wing of the archive
The Contemporary Era
Lives within living memory, from world wars to the digital age.
Contemporary era
Aung San Suu Kyi
b. June 19, 1945
Former State Counsellor of Myanmar and Leader of the National League for Democracy
Contemporary era
Nelson Mandela
July 18, 1918 – December 5, 2013
Anti-apartheid revolutionary who became South Africa's first Black president
Contemporary era
Bilal Lashari
b. 4 August 1984
Pakistani filmmaker who directed Waar and The Legend of Maula Jatt, the highest-grossing Pakistani film
Contemporary era
Thomas Sankara
December 21, 1949 – October 15, 1987
President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987
Contemporary era
Martin Luther King Jr.
January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968
Baptist minister who led the American civil rights movement
Contemporary era
Rosa Parks
February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005
Seamstress whose refusal to move ignited the Montgomery bus boycott
Contemporary era
Rosalind Franklin
July 25, 1920 – April 16, 1958
Chemist whose X-ray images revealed the structure of DNA
Contemporary era
Katherine Johnson
August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020
NASA mathematician whose orbital calculations carried astronauts home
Contemporary era
Stephen Hawking
January 8, 1942 – March 14, 2018
Cosmologist who mapped black holes from a wheelchair
Contemporary era
Neil deGrasse Tyson
b. October 5, 1958
American astrophysicist and science communicator
Contemporary era
Katalin Kariko
b. January 17, 1955
Hungarian biochemist
Contemporary era
Jennifer Doudna
b. February 19, 1964
American biochemist
Contemporary era
Robert Goddard
b. November 13, 1954
English novelist
Contemporary era
Tim Berners-Lee
b. June 8, 1955
English computer scientist (born 1955)
Contemporary era
Maya Angelou
April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014
Poet and memoirist of the American experience
Contemporary era
Paulo Coelho
b. August 24, 1947
Brazilian lyricist and novelist (born 1947)
Contemporary era
Haruki Murakami
b. January 12, 1949
Japanese writer (born 1949)
Contemporary era
Stephen King
b. September 21, 1947
American novelist and writer (born 1947)
Contemporary era
J. K. Rowling
b. July 31, 1965
English author (born 1965)
Contemporary era
Jean-Michel Basquiat
December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988
American artist (1960–1988)
Contemporary era
Keith Haring
May 4, 1958 – 1989
American artist and social activist (1958-1990)
Contemporary era
Banksy
b. 1973
English graffiti artist, political activist, and painter
Contemporary era
Zaha Hadid
October 31, 1950 – March 31, 2016
Iraqi British architect, designer and painter (1950–2016)
Contemporary era
Hans Zimmer
b. September 12, 1957
German film composer (born 1957)
Contemporary era
Andrew Lloyd Webber
b. March 22, 1948
British theatre composer (born 1948)
Contemporary era
Yuri Gagarin
March 9, 1934 – March 27, 1968
First human in space aboard Vostok 1
Contemporary era
Neil Armstrong
August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012
First human being to walk on the Moon
Contemporary era
Sally Ride
May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012
American astronaut and physicist (1951–2012)
Contemporary era
Mae Jemison
b. October 17, 1956
American doctor and NASA astronaut
Contemporary era
Ruby Bridges
b. September 8, 1954
American civil rights activist
Contemporary era
Steve Biko
December 18, 1946 – September 12, 1977
South African anti-apartheid activist (1946–1977)
Contemporary era
Rigoberta Menchu
b. January 9, 1959
Guatemalan human rights activist
Contemporary era
Malala Yousafzai
b. July 12, 1997
Youngest Nobel laureate, voice for girls' education
Contemporary era
Steven Spielberg
b. December 18, 1946
American filmmaker (born 1946)
Contemporary era
Quentin Tarantino
b. March 27, 1963
American filmmaker and actor (born 1963)
Contemporary era
James Cameron
b. August 16, 1954
Canadian filmmaker and explorer (born 1954)
Contemporary era
Christopher Nolan
b. July 30, 1970
English-American filmmaker (born 1970)
Contemporary era
Meryl Streep
b. June 22, 1949
American actress
Contemporary era
Tom Hanks
b. July 9, 1956
American actor and film producer (born 1956)
Contemporary era
Denzel Washington
b. December 28, 1954
American actor (born 1954)
Contemporary era
Robin Williams
July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014
American actor and comedian (1951–2014)
Contemporary era
Jim Carrey
b. January 17, 1962
Canadian-American actor and comedian (born 1962)
Contemporary era
Leonardo DiCaprio
b. November 11, 1974
American actor and producer (born 1974)
Contemporary era
Johnny Depp
b. June 9, 1963
American actor (born 1963)
Contemporary era
Brad Pitt
b. December 18, 1963
American actor (born 1963)
Contemporary era
Angelina Jolie
b. June 4, 1975
American actress (born 1975)
Contemporary era
Julia Roberts
b. October 28, 1967
American actress (born 1967)
Contemporary era
Will Smith
b. September 25, 1968
American actor, film producer and rapper (born 1968)
Contemporary era
Keanu Reeves
b. September 2, 1964
Canadian actor and musician (born 1964)
Contemporary era
Bruce Lee
November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973
Martial artist and actor who carried kung fu to the world
Contemporary era
Jackie Chan
b. April 7, 1954
Hong Kong actor and martial artist (born 1954)
Contemporary era
Shah Rukh Khan
b. November 2, 1965
Indian actor, producer and television personality
Contemporary era
Heath Ledger
April 4, 1979 – January 22, 2008
Australian actor (1979–2008)
Contemporary era
Chadwick Boseman
November 29, 1976 – August 28, 2020
American actor (1976–2020)
Contemporary era
Umm Kulthum
December 31, 1898 – February 3, 1975
Egyptian singer called the Voice of the Arabs
Contemporary era
Eric Clapton
b. March 30, 1945
British musician
Contemporary era
David Bowie
January 8, 1947 – January 10, 2016
English musician and actor (1947–2016)
Contemporary era
Freddie Mercury
September 5, 1946 – November 24, 1991
British singer, songwriter and musician, frontman of the rock band Queen (1946–1991)
Contemporary era
David Gilmour
b. March 6, 1946
English musician, member of Pink Floyd (born 1946)
Contemporary era
Syd Barrett
January 6, 1946 – July 7, 2006
British musician (1946–2006)