11. David Halberstam
David Halberstam may not be a household name like other entries on our list (or at least most of them), but he was one of the most famous journalists in U.S. history and a man who was there for pretty much all of the biggest events of his time.
He was down south when the American Civil Rights Movement was just starting, covering it for The Tennessean. He also covered the Vietnam War and he was there when the Buddhist monk named Thích Quảng Đức set himself on fire. And these were just a few highlights of his career.
Halberstam died in a traffic accident in Menlo Park, California in 2007. He was talking at UC Berkeley and was on his way to interview Y.A. Tittle, an NFL hall of famer.