Historical Virginians

Meet the notable figures of Virginia's past. These names influenced and shaped Virginia and the United States the way we know it today.

Colonial & Revolutionary | Early American | Civil War | 20th Century

Colonial & Revolutionary

» Nathaniel Bacon (1647-1676) led "Bacon's Rebellion" against British authority in 1676
» George Rogers Clark (1752-1818) Charlottesville; Revolutionary War soldier captured Northwest Territories from British
» Patrick Henry (1736-1799) Hanover; orator, patriot leader, governor; Home: Red Hill; Famous Speech: St. John’s Episcopal Church, Richmond
» Henry "Lighthorse Harry" Lee (1756-1818) Prince William County; Revolutionary War hero; father of Robert E. Lee
» Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794) Westmoreland County; presented the proposal for independence to Continental Congress in 1776; Home: Stratford Hall
» George Mason (1725-1792) Fairfax County; author of Virginia Declaration of Rights; Home: Gunston Hall
» Daniel Morgan (1736-1802) Shenandoah Valley; Revolutionary War soldier; leader of "Morgan's Rifles"
» Pocahontas (1595-1617) daughter of Indian Chief Powhatan; married John Rolfe
» Peyton Randolph (1721-1775) Williamsburg; President of First Continental Congress
» John Smith (1579-1631) leader of first settlement at Jamestown
» George Wythe (1726-1806) Hampton; first professor of law in an American college, the College of William and Mary

 

Early American

» Stephen F. Austin (1793-1836) leader of Texas independence from Mexico movement
» James Barbour (1775-1842) Orange County; Secretary of War (1825-1828)
» Philip P. Barbour (1783-1841); Speaker of the House (1821-1823), Supreme Court Justice (1836-1841)
» Henry Clay (1777-1852) Hanover County; famous orator and statesman; moved to Kentucky after youth in Virginia
» Peter V. Daniel (1784 – 1860) Stafford County; Supreme Court Justice (1841-1860); Burial: Hollywood Cemetery
» John B. Floyd (1806 – 1863) Smithfield; Governor of Virginia (1849-1852); Secretary of War (1857-1861)
» Thomas W. Gilmer Secretary of the Navy (1844)
» Sam Houston (1793-1863) Rockbridge County; Governor of Tennessee (1827-1829); first President of Republic of Texas (1836-1838)
» Charles Lee (1731-1782) Cheshire, England; Attorney General (1795-1801)
» John Marshall (1755-1835) Fauquier County; Chief Justice of Supreme Court (1805-1835)
» John Y. Mason (1799-1859) Greensville County; Secretary of the Navy (1844-1849), Attorney General (1845-1846)
» Edmund Randolph (1753-1813) Williamsburg; First Attorney General of the United States (1789-1794); Secretary of State (1794-1795); Governor of Virginia (1786)
» John Randolph (1727-1784) Williamsburg; congressman, political writer
» Winfield Scott (1786-1866) Petersburg; General, hero of Mexican-American War
» Alexander H. H. Stuart (1807-1891) Staunton; Secretary of the Interior (1850-1853)
» Abel P. Upshur (1790-1844) Northampton County; Secretary of the Navy (1841-1843)
» William Wirt – (1772-1834) Bladensburg, MD; Attorney General (1817-1829)

 

Civil War

» Hollywood Cemetery
» Jubal Early (1816–1894) Franklin County; Confederate general
» A.P. Hill (1825-1865) Culpeper; Confederate general; Burial: A Monument in Richmond at corners of Hermitage Rd. and Laburnum Ave.
» Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (1824-1863) Clarksburg; Confederate general; Burial: Lexington, VA
» Joseph E. Johnston (1807-1891) Prince Edward County; Confederate general; first commander of Confederate Army
» Fitzhugh Lee (1835-1905) Confederate general; Governor of Virginia; commanded United States forces in Cuba during Spanish-American War (1898); Burial: Hollywood Cemetery
» Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) Westmoreland County; Commanding general, Confederate Army of Northern Virginia; Birth: Stratford Hall; Residence: Arlington House
» John Singleton Mosby (1833-1916) Edgemont; "The Gray Ghost", Confederate cavalry commander
» George Pickett (1825-1875) Richmond; Confederate general, led fateful charge at Battle of Gettysburg;
Burial: Hollywood Cemetery
» J.E.B. Stuart (1933-1864) Patrick County; Confederate general; Birthplace: Laurel Hill Plantation;
Burial: Hollywood Cemetery

20th Century

» Henry H. Fowler (1908-2000) Roanoke; Secretary of the Treasury (1965-1968)
» Carter Glass (1858-1946) Lynchburg; Secretary of the Treasury (1918-1920)
» John O. Marsh Jr. (1926- ) Winchester; Secretary of the Army (1980-1989)
» Lewis F. Powell Jar. (1907-1998) Suffolk; Supreme Court Justice (1972-1990)
» Claude A. Swanson (1862-1939) Pittsylvania County; Secretary of the Navy (1933-1940)
» Maggie L. Walker (1867-1934) Richmond; first female bank president in America, advocate of black women's rights
» John W. Warner (1927- ) Amherst County; Secretary of the Navy (1972-1974); U.S. Senator (1979-present)
» L. Douglas Wilder (1931- ) Richmond; First elected African-American Governor in U.S. history

 

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