Educators and Inventors from Virginia

Richard E. Byrd – (1888-1957) Winchester; aviator, explorer of North and South poles

William Clark – (1770-1838) Albemarle County; explored Louisiana Purchase for President Thomas Jefferson

Meriwether Lewis – (1774-1809) Albemarle County; explored Louisiana Purchase for President Thomas Jefferson

Matthew Fontaine Maury – (1806-1873) Fredericksburg; mapped ocean currents, "Pathfinder of the Seas" Burial: Hollywood Cemetery - Monument in his honor located on Monument Avenue in Richmond

Cyrus H. McCormick – (1809-1884) Rockbridge County; inventor of the grain reaper

Dr. Ephraim McDowell – (1771-1830) Rockbridge County; "father of abdominal surgery"

William McGuffey – (1800-1873) Claysville, PA (UVA professor) educator, author of "McGuffey Readers"

Walter Reed – (1851-1902) Belroi; Army MD, discovered cause of yellow fever

John Rolfe – (1585-1622) Norfolk, England; introduced tobacco to America in 1612

Edmund Ruffin – (1794-1865) Prince George County; founded public education system in Virginia

James Rumsey – (1743-1792) Cecil County, MD (lived in Bath County,VA) pioneer of steamboat development

Alexander Spotswood – (1676-1740) Royal Governor, led early expeditions into western Virginia

Booker T. Washington – (1856-1915) educator, founder of Tuskegee Institute

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