A list of "FAMOUS ATHEISTS" appears at the top of this page. But this list leaves out the foremost, leading atheist who still surpasses all others: the late Christopher Hitchens,
This genius wrote over 30 books. He was the star atheist of the famous "Four Horsemen of the Non-Apocalypse", as they were known, which was comprised of the prominent atheist authors, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennet, Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. The term was coined at a public discussion that involved the four. It was largely due to this debate that these philosophers were said to be New Atheists, as they all remained committed to questioning the usefulness of religion in the world.
(I would add one more esteemed atheist author to this foursome: Allan Watts.)