List of people from Kansas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
These notable people were either born in the state of Kansas or spent a significant period of time living there:
Contents |
[edit] Actors and directors
- Kirstie Alley (born 1951), actress, Wichita, Kansas.
- Fatty Arbuckle (1887-1933), actor, Smith Center, Kansas.
- Ed Asner (born 1929), actor, Kansas City, Kansas.
- Steve Balderson (born 1975), film director, Wamego, Kansas.
- Annette Bening (born 1958), actress, Topeka, Kansas.
- Louise Brooks (1906-1985), actress, Cherryvale, Kansas.
- Del Close (1934-1999), actor/comedian, Manhattan, Kansas.
- Elvira (born 1949), actress, Manhattan, Kansas.
- Dennis Hopper (born 1936), actor, Dodge City, Kansas.
- Don Johnson (born 1959), actor, Wichita, Kansas.
- Buster Keaton (1895-1966), actor, Piqua, Kansas.
- Bill Kurtis (born 1940), television journalist, Independence, Kansas.
- Jim Lehrer (born 1934), television journalist, Wichita, Kansas.
- Rob Riggle (born 1970), actor/comedian, Overland Park, Kansas.
- Paul Rudd (born 1969), actor, Lenexa, Kansas.
- Milburn Stone {1904-1980), actor, Gunsmoke, Burrton, Kansas.
[edit] Arts and literature
[edit] Artists
- Blackbear Bosin (1921-1980), Native American artist, Wichita, Kansas.
- Willard Roswell Cox (1902-1974), painter/commercial artist, Kansas.
- John Steuart Curry (1897-1946), artist, Winchester, Kansas.
- Chloe Mugg (1992), artist, Overland Park, Kansas.
- Aaron Douglas (1900-1979), artist, Topeka, Kansas.
- Gordon Parks (1912-2006), photographer and film director, Fort Scott, Kansas.
[edit] Authors
- William Burroughs (1914-1997), author, Lawrence, Kansas.
- Thomas Frank (born 1965), author and editor, Mission Hills, Kansas
- Langston Hughes (1902-1967), author and poet, Topeka, Kansas.
- William Inge (1913-1973), playwright, Independence, Kansas.
- Bill James (born 1949), author, Mayetta, Kansas.
- Tom Parker (born 19xx), author, Blue Rapids, Kansas.
- Damon Runyon (1884-1946), author, Manhattan, Kansas.
- Nathan Tyree (born 1973), author and writer from SE Kansas
- William Allen White (1868-1944), author and editor, Emporia, Kansas.
- Max Yoho (born 1934), author, Colony, Kansas.
- Darla Deck Diamond (born 1960), author and radio personality, Wichita, Kansas.
[edit] Musicians
- Chris Burnett (born 1955), musician, Olathe, Kansas.
- Melissa Etheridge (born 1961), musician, Leavenworth, Kansas.
- Charlie Weitkamp (born 1992), musician, Overland Park, Kansas.
- Martina McBride (born 1966), musician, Sharon, Kansas.
- Charlie Parker (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), musician, Kansas City, Kansas.
- Samuel Ramey {March 28, 1942), opera, bass-baritone, Colby, Kansas
- Steven Stucky (born 1949), Pulitzer Prize-winner in music, Hutchinson, Kansas.
- Joe Walsh (born 1947), musician, Wichita, Kansas.
- Bobby Watson (born 1953), musician, Bonner Springs, Kansas.
- Chely Wright (born 1970) musician, Wellsville, Kansas.
[edit] Athletes and coaches
- Johnny Damon (born 1973), baseball player, Fort Riley, Kansas
- Nolan Cromwell (born 1955), football player, Ransom, Kansas
- Maurice Greene (born 1974), athlete (World and Olympic Champion), Kansas City.
- Lon Kruger (born 0819/1952 ), college/NBA basketball coach, Silver Lake, Kansas.
- Walter Johnson (1887-1946), baseball Hall of Famer, Humboldt, Kansas.
- Terrence Newman (09/04/1978), footall player, Salina, Kansas
- Nicole Ohlde (born 1982), WNBA player, Clay Center, Kansas.
- John H. Outland (1871-1947), namesake of Outland Trophy, Douglas County, Kansas.
- John Riggins (born 1949), Pro Football Hall of Famer, Centralia, Kansas.
- Adolph Rupp (1901-1977), college basketball coach, Halstead, Kansas.
- Jim Ryun (born 1947), athlete and politician, Wichita, Kansas.
- Barry Sanders (born 1968), Pro Football Hall of Famer, Wichita, Kansas.
- Gale Sayers (born 1943), Pro Football Hall of Famer, Wichita, Kansas.
- Wayne Simien (born March 9, 1983), NCAA All-American, NBA basketball player, Leavenworth, Kansas
- Dean Smith (born 1931), college basketball coach, Topeka, Kansas.
- Eddie Sutton (born 1936), college basketball coach, Bucklin, Kansas
- Jackie Stiles (12/21/1978, WNBA basketball player, Kansas City, Kansas
- Earl Watson (June 12, 1979), NBA basketball player, Kansas City, Kansas.
- Kendra Wecker (December 16, 1982), WNBA player, Marysville, Kansas.
- Lynette Woodard (born 1959), basketball Hall of Famer, Wichita, Kansas.
[edit] Aviators and astronauts
- Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), aviator, Atchison, Kansas.
- Joe Engle (born 1932), astronaut, Chapman, Kansas.
- Ron Evans (1933-1990), astronaut, Topeka, Kansas.
- Steve Hawley (born 1951), astronaut, Salina, Kansas.
[edit] Businessmen and inventors
- Dan and Frank Carney, founders of Pizza Hut, Wichita, Kansas.
- Walter Chrysler (1875-1940), founder of Chrysler Corporation, Wamego, Kansas.
- James Harbord (1866-1947), President and Chairman of Board of RCA, Manhattan, Kansas.
- Charles G. Koch (born 1935), CEO of Koch Industries, Wichita, Kansas.
- David H. Koch (born 1940), executive and politician, Wichita, Kansas.
[edit] Nobel Prize Laureates
- Jack S. Kilby, Nobel Prize winner in Physics, Great Bend, Kansas.
- Vernon L. Smith, Nobel Memorial Prize winner in Economics, Wichita, Kansas.
- Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr., 1971 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology and Medicine, Burlingame, Kansas.
[edit] Public figures
[edit] Politics and law
- Bob Dole (born 1923), Senator, 1996 presidential candidate, Russell, Kansas.
- Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969), 34th President of the United States, Allied commander in World War II, raised in Abilene, Kansas.
- Marlin Fitzwater (born 1942), Press Secretary for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Abilene, Kansas.
- Robert Gates, former CIA director, U.S. Secretary of Defense Designate
- Robert L. Gernon (1943-2005), Kansas Supreme Court Justice, Sabetha, Kansas.
- Dan Glickman (born 1944), Secretary of Agriculture, President of the Motion Picture Association of America, Wichita, Kansas.
- Nancy Kassebaum Baker (born 1932), Senator, Topeka, Kansas.
- Alf Landon (1887-1987), Governor, 1936 presidential candidate, Topeka, Kansas.
- Susanna M. Salter (1860-1961), Mayor of Argonia, Kansas, first woman mayor in the United States.
- Arlen Specter (born 1930), Senator, Russell, Kansas.
[edit] Military and national security
- Rebecca L. Ediger (born 1952), agent in charge of the Presidential Protective Division of U.S. Secret Service, born in Newton, Kansas and raised in Peabody, Kansas.
- Frederick N. Funston (1865-1917), Major General, Medal of Honor-winner, Iola, Kansas.
- Duane D. Thiessen (born 1951), Major General, USMC, Goessel, Kansas.
[edit] Scientists and programmers
- John Carmack (born 1970), computer programmer, Shawnee Mission, Kansas.
- George Washington Carver (1864-1943), botanist and chemist, Minneapolis, Kansas.
- David Fairchild (1869-1954), botanist and explorer, Manhattan, Kansas.
- Philip Fox (1878-1944), astronomer, Manhattan, Kansas.
- Homer A. McCrerey (1919-1999), meteorologist and oceanographer, Hiawatha, Kansas.
- Karl Menninger (1893-1990), psychiatrist, Topeka, Kansas
- Ernest Fox Nichols (1869-1924), scientist, Leavenworth County, Kansas.
- Clyde Tombaugh, astronomer, Burdett, Kansas.
- Samuel Wendell Williston (1852-1918), scientist, Manhattan, Kansas.
[edit] Others
- Erin Brockovich (born 1960), environmental activist, Lawrence, Kansas.
- Dorothy Gale (1900), fictional Little Girl from Kansas who is transported to the Land of Oz by a tornado, with her dog Toto.
- Arthur Harkins (born 19xx) - Co-authored StoryTech, Ottawa, Kansas
- Carrie Nation (1846-1911), temperance activist, Medicine Lodge, Kansas.
- Satanta (1830-1878), Chief of the Kiowa tribe, western Kansas.
- Benjamin "Pap" Singleton (1809-1892), African American leader, Topeka, Kansas.
- Superman (1938), fictional superhero, born on Krypton, but adopted by Kansans and raised in Kansas.
- Dennis Rader (born 1945), serial killer known as "BTK": Bind, Torture, Kill
