Famous Tennesseans

This list does not claim to be all or even the most well known

• Roy Claxton Acuff (15 September 1903 - 23 November 1992) was an American musician. Born in Maynardville, Tennessee, third of five children. He played semi-professional baseball, but an injury in 1929 and a nervous breakdown in 1930 ended his aspirations to play for the New York Yankees. He then turned his attention to his father's fiddle and began playing traveling medicine show. He toured the southern United States. He eventually formed a band "The Crazy Tennesseans".
   
• James Agee (November 27, 1909 - May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, screenwriter, journalist, poet, and film critic. In the 1900s and 1940s, he was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S. His autobiographical novel, A Death in the Family (1957), won the Pulitzer Prize. Agee was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. He lost his father at the age of six. Much of his early education was at a boarding school for boys. He attended Phillips-Exeter Academy, where he edited the Monthly and Harvard University, where he was president of the Harvard Advocate.

   

• David "Stringbean" Aikman (1915-1973) Outstanding Banjo player born in KY died in TN.
   
•  Lamar Andrew Alexander (born July 3, 1940) is the junior United States Senator from Tennessee and a member of the Republican Party. A seventh generation Tennessean, he was born in Maryville, Tennessee as the son of a kindergarten teacher and elementary school principal. Alexander was the Republican candidate for governor of Tennessee in the election of 1974.  
   
• Chet Atkins (June 20, 1924 - June 30, 2001) was an influential country music guitarist and record producer.

• Attakullakulla (1700-1778)Celebrated Cherokee leader.  Died in Running Water town TN.

• Polly Bergen (July 14, 1930-)Actress, singer, television star, cosmetics entrepreneur.  Born in Knoxville.

• Daniel Boone (1734-1820)Early explorer of Tennessee and resident of the Wautauga settlement.

• Pat Boone (1934-)Singer and actor born in Nashville.

• James Bowie (1796-1836)Born in Sumner Co died at the Alamo.

• Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway (1 February 1878 - 21 December 1950) was the first woman elected to serve as a United States Senator. Hattie Caraway was born near Bakerville, Tennessee in Humphreys County. Hattie Caraway married Thaddeus H. Caraway and moved with him to Jonesboro, Arkansas where she cared for their children and home and her husband practiced law and started a political career.
   

• David Crockett (August 17, 1786 - March 6, 1836) was an American folk-hero usually referred to now as "Davy Crockett." He was born in Greene County, Tennessee, and was not well educated. In 1813 he served under General (later, President) Andrew Jackson in the campaign against the Creek Indians. In 1828 he was elected to Congress; he was defeated when he ran for re-election in 1831 but won when he ran again in 1833.

• Dragging Canoe(1730-1792) Cherokee leader. Born and Died in Running Water Town.  Constantly fighting white settlers.

• David Glasgow Farragut (July 5, 1801 - August 14, 1870) was an admiral of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Farragut was born at Campbell's Station, near Knoxville, Tennessee. He entered the Navy as a midshipman on 17 December 1810. When only 12 years old, he was given command of a prize ship taken by Essex, and brought her safely to port. Through the years that followed, in one assignment after another he showed the high ability and devotion to duty which was to allow him to make a great contribution to the Union victory in the Civil War and to write a famous page in the history of the United States Navy.
   

• Lester Flatt (June 19, 1914 - May 11, 1979) was one of the pioneers of bluegrass. A singer and guitarist, he first came to prominence as a member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in the 1940s. In 1948 he started a band with fellow Monroe alumnus Earl Scruggs, and for the next twenty years Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys were one of the most successful bands in bluegrass. When they parted ways in 1969, Flatt formed a new group, the Nashville Grass, hiring most of the Foggy Mountain Boys. He continued to record and perform with that group until his death in 1979.
   
• Tennesse Ernie Ford (1919-1991) Singer.  Among other songs was "Sixteen Tons"

   

• Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877) was perhaps the American Civil War's most highly regarded cavalry officer, and one of the war's most innovative and successful generals, developing tactics that are still studied even today. After the war, he became the first leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Forrest was born to a poor middle Tennessee family on July 13, 1821 in the Bedford
   
• Cornelia Fort (1919-1943)Born in Nashville died in Abilene TX.  Nashville's first female flying instructor.  First woman pilot to die in the service of her country.

• Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor who was born in Memphis, Tennessee).
  • 1989 Nominated for Oscar for Best Actor for his role as a chauffeur in Driving Miss Daisy
  • 1994 Nominated for Oscar for Best Actor, in The Shawshank Redemption.

     

• Aretha Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is a gospel, soul and R&B singer born in Memphis, Tennessee. On January 3, 1987 she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As a child, Franklin and her sisters, Carolyn and Erma, sang at her father's Detroit, Michigan-area church and made her first recordings at age 14. She signed with Columbia Records after being discovered by John Hammond. In the early 1960s, Franklin had a few popular songs, most notably "Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" though her most innovative work was yet to come.
   
• Nikki Giovani

   

•  Al Gore
  Order: 45th Vice President
  Term of Office: January 20, 1993 - January 20, 2001
  Followed: Dan Quayle
  Succeeded by: Dick Cheney
  Date of Birth March 31, 1948
  Place of Birth: Washington, D.C.
  Wife: Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson Gore
  Profession: Journalist
  Political Party: Democrat
  President: Bill Clinton
   
• Red Groom

   

• Alex Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 - February 10, 1992) was an African-American US Coast Guardsman who was the lead journalist for the service before retiring to become a senior editor for Reader's Digest. He wrote The Autobiography of Malcolm X in 1965 and is probably best known for his book , a fictionalized account of his family's history, starting with the story of Kunta Kinte, kidnapped in Gambia in 1767 to be sold as a slave in the United States.
   
• Nancy Handy

   

• William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 - March 28, 1958) was an African-American blues composer and sometimes referred to as The Father of the Blues. He is most remembered for his composition "Saint Louis Blues". While Handy was not the first publish music in the blues form, he took the blues from an obscure regional music style to one of the dominant forces in American music. His songs don't always follow the classic 12-bar pattern, often having 8- or 16-bar bridges between 12-bar verses and lovely melodies.
   
• Myles Horton

   

• Samuel Houston (March 2, 1793 - July 26, 1863) was a key figure in the history of Texas. He was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia. Receiving only a basic education he emigrated with his family to Tennessee in 1807, following the death of his father. He ran away from home in 1809 and resided for a time with a Cherokee tribe, where he was named "the Raven". In March 1813 he joined the U.S. Army to fight the British in the War of 1812. By December he had risen from private to third lieutenant. He was severely injured at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in March 1814. Following his recovery he was assigned as an Indian agent to the Cherokees. He left the army in March 1818.
   

• Cordell Hull, born October 2, 1871 in Pickett County, Tennessee, died July 23, 1955, was Secretary of State of the United States from 1933-1944 under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945. Hull attended National Normal University in Lebanon, Ohio, from 1889 until 1890. He served as delegate to the Tennessee Democratic Convention in 1890. At the age of 19, Hull was elected Chairman of the Clay County Democratic Party. In 1891, he graduated from Cumberland University Law School and was admitted to the bar the same year. His political career began in the the State House of Representatives, in 1893 in which he served until 1897.
   
• Andrew Jackson
  Other images:
  Order: 7th President
  Term of Office: March 4, 1829 - March 4, 1837
  Followed: John Quincy Adams
  Succeeded by: Martin Van Buren
  Date of Birth March 15, 1767
  Place of Birth: Waxhaw, South Carolina
  Date of Death: June 8, 1845
  Place of Death: The Hermitage, Nashville, Tennessee
  Wife: Rachel Donelson Robards
  First Ladies: Emily Donelson (niece)
  Sarah Yorke Jackson (daughter-in-law)
  Occupation: lawyer, soldier
  Political Party: Democrat
  Vice President: John C. Calhoun (1829-1832)
  Martin Van Buren (1833-1837)
  Nicknames: Old Hickory

 
• Samuel L Jackson
• Alexander Franklin "Frank" James (1843-1915)Notorious outlaw.  Lived in Nashville area in 1877.
• Jesse Woodson James (1847-1882)Notorious outlaw.  Staged two robberies  in Nashville.  Lived in Nashville and Humphreys Co.
   

• Andrew Johnson
  Order: 17th President
  Term of Office: April 15, 1865 - March 4, 1869
  Followed: Abraham Lincoln
  Succeeded by: Ulysses S. Grant
  Date of Birth December 29, 1808
  Place of Birth: Raleigh, North Carolina
  Date of Death: July 31, 1875
  Place of Death: Carter's Station, Tennessee
  Wife: Eliza McCardle
  First Ladies: Eliza McCardle
  Martha Patterson (daughter)
  Occupation: tailor
  Political Party: Republican (as elected)
  Vice President: none

   

• Louis Marshall "Grandpa Jones" (1913-)Banjo picker and singer.  Member of "Hee Haw". Spokesman for Clifty Farms.  Catch phrase for commercial was "Hey, Grandpa, whats for supper?"
   

• Loretta Lynn (born April 14, 1935) is an American country singer. She was born in Butcher Holler, Kentucky and was married at age 13 to "Mooney" Lynn, with whom she had four children by the time she was 17. She has released 70 albums and had 17 number 1 albums and 27 number 1 singles. Her first single was Honky Tonk Girl which reached number 14 on the Billboard singles chart. She has made several albums with Conway Twitty.
   
• Dolly Parton (born January 19, 1946) is a popular American country music singer, songwriter and actress. Born the fourth of twelve children in Sevierville, Tennessee, she started her entertainment career singing on local radio and TV (The Cas Walker Show) in eastern Tennessee. She moved to Nashville in the mid-1960s, and was invited to joined and co-host the Grand Ole Opry with Porter Wagoner. She brought traditional, folkloric elements present both in East Tennessee and popular music, into the Nashville Sound. Despite being typecast in many circles as a "Country and Western" singer, Dolly has had commercial success as a pop singer and actress. Her work of the late 1990s and beyond has moved towards bluegrass and more traditional folk styles.
   
• Minnie Pearl ( 1912 -) The stage name for country comedian Sarah O Cannon.   Born in Centerville TN.  Tennessee's "Good Will" Ambassador.  She was always "So Happy to be here."

   

• John Crowe Ransom (1888-1974) was an American poet, essayist, and social commentator. John Crowe Ransom was born in Pulaski, Tennessee on 30 April 1888 the son of a Methodist minister. At age 15 Ransom entered Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and graduated from that institution in 1909 at age 21. From 1910 to 1913 he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England.
   
•  Wilma Glodean Rudolph (June 23, 1940 - November 12 1994) was an American athlete, and triple Olympic champion. Rudolph was born in Clarksville, Tennessee and at early age, it was discovered that she, the 20th of 22 children, had polio. Her mother took her to a hospital for blacks 50 miles from their home twice a week, and at age 12, she could walk normally again and she decided to become an athlete. She was playing for the basketball team of her junior high school, when she was spotted by the track and field coach.
   
• Rhea Seddon

• Sequoyah

• Cybill Shepherd is an American actress, born 18 February 1950, Memphis, Tennessee. Shepherd's career as a model started in her teens. Director Peter Bogdanovich spotted her on the cover of a magazine and gave her a role in The Last Picture Show (1971); after several films the next big step was Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976). Her next films were largely unsuccessful.
   

• Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 - September 26 1937) was an early American blues singer born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Initially a dancer, she was encouraged to sing by Ma Rainey, in whose traveling show she worked. Smith began singing on stage in 1913 in Atlanta and by 1920 she was a star, regularly touring the South playing for black audiences, her main constituency.

   

• John Marshall Stone (April 30, 1830 - March 26, 1900) was a Mississippi politician who served longer as governor of that state than anyone else. Born in Tennessee, Stone was the son of Asher and Judith Stone, natives of Virginia. He did not attend college since his family was fairly poor, but he studied a great deal and eventually taught school. In 1855, he moved to Tishomingo County, Mississippi and became a station agent at Iuka when the Memphis and Charleston railroad opened.

• Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock November 26, 1939) is a R&B singer, Buddhist and occasional actress probably best known for her appearances with the Ike and Tina Turner Review and for her solo song "What's Love Got to Do With It ?" Tina is noted for her overpowering stage presence -- long legs, big hair, and emotional voice. She was discovered by Ike Turner, a noted pioneer of rock and roll, whom she later married. She began as a backing vocalist in his touring show at the age of 18, but within a couple of years she not only had a new name, but was the spotlight of a popular soul revue led by Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm.

   

• Usher (1978- ) R&B Singer born in Chattanooga TN.
• Cas Walker (-)
   
• Oprah Winfrey (born January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi) is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in America. A black woman born to humble beginnings, she started as a Baltimore news anchor. Soon she had her own daytime talk show, called "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (and later abbreviated to "Oprah") which originally followed traditional talk show formats. By the late 1990s, however, the format became more serious, addressing issues that Winfrey thought were of direct importance and crucial consequences to women. Winfrey began to do huge amounts of work for charity and feature those suffering from poverty or untimely accidents on her show.
   
• Alvin Cullum York (1887-1964) was a United States soldier, famous for his heroism in World War I.
  York was born in near poverty in Pall Mall, Tennessee. His family owned a meager farm and often supplemented their diet via hunting. As a result young Alvin became an expert marksman in the area woods. York was something of a "nuisance" as a youth, frequently fighting in drunken brawls. In 1914 his best friend was killed in a bar fight, prompting York to change his ways. He became a devout Christian after that incident, which led him to file as a conscientious objector at the start of WWI (though there are disputes as to his exact technical status).