What do five legendary musicians, a civil rights activist, a “sophisticated men’s lifestyle magazine” founder, and a future queen have in common? They all entered this world in 1926! Here are all the notable births from 100 years ago.
Disclaimer: While I did try to find every notable birth from 1926, this was a one-woman effort that took place over the course of only a couple of months, so I’m sure there is a lot I missed. If there are any other notable births from 1926 that you’d like to highlight, kindly share them in the comment section.
January 1926
JANUARY 12
Country music singer Ray Price is born in Texas.
February 1926
FEBRUARY 25
Dental implant pioneer Leonard Linkow is born in Brooklyn, New York. His work in dentistry will earn him a nomination for a Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine, the only dentist with that honor so far.
March 1926
MARCH 11
Civil rights activist Ralph Abernathy is born in Linden, Alabama. He’ll become one of the most prominent leaders of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, playing an active role in organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the continuation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Poor People’s Campaign following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968.
April 1926
APRIL 9
Irony of ironies, Hugh Hefner is born in Chicago, Illinois, into a strict Methodist household. Even more ironic, in 1953, in the midst of an era of sexual repression, he’ll found Playboy magazine, which at its peak will be the most popular men’s magazine in the world, known for its nude centerfolds and serious journalism.
Irony of ironies, Hugh Hefner is born in Chicago, Illinois, into a strict Methodist household. Even more ironic, in 1953, in the midst of an era of sexual repression, he’ll found Playboy magazine, which at its peak will be the most popular men’s magazine in the world, known for its nude centerfolds and serious journalism.
APRIL 21
Princess Elizabeth of York is born in London, England. Although not initially destined for the British throne, the abdication of her uncle King Edward VIII and the premature death of her father King George VI, results in the princess being crowned Queen Elizabeth II at age 25. She’ll go on to be the longest reigning monarch in British history.
APRIL 28
Author Harper Lee is born in Monroeville, Alabama. In 1960, her novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” will be published to great acclaim, winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and becoming part of the American literary canon.
May 1926
MAY 8
Biologist, natural historian, writer, and the voice in your head when you think of nature documentaries, Sir David Attenborough is born in Middlesex, England.
MAY 26
Jazz music legend Miles Davis is born in Alton, Illinois.
June 1926
JUNE 1
Actor and entertainer Andy Griffith, best known for playing Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show (1960 – 1968) and Ben Matlock in Matlock (1986 – 1995) is born in Mount Airy, North Carolina.
JUNE 1
Cemented in pop culture history as “the ultimate blonde bombshell,” actress and model Marilyn Monroe is born as Norma Jean Mortenson in Los Angeles, California.
JUNE 3
Described as “a spiritual and sexually liberated ambassador for tolerance and enlightenment,” Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg is born in Newark, New Jersey.
JUNE 28
Entertainer Mel Brooks is born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, as Melvin Kaminsky. The future EGOT winner will create sidesplitting comedies such as The Producers (1967), Blazing Saddles (1974), Young Frankenstein (1974), and Spaceballs (1987).
August 1926
AUGUST 3
Legendary crooner Tony Bennett is born Anthony Dominick Benedetto in Queens, New York.
AUGUST 13
Fidel Castro is born in Biran, Cuba. He will become one of the longest-serving political leaders of the 20th century, a thorn in the side of 10 U.S. presidents uncomfortable with having a Communist dictatorship in their backyard.
October 1926
OCTOBER 18
The “father of rock and roll” Chuck Berry is born in St. Louis, Missouri. In the 1950s, he’ll rise to fame for his two-string guitar licks, showmanship, and songwriting that will connect particularly with the teenagers of the period.
December 1926
DECEMBER 11
Blues singer Big Mama Thorton is born Willie Mae Thorton in Ariton, Alabama. She will become known for her outsized voice and presence, but despite her success, two of her biggest hits, “Hound Dog” and “Ball ‘n’ Chain,” will be usurped by Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin, respectively, without crediting or compensating her.
This article is a subsection of a much larger mega-timeline of (nearly) every notable event that happened in 1926. What a year. If you want an audio-visual take on these events, I have video versions of this article posted on my YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok accounts, in addition to having a full written transcript on this site. Browse around the site for other breakdowns of the year 1926 by notable births, deaths, pop culture moments, Black history, U.S. news, and so on and so forth. There are also a couple of articles dedicated to my sources, if you want to dive deeper into the people and events I mentioned.