Top 10 Famous people from Georgia

Top 10 Famous people from Georgia

The state of Georgia dates back to 1733 when it was established. Georgia is in the southeastern region of the US.

It is often referred to as The Empire State of the South since it is the largest state east of the Mississippi River. This state has the 8^th largest population in the United States.

Georgia is known for pecans, peanuts, and Vidalia onions. These onions are said to be the sweetest in the entire world.

Other than farm produce, Georgia is home to some of the famous personalities in the world. These people have made a name both at home and beyond.

There are talented musicians, innovators, scientists, athletes, entertainers, politicians,

Some of these prominent figures grew up in Georgia while some moved to different states where they excelled.

Julia Roberts, Dakota Fanning, Chloe Grace are some famous people that come from Georgia. There are more of them.

Here are the top 10 famous people from Georgia.

1. Jimmy Carter – 39^th President of the United States

Photo sourced from Wikimedia

The 39^th president of the United States came from the State of Georgia. In 2019, Carter became the first U.S. president to live to the age of 95. He is known for his strong opposition to the death penalty.

His fight against the death penalty bore fruit when the State of New Mexico abolished the death penalty in 2009.

This, he expressively stated during his presidential campaigns. Carter is the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize.

The award was for his untiring efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts while advancing democracy and human rights.

After retiring as president, Carter spent his time negotiating for peace, monitoring elections, and advancing e disease prevention in developing countries.

 He is regarded as a key figure in the charity Habitat for Humanity.

2. Joel Chandler Harris – Journalist

Joel Harris is best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. He was born in Eatonton, Georgia.

Harris worked as an apprentice on a plantation as a teenager and spent most of his adult years in Atlanta. While in Atlanta, he worked as an associate editor at The Atlanta Constitution.

While he was not performing his journalistic and editorial work, Harris worked as a fiction writer. His first work of fiction was on Brer Rabbit stories from the African-American oral tradition.

He has several novels, narrative histories, translations of French folklore, children’s literature in his name. Most of his stories depicted his rural upbringing in Georgia.

Joel also covered the changing social and economic values in the South during Reconstruction in his writing.

3. Martin Luther King Jr. – Civil Rights Activist

Photo sourced from WikiCommons

Martin Luther King Jr. has to be one of the most famous people from Georgia. He is fondly remembered for his I Have a Dream Speech that he delivered at Washington in 1963.

His last speech, in 1968, was I Have Beet To the Mountaintops that he delivered at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. He was assassinated the following day.

King was a powerful orator who was passionate about fighting for economic rights and putting an end to racism in the United States. He endeavoured to see all Americans had equal rights.

He was also a Baptist minister and served at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. This was a family calling, his grandfather served as a minister in the same church and so did Martin Luther King Sr.

Martin Luther King (MLK) Day is observed every year on 17^th January. This is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service. The day seeks to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.

4. Little Richard – Musician

Photo by Anna Bleker – Wikimedia

Richard Wayne Penniman, better known as Little Richard, was an influential figure in popular music and culture for over seven decades.

Little Richard integrated the sacred shouts of the black church with and the sacrilegious sounds of the blues.

The merge of these sounds created some of the world’s first and most influential rock ‘n’ roll records.

His first single was Tutti Frutti released in 1956. That same year he released two other hits Long Tall Sally” and “Rip It Up.

In the subsequent years, Little Richard released Lucille and Good Golly Miss Molly.

Richard’s music had simple pumping piano infused with vocal exclamations and sexiness.

Little Richard died when he was 87.

5. Ye – Rapper & Businessman

You know him by his birth name Kanye West. Ye is widely regarded as one of the most influential rappers of all time. He is an outspoken artist who has drawn controversy because of his statements.

His comments on politics, fashion, music, religion and race have raised divided remarks from his allies and critics.

Known as a businessman with non-conventional designs, Ye has collaborated with big brands such as Nike, Louis Vuitton, The Gap, and A.P.C. on clothing and footwear.

Ye’s attempt to vie for the top seat in the United States, the President, in 2020 was unsuccessful. He was running on an independent ticket.

He is a father of four: North West, Psalm West, Chicago West and Saint West.

6. Juliette Gordon Low – Girls’ Scout Founder

Juliette Gordon Low (centre) with two other girl scouts. Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Juliette Gordon Low was the founder of Girl Scouts of the USA. She was inspired by the work of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of Boy Scouts.

Growing up, Juliette loved art and poetry more than she did her school work. Together with her cousin, they started a newspaper called The Malbone Bouquet.

Most of her poetry was featured in this newspaper. She also wrote and performed plays.

Gordon joined the Girl Guide movement in England and later formed her group of Girl Guides there in 1911.

The Girl Scouts of America was officially established in 1912 with a group of 18 girls in Savannah.

Today, the Girls Scout has an estimated fifty million members worldwide.

7. Margaret Mitchell – Novelist

Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was a novelist and journalist who published only one novel.

The popular novel, Gone with the Wind, won the National Book Award for Most Distinguished Novel of 1936 and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937.

Her inspiration to write was sparked after she broke her ankle. This led to her being immobile for some time. It was then that she took up writing.

Her first and only novel, Gone With the Wind was published in 1936 making her an instant celebrity.

Margaret also served as a volunteer for the American Red Cross and she raised money for the war effort by selling war bonds.

8. Julia Roberts – Actress

Photo by GabboT – Wikimedia

Julia Roberts is an Academy Award-winning actress and one of Hollywood’s top stars. She is famously known for her white smile and leading roles in the movies Steel Magnolias, Pretty Woman and Erin Brockovich.

In most of the 90s, Julia was the world’s highest-paid actress. This extended to the early 2000s.

Her leading role in Pretty Woman (1990) earned her $300,000. In 2003, she was cast for Mona Lisa Smile and was paid $25 million.

The People magazine named her the most beautiful woman in the world a record five times. Roberts is also a philanthropist and a feminist who has worked with UNICEF.

9. Flannery O’Conner – Novelist

Mary Flannery O’Connor has written two novels and thirty-two short stories. She has also contributed to several reviews and commentaries.

Her work was written in a sarcastic Southern Gothic style and painted grotesque characters involved in violent situations from the southern region.

Most of her characters portrayed unsentimental acceptance or rejection that typically underpinned the drama.

She also included her Roman Catholic faith in her writing and often questioned morality and ethics.

She supported President John F. Kennedy as well as the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement.

10. Alice Walker – Novelist

Photo by Virginia DeBolt – Wikimedia

Alice is an African-American novelist, poet and activist. Her bestselling novel The Colour Purple won the 1982 Pulitzer Prize. It was made into a film in 1985.

Walker writes about her travel experience in Africa and memories of the American civil rights movement.

She also scrutinises the experience of African Americans, mainly in the South, and of Africans.

Alice holds strong views as a feminist highlighting issue faced by women in the African-American culture.

It was through her feminism advocacy work that she coined the term womanist. The term is used to refer to a black feminist or feminist of colour.

This term united women of colour as well as the feminist movement.