Ellen Baker - A Bayside native and daughter of former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman, Baker is a NASA astronaut. In October 1989 she blasted off into outer space on the space shuttle Atlantis as Queens’ first astronaut. Among the items Baker took aboard that mission were a Queens flag, hundreds of messages from visitors to the Hall of Science and a CD-Rom disc containing the Tribune. In June 1995 Baker once again rode the shuttle into space - this time as part of an important mission in which Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts exchanged places between Atlantis and Mir for the first time.

James Bland - American composer of popular songs, including “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny,” was born in 1854 in Flushing, the son of free Americans. After graduating from Howard University’s Law School, he was the first black man appointed examiner in the United States Patent Office. Later he worked in minstrel shows throughout Europe and the United States. He was often called “the World’s Greatest Minstrel Man.” He died of tuberculosis in 1911. Bland Houses is in Flushing is named in his honor.

John Bowne - Famous Quaker dissenter against the New Amsterdam Governor Peter Stuyvesant’s religious oppression in 1662, his fighting led to the upholding of the Flushing Remonstrance, the first document calling for complete freedom of religion in the New World. An active participant in the Underground Railroad, his home, built 1661 at 37-01 Bowne Street in Flushing, is open for tours and is believed to be the oldest house in New York City. He was born and died in Flushing.

Robert Bowne - John Bowne’s grandson, this Flushing resident founded the Manumission Society to help the poor, sick and undereducated and to help free slaves. He was also a founder of the Society for Establishing a Free School in the City of New York, where scholars would be chosen on the basis of need, irrespective of “sect, creed, nationality, or name.” He played an active role in New York’s first hospital, its first public health organization, and its first fire insurance company.

Guy R. Brewer - A five-term state Assembly member from Queens, Brewer had moved from Manhattan in 1941 in hopes of starting a black suburban community in Jamaica. New York Boulevard was renamed Guy R. Brewer Blvd. in 1982.

Ron Brown - This St. John’s University law-school graduate became the first black United States Secretary of Commerce. In 1996, while on a trade mission in Croatia, Brown and 34 other people were killed when their plane went down. Speculations and conspiracy theories are still abound surround the plane crash and his death.

Roscoe Brown, Jr. - A member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all black flying unit in the U.S. military, this one-time resident of Whitestone won the 1973 Emmy Award for Distinguished Program with his weekly series “Black Arts,” and has published numerous articles and contributed to several books. He currently serves as the director of the Center for Urban Education Policy at the Graduate School and University Center of CUNY.

Ralph Bunche - Civil rights activist and the first person of color to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work at the United Nations including fostering agreements to end the first Arab-Israeli war in 1949. He was also consulted on minority problems by Roosevelt’s administration; offered, and declined, by President Truman to be secretary of state and helped lead some civil rights marches organized by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts - This renowned pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City, once said then-mayor Ed Koch was “worse than a racist” and snapped during a visit by Nelson Mandela in 1990 by saying New York was “one of the most racially divided cities in the world.” He is the president of State University of New York at Old Westbury, President of the Council of Churches of the City of New York and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the United Way of New York City who lived in Queens.

Dale Carnegie - A prominent lecturer and motivational speaker of his day and a sought-after counselor to world leaders, he authored a number of books, including “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.” He died in Forest Hills in 1955.

William Casey - Queens-native and graduate from St. John’s University School of Law, he successfully directed Ronald Regan’s run for president and was appointed to be the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1980. He died of brain cancer in 1987 and was later named as the mastermind of the Iran Contra affair.

Sri Chinmoy - This spiritual leader, who performs feats of strength and endurance to the admiration of his followers, has written books, recorded music and met with followers in 60 countries. He lived in an ashram in India for 20 years before moving to New York. His compound is located in Jamaica.

Charles S. Colden - A State Supreme Court Justice for two terms in the 1940s, Colden was the founder of Queens College and a resident of Whitestone.

Mario Cuomo - Hollis-native, he simultaneously taught at St. John’s University School of Law as an adjunct professor for more than ten years, and served as Chairman of the St. John’s University Alumni Federation. In 1975, Governor Carey appointed him Secretary of State, and in 1978 he was elected Lieutenant Governor.

Andrew Cuomo - Hollis-native, he was the attorney and assistant secretary (1993-1997) and then secretary of housing and urban development (1997-2001) in the Clinton administration. He married Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy, in 1990.

George Deukmejian - The 35th Governor of California, he served the coastal state from 1983 until 1991 as a republican. However, he attended St. John’s University here in Queens before heading out West.

Geraldine Ferraro - Born in New York, she taught English in Queens’ public schools before becoming district attorney in the Investigations Bureau in Queens. She held numerous public offices and was the first woman vice-presidential candidate on a national party ticket.

Arthur Hammerstein - A successful theatrical producer who sponsored 26 Broadway shows, including works by Victor Herbert, George Gershwin, and Jerome Kern. Following the success of the musical “Wildflower” in 1923, and his marriage to the actress and film star Dorothy Dalton, Hammerstein purchased a waterfront plot in Queens and erected this sprawling neo-Tudor house, which was enlarged prior to 1930.

Harry Houdini - Machpelah Cemetery on Cypress Hills Street is the final resting place of the man who stunned the world by not being able to be contained. The master illusionist, contortionist and magician died on Halloween, 1926.

Raymond Kelly - The first commissioner to be appointed for two separate tenures, this St. John’s University graduate was awarded the Exceptionally Meritorious Service Commendation by the President of the United States and the Commander’s Medal for Public Service by the Chairman of the Joint Chief’s of Staff among other notable awards.

Rufus King - An 1804, 1808 and 1816 candidate for President, King had been one of the youngest architects of the U.S. Constitution, representing Massachusetts. He moved to New York and became one of the first U.S. Senators from New York. He was also a director of the First Bank of The United States and Minister to Great Britain. In 1805, he moved to Queens, pursing agricultural interests at King Manor, still located in Rufus King Park in Jamaica. He died in 1827 and is buried in the churchyard of Grace Episcopal Church in Jamaica.

Francis Lewis - A signer of the Declaration of Independence and a steadfast fighter for liberty, Lewis was born in Wales in 1713 but came to the British colonies at the age of 21. He grew to be a wealthy merchant who traveled the world, but his heart and duty were tied to the freedom and creation of America. Within a year of retiring to Queens, the British ransacked his house and his wife was captured and held for ransom. Through George Washington’s influence she was released, and though she died two months later, Lewis lived until 1803.

Samuel Bowne Parsons - A Member of the Society of Friends, Parsons was a key figure in the Underground Railroad, helping escaped slaves make their way to freedom via Flushing. A tree he planted in 1847, the historic Weeping Beech, was officially declared dead in 1998.

Conrad Poppenhusen - This rubber baron who opened for business in College Point in the 1800s, was known for being good to his workers and giving back to the community, providing housing for employees and donating money to improve the local neighborhood. On his 50th birthday in 1868, Poppenhusen dedicated $100,000 to College Point for the creation of an institute, which was used as a village hall, a congregational church, a bank, a library, a firehouse and a jail. The five-story Victorian edifice with tall arched windows also offered the nation’s first free kindergarten.

Colin Powell - After serving four years as Secretary of State, this Bronx native who spent part of his childhood in Hollis, is likely not done with his career. The four-star general who served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Bill Clinton has most recently been named as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Nancy Reagan - Born in Queens, she became the First Lady when her husband and former acting partner Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1981. She was called “Dragon Lady,” while living in the White House for her domineering attitude. She also coined the phrase, “Just Say No!” in her efforts to skirt the growing drug trade problem in the U.S.

Jacob Riis - The Danish immigrant who gained notoriety for his photographic documenting of the tenements of the lower east side of Manhattan settled in Richmond Hill, where he lived until his death in 1914.

George Tenet - Former CIA director was born in Bayside in 1953 and raised in Douglaston.

Harry Van Arsdale Jr. - The son of a union electrician, Harry Van Arsdale, Jr., born in 1905 in Queens, was a trade union leader. In 1950, he spearheaded the construction of 2,500 affordable apartments for union members. He was elected the first president of the merged New York City Central Labor Council AFL-CIO in 1957, and served as its president until his death in 1986.

Malcolm X (Malcolm Little) - born in Nebraska, Malcolm had a home in Queens after he converted to Islam and started preaching. His home was fire bombed after he returned from his trip to Mecca in 1965.

Roy Wilkins - A Civil Rights leader, editor, Pullman car waiter and stockyard worker, this Minnesota native moved to Kansas City where he became editor of the Kansas City Call and spoke openly against segregation. He later moved to New York and succeeded W.E.B. DuBois as editor of Crisis magazine. He went on to succeed Walter White as the head of the NAACP. He helped organize Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington. He lived in Queens Village, where a park is named in his honor.