Famous People Born In 1902

Ray Kroc was the man who helped expand McDonald's into a global franchise, eventually turning it into the most successful fast food corporation. Not surprisingly, he was mentioned in Time magazine's Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century list. He was also the owner of the popular baseball team San Diego Padres.

Ansel Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist. Best known for capturing the beauty of the American West, Adams helped found the Group f/64. He also formulated a photographic technique called the Zone System, which helped photographers come up with clearer images. For his photographic work and advocacy for environmental conservation, Ansel Adams was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Famous for his novels The Grapes of Wrath and Tortilla Flat, John Ernst Steinbeck was noted for his sympathy for the plight of workers in his books. The Nobel laureate, who said he did not deserve the prize, authored 33 books, some of which were best sellers during his time. His books were also adapted into films.

Frances Bavier was an American actress best known for playing Aunt Bee in the television series, The Andy Griffith Show and its spin-off, Mayberry R.F.D., winning an Emmy Award for her performance in 1967. Bavier chose not to marry and led a quiet life after her retirement. She promoted Easter Seal Societies and Christmas and often wrote letters to fans.

Psychologist Carl Rogers was the first to introduce a client-centric approach to psychotherapy and addressed the patient as the client. Besides working on troubled children, he also taught at various institutes, such as the University of Chicago. On Becoming a Person remains one of his best-known books.

Bobby Jones was an American amateur golfer and lawyer. One of the most important personalities in the history of golf, Jones founded or co-founded the Augusta National Golf Club as well as the Masters Tournament. He also helped design the Augusta. Bobby Jones’ innovations, which he brought to the Masters Tournameny, have been used in professional golf tournaments around the world.

Erik Erikson was a German-American psychoanalyst and developmental psychologist best remembered for developing a theory on the psychological development of humans. He is credited with coining the term identity crisis, the failure to achieve ego identity. Also a prolific writer, Erikson won a US National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize for his book Gandhi's Truth.

Elsa Lanchester was an English actress whose career spanned more than 50 years. Apart from her acting skills, Lanchester was also known for her skills as a dancer. After starting her career in the British entertainment industry, Lanchester moved to Hollywood in the 1930s, owing to her success in American films. She was also nominated for an Oscar in 1949.

Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress who often played sexually liberated ingénues in films. Shearer is often revered as a feminist pioneer as she played bold characters that challenged the norm of the society during the 1930s. In 2008, she was inducted into  Canada's Walk of Fame. 

Thelma Ritter was an American actress best remembered for her comedic roles and strong New York accent. Ritter received six nominations for the prestigious Academy Award, three nominations for the Golden Globe Award, and one Emmy Award nomination. Ritter also won a Tony Award under the Best Actress in a Musical category for her role in New Girl in Town.  

Leni Riefenstahl was a German film director and actress best remembered for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. She made her directorial debut in 1932, becoming one of the few women to direct a movie during the Weimar Period. Riefenstahl is credited with directing two of the most technically innovative propaganda films of all time, Olympia and Triumph des Willens.

Romanian-born US actor and producer John Houseman is remembered for his Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning role in The Paper Chase. Primarily a character actor, he also gained fame as a theater director and producer and collaborated with director Orson Welles on many projects.

English theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate Paul Dirac OM FRS, counted among leading physicists of the 20th century, made fundamental contributions in the early development of quantum electrodynamics and quantum mechanics. He derived the Dirac equation while the modern theory of antimatter began with one of his papers. His book The Principles of Quantum Mechanics remains an influential monograph on the subject.

William Wyler was a Swiss-German-American film producer and director. He is remembered for winning the Oscar for Best Director on three occasions. Wyler holds a record 12 nominations for the Oscar for Best Director. He is credited with helping numerous actors achieve stardom. Fourteen performers, including Audrey Hepburn, Bette Davis, and Olivia de Havilland won Oscars under William Wyler's direction.

Miriam Hopkins was an American actress widely regarded as a pioneer of TV drama. She became the first performer to earn an Academy Award nomination for a performance in a color film; she was nominated under the Best Actress category for her portrayal of the title role in the 1935 historical drama film, Becky Sharp.

Barbara McClintock was a scientist and cytogeneticist who received the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. She earned her Ph.D. in botany from Cornell University and began her lifelong work in the development of maize cytogenetics. She eventually gained recognition as among the best in the field and was honored with several prestigious awards.  

Lieserl Einstein’s existence came into light almost 30 years after her father Albert Einstein’s death. She was the illegitimate, first-born child of Einstein and his fellow student, and later wife, Mileva Maric. Some believe she died of scarlet fever, while other sources state she was given up for adoption.

Jayaprakash Narayan was a theorist, political leader, socialist, and Indian independence activist. Often referred to as the Hero of Quit India Movement, Jayaprakash Narayan was honored with the prestigious Magsaysay Award in 1965 for Public Service. He was posthumously honored with India's highest civilian award—The Bharat Ratna—in 1999.

Born Elea, Albert Namatjira was rechristened after converting to Christianity. The Australian aboriginal painter, known for his watercolor paintings, couldn’t build a house in Alice Springs because of his aboriginal origin, leading to public outrage, which eventually led the government to make him and his wife full citizens.

Remembered as a pioneer of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Carlos Gracie was enrolled into wrestling classes to channelize his aggression in childhood. He also followed what is known as the Gracie diet. Thirteen of his 21 children have the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt. He and his family developed the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

Nobel Prize-winning Polish-American author Isaac Bashevis Singer is best remembered for his short stories and novels that mirrored Jewish life with a tinge of irony. Born into a family of rabbis, he got a traditional education and later became a journalist. His works include the iconic novel The Family Moskat.

Thomas E. Dewey was an American politician, prosecutor, and lawyer. A member of the Republican Party, Dewey held the office of the governor of New York between 1943 and 1954. In 1952, Dewey played a major role in helping Dwight D. Eisenhower win the presidential election. After retiring from politics, Dewey served as a corporate lawyer from 1955 to 1971.

One of the “Martians,” or eminent Hungarian scientists who had migrated to the U.S., Eugene Wigner won a Nobel Prize for his work on nuclear physics and the law of conservation of parity in particular. He taught at Princeton and Wisconsin and was also associated with the Manhattan Project.

Social philosopher and author Eric Hoffer was rendered half-blind at 7 due to an accident but regained his sight at 15. Orphaned in his 20s, he took up odd jobs, and once even contemplated suicide. His first book, The True Believer, catapulted him to fame, and he never looked back.

Gene Sarazen was an American golfer who won seven major championships. Regarded as one of the greatest golfers of his generation, Sarazen is one of the five golfers who have achieved a Career Grand Slam. In 1974, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In 1992, Sarazen was honored with the prestigious Bob Jones Award.

Walter Slezak was an Austrian-born actor with an illustrious career spanning over half a century. He often played clever, talkative, and philosophical characters. The son of a famous opera tenor, he was fascinated by the show business and began acting in the 1920s. He was famous as both a stage performer and a film actor.