wing of the archive
The Modern Era
The industrial and imperial centuries: inventors, statesmen, artists, and the makers of the modern world.
Modern era
Al Pacino
b. April 25, 1940
American actor (born 1940)
Modern era
Jack Nicholson
b. April 22, 1937
American actor and filmmaker (born 1937)
Modern era
Morgan Freeman
b. June 1, 1937
American actor and producer (born 1937)
Modern era
Amitabh Bachchan
b. October 11, 1942
Indian film actor (born 1942)
Modern era
Louis Armstrong
August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971
American jazz musician, trumpeter and singer (1901–1971)
Modern era
Duke Ellington
April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974
American jazz pianist and composer (1899–1974)
Modern era
Ella Fitzgerald
April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996
American jazz singer (1917–1996)
Modern era
Billie Holiday
April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959
American jazz singer (1915–1959)
Modern era
Frank Sinatra
December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998
American singer and actor (1915–1998)
Modern era
Nat King Cole
March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965
American singer and jazz pianist (1919–1965)
Modern era
Edith Piaf
December 19, 1915 – October 10, 1963
French singer (1915–1963)
Modern era
Miles Davis
May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991
American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer (1926–1991)
Modern era
John Coltrane
September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967
American jazz saxophonist (1926–1967)
Modern era
Charlie Parker
August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955
American jazz saxophonist (1920–1955)
Modern era
B.B. King
September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015
American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter (1925–2015)
Modern era
Ray Charles
September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004
American singer, pianist and songwriter (1930–2004)
Modern era
Sam Cooke
January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964
American singer and songwriter (1931–1964)
Modern era
Nina Simone
February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003
American singer, songwriter and pianist and civil rights activist (1933–2003)
Modern era
Aretha Franklin
March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018
American singer, songwriter, and pianist (1942–2018)
Modern era
James Brown
May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006
American musician (1933–2006)
Modern era
Chuck Berry
October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017
American musician (1926–2017)
Modern era
Little Richard
December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020
American musician (1932–2020)
Modern era
Buddy Holly
September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959
American rock and roll singer (1936–1959)
Modern era
Johnny Cash
February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003
American country singer (1932–2003)
Modern era
Elvis Presley
January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977
American singer and actor (1935–1977)
Modern era
Bob Dylan
b. May 24, 1941
American singer-songwriter (born 1941)
Modern era
John Lennon
October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980
British musician (1940–1980)
Modern era
Paul McCartney
b. June 18, 1942
English musician and member of the Beatles (born 1942)
Modern era
George Harrison
February 25, 1943 – November 29, 2001
English musician and member of the Beatles (1943–2001)
Modern era
Ringo Starr
b. July 7, 1940
British musician, drummer for the Beatles (born 1940)
Modern era
Mick Jagger
b. July 26, 1943
British singer and songwriter; vocalist of The Rolling Stones
Modern era
Jimi Hendrix
November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970
American guitarist (1942–1970)
Modern era
Janis Joplin
January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970
American singer (1943–1970)
Modern era
Jim Morrison
December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971
American singer and poet; lead vocalist of The Doors (1943–1971)
Modern era
Roger Waters
b. September 6, 1943
English musician, co-founder of Pink Floyd (born 1943)
Modern era
Nick Mason
b. January 27, 1944
English drummer
Modern era
Richard Wright
July 28, 1943 – September 15, 2008
English keyboardist, co-founder of Pink Floyd (1943–2008)
Modern era
Marvin Gaye
April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984
American R&B and soul singer (1939–1984)
Modern era
Diana Ross
b. March 26, 1944
American singer and actress (1944-2026)
Modern era
Tina Turner
November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023
American-born Swiss singer and songwriter (1939–2023)
Modern era
Fela Kuti
October 15, 1938 – August 2, 1997
Nigerian musician and activist (1938–1997)
Modern era
Miriam Makeba
March 4, 1932 – November 9, 2008
South African singer and civil rights activist (1932–2008)
Modern era
Ravi Shankar
April 7, 1920 – December 11, 2012
Indian sitar player (1920–2012)
Modern era
Lata Mangeshkar
September 28, 1929 – February 6, 2022
Indian singer (1929–2022)
Modern era
Babe Ruth
February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948
American baseball player (1895–1948)
Modern era
Lou Gehrig
June 19, 1903 – June 2, 1941
American baseball player (1903–1941)
Modern era
Jackie Robinson
April 26, 1927 – February 8, 2022
American basketball player (1927–2022)
Modern era
Hank Aaron
February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021
American baseball player (1934–2021)
Modern era
Willie Mays
May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024
American baseball player (1931–2024)
Modern era
Joe DiMaggio
November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999
American baseball player (1914–1999)
Modern era
Jesse Owens
September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980
American track and field athlete (1913–1980)
Modern era
Jim Thorpe
1933 – 2010
English snooker referee (1933-2010)
Modern era
Wilma Rudolph
June 23, 1940 – November 12, 1994
American athlete (1940–1994)
Modern era
Joe Louis
May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981
American boxer (1914-1981)
Modern era
Sugar Ray Robinson
May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989
American boxer (1921–1989)
Modern era
Rocky Marciano
September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969
American heavyweight boxing champion (1923-1969)
Modern era
Wilt Chamberlain
August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999
American basketball player (1936–1999)
Modern era
Bill Russell
February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022
American basketball player (1934–2022)
Modern era
Billie Jean King
b. November 22, 1943
American tennis player (born 1943)
Modern era
Arthur Ashe
July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993
American tennis player (1943–1993)