American Famous Names Starting with Letter W

Was a prominent Confederate politician.He served in the state legislature in 1853 and was a colonel

Was a prominent Confederate politician.He served in the state legislature in 1853 and was a colonel in the Confederate States Army. He represented the state in the Second Confederate Congress from 1864 to 1865.

Was an American businessman and banker and a prominent figure in the sport of thoroughbred horse rac

Was an American businessman and banker and a prominent figure in the sport of thoroughbred horse racing. A member of the Delaware Du Pont family, he was the son of William du Pont and Annie Rogers (Zinn), and brother to horsewoman, Marion.

Was an American ecologist. Billings was one of the foundational figures in the field of physiologica

Was an American ecologist. Billings was one of the foundational figures in the field of physiological ecology and made major contributions to desert and arctic ecology.Dwight Billings served as President of the Ecological Society of America in 1978-79 and received the Eminent Ecologist Award from that Society in 1991.

Is an American stage, television and film actor. He is best known for his roles as Captain "Howling

Is an American stage, television and film actor. He is best known for his roles as Captain "Howling Mad" Murdock on the hit 1980s action show The A-Team, and Reginald Barclay in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager and the film Star Trek: First Contact.

Was an American linguist, philologist, and lexicographer who edited The Century Dictionary.Born in N

Was an American linguist, philologist, and lexicographer who edited The Century Dictionary.Born in Northampton, Massachusetts, February 9, 1827. He entered Williams College at fifteen, graduating in 1845. He continued studying and worked at a bank in Northampton for several years, then assisted his brother Josiah Whitney on a geological survey of the Lake Superior region in 1849. For three years, he studied Sanskrit in Germany, and gained wide reputation for his scholarship in the field. At Yale, he became professor of Sanskrit in 1854, adding comparative philology in 1869. He also taught modern languages at the Sheffield Scientific School. He served as secretary to the American Oriental Society from 1857 until he became its president in 1884.

Is a jazz pianist.After playing in Snookum Russell's territory band and with Paul Bascomb, Davis joi

Is a jazz pianist.After playing in Snookum Russell's territory band and with Paul Bascomb, Davis joined Howard McGhee in 1946. He later went on to play with Milt Jackson and Sonny Stitt, and with Wardell Gray in Detroit. As the house pianist at the Crysta

Was a Democratic politician from Idaho. He served as the 31st Lieutenant Governor of Idaho from 1959

Was a Democratic politician from Idaho. He served as the 31st Lieutenant Governor of Idaho from 1959 to 1967 during the administration of Governor Robert E. Smylie.

Was a Minnesota politician and Speaker of the Minnesota House of RepresentativesHe first served in t

Was a Minnesota politician and Speaker of the Minnesota House of RepresentativesHe first served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1885 to 1889, and was sent back to the body from 1893 to 1895. He was elected Speaker during his second tenure i

Is a Republican member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 26th district since 1993, and curren

Is a Republican member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 26th district since 1993, and currently serves as the Assistant Minority Leader. Peterson previously served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1983 to 1993. Peterson has announced

Is an American professional golfer who was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA To

Is an American professional golfer who was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s.Between 1964 and 1970, Casper won 27 tournaments on the PGA Tour, which was more than legends Jack Nicklaus, Arnold

Was an American mountaineer, climber, trekking leader, guide, world traveler, writer, Buddhist, and

Was an American mountaineer, climber, trekking leader, guide, world traveler, writer, Buddhist, and a truck driver. He was born in Montana and moved to Portland, Oregon in his early childhood and discovered a love for mountains in the shadow of Mount Hood

Is a former professional American football player for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Philadelphia Ea

Is a former professional American football player for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Philadelphia Eagles.Bergey was born in South Dayton, New York in 1945. Bergey graduated from Arkansas State University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education

(December 2, 1898 – April 5, 1989) was an American golfer

(December 2, 1898 – April 5, 1989) was an American golfer

Is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'4½" (194 cm) 185 lb (84 kg) guard

Is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'4½" (194 cm) 185 lb (84 kg) guard and played collegiately at Marquette University.

Is a former American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Ba

Is a former American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 years, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called balls, strikes, and home runs on radio and television.

Is an American sailor and Olympic Champion.

Is an American sailor and Olympic Champion.

Was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. He served as president of the Manito Chemical Co. Postmaste

Was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. He served as president of the Manito Chemical Co. Postmaster of Peoria, Illinois from 1898 to 1906. He served as delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1916 and 1920. He served as member of the board of

Was a lawyer, politician and judge in Ontario, Canada, in the early twentieth century. Raney was ini

Was a lawyer, politician and judge in Ontario, Canada, in the early twentieth century. Raney was initially a Liberal running unsuccessfully for the Ontario legislature in the 1914 provincial election. After the United Farmers of Ontario unexpectedly won the 1919 provincial election the agrarian party — pursuing an unusual matter of principle — had no lawyers in its caucus and so the new government of E.C. Drury approached Raney to accept the position of Attorney-General. He accepted and contested a by-election entering the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Wellington East. He was sworn in as the Attorney General of Ontario on November 14, 1919. The return of only 17 UFO and 4 Labour MLAs in the provincial election of 1923 saw Premier Drury lose his own seat along with his government. Raney took over the leadership of the Progressives (as the UFO bloc of MLAs had become known) in January 1925 following the retirement of acting leader Manning Doherty. Raney led the opposition against the Ferguson government's plan to replace the Ontario Temperance Act with a Liquor Control Act which allowed alcohol sales through a government run Liquor Control Board. It was on this issue that he clashed with Ferguson and campaigned unsuccessfully against the loosening of Ontario's liquor laws as Progressive leader in the 1926 election, which returned only 17 Progressive, UFO or Labour MLAs.

Was an American poet and pacifist, and the father of poet and essayist Kim Stafford. He and his writ

Was an American poet and pacifist, and the father of poet and essayist Kim Stafford. He and his writings are sometimes identified with the Pacific Northwest.

Is a former NASA Astronaut. Thornton was born in Faison, North Carolina, and is married with two son

Is a former NASA Astronaut. Thornton was born in Faison, North Carolina, and is married with two sons to the former Elizabeth Jennifer Fowler of Hertfordshire, England.

Was a United States Representative from Connecticut. He was born in Woodbury, Connecticut and attend

Was a United States Representative from Connecticut. He was born in Woodbury, Connecticut and attended the common schools. He graduated from Yale College in 1778. He then served in the Revolutionary Army during the American Revolution. He studied law and

Fichtner was born in Cheektowaga, New York where he graduated from Maryvale High School. He is the s

Fichtner was born in Cheektowaga, New York where he graduated from Maryvale High School. He is the son of Patricia and William E. Fichtner. He has German ancestry. His sister is a Colonel in the USAF and his nephew was a member of Sleepaway. After graduating from Farmingdale State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice in 1978, Fichtner decided to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. On 18 May 2008 Fichtner was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by his alma mater Farmingdale State College.

Was an American hydroplane racing legend from La Mesa, California. He won 62 races, the most races i

Was an American hydroplane racing legend from La Mesa, California. He won 62 races, the most races in the history of the sport. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame described Muncey as "without question, the greatest hydroplane racer in history." Mu

Is an American Golden Globe Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, producer, comedian

Is an American Golden Globe Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, producer, comedian, and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the box office successes When Harry Met Sally... and City Slickers.

Is a retired American professional basketball player.He played professional ball both in the Nationa

Is a retired American professional basketball player.He played professional ball both in the National Basketball Association and in the now defunct American Basketball Association. His nickname was "The Whopper", and he stands 6 feet 11 inches tall.