List of people from Augusta, Georgia

The city of Augusta, Georgia, the largest city and the county seat of Richmond County, Georgia, is the birthplace and home of several notable individuals. This is a list of people from Augusta, Georgia and includes people who were born or lived in Augusta for a nontrivial amount of time. Individuals included in this listing are people presumed to be notable because they have received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject.

Augusta was first used by Native Americans as a place to cross the Savannah River, because of Augusta's location on the fall line. The city was the second state capital of Georgia from 1785 until 1795 (alternating for a period with Savannah, the first).

Actors

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Photo Name Notes References
  Quinton Aaron Actor (Michael Oher in The Blind Side)
  Laurence Fishburne Actor (Morpheus in The Matrix trilogy)
  Hulk Hogan Actor, professional wrestler; born in Augusta, raised in Tampa, Florida
  Kathryn McCormick Step Up Revolution actress, So You Think You Can Dance contestant/All-Star
  Butterfly McQueen Actress (Prissy in Gone with the Wind)
  Danielle Panabaker Actress
  Khary Payton Actor (Cyborg in Teen Titans, appeared in General Hospital) [1]
Faith Prince Actor
Shay Roundtree Actor (Drumline, Law and Order, Everybody Hates Chris, Kingpin)
  Catherine Taber Actress
  Dub Taylor Character actor

Arts and design

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Photo Name Notes References
Joseph Haygood Blodgett Architect and builder [2]
  Jasper Johns Artist
Amos Mac Photographer
  Jessye Norman Opera singer
Mary Telfair Art collector, philanthropist

Athletics

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Photo Name Notes References
William Avery Professional basketball player
Kendrell Bell Professional football player in the NFL
  Mike Bobo Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Georgia Bulldogs
  Emerson Boozer Former running back for New York Jets
  Bennie Briscoe Professional boxer
William "Happy Humphrey" Cobb Professional wrestler
  Luis Campusano Catcher for the San Diego Padres
William Cunningham Professional basketball player
Chick Donovan Professional wrestler; born in LaGrange, grew up in Augusta
Charles "Chuck" Evans NFL player for the Baltimore Ravens
Vernon Forrest World champion boxer
Bill Fulcher Coach and NFL player
  Deon Grant NFL player (New York Giants)
  Todd Greene Baseball player
  Ray Guy Retired NFL player
  Arnold Harrison Football player, currently with UFL's Virginia Destroyers
  Charles Howell III Professional golfer
Leroy Irvin Professional football player
Beau Jack World champion boxer
  Jimmie Johnson NFL player, tight ends coach for the Minnesota Vikings
  Bailie Key Gymnast, Junior U.S. National Champion 2013
Macay McBride MLB player for Detroit Tigers
  Taj McWilliams-Franklin WNBA player (Minnesota Lynx)
  Larry Mize Professional golfer; winner of the 1987 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club
  Chad Mottola MLB player for Cincinnati Reds
Chase Parker Golfer on mini-tours, made cut at 2016 U.S. Open
Kyle Parker Quarterback for Clemson University
Jamal Reynolds Defensive end for the Florida State Seminoles and Green Bay Packers
  Carlos Rogers Professional football player for San Francisco 49ers
Jeff Sanders Professional basketball player
Vaughn Taylor Professional golfer; member of the United States team in the 2006 Ryder Cup
  Herschel Walker Professional football player; won the Heisman Trophy in 1982 and played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons
  Ken Whisenhunt Head coach of Arizona Cardinals
Rayonta Whitfield Professional boxer, former world title challenger
Jonathan Williams Professional football player in CFL
  Paul Williams Professional boxer, former WBO welterweight world champion
  Devonte Upson Basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
  James Webb III Basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

Education

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Photo Name Notes References
Ignatius Alphonso Few Methodist clergyman, founder of Emory University [3]
  John Wesley Gilbert African American trailblazer, archaeologist, clergyman [4]
  John Hope Educator, founding member of the Niagara Movement
  Isaac S. Hopkins Former professor and first President of Georgia Tech
David M. Potter Pulitzer Prize-winning professor at Stanford University

Literature and journalism

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Photo Name Notes References
Rod Beaton Sports journalist for USA Today [5]
  Stephen Vincent Benét Writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet [6]
  Maria Louise Eve Poet
Elle and Blair Fowler YouTube beauty gurus and writers
  Augustus Baldwin Longstreet Lawyer, Methodist clergyman, and humorist [3]
  Tom Poland Author
  Abram Joseph Ryan Poet
Corbett Thigpen Psychiatrist; co-author of the internationally popular nonfiction book The Three Faces of Eve [6]
Frank Yerby Novelist

African American pioneers

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Photo Name Notes References
  Lucy Craft Laney Opened the first school for black children in Augusta; namesake of Lucy Craft Laney High School and the Lucy Laney Black History Museum
Ed McIntyre First African American mayor of Augusta

Military

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Photo Name Notes References
  Raymond O. Barton Major general, US 4th Infantry Division commander on D-Day and Battle of the Hurtgen Forest
  Archibald Butt Military aide to U.S. Presidents Roosevelt and Taft; died on the RMS Titanic; namesake of the Butt Memorial Bridge
  William P. Duvall U.S. Army major general; retired to Augusta [7]
  Aquilla James "Jimmie" Dyess USMC lieutenant colonel, posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II; one of only nine known Eagle Scouts to receive the Medal of Honor; the only American to receive both the Carnegie Medal for civilian heroism and the Medal of Honor
  Lafayette McLaws Major general of the Confederate Army, American Civil War [3]
  Montgomery C. Meigs Quartermaster General of United States Army during the American Civil War [3]
  Edwin A. Pollock General, United States Marines
  George D. Shea Major general, United States Army [8][9][10][11]
  Joseph Wheeler United States Army general in the Spanish–American War
  James Longstreet Confederate general of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee

Music

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Photo Name Notes References
  James Brown Soul musician, bandleader, songwriter, dancer, and record producer who was a major figure of 20th century music, often referred to as the "Godfather of Soul",[12] and, in his over 50-year career, influenced the development of several music genres;[13] namesake of James Brown Blvd. and the James Brown Arena [6]
  Anna Gardner Goodwin Composer of marches and religious music, born in Augusta
Terri Gibbs Country and western singer
  Wycliffe Gordon Jazz trombonist
  Amy Grant Singer-songwriter; born in Augusta; her family soon moved to Nashville, Tennessee [14]
Ben Hayslip Country music songwriter; Grammy-nominated; two-time ASCAP Songwriter of the Year; winner of four Triple Play Awards for three number one songs in a 12-month span
  Dave Haywood Singer-songwriter; member of popular band Lady A
  Sharon Jones Singer
  Charles Kelley Singer-songwriter; member of popular band Lady A
  Josh Kelley Musician
  Steve Morse Guitarist
  Jessye Norman Opera singer; namesake of Riverwalk Augusta's Jessye Norman Amphitheatre [6]

Politics and government

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Photo Name Notes References
  Ben S. Bernanke Federal Reserve chairman
  Darrell Blocker CIA agent, nicknamed "The Spy Whisperer" [15]
  Alfred Cumming First governor of Utah territory [3]
  William Henry Fleming Politician and lawyer
James Myles Hinton Civil rights leader, NAACP leader, businessperson, minister
  Craig T. James Politician
Seaborn Jones United States Congressman from Georgia [3]
  George Walton Signer of the United States Declaration of Independence
  Ansley Wilcox Lawyer and civil service commissioner
  Woodrow Wilson Twenty-eighth President of the United States

Radio and television personalities

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Photo Name Notes References
  Dan Miller Journalist, TV personality
  Judy Woodruff Television news anchor and journalist

Science and technology

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Photo Name Notes References
Hervey M. Cleckley Psychiatrist
Roland A. Steiner Archaeologist
  Susan Still Kilrain Retired United States Naval officer and NASA astronaut

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Internet Movie Database entry for Khary Payton
  2. ^ "Joseph Haygood Blodgett," African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945 ed. Dreck Spurlock Wilson (New York: Routledge, 2004): 58-60.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
  4. ^ D. W. Culp (ed)Twentieth Century Negro Literature, Or, A Cyclopedia of Thought on the Vital Topics Relating to the American Negro J. L. NICHOLS & CO., 1902, pp 190. Released as an ebook on July 6, 2006 EBook #18772 by The Project Gutenberg
  5. ^ Schudel, Matt (July 16, 2011). "Rod Beaton, USA Today sportswriter, dies at 59". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved January 12, 2022.; Schudel, Matt (July 23, 2011). "Sportswriter was part of original staff of USA Today". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 11. 
  6. ^ a b c d Edward J. Cashin: Augusta, Georgia from the New Georgia Encyclopedia Online (2007-02-19). Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
  7. ^ Thayer, Bill (March 28, 2014). "William Penn Duvall in Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, Volumes III-VI". Bill Thayer's Web Site. Chicago, IL: Bill Thayer. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  8. ^ U.S. Army Adjutant General (1952). Official Army Register. Vol. I. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 64 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "Veterans Mature, No Problem, New Barracks Chief Says". St. Louis Star-Times. St. Louis, MO. June 14, 1945. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Sylvan, William C.; Smith, Francis G. (2008). Greenwood, John T. (ed.). Normandy to Victory: The War Diary of General Courtney H. Hodges & the First U.S. Army. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky. p. 396. ISBN 978-0-8131-3866-4 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "Illness Fatal to W. T. Shea At Sanitarium". The Macon News. Macon, GA. April 18, 1945. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Doran, John (28 October 2015). "James Brown – 10 of the Best". The Guardian. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  13. ^ Wiegand, D. (December 26, 2006). James Brown: 1933–2006 – Godfather of Soul Changed Music at Frenetic Pace. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
  14. ^ "Country Music – Music News, New Songs, Videos, Music Shows and Playlists from CMT". Archived from the original on January 19, 2004.
  15. ^ Kampeas, Ron (December 10, 2020). "Darrell Blocker, the Black, Jewish 'spy whisperer' who could lead Biden's CIA". The Times of Israel.
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  • Cedar Grove cemetery — historic black cemetery (includes gravesite photos and information on Augustans interred there)