One of the greatest movie actors of all time, heartthrob of millions of women around the world, and a cultural icon, who had immense influence on actors of future generations, there are very few like Marlon Brando. In a career spanning six decades, Marlon Brando delivered critical and commercial successes in movies like A Streetcar Named Desire and The Godfather.
One of the most popular actors of his generation, Michael Landon appeared on the cover of TV Guide on 22 occasions, the most for an actor and second only to Lucille Ball. Also a singer and director, Landon had a major impact on the film industry, so much so that a community building was named after him following his demise.
Luther Vandross was an American record producer and singer-songwriter. As a background vocalist, Vandross contributed to the success of several songs recorded by artists like David Bowie, Diana Ross, and Judy Collins. Regarded as a singer with one of the greatest voices in recorded history, Luther Vandross' works have influenced many artists like D'Angelo, Jaheim, Ne-Yo, John Legend, and Usher.
Walter Matthau was an American actor who won major acting awards, such as an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Tony Awards. He is best remembered for his acting partnership with Jack Lemmon in films like The Odd Couple and Grumpy Old Men. His death was mourned by the entire film industry, with Lemmon paying tribute on Larry King Live.
![Wolfman Jack Wolfman Jack](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/wolfman-jack-8682-1.jpg)
Karl Malden is best remembered for his Academy Award-winning role of Harold Mitchell in A Streetcar Named Desire. He also won a BAFTA for the film Baby Doll and an Emmy for Fatal Vision. Fans also loved him as Mike Stone in The Streets of San Francisco and its spin-off.
Erik Satie was a French pianist and composer. An influential artist during his time, Satie's works served as a predecessor to later artistic movements like repetitive music, minimalism, and the Theatre of the Absurd. Apart from being a musician, Erik Satie was also a prolific writer, who contributed to publications, such as Vanity Fair and 391.
German army officer Claus von Stauffenberg, a significant figure of the German Resistance Movement within the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany, attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in July 1944, but failed. He was executed by a firing squad soon after Operation Valkyrie. He had earlier actively participated in World War II.
Buckminster Fuller was an American systems theorist, architect, designer, inventor, author, and futurist. He is credited with popularizing the geodesic dome, which resembles carbon molecules known as fullerenes. Fullerenes were named after Fuller for their resemblance to geodesic spheres. Fuller's work has influenced several personalities from different walks of life. His work has also inspired a couple of documentary films.
Nicholas Winton was a British humanitarian and banker best remembered for founding an organization to save children at risk from Czechoslovakia. He is credited with overseeing the rescue of 669 children from Czechoslovakia just before the commencement of the Second World War. This rescue mission came to be known as the Czech Kindertransport.
![Gregor Strasser Gregor Strasser](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/gregor-strasser-1.jpg)
A walk through the woods in Dundee, changed Allan Pinkerton’s life, as he bumped into a group of counterfeiters and reported them to the police. This incident inspired him to later become Chicago's first full-time detective. His agency’s logo, an unblinking eye, inspired the phrase “Private Eye.”
![Hugh Downs Hugh Downs](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/hugh-downs-1.jpg)
Mahmud II reigned as the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 to 1839. His reign was marked by the extensive military, administrative, and fiscal reforms which he initiated. The reforms that he initiated eventually led to the formation of the modern Turkish Republic. He is also credited with rebuilding a strong naval force for the empire.
![Charles Goodyear Charles Goodyear](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/charles-goodyear-1.jpg)
Charles Goodyear was an American manufacturing engineer and self-taught chemist who developed vulcanized rubber. He invented the chemical process to manufacture pliable, moldable, and waterproof rubber which revolutionized the automobile industry. In 1976, Charles Goodyear was inducted posthumously into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
![Alexis Arguello Alexis Arguello](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/alexis-arguello-50732-1.jpg)
Nicaraguan professional boxer Alexis Arguello had once held the world featherweight, lightweight, and junior lightweight titles. He fought for the Contras against the Sandinista regime, and then continued his boxing career in the US, before returning to politics and becoming the mayor of Managua. He eventually died by suicide.
![Herbie Mann Herbie Mann](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/herbie-mann-1.jpg)
Bidhan Chandra Roy was an Indian educationist, physician, statesman, philanthropist, and freedom fighter. Widely regarded as the chief designer of modern West Bengal, Roy founded several institutions and four cities in the state. He also served as West Bengal's chief minister from 1948 to 1962. In 1961, Bidhan Chandra Roy was honored with India's highest civilian award, The Bharat Ratna.
![Joshua Nkomo Joshua Nkomo](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/joshua-nkomo-1.jpg)
Zimbabwean politician Joshua Nkomo was founder and leader of ZAPU. He was incarcerated for a decade by white minority government of Rhodesia and following his release, ZAPU along with Robert Mugabe's ZANU contributed to the fall of that government. The two parties later merged to become ZANU–PF. Nkomo served as first Second Vice-President of Zimbabwe with Mugabe as President.
![Guy Mitchell Guy Mitchell](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/guy-mitchell-1.jpg)
![Fred Trueman Fred Trueman](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/fred-trueman.jpg)
![Dennis Brown Dennis Brown](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/dennis-brown-51083-1.jpg)
Arguably the most popular Jamaican reggae singer of his time, Dennis Brown popularized what is now known as lovers rock. The Grammy-nominated singer started singing at age 9 and later soared to fame with tracks such as Africa. He had a lifelong struggle with drugs and of a lung collapse.
Mikhail Bakunin was a Russian socialist and anarchist. He is credited with founding an anarchist school of thought called collectivist anarchism. Regarded as one of the most influential personalities of anarchism, Mikhail Bakunin has had a major influence on thinkers like Peter Kropotkin, Herbert Marcuse, Errico Malatesta, Neil Postman, E. P. Thompson, and A. S. Neill.
![Eliel Saarinen Eliel Saarinen](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/eliel-saarinen-1.jpg)
Finnish-American architect Eliel Saarinen was a prominent architect of Finland. He later moved to the US where he influenced modern architecture. He also collaborated with son Eero, a leading American architect. Notable buildings designed by Eliel, known for his designs in Art Nouveau style, includes Helsinki Central Station and Joensuu City Hall in Finland; and St Paul's Church in Estonia.
![Anneliese Michel Anneliese Michel](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/anneliese-michel-1.jpg)
Born to a math and physics professor in Australia, Sir William Lawrence Bragg later moved to England, where his father was posted for work. He and his father jointly won the Nobel Prize for Physics for their research on X-ray diffraction through crystals. Bragg was an avid shell collector, too.
![George Voskovec George Voskovec](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/george-voskovec-1.jpg)
George Voskovec was a Czech actor, dramatist, writer, and director. He acted in 72 films, out of which only the first five were Czech and the rest were either American or English. In the USA, George Voskovec became known for his portrayal of Juror 11 in the 1957 courtroom drama film 12 Angry Men.
![Harriet Quimby Harriet Quimby](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/harriet-quimby-1.jpg)
Women’s aviation pioneer, Harriet Quimby became the first female pilot to complete a flight across the English Channel. Starting her career as a journalist for Dramatic Review, she later worked as a drama critic for Leslie’s Weekly, before stepping into aviation. She was killed when her aircraft lost control over Dorchester Bay.
![Don Coryell Don Coryell](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/don-coryell-1.jpg)
![John Hay John Hay](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/john-hay-1.jpg)
![Alfonso VI of León and Castile Alfonso VI of León and Castile](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/alfonso-vi-of-castile-1.jpg)
![George Frederic Watts George Frederic Watts](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/george-frederic-watts-18491-1.jpg)
George Frederic Watts was a British painter best remembered for his association with the Symbolist movement. Watts achieved fame for his allegorical works like Love and Life and Hope. In addition to being a painter, George Frederic Watts was also a sculptor. He is credited with sculpting the famous Physical Energy statue at Rhodes Memorial in South Africa.
![Alan L. Hart Alan L. Hart](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/alan-l-hart-1.jpg)
![Learie Constantine Learie Constantine](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/learie-constantine-70974-1.jpg)
![Mihail Kogălniceanu Mihail Kogălniceanu](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/mihail-koglniceanu-1.jpg)
Mihail Kogălniceanu was a Romanian statesman, historian, lawyer, and publicist. He is best remembered for his service as the Prime Minister of Romania from 11 October 1863 to 26 January 1865. He was also a two-time Foreign Affairs Minister and four-time Internal Affairs Minister of Romania. Mihail Kogălniceanu was also one of the most influential intellectuals of his generation.
![Forrest Edward Mars Forrest Edward Mars](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/forrest-edward-mars-1.jpg)
![Pierre Monteux Pierre Monteux](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/pierre-monteux-1.jpg)
![Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Wilhelm Friedemann Bach](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/wilhelm-friedemann-bach-1.jpg)
![Georg Ratzinger Georg Ratzinger](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/georg-ratzinger-1.jpg)
Georg Ratzinger was a German musician, conductor, and Catholic priest. He is best remembered for his work as the conductor of the cathedral choir of Regensburg, Regensburger Domspatzen. The older brother of Pope Benedict XVI, Georg Ratzinger achieved notoriety when he turned a blind eye to the issues of young choir members who were sexually abused under his directorship.
![Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/begum-om-habibeh-aga-khan-1.jpg)
![Steve Tesich Steve Tesich](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/steve-tesich-1.jpg)
![Manuel García Manuel García](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/manuel-garca-1.jpg)
Spanish baritone singer and voice educator Manuel García was the son of legendary opera singer Manuel del Popolo Vicente García. He started his career with his father’s production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. He invented the laryngoscope and penned the classic Complete Treatise on the Art of Singing.