- Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 - May 22, 1967) was an American poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer, and columnist. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. - Jamie McMurray
James Christopher "Jamie" McMurray (born June 3, 1976 in Joplin, Missouri) is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #26 Crown Royal Irwin Industrial Tools Ford Fusion full-time in the NEXTEL Cup Series with crew chief Larry Carter for Roush Fenway Racing. His teammates are David Ragan (#6 AAA), Greg Biffle (#16 Ameriquest), Matt Kenseth (#17 DeWalt) and Carl Edwards (#99 Office Depot). - Hale Irwin
Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American golfer. He is the uncle of Heath Irwin. Irwin was born in Joplin, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Colorado in 1967, where he was a two-time All-Big Eight defensive back, as well as an academic All-American in football. He won the individual NCAA Division I Championship in golf in 1967 and turned professional the following year. - Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton, or Tom Benton (April 15, 1889 - January 19, 1975) was an American muralist of the Regionalist school. His fluid, almost sculpted paintings showed everyday scenes of the contemporary Midwest, especially bucolic images of pre-industrial farmlands. - George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver saved the South from an economic crisis and possible famine by inventing more than three hundred uses for the peanut, over one hundred uses from the sweet potato, around 75 uses from the pecan and many more from Georgia clay. The new products from those soil-enriching plants allowed Carver to convince Southern farmers to rotate their crops instead of relying entirely on cotton--which was destroying soil and consequently plantations across the region. - Dennis Weaver
William Dennis Weaver (June 4 1924 - February 24 2006) was an Emmy Award-winning actor and was an American television actor, best known for his roles as sidekick Chester Goode from 1955 to 1964 on TV's first "adult Western" "Gunsmoke", as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama "McCloud", which ran from 1970 to 1977, and as the protagonist in Steven Spielberg's feature-length directorial debut, the cult TV movie "Duel" in 1971. - Shayna Richardson
Shayna Richardson (born 1984) is a student skydiver from Joplin, Missouri who made headlines in 2005 after she survived a skydiving accident and fell face first in a parking lot, and later was found to be pregnant. The accident occurred on October 9, 2005 during Richardson's 10th solo jump in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. While it is widely reported in the mainstream media that the accident was the result of equipment malfunction, … - Mrs. Elva Miller
Elva Ruby Connes (October 5, 1907 - July 5, 1997), who recorded under the name Mrs. Elva Miller (and usually simply called "Mrs. Miller"), was an American singer who gained some notoriety in the 1960s for her versions of popular songs like "Moon River", "Monday, Monday", "A Lover's Concerto", and "Downtown" rendered in an untrained, Mermanesque, vibrato-laden voice, often out of tune and off the beat. - Carl Hubbell
Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 - November 21, 1988) was a left-handed screwball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the New York Giants in the National League from 1928 to 1943. - Tony Alamo
Tony Alamo (born Bernie LaZar Hoffman, September 20, 1934 in Joplin, Missouri), is a controversial American preacher, singer, entrepreneur, and religious evangelist. He and his then-wife Susan are best known as the founders of a fundamentalist organization currently known as Tony Alamo Christian Ministries and based in and around Texarkana, United States, and frequently referred to as a cult. - Belle Starr
Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr, better known as Belle Starr (February 5, 1848 - February 3, 1889), was a famous American female outlaw. - Marlin Perkins
Richard Marlin Perkins (March 28, 1905 - June 14, 1986) was a zoologist, best known as a host of the television program "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom." - Gabby Street
Charles Evard "Gabby" Street, also nicknamed "The Old Sarge", was an American catcher, manager, coach and radio broadcaster in Major League Baseball during the first half of the 20th century. As a catcher, he participated in one of the most publicized baseball stunts of the century's first decade. As a manager, he led the St. Louis Cardinals to two National League championships (1930-31) and one world title (1931). And as a broadcaster, he entertained St. - Virgil Hill
Virgil Eugene Hill (born January 18, 1964 Clinton, Missouri) is a Joplin, Missouri fighter partly of Native American heritage, who forged a solid connection between the state of North Dakota and the sport of boxing. - Darrell Porter
Darrell Ray Porter was a former American catcher in Major League Baseball, and one of the first American professional athletes to publicly admit he had a problem with substance abuse. Born in Joplin, Missouri, Porter made his debut on September 2, 1971 with the Milwaukee Brewers at age 19. He was selected to the American League All-Star team in 1974, but had his best years after he was traded in 1976 to the Kansas City Royals, … - Omar Knedlik
Omar Knedlik (1916-1989), is the inventor of the ICEE frozen drink. He was born and raised a poor farm boy in Barnes, Kansas in 1916. Knedlik was a World War II veteran who bought his first ice cream shop after the war. He owned several before moving to Coffeyville, Kansas, where he became the owner of a Dairy Queen in the late-1950's. Knedlik did not have a soda fountain, so he served semi-frozen bottled soft drinks. - Dabbs Greer
Robert William "Dabbs" Greer) was an American character actor who performed many diverse supporting roles in film and television for about 50 years. Greer, a Missouri native, died April 28, 2007 at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena California after a battle with kidney and heart disease. Greer was born in Fairview, Missouri and attended Drury University, where he was a member of Theta Kappa Nu. His Southern voice fitted well in shows featuring rustic characters, … - John Olver
John Walter Olver (born September 3 1936), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1991, representing, a primarily rural district that makes up most of Western Massachusetts. He was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, but has called Amherst, Massachusetts home since 1963. He earned a B.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the age of 18, an M.S. from Tufts University, … - Robert Cummings
Robert Cummings (June 10, 1908 - December 2, 1990), also known as Bob Cummings, was an American motion picture and television actor noted for his fresh faced youthful look which lasted long after he was young. Cummings chiefly performed in comic roles but was effective in his few dramas, especially two Alfred Hitchcock films, "Saboteur" and "Dial M for Murder". Cummings was born in Joplin, Missouri. - Gary Nodler
Gary Nodler (born August 10, 1950) is a Missouri politician currently serving as a Republican in the Missouri State Senate, where he is Assistant Majority Floor Leader. He is a resident of Joplin, Missouri, married to the former Joncee Edwards with one child, Justin. He was raised in Neosho, Missouri, and attended Crowder College and Missouri Southern State University, where he received his B.A. degree in political science. - Harvey Bailey
Harvey John Bailey (August 23, 1887-March 1, 1979), called "The Dean of American Bank Robbers", had a long and successful criminal career. One one the most successful bank robbers during the 1920s, walking off with over one million dollars during that time, Bailey is almost forgotten today. - Jann Carl
Jann Carl is a well-known Los Angeles-based newsreader and, since 1995, correspondent for "Entertainment Tonight". She has also appeared on "Candid Camera" and "America's Next Top Model". She is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism at University of Missouri–Columbia. Ms. Carl is married to David Sears and has two children, Katherine and Matthew - Pattiann Rogers
Pattiann Rogers is an American poet who has published 11 books and received numerous awards, grants and fellowships. She was born in Joplin, Missouri, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri in 1961. She received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Houston in 1981 and is currently on the faculty of the low residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. - William L. Webster
William L. Webster (born September 17, 1953) is an American politician from Missouri. - John Beal
John Beal was a devoutly Roman Catholic actor, who was born James Alexander Bliedung. He began acting in the 1930s, opposite Katharine Hepburn, among others; one of his notable screen appearances was "Les Misérables" (1935). He continued appearing in films during the war years while serving in Special Services as actor and director of Army Air Force camp shows and training films. - Nancy Cruzan
Nancy Beth Cruzan (July 20, 1957-December 26, 1990) was a figure in the right-to-die movement. After an auto accident left her in a persistent vegetative state, her family fought in courts for three years, as far as the U.S. Supreme Court, to have her feeding tube removed. The Court denied the family's request citing lack of evidence of Cruzan's wishes, but the family ultimately prevailed by providing additional evidence. - Harry Craft
Harry Francis Craft (April 19 1915 in Ellisville, Mississippi - August 3 1995 in Conroe, Texas) was a Major League Baseball player and manager. During his playing career, he was an center fielder for the Cincinnati Reds from 1937-1942. Craft attended Mississippi College. - Jane Grant
Jane Grant (1892-1972) was a New York City journalist who co-founded "The New Yorker" with her first husband, Harold Ross. She was born Jeanette Cole Grant in Joplin, Missouri and grew up and went to school in Girard, Kansas. Grant originally trained to be a vocalist. She came to New York City at 16 to pursue singing, but fell into magazine writing, later joining the staff of "The New York Times". - Jack Jewsbury
Jack Jewsbury (born April 13, 1981 in Joplin, Missouri) is an American soccer player, who currently plays midfielder for the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer. Jewsbury played four years of college soccer at Saint Louis University, finishing his career tied for tenth on the school's all-time scoring list with 101 points. Jewsbury was twice named first team All-Conference USA, winning the Conference Player of the Year award as a sophomore. - Pauline Starke
Pauline Starke was an American silent-film actress born in Joplin, Missouri. She made her acting debut appearing as a dance extra in D.W. Griffith's 1916 film "Intolerance". She continued to play bit parts until director Frank Borzage started casting her in leading roles, beginning in 1917. Her first film credit is "A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's Court" (1921). Starke appeared in many films throughout the 1920s, several of them major roles. - Mel Purcell
Mel Purcell (born July 18 1959, in Joplin, Missouri, U.S.A.) is a former World No. 17 tennis player in the ATP tennis rankings. He is the head coach of the Murray State University men's tennis team. Purcell's finest moment was when he reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1983. - Percy Wenrich
Percy Wenrich (January 23, 1880 - March 17, 1952) was a United States composer of ragtime and popular music. Born in Joplin, Missouri, he left for Chicago in 1901 and moved on to New York City around 1907 to work as a Tin Pan Alley composer, but his music retains a Missouri folk flavor. - Donn Clendenon
Donn Alvin Clendenon was a first baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1961 through 1972, Clendenon played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1961-68), Montreal Expos (1969[start]), New York Mets (1969[end]-1971) and St. Louis Cardinals (1972). A native of Neosho, Missouri, he batted and threw right handed. In a 12-season career, Clendenon posted a .274 batting average with 159 home runs and 682 RBI in 1362 games. - Charles Mosier
Charles Mosier (March 23, 1941-July 28, 2006) was the General Bishop of the Pentecostal Church of God based in Joplin, Missouri from 2005 until his death of cancer in 2006. - John Whitby Allen
John Whitby Allen was an American model railroader who created the famous HO scale Gorre & Daphetid model railroad in Monterey, California and authored numerous magazine articles on the subject starting in the 1940s. Allen was renowned for his skill at scratch building and creating scenery, and he pioneered the technique of weathering his models to make them look old and more realistic. Besides his superdetailing of rolling stock, structures, and scenery, … - Thomas E. Creek
Thomas E. Creek (1950-1969) was a United States Marine who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during February 1969 in Vietnam. Creek was born on 7 April 1950, in Joplin, Missouri. He grew up in Amarillo, Texas, and attended Forest Hill Elementary School, Horace Mann Jr. High School, and Palo Duro High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on 16 January 1968. He completed recruit training with the 1st Recruit Training Battalion, … - William Holmes Crosby Jr.
William Holmes Crosby (December 1, 1914 - January 15, 2005) is considered by many to be one of the founding fathers of modern hematology. He published more the 450 peer-reviewed papers in the field, as well as those of oncology, gastroenterology, iron metabolism, nutrition and general medical practice. In addition he was an inventor and published translator of poetry. - Victor J. Miller
Victor J. Miller was the thirty-seventh Mayor of Saint Louis, serving from 1925 to 1933. Miller grew up in Joplin and attended the University of Missouri. He graduated from Washington University law school, and began practicing law in St. Louis. In 1921, Governor Arthur M. Hyde appointed Miller President of the St. Louis Police Board. When he took office, the force included only six African-American officers--Negro specials--who were not allowed to wear uniforms. - Brandon Vogt
Brandon Vogt (born November 5, 1977) is an American broadcaster, radio and TV presenter and actor. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University. - Langston Hughes
I born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902. American literature writer. My parent got divorced. My father moved to mexico, and my mother to Lincoln, Illinois I had moved to Mexico City to live with his father. I graduate from Central High in Clevland Attended Columbia University trying to achieve an engineering degree. But because of his father he resign from Columbia in 1922. Begins his world travel, 1 year later.
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