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Paul Robeson

American singer, actor, and political activist (1898–1976)
Person human Q273233
Paul Robeson
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Summary

Paul Robeson was born on April 9, 1898[1], in Princeton[2]. He died on January 23, 1976[3], in Philadelphia[4]. He worked as a singer[5], lawyer[6], activist[7], basketball player[8], and American football player[9]. He ranks in the top 0.65% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (15,582 views/month, #6,464 of 1,000,298).[10]

Key Facts

  • Place of burial: Ferncliff Cemetery[11]
  • Father: William Drew Robeson I[12]
  • Mother: Maria Louisa Bustill[13]
  • Spouse: Eslanda Goode Robeson[14]
  • Child: Paul Robeson, Jr.[15]
  • Country of citizenship: United States[16]
  • Native language: English[17]
  • Ethnic group: African Americans[18]
  • Occupation: film actor[19], stage actor[20], actor[21], musicologist[22], civil rights advocate[23], musician[24], athlete[25], military personnel[26], politician[27], author[28], military officer[29]
  • Educated at: Rutgers University–New Brunswick[30], Columbia Law School[31], SOAS, University of London[32], Somerville High School[33]
  • Award received: Spingarn Medal[34], Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award[35], New Jersey Hall of Fame[36], International Stalin Prize for Peace[37], Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame[38], Paul Robeson Award[39], star on Hollywood Walk of Fame[40], Donaldson Awards[41]
  • Member of: Alpha Phi Alpha[42], Phi Beta Kappa Society[43]
  • Sex or gender: male[44]
  • Member of sports team: Akron Pros[45]
  • Member of political party: Progressive Party[46]
  • Movement: Harlem Renaissance[47]
  • Genre: folk music[48]
  • Military branch: International Brigades[49]
  • Record label: Columbia Records[50], Philips Records[51], His Master's Voice[52]
  • Discography: Paul Robeson discography[53]
  • Commons category: Paul Robeson[54]
  • Voice type: bass-baritone[55]
  • Position played on team / speciality: end[56]
  • Unmarried partner: Helen V. Rosen[57], Peggy Ashcroft[58]
  • Archives at: Rutgers University Libraries[59], Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture[60], Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library[61], Archive of the Academy of Arts[62]

Body

Death and Burial

The cause of death was stroke[63].

Why It Matters

Paul Robeson has Wikipedia articles in 50 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[64] He is known by 22 alternative names across languages and contexts.[65]

FAQs

Where was Paul Robeson born?

Paul Robeson was born in Princeton[2].

Where did Paul Robeson die?

Paul Robeson died in Philadelphia[4].

Who were Paul Robeson's parents?

Paul Robeson's father was William Drew Robeson I[12]. Paul Robeson's mother was Maria Louisa Bustill[13].

Who was Paul Robeson married to?

Paul Robeson's spouses include Eslanda Goode Robeson[14].

What did Paul Robeson do for work?

Paul Robeson worked as a singer[5], lawyer[6], activist[7], basketball player[8], and American football player[9].

Where did Paul Robeson go to school?

Paul Robeson was educated at Rutgers University–New Brunswick[30], Columbia Law School[31], SOAS, University of London[32], and Somerville High School[33].

What awards did Paul Robeson receive?

Honors received include Spingarn Medal[34], Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award[35], New Jersey Hall of Fame[36], and International Stalin Prize for Peace[37].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  3. [44] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [14] ↑ . Paul Robeson: No One Can Silence Me. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  7. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  8. [15] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  9. [45] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [30] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  11. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  13. [33] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  14. [46] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  15. [17] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [5] ↑ . The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  17. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  19. [8] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  20. [9] ↑ . Pro Football Reference. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  21. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [21] ↑ . The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  24. [22] ↑ . Paul Robeson's Linguistics Breakthrough. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  25. [23] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  26. [24] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  27. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  28. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  30. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  31. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  32. [11] ↑ . Find a Grave. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  33. [47] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  34. [48] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  35. [34] ↑ . Encyclopædia Britannica Online. wikidata.org.
  36. [35] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  37. [36] ↑ . njhalloffame.org. njhalloffame.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  38. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  39. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  40. [39] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [40] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  42. [41] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  43. [18] ↑ . Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians. Retrieved . amp.theguardian.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  44. [49] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  45. [50] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  46. [51] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  47. [52] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  48. [53] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  49. [54] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  50. [55] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  51. [56] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  52. [57] ↑ . Paul Robeson: No One Can Silence Me. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  53. [58] ↑ . Paul Robeson: No One Can Silence Me. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  54. [42] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  55. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  56. [59] ↑ . www2.scc.rutgers.edu. www2.scc.rutgers.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  57. [60] ↑ . archives.nypl.org. Retrieved . archives.nypl.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  58. [61] ↑ . pid.emory.edu. pid.emory.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  59. [62] ↑ . kalliope-verbund.info. kalliope-verbund.info. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  60. [63] ↑ . Paul Robeson: No One Can Silence Me. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  61. [1] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  62. [3] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [64] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [65] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

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APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Paul Robeson. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/paul-robeson
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BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_paul-robeson_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Paul Robeson}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/paul-robeson}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-18}}
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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 8h ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-18 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Wikipedia languages → ['af', 'ar', 'arz', 'azb', 'bg', 'ca', 'commons', 'cs', 'cy', 'da', 'de', 'en',
    Sitelink count → 55
    Claims rich → —
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  2. 5w ago · MsMorale · 2026-09-06 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Sinemalar person id → 79188
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Sinemalar person id: 79188, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/271268|batch #271268]]"
  3. 8w ago · Mahirtwofivesix · 2026-08-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Babelnet id → 00061066n
    Wordnet 3.1 synset id → 11284963-n
    Arabic ontology lexical concept id → 151061242
    "/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||4 */ added/modified IDs mapped to WordNet 3.1"
  4. 9w ago · Yirba · 2026-08-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14750 → F574-7503-C871-051D-FB81
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/46380|batch #46380]]: HAND ID (3)"
  5. 11w ago · MariuszRokin · 2026-07-27 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Trading card database name id → 131372, 171061
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Trading card database name id: 171061, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/261788|batch #261788]]"
  6. 13w ago · MariuszRokin · 2026-07-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Vatican library vcba id → 495/400678
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Vatican library vcba id: 495/400678, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/260994|batch #260994]]"
  7. 14w ago · Nyuhn · 2026-07-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14541 → 35qUIZ
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/40849|batch #40849]]: ZGBK ID"
  8. 16w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-26 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14536 → 386788
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14536: 386788, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782398664614"
  9. 18w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-06-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Genre → folk music
    Occupation → singer, lawyer, activist +13
    Svkkl authority id → p0085154-Robeson-Paul-18981976
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Svkkl authority id: p0085154-Robeson-Paul-18981976, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259494|batch #259494]]"
  10. 20w ago · BigJack20 · 2026-05-24 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Occupation → singer, lawyer, activist +13
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Occupation: athlete"
  11. 21w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Our campaigns candidate id → 107195
    Place of birth → Princeton
    Lur encyclopedic dictionary id → 05132/eu_r_0695/r0695
    Kinobox person id → 103606
    + 242 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32082|batch #32082]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (24)"
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