List of people from Providence, Rhode Island explained

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Providence, Rhode Island.

Arts, literature, humanities and entertainment

• Tom Adams, illustrator most famous for his Agatha Christie paperback cover designs^[1]
• Daniel Adel, painter and illustrator
• Chester Holmes Aldrich, architect and director of American Academy in Rome
• David Aldrich, artist and architect^[2]
• Mathuren Arthur Andrieu, painter
• Omar Bah, journalist and founder of the Refugee Dream Center
• Mildred Barker, Shaker eldress, musician, and scholar who lived at the Alfred and Sabbathday Lake Shaker communities
• Joe Bastardi, meteorologist
• Joe Beats, hip-hop producer
• Ted Berrigan, poet
• Blu Cantrell, singer of 2001 hit "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops)"
• William Carpenter, early settler of Providence
• Marilyn Chambers (1952–2009), adult-film actress
• Damien Chazelle, director and screenwriter, Whiplash and La La Land
• Nicole Chesney, artist^[3]
• George M. Cohan, songwriter and entertainer, composed "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "You're a Grand Old Flag"
• Bill Conti, composer of music for film and television, including theme from Rocky
• Scott Corbett, writer of children's books
• Michael Corrente, film director and producer
• Pauly D, television personality, noted for contributions to the MTV program Jersey Shore.
• Charlotte F. Dailey, editor and exposition official
• Christopher Denise, illustrator of children's books, including many in the Redwall series
• Bruce DeSilva, author of the Liam Mulligan series of mystery novels
• Paul Di Filippo, author of Steampunk Trilogy
• Ronald Dworkin, author, professor of constitutional law
• John Dwyer, multi-instrumentalist, primary songwriter and core member of Thee Oh Sees, visual artist, record label owner
• C. M. Eddy, Jr., author of mysteries and horror fiction
• Nelson Eddy, singer and film actor
• Susan Eisenberg, voice actress
• Jeanpaul Ferro, poet, short fiction author, novelist
• Elisabeth Filarski, footwear designer, contestant
• Sage Francis, hip hop artist and slam poet
• Margaret Burnham Geddes, architect, activist, and urban planner
• Al Gomes, record producer and songwriter
• Roger A. Graham, lyricist, songwriter
• Robert Leo (Bobby) Hackett, jazz musician (trumpet, cornet, guitar)
• Scott Haltzman, author, The Secrets of Happily Married Men: Eight Ways to Win Your Wife's Heart Forever
• Scott Hamilton, tenor saxophonist
• Clay Hart, country musician (guitar)
• Richard Hatch, winner of
• David Hedison, actor, star of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
• Greta Hodgkinson, ballet dancer
• Ruth Hussey, actress, Oscar-nominated for The Philadelphia Story (1940)
• Joe S. Jackson, sportswriter and editor
• Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones (1868–1933), pioneering black soprano who played to audiences around the world^[4]
• Claudia Jordan, actress, Miss Rhode Island USA 1997
• Galway Kinnell, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
• Jesse Leach, vocalist and musician, original frontman of Killswitch Engage, Seemless, The Empire Shall Fall and Times of Grace
• James Sullivan Lincoln (1811–1888), "Father of Rhode Island Art" and first president of the Providence Art Club^[5]
• H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937), author of fantasy and horror fiction^[6]
• Dorothy Lovett, actress
• Albert Lythgoe (1868–1934), archaeologist and curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art^[7]
• Dodge MacKnight, painter
• George Macready, actor, Gilda, Paths of Glory
• Jason Marsden, voice actor
• Cormac McCarthy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, The Road, No Country for Old Men, Blood Meridian
• Shanna Moakler, 1992 Miss Rhode Island Teen USA, 1995 Miss New York USA and Miss USA
• Nico Muhly, composer
• Andy On, Chinese-American Hong Kong actor
• Jeffrey Osborne, lead vocalist with L.T.D.
• Monty Oum (1981–2015), animator for Rooster Teeth Productions; creator of RWBY
• John Pagano, R&B and pop singer
• Vincent Pagano, actor, screenwriter
• Don Pardo (1918–2014), NBC announcer since 1944, Saturday Night Live 1975–2014
• S. J. Perelman, humorist, author, and screenwriter
• Sylvia Poggioli, reporter for National Public Radio
• Ira Rakatansky (1919–2014), modernist architect
• Josh Schwartz, creator of television series The O.C.
• A. O. Scott, film critic for New York Times
• Chris Sparling, screenwriter and film director
• Daniel Sully, stage actor and playwright
• Benjamin C. Truman, war correspondent and author
• Meredith Vieira, television personality
• Sarah Helen Whitman, poet, possible inspiration for Edgar Allan Poe poems "To Helen" and "Annabel Lee"
• Mabel May Woodward (1877–1945), prominent impressionist painter and RISD faculty^[8]

Business

• Arunah Shepherdson Abell, publisher and philanthropist
• Everett M. "Busy" Arnold, comic-book entrepreneur and publisher^[9]
• Andrew Dexter Jr., financier of Exchange Coffee House
• Wylie Dufresne, chef
• Alan Shawn Feinstein, finance expert and philanthropist; Feinstein High School in Providence is named in his honor^[10]
• A. O. Granger (1846–1914), American industrialist and soldier^{[11] [12]}
• William Hamlin, entrepreneur and Rhode Island's first engraver^[13]
• Abbie E. Krebs-Wilkins (1842–1924), businesswoman^[14]
• Henry J. Steere, industrialist and philanthropist^[15]

Innovators

• Zachariah Allen, scientist and inventor, patented automatic cut-off valve for steam engines^[16]
• George Henry Corliss, inventor of the Corliss steam engine, which revolutionized industry by making steam-power cheaper than water-power for powering factories^[17]
• Andries van Dam, pioneer in the field of computer graphics and professor at Brown University

Military

• George K. Anderson, general
• George Andrews, Adjutant General of the U.S. Army from 1912 to 1914
• Israel Angell, colonel in the American Revolution
• Richard Arnold, Civil War general
• William Seaman Bainbridge, military physician, surgeon and gynecologist
• Charles L. Hodges, U.S. Army major general^[18]
• Albert Martin, defender of the Alamo
• Frank Wheaton, Civil War general

Politics

• Arunah Shepherdson Abell, creator of Philadelphia Public Ledger and Baltimore Sun newspapers^[19]
• Nelson W. Aldrich, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, grandfather of Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and father of Richard S. Aldrich^[20]
• Richard S. Aldrich, U.S. Representative^[21]
• Philip Allen, 22nd Governor of Rhode Island and U.S. Senator^[22]
• William Henry Allen, naval officer during War of 1812^[19]
• Zachariah Allen, scientist and inventor^[19]
• Jonathan Arnold, member of Continental Congress from Rhode Island^[19]
• Samuel G. Arnold, United States Senator from Rhode Island^[19]
• Edward Beard, U.S. Representative^[23]
• Grace Lee Boggs, social activist and feminist, known for work done in Detroit
• Jabez Bowen, federalist supporter, Deputy Governor of Rhode Island and Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court^[24]
• John Brown, co-founder of Brown University, U.S. Representative^[25]
• John Chafee, Governor of Rhode Island, Secretary of the Navy, and United States Senator^[26]
• Zechariah Chafee, lawyer, academic and civil libertarian^[27]
• Vincent Cianci, longest-serving mayor in Providence history (1974–1984) and (1991–2002); city's first Italian-American mayor^[28]
• Thomas Davis, U.S. Representative^[29]
• Herbert F. DeSimone, Attorney General of Rhode Island and Assistant Secretary of Transportation^[30]
• Ray Fogarty, Rhode Island state representative^[31]
• Dwight Foster, U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative^[32]
• Theodore Foster, U.S. Senator^[33]
• J. Joseph Garrahy, 69th Governor of Rhode Island
• Albert C. Greene, U.S. Senator and Attorney General of Rhode Island^[34]
• John Patrick Hartigan, Judge of United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and of United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island^[35]
• Nicole Love Hendrickson, chair of the Gwinnett County, Georgia Board of Commissioners^[36]
• Stephen Hopkins, nine-time Governor of Rhode Island and signer of Declaration of Independence^[37]
• David Jagolinzer, American litigation attorney, born in Providence.
• Elisha Jenkins, New York Secretary of State, Mayor of Albany
• Pat LaMarche, Green Party vice presidential candidate in 2004 and activist^[38]
• Oscar Lapham, U.S. Congressman^[39]
• Henry Lippitt (1818–1891), textile magnate, governor of Rhode Island, his Victorian mansion is one of the finest in Providence^[40]
• Audri Mukhopadhyay, Canadian diplomat
• Dee Dee Myers, first female White House Press Secretary, served during Clinton administration
• John O. Pastore, Democratic politician, first Italian-American governor (1945–1950) and Italian-American senator (1950–1976) of Rhode Island^[41]
• John Rucho, Massachusetts state legislator and businessman, was born in Providence^[42]
• Pamela Sawyer, member of Connecticut House of Representatives^[43]
• Bruce Sundlun, 71st Governor of Rhode Island and businessman
• Robert Tiernan, U.S. Representative and member of Rhode Island General Assembly^[44]
• Pat Toomey, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania

Reformers

• Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis (1813–1876), abolitionist, suffragist, and educator^[45]
• Arthur L. Hardge (1927–1983), African American civil rights activist, minister, and administrator^[46]
• Bertha G. Higgins (1872–1944), African American suffragist, civil rights activist and clubwoman^[47]
• Mary E. Jackson (1867–1923), African-American female suffrage activist, YWCA leader and writer, born in Providence and active in RI politics^[48]
• Marion Simon Misch (1869–1941), activist, teacher, writer, businesswoman^[49]
• Elizabeth J. Smith (1842–unknown), Canadian-American temperance activist; newspaper editor and publisher^[50]

Science and medicine

• Martha H. Mowry (1818–1899), first woman physician in Rhode Island

Sports

• Bill Almon, player for eight MLB teams^[51]
• Deon Anderson, NFL fullback^[52]
• Rocco Baldelli, MLB outfielder^[53]
• Marvin Barnes, NBA player^[54]
• Will Blackmon, NFL cornerback^[55]
• Paul Briggs, NFL player^[56]
• Jill Craybas, professional tennis player
• Ernie DiGregorio, NBA rookie of the year in 1974^[57]
• William Butler Duncan II, leader in New York Yacht Club's long defense of the America's Cup
• Hobe Ferris, second baseman for the Boston Americans^[58]
• Beverly Baker Fleitz, tennis player, 1955 Wimbledon singles and doubles finalist, French Open doubles champion
• Anita Foss, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player^[59]
• Harold Gomes, boxer
• Matt Hyson, pro wrestler, better known as Spike Dudley
• Chris Ianetta, MLB catcher^[60]
• Ray Jarvis, MLB pitcher^[61]
• Marilyn Jones, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player^[62]
• Paul Konerko, MLB first baseman^[63]
• Davey Lopes, player, coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers^[64]
• Tom Lovett, MLB pitcher^[65]
• Peter Manfredo Jr., boxer^[66]
• Bill Osmanski, College Football Hall of Fame^[67]
• Chuck Palumbo, pro wrestler^[68]
• Michael Parkhurst, soccer defender for USMNT^[69]

Others

• Edward Francis Anhalt, professor, event promoter, and company founder^[70]
• James E. FitzGerald (1906–1969) Jesuit and academic, fourth president of Fairfield University in Connecticut^[71]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tom Adams. 1997–2014 All Rights Reserved Bentley Global Arts Group, LLC. 27 April 2014.
2. Web site: A History of Swan Point Cemetery. Swan Point Cemetery. March 26, 2014.
3. Web site: Lorenz. Elizabeth. The Glass Dreamscape. Providence Monthly. Providence Media. 6 April 2018. en. 27 May 2014.
4. News: Smith . Andy . Sissieretta Jones to get headstone . 20 June 2019 . The Providence Journal . 8 May 2018.
5. Web site: James Sullivan Lincoln . Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame . 20 June 2019.
6. Web site: H.P. Lovecraft Walking Tour Returns. Official Website of the City of Providence, Rhode Island. April 8, 2014.
7. Book: Bierbrier, Morris L. Who Was Who in Egyptology, 4th edition. 244. Egypt Exploration Society, London . 2012 . 978-0856982071.
8. Web site: Mabel May Woodward . Bert Gallery . 20 June 2019.
9. Web site: Sequence of Events. Cosmic Teams. April 7, 2014.
10. Web site: 90s FAMILY At Feinstein, Youths Learn the Value of Volunteering. Los Angeles Times. April 7, 2014.
11. News: Private Secretary of Sherman is Dead. August 3, 1914. The Montgomery Daily Times. Montgomery, Alabama. 7.
12. Web site: Overlook Scope. Smith. Tony. Lowndes County Historical Society Museum. Valdosta, Georgia. June 5, 2022.
13. Web site: American Silversmiths. Ancestry.com. April 7, 2014.
14. Book: Millard . Bailey . History of the San Francisco Bay Region: History and Biography . 1924 . American Historical Society . 294–97 . 3 . Mrs. Abbie Krebs-Wilkins . 22 May 2024 . en.
15. Web site: A legacy of more than 140 years of serviceto the elder community of Rhode Island. Steere House. April 7, 2014.
16. Web site: Zachariah Allen Papers. Rhode Island Historical Society. April 7, 2014.
17. Web site: George Henry Corliss. The New England Wireless and Steam Museum. April 7, 2014.
18. Book: Beach, Frederick Converse . Frederick Converse Beach . 1911 . The Americana Supplement . New York, NY . The Scientific American Compiling Department . 615 . Google Books.
19. Book: Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896 . Marquis Who's Who . Chicago . 1963.
20. Web site: ALDRICH, Nelson Wilmarth, (1841–1915). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. March 26, 2014.
21. Web site: ALDRICH, Richard Steere, (1884–1941) s. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . April 7, 2014.
22. Web site: ALLEN, Philip, (1785–1865) s. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . April 7, 2014.
23. Web site: BEARD, Edward Peter, (1940–). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . April 8, 2014.
24. Web site: Bowen Family Papers. Rhode Island Historical Society. April 7, 2014.
25. Web site: BROWN, John, (1736–1803). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . April 7, 2014.
26. Web site: CHAFEE, John Hubbard, (1922–1999). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . April 7, 2014.
27. Web site: Chafee, Zechariah. Papers, 1898–1957: Finding Aid. Harvard University Library. April 7, 2014.
28. Web site: Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr. (D – Providence, RI). Americans for the Arts. April 7, 2014.
29. Web site: DAVIS, Thomas, (1806–1895). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . April 4, 2014.
30. Web site: In Memoriam . Rhode Island Bar Journal. April 25, 2014.
31. http://www.currentobituary.com/obit/225711 Raymond W. Fogarty-obituary
32. Web site: FOSTER, Dwight, (1757–1823). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . April 3, 2014.
33. Web site: FOSTER, Theodore, (1752–1828). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . April 3, 2014.
34. Web site: GREENE, Albert Collins, (1792–1863). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . March 27, 2014.
35. Web site: Biographical Directory of Federal Judges Hartigan, John Patrick. Federal Judicial Center. April 25, 2014.
36. Web site: About Your Commissioners Gwinnett County. 2021-08-16. www.gwinnettcounty.com.
37. Web site: Governor Stephen Hopkins House (1708). The National Society of The Colonial Dams of America. April 7, 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140301001025/http://nscda.org/museums2/ri-hopkins.html. March 1, 2014. mdy-all.
38. Web site: The Happy Warrior . The Nation . October 25, 2004 . April 5, 2014.
39. Web site: LAPHAM, Oscar, (1837–1926). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. March 26, 2014.
40. News: Hill . John . Lawn sculptures mark Victorian house's 150th anniversary of Lippitt House . 20 June 2019 . The Providence Journal . 13 May 2015.
41. Web site: PASTORE, John Orlando, (1907–2000). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . April 4, 2014.
42. '1977–1978 Public Officials of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Biographical Sketch of John Rucho, pg. 282
43. Web site: About Pamela Sawyer. Connecticut House Republican Office. April 4, 2014. dead. https://archive.today/20140325204750/http://cthousegop.com/about-pamela-sawyer/. March 25, 2014. mdy-all.
44. Web site: TIERNAN, Robert Owens, (1929 –). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . April 21, 2014.
45. Book: James, Edward T. and Wilson, Janet. Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume 2. 1971. Harvard University Press. 444. registration. thomas davis married Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis..
46. Book: Morel, Domingo . Developing Scholars: Race, Politics, and the Pursuit of Higher Education . 2023 . . 978-0-19-763699-2 . 57–90 . en.
47. Miller. Elisa. 2018. Biographical Sketch of Bertha G. Higgins. Biographical Database of Black Women Suffragists. Alexander Street.
48. Web site: Rhode Island Women of Color During the Great War. Stokes. Keith W.. Small State Big History, Online Review of Rhode Island History. 2018-02-15.
49. Web site: Marion L. Misch – An Extraordinary Woman. Eleanor F.. Horvitz. Thirtieth Anniversary Issue: Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes. November 1980. Rhode Island Jewish Historical Organization. 7–65.
50. Book: Willard . Frances Elizabeth . Frances Willard . Livermore . Mary Ashton Rice . Mary Livermore . A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life . 1893 . . 207–08 . CORNELIUS, Mrs. Mary A. .
51. Web site: Bill Almon. 2000–2013 Sports Reference LLC.. 27 April 2014.
52. Web site: Deon Anderson. Pro-Football-Reference.com. April 8, 2014.
53. Web site: Rocco Baldelli. March 5, 2014 . 2014 Breeze Publications, Inc.. 27 April 2014.
54. Web site: Marvin Barnes. 2000–2014 Sports Reference LLC.. 27 April 2014.
55. Web site: Will Blackmon . 2000–2014 Sports Reference LLC. . 27 April 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121226144712/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BlacWi20.htm . December 26, 2012 .
56. Web site: PAUL BRIGGS . profootballarchives.com . September 21, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150908202750/http://www.profootballarchives.com/brig00800.html . September 8, 2015 . mdy-all .
57. Web site: Ernie DiGregorio. 2000–2014 Sports Reference LLC.. 27 April 2014.
58. Book: Hubbard, Donald. The Red Sox Before the Babe: Boston's Early Days in the American League, 1901–1914. October 2014. McFarland, Jul 15, 2009. 19. 9780786454631.
59. Web site: Anita Foss. 2005–2014 All American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association, Inc.. 27 April 2014.
60. Web site: Chris Ianetta. 2000–2013 Sports Reference LLC.. 27 April 2014.
61. Web site: Ray Jarvis Stats. Baseball Almanac. April 8, 2014.
62. Web site: Marilyn C. Jones. 2005–2014 All American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association, Inc.. 27 April 2014.
63. Web site: Paul Konerko. 2000–2013 Sports Reference LLC.. 27 April 2014.
64. Web site: Davey Lopes. 2000–2013 Sports Reference LLC.. 27 April 2014.
65. Web site: Tom Lovett. 2000–2013 Sports Reference LLC.. 27 April 2014.
66. Web site: Peter Manfredo Jr.. BoxRec. 27 April 2014.
67. Web site: Bill Osmanski. 2001–2013 National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc.. 27 April 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140427172911/http://polishsportshof.com/inductees/football/bill-osmanski/. April 27, 2014. mdy-all.
68. Web site: Chuck Palumbo. 2014 Discovery Communications, LLC.. 27 April 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140428003904/http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/lords-of-the-car-hoards/hosts/chuck-palumbo.htm. April 28, 2014. mdy-all.
69. Web site: Michael Parkhurst. https://web.archive.org/web/20140301092036/http://www.teamusa.org/Athletes/PA/Michael-Parkhurst. dead. March 1, 2014. 2014 United States Olympic Committee. 27 April 2014.
70. Web site: About Dr. Anhalt. Banking On Kids. August 24, 2012.
71. News: Fr. FitzGerald Was Jesuit Educator; at 62 . . 95 . January 26, 1969 . March 9, 2024 . newspapers.com.