Hall of Famous Missourians facts for kids
The Hall of Famous Missourians is a special place in Jefferson City, Missouri, where you can see statues of important people from Missouri. These statues are called bronze busts, which are like sculptures of a person's head and shoulders. They are displayed inside the Missouri State Capitol building, right between the rooms where the state's lawmakers meet.
These busts were made by talented Missouri artists like Sabra Tull Meyer, E. Spencer Schubert, and William J. Williams. Each person honored in the Hall is celebrated for the amazing things they did and how they helped the state of Missouri. As of 2013, there were 44 people in the Hall.
How People Are Chosen
For many years, the leader of the Missouri House of Representatives, called the Speaker of the House, chose everyone who would be honored in the Hall. But in 2013, the way people were chosen changed.
Now, some people are still chosen by the Speaker. But others are picked through votes cast online by the public. This new way allows more people to have a say in who gets honored.
Who Are the Famous Missourians?
Here are some of the well-known people who have been inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians, with the year they were honored in parentheses:
- John Ashcroft (born 1942), U.S. Attorney General and Senator (2006)
- David Rice Atchison (1807–1886), U.S. Senator, President pro-tempore of the Senate (1991)
- Josephine Baker (1906–1975), entertainer and civil rights activist (1995)
- Bob Barker (1923-2023), television personality (2007)
- Tom Bass (1859–1934), horse trainer (1999)
- Annie White Baxter (1864-1944), county clerk (2020)
- Thomas Hart Benton (1889–1975), painter and muralist (1985)
- George Caleb Bingham (1811–1879), painter (2010)
- Susan Elizabeth Blow (1843–1916), educator (1983)
- Omar Bradley (1893–1981), World War II military commander (1992)
- Jack Buck (1924–2002), sportscaster (2006)
- Dale Carnegie (1888–1955), author and educator (2006)
- George Washington Carver (1864–1943), scientist, botanist and educator (1983)
- Champ Clark (1850–1921), Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (2000)
- Walter Cronkite (1916–2009), broadcast journalist (1999)
- Walt Disney (1901–1966), film and animation innovator (1993)
- Alexander Doniphan (1808–1887), state legislator and militia leader (2008)
- Rose Philippine Duchesne (1769–1852), missionary and educator (2006)
- Betty Grable (1916–1973), actress (2009)
- Joyce C. Hall (1891–1982), businessman (1995)
- Mel Hancock (1929–2011), former U.S Congressman (2014)
- Warren E. Hearnes (1923–2009), former Missouri governor (2010)
- Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988), science fiction author (2016)
- Edwin Hubble (1889–1953), astronomer (2003)
- Lamar Hunt (1932–2006), sportsman (2008)
- Edward D. "Ted" Jones, Jr. (1925-1990), businessman (2015)
- Scott Joplin (1868–1917), ragtime composer and pianist (1992)
- Ewing Kauffman (1916–1993), businessman and sportsman (1997)
- Emmett Kelly (1898–1979), circus performer and clown (1996)
- Rush Limbaugh (1951–2021), political talk radio host and author (2012)
- James Smith McDonnell (1899–1980), businessman (2010)
- Virginia Minor (1824–1894), women's suffrage activist (2014)
- Johnny Morris (born 1948), Bass Pro Shops founder (2021)
- Stan Musial (1920–2013), baseball player (2000)
- John Neihardt (1881–1973), poet and philosopher (2009)
- Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), pastor, author and political activist (1996)
- Buck O'Neil (1911–2006), baseball player (2012)
- Marie Watkins Oliver (1854-1944), designer of the Missouri state flag (2024)
- Charlie Parker (1920–1955), jazz saxophonist and composer (1994)
- James Cash Penney (1875–1971), businessman (1994)
- Marlin Perkins (1905–1986), zoologist (2004)
- John J. Pershing (1860–1948), World War I military commander (1995)
- Ginger Rogers (1911–1995), dancer and actress (2009)
- Sacajawea (1788–1812), interpreter and guide (1993)
- Dred Scott (1790–1858), slave and civil rights figure (2012)
- Andrew Taylor Still (1828–1917), physician, "father of osteopathic medicine" (2014)
- Norm Stewart (born 1935), college basketball coach (2024)
- Harry S. Truman (1884–1972), U.S. President (1991)
- Mark Twain (1835–1910), author and humorist (1982)
- Porter Wagoner (1927-2007), country music singer (2020)
- Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957), author (1993)
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