John Coltrane (1926 - 1967)

John Coltrane John William Coltrane, also known as “Trane” (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967), was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and was later at the forefront of free jazz. He organized […]

John Comer (1924 - 1984)

Actor, Comedian. He is remembered for his comedic roles in the British television sitcoms “I Didn’t Know You Cared” (1975 to 1979, as ‘Les’), “Last of the Summer Wine’ (1973 to 1983 as ‘Sid’), and “All Our Saturdays” (February to March 1973, as ‘Wilf’). Born one of five children, he received his education at the […]

John Compton (1923 - 2015)

Actor. Born John Compton Tolley in Tennessee, his father was a liquor manufacturer, John moved to New York City, where he launched his professional acting debut on Broadway, with a starring role in the production of “The Ryan Girl” (1945). He broke into motion pictures during the 1940s and had minor roles in the films […]

John Connell (1923 - 2015)

American Actor. Born John P. Connell, he was an actor who was best known for playing Dr. David Malone on the daytime television soap opera “Young Dr. Malone”. During the Second World War, he received five Battle Stars and a Purple Heart for service as a radio operator and waist gunner aboard a B-24 with […]

John Constable (1776 - 1837)

Artist. Born at East Bergholt, Suffolk, the son of a prosperous merchant. After several years in the family business, he went to London in 1799 to study at the Royal Academy. In 1802 he exhibited at the Academy for the first time and he refused the position of drawing master at Great Marlow Military College. […]

John Conte (1915 - 2006)

John Conte was born in Palmer, Massachusetts. His mother was Italian, and his father was French-Italian. The family moved to Los Angeles, California, when John was 5. While a student at Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, Conte focused on classes in drama and for three years was the school’s top entrant in Shakespearian competition. […]

John Cornelius Crean (1925 - 2007)

Philanthropist, Entrepreneur. Founded Fleetwood Enterprises manufactured housing company that became an industry leader and later becoming a large producer of recreational vehicles. His humor and limitless generosity was widely known and he often opened his Newport Beach home to host charity events. He also made large donations to the Crystal Cathedral, Hoag Hospital, the Orange […]

John Corydon Moon (1853 - 1933)

Carriage manufacturer. Mr. Moon began his careeer as a photographer & later engaged in the sale of buggies & wagons. In 1882, he began as a manufacturer of vehicles in St. Louis. He & his brother organized the firm of Moon Bros. Carriage Co. in 1882. The company manufactured carriages for the wholesale trade. Six […]

John Costelloe (1961 - 2008)

Actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was best known for his role as Jim “Johnny Cakes” Witowski on the HBO television series, “The Sopranos”. A former FDNY firefighter, he made his big screen debut in “Black Rain” (1989), followed by “Last Exit to Brooklyn” (1989). His other film credits include “Die Hard II” (1990), […]

John Cotton (1585 - 1652)

Religious Figure. He was a Puritan minister at St. Botolph’s Church in Lincolnshire, England, before leaving for America in 1633. His daughter Maria later wedded to Increase Mather and borne son, Cotton Mather. John Cotton became a minister at the First Church of Boston in Massachusetts, forming the basis for Congregationalism. He figured prominently in […]

John Couch Adams (1819 - 1892)

John Couch Adams Adams was born at Lidcot, a farm at Laneast, near Launceston, Cornwall, the eldest of seven children. His parents were Thomas Adams (1788–1859), a poor tenant farmer, and his wife, Tabitha Knill Grylls (1796–1866). The family were devout Wesleyans who enjoyed music and among John’s brothers, Thomas became a missionary, George a […]

John Couey (1958 - 2009)

John Couey had an extensive criminal record that included 24 arrests for burglary, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and indecent exposure. During a house burglary in 1978, Couey was accused of grabbing a girl in her bedroom, placing his hand over her mouth, and kissing her. Couey was sentenced to 10 years in […]

John Curr (1970 - 1970)

Business magnate. Co-founder of Sibley, Lindsay & Curr, for over a hundred years one of the most successful department stores in the U.S. Sibley’s was eventually bought out by Kaufmanns in the late 20th century.  (bio by: Mount Hope NY)

John Curtis Underwood (1809 - 1873)

US Jurist. Judge of the United States District Court. In 1856 campaigned for the Republican ticket and was so outspoken against slavery he had to leave the state. Campaigned for Abraham Lincoln, in the 1860 campaign, and was rewarded with an appointment as fifth auditor of the treasury in 1861. In 1864, Underwood was appointed […]

John D McKeel, Jr (1953 - 1991)

Unites States Marine Sergeant. One of the 52 Americans held hostage by Iran from 1979 to 1981. Shot to death while trying to help a woman who was being robbed. (bio by: Erik Lander)  Inscription:US Marine CorpsVietnam Veteran

John D. O’Bryant (1931 - 1992)

Teacher. O’Bryant was the first African American to serve as a School Committee President. Born to a Pullman porter in 1931, he graduated from English High School and became a schoolteacher in 1954 and later a guidance counsel at his old high school. In 1979, with educator Mel King they founded the Roxbury Multi-Service Center […]

John D. Rockefeller, III (1906 - 1978)

Financier and Philanthropist.  Born into the wealthy and socially prominent Rockefeller family, he was the eldest son of John Davison Rockefeller Jr and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller.  He attended primary education at the Browning School in New York City, and at the Loomis Institute in Windsor, Connecticut.  In 1929, he graduated from Princeton University where he […]

John Dall (1920 - 1971)

John Dall Thompson (he used his middle name for his acting career) was born in New York City on 26 May 1920, the younger son of Charles Jenner Thompson (1873-1929) and his wife Henry (née Worthington). (Sources which cite Dall’s birth name as John Jenner Thompson and his birth year as 1918 appear to be […]

John Daly (1914 - 1991)

The second of two brothers, Daly was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, where his American father worked as a geologist. After his father died of tropical fever, Daly’s mother moved the family to Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Daly was an alumnus of Tilton School in Tilton, New Hampshire; he later served on its […]

John Daniel Hertz (1879 - 1961)

Business Magnate. Born Sandor Herz on April 10, 1879. When he was five years old, Mr. Hertz’s family immigrated to this country from the little village of Vrutsky, in what was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and later became Czechoslovakia.In his early twenties, he met Fannie Kesner, a member of a well-to-do Chicago family, […]

John David Duty (1952 - 2010)

John David Duty was born on April 25, 1952, to Charles Houston Duty and Mildred Duty Hall. Duty stated that he had been raised in a broken home, his mother having remarried twice. His family included two brothers, a sister, a half-brother, and a half-sister. For some time, Duty went by the name of John […]

John Davidson (1886 - 1968)

Actor. Most remembered opposite Francis X. Bushman in “A Million A Minute,” (1916) he appeared in some 150 movies. (bio by: MC)

John Davidson (1886 - 1968)

Actor. Most remembered opposite Francis X. Bushman in “A Million A Minute,” (1916) he appeared in some 150 movies. (bio by: MC)

John Davison Rockefeller, Sr (1839 - 1937)

American financier, oil magnate and philanthropist.  Best known as the patriarch of the socially prominent Rockefeller family of New York, founder of the Standard Oil Company and founder of the Rockefeller Foundation.  He was born John Davison Rockefeller on July 8, 1839 in Richford, New York, the son of William Avery Rockefeller, a traveling quack […]

John Dehner (1915 - 1992)

Dehner was born in Staten Island, New York. He had an extensive career as a radio actor, appearing as a lead or supporting player in such series as Gunsmoke and Philip Marlowe. He starred as Paladin in the radio version of Have Gun – Will Travel, one of the few times a show began on […]

John Demjanjuk (1920 - 2012)

John Demjanjuk (born Ivan Mykolaiovych Demianiuk; Ukrainian: Іван Миколайович Дем’янюк; 3 April 1920 – 17 March 2012) was a retired Ukrainian-American auto worker, a former soldier in the Soviet Red Army, and a POW during the Second World War.  Although he was a survivor of the notorious Nazi concentration camps system, he was convicted in […]

John Dennis (1925 - 2004)

Character Actor who. He appeared in hundreds of Motion Pictures and Television shows from the 1950s through 1990s. He usaully played tough guy roles in movies such as “From Here To Eternity,” “Pete Kelly’s Blues,” and “The Oscar,” as well as TV appearances in “Perry Mason,” “Mission: Impossible,” and “Get Smart.” He became a Minister […]

John Derek (1926 - 1998)

John Derek Born Derek Harris in Hollywood in 1926, he had a film-oriented background, his father being the silent film-maker Lawrence Harris and his mother a minor film actress, Dolores Johnson. The producer David Selznick put him under contract as a teenager, and gave him small roles (billed as Derek Harris) in the Selznick productions […]

John Dewey (1859 - 1952)

Educator. Born in Burlington, Vermont, he was a psychologist, philosopher, educator, social critic and political activist. For over 50 years he was the voice for a liberal and progressive democracy that shaped the destiny of America and the world. As one of the 20th Century’s premier philosophers, he ranks with the greatest thinkers on the […]

John Dickson Carr (1906 - 1977)

Author. He is best remembered for his detective’s novels. Among others: “It Walks by Night,” “Hag’s Nook,” “The Sleeping Sphinx,” “The Dead Man’s Knock” and “Most Secret”. He was also known as Carter Dickson. (bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni)  Family links:  Parents:  Wooda Nicholas Carr (1871 – 1953)  Julia K Carr (1876 – 1966)