Famous People Born In New Haven

One half of the popular musical duo The Carpenters, Karen Carpenter was an American drummer and singer. Her death at age 32 and life-long struggles with eating disorders led to increased awareness of conditions like anorexia and body dysmorphia, which were little-known at the time. In 2010, Carpenter was named on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest singers of all time list.

The 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush served two consecutive term in the top office beginning 2001 and led his country post the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He later ordered the invasion of Iraq. Before this, he was twice elected as the governor of Texas and had even helped his father, George H. W. Bush—the 41st president, in his presidential campaigns.

Paul Giamatti is an American actor known for playing important roles in popular films like The Illusionist and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Paul Giamatti became the subject of a famous campaign called Wax Paul Now, which inspired a short film. The short film was premiered in October 2019 at the Virginia Film Festival.

Michael Bolton is an American singer-songwriter who has sold over 75 million records so far. Apart from recording several top 10 albums on the Billboard charts, Bolton also has several prestigious awards under his belt, such as Grammy Awards. Also known for his charity work, Bolton set up the Michael Bolton Foundation in order to aid children and women.

TV writer and producer Norman Lear is best known for producing hit sitcoms such as All in the Family, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, and Sanford and Son. He is also part of the Malibu Mafia and a liberal activist. He also established People for the American Way.

American paediatrician Benjamin Spock was the first paediatrician who studied psychoanalysis to comprehend needs of children and family dynamics. He penned Baby and Child Care, a best-seller book of the twentieth-century. His concepts of child-rearing influenced generations of parents. Spock was also an Olympic gold-medallist in rowing and ran during the 1972 United States presidential election as People's Party nominee.

Charles Goodyear was an American manufacturing engineer and self-taught chemist who developed vulcanized rubber. He invented the chemical process to manufacture pliable, moldable, and waterproof rubber which revolutionized the automobile industry. In 1976, Charles Goodyear was inducted posthumously into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

The son of a bingo parlor chain, Steve Wynn sold ice-creams as a teenager but grew up to own some of Las Vegas’s most popular casinos, such as The Mirage. A sexual misconduct scandal forced him to step down from the post of the chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts.

Lauren Ambrose is an American actress who performs in films, television, and on Broadway. She is best known for her portrayal of Claire Fisher in the drama television series Six Feet Under, which earned her two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Ambrose is also known for playing Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady on Broadway.

Robert Moses was an American public official. Often referred to as the master builder, Moses is credited with influencing the creation of the modern suburbs of Long Island, which in turn influenced a generation of urban planners, architects, and engineers. Robert Moses is widely regarded as one of the most polarizing personalities in urban development history in the US.

Apart from being the president of Harvard, Lawrence Summers has also been the U.S. secretary of the treasury, the World Bank’s chief economist, and the NEC director. The MIT alumnus became one of the youngest tenured faculty members at Harvard. He also writes regularly for The Washington Post.

Known for his stance against alcoholism, publishing six time-honored sermons on it, Presbyterian minister Lyman Beecher also worked for women’s education. An active participant in theological controversies, adhering to the New School Presbyterian branch of schism, he was once tried for heresy. However, he is equally remembered for fathering thirteen children, seven of whom earned distinction in their chosen field.

Best remembered as one of the foremost educators of the US, Ted Sizer was the man behind the formation of the Essential School movement and the Coalition of Essential Schools. The Yale and Harvard alumnus was also associated with Brown University and had penned several books, too.

Philip Kapleau was an American religious teacher who taught the principles of Zen Buddhism. He is credited with founding the Rochester Zen Center, where he taught for almost 40 years. A passionate writer, Philip Kapleau remains widely read. He also continues to have a major influence on the westerners practicing Zen Buddhism in places like the United States of America.