Nevada Famous People

Famous Americans: History and Biographies

Nevada Famous People: Greeting from Nevada

Links to histories and biographies of the famous people of Nevada. Many famous people of Nevada have made significant contributions to the history of our nation and the state of Nevada. These famous Americans, famous entertainers, famous players, famous scientist, famous singers, famous statesmen, famous women, heroes, great explorers, and others Nevada famous Americans have all made Nevada their home. This list includes Nevada historical figures, celebrities and those individuals of Nevada who have influenced the lives of others.

Famous People from Nevada

  • Eva Adams (1910-1991) was born in the Wonder mining camp near Fallon, Nevada. She served as administrative assistant to Nevada senator Pat McCarran, and was appointed director of the U.S. Mint by President John F. Kennedy in 1961.
  • Andre Agassi (1970 - ) was born in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1970. He became a professional tennis player at age 16 and was ranked 4th by the age of 18. Agassi became the first unseeded tennis player since 1930 to win the U.S. Open in 1994. Two years later he won the first Olympic men's singles gold medal for the United States in 72 years.
  • Ben Alexander (1911 - 1969) Actor who played Officer Frank Smith in the television series Dragnet; born in Goldfield.
  • James E. Casey (1888 - 1983) Founder of United Parcel Service (UPS); born in Candelaria.
  • Walter Van Tilburg Clark (1909-1971) Author; grew up in Reno.
  • Jack Kramer (1921 - )Tennis player; born in Las Vegas.
  • Greg LeMond (1961 - ) World Champion bicyclist that also won the Tour de France; raised in Washoe Valley.
  • Patricia Ryan Nixon (1912 - 1993) was born in Ely, Nevada. She married Richard Nixon in 1940. After her husband was elected 37th president of the United States in 1968, Pat began to use her position as first lady to encourage volunteer service. She was a literacy advocate who created a "Right to Read" program and worked to establish recreational areas in or near large cities for those who could not afford to visit distant national parks.
  • Edna Purviance (1895 - 1958) was born in Paradise Valley, Navada. She was Charlie Chaplin's leading lady in silent films between 1915 and 1923. Chaplin and Purviance appeared together in more than 40 films including The Tramp, A Night Out, and The Champion.
  • Sarah Hopkins Winnemucca  (born Thocmentony or Tocmetone, Paiute: "Shell Flower") (ca. 1844 - October 16, 1891) was a prominent female Paiute activist and educatorSarah Hopkins Winnemucca (born Thocmentony or Tocmetone, Paiute: "Shell Flower") (ca. 1844 - October 16, 1891) was a prominent female Paiute activist and educator; she helped gain release of her people from the Yakima Reservation following the Bannock War of 1878, lectured widely in the East in 1883 on injustices against Native Americans in the West, established a private school for Indian students in Nevada, and was an influential figure in development of United States' 19th-century Indian policies. Born "somewhere near 1844" at Humboldt Lake in what is now western Nevada, Sarah Winnemucca was the daughter of Chief Winnemucca (Poito), a Shoshone who had joined the Paiute through marriage,and Tuboitonie. Sarah had an older sister Mary, younger brother Natchez and sister Elma. Winnemucca was notable as having published the "first known autobiography written by a Native American woman." Her book, Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims (1883), is both a memoir and history of her people during their first forty years of contact with European Americans. Anthropologist Omer Stewart described it as "one of the first and one of the most enduring ethnohistorical books written by an American Indian," frequently cited by scholars.Since the late 20th century, Winnemucca has received renewed attention for her contributions. In 1993 she was inducted posthumously into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. In 2005, the state of Nevada contributed a statue of her by sculptor Benjamin Victor to the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol.
  • Jack Wilson (1856 - 1932) was born in Yerington, Nevada. He was a Paiute Indian mystic whose prophesies helped to spread the Ghost Dance religion - an infusion of Christian theology and Paiute mysticism - across the American West. Wilson's hopeful prophecies created a spiritual and cultural revival in many Native American tribes.

More Famous People of Nevada

Find more more Nevada famous people below. You may not even realize many of these famous people were born in Nevada or notable associated with Nevada, including actors, actresses, explorers, historical figures, inventors, musicians, novelists, professional athletes, important politicians, singers, sport stars and more.

US Famous People
US Famous People
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