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List of people from Columbia, Missouri facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This is a list of famous people who were born in, lived in, or are strongly connected to Columbia, Missouri, a city in Missouri, United States.

People Who Attended College in Columbia

Many people come to Columbia to study at its colleges. This list focuses on people who have a stronger connection to the city, like being born there or living there for a long time, rather than just attending college temporarily.

A–D

  • James William Abert – soldier and explorer
  • Thomas M. Allen – clergyman (a religious leader)
  • Benjamin Anderson – economist (someone who studies how money and resources work)
  • Gary Anderson – football player
  • Judy Baker – politician (someone who works in government)
  • Simon Barrett – filmmaker (makes movies)
  • Matt Bartle – politician
  • Rob Benedict – actor
  • Duane Benton – judge (works in a court of law)
  • Rebecca Blank – educator and a former important government official (U.S. Secretary of Commerce)
  • Philemon Bliss – judge
  • John William Boone – musician
  • Stratton D. Brooks – college president
  • Fleda Brown – poet (writes poems)
  • Jessica Capshaw – actress
  • Russ Carnahan – politician
  • J'den Cox – Olympic freestyle wrestler (a type of wrestling in the Olympics)
  • Kevin Croom – mixed martial artist (fights in UFC)
  • Jack D. Crouch – hotelier (owns or manages hotels)
  • Derek "Deke" Dickerson – musician

E–L

Henry Kirklin with child in garden
Henry Kirklin with a child in his garden
  • Carl Edwards – retired NASCAR driver
  • Jane Froman – singer and actress
  • Nicole Galloway – politician
  • Chuck Graham – politician
  • Ken Griffin – organist (plays the organ)
  • Eugene Jerome Hainer – politician from Nebraska
  • Jeff Harris – politician
  • William Least Heat-Moon – writer
  • Martin Heinrich – U.S. Senator from New Mexico (represents New Mexico in the U.S. government)
  • Peter Hessler – journalist (writes for newspapers or magazines)
  • Darwin Hindman – mayor of Columbia from 1995 to 2010
  • Brett James – singer
  • William Jewell – educator and the second mayor of Columbia
  • Leon W. Johnson – Air Force General
  • Tyler Johnson – baseball pitcher
  • Daniel Webster JonesMormon pioneer (an early settler)
  • John Carleton Jones – president of the University of Missouri
  • Lloyd E. Jones – United States Army major general
  • Kraig Kann – golf commentator (talks about golf on TV or radio)
  • Henry Kirklin – horticulturalist (grows plants and gardens) and the first black instructor at the University of Missouri
  • Sergei Kopeikin – astrophysicist (studies stars and space)
  • E. Stanley Kroenke – sports mogul (owns many sports teams)
  • Ken Lay – chief executive of Enron (a large company)
  • Grace Lee – radio and television personality
  • Guy Sumner Lowman, Jr. – linguist (studies languages)

M–S

  • Jeff Maggert – golfer
  • Howard Wight Marshall – professor, folk historian (studies history of ordinary people), and fiddler (plays the fiddle)
  • William Rainey Marshall – fifth Governor of Minnesota (the leader of the state of Minnesota)
  • Don Nardo – author (writes books)
  • John Neihardt – poet
  • William L. Nelson – politician
  • Korla Pandit – musician
  • Carlos Pena Jr. – singer
  • Michael Porter Jr. – basketball player for the Denver Nuggets
  • James S. Rollins – 19th-century politician
  • Jesse M. Roper – 19th-century naval officer (worked in the navy)
  • Charles Griffith Ross – press secretary for U.S. President Harry S. Truman (spoke for the President to the news)
  • Felix Sabates – philanthropist (gives money to good causes)
  • Therese Sander – farmer and politician
  • Max Schwabe – politician
  • Jon Scott – television journalist (reports news on TV)
  • John F. Shafroth – politician from Colorado
  • Clay Shirky – writer
  • Apollo M. O. Smith – aviation executive (works in the airplane industry)
  • William Smith – actor
  • William J. Stone – 28th Governor of Missouri

T–Z

SamWalton-1936
Sam Walton in the David H. Hickman High School yearbook
  • Blake Tekotte – baseball player
  • Malcolm Thomas – basketball player
  • Nischelle Turner – television personality
  • Zbylut Twardowski – nephrologist (a doctor who treats kidney diseases)
  • Charlie Van Dyke – radio personality
  • Andrew VanWyngarden – musician
  • James "Bud" Walton – co-founder of Wal-Mart
  • Sam Walton – co-founder of Wal-Mart
  • Edwin Moss Watson – editor and publisher (works with books and magazines)
  • Whitney Wegman-Wood – actress
  • Norbert Wiener – mathematician (studies math)
  • Lisa Wilcox – actress
  • Roger B. Wilson – 52nd Governor of Missouri

See also

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List of people from Columbia, Missouri Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.