sun Yat-sen, leading figure of the Kuomintang’s left wing, and later a senior officeholder of the People’s…
Suharto
in 1993
1 moment here
Indonesian army officer and politician who served as acting president from 1967 and president of Indonesia from 1968 until his resignation in 1998.…
Walter Brattain
in 1987
1 moment here
American experimental physicist and co-inventor of the point-contact transistor. Brattain’s documented life moved from his birth in Amoy, China,…
Warren G. Harding
in 1923
1 moment here
Warren G. Harding was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923.…
Yayoi Kusama
in 1957
1 moment here
Japanese avant-garde artist, novelist, and performance artist known for polka dots, Infinity Net paintings, immersive mirror rooms, and public…
Moments
- 1895 Appears in Seattle Mark Twain
- 1907 Arrival in Seattle Soong Ching-ling
- 1912 Arrival in Seattle aboard Dirigo Jack London
- 1916 Arrives in Seattle Rabindranath Tagore
- 1921 Maud repaired at Seattle Roald Amundsen
- 1923 Final public speech in Seattle Warren G. Harding
- 1957 Move to Seattle Yayoi Kusama
- 1959 First martial-arts school in Seattle Bruce Lee
- 1959 Move to Seattle Bruce Lee
- 1961 University of Washington enrollment Bruce Lee
- 1962 Visit to the Seattle World's Fair Gherman Titov
- 1973 Burial at Lake View Cemetery Bruce Lee
- 1976 Soccer Bowl championship Eusébio
- 1979 Visit to Boeing headquarters Deng Xiaoping
- 1986 Fecal Matter demo session Kurt Cobain
- 1986 Lecture at University of Washington Dorothy Hodgkin
- 1987 Death in Seattle Walter Brattain
- 1988 First Reciprocal Studio session Kurt Cobain
- 1988 First Seattle gig Kurt Cobain
- 1988 Sub Pop Sunday performance Kurt Cobain
- 1989 Music Source recording sessions Kurt Cobain
- 1991 Debut of Smells Like Teen Spirit Kurt Cobain
- 1992 William S. Burroughs collaboration Kurt Cobain
- 1993 Overdose and treatment at Harborview Kurt Cobain
- 1993 APEC meeting in Seattle Suharto
- 1993 MTV Live and Loud homecoming Kurt Cobain
- 1994 Death at Lake Washington Boulevard home Kurt Cobain
- 1996 Death at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Carl Sagan
- 1997 Seattle business-leaders meeting Fidel V. Ramos
- 2009 Wishful Drinking at Seattle Repertory Theatre Carrie Fisher