Is -さん used when referring to a celebrity or historical figures?

Question

When referring to a celebrity or historical figure, do you use -さん?

I am listening to Yoko Shimomura.
Would it be:"下村陽子さんを聞いている。"?

Abraham Lincoln is my favorite president.
Would it be: "エイブラハム・リンカーンは一番好きな大統領。"?

I have seen celebrities' and famous people's names in texts and references without any honorifics, but it feels strange to use someone's name whom I've never met before without saying -さん, especially when using their full name.

Another case would be if a celebrity goes by a mononym (e.g. Beethoven) or a pseudonym (e.g. Sting). Is it customary to use -さん or some honorific title when referring to them? Or is it only appropriate in certain situations?

Answer 1

I think that using さん, 様, ちゃん, 君 etc. is more of a subjective statement of how the speaker/writer relates to the person he refers to. In an objective text, it would be fine to refer to President Lincoln simply as Abraham Lincoln, without title. Referring to President Lincoln as "President Lincoln", expresses a personal stance of how the writer relates to the person Abraham Lincoln.

If you were to write an article about a contemporary university professor, whom you know personally (as Prof. X), you would be more likely to use Prof. X than the more objective John X in your article.

Of course さん or ちゃん are quite personal, so their use in formal writing would be more limited than, for example, 先生, which is an objective fact (of course coupled with your subjective decision of choosing 先生 as suffix).

As a rule of thumb, I would only include さん for people I don't know, if I am describing a personal situation (as in your first example), and omit it in more general contexts (as in your second example).

If you were to say エイブラハム・リンカーンさんは一番好きな大統領 it sounds more like you are his personal fan, although you don't have a particular high esteem for him, because you don't use 様 for someone as high up in the social order as a president...

Hope this makes some sense.