ThingsToDo.com Logo Things to do in Washington DC

Famous People from Washington D.C.


Carl Bernstein (1944 - ) Reporter for The Washington Post that helped to uncover the Watergate scandal (1974). Born in Washington, DC (628)

Pat Buchanan (1938 - ) An American political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. He has served as a senior advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Reagan. Buchanan is also a former Presidential candidate, and was an original host CNN's "Crossfire." Born in Washington, DC (735)

Connie Chung (1946 - ) Born Constance Yu-Hwa Chung. An American journalist. She has been an anchor and reporter for several television news networks. Born in Washington, DC (629)

Adrian Delano Dantley (1956 - ) A retired American basketball player who played 15 seasons in the NBA. During his time playing in the NBA, Dantley was an All-Star 6 times, and won an Olympic Gold Medal once. Dantley scored 23,177 points in his career, and when he retired he was ninth on the NBA career scoring list. Born in Washington, DC (729)

Benjamin Oliver Davis (1877 - 1970) The first African American general in the United States Army (1940). He is the father of Air Force General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Born in Washington, DC (630)

Gene Davis (1920 - 1985) An American painter known for paintings with vertical stripes of color. Davis was a member of the Washington Color School during the 1960s. His works are housed in several art museums including the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Walker Art Center. Born in Washington, DC (732)

John Foster Dulles (1888 - 1959) John Foster Dulles served as Secretary of State in the Eisenhower administration (1953-1959). In this capacity, Dulles helped to encourage Eisenhower to pursue policies which would contain communism and the Soviet sphere of influence. Born in Washington, DC (730)



Duke Ellington (1899 - 1974) Born Edward Kennedy Ellington. Considered one of America's greatest composers, bandleaders, and recording artists, Ellington composed nearly 2,000 songs prior to his death. Ellington was well known for his Jazz compositions. Born in Washington, DC (727)

Al Gore (1948 - ) Born Albert Arnold Gore. He is a former Vice President of the United States, serving with President Bill Clinton (1993-2001). Gore has also won the Nobel Peace Prize. Born in Washington, DC (731)

John Edgar Hoover (1895 - 1972) He was the first director of the FBI, and is generally credited with turning it into a large, efficient crime-fighting organization. Born in Washington, DC (736)

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896 - 1953) She won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1939 for her best known work, "The Yearling." Born in Washington, DC (734)

Pete Sampras (1971 - ) He won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, becoming the first player to break Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slams. Sampras also held the year-end number 1 ranking for 6 consecutive years. He is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Born in Washington, DC (733)

John Philip Sousa (1854 - 1932) An American composer and conductor known primarily for American military and patriotic marches. He came to be known as "The March King." He was well known for the band which he formed in 1892, as well as for his 12 years as leader of the US Marine Band. He also developed the sousaphone, a large brass instrument similar to the tuba. Born in Washington, DC (728)