15 Famous Tennesseans You Should Definitely Know About

The US state of Tennessee is a state with numerous famous people.

From Hollywood up to the fields of science, Tennessee has contributed its citizens in every department. The list seems to be exceptionally long and unending.

Prominent men serving the United States were born in Tennessee. While it might appear the list will continue forever, some significant personalities have to be named.

For example, Davy Crockett, born in the river valleys of east Tennessee in Limestone, was a celebrated folk hero of 19th century Americans in American history. He was a politician and a soldier who represented the United States in the US House of Representatives and served in the Texas Revolution.

Famous as 'King of the Wild Frontier,' Crockett died in the Battle of Almo.

After becoming the Colonel in the Lawrence City, Davy Crockett was raised to Tennessee state legislature. He openly criticized the policies of President Andrew Jackson, which led to his defeat in the 1835 elections.

In the entertainment field, we have famous people like Aretha Franklin. Aretha Franklin was notable for being the first female singer to be included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

This American singer and songwriter was known as the 'Queen of Soul.' She won eighteen Grammy Awards to date for her music, including the Lifetime Achievement Grammy and the Living Legend Grammy. She was the only singer to sing at the honorary occasion of the inauguration ceremony of President Barrack Obama.

To know more famous people of Tenessee, keep on reading this article.

History Of Tennessee

Tennessee is a US state that was initially a part of North Carolina but later became one of the Southwest Territories. The state is also known to many as the Volunteer State since the War of 1812 for the efforts of the Tennesseans in the war.

Tennessee remained with the Native American tribes up to the 16th century till the French and the Spanish did not go out to explore America. After the American Revolutionary War, the state became a part of the North Carolina territory until the subsequent ratification of the Constitution of the United States in 1789.

Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy and the first state to be assigned to the Union after the war. Tennessee gave rise to the second largest soldier base during the war.

Tennessee transformed into a more diversified economy in the 20th century from a primarily agrarian society. The world's first atomic bomb was built with Tennessee's electric supply.

Famous Tennessee Athletes

Knowing about the popular athletes of Tennessee will amaze you.

Wilma Rudolph won the Gold medal in the categories of 100 m, 200 m, and 4X100 m relay race at the 1960 Olympics.

Tracy Caulkins won 48 national titles between 1974-1978, three gold medals in 84 Olympics, and set five world records.

Pat Summit was one of the most successful women's college basketball coaches and ranked second in all-time wins.

Charles McTorry from Overton County is one of the few high school wrestlers with over 200 wins. He won the 171st oz national high school wrestling competition in 1996.

Famous Tennessee Leaders

The leaders of Tennessee paved the way for the betterment of the state. The manes of some of them are given below.

The first elected woman senator, Hattie Caraway, was born in Bakerville, Tennessee. Hattie was the first elected woman senator ever to serve the country, and she represented Arkansas.

She was the first woman elected to preside over the state. Hattie won the full-term election with immense support from senator Huey Long.

She had a reputation as an honest senator but rarely spoke on the floor or made speeches. For this reason, the media gave her the name the 'quiet grandmother' who never said anything or did anything or the Silent Hattie.

Victor Ashe was a political leader born in Knoxville who later became the mayor of Knoxville. He was the US Ambassador to Poland. Ashe's term as the mayor of Knoxville lasted from 1987 to 2004. He was a Republican whose service as the Ambassador to Poland concluded in 2009.

Sam Davis, known as the Boy Hero of the Confederacy, was also born in Tennessee. Davis played an important role in the Confederate army and served in combat battles during the American Civil War.

He fought as a brave soldier in the army from 1861 to 1863 and was executed on suspicion of the Union army only seven days after being captured.

The first American Admiral, David G. Farragut, also held the office of the flag officer of the US Navy during the historical American Civil War. He was born in Knoxville, near the east of Campbell's Station, and became the first rear admiral, and subsequently, vice and full admiral.

He is famous for his command of the US Navy at Mobile Bay. The first American admiral was the foster child of Captain David Porter and foster brother of Commodore William D. Porter and Civil War Admiral David Dixon.

The American Civil Rights leader Benjamin Lawson Hooks served as the executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) till 1992. He also campaigned vocally throughout his career to preach about civil rights to the citizens of the United States.

Later, the NAACP created an award in honor of Benjamin Hooks, which was given to people who showed efforts to promote equal opportunity for everyone. The public library of Memphis is named after Hooks.

Famous Tennessee In Art & Literature

From a very young age, the American writer and poet James Agee established himself as an influential author. His father met a tragic end in an automobile accident, leaving behind him and his sister at a very young age.

Agee was not only a known author, but he also tried his luck in screenwriting, journalism, and as a film critique.

By the 1940s, he became one of the most influential film critiques in the United States. Agee won the Pulitzer Prize for writing the autobiography 'A Death in the Family' in 1957.

Holding the office for the 45th Vice President of the United States, Albert Arnold Gore Jr. was born in Tennessee. He was a politician and environmentalist and served as the Vice President from 1993-2001 during the Clinton Administration.

George Bush defeated Gore in the Presidential election of 2000 by a very small margin. He served as the senator of his birth state and was a representative of Tennessee from 1977-1985.

After his term ended, Gore remained an author and an environmental activist. His efforts also earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

Helen Smith is a forensic psychologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. She specializes in the department of violent kids and adults and writes about the causes behind such psychologies. She is the author of books like  'The Scarred Heart,' 'Men on Strike,' 'American Dream,' and 'Fatherhood.'

Famous Tennessee In Medicine

Dr. Patrick was the first white physician in Tennessee who moved to Tennessee during the American Revolution in 1754. Years later, Dr. Elkannah R. Dulaney joined Dr. Vance in Tennessee in 1799.

He ignited the aspirations of the people of Tennessee to become physicians, and by the time his son was born, several physicians showed interest in the community. Dr. James Cozby was the first physician of Knoxville.

An exceptionally well-trained doctor, Dr. James White, was later succeeded by the brothers Dr. Mark B. Sappington and Dr. John Sappington.

The Medical Society of Tennessee was formed in 1830, and it was started by 47 physicians of the state. Dr. James Roane was elected as the first president of the society, and at that time, Tennessee had an account of 151 physicians.

Currently, the most significant problem that perils Tennessee in the field of providing good health care at a reasonable price. It ranks 46th among 50 states of the United States in terms of health care which makes it one of the worst in the United States.

Famous Tennessee In Science

The computer scientist Marl Dean was born in Jefferson City. The computer engineer led the team that invented the first gigahertz processor chip and developed the ISA Bus.

Three out of nine PC patents belong to this computer engineer. Mark Dean was also the co-creator of the first IBM personal computer, and in 1995, he became the first African-American fellow of IBM.

Zane Birdwell was an audio engineer from Tennessee who was tributed with a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album at the 52nd Annual Grammy Award. He engineered an audiobook on Michael J.

Fox's memoir, 'Always Looking Up.' He has also engineered audiobooks for personalities like Taya Kyle,  Paul Shaffer, and Wally Lamb. He was the sound and audio engineer for  New World Stages and stageFARM.

The American scholar Irvine W. Grote was a chemist who was recognized for developing the counter medicines of Bufferin and Rolaids. He developed an antacid buffer and John C. Krantz while working in Chattanooga Medicine Company and sold the product to Bristol Mayors Co.

This chemical later became famous as Bufferin in the entire world. He served as the scientific advisor of Chattanooga Medicine Company between 1941-1972.

Weston Fulton was a meteorologist and an inventor who is known for inventing the Sylphon. The Sylphon is a device that is commonly used in temperature control devices such as switches and thermostats.

He also invented the automatic river gauge, and his development of the depth charge during World War I contributed primarily to winning the World War. His company named Fulton Bellows still runs in Knoxville.

Famous Tennessee In Entertainment

Some known personalities of pop culture from Tennessee are shared below.

Morgan Freeman- The evergreen and famous actor and film director, Morgan Freeman's birthplace is Memphis in Tennessee. He is extremely popular all over the world for his authoritative dialogue delivery and is also a great narrator.

Freeman received an Academy Award in 2005 for his role in 'Million Dollar Baby.'

He played significant roles in very popular Hollywood movies such as 'The Shawshank Redemption,' for which he received an Academy Award nomination, 'The Dark Knight,' 'Driving Miss Daisy,' 'Bruce Almighty,' 'Batman Begins,' and 'Lean On Me.' The famous actor also received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Eddy Arnold- The country music star Richard Edward Arnold who goes by the name Eddy Arnold performed for six decades. Standing at second position after George Jones, Arnold had 147 songs on the Billboard Magazine music charts throughout his career.

He initiated a revolution in country music genres and experimented with different musical tastes.

He ranked 22nd in the list of 40 Greatest Men of Country Music and has been a celebrated member of the Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame. Eddy Arnold was popular by the nickname Tennessee Plowboy since, as a child, he used to help on the farm.

Chet Atkins- Chet Atkins is an American guitarist and record producer who created the Nashville sound, a smoother version of country music, and Owen Bradley. Atkins produced records for some of the biggest musicians of Hollywood like Elvis Presley, Eddy Arnold, Perry Como, Jin Reeves, Connie Smith, and many others.

He holds a record of winning fourteen Grammy Awards and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lester Flatt- Lester Flatt was a bluegrass musician who belonged to Overton County in Tennessee. He started his career in the bluegrass music industry in 1945 with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys.

Later he formed other bands and majorly focused on performing bluegrass music. Flatt played the role of a lead singer and rhythm guitarist in each band, and his music defines the traditional bluegrass music of America.

Flatt, along with his fellow bandmate Scrugg was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His hometown Sparta also held a bluegrass music festival each year until a few years back to honor the bluegrass musician.