Famous West Virginians
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A sampling of some of the many famous West Virginians:
Booker T. Washington - Black educational leader and the first president of Tuskegee Institute, raised in Malden, Kanawha County.
Brad Paisley - Country music star and actor, born in Glen Dale.
Brigadier General Charles Yeager, U.S.A.F Retired - first person to fly faster than the speed of sound, was born in Myra, Lincoln County.
Carter G. Woodson - educator, author and the father of Black History Month, was raised in Huntington, Cabell County.
Cyrus R. Vance - Secretary of State from 1977 to 1980 during the administration of President Jimmy Carter, was born in Clarksburg.
Hal Greer - member of the basketball hall of fame, was raised in Huntington, Cabell County.
Homer H. Hickam, Jr. - Author of Rocket Boys: A Memoir, the story of his life in the little town of Coalwood, WV that Inspired the #1 Bestseller and Award-Winning Movie October Sky.
Jerry West - former professional basketball star of the Los Angeles Lakers, was born in Cabin Creek, Kanawha County.
John C. Norman, MD - distinguished surgeon and pioneer in organ transplant techniques, was born in Charleston, Kanawha County.
Mary Lou Retton - 1984 Olympic Gold Medal winner in gymnastics is from Fairmont, Marion County.
Pearl S. Buck - Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize winning author was born in Hillsboro, Pocahontas County.
Sam Snead - world famous golfer, resides in White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County.
Samuel W. Starks - Local and national leader of Knights of Pythias fraternal order was raised in Charleston, Kanawha County.
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson - born in Clarksburg, Harrison County. The Confederate General’s boyhood home became the first state 4-H Club Camp in the United States.
Walter P. Reuther - former president of the United Auto Workers (AFL-CIO), was born in Wheeling, Ohio County.
