wing of the archive
The Modern Era
The industrial and imperial centuries: inventors, statesmen, artists, and the makers of the modern world.
Modern era
Julia Child
August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004
American chef
Modern era
Christopher Lee
May 27, 1922 – June 7, 2015
English actor and singer (1922–2015)
Modern era
James Earl Jones
January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024
American actor (1931–2024)
Modern era
Anthony Hopkins
b. December 31, 1937
Welsh–American actor and director (born 1937)
Modern era
Michael Caine
b. March 14, 1933
English actor (born 1933)
Modern era
Ian McKellen
b. May 25, 1939
British actor (born 1939)
Modern era
Patrick Stewart
b. July 13, 1940
British actor (born 1940)
Modern era
Judi Dench
b. December 9, 1934
English actress (born 1934)
Modern era
Gene Hackman
January 30, 1930 – February 18, 2025
American actor and novelist (1930–2025)
Modern era
Jane Fonda
b. December 21, 1937
American actress and activist
Modern era
Richard Pryor
December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005
American comedian and actor (1940–2005)
Modern era
George Carlin
May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008
American stand-up comedian (1937–2008)
Modern era
Betty White
January 17, 1922 – December 31, 2021
American actress and comedian (1922–2021)
Modern era
Harrison Ford
b. July 13, 1942
American actor (born 1942)
Modern era
Raj Kapoor
December 14, 1924 – June 2, 1988
Indian actor and filmmaker (1924–1988)
Modern era
Scott Joplin
March 31, 1868 – April 1, 1917
American composer, musician, pianist (1867/68-1917)
Modern era
John Philip Sousa
November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932
American conductor and composer (1854–1932)
Modern era
Bing Crosby
May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977
American singer and actor (1903–1977)
Modern era
Glenn Miller
March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944
American band leader, arranger, and composer (1904–1944)
Modern era
Benny Goodman
May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986
American jazz clarinetist and bandleader (1909–1986)
Modern era
Dizzy Gillespie
October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993
American jazz trumpeter (1917–1993)
Modern era
Thelonious Monk
October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982
American jazz pianist and composer (1917–1982)
Modern era
Django Reinhardt
January 23, 1910 – May 16, 1953
Romani-Belgian /French jazz musician (1910–1953)
Modern era
Sarah Vaughan
March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990
American jazz and classical singer (1924–1990)
Modern era
Mahalia Jackson
October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972
American gospel singer (1911–1972)
Modern era
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973
American gospel musician (1915–1973)
Modern era
Robert Johnson
March 26, 1874 – March 2, 1938
British civil servant (1874-1938)
Modern era
Muddy Waters
April 4, 1913 – April 30, 1983
American blues musician (1913–1983)
Modern era
Etta James
January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012
American singer (1938–2012)
Modern era
Fats Domino
February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017
American pianist and singer (1928-2017)
Modern era
Ritchie Valens
May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959
American musician (1941–1959)
Modern era
Roy Orbison
April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988
American musician (1936 –1988)
Modern era
Otis Redding
September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967
American singer and songwriter (1941–1967)
Modern era
Smokey Robinson
b. February 19, 1940
American R&B singer, songwriter and producer (born 1940)
Modern era
Curtis Mayfield
June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999
American singer-songwriter (1942–1999)
Modern era
Celia Cruz
October 21, 1925 – July 16, 2003
Cuban singer (1925–2003)
Modern era
Antonio Carlos Jobim
January 25, 1927 – December 8, 1994
Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist (1927–1994)
Modern era
Fairuz
b. November 21, 1935
Lebanese singer and actress
Modern era
Mohammed Rafi
December 24, 1924 – July 31, 1980
Indian playback singer (1924–1980)
Modern era
Kishore Kumar
August 4, 1929 – October 13, 1987
Indian singer and actor (1929–1987)
Modern era
Asha Bhosle
September 8, 1933 – April 12, 2026
Indian playback singer (1933–2026)
Modern era
Hibari Misora
May 29, 1937 – June 24, 1989
Japanese singer and actress (1937-1989)
Modern era
Hank Williams
September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953
American singer-songwriter (1923–1953)
Modern era
Patsy Cline
September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963
American country singer (1932–1963)
Modern era
Willie Nelson
b. April 29, 1933
American country musician (born 1933)
Modern era
Kenny Rogers
August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020
American country singer (1938–2020)
Modern era
John Denver
December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997
American singer (1943–1997)
Modern era
Dean Martin
June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995
American singer, actor, comedian and film producer (1917–1995)
Modern era
Sammy Davis Jr.
December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990
American entertainer (1925–1990)
Modern era
Tony Bennett
August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023
American singer (1926–2023)
Modern era
Barbra Streisand
b. April 24, 1942
American singer and actress (born 1942)
Modern era
Woody Guthrie
July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967
American singer-songwriter (1912–1967)
Modern era
Pete Seeger
May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014
American folk singer (1919–2014)
Modern era
Joan Baez
b. January 9, 1941
American contemporary folk musician (born 1941)