# Mt. Rushmore of your state **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636 "2014-03-13T19:22:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/81 "2014-03-14T18:38:46Z")
> [@Caffeine.addict](#): > > **RTFirefly** , they still refer to him as “Mayor-for-Life”, despite having been out of office for over a decade now. Good to know that some traditions haven’t died - even though I still live in the DC exurbs, and work (just barely) inside the Beltway, I haven’t picked up a CityPaper in many a year. ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/82 "2014-03-14T18:58:19Z")
Hawai’i: Kamehameha I Queen Lili’uokalani Duke Kahanamoku Dan Inouye Royalty, Surfin’ and a Hero/Statesman - Hana Hou! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/83 "2014-03-14T19:43:07Z")
I was born in New York in 1961 and have lived in Texas since 1986. Both states have WAAAAAY more than 4 worthy candidates. But here goes: New York: Alexander Hamilton, Washington Irving, Babe Ruth, Franklin Roosevelt (Too many near misses to name… but Verrazano, Peter Minuit and James Fenimore Cooper are among them.) Texas: Sam Houston, Buddy Holly, Lyndon Johnson, Tom Landry P.S. I KNOW Hamilton and Ruth weren’t originally from New York, and Houston wasn’t orginally from Texas. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/84 "2014-03-14T19:49:34Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I concur with the Kansas Rushmore previously mentioned, except I’d replace the astronomer with John Brown (the abolitionist), and the Treasury Secretary with James Naismith (the inventor of basketball). Neither spent their whole life here, but important chunks of it. And wouldja believe… Naismith is the ONLY man who ever had a losing record as head coach of the Jayhawks basketball team! ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/85 "2014-03-14T19:52:52Z")
> [@Philliam](#): > > Hawai’i: > > Kamehameha I > Queen Lili’uokalani > Duke Kahanamoku > Dan Inouye > > Royalty, Surfin’ and a Hero/Statesman - Hana Hou! Also living in Hawaii, can’t argue with those. I may put Kalakaua instead of Liliuokalani. I was thinking of Don Ho or Elvis, but now I like Duke Kahanamoku better! I could put Sanford Dole, who helped lead the revolution into democracy, but I’d probably get lynched. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/86 "2014-03-14T19:58:47Z")
Virginia is too easy for politicians/statesmen, so: Dave Grohl, Roy Clark, Patsy Cline, and Edgar Allen Poe. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/87 "2014-03-14T20:07:44Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > Hmmm. Interesting exercise. > > Massachusetts. > > Paul Revere, Sam Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Henry David Thoreau > [@KCB615](#): > > I concur, but you have the wrong Adams. Sam’s cousin John is much more deserving. I might throw John Hancock in instead of Revere, as well. I agree with KCB615, and would also take Ralph Waldo Emerson over Nimoy. And damn, does it hurt to say that. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/88 "2014-03-14T20:09:50Z")
Illinois: Abraham Lincoln Jane Addams Adlai Stevenson Barack Obama ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/89 "2014-03-14T20:11:22Z")
Nebraska: Father Flannagan Willa Cather Standing Bear Johnny Carson William Jennings Bryan and Buffalo Bill get honorable mentions, but get left off by being on the wrong side of history a bit too often. I’m leaving Malcolm X and Gerald Ford off this list per the OP’s instructions - both were born in Omaha, but left the state before their first birthday. Likewise Henry Fonda and Marlon Brando - both great artists with Nebraska roots, but neither one really looked back when they left the state in their youth. On the other hand, Johnny Carson grew up here, started his broadcasting career here, and contributed mightily to the state through his philanthropy after he came to national prominence. He’s in. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/90 "2014-03-14T20:13:07Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Illinois: > Abraham Lincoln > Jane Addams > Adlai Stevenson > Barack Obama A fine list, but may I suggest Frank Lloyd Wright instead of Stevenson? > [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Harry Truman, Thomas Hart Benton, Samuel Clemens, Walter Cronkite > > I actually didn’t know about Cronkite until I just Googled out of curiosity. That’s a darned fine list, but might I suggest Charlie Parker instead of Benton? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/91 "2014-03-14T23:20:59Z")
For Ohio I’m going with Thomas Edison, Bob Hope, Orville Wright, and James A. Garfield. ---
**Author:** ![Nauplius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nauplius/32/51_2.png) [@Nauplius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nauplius)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/92 "2014-03-14T23:25:56Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > Nebraska: > > Father Flannagan > Willa Cather > Standing Bear > Johnny Carson > > William Jennings Bryan and Buffalo Bill get honorable mentions, but get left off by being on the wrong side of history a bit too often. > > I’m leaving Malcolm X and Gerald Ford off this list per the OP’s instructions - both were born in Omaha, but left the state before their first birthday. Likewise Henry Fonda and Marlon Brando - both great artists with Nebraska roots, but neither one really looked back when they left the state in their youth. On the other hand, Johnny Carson grew up here, started his broadcasting career here, and contributed mightily to the state through his philanthropy after he came to national prominence. He’s in. No Warren Buffett? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/93 "2014-03-15T00:19:03Z")
Ethan Allen, Ira Allen, Ben & Jerry. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/94 "2014-03-15T01:30:48Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Ethan Allen, Ira Allen, Ben & Jerry. Vermont, I assume. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/95 "2014-03-15T01:32:26Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > A fine list, but may I suggest Frank Lloyd Wright instead of Stevenson? In fond memory of all of the nights we harmonized 'til dawn. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/96 "2014-03-15T01:37:58Z")
> [@KCB615](#): > > I might throw John Hancock in instead of Revere, as well. Time for the obligatory quote: [QUOTE=Dave Barry] The members took turns lighting sparklers and signing their John Hancocks to the Declaration, with one prankster even going so far as to actually write “John Hancock.” [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/97 "2014-03-15T03:34:34Z")
Neil Armstrong Clarence Darrow Thomas Edison John Glenn Steven Spielberg And a bunch of Presidents. ---
**Author:** ![Phrozen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/22d042/32.png) [@Phrozen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phrozen)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/98 "2014-03-15T07:38:09Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Alaska: > > William Egan: first governor and architect of the Alaska Constitution > Bob Reeve: Famous pioneer glacier pilot and creator/owner of Reeve Aleutian Airlines > Joseph Juneau: co-discoverer of the Juneau gold strike > Sydney Laurence: world famous artist who captured the grandeur of Alaska on canvas If you’ll allow a rookie to nitpick… Egan’s a fair choice, Laurence is _okay_, but the other two are questionable. Ernest Gruening, Charles Bunnell, James Wickersham, Ted Stevens, Bill Sheffield, Elmer Rasmuson, Austin Lathrop, Carl Eielson, Mike ‘Hell-Roaring’ Healy, Frederick Schwatka, General Wild Richardson and, arguably, the infamous Stuart Udall. My Rushmore would probably be Gruening, Wickersham, Egan and Stevens, with Rasmuson, Eielson, Healy and Richardson sitting in Sitting Bull Statue territory. Udall would once again be burned in effigy. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/99 "2014-03-15T14:09:22Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Neil Armstrong > Clarence Darrow > Thomas Edison > John Glenn > Steven Spielberg > > And a bunch of Presidents. I think we have a much better claim to Edison. He moved from Ohio as a small boy. Until our Mt Rushmore is made you can come visit the Edison memorial tower. It has a giant light bulb on top. It’s in Edison, New Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636/100 "2014-03-15T15:14:16Z")
> [@missred](#): > > Tennessee: > > David Crockett (he and Sam Houston were ours before going to Texas) > Andrew Jackson > Elvis > Dolly Parton (does she count as a single or double?) You done stole the code! The list I was going to post. I might want to include some of these but I’m not sure whom I would replace in your group: Chet Atkins Shelby Foote Christina Hendricks – She and Dolly could get all four slots! Quentin Tarantino Alvin (Sergeant) York I looked over the list at [List of people from Tennessee - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Tennessee) to see who all might qualify, and there are others for sure. I think this group is close to the Rushmore standard, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-rushmore-of-your-state/683636.md?page=6)