List of people from Providence, Rhode Island
The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Providence, Rhode Island.
Arts, literature, humanities and entertainment
[edit]
- Tom Adams, illustrator most famous for his Agatha Christie paperback cover designs[1]
- Daniel Adel, painter and illustrator
- Chester Holmes Aldrich, architect and director of American Academy in Rome
- David Aldrich, artist and architect[2]
- Mathuren Arthur Andrieu, painter
- Omar Bah, journalist and founder of the Refugee Dream Center
- Mildred Barker, Shaker eldress, musician, and scholar who lived at the Alfred and Sabbathday Lake Shaker communities
- Joe Bastardi, meteorologist
- Joe Beats, hip-hop producer
- Alice D. Engley Beek, watercolor painter
- Ted Berrigan, poet
- Blu Cantrell, singer of 2001 hit "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops)"
- William Carpenter, early settler of Providence
- Marilyn Chambers (1952–2009), adult-film actress
- Damien Chazelle, director and screenwriter, Whiplash and La La Land
- Nicole Chesney, artist[3]
- George M. Cohan, songwriter and entertainer, composed "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "You're a Grand Old Flag"
- Bill Conti, composer of music for film and television, including theme from Rocky
- Scott Corbett, writer of children's books
- Michael Corrente, film director and producer
- Pauly D, television personality, noted for contributions to the MTV program Jersey Shore.
- Charlotte F. Dailey, editor and exposition official
- Christopher Denise, illustrator of children's books, including many in the Redwall series
- Bruce DeSilva, author of the Liam Mulligan series of mystery novels
- Paul Di Filippo, author of Steampunk Trilogy
- Ronald Dworkin, author, professor of constitutional law
- John Dwyer, multi-instrumentalist, primary songwriter and core member of Thee Oh Sees, visual artist, record label owner
- C. M. Eddy, Jr., author of mysteries and horror fiction
- Nelson Eddy, singer and film actor
- Susan Eisenberg, voice actress
- Jeanpaul Ferro, poet, short fiction author, novelist
- Elisabeth Filarski, footwear designer, Survivor: The Australian Outback contestant
- Sage Francis, hip hop artist and slam poet
- Margaret Burnham Geddes, architect, activist, and urban planner
- Al Gomes, record producer and songwriter
- Roger A. Graham, lyricist, songwriter
- Robert Leo (Bobby) Hackett, jazz musician (trumpet, cornet, guitar)
- Scott Haltzman, author, The Secrets of Happily Married Men: Eight Ways to Win Your Wife's Heart Forever
- Scott Hamilton, tenor saxophonist
- Clay Hart, country musician (guitar)
- Richard Hatch, winner of Survivor: Borneo
- David Hedison, actor, star of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
- Greta Hodgkinson, ballet dancer
- Ruth Hussey, actress, Oscar-nominated for The Philadelphia Story (1940)
- Joe S. Jackson, sportswriter and editor
- Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones (1868–1933), pioneering black soprano who played to audiences around the world[4]
- Claudia Jordan, actress, Miss Rhode Island USA 1997
- Galway Kinnell, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
- Jesse Leach, vocalist and musician, original frontman of Killswitch Engage, Seemless, The Empire Shall Fall and Times of Grace
- James Sullivan Lincoln (1811–1888), "Father of Rhode Island Art" and first president of the Providence Art Club[5]
- H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937), author of fantasy and horror fiction[6]
- Dorothy Lovett, actress
- Albert Lythgoe (1868–1934), archaeologist and curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art[7]
- Dodge MacKnight, painter
- George Macready, actor, Gilda, Paths of Glory
- Jason Marsden, voice actor
- Cormac McCarthy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, The Road, No Country for Old Men, Blood Meridian
- Shanna Moakler, 1992 Miss Rhode Island Teen USA, 1995 Miss New York USA and Miss USA
- Nico Muhly, composer
- Andy On, Chinese-American Hong Kong actor
- Jeffrey Osborne, lead vocalist with L.T.D.
- Monty Oum (1981–2015), animator for Rooster Teeth Productions; creator of RWBY
- John Pagano, R&B and pop singer
- Vincent Pagano, actor, screenwriter
- Don Pardo (1918–2014), NBC announcer since 1944, Saturday Night Live 1975–2014
- S. J. Perelman, humorist, author, and screenwriter
- Sylvia Poggioli, reporter for National Public Radio
- Ira Rakatansky (1919–2014), modernist architect
- Josh Schwartz, creator of television series The O.C.
- A. O. Scott, film critic for New York Times
- Chris Sparling, screenwriter and film director
- Daniel Sully, stage actor and playwright
- Benjamin C. Truman, war correspondent and author
- Meredith Vieira, television personality
- Sarah Helen Whitman, poet, possible inspiration for Edgar Allan Poe poems "To Helen" and "Annabel Lee"
- Mabel May Woodward (1877–1945), prominent impressionist painter and RISD faculty[8]
- Nate DiMeo, podcaster, screenwriter, and author. Creator of The Memory Palace podcast and author of the book of the same name.
Business
[edit]- Arunah Shepherdson Abell, publisher and philanthropist
- Everett M. "Busy" Arnold, comic-book entrepreneur and publisher[9]
- Andrew Dexter Jr., financier of Exchange Coffee House
- Wylie Dufresne, chef
- Alan Shawn Feinstein, finance expert and philanthropist; Feinstein High School in Providence is named in his honor[10]
- A. O. Granger (1846–1914), American industrialist and soldier[11][12]
- William Hamlin, entrepreneur and Rhode Island's first engraver[13]
- Abbie E. Krebs-Wilkins (1842–1924), businesswoman[14]
- Henry J. Steere, industrialist and philanthropist[15]
Innovators
[edit]- Zachariah Allen, scientist and inventor, patented automatic cut-off valve for steam engines[16]
- George Henry Corliss, inventor of the Corliss steam engine, which revolutionized industry by making steam-power cheaper than water-power for powering factories[17]
- Andries van Dam, pioneer in the field of computer graphics and professor at Brown University
Military
[edit]- George K. Anderson, general
- George Andrews, Adjutant General of the U.S. Army from 1912 to 1914
- Israel Angell, colonel in the American Revolution[18]
- Richard Arnold, Civil War general
- William Seaman Bainbridge, military physician, surgeon and gynecologist
- Charles L. Hodges, U.S. Army major general[19]
- Albert Martin, defender of the Alamo
- Frank Wheaton, Civil War general
Politics
[edit]- Arunah Shepherdson Abell, creator of Philadelphia Public Ledger and Baltimore Sun newspapers[18]
- Nelson W. Aldrich, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, grandfather of Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and father of Richard S. Aldrich[20]
- Richard S. Aldrich, U.S. Representative[21]
- Philip Allen, 22nd Governor of Rhode Island and U.S. Senator[22]
- William Henry Allen, naval officer during War of 1812[18]
- Zachariah Allen, scientist and inventor[18]
- Jonathan Arnold, member of Continental Congress from Rhode Island[18]
- Samuel G. Arnold, United States Senator from Rhode Island[18]
- Edward Beard, U.S. Representative[23]
- Grace Lee Boggs, social activist and feminist, known for work done in Detroit
- Jabez Bowen, federalist supporter, Deputy Governor of Rhode Island and Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court[24]
- John Brown, co-founder of Brown University, U.S. Representative[25]
- John Chafee, Governor of Rhode Island, Secretary of the Navy, and United States Senator[26]
- Zechariah Chafee, lawyer, academic and civil libertarian[27]
- Vincent Cianci, longest-serving mayor in Providence history (1974–1984) and (1991–2002); city's first Italian-American mayor[28]
- Thomas Davis, U.S. Representative[29]
- Herbert F. DeSimone, Attorney General of Rhode Island and Assistant Secretary of Transportation[30]
- Ray Fogarty, Rhode Island state representative[31]
- Dwight Foster, U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative[32]
- Theodore Foster, U.S. Senator[33]
- J. Joseph Garrahy, 69th Governor of Rhode Island
- Albert C. Greene, U.S. Senator and Attorney General of Rhode Island[34]
- John Patrick Hartigan, Judge of United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and of United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island[35]
- Nicole Love Hendrickson, chair of the Gwinnett County, Georgia Board of Commissioners[36]
- Stephen Hopkins, nine-time Governor of Rhode Island and signer of Declaration of Independence[37]
- David Jagolinzer, American litigation attorney, born in Providence.
- Elisha Jenkins, New York Secretary of State, Mayor of Albany
- Pat LaMarche, Green Party vice presidential candidate in 2004 and activist[38]
- Oscar Lapham, U.S. Congressman[39]
- Henry Lippitt (1818–1891), textile magnate, governor of Rhode Island, his Victorian mansion is one of the finest in Providence[40]
- Audri Mukhopadhyay, Canadian diplomat
- Dee Dee Myers, first female White House Press Secretary, served during Clinton administration
- John O. Pastore, Democratic politician, first Italian-American governor (1945–1950) and Italian-American senator (1950–1976) of Rhode Island[41]
- John Rucho, Massachusetts state legislator and businessman, was born in Providence[42]
- Pamela Sawyer, member of Connecticut House of Representatives[43]
- Bruce Sundlun, 71st Governor of Rhode Island and businessman
- Robert Tiernan, U.S. Representative and member of Rhode Island General Assembly[44]
- Pat Toomey, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
Reformers
[edit]- Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis (1813–1876), abolitionist, suffragist, and educator[45]
- Arthur L. Hardge (1927–1983), African American civil rights activist, minister, and administrator[46]
- Bertha G. Higgins (1872–1944), African American suffragist, civil rights activist and clubwoman[47]
- Mary E. Jackson (1867–1923), African-American female suffrage activist, YWCA leader and writer, born in Providence and active in RI politics[48]
- Marion Simon Misch (1869–1941), activist, teacher, writer, businesswoman[49]
- Elizabeth J. Smith (1842–unknown), Canadian-American temperance activist; newspaper editor and publisher[50]
Science and medicine
[edit]- Martha H. Mowry (1818–1899), first woman physician in Rhode Island
Sports
[edit]- Bill Almon, player for eight MLB teams[51]
- Deon Anderson, NFL fullback[52]
- Isaac Angking, soccer player[53]
- Rocco Baldelli, MLB outfielder[54]
- Marvin Barnes, NBA player[55]
- Will Blackmon, NFL cornerback[56]
- Paul Briggs, NFL player[57]
- Jill Craybas, professional tennis player
- Ernie DiGregorio, NBA rookie of the year in 1974[58]
- William Butler Duncan II, leader in New York Yacht Club's long defense of the America's Cup
- Hobe Ferris, second baseman for the Boston Americans[59]
- Beverly Baker Fleitz, tennis player, 1955 Wimbledon singles and doubles finalist, French Open doubles champion
- Anita Foss, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player[60]
- Harold Gomes, boxer
- Matt Hyson, pro wrestler, better known as Spike Dudley
- Chris Ianetta, MLB catcher[61]
- Ray Jarvis, MLB pitcher[62]
- Marilyn Jones, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player[63]
- Paul Konerko, MLB first baseman[64]
- Davey Lopes, player, coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers[65]
- Tom Lovett, MLB pitcher[66]
- Peter Manfredo Jr., boxer[67]
- Bill Osmanski, College Football Hall of Fame[68]
- Chuck Palumbo, pro wrestler[69]
- Michael Parkhurst, soccer defender for USMNT[70]
Others
[edit]- Edward Francis Anhalt, professor, event promoter, and company founder[71]
- James E. FitzGerald (1906–1969) Jesuit and academic, fourth president of Fairfield University in Connecticut[72]
References
[edit]- ^ "Tom Adams". 1997–2014 All Rights Reserved | Bentley Global Arts Group, LLC. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "A History of Swan Point Cemetery". Swan Point Cemetery. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ Lorenz, Elizabeth (May 27, 2014). "The Glass Dreamscape". Providence Monthly. Providence Media. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ Smith, Andy (May 8, 2018). "Sissieretta Jones to get headstone". The Providence Journal. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ "James Sullivan Lincoln". Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ "H.P. Lovecraft Walking Tour Returns". Official Website of the City of Providence, Rhode Island. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ Bierbrier, Morris L (2012). Who Was Who in Egyptology, 4th edition. Egypt Exploration Society, London. p. 244. ISBN 978-0856982071.
- ^ "Mabel May Woodward". Bert Gallery. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ "Sequence of Events". Cosmic Teams. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ "90s FAMILY At Feinstein, Youths Learn the Value of Volunteering". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ "Private Secretary of Sherman is Dead". The Montgomery Daily Times. Montgomery, Alabama. August 3, 1914. p. 7.
- ^ Smith, Tony. "Overlook Scope". Lowndes County Historical Society Museum. Valdosta, Georgia. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
- ^ "American Silversmiths". Ancestry.com. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ Millard, Bailey (1924). "Mrs. Abbie Krebs-Wilkins". History of the San Francisco Bay Region: History and Biography. Vol. 3. American Historical Society. pp. 294–97. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
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- ^ "A legacy of more than 140 years of serviceto the elder community of Rhode Island". Steere House. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ "Zachariah Allen Papers". Rhode Island Historical Society. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ "George Henry Corliss". The New England Wireless and Steam Museum. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
- ^ Beach, Frederick Converse (1911). The Americana Supplement. New York, NY: The Scientific American Compiling Department. p. 615 – via Google Books.
- ^ "ALDRICH, Nelson Wilmarth, (1841–1915)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ "ALDRICH, Richard Steere, (1884–1941) s". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ "ALLEN, Philip, (1785–1865) s". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ "BEARD, Edward Peter, (1940– )". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ "Bowen Family Papers". Rhode Island Historical Society. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ "BROWN, John, (1736–1803)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ "CHAFEE, John Hubbard, (1922–1999)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ "Chafee, Zechariah. Papers, 1898–1957: Finding Aid". Harvard University Library. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ "Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr. (D – Providence, RI)". Americans for the Arts. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ "DAVIS, Thomas, (1806–1895)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
- ^ "In Memoriam" (PDF). Rhode Island Bar Journal. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ Raymond W. Fogarty-obituary
- ^ "FOSTER, Dwight, (1757–1823)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "FOSTER, Theodore, (1752–1828)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "GREENE, Albert Collins, (1792–1863)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "Biographical Directory of Federal Judges Hartigan, John Patrick". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ "About Your Commissioners | Gwinnett County". www.gwinnettcounty.com. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ "Governor Stephen Hopkins House (1708)". The National Society of The Colonial Dams of America. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ "The Happy Warrior". The Nation. October 25, 2004. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
- ^ "LAPHAM, Oscar, (1837–1926)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ Hill, John (May 13, 2015). "Lawn sculptures mark Victorian house's 150th anniversary of Lippitt House". The Providence Journal. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ "PASTORE, John Orlando, (1907–2000)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
- ^ '1977–1978 Public Officials of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Biographical Sketch of John Rucho, pg. 282
- ^ "About Pamela Sawyer". Connecticut House Republican Office. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
- ^ "TIERNAN, Robert Owens, (1929 – )". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
- ^ James, Edward T. and Wilson, Janet (1971). Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume 2. Harvard University Press. p. 444.
thomas davis married Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Morel, Domingo (2023). Developing Scholars: Race, Politics, and the Pursuit of Higher Education. Oxford University Press. pp. 57–90. ISBN 978-0-19-763699-2.
- ^ Miller, Elisa (2018). "Biographical Sketch of Bertha G. Higgins". Biographical Database of Black Women Suffragists – via Alexander Street.
- ^ Stokes, Keith W. "Rhode Island Women of Color During the Great War". Small State Big History, Online Review of Rhode Island History. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
- ^ Horvitz, Eleanor F. (November 1980). "Marion L. Misch – An Extraordinary Woman" (PDF). Thirtieth Anniversary Issue: Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes. Rhode Island Jewish Historical Organization. pp. 7–65.
- ^ Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). "CORNELIUS, Mrs. Mary A.". A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life. Charles Wells Moulton. pp. 207–08. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Bill Almon". 2000–2013 Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Deon Anderson". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ "Isaac Angking | New England Revolution". New England Revolution. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
- ^ "Rocco Baldelli". 2014 Breeze Publications, Inc. March 5, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Marvin Barnes". 2000–2014 Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Will Blackmon". 2000–2014 Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 26, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "PAUL BRIGGS". profootballarchives.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ^ "Ernie DiGregorio". 2000–2014 Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ Hubbard, Donald (October 2014). The Red Sox Before the Babe: Boston's Early Days in the American League, 1901–1914. McFarland, Jul 15, 2009. p. 19. ISBN 9780786454631.
- ^ "Anita Foss". 2005–2014 All American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association, Inc. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Chris Ianetta". 2000–2013 Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Ray Jarvis Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ "Marilyn C. Jones". 2005–2014 All American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association, Inc. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Paul Konerko". 2000–2013 Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Davey Lopes". 2000–2013 Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Tom Lovett". 2000–2013 Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Peter Manfredo Jr". BoxRec. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Bill Osmanski". 2001–2013 National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Chuck Palumbo". 2014 Discovery Communications, LLC. Archived from the original on April 28, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Michael Parkhurst". 2014 United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "About Dr. Anhalt". Banking On Kids. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
- ^ "Fr. FitzGerald Was Jesuit Educator; at 62". The Boston Globe. January 26, 1969. p. 95. Retrieved March 9, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
