- Lonnie Bunch was born on November 18, 1952 in Newark, New Jersey, USa. He is married to Maria Marable-Bunch. They have two children.
- SpouseMaria Marable-Bunch(? - present) (2 children)
- Founding director, National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., 2005-2019.
- He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in history from American University. He has taught at several universities, and has written books on black military history, the American presidency, and museums.
- In 2019, he was appointed secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, becoming the first African American leader in its 173-year history. He is in charge of 19 museums, nine research centers, and the National Zoo, with 7,000 employees and a $1.5 billion annual budget.
- At the Smithsonian, he started out as an education specialist at the National Air and Space Museum. After a stint at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, he joined the National Museum of American History, where he became associate director of curatorial affairs. In 2001, he became president of the Chicago Historical Society.
- He was nominated for the 2022 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Arts and Letters category.
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