Arts and Music

• Leon ''Bix'' Beiderbecke (born 1903, died 1931)

  American jazz musician.

  • Coronet player and composer known for his unique phrasing, clear tone, and unorthodox harmonies (see list of Critics' Picks for the Jazz Hall of Fame)
• Leon Huff

  American songwriter.

  • Wrote ''''Love Train'''' and ''''Only the Strong Survive'''' (see list of Songwriters)
• Leon Kirchner
  • 1967 Pulitzer Prize winner for Music Composition (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Music)
• Leon Redbone

  American singer.

  • Musical guest on ''''Saturday Night Live'''' (see list of Musical Guests on ''Saturday Night Live'')
• Leon Russell (born 1941)

  American singer. Original name: Russell Bridges.

  • Musical guest on ''''Saturday Night Live'''' (see list of Musical Guests on ''Saturday Night Live'')

Leadership

• Leon V.A. Bourgeois (born 1851, died 1925)

  French statesman who drafted the framework for the League of Nations.

  • 1920 Nobel Prize winner for Peace (see list of Nobel Peace Prize Winners)
• Leon Jouhaux (born 1879, died 1954)

  French socialist and union organizer who helped found the International Labour Organisation.

  • 1951 Nobel Prize winner for Peace (see list of Nobel Peace Prize Winners)
• Leon Machiz
  • CEO of Fortune 500 company AVNET (see list of 1996 Fortune 500 Company CEOs)
• Leon Trotsky (born 1879, died 1940)

  Russian communist leader who spent much of his life in exile and was finally murdered in Mexico.

  • Though a close associate of Lenin, he was defeated by Stalin in the power struggle that followed Lenin''s death (see list of Miscellaneous Political Leaders)

Miscellaneous

• A. Leon Higginbotham

  American jurist.

  • 1996 Spingarn Medal winner (see list of Spingarn Medal Winners)
  • 1995 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (see list of Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners)
• Leon Howard Sullivan (born 1922)

  American clergyman and civil-rights activist.

  • 1971 Spingarn Medal winner (see list of Spingarn Medal Winners)
  • 1991 recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom (see list of Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners)

Science and Philosophy

• Leon N. Cooper

  American physicist who helped develop the theory of superconductivity.

  • 1972 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, with John Bardeen and John Schrieffer (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Physics)
• Leon M. Lederman (born 1922)

  American physicist known for his studies of neutrinos.

  • 1988 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, with Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Physics)
  • 1965 National Medal of Science winner (see list of National Medal of Science Winners)

Sports

• Leon Allen ''Goose'' Goslin (born 1900, died 1971)

  Baseball player.

  • 1928 American League Batting Champion (see list of American League Batting Champions)
  • Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968 (see list of Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame)
• Leon Hart

  American football player.

  • 1950 National Football League number-one draft pick (see list of Football #1 Draft Picks)
  • 1949 Heisman Memorial Trophy winner (see list of Heisman Trophy Winners)
  • 1949 Associated Press Athlete of the Year (see list of Associated Press Athletes of the Year)
• Leon Scieur
  • 1921 Tour de France champion (see list of Tour de France Winners)
• Leon Stukelj

  Yugoslavian athlete.

  • 1924 Olympic gymnastics gold medal winner for Individual All Around (see list of Gold Medalists in the Individual All-around)
  • 1924 Olympic gymnastics gold medal winner for Horizontal Bars; 1928 gold medal winner for Rings (see list of Gold Medalists in Individual Gymnastics Events)
• Leon C. Wilmot (born 1914)

  American skiing enthusiast known for his role in the development of snow making.

  • Elected to the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame in 1997 (see list of Members of the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame)

Stage and Screen

• Leon Askin (born 1907)

  Austrian actor.

  • Portrayed Gen. Albert Burkhalter (see list of Actors on ''Hogan's Heroes'')
• Leon Carp

  Fictional character.

  • Portrayed by Martin Mull (see list of Characters on ''Roseanne'')
• Leon Errol (born 1881, died 1951)

  Australian actor and dancer.

  • Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Picture (see list of Movie Personalities with Stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame)
• Leon

  Fictional character.

  • Portrayed by Clint Howard (see list of Characters on ''The Andy Griffith Show'')
• Leon Shamroy
  • Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Picture (see list of Movie Personalities with Stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame)

The Literary World

• Leon Dash
  • 1995 Pulitzer Prize winner for Explanatory Journalism (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism)
• Leon Edel (born 1907, died 1997)

  American biographer.

  • 1963 National Book Award winner for Nonfiction, for Henry James, Volume II: The Conquest of London, 1870-1881, and Volume III: The Middle Years, 1881-1895 (see list of Winners of the National Book Award for Nonfiction)
  • 1963 Pulitzer Prize winner for Biography/Autobiography, for Henry James, Volume II: The Conquest of London, 1870-1881, and Volume III: The Middle Years, 1881-1895 (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography)
• Leon F. Litwack (born 1929)

  American historian.

  • 1980 Pulitzer Prize winner for History, for Been in the Storm So Long (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for History)
• Leon Uris (born 1924)

  American novelist.

  • Wrote Exodus (see list of Prose Writers of the 20th Century)
  • Author of the 1976 best-selling novel Trinity (see list of Bestselling Fiction Authors in the U.S.)