List of people from West Virginia
Location of West Virginia in the U.S. map
This is a list of prominent people from the territory that now makes up the U.S. state of West Virginia.
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
Athletics
- A–G
- Randy Barnes (born 1966), shotputter
- Larry Barnett (born 1945), professional baseball umpire; born in Nitro
- Clair Bee, college basketball coach
- Vern Bickford, professional baseball player
- Terry Bowden, college football analyst and commentator
- Tommy Bowden, college football coach
- Brian Bowles, UFC/MMA fighter
- Rich Braham, professional football coach
- George Brett, professional baseball player
- Vicky Bullett, professional basketball player
- Lew Burdette, professional baseball player
- Jesse Burkett, professional baseball player
- Necro Butcher, professional wrestler
- Eddie Cameron, college basketball coach
- Mark Canterbury, professional wrestler
- David Carpenter, professional baseball player
- Bimbo Coles, professional basketball player
- Wilbur Cooper, professional baseball player
- Larry Coyer, professional football coach
- Dan D'Antoni, college basketball coach
- Mike D'Antoni, professional basketball player and coach
- Jack Dempsey, professional boxer
- Jimbo Fisher, college football coach
- Gene Freese, professional baseball player
- Bob Gain, professional football player
- Frank Gatski, professional football player
- Hal Greer, professional basketball player
- H–M
- Cam Henderson, college football, basketball, and football coach
- Lou Holtz, college football coach
- Alexis Hornbuckle, professional basketball player
- Jeff Hostetler, professional football player
- J. R. House, professional baseball and football player
- Chuck Howley, professional football player
- Sam Huff, professional football player
- Bob Huggins, college basketball coach
- Hot Rod Hundley, professional basketball player and broadcaster
- Gary Jeter, professional football player
- James Jett, professional football player
- Dwayne Jones, professional basketball player
- Jason Kincaid, professional wrestler[1]
- Carl Keith, chemist, inventor
- John Kruk, professional baseball player
- Carl Lee, professional football player
- Doug Legursky, professional football player
- Gino Marchetti, professional football player
- Chris Massey, professional football player
- O.J. Mayo, professional basketball player
- Bill Mazeroski, professional baseball player
- Leo Mazzone, professional baseball player
- Seth McClung, professional baseball player
- John McKay, college and professional football coach
- Renee Montgomery, professional basketball player
- Eric Moss, professional football player
- Randy Moss, professional football player
- N–Z
- Dustin Nippert, professional baseball player
- Jamie Noble, professional wrestler (WWE)
- Patrick Patterson, professional basketball player
- Joe Pettini, professional baseball coach
- Kevin Pittsnogle, college basketball player
- Paul Popovich, professional baseball player
- Mary Lou Retton, professional gymnast
- Rich Rodriguez, College Football Coach
- Ira Rodgers, college football coach
- Nick Saban, professional and college football coach
- Ben Schwartzwalder, Hall of Fame college football coach
- Mike Sheppard, three time world kickboxing champion, former WBF North American Heavyweight Champion
- Heath Slater, professional wrestler (WWE)
- Tamar Slay, professional basketball player
- Stephanie Sparks, professional golfer and commentator
- Ray Stevens, professional wrestler
- Emanuel Steward, boxing trainer
- Bill Stewart, former head football coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers
- Nick Swisher, professional baseball player
- Steve Swisher, professional baseball player
- Rick Tolley, college football coach
- Rod Thorn, professional basketball player
- Bill Walker, professional basketball player
- Fulton Walker, professional football player
- Robert Walker, professional football player
- Curt Warner, professional football player
- Jerry West, professional basketball player
- Deron Williams, professional basketball player
- Jason Williams, professional basketball player
- Kayla Williams, world champion gymnast[2]
- Alex Wilson, professional baseball player
- Hack Wilson, professional baseball player
- Quincy Wilson, professional football player
- Steve Yeager, professional baseball player
- Fielding H. Yost, college football coach
Business
- Don Blankenship, former chief executive officer of Massey Energy
- John Chambers, chief executive officer of Cisco Systems
- William Luke, businessman and entrepreneur
- George Preston Marshall, former owner and president of the Washington Redskins
- William N. Page, civil engineer, entrepreneur, capitalist, businessman, and industrialist
- Milan Puskar, entrepreneur, philanthropist, co-founder of Mylan
- Alex Schoenbaum, founder of Shoney's restaurant chain
- Harry F. Sinclair, industrialist
- Brad D. Smith, chief executive officer of Intuit, Inc.
- Ellsworth Milton Statler, hotel businessman
- Rod Thorn, president of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers
- Clarence Wayland Watson, businessman
- Allen Harvey Woodward, industrialist
Entertainment
- A–G
- Michael Ammar, magician
- Karen Austin, actress
- Samuel Ball, actor
- Charlie Barnett, actor and comedian
- Lina Basquette, actress
- Leon "Chu" Berry, jazz saxophonist
- Chris Booker, radio DJ and television personality
- Bobby Campo, actor
- Jean Carson, actress
- Bernie Casey, actor
- Ted Cassidy, actor
- Joe Cerisano, singer-songwriter
- Michael Cerveris, actor, singer-songwriter
- John Davis Chandler, actor
- Larry Combs, clarinetist
- Wilma Lee Cooper, country/bluegrass singer
- Stoney Cooper, country/bluegrass singer
- John Corbett, actor
- Billy Cox, bassist
- George Crumb, composer
- Phyllis Curtin, operatic soprano, NYCO
- Frank De Vol, film composer, actor
- Joyce DeWitt, actress; Three's Company
- Little Jimmy Dickens, country singer; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee
- Hazel Dickens, bluegrass singer
- Brad Divens, vocalist and bassist for Wrathchild America; guitarist for Kix
- Paul Dooley, actor, writer and comedian
- Brad Dourif, actor
- Joanne Dru, actress
- Greg Dulli, singer, The Afghan Whigs
- Virginia Egnor (also known as Dagmar), actress, pin-up model, television personality
- Conchata Ferrell, actress
- Virginia Fox, silent film actress; frequent co-star with Buster Keaton
- Jennifer Garner, actress
- Randy Gilkey, singer-songwriter
- Kristen Ruhlin, actress
- Larry Groce, musician, radio personality
- H–M
- Lee Hale, stand-up comedian
- Ed Haley, blind professional fiddler
- Joshua Harto, actor, writer, producer
- Steve Harvey, actor, stand-up comedian, television personality
- Allison Hayes, acresss
- Katie Lee Joel, television host
- Johnnie Johnson, blues musician
- Daniel Johnston, musician, artist; subject of Sundance-winning documentary film The Devil and Daniel Johnston
- Lawrence Kasdan, movie director, producer, screenwriter
- Fuzzy Knight, actor
- Don Knotts, actor
- Rex Lease, actor
- Jake E. Lee, rock guitarist; formerly with Ozzy Osbourne and Badlands
- Kristi Lee, television personality; director, The Bob & Tom Show
- Lesli Kay, actress, played Molly Conlan on As The World Turns and Felicia Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful
- Don Knotts, actor
- Shannon Larkin, drummer for Godsmack; former member of Amen and Wrathchild America
- Ann Magnuson, actress
- Peter Marshall, musician and television personality; host of Hollywood Squares (1966–1981)
- Kathy Mattea, country and bluegrass performer
- Charlie McCoy, musician
- Russ McCubbin, actor, stuntman, comedian
- Elizabeth McLaughlin, actress
- Garnet Mimms, soul singer
- Lou Myers, actor
- N–Z
- Tim O'Brien, bluegrass musician
- Devon Odessa, film producer, actress, My So-Called Life
- Brad Paisley, country singer-songwriter
- Wilber Pan, singer, rapper and actor
- Sam Pancake, actor
- Squire Parsons, gospel singer
- Johnny Paycheck, country musician
- Rachel Proctor, country singer-songwriter
- Ashlie Rhey, actress, writer
- Walter E. "Jack" Rollins, songwriter
- Soupy Sales, actor and comedian
- Frank "Poncho" Sampedro, musician, guitarist for Neil Young's band Crazy Horse
- Jeff Richmond, producer, composer
- Chris Sarandon, actor, activist
- David Selby, actor
- Robert R. Shafer, actor
- Bill Slater, radio personality, sportscaster, host of game show Twenty Questions
- Fred "Sonic" Smith, guitarist for the MC5
- Connie Smith, country singer, Country Music Hall of Fame inductee
- Jessie Smith, Musician Former drummer for Zao and Demonhunter
- Michael W. Smith, contemporary Christian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist
- Red Sovine, country singer
- Morgan Spurlock, independent film director and screenwriter
- Blaze Starr, stripper and burlesque star
- Aaron Staton, actor; Mad Men
- Eleanor Steber, operatic soprano of The Metropolitan Opera, NYC
- Josh Stewart, actor
- Sam Trammell, actor, True Blood
- Teddy Weatherford, jazz pianist
- Patty Weaver, actress
- Donald Ray White, mountain dancer
- Jesse "Jesco" White, mountain dancer
- Steve Whiteman, former Kix singer
- Garland Wilson, jazz pianist
- Melvin Wine, fiddler
- Bill Withers, singer-songwriter
- J. T. Woodruff, Hawthorne Heights singer-songwriter, guitarist
- Bobby Wright, country singer, son of Kitty Wells and Johnnie Wright
- Frankie Yankovic, polka musician
Frontiersmen
- Patrick Gass, frontiersman
- Morgan Morgan, frontiersman
- Lewis Wetzel, frontiersman
Journalism
- William E. Chilton, newspaper publisher and politician
- J. R. Clifford, journalist, first African-American lawyer in West Virginia; founder of the Pioneer Press
- George Esper, newspaper reporter; known for his coverage of the Vietnam War for the Associated Press
- John S. Knight, newspaper publisher and editor
- Hoda Kotb, television reporter; host of Today
- Molly Line, news correspondent for Fox News Channel
- Herbert Morrison, radio reporter; known for his coverage of the Hindenburg disaster
- Asra Nomani, Indian-American journalist, author, and feminist
- Mike Patrick, sportscaster
- Michael Tomasky, newspaper writer and editor
- Carter G. Woodson, historian, author, and journalist
Literature and art
- Allen Appel, novelist
- John Peale Bishop, poet and man of letters
- Pearl S. Buck, writer and Nobel Prize winner
- Bob Carroll, historian, author
- Stephen Coonts, novelist
- Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author, educator, and scholar
- Denise Giardina, author
- Linda Goodman, poet, novelist, best-selling astrology writer
- Davis Grubb, novelist
- Homer Hickam, writer
- John Knowles, novelist
- William Robinson Leigh, artist
- Brooke McEldowney, cartoonist; creator of 9 Chickweed Lane comic strip
- Ehrman Syme Nadal, author
- Breece D'J Pancake, short fiction writer, author of Trilobites
- Roger Price, author, cartoonist, and humorist; creator of word game Mad Libs and cartoon feature Droodles
- Jedediah Purdy, author and professor
- Mary Lee Settle, author
- Beau Smith, comic book writer
- Jean Edward Smith, biographer
- David Hunter Strother (also known as Porte Crayon), artist
- Timothy Truman, writer, artist, and musician
- Jeannette Walls, author and columnist
- Booker T. Washington, political leader, educator, and author
- Tom Wilson, creator of Ziggy comic strip
Military
- John James Abert, explorer and soldier
- Earl E. Anderson, U.S. Marine Corps general
- John Ashby, frontiersman and soldier
- Woodrow Wilson Barr, U.S. Marine
- Ruby Bradley, most-decorated woman in United States military history
- Frank Buckles, last-surviving U.S. veteran of World War I
- French Ensor Chadwick, U.S. Navy officer and educator
- Lynndie England, U.S. Army reservist involved in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal
- Stonewall Jackson, soldier and teacher
- Albert G. Jenkins, general and politician
- Jonah Edward Kelley, U.S. Army soldier; Medal of Honor recipient
- Edwin Gray Lee, Confederate States Army general
- Carwood Lipton, U.S. Army soldier
- John P. Lucas, U.S. Army general; commander at the Battle of Anzio during World War II
- Jessica Lynch, prisoner of war
- Basil L. Plumley, U.S. Army command sergeant major
- William E. Shuck, Jr., U.S. Marine, Medal of Honor recipient
- Hershel W. Williams, U.S. Marine, Medal of Honor recipient
- John Yarnall, U.S. Navy officer
- Chuck Yeager, aviator
Politics and government
See also: List of Attorneys General of West Virginia, List of Governors of West Virginia, List of Justices for the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, List of United States Representatives from West Virginia, and List of United States Senators from West Virginia
- Newton D. Baker, politician
- William Wallace Barron, politician
- John J. Beckley, frontiersman and Librarian of Congress
- Ephraim Bee, frontiersman and politician
- Charles Bent, frontiersman and politician
- Arthur I. Boreman, politician
- Sylvia Mathews Burwell, politician
- Harry F. Byrd, politician
- Robert Byrd, former U.S. Senator and U.S. Senate majority leader, holds record as longest serving member of U.S. Senate (51 years, 5 months, 21 days)[3]
- Gaston Caperton, politician
- Shelley Moore Capito, politician
- Thomas R. Carper, economist and politician
- John J. Cornwell, politician
- Henry G. Davis, politician
- John W. Davis, politician and attorney, Democratic Party nominee for U.S. President (1924)
- Stephen Benton Elkins, politician
- Walter Lowrie Fisher, United States Secretary of the Interior
- Mark Funkhouser, politician; mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
- William E. Glasscock, politician
- Nathan Goff, Jr., politician
- Howard Mason Gore, politician
- Henry D. Hatfield, politician
- Ken Hechler, politician and author
- John J. Jacob, politician
- Evan Jenkins, State Senator of West Virginia
- Elizabeth Kee, politician
- John E. Kenna, politician
- Chief Logan, Native-American leader
- William A. MacCorkle, politician
- Joe Manchin, politician
- William C. Marland, politician
- Roy L. McCulty, politician
- Arch A. Moore, Jr., politician
- Dwight Morrow, businessman, politician, diplomat; father-in-law of Charles Lindbergh
- Matthew M. Neely, politician
- Bob Ney, politician
- Okey L. Patteson, politician
- Francis Harrison Pierpont, politician and "Father of West Virginia"
- Nick Rahall, politician
- Jennings Randolph, politician
- Absalom Willis Robertson, politician
- Jay Rockefeller, politician
- Hulett C. Smith, politician
- William E. Stevenson, politician
- Cyrus Vance, United States Secretary of State
- Charles Washington, statesman
- Erik Wells, politician and news anchor
- Bob Wise, politician
Religion
- Alexander Campbell, Restoration Movement leader
- Matthew W. Clair, Methodist Episcopal Church bishop
- T. D. Jakes, televangelist
- B. R. Lakin, evangelist
Science
- Eugene Aserinsky, discovered rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep)
- Maurice Brooks, ornithologist
- Homer Hickam, former NASA engineer
- Andrew Delmar Hopkins, entomologist
- Katherine Johnson, mathematician and NASA computer scientist
- Carl D. Keith, chemist, inventor of the three-way catalytic converter
- Mahlon Loomis, inventor of the wireless telegraph
- Robert J. Marks II, electrical engineer
- Joseph Maroon, neurosurgeon
- Jon McBride, NASA astronaut; pilot of Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-G (1984)
- Adrian Melott, physicist and cosmologist
- George A. Miller, psychologist and cognitive scientist
- John Forbes Nash, mathematician
- James Rumsey, inventor and mechanical engineer
- Charles Marstiller Vest, educator and mechanical engineer
Other
- James J. Andrews, espionage agent
- Bill Blizzard, labor leader
- Julia Bonds, environmental activist; winner of Goldman Environmental Prize
- Belle Boyd, espionage agent
- Larry Gibson, environmental activist; founder of Keeper of the Mountains Foundation
- Nancy Hanks, mother of Abraham Lincoln; distant cousin of Tom Hanks
- Devil Anse Hatfield, patriarch of Hatfield clan of 19th-century Hatfield–McCoy feud
- Sid Hatfield, Matewan police chief, prominent figure in labor history
- Jacob and Samuel Hawken, designers of Hawken rifle
- John Henry, the steel-driving man of folklore
- Glen and Bessie Hyde, disappeared raftsmen
- Julia Neale Jackson, mother of Stonewall Jackson
- Anna Jarvis, founder of Mother's Day in the United States
- Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, labor and community organizer
- Charles Manson Leader of Manson Family
- Randal McCloy, lone survivor of the 2006 Sago Mine disaster
- Harry Powers, Serial Killer
- Patsy Paugh Ramsey, former Miss West Virginia; mother of slain beauty pageant queen JonBenét Ramsey
- Walter Reuther, labor leader
- Cecil Roberts, United Mine Workers president
- Leon Sullivan, civil rights activist
- Harry Randall Truman, volcano victim; owner of Spirit Lake Lodge at Mount St. Helens, located in Skamania County, Washington
- Jack Whittaker, lottery winner
See also
References
- ↑ NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
- ↑ "Williams Vaults to Gold at Worlds". ESPN. October 17, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ↑ CNN Politics, Senator Byrd's record as longest serving member of the U.S. Congress was surpassed by U.S. Representative John Dingell of Michigan in 2013. Senator Byrd still holds the record as the longest serving U.S. Senator (51 years, 5 months, 21 days), but his 57 years, 5 months, 21 days of service in the U.S. Congress is no longer the longest record of Congressional service.
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