Famous Citizens:

Danny Ainge
Ainge was born in Eugene, Oregon and attended Brigham Young University. He was a college All-American and won the Wooden Award as college basketball player of the year in 1981, but he also played professional baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays while he was in college. He was eventually drafted to play basketball with the Boston Celtics, and ended his career with the Blue Jays. He started for two NBA championship teams as a Celtic, and when he retired, he was the second player in NBA history to hit 900 three-point shots. After retirement, he served briefly as coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.

 

 

Beverly Cleary
Beverly Atlee Bunn was born in McMinnville, Oregon and grew up on a family farm. She studied to be a librarian at the University of Washington, and served as a children’s librarian in Yakima, Washington. It was not until she was in her early thirties that she finally found time to write, something she had always wanted to do. She is probably best known for her “Ramona” books, including “Ramona Forever,” “Beezus and Ramona” and “Ramona’s World.” She has written more than 30 books, and won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award and the Newberry Medal for her children’s books.

 

 

Matt Groening
Born in Portland, Oregon, Matt was the son of a cartoonist who encouraged his son to draw from an early age. After graduating from college in 1977, he moved to Los Angeles with hopes to become a writer. Not finding much success, he began to send messages to his friends back home in the form of a comic book he called “Life in Hell.” This comic strip is still active and appears in newspapers around the work. His success with this project led television producer James L. Brooks to hire Groening to develop an original animated comedy series, and “The Simpsons” debuted on Fox Television in 1990. The show is the longest running prime time animated show in history.

 

 

Chief Joseph
Born in the Wallowa Valley, Joseph was a member of the Nez Perce tribe. Known primarily as a peaceful leader, he was forced into a war in 1877 over issues of white settlement. After trying to lead his people on a 1,500 mile trek to Canada, he was forced to surrender when his people were left starving and near frozen to death. He was first relocated to Oklahoma, but then returned to his homeland and encouraged Indians to get an education and to abstain from drinking and gambling.

 

 

Phil Knight
Phil Knight graduated from the University of Oregon with a BS in business administration and competed on the track team. In 1964, Knight and his former track coach, Bill Bowerman, each invested $500 to start Blue Ribbon Sports, the company that would later become Nike. The first athletic shoe to bear the Nike brand was the Cortez in 1972. By 1979, the company (named for the Greek goddess of victory) claimed 50% of the US running shoe marked. Today Knight is the chief executive officer, president and chairman of Nike.

 

 

Linus Pauling
Pauling was born in Portland, Oregon, the son of a pharmacist. He attended Oregon State College and received a doctorate from California Institute of Technology where he went on to become a professor. He was chairman of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering for 22 years. Pauling made advances in chemistry and won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954. An outspoken opponent of war, particularly using nuclear weapons, he worked for international agreements banning nuclear testing, and in 1963, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He is the only person to win two unshared Nobel Prizes.