History by region & era pairing
Americas in the Modern Era historical figures
Explore historical figures who lived in Americas in the Modern Era. Read concise biographies, learn key facts, and play a quiz focused on this collection.
People connected to Americas in the Modern Era
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128 figures
Frida Kahlo
Painter
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Harriet Tubman
Abolitionist & humanitarian
Eva Perón
First Lady of Argentina
Che Guevara
Revolutionary & guerrilla leader
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Theodore Roosevelt
26th U.S. President
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd U.S. President
John F. Kennedy
35th U.S. President
Barack Obama
44th U.S. President
Martin Luther King Jr.
Civil rights leader & minister
Malcolm X
Civil rights activist & minister
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Rosa Parks
Civil rights activist
Emiliano Zapata
Revolutionary & guerrilla leader
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Al Capone
Gangster
Bonnie and Clyde
Outlaw couple
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Pelé
Footballer
Diego Maradona
Footballer & manager
Jackie Robinson
Baseball player
Babe Ruth
Baseball player
Muhammad Ali
Boxer & activist
Jesse Owens
Track and field athlete
Wilma Rudolph
Track and field athlete
Usain Bolt
Sprinter
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Serena Williams
Tennis player
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Michael Jackson
Singer & entertainer
Bob Marley
Musician
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Louis Armstrong
Jazz musician & singer
Elvis Presley
Singer & actor
Michael Jordan
Basketball player
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Wayne Gretzky
Ice hockey player
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Tiger Woods
Golfer
Michael Phelps
Swimmer
Lionel Messi
Footballer
Simone Biles
Gymnast
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Woodrow Wilson
28th U.S. President
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Dwight D. Eisenhower
34th U.S. President & WWII general
Ronald Reagan
40th U.S. President
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Bill Clinton
42nd U.S. President
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Harry S. Truman
33rd U.S. President
Thomas Edison
Inventor & businessman
Richard Feynman
Theoretical physicist
Wright Brothers
Aviation pioneers & engineers
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Henry Ford
Industrialist & engineer
Salvador Allende
President of Chile
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Fidel Castro
Revolutionary & head of state
Gabriel García Márquez
Writer
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Juan Perón
President of Argentina
Pancho Villa
Revolutionary general
Crazy Horse
Lakota war leader
Isabel Allende
Novelist
Getúlio Vargas
President of Brazil
Rafael Trujillo
Dictator of the Dominican Republic
Rigoberta Menchú
Human rights activist
Jorge Luis Borges
Writer
Pierre Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
Augusto Pinochet
Dictator of Chile
Diego Rivera
Muralist
Hugo Chávez
President of Venezuela
Geronimo
Apache leader
Neil Armstrong
Astronaut
Katherine Johnson
Mathematician
Ayrton Senna
Racing driver
Duke Ellington
Jazz pianist and composer
Ella Fitzgerald
Jazz vocalist
Jimi Hendrix
Guitarist and songwriter
Aretha Franklin
Singer and songwriter
Bob Dylan
Singer-songwriter
Carlos Gardel
Tango singer and composer
Celia Cruz
Singer
Miles Davis
Jazz trumpeter and composer
Grace Hopper
Computer scientist and naval officer
Alan Shepard
Astronaut
Lázaro Cárdenas
President of Mexico
J. Robert Oppenheimer
Theoretical physicist
Barbara McClintock
Cytogeneticist
Nina Simone
Singer, pianist, and civil rights activist
José Figueres Ferrer
President of Costa Rica
Omar Torrijos
Military leader of Panama
Augusto César Sandino
Revolutionary leader
Eloy Alfaro
President of Ecuador
Rafael Correa
President of Ecuador
Rafael Reyes
President of Colombia
Babe Didrikson Zaharias
Multi-sport athlete
Jim Thorpe
Multi-sport athlete
Wilt Chamberlain
Basketball player
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Basketball player
Frank Lloyd Wright
Architect
Toni Morrison
Novelist and editor
Grey Owl
Writer and conservationist
Mae Jemison
Astronaut and physician
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Vivien Thomas
Surgical laboratory supervisor
Ronaldinho
Footballer
Fabre Geffrard
President of Haiti
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Francois Duvalier
President of Haiti
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Jean-Claude Duvalier
President of Haiti
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Jean-Bertrand Aristide
President of Haiti
Michel Martelly
President of Haiti
Rene Preval
President of Haiti
Cipriano Castro
President of Venezuela
Antonio Guzman Blanco
President of Venezuela
Carlos Andres Perez
President of Venezuela
Rafael Caldera
President of Venezuela
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Marcos Perez Jimenez
Military dictator of Venezuela
Vera Rubin
Astronomer
Katherine Freese
Theoretical physicist
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Sally Ride
Astronaut & physicist
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Peggy Whitson
Astronaut & biochemist
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Christa McAuliffe
Teacher & astronaut
Eileen Collins
Astronaut & Air Force pilot
Ellen Ochoa
Astronaut & engineer
Rosalind Picard
Computer scientist
George Washington Carver
Agricultural scientist & inventor
Elijah McCoy
Engineer & inventor
Garrett Morgan
Inventor & businessman
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Oscar Arias
President of Costa Rica
Manuel Noriega
Military dictator of Panama
Daniel Ortega
President of Nicaragua
Joaquin Balaguer
President of the Dominican Republic
Violeta Chamorro
President of Nicaragua
Wilma Mankiller
Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
Dolores Huerta
Labor leader & activist
Shirley Chisholm
Politician
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Frances Perkins
US Secretary of Labor
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Juan Bosch
President of the Dominican Republic
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Eric Williams
First Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
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Forbes Burnham
Leader of Guyana
George Price
First Prime Minister of Belize
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Victor Paz Estenssoro
President of Bolivia
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Alfredo Stroessner
Military dictator of Paraguay
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