Biographies of notable people — their path, achievements and key facts.
Hugh Jackman
Actor Born October 10, 1968, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; son of Chris Jackman (an accountant); married Deborra–Lee Furness (an actress), February, 1996; children:...
Peter Jackson
Film director and screenwriter Born October 31, 1961, in Pukerua Bay, North Island, New Zealand; son of Bill (a civil servant) and Joan Jackson; companion of Frances Walsh; ...
Andrew Jackson
Born: March 15, 1767 Waxhaw, South Carolina Died: June 8, 1845 Nashville, Tennessee American president and lawyer And...
Peter Jackson
October 31, 1961 • Pukerua Bay, North Island, New Zealand Filmmaker Peter Jackson made a name for himself in the movie indust...
Jesse Jackson
Born: October 18, 1941 Greenville, South Carolina African American political leader, religious minister, and orator Civil rights leader Reverend Jesse ...
Michael Jackson
Born: August 29, 1958 Gary, Indiana African American entertainer, singer, and songwriter Aperformer since the age of five, Michael Jackson is one of th...
Reggie Jackson
Born: May 18, 1946 Wyncote, Pennsylvania African American baseball player Baseball great Reggie Jackson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame ...
Jane Jacobs
American-born Canadian writer Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) revolutionized the field of urban planning with her pathbreaking 1961 book The Death and Life of Great...
Jade Jagger
Jewelry designer Born Jade Jezebel Jagger, October 21, 1971, in Paris, France; daughter of Mick (a musician) and Bianca Jagger; children: Assisi (daughter), Amba (daughter)....
LeBron James
December 30, 1984 • Akron, Ohio Basketball player Before LeBron James had completed his sophomore year of high school, basketball scout...
Jesse James
Television host and motorcycle-customizing shop owner Born Jesse Gregory James in 1969, in Long Beach, CA; son of an antiques dealer; married Karla (divorced); married Janine Lind...
P. D. James
Born: August 3, 1920 Oxford, England English author Although British author P. D. James writes in the tradition of the British crime storyteller,...
Rick James
Born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. on February 1, 1948, in Buffalo, NY; died of a heart attack on August 6, 2004, in Los Angeles, CA. Singer. Rick James burst on the scene with his smash hit,...
Victor Jara
Chilean folksinger Victor Jara (1932–1973) was the voice of his country's dispossessed, an internationally admired songwriter, and one of the founders of a new genre of Latin Ameri...
Jay-Z
Rap musician and record company executive Born Shawn Corey Carter, December 4, 1970, in Brooklyn, NY; son of Adnis Reeves and Gloria Carter. Addresses: ...
Thomas Jefferson
Born: April 13, 1743 Shadwell, Virginia Died: July 4, 1826 Monticello, Virginia American president, philosopher, and statesman ...
Mildred Jeffrey
Born December 29, 1910, in Alton, IA; died March 24, 2004, in Detroit, MI. Labor union official. Longtime labor activist and civil-rights champion Mildred Jeffrey was a longtime Democratic...
Elfriede Jelinek
Author and playwright Born October 20, 1946, in Mürzzuschlag, Steiermark, Austria; daughter of Friedrich (a chemical engineer) and Olga Ilona (Buchner) Jelinek (a personnel ...
Mae Jemison
Born: October 17, 1956 Decatur, Alabama African American physician and astronaut Mae Jemison, a doctor, was the first African American woman to be sele...
Roy Harris Jenkins
Born November 11, 1920, in Abersychan, Monmouthshire, Wales; died of a suspected heart attack, January 5, 2003, in East Hendred, Oxfordshire, England. Politician and author. Roy Harris Jen...