This page is a list of notable Asian Americans.
Politics
- 1956 - Dalip Singh Saund became the first Asian immigrant elected to the U.S. Congress upon his election to the House of Representatives.
- 1959 - Hiram Fong became the first Asian American elected to the U.S. Senate.
- 1959 - Daniel Inouye became the first Japanese American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1962, he became the first Japanese American elected to the U.S. Senate. As of 2006, he is the Senate's third-most senior member.
- 1964 - Patsy Takemoto Mink became the first Asian American women to serve in Congress, as a representative of Hawaii; she ended up serving 12 terms
- 1974 - George Ariyoshi became the first Asian American governor in the United States when he was elected Governor of Hawaii.
- 1984 - Shien Biau Woo became the first Asian American statewide officer in the Northeast, when he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.
- 1985 - David L. Chew was appointed the White House Staff Secretary by President Ronald Reagan. It is the highest position in the Executive Office of the President held by an Asian American.
- 1990 - Daniel Akaka was elected to the U.S. Senate from Hawaii.
- 1992 - Tony Lam became the first Vietnamese American elected to office when he was elected to the Westminster, California city council.
- 1993 - Martha Wong was the first Asian American elected to the Houston City Council (1993 - representing District C). In 2003, she became the first Asian American woman elected to the Texas State Legislature. Wong was unseated in November 2006 from her Texas Legislature seat where her opponent, Ellen Cohen (the president of the Houston Area Women's Center) ran a campaign stating that Wong is representing the Republican Party to her legislative district instead of focusing on the welfare of its constituents.
- 1994 - Ben Cayetano was elected Governor of Hawaii.
- 1996 - Gary Locke was elected the first Asian American governor in the mainland United States in November 1996 and became Governor of Washington in January 1997.
- 1999 - Gordon Quan became the first Asian American male elected to the Houston City Council (1999) in a citywide (at-large) council seat. He was also Houston's first Asian American Mayor Pro Tem, 2002-2004, during Mayor Lee P. Brown's final term in office.
- 2000 - Norman Mineta became the first Asian American in the U.S. Cabinet when Bill Clinton appointed him Secretary of Commerce, serving in that post until 2001, when George W. Bush appointed him to another Cabinet post (Secretary of Transportation), serving until 2006.
- 2001 - Elaine Chao became the first Asian American woman and the first Chinese American in the U.S. Cabinet when George W. Bush appointed her Secretary of Labor.
- 2001 - John Liu became the first Asian American elected to the New York City Council (representing Flushing, Queens).
- 2002 - Upendra J. Chivukula became the first Asian American elected to the New Jersey General Assembly.
- 2002 - Mee Moua became the first Hmong American elected to any state legislature. A Democrat representing St. Paul's East Side, she is the highest ranking Hmong American elected official in the United States.
- 2004 - Bobby Jindal was elected the first Indian American congressman from Louisiana.
- 2004 - Masur Javed "M.J." Khan became a Houston City Councilmember.
- 2004 - Jimmy Meng became the first Asian American elected to the New York State Legislature.
- 2004 - Van Tran was elected a Republican member of the California State Assembly and is the first Vietnamese American to serve in any state legislature.
- 2004 - Hubert Vo, a Vietnamese immigrant, became the first Vietnamese American elected to the Texas Legislature.
- 2005 - Mike Honda, U.S. Congressman from California's 15th congressional district, became the highest-ranking Asian American member of the Democratic National Committee, as the party's Vice Chair.
Law
- For a list of Asian Americans who are or have served as judges, see List of Asian American jurists.
- Angelo Ancheta, Santa Clara, UCLA, NYU, Harvard Schools of Law, Professor of Constitutional Law, author "Race, Rights and the Asian American Experience", former legal director of The Civil Rights Project at Harvard.
- Preeta D. Bansal was the Solicitor General for the State of New York (1999-2002).
- Norman Bay was the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico (2000-2002), and the first Chinese-American to hold such a U.S. Attorney position.
- Morgan Chu is a prominent litigator and former Managing Partner of Irell & Manella.
- Viet D. Dinh was a United States Assistant Attorney General and a key drafter of what became the USA PATRIOT Act.
- Heather Fong is the first Asian American woman to head a major metropolitan police department (San Francisco, California).
- Todd Kim is the first Solicitor General for the District of Columbia.
- Harold Hongju Koh is dean of Yale Law School.
- Fred Korematsu was a prominent resister of Japanese American internment.
- Carol Lam was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California (2002-2007)
- David Lat is an attorney and blogger for the sites "Underneath Their Robes" and "Above the Law."
- William F. Lee is Co-Managing Partner of the international law firm of WilmerHale.
- Dale Minami is an attorney who helped reverse Fred Korematsu's criminal conviction.
- Rachel Paulose is the U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota. She is the first Indian American woman, the youngest attorney, and the first woman in Minnesota to hold this post.
- Frank H. Wu is dean of Wayne State University Law School.
- Bruce Yamashita is an attorney and U.S. Marine Corps officer who worked to expose racial discrimination within the Corps.
- Debra Wong Yang was the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, and is the first Asian American female to serve as a U.S. Attorney.
- John Yoo served in the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel and was a drafter of what later became known as the "torture memo."
Religion
- Rajan Zed: Promintent Hindu chaplain who read the first Hindu prayer in United States Senate in Washington DC in 2007.
Business and industry
Sports
- Raj Bhavsar, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in the gymnastics team competition.
- Michael Chang won tennis' French Open in 1987.
- Tiffany Chin won the US Figure Skating Championship in 1985.
- Amy Chow won gold and silver medals in gymnastics during the 1996 Olympics.
- Norm Chow is the currently offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans after helping lead USC to several NCAA championships as the offensive coordinator there.
- Bryan Clay won the decathlon gold medal in the 2008 Olympics, the silver medal in the 2004 Olympics, and was the sport's 2005 world champion.
- Natalie Coughlin Olympic gold medalist in swimming.
- Johnny Damon 2 time All-Star MLB outfielder currently playing for the New York Yankees.
- Toby Dawson won a 2006 Olympic bronze medal in Men’s Freestyle Skiing.
- Victoria Draves won gold medals in the 1948 platform and springboard events.
- Rena Inoue, first place in the 2004 and 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships (pairs).
- Evelyn Kawamoto won two Olympic bronze medals in swimming in 1952.
- Ford Konno former world record holder, two-time Olympic gold medalist, two-time Olympic silver medalist in swimming (1952 and 1956).
- Tommy Kono former world record holder, two-time Olympic gold medalist and Olympic silver medalist in weightlifting (1952, 1956, and 1960).
- Michelle Kwan has won nine national championships and five world titles, as well as two Olympic medals (silver in 1998, bronze in 2002).
- Jeanette Lee pool player
- Sammy Lee became the first Asian American to earn an Olympic Gold Medal, when he won in platform diving in both 1948 and 1952.
- Wataru Misaka broke the NBA color barrier in the 1947-48 season, when he played for the New York Knicks.
- Mirai Nagasu, won the singles title at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
- Hikaru Nakamura became the youngest American ever to earn the titles of National Master (age 10) and International Grandmaster (age 15) in chess.
- Dat Nguyen was an All-American linebacker at Texas A&M University and later became the first Vietnamese American in the National Football League.
- Apolo Anton Ohno won five Olympic medals in short-track speed skating (two gold) in 2002 and 2006, as well as a world cup championship.
- Takahiro Omori, sportfisherman
- Yoshinobu Oyakawa former world record holder and 1952 Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meter backstroke.
- Harold Sakata won a weightlifting silver medal in the 1948 Olympics
- Eric Sato won an 1988 Olympic gold medal in volleyball
- Liane Sato won an 1992 Olympic bronze medal in volleyball
- Sonya Thomas is one of the world's top competitive eaters.
- Hines Ward was the MVP of Super Bowl XL while playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Michelle Wie golfer
- Tiger Woods, golfer
- Kristi Yamaguchi won three national figureskating championships, two world titles, and the 1992 Olympic Gold medal.
Arts and architecture
Military
Music
Entertainment
- Keiko Agena, actress
- Toshiko Akiyoshi, jazz pianist, composer/arranger, and bandleader
- Nadia Ali of the music group iiO
- Tsuru Aoki (1892 - 1961), actress
- Chang and Eng Bunker (the source for the term "Siamese Twins")
- Eric Byler, filmmaker
- Dean Cain, actor
- Tia Carrere, actress and singer
- Cassie
- Wah Chang (prop designer - famous for designing the original Star Trek communicator and phasers
- Joan Chen, actress, director
- John Cho, actor
- Margaret Cho won the American Comedy Award for Best Female Comedian in 1994.
- Michael Copon
- Mark Dacascos, actor, of the Crying Freeman and the "Chairman" from Iron Chef America
- Ariel Felix, actor
- Kayo Hatta (1958 - 2005), filmmaker
- Sessue Hayakawa (1889 - 1973), Academy Award nominated actor
- Gina Hiraizumi, actress, singer
- James Hong, actor
- James Wong Howe (1899 - 1976), 2-time Academy Award winning cinematographer
- Kelly Hu, actress
- Vanessa Anne Hudgens,actress and singer
- Stella Hudgens, actor
- Chad Hugo
- David Henry Hwang, Tony winning playwright
- Malese Jow actress and singer
- Rodney Kageyama, actor
- Michael Kang, filmmaker
- Sung Kang, actor
- Janice Kawaye,voice actress
- Daniel Dae Kim, actor
- Randall Duk Kim, actor
- Nancy Kwan, actress
- Bruce Lee (1940 - 1973), martial arts superstar
- Chris Chan Lee, filmmaker
- Jason Scott Lee, actor
- Moon Lee graphic artist, credited with creating the Geisha Look, and popular actor from the eighties into the nineties
- Justin Lin, filmmaker
- Apl.de.ap (Lindo) of Black Eyed Peas
- Bai Ling, actress
- Lucy Liu Chinese American actress[1]
- Mako (1933 - 2006) Academy Award and Tony Award nominated actor, founder of East West Players
- Sanjaya Malakar
- Aasif Mandvi
- Marie Matiko, actress
- Nobu McCarthy (1934 - 2002), actress
- Ming-Na, actress
- Vanessa Minnillo
- Pat Morita (1932 - 2005) comedian and Academy Award nominated actor best known for work on Happy Days and The Karate Kid
- Dr. Haing S. Ngor (1940 - 1996) won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1985.
- Dustin Nguyen, actor
- Julia Nickson, actress
- Lisa Onodera, film producer
- Janel Parrish, actress and singer
- Kal Penn, actor
- Dat Phan comedian, winner of the first season of Last Comic Standing
- Lindsay Price, actress
- Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls
- James Shigeta, actor
- Brenda Song, actress and singer
- George Takei actor of Star Trek fame
- Chris Tashima, actor, Academy Award winning filmmaker
- Tamlyn Tomita, actress
- Lauren Tom,voice actress
- Jasmine Trias American Idol contestant
- Camile Velasco of American Idol
- B.D. Wong, Tony Award winning actor
- Anna May Wong (1905 - 1961), actress
- Maggie Quigley, actress
- Grace Park, actress
Reality TV Stars
News/Media
- Guy Aoki, founder of Media Action Network for Asian Americans
- Connie Chung, anchor and journalist, 2 Emmy Awards for Best Interviewer
- Ann Curry, anchor and correspondent for NBC News and The Today Show
- Rob Fukuzaki, sports anchor for KABC-TV in Los Angeles
- James Hattori, pioneering network news correspondent
- Joseph Heco (1837 - 1897), fisherman and writer, first to publish Japanese language newspaper
- Michiko Kakutani, New York Times literary critic and author
- Ken Kashiwahara, Emmy winning television journalist
- Guy Kawasaki, author, Apple evangelist
- Gordon Morioka, photojournalist based in Cincinnati, Ohio (formerly with the Dayton Journal Herald and the Cincinnati Enquirer)
- Kent Ninomiya, anchor, reporter and news executive
- David Ono, anchorman for KABC-TV in Los Angeles
- Scott Sassa, former President, NBC West Coast
- Iva Toguri (1916 - 2006), radio broadcaster who has been nicknamed "Tokyo Rose"
- Wendy Tokuda, anchorwoman for San Francisco KPIX 5, previously for KRON 4
- Tritia Toyota, former anchorwoman, founder of Asian American Journalists Association
Science
- Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, 1983 Nobel laureate in Physics.
- Min Chueh Chang, Co-inventor of the combined oral contraceptive pill.
- Kalpana Chawla, astronaut on STS-87 and STS-107; died in 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
- Shiing-Shen Chern mathematician and winner of the 1983 Wolf Prize for his work in differential geometry.
- Stephen Chu Nobel laureate in Physics in 1997 for research on cooling and trapping atoms using laser light.
- David D. Ho, HIV/AIDS researcher
- Har Gobind Khorana shared the Nobel laureate in “Physiology or Medicine” in 1968 for work in genetics and protein synthesis.
- Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang received the 1957 Nobel laureates in Physics for work in particle physics.
- Yuan T. Lee, 1986 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry
- Yoichiro Nambu, 2008 Nobel laureate in physics
- Ellison Onizuka, astronaut on STS-51-C and STS-51-L; died in 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
- Terence Tao, mathematician, 2006 Fields Medal winner.
- Daniel Tsui 1998 Nobel laureate in Physics for contributions to the discovery of the fractional Quantum Hall effect.
- Chien-Shiung Wu, known to many scientists as the "First Lady of Physics".
- Samuel C.C. Ting 1976 Nobel laureate in physics for discovering the existence of a new particle called j/psi.
- Sunita Williams, astronaut on STS-116 and Expedition 14 to the International Space Station.
- Shing-Tung Yau, mathematician, 1982 Fields Medal winner.
See also
Footnotes
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