List of people from Rhode Island

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

State flag of Rhode Island
Location of Rhode Island on the U.S. map

This is a list of prominent people who were born in the state of Rhode Island or who spent significant periods of their lives in the state.

Academia

Elizabeth Buffum Chace

Activism, civil rights, and philanthropy

  • Susan Hammond Barney (1834-1922) — social activist
  • Josephine Byrd — civil rights activist in Woonsocket, RI
  • Zechariah Chafee (1885–1957) – judicial philosopher, civil rights advocate
  • Elizabeth Buffum Chace (1806–1899) – activist in the anti-slavery, women's-rights, and prison-reform movements of the mid-to-late 19th century
  • Ann Keefe – social activist and nun (1952–2015)
  • Richard Holcomb
    (born 1976) — human rights advocate, street outreach worker, HIV prevention counselor, and co-founder of Project Weber/Renew
  • Cornelia Bryce Pinchot (1881–1960) – Newport native who became a conservationist, Progressive politician, women's rights activist, and First Lady of Pennsylvania
  • Mary Reilly (born 1930) — teacher, leader, advocate for girls and women living in poverty
  • Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (1874–1948) – philanthropist
  • Marvin Ronning (1961–2022) — education and environmental advocate; senior administrator at the Rhode Island Free Clinic
  • Juanita Sánchez (died 1992) — social worker and social activist
  • Robert Ellis Smith (1940–2018) – publisher and consumer activist, Privacy Journal; civil rights journalist in Alabama
  • Dorcas James Spencer (1841-1933) – social activist and writer
  • Marjorie van Vliet (1923–1990) – teacher and aviator

Art, literature, and design

Gilbert Stuart

Athletics

Elizabeth Beisel
Will Blackmon
Jill Craybas
Nap Lajoie
Mathieu Schneider
A–G
H–Z

Business

Samuel Slater

Crime

Film and television

Elisabeth Hasselbeck
Meredith Vieira
A–L
M–Z

Journalism

A. O. Scott

Military

Matthew C. Perry

Music

George M. Cohan

Politics and government

John Chafee
Stephen Hopkins
A–L
M–Z
  • Tiara Mack (1993) – State Senator
  • James McAndrews (1862–1942) – Congressman
  • William McCormick (born 1939) – diplomat, United States Ambassador to New Zealand
  • J. Howard McGrath (1903–1966) – Governor of Rhode Island, Solicitor General, Senator, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Attorney General of the United States
  • Edwin D. McGuinness (1856–1901) – first Irish-Catholic mayor of Providence
  • Florence K. Murray (1916–2004) – officer in Women's Army Corps, first female state senator in Rhode Island, first female judge in Rhode Island, and first female member of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
  • Dee Dee Myers (born 1961) – White House Press Secretary
  • Annette Nazareth (born 1956) – commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission
  • Joseph R. Paolino Jr. – U.S. Ambassador to Malta, former Mayor of Providence
  • John O. Pastore
    (1907–2000) – Governor of Rhode Island, Senator
  • Pell grants
  • Aram J. Pothier (1854–1928) – Governor of Rhode Island, banker
  • Jack Reed (born 1949) – Senator
  • Dennis J. Roberts (1903–1994) – 63rd Governor of Rhode Island
  • Christopher Robinson (1806–1889) – congressman
  • James Y. Smith (1809–1876) – mayor of Providence and 29th Governor of Rhode Island
  • Sean Spicer (born 1971) – White House Press Secretary for President Donald Trump
  • William Sprague
    (1799–1856) – 14th Governor, a U.S. Representative, and a Senator
  • William H. Sullivan (1922–2013) – U.S. Ambassador
  • Bruce Sundlun (1920–2011) – former governor
  • Charles Tillinghast James (1805–1862) – U.S. Senator
  • Pat Toomey (born 1961) – Senator for Pennsylvania
  • Samuel Ward (1725–1776) – RI Supreme Court justice, Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and a delegate to the Continental Congress
  • anti-federalist
    leader
  • Sheldon Whitehouse (born 1955) – state Attorney General, Senator
  • Charles C. Van Zandt (1830–1894) – former governor

Religion

Roger Williams

Science

See also

By educational institution affiliation
By location

References

  1. ^ Contreras, Russell (September 4, 2008). "Champagne Takes the Reins at Merrimack College". The Boston Globe.
  2. ^ "wd~50 – The Team". wd~50.
  3. ^ "Brendan O'Malley". IMDb.