DANCER

Katherine Dunham

1909 - 2006

Photo of Katherine Dunham

Icon of person Katherine Dunham

Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century and directed her own dance company for many years. She has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance." While a student at the University of Chicago, Dunham also performed as a dancer, ran a dance school and earned an early bachelor's degree in anthropology. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Katherine Dunham has received more than 800,724 page views. Her biography is available in 24 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 23 in 2019). Katherine Dunham is the 90th most popular dancer (down from 77th in 2019), the 8,224th most popular biography from United States (down from 7,791st in 2019) and the 12th most popular American Dancer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 800k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 45.94

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 24

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.25

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.00

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among DANCERS

Among dancers, Katherine Dunham ranks 90 out of 116Before her are Yamini Krishnamurthy, Balasaraswati, Avdotia Istomina, Kenneth MacMillan, Adam Darius, and Yvonne Rainer. After her are Frankie Manning, Dušanka Sifnios, Svetlana Zakharova, Sonal Mansingh, Jin Xing, and Saroj Khan.

Most Popular Dancers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1909, Katherine Dunham ranks 344Before her are Petras Cvirka, Sándor Schwartz, András Székely, Carla Laemmle, Dimitar Dimov, and Solomon Linda. After her are Eduardo Astengo, Michio Mado, Alex Raymond, Gregorio Blasco, Karel Burkert, and Vlasta Děkanová. Among people deceased in 2006, Katherine Dunham ranks 293Before her are Lidia Wysocka, Peter Osgood, Ratmir Kholmov, Juice Leskinen, Kenneth Lay, and Arthur Lee. After her are Liese Prokop, Robert Earl Jones, Annette Rogers, Mario Francesco Pompedda, Gunnar Åkerlund, and Lloyd Bentsen.

Others Born in 1909

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Others Deceased in 2006

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Katherine Dunham ranks 8,224 out of 20,380Before her are Paul Fix (1901), Reta Shaw (1912), Matthew Henson (1866), James Stafford (1932), Zachary Levi (1980), and Lynn Bari (1913). After her are Patton Oswalt (1969), Rhys Chatham (1952), Alfred W. Crosby (1931), Peter Buck (1956), Michael Herr (1940), and Candice Night (1971).

Among DANCERS In United States

Among dancers born in United States, Katherine Dunham ranks 12Before her are William Forsythe (1949), Alvin Ailey (1931), John Neumeier (1939), Doris Humphrey (1895), Adam Darius (1930), and Yvonne Rainer (1934). After her are Frankie Manning (1914), Twyla Tharp (1941), Rachel Brice (1972), Agnes de Mille (1905), Rozonda Thomas (1971), and Misty Copeland (1982).