“Traditionalists” at a Glance
A rundown of temporal attributes and historical peers shared by many members of the Silent Generation
As part of my ongoing “Jigsaw Gens” series, I profile the various American generations (and “microgenerations”) identified by historians.
Previous two editions:
Hemingrebels (“the Lost Generation”) at a glance
GI-Gens (“the Greatest Generation”) at a glance
In This Installment…
Featured Generation: “Traditionalists” (aka the Silent Generation, Depression Babies, Safe-Builders, The Lucky Few, AfterSooners, Radio Babes)
Who they are: The third identified generation, whom were dubbed as a “silent” generational cohort in a November 1951 Time magazine piece
When they were born: Approximately between 1930–1943
Key Members
Lawmakers: Joe Biden, Sandra Day O’Connor, John McCain, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Lewis, Bernie Sanders, Nancy Pelosi, Antonin Scalia, George Mitchell, Harvey Milk, Anthony Kennedy, Dick Cheney, Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell, Norman Mineta, Stephen Breyer, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Geraldine Ferraro, David Souter, Jack Kemp, Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, Byron Mallott, Guy Vander Jagt, Elizabeth Holtzman, John Heinz, Trent Lott, Richard Lugar, Dianne Feinstein, Alan Simpson, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Dick Gephardt, Jake Garn, Bob Graham, Nancy Kassebaum, John Kerry, Barbara Mikulski, Dick Armey, Barbara Boxer, John Ashcroft, Dennis Hastert, Mary Rose Oakar, Bob Kerrey, Patsy Mink
Literary Writers: Shel Silverstein, Jackie Collins, Philip Roth, Audre Lorde, Ted Hughes, Francis Ford Coppola, Sylvia Plath, Wes Craven, Anne Rice, Michael Crichton, John Sinclair, Tom Wolfe, Roger Ebert, Isabel Allende, Sydney Pollack, Nora Ephron, Paula Gunn Allen, Harlan Ellison, Judy Blume, R.L. Stine, Brian De Palma, Donald Bellasario, Joyce Carol Oates, Ruskin Bond, John Dean, Joel Schumacher, Frank Romero, Joyce Meyer, Thomas Pynchon, Lorraine Hansberry, Mark Strand, Simon J. Ortiz, Wendell Berry, Amiri Baraka, Maxine Hong Kingston, Peter Benchley, Erich Segal, Larry McMurtry, Don DeLillo, James Welch, John Updike, Diane Glancy, Clark Coolidge, Lucille Clifton, N. Scott Momaday
Journalists & Historians: Dan Rather, Larry King, Hunter S. Thompson, Robin Morgan, Bill Moyers, Geraldo Rivera, Bob Woodward, Kay Lahusen, Tom Brokaw, Joan Didion, Peter Jennings, Vine Deloria Jr., Ted Koppel, Maxine Cheshire, Sam Donaldson, Roger Mudd, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Seymour Hersh, Lee Corso, Robert C. Maynard, Charles Kuralt, Peter Arnett, Bernard Shaw, Gail Sheehy, Dorothy Butler Gilliam, Ed Bradley, John Womack, Marlene Sanders, Lou Holtz, Morley Winograd, Donald L. Bartlett, Roger Wilkins, Gloria Anzaldúa, Mary Francis Berry, Vincent Harding, Ronald Takaki, Gerald Vizenor, John Henry Coatsworth, Yuji Ichioka, John W. Blassingame, Asunción Lavrin, Charles A. Hale, Wallace Terry, Rosalyn Terborg-Penn, Pete Hamill
Scientists & Researchers: Anthony Fauci, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Jane Goodall, Carl Sagan, Dian Fossey, Thomas Sowell, Michael Collins, Vint Cerf, Jaime Escalante, Dieter Dengler, Jim Simons, Ann Rule, James E. West, Robert Lucas Jr., Frances E. Allen, Philip Zimbardo, Stanley Milgram, Raymond Damadian, Margaret Hamilton, Clarence “Skip” Ellis, Lynn Conway, Robert Moog, Don Buchla, Gladys Mae West, Dickson Despommier, Thomas Stockham, Robert William Taylor, Bob Kahn, Chuck Hull, Dick Scobee, Ardina Moore, Guion Bluford, Karen Uhlenbeck, Willie Hobbs Moore, Louise Hay, Stephen Charles Jacobsen, Roger Boisjoly, Donald Knuth, Leon Chua, Lynn Margulis, Daniel Kahneman, Christine Darden, Robert Coleman Atkins, Karl Barry Sharpless
Athletes: Wilt Chamberlain, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Frank Gifford, Arthur Ashe, Sandy Koufax, Bill Russell, Alex Karras, Roberto Clemente, Gary Player, Joe Namath, Floyd Patterson, Wilma Rudolph, Billy Mills, Evel Knievel, Wahoo McDaniel, Bob Uecker, Ernie Davis, Jim Brown, Don Shula, John Madden, Mario Andretti, Sonny Liston, Jack Nicklaus, Bob Gibson, Mike Ditka, Roger Maris, Johnny Unitas, Gale Sayers, Dean Smith, Peter Maivia, Rubin Carter, Bart Starr, Oscar Robertson, Rod Curl, Bobby Fischer, Richard Petty, Frank Robinson, Jerry West, Herb Brooks, Jack Briscoe, Roger Craig
Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders: Warren Buffett, Martha Stewart, Rupert Murdoch, Dave Thomas, Judith Sheindlin, Chuck Norris, Ted Turner, Michael Bloomberg, Nolan Bushnell, Ross Perot, Jerry Bruckheimer, Reginald F. Lewis, George Steinbrenner, Ralph Lauren, Yvon Chouinard, Jack Welch, Roy Disney, Andrew Grove, Phil Knight, Jerry Jones, Pleasant Rowland, David Geffen, Robert Kraft, Calvin Klein, Jay Sebring, Lamar Hunt, John Paul Getty Jr., Michael Eisner, Halston, Jerry Buss, Charles Koch, Wayne Dyer, Richard Benjamin Harrison, Rosey Grier, Lynn Morley Martin, Oren Lyons, David Stern, James Sinegal, Paul H. O’Neill, Joseph Segel, Robert Crandall, Hugh McColl, Louis Rukeyser, Squire Fridell, Roberto Goizueta
Activists & Organizers: Colin Powell, Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem, Paul Weyrich, Jesse Jackson, Ralph Nader, Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Stokley Carmichael, Daniel Ellsberg, Leonard Peltier, Eldridge Cleaver, Jerry Falwell, Pat Buchanan, Frank Serpico, Betty Shabazz, Norman Schwarzkopf, Clyde Bellecourt, Elaine Brown, Craig Rodwell, Elizabeth Eckford, Roy Benavidez, Barbara Gittings, Madeleine Albright, Russell Means, Claudette Colvin, Midge Costanza, Charles Chaput, Rick Rescorla, Huey P. Newton, Billy Frank Jr., Carlos Hathcock, Barbara Ehrenreich, Oliver North, James Chaney, Pun Plamondon, Dennis Banks, James Zwerg, Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, Hakim Jamal, Ernestine Eckstein, Pat Robertson, Don Kielhefner, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Lee Harvey Oswald
Entertainers: James Dean, Dustin Hoffman, Carol Burnett, Bill Cosby, Clint Eastwood, Rita Moreno, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Warren Beatty, Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Montgomery, Barbara Eden, Richard Pryor, George Takei, Penny Marshall, James Earl Jones, Raquel Welch, Shirley MacLaine, Wayne Rogers, Lily Tomlin, Burt Reynolds, Joe Pesci, Gene Wilder, Debbie Reynolds, Regis Philbin, Shari Lewis, Mary Tyler Moore, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, Rue McClanahan, Valerie Harper, Natalie Wood, Tim Conway, Harrison Ford, Alex Trebek, Joan Rivers, Michael Landon, Dabney Coleman, Pat Morita, James Brolin, Faye Dunaway, George Carlin, Tommy Chong, Dawn Wells, Robert Redford, Jayne Mansfield, Casey Kasem, Florence Henderson, Loretta Swit, Christopher Lloyd, Madeline Kahn, Ned Beatty, Sam Waterston, Dom Deluise, Hector Elizondo, Robert Duvall, Raul Julia, Chuck Woolery, Alan Arkin, James Caan, Louis Gossett Jr., Martin Sheen, John Aniston, Kim Novak, Flip Wilson, Alan Alda, John Amos, Lee Meriwether, Connie Stevens, Julie Newmar, Steven McQueen, Richard Dawson, Linda Lavin, Charles Nelson Reilly, Elliott Gould, Marla Gibbs, Sal Mineo, Tina Louise, Larry Hagman, Fred Willard, Chevy Chase, Dick Cavett, Sherman Hemsley, John Astin, Joanne Woodward, Robert Reed, Bob Denver
Musicians: Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash, Barbara Streisand, Ray Charles, Joan Baez, Carole King, Loretta Lynn, James Brown, Patsy Cline, Wayne Newton, Barry Manilow, Janis Joplin, Little Richard, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Mathis, Yoko Ono, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, Jerry Garcia, Quincy Jones, Etta James, Glen Campbell, Waylon Jennings, Chubby Checker, Roy Orbison, Marvin Gaye, Conway Twitty, Nina Simone, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Big Bopper, Paul Simon, Julie Andrews, Roy Clark, Della Reese, Jim Morrison, Carly Simon, Ritchie Valens, Bobby Darin, Levi Stubbs, Merle Haggard, Roberta Flack, John Denver, Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Charley Pride, Tammy Wynette, Dionne Warwick, Sonny Bono, Pat Boone, Lou Reed, Shirley Jones, Frankie Valli, Nancy Sinatra, Keith Richards, Buddy Guy, Joni Mitchell, Don Everly, Robert Goulet, Neil Diamond, Frank Vincent Zappa, Cliff Richard, Katherine Jackson, Carl Perkins, Mary Travers, Joel Grey, Art Garfunkel, Charlie Daniels, Al Jarreau, Grace Slick, Aaron Neville, Lou Rawls, Isaac Hayes, Ann-Margaret, Diahann Carroll, Sam Cooke, George Jones, Cass Elliot, Otis Redding, Mike Love, Cissy Houston, John Williams, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Eddie Kendricks, Connie Francis, Curtis Mayfield, Pat Suzuki, Smokey Robinson
Visual Artists: Jim Henson, Bob Ross, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, David Hockney, Terry Gilliam, Linda McCartney, Alvin Ailey, Frank Stella, Marjorie Strider, James Rosenquist, Marisol Escobar, Nam June Paik, Peter Max, Lee Lozano, Jim Nutt, Victor Moscoso, Alton Kelley, Suellen Rocca, Gladys Nilsson, Art Green, Peter Saul, Judy Chicago, Lynda Benglis, Hannah Wilke, R.C. Gorman, Mary Beth Edelson, Will Sampson, Carolee Schneemann, Jack Whitten, Yolanda López, Nathan Jackson, Michael Graves, Ruth Asawa, John Burgee, Mary Holiday Black, Jacqueline Casey, Emigdio Vasquez, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Bernice Bing, Sam Gilliam, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Peter Eisenman, Myrna Báez, Richard Meier
Cusp Cohorts
Preceding Microgeneration: “Golden-Builders” (born 1925–1929)
Prominent “Golden-Builders”: Martin Luther King Jr., Johnny Carson, Barbara Walters, B.B. King, Maya Angelou, Paul Newman, Andy Warhol, Yogi Berra, Allen Ginsberg, Robert F. Kennedy Sr., Angela Lansbury, Sidney Poitier, Fred Rogers, Burt Bacharach, Liz Claiborne, Tony Bennett, Robert Rauschenberg, Sammy Davis Jr., Arnold Palmer, Dick Van Dyke, Merv Griffin, Noam Chomsky, Malcolm X, Jerry Lewis, Coretta Scott King, Shirley Temple, Bo Diddley, Ed Asner, Ruth Westheimer, Harry Belafonte, Gore Vidal, Doris Hart, Rock Hudson, Marilyn Monroe, Bob “Captain Kangaroo” Keeshan, Stanley Kubrick, Patti Page, Cesar Chavez, John Coltrane, Walter Mondale, Dick Clark, Soupy Sales, John DeLorean, Mel Tormé, Eydie Gormé, Vidal Sassoon, Doris Roberts, William F. Buckley, Andy Griffith, Margaret Keane, Christopher Plummer, Ann B. Davis, Berry Gordy, Anne Sexton, Hugh Hefner, Ralph Abernathy, Eartha Kitt, Bernice Sandler, Mel Brooks, Leontyne Price, Evelyn Berezin, Celia Cruz, Bob Newhart, Robert Guillaume, Viola Liuzzo, Miles Davis, Joyce Brothers, Alan Greenspan, John Conyers, Fats Domino, Harper Lee, Chuck Berry, Maria Tallchief, John McLaughlin, Anne McCaffrey, James Dewey Watson, Ira Levin, Medgar Evers, Grace Kelly, Albert Bandura, Marty Robbins, Ursula K. Le Guin, Miyoshi Umeki, Althea Gibson, Steve Ditko, Adrienne Rich, Ruben Salazar, Tom Bosley, Jimmy Dean
Subsequent Microgeneration: “Silent Nesters” (1944–1948)
Prominent “Silent Nesters”: Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, Tom Selleck, Diane Sawyer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joe Frazier, Stephen King, Crista McAuliffe, Stephen Spielberg, Marsha P. Johnson, Suzanne Somers, Donald Trump, Steve Martin, Connie Chung, Diana Ross, Alice Walker, Nolan Ryan, Jesse Eugene Russell, Angela Davis, Linda Ronstadt, Jerry Springer, George W. Bush, Bette Midler, Cheech Marin, Al Michaels, Cher, George Lucas, Rick Barry, Arlene Raven, Kiki Camarena, David Lynch, Gregory Hines, Vincent McMahon, Rick James, John Ritter, Carl Bernstein, Samuel L. Jackson, Barry White, James Patterson, Stevie Nicks, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nell Carter, Wilma Mankiller, Ana Mendieta, Priscilla Presley, Larry Echo Hawk, Kathy Bates, Anna Nieto-Gómez, Liza Minelli, Tom Clancy, Patti LaBelle, Carl Weathers, Powers Boothe, Ericka Huggins, John Paul DeJoria, Boz Scaggs, Jim Davis, Ina Garten, Pat Riley, Janet Campbell Hale, Sylvester Stallone, Candice Bergen, David Halberstam, Gladys Knight, Leslie Marmon Silko, Naomi Judd, Deborah Lipstadt, Jimmy Buffett, Henry Winkler, Brenda Travis, Farrah Fawcett, Sandy Duncan, Bernadette Peters, John McAfee, Patty Duke, Michael Douglas, Shulamith Firestone, Bill Richardson, Martin Yan, Edmonia Lewis, Jann Wenner, Carlos Santana, Donna Summer, George R.R. Martin, Bubba Smith, Ifti Nasim, Fred Hampton, John Oates, Sally Field, Ben Stein, Donny Hathaway
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