List of people from South Kingstown, Rhode Island explained

This is a list of prominent people who were born in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island or who spent significant periods of their lives in the town.

Academia

• Herman Churchill (1869–1941) – historian, college professor, and founder of the University of Rhode Island's history department
• T. Stephen Crawford (1900–1987) – chemical engineer and dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Rhode Island
• Caroline Hazard (1856–1945) – fifth president of Wellesley College
• William Metz (1914–2013) – historian and chairman of the University of Rhode Island's history department
• Roy G. Poulsen (1918–2006) – economist and director of the Research Center in Business and Economics at the University of Rhode Island
• Michael Rice (born 1955) – Chairman of the Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science at the University of Rhode Island
• Hermann Viets (1943–2017) – astronautics engineer and president of the Milwaukee School of Engineering
• Homer Jay Wheeler (1861–1945) – chemist and director of the Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Rhode Island

Activism, civil rights, and philanthropy

• George Fayerweather (1802–1869) – abolitionist and blacksmith
• Sarah Harris Fayerweather (1812–1878) – abolitionist
• Edward Everett Hale (1822–1909) – religious leader and abolitionist
• Joe Patrick II (born 1963) – activist and retired Army soldier

Art, literature, and design

• Jhumpa Lahiri (born 1967) – author
• C. J. Chivers (born 1964) – author

Business

• Augustus George Hazard (1802–1868) – businessman and gunpowder manufacturer
• Rowland Hazard III (1881–1945) – businessman and politician
• Rowland G. Hazard (1801–1888) – industrialist and politician

Crime

• Michael Woodmansee (born 1958) – child murderer

Film, television, and stage

• Mark Atkinson – actor
• Andrew Burnap (born 1991) – actor^[1]
• Kate French (born 1984) – actress
• Brendan O'Malley (born 1969) – actor

Journalism

• Bob Rathbun (born 1954) – sportscaster
• Lindsay Crouse (born 1984) - documentary film producer

Military

• William J. Babcock (1841–1897) – Medal of Honor recipient
• David B. Champagne (1932–1952) – Medal of Honor recipient
• William G. Fournier (1913–1943) – Medal of Honor recipient
• Stephen Champlin (1789–1870) – Navy officer
• Christopher Raymond Perry (1761–1818) – Navy officer and Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Washington County
• Matthew C. Perry (1794–1858) – Navy officer
• Oliver Hazard Perry (1785–1819) – Navy officer
• Isaac P. Rodman (1822 – 1862) – Army officer and politician

Music

• Aaron Rossi (born 1980) – drummer
• Erika Van Pelt (born 1985) – singer^[2]

Politics and government

• Lemuel H. Arnold (1792–1852) – Governor of Rhode Island and U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
• James V. Aukerman (born 1948) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
• George Brown (1746–1836) – Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island
• Erasmus D. Campbell (1811–1873) – Governor of Wisconsin
• Kathleen Fogarty (born 1965) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
• John Gardner (1747–1808) – delegate to the Congress of the Confederation from Rhode Island
• Walter Gray (born 1926) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
• Grafton Kenyon (1882–1960) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and Rhode Island Senate
• Tom Keefe – member of the Branford (Connecticut) Representative Town Meeting and former member of the Colorado First Judicial District Retention Commission
• Carder Hazard (1734–1792) – Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
• George Hazard (1700–1738) – Deputy Governor of Colonial Rhode Island
• Edward Holland (1931 or 1932-2015) – Rhode Island Senator
• Robert Hazard (1702–1751) – Deputy Governor of Colonial Rhode Island
• Gilbert V. Indeglia (born 1941) – Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
• John Shanley Jr. (1944–2021) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
• Henry Marchant (1741–1796) – Founding Father and Attorney General of Rhode Island
• Paul Mumford (1734–1805) – Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island and Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
• Thomas Mumford (1625–1692) – settled South Kingstown and served as the first High Sheriff
• Peter Neronha (born 1963) – 74th Attorney General of Rhode Island
• Nathaniel Niles (1741–1828) – U.S. Representative from Vermont
• Elisha R. Potter (1764–1835) – U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
• Elisha R. Potter Jr. (1811–1882) – U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
• Samuel J. Potter (1753–1804) – Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island and U.S. Senator from Rhode Island
• William Robinson (1693–1751) – Deputy Governor of Colonial Rhode Island
• Rob Roy Rawlings (1920–2001) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
• Roy Willard Rawlings (1883–1973) – Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
• V. Susan Sosnowski (born 1955) – Rhode Island Senator
• Teresa Tanzi (born 1971) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
• Robert Tiernan (1929–2014) – U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
• Lucy Rawlings Tootell (1911–2010) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives

Science

• John Barlow (1872–1944) – entomologist
• Dorothy Bliss (1916–1987) – carcinologist and president of the American Society of Zoologists
• Alexander M. Cruickshank (1919–2017) – chemist and director of the Gordon Research Conferences
• Silvester Gardiner (1708 – 1786) – physician
• W. George Parks (1904–1975) – chemist and director of the Gordon Research Conferences
• John Sieburth (1927–2006) – biologist
• Samuel Slocum (1792–1861) – inventor
• Clarence M. Tarzwell (1907–1993) – biologist
• Malford W. Thewlis (1889–1956) – physician
• Richard W. Traxler (1928–2010) – microbiologist^[3]

Sports

• William Beck (1929-2017) – U.S. Olympian (1952 and 1956)
• Bob Bellemore (born 1959) – ice hockey coach
• Harry P. Cross (1873–1955) – football player and coach
• Martha Fierro (born 1977) – chess grandmaster and vice president of FIDE
• Ron Locke (born 1942) – baseball player
• Sean Maloney (born 1971) – baseball player
• Fred Tootell (1902–1964) – U.S. Olympian (1924)

See also

• List of University of Rhode Island people
• List of people from Rhode Island
• Hazard Family
• Perry Family

Notes and References

1. Web site: Fenton. Josh. URI Grad Andrew Burnap Wins Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor. 2021-09-27. GoLocalProv. en.
2. News: Former Chorus of Westerly singer makes 'Idol' top 13. Kristina Dorsey. theday.com . March 1, 2012 .
3. Web site: Richard W. Traxler obituary . Obituaries Online . 21 December 2011.