National Archives at Atlanta

Notable Registrants of the World War I Draft

at the National Archives at Atlanta

The 24 million World War I Draft Registration Cards in the custody of the National Archives at Atlanta provide an invaluable resource for academic researchers and genealogists. All males in the United States, born between the years 1872 and 1900, were required by law to register for the draft throughout 1917 and 1918. This series of records includes cards from all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The answers provided to the questions on the cards typically reveal details about where a man lived, his occupation, race, immigration status, and in many cases his place of origin and nearest relative. The following selection presents a unique snapshot of what is available in this extensive collection.


Name of RegistrantDraft Board Location

Louis Armstrong


New Orleans City #2, LA


Frederick Austerlitz Astaire (aka) Fred Astaire


New York City #125, NY


Irving Berlin


New York City #124, NY


Hector Boiardi (aka) Chef Boyardee


Cleveland City #8, OH


Edgar Rice Burroughs


Cook County #5, IL


James Francis Cagney


New York City #138, NY


Alphonse Capone (aka) Al Capone


New York City #48, NY


Charles Spencer Chaplin (aka) Charlie Chaplin


Los Angeles City #17, CA


Walter Percy Chrysler


Flint City #1, MI


Tyrus R. Cobb


Augusta City #2, GA


Cecil Blount DeMille


Los Angeles City #14, CA


William Harrison Dempsey (aka) Jack Dempsey


San Francisco City #13, CA


Thomas Stearns Eliot (aka) T. S. Eliot


St. Louis City #25, MO


Samuel James Ervin, Jr.


Burke County, NC


Douglas Elton Fairbanks


Los Angeles County #3, CA


William Claude Fields (aka) W. C. Fields


Philadelphia City #44, PA


Andrew Rube Foster (aka) Rube Foster


Chicago City #3, IL


Robert Frost


Grafton County, NH


Marcus Garvey


New York City #139, NY


George Gershwin


New York City #145, NY


Robert Hutchings Goddard


Worcester #4, MA


Rodolfo Guglielmi (aka) Rudolph Valentino


San Francisco City #13, CA


Oscar Hammerstein


New York City #129, NY


William Christopher Handy (aka) W. C. Handy


New York City #140, NY


Conrad Nicholson Hilton


Socorro County, NM


Duncan Hines


Chicago City #14, IL


Harry M. Horwitz (aka) Moe of The Three Stooges


Columbia County, NY


Harry Handcuff Houdini


New York City #136, NY


Edwin Powell Hubble


Walworth County, WI


Joseph F. Keaton (aka) Buster Keaton


New York City #116, NY


Joseph Patrick Kennedy


Brookline City, MA


Ben Kubelsky (aka) Jack Benny


Lake County #2, IL


Fiorello Henry LaGuardia


New York City #154, NY


Sinclair Lewis


New York City #159, NY


Huey Pearce Long, Jr.


Winn Parish, LA


Julius Henry Marx (aka) Groucho Marx


Chicago City #7, IL


Oscar Gottfried Mayer


Chicago City #54, IL


Reinhold Niebuhr


Detroit City #17, MI


J. C. Penney


Salt Lake City #4, UT


Cole Porter


New York City #154, NY


Sam Rayburn


Fannin County, TX


Norman Rockwell


New Rochelle City, NY


William Penn Rogers (aka) Will Rogers


New York City #175, NY


Kermit Roosevelt


Nassau County #3, NY


George Herman Ruth (aka) Babe Ruth


Boston City #8, MA


Charles August Sandburg (aka) Carl Sandburg


Cook County #4, IL


Upton Beall Sinclair


Pasadena City #2, CA


Charles D. Stengel (aka) Casey Stengel


Kansas City #13, MO


Adlai Ewing Stevenson


McLean County #2, IL


Alvin Cullum York


Fentress County, TN

 

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