FOUND A GRAVE

Spottiswoode Aitken (1868 - 1933)

Actor. Born Frank Spottiswoode Aitken in Edinburgh, Scotland, he made his theater stage debut at age 13 and spent nearly 20 years touring the United States in stock companies.  During a 1907 road production of “Pocahontas” he met actor and future director  D.W. Griffith,  who later invited him to join the Biograph studio.  Onscreen Aitken […]

Harry E. Aitken (1877 - 1956)

Motion Picture Executive.  A movie industry pioneer, he was one of the first to produce movies independent of Thomas Edison and the Motion Picture Patents Company. Along with his brother Roy, he founded a number of early motion picture production and distribution companies, most notable being the Mutual Film Corporation, the Epoch Producing Corporation, and […]

Roy E. Aitken (1882 - 1976)

Motion Picture Executive.  A movie industry pioneer, he was one of the first to produce movies independent of Thomas Edison and the Motion Picture Patents Company. Along with his brother Harry, he founded a number of early motion picture production and distribution companies, most notable being the Mutual Film Corporation, the Epoch Producing Corporation, and […]

Joseph “Doves” Aiuppa (1907 - 1997)

Organized Crime Figure.  He was a long time power in the Chicago, Illinois Mafia syndicate known as “The Outfit”. He began his criminal career as a muscleman and hired gun for Al Capone in 1935; by 1970 he had risen high in the Chicago mob. Though he controlled the mob’s operations in Cicero and the […]

Joseph Aiuppa (1907 - 1997)

Organized Crime Figure. He was a long time power in the Chicago, Illinois Mafia syndicate known as “The Outfit”. He began his criminal career as a muscleman and hired gun for Al Capone in 1935; by 1970 he had risen high in the Chicago mob. Though he controlled the mob’s operations in Cicero and the […]

Yoshio Akao (1970 - 1970)

Publisher, Broadcaster. He was the founder of Oubunsha, a cultural enterprise that served as a publisher for high school students. Before World War II, he wrote and published a famous English glossary for preparatory school students called “Akao No Mametan.” He and his family became very wealthy from this endeavor and then began publishing various […]

Jitoku Akatsuka (1970 - 1970)

Artist. Also known as “Heizaemon Akatsuka, he is famous for his works in gold lacquer, using the “maki-e” technique, as well for some of his oil paintings. A member of the “Teikoku Geijutsu-in (Imperial Art Academy), many of his creations are on display in museums in metropolitan Tokyo and other areas of Japan. (bio by: […]

Carl Akeley (1864 - 1926)

Carl Akeley was born in Clarendon, New York, and grew up on a farm, attending school for only three years. He learned taxidermy from David Bruce in Brockport, New York, and then entered an apprenticeship in taxidermy at Ward’s Natural Science Establishment in Rochester, New York. While at Ward’s Carl Akeley also helped mount P.T. […]

Delia Akeley (1869 - 1970)

Delia Akeley was born in 1869, although over the years, whether due to Delia’s own misrepresentation or that of others, her birth date has been given as 1875. Mickie ran away from home in her late teens and made her way to Milwaukee, where she married Arthur Reiss, a barber, in 1889. She was just […]

Mary Akeley (1878 - 1966)

Mary Akeley was born to Richard Watson and Sarah Jane Pittis Jobe on 29 January 1878. She grew up on her parents’ farm in Tappan, Ohio and graduated from Scio College, Ohio. After graduation she taught at a public school until 1901 when she joined Bryn Mawr College. She later transferred to Columbia University, New […]

David “Stringbean” Akeman (1916 - 1973)

Comedian, Country Musician. One of the top musical stars of Nashville, Tennessee’ Grand Old Opry during his career, he is best known for being one of the original members the comedy and country music television variety show “Hee Haw”, which he starred in from 1969 until his murder in 1973. He and his wife were […]

David Akeman (1916 - 1973)

David Akeman Born in Annville, Jackson County, Kentucky, Akeman came from a musical family. He was taught to play the banjo by his father, James Roy Akemon. He got his first real banjo when he was 12 years old in exchange for a pair of prize bantam chickens. Akeman began playing at local dances and gained a reputation […]

Darrel Akerfelds (1962 - 2012)

Akerfelds graduated in 1980 from Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado and played baseball at the University of Arkansas and Mesa State College. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the first round with the seventh overall pick in the 1983 Major League Baseball Draft. Just over five months later, he was traded to […]

Chantal Akerman (1950 - 2015)

Filmmaker and Director. Akerman was a director whose observation of women’s inner lives, often using long takes, made her a pioneer in feminist and experimental filmmaking. Born to Polish Holocaust survivors, she was inspired to begin making films as a teenager after seeing Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Pierrot le Fou’ (1965).  Her first film, ‘Saute Ma Ville’ […]

Andra Akers (1943 - 2002)

Actress. A blonde character actor, she usually portrayed brassy sidekicks or tough businesswomen. She appeared in the films “Murder a la Mod” (1968), “The Wedding Party” (1969), “Moment by Moment” (1978), “E. Nick: A Legend in His Own Mind” (1984), “Desert Hearts” (1985), “Just Between Friends” (1986), “Odd Jobs” (1986), and “nothing in Common” (1986), […]

Andra Akers (1943 - 2002)

Actress.  A blonde character actor,  she usually portrayed brassy sidekicks or tough businesswomen.  She appeared in the films “Murder a la Mod” (1968),  “The Wedding Party” (1969),  “Moment by Moment” (1978),  “E. Nick: A Legend in His Own Mind” (1984),  “Desert Hearts” (1985),  “Just Between Friends” (1986),  “Odd Jobs” (1986),  and “Nothing in Common” (1986), […]

Bella Akhmadulina (1937 - 2010)

Poetess. She created several well received collections of verse which often dealt with the mundane events of everyday life while trying to avoid the political difficulties of writing in the Soviet Union. Born Izabella Akhatovna Akhmadulina, she was raised initially in Moscow then lived with her family in Kazan during World War II; starting to […]

Bella Akhmadulina (1937 - 2010)

Poetess. She created several well received collections of verse which often dealt with the mundane events of everyday life while trying to avoid the political difficulties of writing in the Soviet Union. Born Izabella Akhatovna Akhmadulina, she was raised initially in Moscow then lived with her family in Kazan during World War II; starting to […]

Anna Akhmatova (1889 - 1966)

Poet. She is considered by many to be the greatest woman poet in Russian Literature. Born Anna Gorenko into an upper-class family in Odessa, Ukraine, she spent most of her life in Saint Petersburg, the city with which she is most closely identified.  Precocious in her studies, she excelled in languages and began writing verse […]

Nuriya Akhmedova (1950 - 2015)

Actress. She was a prominent actress in native land of Azerbaijan. She started in acting at the Azerbaijan State Art Institute and appeared in theatrical plays.  Akhmedova transitioned into films and appeared in such works as “Hem ziyaret, hem ticaret” (1995), “Köpak” (1994) and “Özga ömür” (1987).   She was honored with the title “People’s […]

Bob Akin (1936 - 2002)

Bob Akin was born March 6, 1936, in North Tarrytown, N.Y., and was raised in Sleepy Hollow Manor. He was educated at Hackley School in Tarrytown and later served on its board for 30 years and as president from 1980 to 1990. At Columbia University, he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s […]

Virgil “Honey Bear” Akins (1928 - 2011)

Professional Boxer. He was the former World Welterweight Champion (1958). The St. Louis native began his professional career in 1948 initially as a lightweight, and earned his first title fight (a bout for the Massachusetts version of the World Welterweight Title) in 1957 against Tony DeMarco. Akins would defeat DeMarco with a 14th-round knockout and […]

Claude Akins (1926 - 1994)

Claude Akins was born in Nelson, Georgia, and grew up in Bedford, Indiana. He served with the U.S. Army Signal Corps in World War II in Burma and the Philippines. After the war, he was a 1949 graduate of Northwestern University, where he studied Theatre and became a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. […]

Virgil Akins (1928 - 2011)

Virgil Akins Was an American boxer who won the undisputed Welterweight Championship of the World in 1958. Nicknamed ‘Honeybear’, Akins was the first World Champion boxer from St. Louis. Akins was born and died in St. Louis, Missouri. Akins was considered lanky, but proved nevertheless to be a powerful hitter with either hand. He began […]

Moustapha Akkad (1930 - 2005)

Al Akkad was born July 1, 1930 in Aleppo, Syria. He received his high school degree from the Aleppo American College. His father, then a customs officer, gave him $200 and a copy of the Quran before he left for the United States to study film direction and production at the University of California, Los […]

Sergei Aksakov (1791 - 1859)

Author. His books “The Family Chronicle” (1856) and “Years of Childhood” (1858) are considered among the finest of Russian memoirs.  Sergei Timofeyevich Aksakov was born in Ufa, Russia, into a distinguished family that traced its roots back to Novgorod in the 11th Century. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars, an experience that shocked him so […]

Albert Akst (1899 - 1958)

Musician, Motion Picture Film Editor.  A former saxophone player in one of the Meyer Davis Orchestra, he worked as a musician in vaudeville until 1930. He joined Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios as a short subjects motion picture cutter and worked his way up to one of the top editors of the company, editing fifty three […]

Vasily Aksyonov (1932 - 2009)

Writer. He was a prolific Russian author best known for his novels critical of the Soviet system. He began his career writing for the Yunost (Youth) magazine in the 1950s and his first novel, “The Colleagues,” was published in 1959. In 1970s, Aksyonov with several other writers set up their own journal called Metropol, but […]

Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892 - 1927)

Author.  He is best known for the short story “Rashomon”, which he published in 1915. During his career he refrained from writing full-length novels, focusing instead on the short story as his main medium of expression. He began writing after entering Tokyo Imperial University in 1913 and was further encouraged by the praise that novelist […]

Anwar al-Awlaki (1971 - 2011)

Al-Qaeda Regional Commander. He was born to a Yemeni family who was living in the United States, and by his birth there, gained dual US-Yemen citizenship.  His father, Nasser al-Aulaqi, was a Fulbright Scholar who earned a master’s degree in agricultural economics at the New Mexico State University in 1971, later earned a doctorate degree […]