September 11 carries enormous historical weight, and today’s Births & Passings should acknowledge that with care.

The 2,977 people killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks are remembered separately and collectively today. Their lives are not simply another entry in a historical roll call.

Alongside that remembrance, September 11 also marks the births and passings of many notable people across music, literature, film, science, politics, and culture.

Carl Zeiss
Born 1816
German maker of optical instruments whose work transformed lens manufacturing and precision optics.

O. Henry
Born 1862
American short-story writer famous for wit, wordplay, and surprise endings, including The Gift of the Magi.

D. H. Lawrence
Born 1885
English novelist, poet, and essayist best known for works including Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

Brian De Palma
Born 1940
American filmmaker whose credits include Carrie, Scarface, and Mission: Impossible.

Mickey Hart
Born 1943
Percussionist and longtime drummer for the Grateful Dead.

Amy Madigan
Born 1950
Academy Award-nominated actress known for films including Field of Dreams.

Tommy Shaw
Born 1953
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Styx.

John Hawkes
Born 1959
Oscar-nominated actor known for Winter’s Bone and Deadwood.

Virginia Madsen
Born 1961
Acclaimed actress and Academy Award nominee for Sideways.

Kristy McNichol
Born 1962
Two-time Emmy-winning actress known for Family and Empty Nest.

Moby
Born 1965
Electronic musician, songwriter, producer, and influential figure in electronic dance music.

Harry Connick Jr.
Born 1967
Grammy-winning singer, pianist, composer, and actor.

Taraji P. Henson
Born 1970
Golden Globe-winning actress known for Empire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Ludacris
Born 1977
Rapper and actor known both for his music career and the Fast & Furious film franchise.

Jonny Buckland
Born 1977
Lead guitarist and co-founder of Coldplay.

Charles Kelley
Born 1981
Singer and core member of the country group Lady A.

Tyler Hoechlin
Born 1987
Actor known for Teen Wolf and for portraying Superman in Superman & Lois.

David Ricardo
Died 1823
English economist whose ideas on comparative advantage, trade, and wages became foundational in classical economics.

Nikita Khrushchev
Died 1971
Former leader of the Soviet Union during some of the defining years of the Cold War.

Salvador Allende
Died 1973
President of Chile who died during the military coup that ended his government.

Peter Tosh
Died 1987
Jamaican reggae musician and founding member of The Wailers.

Luis Alvarez
Died 1988
Nobel Prize-winning physicist known for major work in particle physics.

Roger Hargreaves
Died 1988
English author and illustrator who created the beloved Mr. Men books.

Andy Whitfield
Died 2011
Welsh actor best known for starring in Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

Among those lost that day were people known publicly for their work as well as thousands known most deeply by family, friends, coworkers, and communities.

They included television producer David Angell, actress and photographer Berry Berenson, hockey player and scout Garnet “Ace” Bailey, former FBI counterterrorism specialist John O’Neill, filmmaker Carolyn Beug, photojournalist Bill Biggart, and Todd Beamer, one of the passengers who resisted the hijackers aboard Flight 93.

But today, the most important number is not fame.

It is 2,977.

Each one a life.

Each one a story.

Each one remembered.

🙏🏻🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🙏🏻