Quickly accessible, concise information about each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia!
Iowa
People
Every state of the Union has given birth to people who have left a lasting impression on our history and culture. The following native Iowans have played distinctive roles.
Born in Iowa
| Famous Iowans | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Born / Died | Place | ||||
| Bess Streeter Aldrich
Author |
Born: | February 17, 1881 | Cedar Falls | |||
| Died: | August 3, 1954 | Lincoln, Neb. | ||||
| Adrian Constantine "Cap" Anson
Baseball player, manager |
Born: | April 11, 1852 | Marshalltown | |||
| Died: | April 14, 1922 | Chicago, Ill. | ||||
| Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke
Musician, jazz coronet, jazz & classical pianist |
Born: | March 10, 1903 | Davenport | |||
| Died: | August 6, 1931 | New York, N.Y. | ||||
| Norman Ernest Borlaug
Nobel Prize-winning agricultural scientist |
Born: | March 25, 1914 | Cresco | |||
| Died: | DEATHDATE | DEATHPLACE | ||||
| Donald Lewis Campbell
Chemical engineer |
Born: | August 5, 1904 | Clinton | |||
| Died: | September 14, 2002 | Brick, N.J. | ||||
| Wallace Hume Carothers
Oragnic chemist |
Born: | April 27, 1896 | Burlington | |||
| Died: | April 29, 1937 | Philadelphia, Penn. | ||||
| John William "Johnny" Carson
Tonight show host, actor, comedian, writer |
Born: | October 23, 1925 | Corning | |||
| Died: | January 23, 2005 | Los Angeles, Calif. | ||||
| William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody
Soldier, buffalo hunter, showman, Medal of Honor winner |
Born: | February 26, 1846 | Scott County | |||
| Died: | January 10, 1917 | Denver, Colo. | ||||
| Gardner Cowles Jr.
Publisher, banker |
Born: | Jan. 31, 1903 | Algona | |||
| Died: | July 8, 1985 | Southampton, N.Y. | ||||
| Lee De Forest
Inventor |
Born: | August 26, 1873 | Council Bluffs | |||
| Died: | June 30, 1961 | Hollywood, Calif. | ||||
| William Edwards Deming
Statistician, college professor, author, lecturer, consultant |
Born: | October 14, 1900 | Sioux City | |||
| Died: | December 20, 1993 | Washington, D.C. | ||||
| Morgan Seth Earp
Lawman, police officer |
Born: | April 24, 1851 | Pella | |||
| Died: | March 18, 1882 | Tombstone, Ariz. | ||||
| Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower
First lady |
Born: | November 14, 1896 | Boone | |||
| Died: | November 1, 1979 | Wasington, D.C. | ||||
| Simon Estes
Bass-baritone |
Born: | February 2, 1938 | Centerville | |||
| Died: | DEATHDATE | DEATHPLACE | ||||
| Robert William Andrew "Bob" Feller
Baseball player |
Born: | November 3, 1918 | Van Meter | |||
| Died: | DEATHDATE | DEATHPLACE | ||||
| William Clement Frawley
Actor |
Born: | February 26, 1887 | Burlington | |||
| Died: | March 3, 1966 | Hollywood, Calif. | ||||
| George Horace Gallup
Statistician, pollster |
Born: | November 18, 1901 | Jefferson | |||
| Died: | July 26, 1984 | Tschingel, Switzerland | ||||
| Susan Keating Glaspell
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, novelist |
Born: | July 1, 1876 | Davenport | |||
| Died: | July 27, 1948 | Provincetown, Mass. | ||||
| Janet Guthrie
Race car driver, pilot, flight instructor, aerospace engineer |
Born: | March 7, 1938 | Iowa City | |||
| Died: | DEATHDATE | DEATHPLACE | ||||
| James Norman Hall
Author |
Born: | April 22, 1887 | Colfax | |||
| Died: | July 5, 1951 | Arue Tahiti | ||||
| Herbert Clark Hoover
President of the United States, mining engineer |
Born: | August 10, 1874 | West Branch | |||
| Died: | October 20, 1964 | New York, N.Y. | ||||
| MacKinlay Kantor
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, newspaperman, screenwriter |
Born: | February 4, 1904 | Webster City | |||
| Died: | October 11, 1977 | Sarasota, Fla. | ||||
| Ann Landers (2)
(Esther "Eppie" Pauline Friedman Lederer) Advice columnist |
Born: | July 4, 1918 | Sioux City | |||
| Died: | June 22, 2002 | Chicago, Ill. | ||||
| Cloris Leachman
Actress |
Born: | April 30, 1926 | Des Moines | |||
| Died: | DEATHDATE | DEATHPLACE | ||||
| William Daniel Leahy
U.S. Navy Fleet Admiral |
Born: | May 6, 1875 | Hampton | |||
| Died: | July 20, 1959 | Bethesda, Md. | ||||
| John Llewellyn Lewis
Labor leader |
Born: | February 12, 1880 | Lucas | |||
| Died: | June 11, 1969 | Alexandria, Va. | ||||
| Glenn Luther Martin
Aviation pioneer |
Born: | January 17, 1886 | Macksburg | |||
| Died: | December 5, 1955 | Baltimore, Md. | ||||
| Jerry Mathers
Actor |
Born: | June 2, 1948 | Sioux City | |||
| Died: | DEATHDATE | DEATHPLACE | ||||
| Elsa Maxwell
Gossip columnist, author, songwriter, hostess |
Born: | May 24, 1883 | Keokuk | |||
| Died: | November 1, 1963 | New York, N.Y. | ||||
| Frederick Louis Maytag
Businessman, founder of Maytag Company |
Born: | July 14, 1857 | Cook County | |||
| Died: | March 26, 1937 | Beverly Hills, Calif. | ||||
| Harriet Nelson
(Peggy Lou Snyder) Singer, actress |
Born: | July 18, 1909 | Des Moines | |||
| Died: | October 2, 1994 | Laguna Beach, Calif. | ||||
| Alton Glenn Miller
Jazz musician, bandleader |
Born: | March 1, 1904 | Clarinda | |||
| Died: | Presumed December 15, 1944 | Over the English Channel | ||||
| Nathan Marsh Pusey
Educator, college president |
Born: | April 4, 1907 | Council Bluffs | |||
| Died: | November 14, 2001 | New York, N.Y. | ||||
| David William Rabe
Playwright, screenwriter |
Born: | March 10, 1940 | Dubuque | |||
| Died: | DEATHDATE | DEATHPLACE | ||||
| Harry Reasoner
Journalist, commentator |
Born: | April 17, 1923 | Dakota City | |||
| Died: | August 6, 1991 | Westport, Conn. | ||||
| Donna Reed
(born Donna Belle Mullenger) Actress |
Born: | January 27, 1921 | Near Denison | |||
| Died: | January 14, 1986 | beverly Hills, Calif. | ||||
| George Reeves
(born George Keefer Brewer) Actor |
Born: | January 5, 1914 | Woolstock | |||
| Died: | June 16, 1959 | Los Angeles, Calif. | ||||
| Lillian Russell
(born Helen Louise Leonard) Actress, singer |
Born: | December 4, 1860 | Clinton | |||
| Died: | June 6, 1922 | Pittsburgh, Penn. | ||||
| Wallace Earle Stegner
Historian, writer, environmentalist |
Born: | February 18, 1909 | Lake Mills | |||
| Died: | April 13, 1993 | Sante Fe, N.M. | ||||
| William Ashley "Billy" Sunday, Sr.
Baseball player, evangelist |
Born: | November 19, 1862 | Ames | |||
| Died: | November 5, 1935 | Chicago, Ill. | ||||
| James Alfred Van Allen
Nuclear physicist, space scientist |
Born: | September 7, 1914 | Mount Pleasant | |||
| Died: | August 9, 2006 | Iowa City | ||||
| Abigail Van Buren
(Pauline Esther Friedman Phillips) Columnist |
Born: | July 4, 1918 | BIRTHPLACE | |||
| Died: | DEATHDATE | DEATHPLACE | ||||
| Henry Agard Wallace
Farmer, Agricultural pioneer, Vice President, Presidential nominee |
Born: | October 7, 1888 | Near Orient | |||
| Died: | November 18, 1965 | Danbury, Conn. | ||||
| John Wayne
(born Marion Robert Morrison) Actor |
Born: | May 26, 1907 | Winterset | |||
| Died: | June 11, 1979 | Los Angeles, Calif. | ||||
| Peggy Annette Whitson
NASA Astronaut, biochemist |
Born: | February 9, 1960 | Mt. Ayr | |||
| Died: | DEATHDATE | DEATHPLACE | ||||
| Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams
Singer |
Born: | December 3, 1927 | Wall Lake | |||
| Died: | DEATHDATE | DEATHPLACE | ||||
| Robert Meredith Willson
(born Robert Meredith Reiniger) Composer, playwright, musician |
Born: | May 18, 1902 | Mason City | |||
| Died: | June 15, 1984 | Santa Monica, Calif. | ||||
| Grant DeVolson Wood
Artist |
Born: | February 13, 1891 | Anamosa | |||
| Died: | February 12, 1942 | Iowa City | ||||
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