A Brief Overview of Famous People from Tennessee

Even a quick overview of the famous sons and daughters of Tennessee could take a while to compile if you wanted to be truly thorough, including authors, sports figures, artists and more. Men and women have been doing great things and becoming well known for them since the very beginning of the statehood and even before that if you want to include Sequoya, the inventor of the written Cherokee language.

Arguably the most famous Tennessee celebrity wasn't even originally from Tennessee at all. Elvis Presley was born in Mississippi but became such a famous Tennessee resident thanks to his mansion in Memphis that most people forget that little fact. (The same could probably be said of Johnny and June Carter Cash, as well, born in Arkansas and Virginia respectively.)

The state of Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State due to the large numbers of volunteers the state has produced during various wars. Probably the most famous military man to ever come from Tennessee would have to be Alvin C. York aka Sergeant York. York fought in World War I and earned a Medal of Honor before going on to found the Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute and start up a Bible school. A movie was made of his life and he is still a prominent figure in history.

Albert Gore Jr and Andrew Johnson were made famous as Vice Presidents of the United States. After Lincoln's early death, Johnson would go on to become President, though not very successfully. Two other US Presidents were also from Tennessee: Andrew Jackson, the man behind the removal of the Cherokee and the 'Trail of Tears', and James K. Polk, the man who acquired California and New Mexico for the US as well as a great amount of other territory during his single term.

Other well-known Tennesseans from a modern day standpoint include Bettie Page, the sweet faced, raven haired pinup that became world famous and, on the other end of the spectrum, financial guru Dave Ramsey. Morgan Freeman, Quentin Tarantino, Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana, and Johnny Knoxville make up an eclectic bunch of modern and famous Tennesseans. As befitting a state known for its music, Justin Timberlake, Tina Turner, and Aretha Franklin, also round out the list. Like Elvis, the actress Reese Witherspoon is considered to be a famous Tennessean though born elsewhere. She moved to TN at the age of 5 and still maintains a home there, and one of her earliest acting gigs was actually a commercial for the now defunct Opryland Theme Park.

Of course, no list of famed Tennesseans would be complete without mention of David 'Davy' Crockett, Buford Pusser of 'Walking Tall" fame, Casey Jones, Dolly Parton, Minnie Pearl, and Jack Daniel.