Famous Citizens:

Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
Although Thomas J. Jackson was born before West Virginia became a state, the site was Clarksburg, which is now located in West Virginia. He attended West Point (the US Military Academy) and graduated in 1846, going on to serve in the artillery during the Mexican War. He resigned from the Army to teach at Virginia Military Institute. When Virginia seceded from the Union, Jackson was appointed a colonel in the Virginia state forces. He earned his nickname through his service during the Battle of Bull Run. His greatest effort came at Chancellorsville where he was eventually wounded and had to have his arm amputated. He seemed to be recovering from the amputation, but contracted pneumonia, and died eight days after the injury.

 

 

Don Knotts
Jesse Donald Knotts was born in Morgantown, West Virginia. He was a shy child, prone to illness and episodes of depression. However, through his acting, he gained confidence, and by the time he was in high school, he had created a ventriloquist act. After high school, Knotts enlisted in the army, and after he left the army, he decided to give radio a try, and auditioned for a local theater company. In the mid 1950s, he landed a small role in a Broadway production entitled “No time for Sergeants” with Andy Griffith. He then auditioned for a movie version of the play, and then was recruited by Griffith for a regular spot on a television show launched in 1960. Knotts earned five Emmy awards for his work as “Barney Fife,” the bumbling deputy sheriff. He also worked on a series of movies for Disney, including “The Apple Dumpling Gang.”

 

 

Mary Lou Retton
Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, and literally vaulted into the national spotlight in August 1984 when she won the gold medal for the best all-around women’s gymnast at the 1984 Summary Olympics in Los Angeles. She was the first American woman to ever win an individual medal in gymnastics, and also earned two bronze and two silver medals.

 

 

Jerry West
Jerry West was born in Chelyan, West Virginia, attended East Bank High School, and led his team to a state basketball championship in his senior year. He was the first West Virginia scholastic player to score more than 900 points in one season. He went on to play basketball at West Virginia University, and in his junior year, he led the team to the NCAA finals and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. In his senior year, he was a consensus All-American. After college, he played for the 1960 gold medal team in the Rome Olympics, and then for 14 years with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was named to the all-NBA First Team 10 times, and selected to 14 All-Star teams.

 

 

Chuck Yeager
Charles Elwood Yeager was born in Myra, West Virginia. When he graduated from High School, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps to serve in World War II. During the war, he flew 64 combat missions, and following the war, remained in the military to serve in the newly established US Air Force as a test pilot and flight instructor. In 1947, he was assigned to test a rocket powered airplane, the X-1. At the time, no one knew if a fixed-wing plane could fly faster than the speed of sound, and no one knew if a human could survive going that fast. Yeager survived the attempt and became the first pilot to break the sound barrier. He later went on to break other flying records, work with NASA astronauts and win the Congressional Gold Medal, which was awarded to him by President Gerald Ford.