List of people from South Dakota

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Location of South Dakota on the U.S. map

This is a list of prominent people who were born in or lived for a significant period in U.S. state of South Dakota. For a larger list by location, see People from South Dakota.

Academia[]

Ernest O. Lawrence
  • Vine Deloria, Jr., American Indian author, theologian, historian, and activist
  • Alvin Hansen, economist, Harvard professor; born in Viborg
  • Arthur Larson, law professor, United States Undersecretary of Labor; born in Sioux Falls
  • Ernest O. Lawrence, inventor of cyclotron, winner of 1939 Nobel Prize for Physics; born in Canton
  • Lawrence Lessig, internet activist, Harvard Law School professor; born in Rapid City
  • Theodore Schultz, economist, winner of 1979 Nobel Prize for Economics; born in Arlington

Actors and filmmakers[]

January Jones
  • Angela Aames (1956–1988), actress; born in Pierre
  • Catherine Bach (born 1954), actress; grew up in South Dakota
  • Bruce Baillie (1931–2020), experimental filmmaker; born in Aberdeen
  • Rachael Bella (born 1984), actress; born in Vermillion
  • Shannon Bolin (1917–2016), actress, singer; born in Spencer
  • Moses Brings Plenty (born 1969), actor; born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
  • Christopher Cain (born 1943), actor, director, screenwriter; born in Sioux Falls
  • Leslie Carlson (1933–2014), actor; born in Mitchell
  • Sean Covel(born 1976),film producer; grew up in Edgemont[1]
  • Harvey B. Dunn (1894–1968), actor; born in Yankton
  • Judith Evelyn (1913–1967), actress; born in Seneca
  • Amy Hill (born 1953), actress; born in Deadwood
  • Candace Hilligoss (born 1935), actress; born in Huron
  • Ron Holgate (born 1937), actor; opera singer; born in Aberdeen
  • January Jones (born 1978), actress; born in Hecla
  • Cheryl Ladd (born 1951), actress; born in Huron
  • Eddie Little Sky (1926–1997), actor; born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
  • Cliff Lyons (1901–1974), stuntman, actor; born in Lake County
  • Beth Maitland (born 1958), actress; born in Rapid City
  • Gail Matthius (born 1953), actress, voice actress; born in Sioux Falls
  • Russell Means (1939–2012), actor, left-wing activist; born in Wanblee
  • John Miljan (1892–1960), actor; born in Lead City
  • Debra Mooney (born 1947), actress; born in Aberdeen
  • Conrad A. Nervig (1889–1980), Oscar-winning film editor; born in Grant County
  • Gary Owens (1934–2015), voice actor, disc jockey; born in Mitchell
  • Dorothy Provine (1937–2010), actress, singer, dancer, comedian; born in Deadwood
  • Gene Roth (1903–1976), actor; born in Redfield
  • Chic Sale (1885–1936), actor, vaudevillian; born in Huron
  • Eddie Spears (born 1982), actor; born in Lower Brulé Tribe, South Dakota
  • Michael Spears (born 1977), actor; born in Lower Brulé Tribe, South Dakota
  • Michael Steinberg (born 1959), director, writer; born in Rapid City
  • Joan Tabor (1932–1968), actress; born in Sioux Falls
  • Delores Taylor (1939–2018), actress, writer, director; born in Winner
  • Casey Tibbs (1929–1990), cowboy, rodeo performer, actor; born in Fort Pierre
  • Mamie Van Doren (born 1931), actress; born in Rowena
  • Jerry verDorn (born 1949), actor; born in Sioux Falls
  • John War Eagle (1901–1991), actor; born on the Yankton Indian Reservation
  • Alfred L. Werker (1896–1975), director; born in Deadwood
  • Floyd Red Crow Westerman (1936–2007), actor, left-wing activist; born on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation
  • Timmy Williams (born 1981), actor, comedian; born in Watertown

Artists[]

  • Peggy Detmers, sculptor of wildlife in metal, attended South Dakota State
  • Harvey Dunn, painter, born in Manchester
  • James Earle Fraser, sculptor; spent much of his life in Mitchell
  • Paul Goble, author and illustrator of children's books; lives in Rapid City
  • Mary GrandPré, illustrator, born in South Dakota
  • Bill Groethe, photographer, born in Rapid City
  • Oscar Howe (1915–1983), Native American artist; born in South Dakota
  • Terry Redlin (1937–2016), wildlife artist; born in Watertown
  • Dick Termes, painter of Termespheres; lives in Spearfish


Authors and poets[]

Laura Ingalls Wilder
  • Jacob M. Appel, author, wrote Coulrophobia & Fata Morgana while living in Sioux Falls[2]
  • L. Frank Baum (1856–1919) author; lived in Aberdeen
  • Joseph Bottum (born 1959), essayist and poet; born in Vermillion
  • Charles Badger Clark (1883–1957), poet laureate of South Dakota
  • Allison Hedge Coke (born 1958), American Book Award-winning poet, writer; South Dakota resident
  • Elizabeth Cook-Lynn (born 1930), author; born in Fort Thompson
  • Pete Dexter (born 1943), author, screenwriter and journalist, attended University of South Dakota
  • David Allan Evans (born 1940), poet laureate of South Dakota
  • Joseph Hansen (1923–2004), author, best known for mystery novels; born in Aberdeen
  • Cameron Hawley (1905–1969), author, Executive Suite, Cash McCall; born in Howard
  • Patrick Hicks (born 1970), novelist and poet, Writer-in-Residence at Augustana University
  • Johan Andreas Holvik (1880–1960), author and professor at Concordia College (Minnesota)
  • Adam Johnson (born 1967), writer, author of The Orphan Master's Son (2012); born in South Dakota, Lakota heritage
  • Bill Johnson (born late 1950s), science-fiction writer; born in South Dakota
  • Herbert Arthur Krause (1905–1976), historian, professor at Augustana
  • Rose Wilder Lane (1886–1968), journalist, travel writer, novelist; born in De Smet
  • Gaylord Larsen (born 1932), mystery writer; born in Canova
  • Joseph Marshall III, Pen Award-winning author; co-founder of Sinte Gleska College; born on the Rosebud Indian Reservation
  • Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957), author, best known for Little House on the Prairie; lived in De Smet

Business[]

Gene Amdahl
  • Gene Amdahl (1922–2015), chief architect of IBM mainframe computer; born in Flandreau
  • Al Neuharth (1924–2013), founder of USA Today, born in Eureka[3]
  • Lee Raymond (born 1938), CEO and chairman of ExxonMobil Corporation; born in Watertown
  • Joseph Robbie, owned NFL's Miami Dolphins; born in Sisseton

Military[]

  • Oscar Randolph Fladmark (1922–1955), WWII and Korean War pilot; Distinguished Flying Cross recipient; lived in Sioux Falls, born in Moe
  • David C. Jones (1921–2013), retired U.S. Air Force general, former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff; born in Aberdeen
  • Touch the Clouds (c. 1837–1905), Native American chief; later Indian Scout and Sergeant in the US army

Music[]

  • Joey Clement, band member of Selena Gomez & the Scene; born in Rapid City
  • Shawn Colvin (born 1956), Grammy Award-winning musician; born in Vermillion
  • Mark Craney (1952–2005), drummer for Jethro Tull, Jean Luc-Ponty, Eric Burdon
  • Myron Floren (1919–2005), accordionist, The Lawrence Welk Show; born in Roslyn
  • Gary Mule Deer (born 1940), comedian and country musician; born in Deadwood, lives in Spearfish
  • Keith Olsen (1945–2020), record producer and sound engineer; born in Sioux Falls
  • Jess Thomas (1927–1993), opera singer; born in Hot Springs
  • Frank Waln, Sicangu Lakota rapper
  • Abby Whiteside (1881–1956), piano teacher, attended University of South Dakota

Native Americans[]

  • Gertrude Bonnin (Zitkala-Sa) (1876–1938), Lakota writer and activist; born on Yankton Sioux Reservation
  • Crazy Horse (c. 1840–1877), Oglala Lakota war leader
  • Russell Means (1939–2012), Native American activist; born in Pine Ridge
  • Maria Pearson (1932–2003), Yankton Sioux activist who helped establish the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
  • Rain-in-the-Face (c. 1835–1905), Hunkpapa Lakota chief
  • Red Cloud (1822–1909), Oglala Lakota chief
  • Sitting Bull (c. 1831–1890), Hunkpapa Lakota chief
  • Touch the Clouds (c. 1837–1905), Miniconjou Teton Lakota chief known for his great size
  • Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman (1936–2007), musician, activist and actor; born on Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Sioux reservation

Politics and government[]

Hubert Humphrey
Tom Daschle
  • Jim Abdnor (1923–2012), second Lebanese U.S. Representative and Senator; born in Kennebec
  • James Abourezk (born 1931), first Lebanese U.S. Representative and Senator; born in Wood
  • Clinton Presba Anderson, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture; born in Centerville
  • Tom Daschle (born 1947), U.S. Majority Leader of United States Senate; born in Aberdeen
  • J. James Exon (1921–2005), U.S. senator for Nebraska, Governor of Nebraska; born in Geddes
  • Joe Foss (1915–2003), Medal of Honor recipient, 20th Governor of South Dakota, first Commissioner of the American Football League; born in Sioux Falls
  • Ralph A. Gamble (1885–1959), U.S. Representative for New York; born in Yankton
  • John Hamre (born 1950), U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense; born in Watertown
  • Hubert Humphrey (1911–1978), U.S. Senator, 38th Vice President of the U.S., 1968 Democratic presidential candidate; born in Wallace
  • Muriel Humphrey Brown, U.S. Senator from Minnesota, Second Lady of the United States born in Huron
  • Bill Janklow (1939–2012), Governor 1979–1987 and 1995–2003; moved as teen to Flandreau
  • Brendan Johnson (born 1975), 40th U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota; born in Vermillion
  • Tim Johnson (born 1946), U.S. Senator from South Dakota 1997–2015; born in Canton
  • Arthur Larson (1910–1993), United States Under Secretary of Labor, lawyer, law professor; born in Sioux Falls
  • George McGovern (1922–2012), U.S. Senator from South Dakota, 1972 Democratic presidential candidate; born in Avon
  • Karl E. Mundt (1900–1974), U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative; born in Humboldt
  • Kristi Noem (born 1971), first female Governor of South Dakota and U.S. Representative from South Dakota; born in Watertown
  • Larry Pressler (born 1942), three-term U.S. Senator from South Dakota; born in Humboldt
  • Gladys Pyle (1890–1989), first female U.S. Senator from South Dakota; born in Huron
  • Mike Rounds (born 1954), current U.S. Senator from South Dakota, former Governor; born in Huron
  • Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (born 1970), U.S. Representative from South Dakota; born in Houghton
  • Edward John Thye (1896–1969), U.S. Senator from Minnesota and 26th Governor of Minnesota; born in Frederick

Science[]

  • Bob Burris (1914–2010), biochemist; elected to the NAS; contributed to our understanding of biological nitrogen fixation; born in Brookings
  • Niels Ebbesen Hansen (1866–1950), horticulturist and botanist[4]
  • Ernest O. Lawrence (1901–1958), physicist, Nobel Prize winner, built first cyclotron; born in Canton
  • John Mortvedt (1932–2012), agronomist and soil scientist who was the world's leading expert on micronutrients; born and raised on a farm near Dell Rapids

Sports[]

Mike Miller
  • Sparky Anderson (1934–2010), Baseball Hall of Fame manager of Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers; born in Bridgewater
  • Michael Andrew (born 1999), Olympic swimmer; raised in Aberdeen[5]
  • Shayna Baszler (born 1980), mixed martial artist; born in Sioux Falls
  • James Bausch (1906–1974), athlete, decathlon gold medalist at 1932 Summer Olympics; born in Marion
  • Curt Byrum (born 1958), professional golfer, PGA Tour; Onida
  • Tom Byrum (born 1960), professional golfer, PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions; Onida
  • Dallas Clark (born 1979), tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; born in Sioux Falls
  • Dave Collins, baseball player; born in Rapid City
  • Jessi Combs (1980–2019), professional racer, female land-speed world record holder, and TV personality; born in Rockerville
  • Sean Doolittle (born 1986), baseball player; born in Rapid City
  • Justin Duchscherer (born 1977), baseball player; born in Aberdeen
  • Mark Ellis (born 1977), baseball player; Rapid City
  • Keith Foulke (born 1972), baseball player, relief pitcher for 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox; born on Air Force base in South Dakota
  • Terry Francona (born 1959), baseball player, manager of the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians; born in Aberdeen
  • Chad Greenway (born 1983), linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings; born in Mount Vernon
  • Marlene Hagge (born 1934), golfer, member of World Golf Hall of Fame; born in Eureka
  • Becky Hammon (born 1977), basketball player and coach; born in Rapid City
  • Clare Jacobs (1886–1971), athlete, pole vault bronze medalist in 1908 Olympics; born in Madison
  • Dennis Koslowski (born 1959), Greco-Roman wrestler, two-time Olympic medalist; born in Watertown
  • Duane Koslowski (born 1959), Greco-Roman wrestler, former Olympian; born in Watertown
  • Jason Kubel (born 1982), outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks; born in Belle Fourche
  • Ward Lambert (1888–1958), college basketball coach; born in Deadwood
  • Ben Leber, football player; attended high school in Vermillion
  • Brock Lesnar (born 1977), UFC fighter and WWE professional wrestler; born in Webster
  • Randy Lewis (born 1959), freestyle wrestler, 1984 Los Angeles Olympics gold medalist; born in Rapid City
  • Clarence "Pug" Manders (1913–1985), pro football running back; born in Milbank
  • Jack Manders (1909–1977), pro football running back; born in Milbank
  • Mike Martz (born 1951), former NFL head coach and offensive coordinator; born in Sioux Falls
  • Lincoln McIlravy (born 1974), freestyle wrestler, 2000 Sydney Olympics bronze medalist; born in Rapid City
  • David Michaud (born 1988), UFC fighter; born in Pine Ridge
  • Derek Miles (born 1972), Olympic pole vaulter; from Tea
  • Tim Miles (born 1966), Big Ten basketball coach; born in Huron
  • Mike Miller (born 1980), pro basketball player; born in Mitchell
  • Billy Mills (born 1938), athlete, gold medalist in 1964 Olympics; born in Pine Ridge[6]
  • Dale Moss (born 1988), football player and model; born in Brandon
  • Gene Okerlund (1942-2019), Professional wrestling commentator; born in Brookings
  • Eric Piatkowski (born 1970), pro basketball player; attended high school in Rapid City
  • Riley Reiff, football player for Minnesota Vikings; from Parkston
  • Jared Reiner, basketball player; from Tripp
  • Bill Scherr (born 1961), freestyle wrestler, World Champion, four-time World medalist and Olympic bronze medalist; born in Eureka
  • Wilbur Thompson (1921–2013), athlete, 1948 Summer Olympics gold medalist in shot put; born in Frankfort
  • Derrek Tuszka (born 1997), pro football linebacker for the Denver Broncos; born in Warner, SD[7]
  • Shane Van Boening (born 1983), Professional pool player; born in Rapid City
  • Norm Van Brocklin (1926–1983), football player; born in Eagle Butte
  • Adam Vinatieri (born 1972), NFL placekicker; born in Yankton[8]
  • Brandon Wegher (born 1990), football player; born in Dakota Dunes

Television[]

Tom Brokaw
  • Bob Barker (born 1923), television game show host; raised on the Rosebud Indian Reservation[9]
  • Tom Brokaw (born 1940), television journalist, former NBC Nightly News anchor; born in Webster[10]
  • Don Fedderson (1913–1994), television producer and creator, My Three Sons, Family Affair, The Millionaire; born in Beresford
  • Mary Hart (born 1950), television personality (Entertainment Tonight); from Madison, and Sioux Falls[11]
  • Chelsea Houska (born 1991), television personality (Teen Mom 2)
  • Tomi Lahren (born 1992), conservative political commentator, host of TheBlaze's Tomi; raised in Rapid City[12]
  • Pat O'Brien (born 1948), sports commentator, television personality (Access Hollywood); born in Sioux Falls[13]
  • Gary Owens (1934–2015), announcer for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, radio disc jockey, voice actor; born in Mitchell

Uncategorized[]

Wild Bill Hickok
  • Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore
  • Seth Bullock, first sheriff of Deadwood
  • K. G. William Dahl (1883–1917), Lutheran pastor, author and social advocate
  • Billy Etbauer, rodeo cowboy; born in Huron
  • Alvin Hansen, economist; born in Viborg
  • Wild Bill Hickok, Wild West lawman; lived in Deadwood
  • Calamity Jane, Wild West figure; lived in Deadwood
  • Frank Leahy, Notre Dame football coach; attended school in Winner
  • Lawrence Lessig, political activist; from Rapid City
  • Boyd McDonald, pornographer
  • Vernon C. Miller, outlaw and Huron lawman
  • Peter Norbeck, South Dakota governor and senator[14]
  • William H. Parker, longtime Los Angeles police chief; born in Lead
  • James "Scotty" Philip, rancher
  • James Edward Zimmerman, inventor; born in Lantry
  • Korczak Ziółkowski, sculptor of Crazy Horse Memorial

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Sean Covel Seminars South Dakota | Television Producer in South Dakota | Red Roa". Red Road Motion Pic. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  2. ^ American Writer, March 2017, Pp. 7-8
  3. ^ "Allen Neuharth". South Dakota Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 28, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  4. ^ Niels Ebbesen Hansen 1866–1950 (South Dakota History. Volume 17 Number 1) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved 2009-09-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ Waltman, Scott (June 14, 2021). "Former Aberdeen swimmer Michael Andrew qualifies for Tokyo Olympics". Aberdeen News. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  6. ^ Sun, Rebecca. Catching up with Billy Mills Olympics news, results, schedules, medal tracker - SI.com Sports Illustrated. July 28, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
  7. ^ ((cite.web|url-https://www.denverbroncos.com/team/players-roster/derrek-tuszka/))
  8. ^ "Adam Vinatieri". New England Patriots. Archived from the original on September 1, 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
  9. ^ "Robert (Bob) Barker". South Dakota Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 28, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  10. ^ "Tom Brokaw". South Dakota Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 28, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  11. ^ "Mary Hart". South Dakota Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 28, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  12. ^ "Rapid City woman anchors political talk show at 22". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  13. ^ "Pat O'Brien". South Dakota Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 28, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  14. ^ "Peter Norbeck: Prairie Statesman". Retrieved November 4, 2008.
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