Famous people of the Twentieth-Century, including Churchill, Roosevelt, M.Luther King, Marilyn Monroe, Princess Diana and Nelson Mandela.

Famous political figures of the Twentieth Century

• Winston Churchill (British PM during WWII)
• Martin Luther King (Leader of civil rights movement in US)
• Nelson Mandela (opposition to Apartheid, S.A. first black president)
• Mahatma Gandhi (Key figure in Indian independence)
• Franklin D. Roosevelt (US President 1932-1944)
• John Paul II (Roman Catholic Pope)
• Theodore Roosevelt (1858 – 1919) US President (1901-09)
• Adolf Hitler (German leader 1933-45)
• Joseph Stalin (Leader of Soviet Union)
• V.I. Lenin (First leader of Communist Soviet Union)
• Dwight Eisenhower (US President and General in WWII)
• Ronald Reagan (1911 – 2004) US President 1981-89
• Woodrow Wilson (Inspirer of League of Nations)
• Margaret Thatcher (British PM in 1980s)
• Charles de Gaulle (French President)
• Jawaharlal Nehru (Indian President after independence 1947)
• John F Kennedy (US President 1960-1963)
• Mikhail Gorbachev (Leader of Soviet Union 1981-1990)
• Hilary Clinton (US Secretary of State 2012- )
• Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan Prime Minister)
• Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Laureate)
• Ataturk (Father of modern Turkey)
• Boris Yeltsin (Elected Russian president)
• Kofi Annan (UN Secretary General)
• Dalai Lama (Spiritual Leader of Tibet)
• Aung San Suu Kyi (Burmese opposition leader)
• Lyndon Johnson (US president 1963-68)
• Indira Gandhi (Indian Prime Minister)
• Eva Peron (Argentinian First lady)
• Malcolm X US Leader Nation of Islam and social activist (1925 – 1965)
• Tony Blair (1953 – )(UK Prime Minister 1997-)
• Bill Clinton (US President 1992-2000)

Famous Humanitarians of the Twentieth Century

• Mother Teresa (charity)
• Eleanor Roosevelt 1884 – 1962) Oversaw drafting of UN declaration of Human Rights.
• Rosa Parks (civil rights movement in US)
• Princess Diana (1961-1997) (charities such as AIDS
• Raisa Gorbachev
• Abbe Pierre – French, founder of Emmaus
• Albert Schweitzer
• Ellie Wiesel

Famous Scientists of the Twentieth Century

• Albert Einstein (quantum physics)
• Nikola Tesla (1856–1943)  Serbian/US physicist, inventor.
• Marie Curie 1867–1934) Polish born French chemist and physicist
• Alexander Fleming (1881–1955), Scottish scientist. Discovered penicillin.
• John Logie Baird (1888–1946) Scottish inventor of tv.
• Enrico Fermi (1901–1954) Italian scientist of nuclear reactor.
• Stephen Hawking (1942 – 2018) Simplified physics
• Rosalind Franklin (1920 – 1958) Discovering DNA
• Tim Berners-Lee (1955– ) British inventor of WWW.
• J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967), United States – Atomic bomb

Famous artists of the Twentieth Century

• Pablo Picasso
• Salvador Dali
• Coco Chanel (1883-1971 ) French designer
• David Hockney
• Edvard Munch

Famous military figures of the Twentieth Century

• General Patton
• T.E. Lawrence (1888 – 1935) Lawrence of Arabia
• Douglas Haig
• Bernard Montgomery

Famous Writers of the Twentieth Century

• George Orwell (1903 – 1950) author of Animal Farm and 1984
• J.R.R.Tolkien (1892 – 1973) author of Lord of the Rings
• F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 – 1940) The Great Gatsby
  
• Oscar Wilde
• Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961) American writer
• John Steinbeck (1902 – 1968) American writer – Grapes of Wrath.
• Anne Frank (1929 – 1945) Jewish diarist during WWII.
• J.K.Rowling (1965 – ) Harry Potter series
• J.K.Rowling
• Virginia Woolf
• Germaine Greer
• Beatrix Potter
• C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963) Irish / English author of Chronicles of Narnia
• Wilfred Owens
• Gabriela Mistral Chilean poet.

Famous Musicians of the Twentieth Century

• John Lennon (1940 – 1980) Founder Beatles
• Elvis Presley (1935 – 1977)
• Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009)
• Madonna
• Freddie Mercury
• Elton John
• Bob Geldof
• Cliff Richard
• Paul McCartney
• George Harrison
• Elvis Presley
• Billie Holiday (1915 – 1959
• Bob Dylan

Famous Sportsmen / women of Twentieth Century

• Pele (Brazil, football)
• Jesse Owens (1936 four-time Olympic gold medalist)
• Babe Ruth (1895 – 1948) US baseball
• Muhammed Ali (Boxing, civil rights activist)
• Roger Bannister (1929 -) (ran first sub 4 minute mile)
• Carl Lewis nine-time Olympic gold medallist.
• Bobby Moore
• Emile Zatopek – Czech, four times Olympic gold medallist.
• Sir Donald Bradman (1908 – 2001) Australia cricket
• Eddy Merckx (1945 – ) Belgian cyclist
• George Best – N.Irish footballer
• David Beckham (1975 – )English footballer
• Diego Maradona (1960 – ) Argentina footballer
• Tegla Laroupe
• Michael Jordan
• Sachin Tendulkar (1973 – ) (India, cricket)
• Billie Jean King (1943 – ) US tennis player
• Aryton Senna (1960 – 1994)
• Lewis Hamilton
• Nadia Comaneci (1961 – ) Romania, gymnastics
• Magic Johnson (1959 – ) (US, Basketball)
• Imran Khan (1952 – ) (Pakistan, cricket)

Famous Businessmen of the Twentieth Century

• Bill Gates – Founder of Microsoft
• Richard Branson – Founder of Virgin Empire
• Al Capone (1899-1947) US Gangster
• Henry Ford (1864-1947) US car producer
• Steve Jobs (1955 –-2011)

Famous Actors / Actresses of Twentieth Century

• Audrey Hepburn
• Michael Caine (1933-) Actor and writer
• Richard Burton
• Marilyn Monroe (1926 – 1962) American actress
• Sir Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) British/American actor film producer.
• Alec Guinness
• Peter Sellers
• Richard Attenborough
• Katherine Hepburn (1907-2003) – American actress
• Julie Andrews (1935 – ) British actress in ‘Mary Poppins’
• Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980) – English / American film producer.
• Walt Disney (1901 – 1966) American film producer
• Michael Moore (1954 – ) US film producer

Famous Royalty

• Queen Elizabeth II

Famous People other Categories

• John M Keynes (1883 – 1946) British Economist
• Oprah Winfrey (TV personality)
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929 – 1994) Wife JFK.
• Neil Armstrong (1930 – 2012) First man on moon
• Lord Baden Powell (1857 – 1941) Founder of Scouting movement

Famous Spiritual Figures

• Sri Aurobindo
• Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
• Paramahansa Yogananda

Related pages

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People of the Edwardian Age (1901 to 1914). A period in British history, characterised by the growth in science, technology and also rising tensions between the major powers. Also saw the ‘heroic age’ of exploration.

People of the First World War (1914 to 1918) The principle figures involved in the First World War from Germany, Britain, US and the rest of the world. Includes David Lloyd George, Woodrow Wilson, the Kaiser and George Clemenceau.

People of the Second World War (1939-45) Influential leaders, generals and civilians who caused, influenced and fought during the Second World War. Including; Hitler, Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Truman, Emperor Hirohito, Eisenhower, Rommel and De Gaulle.

People of the 1960s – The revolutionary decade in religion, politics and music. People include Martin Luther King, JF Kennedy, John Lennon, Joan Baez and Indira Gandhi.

Inter-war era (1918 to 1939) A period of peace in between the two world wars. Characterised by economic boom and bust, and the growth of polarising ideologies. Includes; Hitler, Churchill, Gandhi, Roosevelt and Mussolini.

People of the Cold War (1948 to 1990) Famous people who participated in the Cold War between the Soviet block and the US/NATO allies.

People of the Twenty First Century (2001 -) Politicians, musicians, authors, scientists and sports figures of the New Millennium.

• Famous Rags to Riches
• Famous Victorians
• Great thinkers of the twentieth-century

See also: List of top 100 Famous People