Fifteen Famous Americans

Squanto 17th century English-speaking Patuxet Indian who assisted and translated for the Pilgrims when they landed in 1620.

Aaron Burr Jefferson’s first vice president; shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel; was tried (and acquitted) for treason, following an attempt to start a new nation west of the Appalachians

Sacagawea Shoshone Indian woman who led and saved Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery.

John James Audubon 19th century French-American ornithologist and bird painter; published Birds of America

Nat Turner Slave who led a failed rebellion in 1831, killing around 60 white slave owners.

Henry Clay Kentuckian who was Speaker of the House, US senator, and campaigner for the US presidency five times between 1824 and 1848. He was a leader of the Whig Party. “The Great Compromiser”

P. T. Barnum 19th century showman and promoter; “there’s a sucker born every minute”

General George Custer 19th century soldier and Indian fighter, killed with all his men at Little Big Horn.

Susan B Anthony 19th century abolitionist woman who was later instrumental in fighting for women’s suffrage; placed on a one-dollar coin in the late twentieth century.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Friend and fellow activist of Susan B. Anthony; organizer of first women’s rights movement

Harry Houdini Late 19th and early 20th century showman, magician, and escape artist; did many outrageous stunts

Clara Barton Nurse who founded the American Red Cross.

Charlie Lindbergh First person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in his plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, in 1927. His son was famously kidnapped and murdered in 1932.

Amelia Earhardt First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She was lost over the Pacific trying to circumnavigate the world in 1937.

Eleanor Roosevelt Longest serving first lady, champion of women’s rights and human rights; served as the first U.S. delegate to the United Nations, immediately following World War II