James Warner Bellah (1899 - 1976)

James Warner Bellah (September 14, 1899 in New York City – September 22, 1976 in Los Angeles, California) was a popular American Western author from the 1930s to the 1950s. His pulp-fiction writings on cavalry and Indians were published in paperbacks or serialized in the Saturday Evening Post. Bellah was the author of 19 novels, including […]

James Watson Gerard (1970 - 1874)

Social Reformer and Lawyer. Born in New York City, he was the son of William Gerard, a reputable merchant. James would graduate from Columbia College in 1811. Soon after his graduation he enrolled in volunteer company called “The Iron Greys.”  A raised defense of harbor during the war with Great Britain. He then began to […]

James Wheaton (1924 - 2002)

James Wheaton (January 11, 1924 – June 9, 2002), was an American motion picture and television actor. He may be best known as the voice actor “OMM” in George Lucas’s THX 1138, a role for which he was chosen over Orson Welles. Wheaton also appeared in Trouble Comes to Town and Sanford and Son. In the […]

James Whitmore (1921 - 2009)

Born in White Plains, New York to Florence Belle (née Crane) and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York for three years, before transferring to the Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut, on a football scholarship. He went on to study at Yale University, also […]

James Wickersham (1857 - 1939)

Western Political Figure. He was a lawyer in practice at Springfield, Illinois, when he moved Washington Territory in 1883. There he was elected probate judge of Pierce County, serving (1884-88), city attorney of Tacoma, in 1894 and a member of the Washington State House of Representatives in 1898. With the gold discoveries in Alaska, hordes […]

James William Lochridge (1842 - 1909)

Rancher, Businessman. He discovered the first oil field in North Texas while drilling for water on his land three miles southeast of the site of present day Petrolia, Texas. Not being thrilled with the discovery he used the oil for dipping cattle to rid them of parasites, and on April 10, 1903 he formed the […]

James William Lochridge (1842 - 1909)

Rancher, Businessman. He discovered the first oil field in North Texas while drilling for water on his land three miles southeast of the site of present day Petrolia, Texas. Not being thrilled with the discovery he used the oil for dipping cattle to rid them of parasites, and on April 10, 1903 he formed the […]

James Wilson Rouse (1914 - 1996)

Developer James W. Rouse  was the founder of Columbia, Maryland, one of the best known and most successful new towns built in the U.S. after World War II. Columbia now has more than 83,000 residents and 2,500 businesses and industries. After retiring from the Rouse Company in 1981, Rouse devoted his time to the Enterprise […]

James Wordie (1889 - 1962)

James Wordie was born at Partick, Glasgow, the son of John Wordie, a carting contractor, and Jane Catherine Mann. He studied at The Glasgow Academy and obtained a BSc in geology from University of Glasgow. He graduated from St John’s College, Cambridge as an advanced student in 1912, and began research work. His occupation brought […]

Jamey Rodemeyer (1997 - 2011)

Jamey Rodemeyer (March 21, 1997 – September 18, 2011) was a bisexual teenager, known for his activism against homophobia and his videos on YouTube to help victims of homophobic bullying. His suicide was attributed to constant bullying, and led to the proposal of new cyberbullying legislation. Jamey Rodemeyer lived with his parents, Tim and Tracy Rodemeyer, […]

Jamie Coots (1971 - 2014)

Coots grew up in Middlesboro, Ky. He was a third-generation snake handler. He was the pastor of Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name, a church founded by his grandfather, Tommy Coots, in 1978. He began handling snakes at age 23. His son, Cody “Little Cody” Coots, is also active in his father’s church. Coots primarily […]

Jamie Gillis (1943 - 2010)

Gillis was born into a Jewish family and named Jamey Ira Gurman in New York City and graduated from Columbia University. His parents named him Jamie after the Tyrone Power character in the film The Black Swan (1942), and he took the name Gillis from the girlfriend he was living with when he made his […]

Jan Amos Komensky (1592 - 1670)

Philosopher. He was a theologian and cartographer, but most considered as the first modern educationalist. His book ‘Orbis Pictus’ was the the first picture book for teaching children and remained a standard text in Europe (and in America) for over 200 years. Born in Moravia, (now in the Czech Republic), he died in Amsterdam in […]

Jan Arvan (1913 - 1979)

Actor. Born Jan Arvanitas in Wisconsin, he was most noted as a popular character performer on many television shows from the 1950s to 1970s. His credits included “Biff Baker, U.S.A”, “Fireside Theatre”, “Studio 57”, “Zorro”, “Sea Hunt”, “Mannix”, “Bonanza”, “Family” and “The Paper Chase”. For feature films, he appeared in “The Robe” (1954), “Istanbul” (1957), […]

Jan Clayton (1917 - 1983)

American motion picture and television actress. Played the part of Ellen Miller, the mother on the “Lassie” TV series, from 1954 to 1957. Died of cancer in 1983. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Parents:  Gessie Verner Clayton (1890 – 1965)  Vera Willie Carter Clayton (1891 – 1985)  Spouses:  Russell Hayden (1912 – 1981)*  Robert […]

Jan Crouch (1938 - 2016)

Jan Crouch was the daughter of Reverend and Mrs. Edgar W. Bethany, and grew up in Columbus, Georgia. Her father served as a pastor in the Assemblies of God denomination, and was the founding president of Southeastern University (Florida). While attending Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri, Crouch met Paul F. Crouch. They married in 1957, […]

Jan Groover (1943 - 2012)

Photographer. She used her old-style camera to turn common household objects into works of art. Raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, she originally studied painting and after earning her undergraduate degree from New York’s Pratt Institute in 1965 worked as an art teacher in her hometown before receiving a Master of Fine Arts from Ohio State […]

Jan Hooks (1957 - 2014)

Jan Hooks Janet Vivian “Jan” Hooks (April 23, 1957 – October 9, 2014) was an American actress and comedian best known for her work on Saturday Night Live, where she was a repertory player from 1986-91, and continued making cameo appearances until 1994. Her subsequent work included a regular role on the final two seasons […]

Jan Howard (1929 - 2020)

Jan Howard Country singer and songwriter Jan Howard — a beloved member of the Grand Ole Opry for nearly 50 years — died Saturday at age 91. A press release issued by the Opry says Howard “passed away peacefully” in Gallatin, Tennessee. Howard officially joined the Opry in 1971, and was the oldest living member […]

Jan Michael Vincent (1945 - 2019)

Jan Michael Vincent In one of Jan-Michael Vincent’s most recent photos, taken in 2016 by photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com, the ex-heart throb actor is revealed as a man who lived his life hard to the end. Vincent died last month in Asheville, North Carolina, on February 10th, 2019. He was 73. Jan-Michael Vincent was […]

Jan Miner (1917 - 2004)

Jan Miner, the daughter of a dentist and a painter, whose siblings included three brothers, Sheldon, Donald and Lyndsey, studied at the Vesper George School of Art in her native Boston, Massachusetts. She went on to study acting with Lee Strasberg and others before making her stage debut in 1945, in a Boston production of […]

Jan Němec (1936 - 2016)

Němec’s career as a filmmaker started in the late 1950s when he attended FAMU, the most prestigious institution for film training in Czechoslovakia. At that time, Czechoslovakia was a communist state subservient to the USSR, and artistic and public expression was subject to censorship and government review. However, thanks largely to the failure of purely […]

Jan Pen (1921 - 2010)

Jan Pen studied at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where in 1950 he received his PhD with a thesis concerning the theory of collective wage negotiations. He was Director General Economic Policy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. In 1956 he was appointed professor of political economy and the theory of public finance at the Faculty […]

Jan Potocki (1761 - 1815)

Jan Potocki (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjan pɔˈtɔt͡skʲi]; 8 March 1761 – 23 December 1815) was a Polish nobleman, Polish Army Captain of Engineers, ethnologist, Egyptologist, linguist, traveler, adventurer and popular author of the Enlightenment period, whose life and exploits made him a legendary figure in his homeland. Outside Poland he is known chiefly for his novel, […]

Jan Stenbeck (1942 - 2002)

Business Magnate. A Harvard Business School graduate, he was chairman of the board for Kinnevik, a leading Swedish combine in IT, telecom and media. Tele2, TV3, Radio Rix and Metro International, were some of the companies that helped him building an empire estimated to more than 10 billion dollars. He was a self-willing, highly efficient […]

Jan Sterling (1921 - 2004)

Movie and Stage Actress. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her work in “The High and the Mighty” (1954). She also won the National Board of Review Award for Billy Wilder’s “Ace in the Hole” (1951). She appeared in several Film Noir dramas. Among other films she appeared in “Johnny Belinda” […]

Jan Tinbergen (1903 - 1994)

Jan Tinbergen was the eldest of five children of Dirk Cornelis Tinbergen and Jeannette van Eek. His brother Nikolaas “Niko” Tinbergen would also win a Nobel Prize (for physiology, during 1973) for his work in ethology, while his youngest brother Luuk would become a famous ornithologist. Between 1921 and 1925, Tinbergen studied mathematics and physics […]

Jan Werich (1905 - 1980)

Between 1916 and 1924, Jan Werich attended “reálné gymnasium” (equivalent to high school) in Křemencová Street in Prague (where his future partner, Jiří Voskovec, also studied). He studied law at the Charles University Law School from 1924 to 1927, from which he made an early departure to begin his artistic career and forge one of […]

Jana Rybarova (1936 - 1957)

Czech Actress. She appeared in the films “Legend o’ Lasce” (1957), “Labakan” (1956), and “Stribrny Vitr” (1954). (bio by: K)

Jane O’Brien Dart (1918 - 2009)

Actress. She appeared in around twenty movies in the late 1930s, then later helped persuade her friend Ronald Reagan to enter politics. Raised in Los Angeles, she was signed to a Warner Brothers contract in 1936, and performed in the 1937 “Marked Woman”; her most acclaimed role was as Paul Muni’s doomed mistress in the […]