Although no US president has been born in the District of Columbia, all but George Washington (b.Virginia, 1732–99) lived there while serving as chief executive. Seven presidents died in Washington, D.C., including three during their term of office: William Henry Harrison (b.Virginia, 1773–1841), Zachary Taylor (b.Virginia, 1784–1850), and Abraham Lincoln (b.Kentucky, 1809–65). In addition, John Quincy Adams (b.Massachusetts, 1767–1848), who served as a congressman for 17 years after he left the White House, died at his desk in the House of Representatives; and William Howard Taft (b.Ohio, 1857–1930) passed away while serving as US chief justice. Retired presidents Woodrow Wilson (b.Virginia, 1856–1924) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (b.Texas, 1890–1969) also died in the capital. Federal officials born in Washington, D.C., include John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), secretary of state; J(ohn) Edgar Hoover (1895–1972), director of the FBI; and Robert C. Weaver (1907–97), who as secretary of housing and urban development during the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson was the first black American to hold cabinet rank. Walter E. Fauntroy (b.1933) was the District's first delegate to Congress in the 20th century, appointed when that office was reestablished in 1971.
Among the outstanding scientists and other professionals associated with the District were Cleveland Abbe (b.New York, 1838–1916), a meteorologist who helped develop the US Weather Service; inventor Alexander Graham Bell (b.Scotland, 1842–1922), president of the National Geographic Society (NGS) in his later years; Henry Gannett (b.Maryland, 1846–1914), chief geographer with the US Geological Survey, president of the NGS and a pioneer in American cartography; Charles D. Walcott (b.New York, 1850–1927), director of the Geological Survey and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; Emile Berliner (b.Germany, 1851–1929), a pioneer in the development of the phonograph; Gilbert H. Grosvenor (b.Turkey, 1875–1966), editor in chief of National Geographic magazine; and Charles R. Drew (1904–50), developer of the blood bank concept. Leading business executives who have lived or worked in the District include William W. Corcoran (1798–1888), banker and philanthropist, and Katharine Graham (b.New York, 1917–2001), publisher of the Washington Post and chairman of its parent company; the two Post reporters who received much of the credit for uncovering the Watergate scandal are Carl Bernstein (b.1944), a native Washingtonian, and Robert "Bob" Woodward (b.Illinois, 1943). Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore (b.1948), wife of Vice President Al Gore, was born in Washington, D.C. Washingtonians who achieved military fame include Benjamin O. Davis (1877–1970), the first black to become an Army general, and his son, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (1912–2002), who was the first black to become a general in the Air Force. John Shalikashvili (b.Poland, 1936) was the first foreign born commander in chief of the joint chiefs of staff.
The designer of the nation's capital was Pierre Charles L'Enfant (b.France, 1754–1825), whose grave is in Arlington National Cemetery; also involved in laying out the capital were surveyor Andrew Ellicott (b.Pennsylvania, 1754–1820) and mathematician-astronomer Benjamin Banneker (b.Maryland, 1731–1806), a black who was an early champion of equal rights. Among Washingtonians to achieve distinction in the creative arts were John Philip Sousa (1854–1932), bandmaster and composer; Herblock (Herbert L. Block, b. Illinois, 1909–2001), political cartoonist; and playwright Edward Albee (b.1928), winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1967 and 1975. Famous performers born in the District of Columbia include composer-pianistbandleader Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899–1974) and actress Helen Hayes (Helen Hayes Brown, 1900–92). Alice Roosevelt Longworth (b.New York, 1884–1980) dominated the Washington social scene for much of this century.