Famous People from Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Biographies, Famous People from Pennsylvania

Alexander McGillivray

Edward Goodrich Acheson (1856 - 1931) Notable engineer and inventor; born in Washington.

Louisa May Alcott (1832 - 1888) Novelist. She wrote Little Women (1868-69); born in Germantown.

James Buchanan (1791 - 1868) The 15th president of the U.S.; born in Mercersburg.

Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976) Famous sculptor; born in Philadelphia.

Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964) Biologist, author; born in Springdale.

Bill Cosby (1937 - ) Actor. He was a stand-up comedian and starred in his own sit-com; born in Philadelphia.

Martha Graham (1895 - 1991) Dancer and choreographer. She choreographed and danced in the ballet Appalachian Spring; born in Allegheny.

Robinson Jeffers (1887 - 1962) Poet; born in Pittsburgh.

Tara Lipinski (1982 - ) Figure skater who won the 1998 women's figure skating gold medal at the Olympics in Nagano, becoming the youngest in history (15 yrs., 7 mos.); born in Philadelphia.

Arnold Palmer (1929 - ) Famous golfer; born in Latrobe.

Betsy Ross (1752 - 1836) She was reported to have made the first American Flag; lived in Philadelphia.

Andrew Wyeth (1917 - ) Famous painter; born in Chadds Ford.

More Famous People of Pennsylvania

Maxwell Anderson playwright, Atlantic

Samuel Barber composer, West Chester

John Barrymore actor, Philadelphia

Donald Barthelme author, Philadelphia

Stephen Vincent Benet poet, story writer, Bethlehem

Daniel Boone frontiersman, Reading

Mary Cassatt painter, Allegheny

George Catlin indian expert, poet, Wilkes-Barre

Henry Steele Commager historian, Pittsburgh

Stuart Davis painter, Philadelphia

Walter E. Diemer inventor, Philadelphia

Jimmy Dorsey band leader, Shenandoah

Tommy Dorsey band leader, Mahanoy Plane

Oliver Evans inventor, Philadelphia

W. C. Fields comedian, Philadelphia

Stephen Foster composer, Pittsburgh

Robert Fulton inventor, Lancaster County

Henry George economist, Philadelphia

Alexander Haig secretary of state, Bala-Cynwyd

William Edward Hanford inventor, Bristol

Marilyn Horne mezzo-soprano, Bradford

Lee Iacocca auto executive, Allentown

Reggie Jackson baseball player, Wyncote

Gene Kelly dancer, actor, Pittsburgh

Jim Kelly football player, East Brady

Gelsey Kirkland ballerina, Bethlehem

Stephanie Louise Kwolek inventor, New Kensington

S. S. Kresge merchant, Bald Mount

Mario Lanza actor, singer, Philadelphia

Tara Lipinski figure skater, Philadelphia

George C. Marshall five-star general, Uniontown

George McClellan general, Philadelphia

Margaret Mead anthropologist, Philadelphia

Andrew Mellon financier, Pittsburgh

Tom Mix actor, Mix Run

Hezekiah Niles journalist, Jeffers Ford

Arnold Palmer golfer, Youngstown

Robert E. Peary explorer, Cresson

Man Ray painter, photographer, Philadelphia

Mary Roberts Rinehart author, Pittsburgh

B. F. Skinner psychologist, Susquehanna

John Sloan painter, Loch Haven

Gertrude Stein author, Allegheny

James Stewart actor, Indiana

George R. Stibitz inventor, York

John Updike author, Shillington

Honus Wagner baseball player, Carnegie

Fred Waring band leader, Tyrone

Ethel Waters singer, actress, Chester

Anthony Wayne military officer, Waynesboro

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