Henrietta Lacks

American woman whose cancer cells are the source of the HeLa cell line (1920–1951)
Person human Q1647793
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Henrietta Lacks

Summary

Henrietta Lacks is a human[1]. She was born in Roanoke[2]. She was born on August 1, 1920[3]. She passed away in Baltimore[4]. She died on October 4, 1951[5]. She worked as a farmworker[6] and homemaker[7]. She ranks in the top 0.45% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (31,520 views/month, #4,521 of 1,000,298).[8]

Key Facts

  • Henrietta Lacks's place of birth was Roanoke[2].
  • Henrietta Lacks passed away in Baltimore[4].
  • Henrietta Lacks was born on August 1, 1920[3].
  • Henrietta Lacks died on October 4, 1951[5].
  • Burial took place at Clover[9].
  • Henrietta Lacks held citizenship in United States[10].
  • English was Henrietta Lacks's native language[11].
  • Henrietta Lacks worked as a farmworker[6].
  • Henrietta Lacks's professions included homemaker[7].
  • Henrietta Lacks received the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame[12].
  • Henrietta Lacks is recorded as female[13].
  • Henrietta Lacks's instance of is recorded as human[14].
  • Henrietta Lacks's Commons category is recorded as Henrietta Lacks[15].
  • The cause of death was cervical adenocarcinoma[16].
  • The cause of death was Povilla[17].
  • Henrietta Lacks's family name is recorded as Lacks[18].
  • Henrietta Lacks's given name is recorded as Henrietta[19].
  • Henrietta Lacks's described at URL is recorded as https://herlegacymatters.de/beruehmte-frauen/henrietta-lacks-mutter-der-hela-zellen-unsterblichkeit/[20].
  • Henrietta Lacks's manner of death is recorded as natural causes[21].
  • Henrietta Lacks's languages spoken, written or signed is recorded as French[22].
  • Henrietta Lacks's languages spoken, written or signed is recorded as English[23].
  • Henrietta Lacks's birth name is recorded as Loretta Pleasant[24].
  • Henrietta Lacks's name in native language is recorded as Henrietta Lacks[25].
  • Henrietta Lacks's on focus list of Wikimedia project is recorded as Exciting women in history on Wikipedia[26].
  • Henrietta Lacks's on focus list of Wikimedia project is recorded as WikiProject COVID-19[27].

Body

Origins and Family

Born in Roanoke[2], Henrietta Lacks… she was born on August 1, 1920[3]. English was her native language[11].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include farmworker[6] and homemaker[7].

Recognition

Henrietta Lacks received the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame[12].

Death and Burial

Henrietta Lacks died on October 4, 1951[5]. She died in Baltimore[4]. Recorded cause of death include cervical adenocarcinoma[16] and Povilla[17]. She is buried at Clover[9].

Works and Contributions

Things named for Henrietta Lacks include HeLa[28], a cancer cell line[29].

Why It Matters

Henrietta Lacks ranks in the top 0.45% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (31,520 views/month, #4,521 of 1,000,298).[8] She has Wikipedia articles in 24 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[30] She is known by 25 alternative names across languages and contexts.[31]

Entities named for her include HeLa[28], a cancer cell line[29].

FAQs

Where was Henrietta Lacks born?

Henrietta Lacks's place of birth was Roanoke[2].

Where did Henrietta Lacks die?

Henrietta Lacks died in Baltimore[4].

What did Henrietta Lacks do for work?

Henrietta Lacks worked as farmworker[6] and homemaker[7].

What awards did Henrietta Lacks receive?

Honors received include Maryland Women's Hall of Fame[12].

References

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

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] . wikidata.org.
  3. [13] . wikidata.org.
  4. [10] . wikidata.org.
  5. [14] . wikidata.org.
  6. [11] . wikidata.org.
  7. [6] . wikidata.org.
  8. [7] . wikidata.org.
  9. [9] . wikidata.org.
  10. [12] . wikidata.org.
  11. [15] . wikidata.org.
  12. [16] . wikidata.org.
  13. [17] . wikidata.org.
  14. [3] . wikidata.org.
  15. [5] . wikidata.org.
  16. [18] . wikidata.org.
  17. [19] . wikidata.org.
  18. [20] . wikidata.org.
  19. [21] . wikidata.org.
  20. [22] . wikidata.org.
  21. [23] . wikidata.org.
  22. [24] . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] . wikidata.org.
  25. [27] . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [28] . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [29] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [8] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [30] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [31] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Henrietta Lacks. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/henrietta-lacks
MLA “Henrietta Lacks.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Apr. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/henrietta-lacks.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_henrietta-lacks_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Henrietta Lacks}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/henrietta-lacks}, note = {Accessed: 2026-04-10}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Henrietta Lacks — https://4ort.xyz/entity/henrietta-lacks (retrieved 2026-04-10)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/henrietta-lacks · Last refreshed:

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. 11d ago · Moerob · 2026-09-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Described at url https://herlegacymatters.de/beruehmte-frauen/henrietta-lacks
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ [[Property:P973]]: https://herlegacymatters.de/beruehmte-frauen/henrietta-lacks-mutter-der-hela-zellen-unsterblichkeit/"
  2. 21d ago · Wcam · 2026-09-01 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Image Henrietta Lacks statue head 02.jpg, Henrietta Lacks (cropped).jpg
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ [[Property:P18]]: Henrietta Lacks (cropped).jpg"
  3. 14w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-06-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Svkkl authority id 0330111-Lacks-Henrietta-19201951
    Image purged license
    Image unavailable reason
    Image last checked license
    + 2 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ [[Property:P9322]]: 0330111-Lacks-Henrietta-19201951, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259493|batch #259493]]"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.