List of people from Danville, Kentucky

Last updated

These noted people were born, raised or lived for a significant period of time in the city of Danville, Kentucky.

NameNoted for
Michael F. Adams b. 1948President of the University of Georgia
Mary Hunt Affleck 1847–1932American agrarian poet from Texas and a Confederate advocate
Sophia Alcorn 1883–1967Educator; invented the Tadoma method of communication with people who are deaf and blind
William Anderson 1826–1861 U.S. Representative from Kentucky
Joshua Fry Bell 1811–1870U.S. Representative, Kentucky Secretary of State; namesake of Bell County, Kentucky
James G. Birney 1792–1857 Abolitionist, politician and jurist
James M. Birney 1817–1888Publisher and U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands
William Birney 1819–1907Professor, Union Army general during the American Civil War, attorney and author
Jeremiah Boyle 1818–1871Lawyer, abolitionist, and brigadier general during the American Civil War
John Boyle 1774–1834U.S. federal judge and U.S. Representative; namesake of Boyle County, Kentucky
John C. Breckinridge 1821–1875U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky, Vice President of the United States, U.S. presidential candidate, Confederate States Secretary of War
Robert Breckinridge 1800–1871Kentucky politician and Presbyterian minister
Neal Brown b. 1980College football coach and former player
Samuel D. Burchard 1812–1891Clergyman
Michael Burns b. 1947Historian and actor
Jewel Carmen 1897–1984Silent film actress
William Chrisman 1822–1897Businessman and banker
James Clemens, Jr. 1791–1878Businessman and banker
George B. Crittenden 1812–1880Career Army officer who served in the Black Hawk War, the Army of the Republic of Texas, the Mexican–American War, and the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War
Joseph Daveiss 1774–1811Lawyer and soldier
Todd Duncan 1903–1998Baritone opera singer and actor
Milton J. Durham 1824–1911Representative from Kentucky
Monroe Edwards 1808–1847Slave trader, forger, swindler
John Fetterman 1920–1975Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter
John Baptiste Ford 1811–1903Industrialist and founder of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company
Harry Frankel 1888–1948Minstrel performer and vaudevillian, "Singin' Sam, the Barbasol Man"
Helen Fisher Frye 1918–2014Educator and civil rights activist
Speed S. Fry 1817–1892Lawyer, judge, and U.S. Army officer during the Mexican–American War and American Civil War
William Arthur Ganfield 1873–1940Educator
Alfred Goodrich Garr 1875–1944Pentecostal Evangelist
Jordan Gay b. 1990American football player
Hart Goodloe 1875–1954Surgeon in the First World War
Ashley Gorley b. 1969Songwriter and producer
Lewis W. Green 1806–1863Presbyterian minister and educator
Willis Green 1818–1893U.s. Representative
Christopher Greenup 1750–1818U.S. Representative and Governor of Kentucky
Viola Rowe Gross 1921–2012Teacher, businesswoman, clubwoman, and author
Aaron Harding 1805–1875U.S. Representative from Kentucky
John Marshall Harlan 1833–1911 U.S. Supreme Court Justice, "The Great Dissenter"
Larnelle Harris b. 1947 Gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist
Harvey Helm 1865–1919U.S. Representative from Kentucky
Robby Henson b. 1958Film director and screenwriter
William R. Higgins 1945–1990U.S. Marine Corps colonel captured and killed in 1988 while on a UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
Edward W. Hoch 1849–1925Governor of Kansas
Jesse Lynch Holman 1784–1842Indiana lawyer, politician, jurist, novelist, poet, city planner, and preacher
Dennis Johnson b. 1979Football player
Elizabeth Topham Kennan b. 1938Academic, president of Mount Holyoke College
James Kerr 1790–1850Politician in Missouri and Texas who was active in establishing the Republic of Texas
John Kincaid 1791–1873U.S. Representative from Kentucky
J. Proctor Knott 1830–1911U.S. Representative from Kentucky and Governor of Kentucky
Travis Leffew b. 1983Football player
Robert P. Letcher 1788–1861U.S. Representative, diplomat, and Governor of Kentucky
Pierce Lively 1921–2016U.S. federal judge
James Logan 1791–1859Arkansas pioneer
Susan Shelby Magoffin 1827–1855Diarist
Sara W. Mahan 1870–1966Progressive era social reformer, early Democratic Party member
Maurice Manning b. 1966Poet
Jim Marshall b. 1937Football player
Claude Matthews 1845–1898Governor of Indiana
Charles McDowell, Jr. 1926–2010Political writer and television panelist
Ephraim McDowell 1771–1830Physician, first to successfully remove an ovarian tumor
Samuel McDowell 1735–1817Soldier and early political leader in Kentucky
John Gaines Miller 1812–1856U.S. Representative from Missouri
E. Belle Mitchell 1848–1942Educator and abolitionist
Eddie Montgomery b. 1963 Country music artist
John Michael Montgomery b. 1965Country music artist
Lottie Moon 1840–1912Missionary to China
Johnny Joestar ??-??Winner of the cross-country Race John Norvell 1789–1850Newspaper editor and U.S. Senator from Michigan
Theodore O'Hara 1820–1867Poet and soldier
William Owsley 1782–1862Associate justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals; Governor of Kentucky
Don Phelps 1924–1982Professional American football player
Stephen Rolfe Powell 1951–2019Glass artist
Scott Pruitt b. 1968 Oklahoma Attorney General
James E. Rogers Jr. 1947–2018President and CEO of Duke Energy
Joe Rue 1898–1984Major League Baseball umpire
Willis Russell1803–1852Emancipated slave of Revolutionary War veteran Robert Craddock, founder of first school in Danville for African-American children [1]
Alfred Ryors 1812–1858President of Indiana University, Ohio University; professor at Centre College
Hugh L. Scott 1853–1934Superintendent of West Point, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army in World War I
Julia Green Scott 1839–1923philanthropist, socialite, and businesswoman who served as President-General of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Isaac Shelby 1750–1826First and fifth Governor of Kentucky
Jonathan Shell b. 1987Kentucky politician
Thomas A. Spragens 1917–2006Educator, president of Centre College
King Swope 1893–1961U.S. Representative from Kentucky
Albert G. Talbott 1808–1887Kentucky politician
John G. Talbot 1844–1870U.S. Navy officer
Albert G. Talbott 1808–1887U.S. Representative from Kentucky
Jacob Tamme b. 1985Football player
Josh Teater b. 1979Professional golfer
Charles Stewart Todd 1791–1871U.S. Army officer and U.S. Ambassador to Russia
Thomas Todd 1765–1826U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Trey D. Songwriter and composer, born Keith McGuffey
Frank X Walker b. 1961Kentucky's first African-American Poet Laureate
Margaret Anderson Watts 1832–1905first Kentucky woman who wrote and advocated the equal rights of woman before the law
DeWitt Weaver 1939–2021Professional golfer
Reed N. Weisiger 1838–1908Texas State Senator, Confederate cavalry officer
Fess Williams 1894–1975Jazz musician
Frances Harriet Williams 1898–1992author, presidential advisor, activist, organizer for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the YWCA
Phil Woolpert 1915–1987College basketball coach
Craig Yeast b. 1976American and Canadian football player
John C. Young 1803–1857Fourth president of Centre College

See also

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References

  1. "Notable Kentucky African Americans Database: Russell, Willis". University of Kentucky Libraries. Retrieved January 30, 2014.