The city of Augusta, Georgia, the largest city and the county seat of Richmond County, Georgia, is the birthplace and home of several notable individuals. This is a list of people from Augusta, Georgia and includes people who were born or lived in Augusta for a nontrivial amount of time. Individuals included in this listing are people presumed to be notable because they have received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject.
Augusta was first used by Native Americans as a place to cross the Savannah River, because of Augusta's location on the fall line. The city was the second state capital of Georgia from 1785 until 1795 (alternating for a period with Savannah, the first).
Actors edit
| Photo | Name | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Quinton Aaron | Actor (Michael Oher in The Blind Side) | |
 |
Laurence Fishburne | Actor (Morpheus in The Matrix trilogy) | |
 |
Hulk Hogan | Actor, professional wrestler; born in Augusta, raised in Tampa, Florida | |
 |
Kathryn McCormick | Step Up Revolution actress, So You Think You Can Dance contestant/All-Star | |
 |
Butterfly McQueen | Actress (Prissy in Gone with the Wind) | |
 |
Danielle Panabaker | Actress | |
_(Cropped).jpg) |
Khary Payton | Actor (Cyborg in Teen Titans, appeared in General Hospital) | [1] |
| Faith Prince | Actor | ||
| Shay Roundtree | Actor (Drumline, Law and Order, Everybody Hates Chris, Kingpin) | ||
,_James_Arnold_Taylor_(Obi-Wan),_Catherine_Taber_(Padme_Amidala)_chat_outside_the_theater_(5240699536)_(cropped).jpg) |
Catherine Taber | Actress | |
 |
Dub Taylor | Character actor |
Arts and design edit
| Photo | Name | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Haygood Blodgett | Architect and builder | [2] | |
 |
Jasper Johns | Artist | |
| Amos Mac | Photographer | ||
_(cropped).jpg) |
Jessye Norman | Opera singer | |
| Mary Telfair | Art collector, philanthropist |
Athletics edit
| Photo | Name | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Avery | Professional basketball player | ||
| Kendrell Bell | Professional football player in the NFL | ||
 |
Mike Bobo | Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach for the Georgia Bulldogs | |
 |
Emerson Boozer | former running back for New York Jets | |
 |
Bennie Briscoe | Professional boxer | |
| William "Happy Humphrey" Cobb | Professional wrestler | ||
 |
Luis Campusano | Catcher for the San Diego Padres | |
| William Cunningham | Professional basketball player | ||
| Chick Donovan | Professional wrestler; born in LaGrange, grew up in Augusta | ||
| Charles "Chuck" Evans | NFL player for the Baltimore Ravens | ||
| Vernon Forrest | World champion boxer | ||
| Bill Fulcher | Coach and NFL player | ||
 |
Deon Grant | NFL player (New York Giants) | |
_(cropped).jpg) |
Todd Greene | Baseball player | |
 |
Forrest Griffin | Mixed martial artist | |
 |
Ray Guy | Retired NFL player | |
 |
Arnold Harrison | Football player, currently with UFL's Virginia Destroyers | |
 |
Charles Howell III | Professional golfer | |
| Leroy Irvin | Professional football player | ||
| Beau Jack | World champion boxer | ||
 |
Jimmie Johnson | NFL player, tight ends coach for the Minnesota Vikings | |
 |
Bobby Jones | Most successful amateur golfer ever to compete on a national and international level; founder and designer of Augusta National Golf Club and co-founder of the Masters Tournament | |
 |
Bailie Key | Gymnast, Junior U.S National Champion 2013 | |
| Macay McBride | MLB player for Detroit Tigers | ||
 |
Taj McWilliams-Franklin | WNBA player (Minnesota Lynx) | |
 |
Larry Mize | Professional golfer; winner of the 1987 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club | |
.jpg) |
Chad Mottola | MLB player for Cincinnati Reds | |
| Chase Parker | Golfer on mini-tours, made cut at 2016 U.S. Open | ||
| Kyle Parker | Quarterback for Clemson University | ||
 |
Carlos Rogers | Professional football player for San Francisco 49ers | |
| Jeff Sanders | Professional basketball player | ||
| Vaughn Taylor | Professional golfer; member of the United States team in the 2006 Ryder Cup | ||
 |
Herschel Walker | Professional football player; won the Heisman Trophy in 1982 and played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons | |
 |
Ken Whisenhunt | Head coach of Arizona Cardinals | |
| Rayonta Whitfield | Professional boxer, former world title challenger | ||
| Jonathan Williams | Professional football player in CFL | ||
.jpg) |
Paul Williams | Professional boxer, former WBO welterweight world champion | |
_(cropped).jpg) |
Devonte Upson | Basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League | |
.jpg) |
James Webb III | Basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League |
Education edit
| Photo | Name | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ignatius Alphonso Few | Methodist clergyman, founder of Emory University | [3] | |
 |
John Wesley Gilbert | African American trailblazer, archaeologist, clergyman | [4] |
 |
John Hope | Educator, founding member of the Niagara Movement | |
 |
Isaac S. Hopkins | Former professor and first President of Georgia Tech | |
| David M. Potter | Pulitzer Prize-winning professor at Stanford University |
Literature and journalism edit
| Photo | Name | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rod Beaton | Sports journalist for USA Today | [5] | |
 |
Stephen Vincent Benét | Writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet | [6] |
 |
Maria Louise Eve | Poet | |
| Elle and Blair Fowler | YouTube beauty gurus and writers | ||
 |
Augustus Baldwin Longstreet | Lawyer, Methodist clergyman, and humorist | [3] |
 |
Tom Poland | Author | |
 |
Abram Joseph Ryan | Poet | |
| Corbett Thigpen | Psychiatrist; co-author of the internationally popular nonfiction book The Three Faces of Eve | [6] | |
| Frank Yerby | Novelist |
African American pioneers edit
| Photo | Name | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Lucy Craft Laney | Opened the first school for black children in Augusta; namesake of Lucy Craft Laney High School and the Lucy Laney Black History Museum | |
| Ed McIntyre | First African American mayor of Augusta |
Military edit
| Photo | Name | Notes | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Raymond O. Barton | Major General, US 4th Infantry Division commander on D-Day and Battle of the Hurtgen Forest | ||
 |
Archibald Butt | Military aide to U.S. Presidents Roosevelt and Taft; died on the RMS Titanic; namesake of the Butt Memorial Bridge | ||
 |
William P. Duvall | U.S. Army major general; retired to Augusta | [7] | |
 |
Aquilla James "Jimmie" Dyess | USMC Lieutenant Colonel, posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II; one of only nine known Eagle Scouts to receive the Medal of Honor; the only American to receive both the Carnegie Medal for civilian heroism and the Medal of Honor | ||
 |
Lafayette McLaws | Major general of the Confederate Army, American Civil War | [3] | |
 |
Montgomery C. Meigs | Quartermaster General of United States Army during the American Civil War | [3] | |
 |
Edwin A. Pollock | General, United States Marines | ||
_2.jpg) |
George D. Shea | Major General, United States Army | [8][9][10][11] | |
 |
Joseph Wheeler | United States Army General in the Spanish–American War | ||
 |
James Longstreet | Confederate general of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee |
Music edit
| Photo | Name | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
James Brown | Soul musician, bandleader, songwriter, dancer, and record producer who was a major figure of 20th century music, often referred to as the "Godfather of Soul",[12] and, in his over 50 year career, influenced the development of several music genres;[13] namesake of James Brown Blvd. and the James Brown Arena | [6] |
 |
Anna Gardner Goodwin | Composer of marches and religious music, born in Augusta | |
| Terri Gibbs | Country and western singer | ||
 |
Wycliffe Gordon | Jazz trombonist | |
 |
Amy Grant | Singer-songwriter; born in Augusta; her family soon moved to Nashville, Tennessee | [14] |
| Ben Hayslip | Country music songwriter; Grammy-nominated; two-time ASCAP Songwriter of the Year; winner of four Triple Play Awards for three number one songs in a 12-month span | ||
 |
Dave Haywood | Singer-songwriter; member of popular band Lady A | |
 |
Sharon Jones | Singer | |
 |
Charles Kelley | Singer-songwriter; member of popular band Lady A | |
 |
Josh Kelley | Musician | |
 |
Steve Morse | Guitarist | |
| |
Jessye Norman | Opera singer; namesake of Riverwalk Augusta's Jessye Norman Amphitheatre | [6] |
Politics and government edit
| Photo | Name | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Ben S. Bernanke | Federal Reserve chairman | |
 |
Darrell Blocker | CIA agent, nicknamed "The Spy Whisperer" | [15] |
 |
Alfred Cumming | First governor of Utah territory | [3] |
 |
William Henry Fleming | Politician and lawyer | |
| James Myles Hinton | Civil rights leader, NAACP leader, businessperson, minister | ||
 |
Craig T. James | Politician | |
| Seaborn Jones | United States Congressman from Georgia | [3] | |
 |
George Walton | Signer of the United States Declaration of Independence | |
 |
Ansley Wilcox | Lawyer and civil service commissioner | |
 |
Woodrow Wilson | Twenty-eighth President of the United States |
Radio and television personalities edit
| Photo | Name | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Dan Miller | Journalist, TV personality | |
 |
Judy Woodruff | Television news anchor and journalist |
Science and technology edit
| Photo | Name | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hervey M. Cleckley | Psychiatrist | ||
| Roland A. Steiner | Archaeologist | ||
 |
Susan Still Kilrain | Retired United States Naval officer and NASA astronaut |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Internet Movie Database entry for Khary Payton
- ^ "Joseph Haygood Blodgett," African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945 ed. Dreck Spurlock Wilson (New York: Routledge, 2004): 58-60.
- ^ a b c d e f Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
- ^ D. W. Culp (ed)Twentieth Century Negro Literature, Or, A Cyclopedia of Thought on the Vital Topics Relating to the American Negro J. L. NICHOLS & CO., 1902, pp 190. Released as an ebook on July 6, 2006 EBook #18772 by The Project Gutenberg
- ^ Schudel, Matt (July 16, 2011). "Rod Beaton, USA Today sportswriter, dies at 59". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved January 12, 2022.; Schudel, Matt (July 23, 2011). "Sportswriter was part of original staff of USA Today". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 11.
- ^ a b c d Edward J. Cashin: Augusta, Georgia from the New Georgia Encyclopedia Online (2007-02-19). Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
- ^ Thayer, Bill (March 28, 2014). "William Penn Duvall in Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, Volumes III-VI". Bill Thayer's Web Site. Chicago, IL: Bill Thayer. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
- ^ U.S. Army Adjutant General (1952). Official Army Register. Vol. I. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 64 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Veterans Mature, No Problem, New Barracks Chief Says". St. Louis Star-Times. St. Louis, MO. June 14, 1945. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sylvan, William C.; Smith, Francis G. (2008). Greenwood, John T. (ed.). Normandy to Victory: The War Diary of General Courtney H. Hodges & the First U.S. Army. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky. p. 396. ISBN 978-0-8131-3866-4 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Illness Fatal to W. T. Shea At Sanitarium". The Macon News. Macon, GA. April 18, 1945. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Doran, John (28 October 2015). "James Brown – 10 of the Best". The Guardian. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
- ^ Wiegand, D. (December 26, 2006). James Brown: 1933–2006 – Godfather of Soul Changed Music at Frenetic Pace. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
- ^ "Country Music – Music News, New Songs, Videos, Music Shows and Playlists from CMT".
- ^ Kampeas, Ron (December 10, 2020). "Darrell Blocker, the Black, Jewish 'spy whisperer' who could lead Biden's CIA". The Times of Israel.
External links edit
- Cedar Grove cemetery — historic black cemetery (includes gravesite photos and information on Augustans interred there)