Hank “Bow Wow” Arft (1922 - 2002)

Major League Baseball Player. He played first base for the St. Louis Browns from 1948 to 1952. Batted .253 with a .352 on base percentage in 300 career games. After retiring, he became co-owner of Schrader Funeral Home in Ballwin, Missouri, and wrote for the Browns’ Fan Club newsletter. (bio by: HMS)  Family links:  Spouse: […]

Hank Edward “Coon” Ciesla (1934 - 1976)

Professional Hockey Player. A native of St. Catharines, Ontario, Ciesla played the position of Center for teams in the OHA, NHL, and the AHL. At 6’02”, and 190lbs, Ciesla played for the St. Catharines Teepees from 1951 to 1952, 1954 to 1955, Chicago Blackhawks from 1955 to 1957, New York Rangers from 1957 to 1959, […]

Hank Greenberg (1911 - 1986)

Hank Greenberg Just nine years after Babe Ruth’s record setting sixty home run season and long before Ford Frick would attach an asterisk to Roger Maris, Hammerin’ Hank Greenberg came within three home runs of breaking the Babe’s record in 1938. Despite Greenberg’s career being significantly shortened by military service he stands out as one […]

Hank Greenspun (1909 - 1989)

Newspaper Publisher, Real Estate Entrepreneur. He was a pivotal figure in Nevada politics and history. He started out as publicity agent for the fledgling Flamingo Hotel, operated by Ben “Bugsy” Siegel. In 1949, he bought a struggling newspaper, renamed it the Las Vegas Sun, and transformed it into an independent voice in the corrupt, mob-influenced […]

Hank Jones (1918 - 2010)

Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Henry “Hank” Jones moved to Pontiac, Michigan, where his father, Henry Jones Sr. a Baptist deacon and lumber inspector, bought a three-story brick home. One of seven children, Jones was raised in a musical family. His mother Olivia Jones sang; his two older sisters studied piano; and his two younger brothers—Thad, […]

Hank Ketcham (1920 - 2001)

Hank Ketcham started in the business as an animator for Walter Lantz and eventually Walt Disney, where he worked on Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi and several Donald Duck shorts. During World War II, Ketcham was a photographic specialist with the US Navy Reserve. He also created the character Mr. Hook for the Navy during World War […]

Hank Snow (1914 - 1999)

Hank Snow The death of country singer Hank Snow marks the passing of a major figure in the history of popular music. Snow, who died December 20 in Nashville at age 85, played a key role in helping transform country music from a localized, largely rural musical style to an internationally popular form. In a […]

Hank Williams Sr. (1923 - 1953)

Hank Williams Sr Williams’s parents, Elonzo Huble “Lon” Williams and Jessie Lillybelle “Lillie” Skipper married on November 12, 1916. Hank Williams was of English-American ancestry. Elonzo Williams worked as an engineer for the railroads of the W.T. Smith lumber company. He was drafted during World War I, serving from July 1918 until June 1919. He […]

Hank Worden (1901 - 1992)

Worden was raised on a cattle ranch near Glendive, Montana and was educated at Stanford University and the University of Nevada as an engineer. He enlisted in the U.S. Army hoping to become an Army pilot, but washed out of flight school. An expert horseman, he toured the country in rodeos as a saddle bronc […]

Hannah Adams (1755 - 1831)

Author. She wrote a number of works on religious themes, including “Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects Which Have Appeared from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Present Day,” “A Summary History of New England,” “History of the Jews” and “Letters on the Gospels.”  Family links:  Parents:  Thomas Adams (1725 – 1812)  Elizabeth […]

Hannah Adams (1755 - 1831)

Author. She wrote a number of works on religious themes, including “Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects Which Have Appeared from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Present Day,” “A Summary History of New England,” “History of the Jews” and “Letters on the Gospels.”  Family links:  Parents:  Thomas Adams (1725 – 1812)  Elizabeth […]

Hannah Arendt (1906 - 1975)

Political Theorist. Born in Hanover, Germany, to Paul and Martha Arendt. She grew up in Konigsberg and Berlin. She studied philosophy at the University of Marburg. Hannah moved to Heidelberg, where she wrote her dissertation under the existentialist philosopher-psychologist Karl Jaspers on the concept of love in the thought of Saint Augustine. In 1929, in […]

Hannah Solomon (1858 - 1942)

Hannah Solomon was born on January 14, 1858, the fourth of ten siblings, to Michael and Sarah Greenebaum. Her father, Michael Greenebaum, was part of the earliest group of Jews to settle in the frontier city of Chicago. Solomon’s parents set an example of strong civic involvement; her mother organized Chicago’s first Jewish Ladies Sewing […]

Hanne Brecht Hiob (1923 - 2009)

Actress. The daughter of legendary playwright Bertolt Brecht, she is probably best remembered for her career in German television. Raised within the theatrical milieu, mostly by her mother, opera singer Marianne Zoff, who had been Brecht’s first wife, she relocated to Vienna with her family in the late 1930s as Berlin became untenable for Jews, […]

Hannjo Hasse (1921 - 1983)

Hannjo Hasse (31 August 1921 – 5 February 1983) was an East German actor. Hasse began studying acting in 1938, and attended Lily Ackermann’s Institute for Stage Artists’ Education in Berlin. At 1941, he was drafted for the Labour Service, and later to the Army. After the end of the Second World War and his release […]

Hans Achim Litten (1903 - 1938)

German Lawyer. Hans Litten was the eldest son of Friedrich Litten – a Jew who converted to Lutheranism to further his career as a law professor.  Hans had a difficult relationship with his father, believing his conversion was opportunistic. Although baptized a Christian, Hans studied Judaism and learned Hebrew. He was interested in art history, […]

Hans Adolph Brorson (1694 - 1764)

Hans Adolph Brorson (20 June 1694, Randerup – 3 June 1764, Ribe) was a Danish Pietist bishop and hymn writer. Brorson belonged to a clerical family: both of this brothers were energetic and successful Pietist vicars. He began publishing hymns in 1732 while a pastor in southern Jutland. His most important work was Troens rare klenodie […]

Hans Albers (1891 - 1960)

Hans Albers was born in Hamburg, the son of a butcher, and grew up in the district of St. Georg. He was seriously interested in acting by his late teens and took acting classes without the knowledge of his parents. In 1915 Albers was drafted to serve in the German Army in World War I, […]

Hans Alsér (1942 - 1977)

Table Tennis Champion. He was one of Sweden´s best table-tennis players through all times. He changed and developed the sport, and a racket is named after him: ”The Alsér Grip.” He was European Champion (single) 1962 and 1966; European Champion (Team) four times between 1964 and 1970; World Champion (double, together with Kjell Johansson) 1967 […]

Hans Aumeier (1906 - 1948)

Hans Aumeier was born on 20 August 1906 in the small town of Amberg, Germany, where he attended elementary school for four years and then secondary school for just three years. In 1918 he left school without any qualifications to take up an apprenticeship as a turner and fitter in a local rifle factory, following […]

Hans Brausewetter (1899 - 1945)

Actor. Born to German parents in Málaga, Spain, he began his acting career on stage and made his screen debut in “Der Marquis von Bolibar” (1921). He went on to appear in over 140 films. When Hitler rose to the power he was briefly imprisoned for his political views,  but was soon able to resume […]

Hans Brenner (1938 - 1998)

Actor. Appeared in several classic Austrian television series, including “Münchner Geschichten,” “Monaco Franze” and more.

Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875)

Writer. Famous for his fairy tales. His father was a poor shoemaker and literate, who believed he was of aristocratic origin. Andersen’s mother worked as washerwoman. He declined into alcoholism and died in 1833 in a charitable old people’s home. Andersen’s half-sister Karen Marie worked as a prostitute for some time. She contacted her famous […]

Hans Clarin (1929 - 2005)

German Actor. Considered one of Germany’s most popular television actors, he is best remembered for his role as the legendary and unforgotable voice of the goblin “Pumuckl” in the cartoon series “Meister Eder und sein Pumuckl ” of 1982. Born in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, his career began on the stage in Munich and spanned over 50 […]

Hans Conried (1917 - 1982)

One of Hans Conreid’s early radio appearances came in 1937, when he appeared in a supporting role in a broadcast of The Taming of the Shrew on KECA in Los Angeles, California. Four years later, a newspaper reported about his role on Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood: “But at the mike he’s equally convincing as old men, […]

Hans Hofmann (1880 - 1966)

German-born Artist. Hofmann developed an interest in mathematics, science, music and art at a very early age. Hofmann was both an intuitive painter and a man with a profound understanding of modernism. His ideas on art developed initially during his years in Paris. From 1904 to 1914, he knew Matisse, Picasso, Braque, and Delaunay. He […]

Hans Hotter (1909 - 2003)

Born in Offenbach am Main, Hesse, Hans Hotter studied with Matthäus Roemer in Munich. He worked as an organist and choirmaster before making his operatic debut in Opava in 1930. He performed in Germany and Austria under the Nazi regime, avoiding pressure on performers to join the Nazi Party, and made some appearances outside the country, […]

Hans Jonas (1903 - 1993)

Hans Jonas was born in Mönchengladbach, on 10 May 1903. He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Freiburg, the University of Berlin and the University of Heidelberg, and finally earned his Doctor of Philosophy in 1928 from the University of Marburg with a thesis on Gnosticism entitled Der Begriff der Gnosis (The Concept […]

Hans Moser (1880 - 1964)

Hans Moser (6 August 1880 – 19 June 1964) was an Austrian actor who, during his long career, from the 1920s up to his death, mainly played in comedy films. He was particularly associated with the genre of the Wiener Film. Moser appeared in over 150 films. Born Johann Julier in Vienna, Moser very often portrayed […]

Hans Peter Baur (1897 - 1993)

Adolf Hitler’s personal pilot, author. He was a decorated WWI flyer and a leading commercial aviator during the pioneer, fledging days of Lufthansa Airlines in the late twenties. Hitler became the first head of state to use air travel extensively. He personally selected Hans Baur to be his official pilot. “Luftwaffe One” was a reliable […]