List of people from West Virginia
State flag of West Virginia Location of West Virginia on 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 .
Athletes
A–G Jesse Burkett Mike D'Antoni Hal Greer
Michael Barber , professional football playerRandy Barnes (born 1966), shotputterLarry Barnett (born 1945), baseball umpireClair Bee , college basketball coachVern Bickford , professional baseball playerBrian Bowles , UFC/MMA fighterRich Braham , professional football coachGeorge Brett , professional baseball playerVicky Bullett , professional basketball playerLew Burdette , professional baseball playerJesse Burkett , professional baseball playerNecro Butcher , professional wrestlerEddie Cameron , college basketball coachMark Canterbury , professional wrestlerDavid Carpenter , professional baseball playerBimbo Coles , professional basketball playerWilbur Cooper , professional baseball playerLarry Coyer , professional football coachDan D'Antoni , college basketball coachMike D'Antoni , professional basketball player and coachJack Dempsey , professional boxerAaron Dobson , professional football playerJimbo Fisher , college football coachGene Freese , professional baseball playerGeorge Freese , professional baseball playerBob Gain , professional football playerFrank Gatski , professional football playerMarshall Goldberg , professional football playerC. J. Goodwin , professional football playerHal Greer , professional basketball playerJedd Gyorko , professional baseball player
H–M Chuck Howley Sam Huff Randy Moss
Dennis Harrah , professional football playerCam Henderson , college football, basketball, and baseball coachLou Holtz , Hall of Fame college football coachAlexis Hornbuckle , professional basketball playerJeff Hostetler , professional football playerJ. R. House , professional baseball and football playerChuck Howley , professional football playerSam Huff , professional football playerBob Huggins , college basketball coachHot Rod Hundley , professional basketball player and broadcasterGary Jeter , professional football playerJames Jett , professional football playerDwayne Jones , professional basketball playerBill Karr , professional football playerJason Kincaid , professional wrestler[ 1] John Kruk , professional baseball playerCarl Lee , professional football playerDoug Legursky , professional football playerGino Marchetti , professional football playerRod Martin , professional football playerChris Massey , professional football playerO. J. Mayo , professional basketball playerBill Mazeroski , professional baseball playerLeo Mazzone , professional baseball playerSeth McClung , professional baseball playerJohn McKay , college and professional football coachLeland Merrill , Olympic wrestler, WV's first OlympianRenee Montgomery , professional basketball playerEric Moss , professional football playerRandy Moss , professional football player
N–Z Mary Lou Retton Nick Saban Jerry West Jason Williams
Greasy Neale , Hall of Fame college and professional football coachDustin Nippert , professional baseball playerJamie Noble , professional wrestler (WWE)Buzz Nutter , professional football playerPeggy O'Neal , Australian Rules football presidentPatrick Patterson , professional basketball playerJoe Pettini , professional baseball coachKevin Pittsnogle , college basketball playerTom Pridemore , professional football playerPaul Popovich , professional baseball playerMary Lou Retton , professional gymnastIra Rodgers , college football coachRich Rodriguez , college football coachNick Saban , professional and college football coachBen Schwartzwalder , Hall of Fame college football coachHeath Slater , professional wrestler (WWE)Tamar Slay , professional basketball playerStephanie Sparks , professional golfer and commentatorRay Stevens , professional wrestlerEmanuel Steward , boxing trainerBill Stewart , college football coachJoe Stydahar , professional football playerNick Swisher , professional baseball playerSteve Swisher , professional baseball playerRyan Switzer , professional football playerRod Thorn , basketball player and executiveRick Tolley , college football coachBill Walker , professional basketball playerFulton Walker , professional football playerRobert Walker , professional football playerCurt Warner , professional football playerJerry West , professional basketball playerDeron Williams , professional basketball playerJason Williams , professional basketball playerKayla Williams , world champion gymnast[ 2] Alex Wilson , professional baseball playerHack Wilson , professional baseball playerQuincy Wilson , professional football playerSteve Yeager , professional baseball playerFielding H. Yost , Hall of Fame college football coachGuy Zinn , professional baseball player
Business
John T. Chambers
Don Blankenship , chief executive officer of Massey Energy John T. Chambers , chief executive officer of Cisco Systems Carl Keith , inventorWilliam Luke , businessman and entrepreneurGeorge Preston Marshall , owner and president of Washington Commanders William N. Page , civil engineer, entrepreneur, capitalist, businessman, and industrialistMilan Puskar , entrepreneur, philanthropist, co-founder of Mylan Alex Schoenbaum , founder of Shoney's restaurant chainHarry F. Sinclair , industrialistBrad D. Smith , chief executive officer of Intuit, Inc. Ellsworth Milton Statler , hotel businessmanClarence Wayland Watson , businessmanAllen Harvey Woodward , industrialist
Entertainment
A–G Hasil Adkins Brad Dourif Virginia Fox
Hasil Adkins , musicianMichael Ammar , magicianKaren Austin , actressCharlie Barnett , actor, comedianLina Basquette , actressLeon "Chu" Berry , jazz saxophonistChris Booker , radio DJ, TV personalityBobby Campo , actorMark Carman , producer, songwriterJean Carson , actressBernie Casey , actorKevin Cassidy , gospel/retired country singerTed Cassidy , actorJoe Cerisano , singer-songwriterMichael Cerveris , actor, singer-songwriterJohn Davis Chandler , actorLarry Combs , clarinetistStoney Cooper , country/bluegrass singerWilma Lee Cooper , country/bluegrass singerJohn Corbett , actorBilly Cox , bassistGeorge Crumb , composerPhyllis Curtin , operatic soprano, NYCOFrank De Vol , film composer, actorJoyce DeWitt , actress; Three's Company Hazel Dickens , bluegrass singerLittle Jimmy Dickens , country singer; Country Music Hall of Fame inducteeBrad Divens , vocalist, musician, Wrathchild America , Kix Paul Dooley , actor, writer and comedianBrad Dourif , actorJoanne Dru , actressGreg Dulli , singer, The Afghan Whigs Virginia Egnor (also known as Dagmar), actress, model, TV personalitySamuel Felinton , directorConchata Ferrell , actressSierra Ferrell , singer-songwriterVirginia Fox , silent-film actress; frequent co-star with Buster Keaton Jennifer Garner , actressRandy Gilkey , singer-songwriterLarry Groce , musician, radio personality
H–M Steve Harvey Don Knotts
Ed Haley , blind professional fiddlerJoshua Harto , actor, writer, producerSteve Harvey , comedian, TV personalityHawkshaw Hawkins , country music singerAllison Hayes , actressBlind Joe Hill , one-man bandFrank Hutchison , slide guitar playerKatie Lee Joel , television hostJohnnie Johnson , blues musicianDaniel Johnston , musician, artist; subject of film The Devil and Daniel Johnston Lawrence Kasdan , director, producer, screenwriterLesli Kay , actress, As The World Turns The Bold and the Beautiful Fuzzy Knight , actorDon Knotts , actorShannon Larkin , musician, Godsmack Rex Lease , actorJake E. Lee , rock guitaristKristi Lee , TV personality, director of The Bob & Tom Show Traci Lords , actressAnn Magnuson , actressPeter Marshall , musician, actor, host of TV's Hollywood Squares Kathy Mattea , country and bluegrass performerCharlie McCoy , musicianRuss McCubbin , actor, stuntman, comedianJustin McElroy , Travis McElroy , and Griffin McElroy , hosts of My Brother, My Brother and Me Elizabeth McLaughlin , actressGarnet Mimms , soul singerLandau Eugene Murphy Jr. , singer, winner of America's Got Talent , Season 6 (2010)Lou Myers , actor
N–Z Brad Paisley Connie Smith Bill Withers
Tim O'Brien , bluegrass musicianBrooklyn Nelson , actressDevon Odessa , producer, actress, My So-Called Life Brad Paisley , country singer-songwriterWill Pan , rapper, actorSam Pancake , actorSquire Parsons , gospel singerJohnny Paycheck , country musicianRachel Proctor , country singer-songwriterDon Redman , jazz musician and bandleaderAshlie Rhey , actress, writerJeff Richmond , producer, composerTyler Robertson , bluegrass singer/musicianWalter E. "Jack" Rollins , songwriterChris Weaver , musicianSoupy Sales , actor and comedianFrank "Poncho" Sampedro , guitarist for Neil Young 's bandChris Sarandon , actor, activistDavid Selby , actorRobert R. Shafer , actorBill Slater , radio personality, host of Twenty Questions Connie Smith , country singer, Country Music Hall of Fame inducteeFred "Sonic" Smith , guitarist for MC5 Michael W. Smith , contemporary Christian singer-songwriterRed Sovine , country singerMorgan Spurlock , film director, screenwriterBlaze Starr , stripper and burlesque starAaron Staton , actor; Mad Men Eleanor Steber , soprano, The Metropolitan Opera, NYC Josh Stewart , actorSam Trammell , actor, True Blood Ryan Upchurch , country, rap and rock songwriterTeddy Weatherford , jazz pianistPatty Weaver , actressDonald Ray White , mountain dancerJesse "Jesco" White , mountain dancerSteve Whiteman , former Kix singerGarland Wilson , jazz pianistMelvin Wine , fiddlerBill Withers , singer-songwriterJ. T. Woodruff, Hawthorne Heights singer
Bobby Wright , country singerFrankie Yankovic , polka musician
Frontiersmen
Journalism
William E. Chilton , newspaper publisher and politicianJ. 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 editorHoda 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 disasterAsra Nomani , Indian-American journalist, author, and feministMike Patrick , sportscasterMichael Tomasky , newspaper writer and editorCarter G. Woodson , historian, author, and journalist
Literature and art
Pearl S. Buck Booker T. Washington
Allen Appel , novelistAnnie Latham Bartlett , sculptorJohn Peale Bishop , poet, man of lettersFlorence V. Brittingham , poet and short story writerPearl S. Buck , writer and Nobel Prize winnerBob Carroll , historian, authorStephen Coonts , novelistRebecca Harding Davis , short story writerAlice Mary Dowd , educator and authorHenry Louis Gates Jr. , author, educator, and scholarDenise Giardina , authorLinda Goodman , poet, novelist, best-selling astrology writerDavis Grubb , novelistCharley Harper , artistHomer Hickam , writerCraig Johnson , novelistJohn Knowles , novelistWilliam Robinson Leigh , artistKeith Maillard , novelist, poetScott McClanahan , writerBrooke McEldowney , cartoonist; creator of 9 Chickweed Lane Jeannie Blackburn Moran (1842–1929), author, community leader, socialite, and philanthropistEhrman Syme Nadal , authorBreece D'J Pancake , short fiction writer, author of Trilobites Roger Price , creator of Mad Libs Droodles Jedediah Purdy , author and professorMary Lee Settle , authorBeau Smith , comic book writerJean Edward Smith , biographerDavid Hunter Strother (aka Porte Crayon), artistTimothy Truman , writer, artist, and musicianJeannette Walls , author and columnistBooker T. Washington , political leader, educator, and authorTom Wilson , creator of Ziggy
Military
Hershel W. Williams Chuck Yeager
John James Abert , explorer and soldierEarl E. Anderson , U.S. Marine Corps generalJohn Ashby , frontiersman and soldierWoodrow Wilson Barr , U.S. Marine Ted Belcher , U.S. Army soldier, Medal of Honor recipientRuby Bradley , most-decorated woman in U.S. military history [citation needed Frank Buckles , last-surviving U.S. veteran of World War I [citation needed Adelbert Rinaldo Buffington , U.S. Army Brigadier General, 10th Chief of Ordnance for the U.S. Army Ordnance CorpsFrench Ensor Chadwick , U.S. Navy officer and educatorLynndie England , U.S. Army reservist involved in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandalStonewall Jackson , C.S. Army general born in Clarksburg and died before the region was formed into West VirginiaAlbert G. Jenkins , general and politicianJonah Edward Kelley , U.S. Army soldier; Medal of Honor recipientEdwin Gray Lee , C.S. Army general born in Shepherdstown before it became part of the newly formed West Virginia Carwood Lipton , U.S. Army soldierJohn P. Lucas , U.S. Army general; commander at Battle of Anzio Jessica Lynch , prisoner of war Basil L. Plumley , U.S. Army command sergeant major William E. Shuck Jr. , U.S. Marine , Medal of Honor recipientM. Jeff. Thompson , Mo. State Guard generalHershel W. Williams , U.S. Marine , Medal of Honor recipientJohn Yarnall , U.S. Navy officerChuck Yeager , aviator
Politics and government
Robert C. Byrd Sarah Feinberg Jay Rockefeller Cyrus Vance
Newton D. Baker , politicianWilliam Wallace Barron , politicianJohn J. Beckley , frontiersman and Librarian of Congress Ephraim Bee , frontiersman and politicianCharles Bent , frontiersman and politicianArthur I. Boreman , politicianSylvia Mathews Burwell , politician, university presidentHarry F. Byrd , politicianRobert Byrd , U.S. Senator and majority leader, longest-serving member of Senate (51 years, 5 months, 21 days)[ 3] Gaston Caperton , politicianShelley Moore Capito , politicianThomas R. Carper , economist and politicianJohn J. Cornwell , politicianHenry G. Davis , politicianJohn W. Davis , politician and attorney, Democratic Party nominee for U.S. President (1924)Stephen Benton Elkins , politicianSarah Feinberg (born 1977), Interim President of the New York City Transit Authority , and former Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration Walter Lowrie Fisher , U.S. Secretary of Interior Mark Funkhouser , politician; mayor of Kansas City, Missouri William E. Glasscock , politicianNathan Goff Jr. , politicianHoward Mason Gore , politicianHenry D. Hatfield , politicianKen Hechler , politician and authorBrad Hoylman (born 1965), New York State Senator[ 4] John J. Jacob , politicianEvan Jenkins , state senatorElizabeth Kee , politicianJohn E. Kenna , politicianChief Logan , Native-American leaderWilliam A. MacCorkle , politicianJoe Manchin , politicianWilliam C. Marland , politicianThomas Massie , congressmanBruce Marks (born 1957), politicianRoy L. McCulty , politicianArch A. Moore Jr. , politicianDwight Morrow , diplomat; father-in-law of Charles Lindbergh Matthew M. Neely , politicianBob Ney , politicianWilliam Smith O'Brien , RepresentativeOkey L. Patteson , politicianFrancis Harrison Pierpont , politician, "father of West Virginia"Nick Rahall , politicianJennings Randolph , politicianAbsalom Willis Robertson , politicianJay Rockefeller , politicianHulett C. Smith , politicianWilliam E. Stevenson , politicianCecil H. Underwood , politicianCyrus Vance , U.S. Secretary of State Kelli Ward , politicianCharles Washington , statesmanErik Wells , politician and news anchorBob Wise , politician
Religion
Science
Homer Hickam Katherine Johnson
Eugene Aserinsky , discovered rapid eye movement sleep (REM)Maurice Brooks , ornithologist Earl Lemley Core , botanistHomer Hickam , former NASA engineerAndrew Delmar Hopkins , entomologistKatherine Johnson , mathematician and NASA computer scientistCarl D. Keith , chemist, invented three-way catalytic converter Angie Turner King , chemist, mathematician and educatorMahlon Loomis , inventor of the wireless telegraph Robert J. Marks II , electrical engineerJoseph Maroon , neurosurgeonJon 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 , mathematicianJames Rumsey , inventor and mechanical engineer Charles Marstiller Vest , educator and mechanical engineer
Other
Julia Bonds
James J. Andrews , espionage agentBill Blizzard , labor leaderJulia Bonds , environmental activist; winner of Goldman Prize Belle Boyd , espionage agentJames Caudy , frontiersman and early settler of present day West VirginiaLarry Gibson , environmental activist; founder of Keeper of the Mountains FoundationNancy 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 historyJacob and Samuel Hawken , designers of Hawken rifle Kristan Hawkins , activist and President of Students for Life of America John Henry , steel-driving man of folkloreGlen and Bessie Hyde , disappeared raftsmenAnna Jarvis , founder of Mother's Day in United States Mary Harris "Mother" Jones , labor and community organizer Charles Manson , convicted murdererRandal McCloy , lone survivor of 2006 Sago Mine disaster James Mulroy, Wheeling's prodigal son; environmental advocate
Stephen Murphy , ex-DEA agent; along with Javier Peña , one of the lead investigators in the manhunt of Colombian drug smuggler Pablo EscobarHarry Powers , serial killerPatsy Paugh Ramsey , Miss West Virginia ; mother of JonBenét Ramsey Walter Reuther , labor leaderCecil Roberts , United Mine Workers presidentLeon Sullivan , civil rights activistHarry R. Truman , volcano victim; owner of lodge at Mount St. Helens Jack Whittaker , lottery winner
See also
References
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