wing of the archive
The Modern Era
The industrial and imperial centuries: inventors, statesmen, artists, and the makers of the modern world.
Modern era
Winnie Mandela
September 26, 1936 – April 2, 2018
South African activist and politician (1936-2018)
Modern era
Ken Saro-Wiwa
October 10, 1941 – November 10, 1995
Nigerian social rights activist (1941–1995)
Modern era
Chico Mendes
December 15, 1944 – December 22, 1988
Brazilian trade union leader and environmentalist (1944–1988)
Modern era
Maximilian Kolbe
January 8, 1894 – August 14, 1941
Polish Conventual Franciscan friar, martyr and saint of the Roman Catholic Church (1894–1941)
Modern era
Janusz Korczak
July 21, 1878 – August 7, 1942
Polish-Jewish educator and physician (1878–1942)
Modern era
Witold Pilecki
May 13, 1901 – May 25, 1948
Polish underground resistance soldier, World War II concentration camp resistance leader (1901-1948)
Modern era
Hans Scholl
September 22, 1918 – February 22, 1943
German pacifist, executed by Nazi Germany (1918–1943)
Modern era
Edith Cavell
December 4, 1865 – October 12, 1915
British nurse (1865-1915)
Modern era
Desmond Doss
February 7, 1919 – March 23, 2006
American solder, pacifist, and combat medic; recipient of the Purple Heart medal, recipient of the Medal of Honor (1919–2007) Un gran hombre en la vida militar.
Modern era
Vasily Arkhipov
March 26, 1908 – August 14, 1943
Soviet politician
Modern era
Stanislav Petrov
September 7, 1939 – May 19, 2017
Officer of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, noted for not executing a nuclear strike during a nuclear false alarm incident (1939-2017)
Modern era
Andrei Sakharov
May 21, 1921 – December 14, 1989
Soviet nuclear physicist and human rights activist (1921–1989)
Modern era
Thich Quang Duc
1897 – June 11, 1963
Vietnamese monk who self-immolated in 1963
Modern era
Jose Rizal
June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896
Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath (1861–1896)
Modern era
Andres Bonifacio
November 30, 1863 – May 10, 1897
Filipino nationalist and revolutionary hero (1863–1897)
Modern era
Kartini
April 21, 1879 – September 17, 1904
Indonesian heroine, feminist (1879–1904)
Modern era
Sergei Eisenstein
January 10, 1898 – February 11, 1948
Soviet filmmaker (1898–1948)
Modern era
Fritz Lang
December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976
Austrian filmmaker (1890–1976)
Modern era
Billy Wilder
June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002
Austrian and American filmmaker (1906–2002)
Modern era
Frank Capra
May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991
Italian-born American film director (1897–1991)
Modern era
John Ford
February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973
American film director (1894–1973)
Modern era
David Lean
March 25, 1908 – April 16, 1991
British filmmaker and editor (1908–1991)
Modern era
Sergio Leone
January 3, 1929 – April 30, 1989
Italian filmmaker (1929–1989)
Modern era
Jean-Luc Godard
December 3, 1930 – September 13, 2022
French and Swiss film director (1930–2022)
Modern era
Francois Truffaut
February 6, 1932 – October 21, 1984
French film director (1932–1984)
Modern era
Andrei Tarkovsky
April 4, 1932 – December 29, 1986
Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director (1932–1986)
Modern era
Mel Brooks
b. June 28, 1926
American comedian, filmmaker, and actor (born 1926)
Modern era
George Lucas
b. May 14, 1944
American filmmaker and philanthropist (born 1944)
Modern era
Ridley Scott
b. November 30, 1937
English filmmaker (born 1937)
Modern era
Stan Lee
December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018
American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer (1922–2018)
Modern era
Jim Henson
September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990
American puppeteer (1936–1990)
Modern era
Fred Rogers
July 10, 1918 – August 7, 1998
New Zealand cricketer
Modern era
Johnny Carson
October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005
American talk show host and comedian (1925–2005)
Modern era
Lucille Ball
August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989
American actress (1911–1989)
Modern era
Stan Laurel
June 16, 1890 – February 23, 1965
English actor (1890–1965)
Modern era
Oliver Hardy
January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957
American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy (1892–1957)
Modern era
Groucho Marx
October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977
American comedian (1890–1977)
Modern era
Bob Hope
May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003
American entertainer (1903–2003)
Modern era
Jimmy Stewart
May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997
American actor and military officer (1908–1997)
Modern era
Gregory Peck
April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003
American actor (1916–2003)
Modern era
Spencer Tracy
April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967
American actor (1900–1967)
Modern era
Henry Fonda
May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982
American actor (1905–1982)
Modern era
Bette Davis
April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989
American actress (1908–1989)
Modern era
Joan Crawford
March 23, 1905 – May 10, 1977
American actress (1908–1977)
Modern era
Rita Hayworth
October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987
American actress (1918–1987)
Modern era
Lauren Bacall
September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014
American actress (1924–2014)
Modern era
Doris Day
April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019
American actress and singer (1922–2019)
Modern era
Kirk Douglas
December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020
American actor (1916–2020)
Modern era
Steve McQueen
March 24, 1930 – November 7, 1980
American actor (1930-1980)
Modern era
Yul Brynner
July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985
Russian-born American actor (1920–1985)
Modern era
Omar Sharif
April 10, 1932 – July 10, 2015
Egyptian actor (1932–2015)
Modern era
Toshiro Mifune
April 1, 1920 – December 24, 1997
Japanese actor (1920–1997)
Modern era
Marcello Mastroianni
September 28, 1924 – December 19, 1996
Italian actor (1924–1996)
Modern era
Alain Delon
November 8, 1935 – August 18, 2024
French actor (1935–2024)
Modern era
Brigitte Bardot
September 28, 1934 – December 28, 2025
French actress, singer, animal rights activist (1934–2025)
Modern era
Peter Sellers
September 8, 1925 – July 24, 1980
British actor and comedian (1925–1980)
Modern era
Peter O'Toole
August 2, 1932 – December 14, 2013
British-Irish actor (1932–2013)
Modern era
Richard Burton
November 10, 1925 – August 5, 1984
Welsh actor (1925–1984)
Modern era
Natalie Wood
July 20, 1938 – November 28, 1981
American actress (1938–1981)
Modern era
Bela Lugosi
October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956
Hungarian-American actor (1882–1956)