Famous Democrats Of All Time

Former President of the United States, Barack Obama, has the distinction of being the first African-American president of the nation. A civil rights attorney and an academic, he has been credited with bringing about a significant improvement in America’s reputation abroad. His efforts to strengthen international diplomacy was recognized with the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

The 35th President of the United States, John F Kennedy was a charismatic leader who, during his tenure, ably dealt with Cuban missile crisis, proposed public service programmes and lent support to the growing civil rights movement. Before becoming one of the youngest Presidents of the country, he served in the navy, U.S. House of Representatives and the US Senate.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of USA, is one of the rare Presidents whose legacy continues even after leaving office. He is known as a champion of human rights and a mediator of peace efforts across the world. His humanitarian works earned him the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

American actor Gregory Peck was one of the most famous movie stars between the 1940s and the 1960s. In 1999, Gregory Peck was ranked 12th in the Greatest Male Stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema list published by the American Film Institute. Also known for his humanitarian efforts, Gregory Peck was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969.

The era of Lyndon B Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, saw the passage of many important laws pertaining to civil rights, gun control and social security.  Also, his ‘war on poverty’ helped millions to rise above the poverty line. However, he was criticised for the escalation of the Vietnam War.

Feminist and civil rights icon Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the longest-serving U.S First Lady. She was a prominent human rights activist, wrote columns, and hosted a radio show. She was named to Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century in 1999.

Bill Cinton was the 42nd president of the United States who served for two terms from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president in the American history and presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history. The second-term of his presidency was rocked by the infamous Monica Lewinsky sex-scandal for which he was impeached and later acquitted.

American actor, Ethan Hawke, is an acclaimed artist and has had a successful career. His breakthrough role was of a school student in the 1989 film Dead Poets Society. Training Day, First Reformed, Boyhood, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight are some of his critically appreciated movies. He has also directed several films and acted in many stage productions.

Milo Ventimiglia is best known for acting in American television series Gilmore Girls, Heroes and This Is Us. His role in This is Us has been critically acclaimed and he has won three Emmy awards for it. He has also acted in films like The Art of Racing in the Rain, Devil’s Gate, Gamer, The Divide, Rocky 6 and Pathology.

Stephen Colbert is an American actor, comedian, political commentator, and television host. Over the years, Stephen Colbert has influenced popular comedians, such as James Corden, Billy Eichner, Mindy Kaling, Jordan Klepper, and Hasan Minhaj. He has been twice named on Time magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People.

Ashley Judd is a popular American actress who is vocal about topics, such as sexual assault. As a three-time rape survivor—as claimed by her—Ashley serves as an inspiration to rape survivors around the world. Known for her humanitarian work, Ashley has worked on gender equality for over a decade. She is also famous for her political activities.

Grover Cleveland, a Democratic Party member, was the President of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and then again from 1893 to 1897. He is known for his campaign for political reform and fiscal conservatism. However, he was unable to deal with the economic depression in his second term as President, which led to massive decline in his popularity.

The first American to orbit the Earth, John Glenn was an astronaut, aviator, politician, and businessman. Beginning his career as an army man, he was a fighter pilot in World War II. He later joined NASA and was one of the Mercury Seven. Following his retirement from NASA, he became a politician and served in the US Senate.

Jean Harlow was an actress and sex symbol. Nicknamed the Platinum Blonde and Blonde Bombshell, Harlow was famous for her femme fatale screen persona. She became one of the biggest Hollywood stars despite being in the industry for not more than nine years. Her life and career inspired several movies, such as Harlow and Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell.

Mostly known for playing real-life characters, Emmy Award-winner James Woods began his career on stage. Fans adore him for his performances in the play Moonchildren, the series Holocaust, and the TV movie Too Big to Fail. He also played a significant voice role in the animated feature Hercules.

Tony Curtis was an American actor who achieved the height of his fame in the 1950s and 1960s in a career spanning six decades. Also a well-known philanthropist, Tony Curtis helped fund the rebuilding of the Great Synagogue in Hungary. In 1998, he founded a non-profit organization called Emanuel Foundation for Hungarian Culture, which works towards the restoration of synagogues.

Jefferson Davis was the president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. He was also the U.S. secretary of war and had fought in the Mexican–American War earlier. He was against secession. He wrote an autobiography named The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.

English-born American television presenter, actor, politician, and musician Jerry Springer is a multifaceted man. A qualified lawyer, he shifted to politics from law as a young man. After a few years, he moved to journalism and found considerable success. As a TV presenter, he is best known for the tabloid talk show, The Jerry Springer Show. 

James Buchanan was a prominent American lawyer who served as the 15th president of the United States. He is often criticized for failing to address the issue of slavery and is consistently ranked among America's worst presidents. His life and work inspired the 2019 film Raising Buchanan in which he was played by René Auberjonois.

Known for designing tight-fitting signature jeans, the award-winning American designer is the co-founder of the New York-headquartered fashion brand 'Calvin Klein Inc'. Calvin Klein featured in The International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame. Father of noted television producer, Marci Klein, Calvin has funded Democratic Party candidates and made financial contributions to the Political Action Committee.

Martin Van Buren was an American statesman credited with co-founding the Democratic Party, one of the world's oldest and contemporary political parties. He served as the eighth president of the US and later became a prominent anti-slavery abolitionist leader. He also played a key role in forming the two-party system in the US.

Married to former US president, Bill Clinton, Hilary Clinton served as the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Thereafter, she became the first First Lady to hold US senator office. The former Secretary of State in the administration of Barrack Obama also fought and lost, as a Democratic nominee, the 2016 presidential election against Donald Trump.

Franklin Pierce was an American politician who served as the 14th president of the US. A northern Democrat, Franklin Pierce's actions leading up to the American Civil War are believed to have contributed to the commencement of the war. Scholars and historians rank Pierce as one of the least memorable and worst US presidents.

Al Franken served as the U.S. senator from Minnesota, from 2009 to 2018. He has also gained fame as a Saturday Night Live writer, has authored several bestsellers, has hosted The Al Franken Show on radio, and has starred in screen projects such as Stuart Saves His Family.

A congresswoman from California and the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the highest-ranking female elected official in United States history and the only woman in US history to serve as the speaker. She played a key role in the passage of the 2010 Tax Relief Act.

Democratic politician and Virginia senator Tim Kaine was the vice-presidential running mate to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. election, but the duo lost to Republican Donald Trump and Mike Pence. The Harvard alumnus has also taught law and served as the mayor of Richmond and the governor of Virginia.

Denis Leary is an Irish-American actor, producer, writer, and comedian. Leary is credited with creating popular TV series, such as Rescue Me and Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. Also a humanitarian, Denis Leary established the Leary Firefighters Foundation in 2000. The foundation has been donating money to fire departments in New York City, Boston, and Worcester.

Ken Burns is an American filmmaker best known for making documentary series, such as The Civil War, The War, and Prohibition. One of the most respected documentary filmmakers, Burns specializes in giving life to still photographs by zooming in on photographs and panning from one photograph to another; this technique is called the Ken Burns effect in Apple's software applications.

The 42nd vice president of the US, Walter Mondale is a lawyer by profession. Walter Mondale's interesting political career and his involvement in the infamous Apollo 1 accident, which occurred on 27 January 1967, have inspired several works of art, including the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, where Mondale was played by John Slattery.

A courageous political leader, Shirley Chisholm made history when she became the first African-American woman to be elected the United States Congresswoman. Later, she yet again created history when she—though unsuccessfullyVran for Democratic Party's presidential nomination to contest for US presidency. Throughout her career, she advocated racial equality and women empowerment. As an author, she penned two books.

Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian playwright, poet, and essayist. In 1986, he became the first sub-Saharan African to be honored with the Nobel Prize in Literature. As a young man, he worked with the Royal Court Theatre in London. In Nigeria, he was actively involved in the country’s freedom struggle. He has taught at various international universities.

The 38th vice president of the USA, Hubert Humphrey was an early skeptic of the Vietnam War; however, he had no choice but to support the war effort as President Lyndon B. Johnson wanted the war to go on. Thanks to his popularity, several buildings have been named after Humphrey. He has also been portrayed by actors like Bradley Whitford.

Popularly known as one of the Big Six—leaders of six important civil rights organizations who masterminded the Great March on Washington in 1963—John Lewis played an important role in the civil rights movement that eventually ended racial segregation in the US. Also a statesman, Lewis was honored with many awards, such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Tom Hayden was a prominent social/political activist, and a champion for civil rights and anti-war campaigns. Also known as Jane Fonda’s ex-husband, he had contributed to the Port Huron Statement and stood trial in the Chicago Seven Case. He was part of the California State Assembly and the California Senate.

Robert Byrd was the longest-serving U.S. senator and the longest-serving member of the U.S. Congress. In his early days, he was against the Civil Rights Act, supported the Vietnam War, and even recruited for the Ku Klux Klan, but later grew tolerant and spoke against racism and the Iraq War.

Raila Odinga is a Kenyan politician who has been the Leader of Opposition since 2013. From 2008 to 2013, Odinga served as the prime minister of Kenya. Before becoming the prime minister, Raila Odinga served as the Minister for Roads, Public Works, and Housing. At the African Union Commission in 2018, he was appointed High Representative for Infrastructure Development.

Historian George McGovern had been the U.S. senator from South Dakota. He held important positions related to food, agriculture, and nutrition, too, and was named a World Food Prize laureate for his efforts in reducing world hunger. He had also advocated for the end of the Vietnam War.