Famous People from Maryland

David T. Abercrombie (1867 - 1931) Was the original founder of the modern American lifestyle brand, Abercrombie & Fitch. A topographer and expert in the outdoors, Abercrombie opened the Company as New York's oufitter for the elite and later partnered up with co-founder Ezra Fitch - both men managed the Company through great years of success. After leaving the company, Abercrombie lived the remainder of his life in the Adirondacks with his family until his death. Today, his company, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. remains as a prominent American clothing brand. His influence in the company remains strong even today and a brand in his name was released by the company in 1998 - abercrombie. More important, the company is frequently referenced as simply "Abercrombie". Born in Baltimore, MD (1508)

Spiro Theodore Agnew (1918 - 1996) Was the 39th Vice President of the United States, serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland. He was also the first Greek American to hold these offices. Born in Baltimore, MD (1509)

John Allen Astin (1930 - ) Is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters. Born in Baltimore, MD (1510)

Jacob Beser (1921 - 1992) Was a lieutenant in the United States Army Air Forces who served during World War II. Beser was the radar specialist aboard the Enola Gay on August 6, 1945, when it dropped the "Little Boy" atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Three days later, Beser was aboard Bock's Car when "Fat Man" was dropped on Nagasaki. He was the only person to have served as a strike crew member of both missions. Born in Baltimore, MD (1511)

Eubie Blake (1887 - 1983) Ragtime musician and composer who wrote "The Charleston Rag," in 1899. Born in Baltimore, MD (246)

James Hubert Blake (1887 - 1983) Was an American composer, lyricist, and pianist of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, Blake and long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote the Broadway musical Shuffle Along, one of the first Broadway musicals to be written and directed by African Americans. Blake's compositions included such hits as, "Bandana Days", "Charleston Rag", "Love Will Find A Way", "Memories of You", and "I'm Just Wild About Harry". The musical Eubie! featured the works of Blake and opened on Broadway in 1978. Born in Baltimore, MD (1512)

Charles Joseph Bonaparte (1851 - 1921) Was an French-American member of the United States Cabinet, serving appointments by President Theodore Roosevelt as Secretary of the Navy, then as Attorney General of the United States. He created the Bureau of Investigation, which would later become known as the FBI. He was a great-nephew of Emperor Napoleon I of France. Born in Baltimore, MD (1513)

John Wilkes Booth (1838 - 1865) An American actor who later shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. on April 14, 1865. Born in Bel Air, MD (244)

Hetty Carr Cary (1836 - 1892) Was the wife of CSA General John Pegram and, later, of pioneer physiologist Henry Newell Martin. She is best remembered for making the first three battle flags of the Confederacy (along with her sister and cousin). Hetty was related to two of Virginia's most influential families, the Jeffersons (through her mother's family) and the Randolphs (through her father's family). She is also a descendant of Rebecca Rolfe (Pocahontas). Born in Baltimore, MD (1516)

Norman Myers Chaney (1914 - 1936) Was an American child actor, notable for appearing in the Our Gang comedies as "'Chubby"' from 1929 to 1931. Born in Baltimore, MD (1517)

Samuel Chase (1741 - 1811) Was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and earlier was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland. Early in life, Chase was a "firebrand" states-righter and revolutionary. His political views changed over his lifetime and in the last decades of his career he became well-known as a staunch Federalist, and was impeached for allegedly letting his partisan leanings affect his court decisions. Chase was acquitted. Born in Somerset County, MD (1518)

Tom Clancy (1947 - ) Author of many best-selling books, including The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games. Born in Baltimore, MD (247)

Kevin Clash (1960 - ) Is a voice actor and puppeteer whose characters include Elmo, Baby Sinclair, Clifford, Splinter and Hoots the Owl. He currently serves as Sesame Street Muppet Captain and co-executive producer. Born in Turners Station, MD (1519)

Hans Conried (1917 - 1982) Was an American comedian, character actor and voice actor. Born in Baltimore, MD (1520)

Miriam Cooper (1891 - 1976) Was a silent film actress who is best known for her work in early film including Birth of a Nation and Intolerance for D.W. Griffith and The Honor System and Evangeline for her husband Raoul Walsh. She retired from acting in 1923 but was rediscovered by the film community in the 1960s, and toured colleges lecturing about silent films. Born in Baltimore, MD (1521)

Frederick Douglass (1818 - 1895) Abolitionist leader who was born a slave in Maryland.He was also an editor, orator, statesman, author, and reformer. Born in Talbot County, MD (238)

Samuel Dashiell Hammett (1894 - 1961) Was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse). Born in Saint Mary's County, MD (1522)

David Michael Hasselhoff (1952 - ) Nicknamed "The Hoff," is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s U.S. series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch. Hasselhoff also produced Baywatch for a number of seasons in the 1990s up until 2001, when the series ended with Baywatch Hawaii. Born in Baltimore, MD (1523)

Matthew Henson (1866 - 1955) American explorer; first African American to reach the North Pole. Born in , MD (235)

Alger Hiss (1904 - 1996) Was an American lawyer, civil servant, businessman, author, and lecturer. He was involved in the establishment of the United Nations both as a U.S. State Department and UN official. Hiss was accused of being a Soviet spy in 1948 and convicted of perjury in connection with this charge in 1950. Born in Baltimore, MD (1524)

Johns Hopkins (1795 - 1873) Merchant, banker, and philanthropist, who founded the hospital and university that bear his name. Born in Anne Arundel County, MD (237)

Francis Scott Key (1779 - 1843) He wrote the national anthem on September 14, 1814 while watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. Born in Carroll County, MD (236)

Thurgood Marshall (1908 - 1993) Lawyer and jurist; Became the first African American to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Born in Baltimore, MD (243)

Clarence Muse (1889 - 1979) Was an actor, screenwriter, director, composer, and lawyer. He was inducted in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973. Muse was the first African American to "star" in a film. He acted for more than sixty years, and appeared in more than 150 movies. Born in Baltimore, MD (1526)

Edward Harrison Norton (1969 - ) Is an American film actor, screenwriter and director. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Two years later, his lead role as a reformed white power skinhead in American History X earned a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actor. His other films include period dramas such as Kingdom of Heaven (2005), The Illusionist (2006), and The Painted Veil (2006); and other notable films such as Rounders (1998), Fight Club (1999), 25th Hour (2002), Red Dragon (2002), and The Incredible Hulk (2008). Born in Columbia, MD (1527)

William Paca (1740 - 1799) Was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and later a United States federal judge. Born in Harford County, MD (1528)

Nicole Ari Parker (1970 - ) Also known as Nikki Kodjoe, is an American actress and a former model. She is perhaps best known for her role as attorney Teri Joseph on the Showtime television drama series Soul Food. Born in Baltimore, MD (1525)

RAPHAELLE PEALE (1774 - 1825) He's considered the first professional American painter of still-life. Born in Annapolis, MD (788)

Nancy Pelosi (1940 - ) Is an American politician who has been the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since January 4, 2007. She is the first woman to hold that office. Born in Baltimore, MD (1529)

Michael Phelps (1985 - ) Is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals-six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008. Born in Baltimore, MD (1530)

Jada Koren Pinkett (1971 - ) Is an American actress, producer, director, author, singer-songwriter and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. She starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996). She starred in dramatic films such as Menace II Society (1993) and Set It Off (1996). She has appeared in more than 20 films in a variety of genres, including Scream 2, Ali, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Madagascar and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Born in Baltimore, MD (1531)

George Read (1733 - 1798) Jurist, signer of Declaration of Independence; lived in the county of New Castle. Born in Cecil County, MD (87)

Cal Ripken Jr. (1960 - ) One of the best shortstops in baseball history that holds the record for the most consecutive games played, at 2,632; born in Havre de Grace and a member of the Baltimore Orioles. Born in Havre de Grace, MD (240)

George Herman "Babe" Ruth (1895 - 1948) One of the greatest players in baseball history that held the record for the most home runs in a single season. Born in Baltimore, MD (241)

Upton Beall Sinclair (1878 - 1968) Writer, social critic, author of the novel The Jungle, whose revelations led to reforms in the meat-packing industry. Born in Baltimore, MD (245)

Tracie Nicole Thoms (1975 - ) Is an American television, film, and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in Rent, Cold Case, The Devil Wears Prada, Death Proof, and the short-lived Fox television series Wonderfalls. Born in Baltimore, MD (1532)

Harriet Tubman (1822 - 1913) A leading figure in the Underground Railroad, a nurse, spy, and scout for the Union army, and a woman's rights activist; born in Dorchester County. Born in Dorchester County, MD (242)

Michael Tucker (1945 - ) Is an American actor and author, most widely known for his role in L.A. Law, a portrayal for which he received Emmy nominations three years in a row. Born in Baltimore, MD (1533)

Leon Marcus Uris (1924 - 2003) Was an American novelist, known for his historical fiction and the deep research that went into his novels. His two bestselling books were Exodus, published in 1958, and Trinity, in 1976. Born in Baltimore, MD (1534)

Montel Williams (1956 - ) Is an American television personality, radio talk show host and actor. He is best known as host of the long-running The Montel Williams Show, and more recently as a spokesperson for the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA). Williams is also active with the non-profit MS Foundation, which he founded after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the late 1990s. Born in Baltimore, MD (1535)