Other Historical Figures

Black and white photograph of Gordon Hancock

Marion Birnie Wilkinson

Social reformer, black women’s club leader

Color photograph of Elizabeth Wright wearing green dress

(1540) The leader of a powerful chiefdom, the “Lady” of Cofitachiqui encountered Hernando de Soto and his conquistadors in 1540 as they passed through her territory (probably near the modern town of Camden). Narratives by the Spanish, including Garcilaso de la Vega, portray the encounter as a chivalrous and romantic one, in which the Lady formed a pact of friendship and peace with de Soto by offering him a magnificent strand of pearls from around her neck and graciously supplying provisions.

Anita Pollitzer

Educator, suffragist, reformer

Black and white photograph of Frances Edmunds

Frances Ravenel Smythe Edmunds

Preservationist

Louisa Susanna Cheves McCord

Essayist, poet

Color photograph of Phoebe Yates Pender sitting in a chair

Phoebe Yates Pember

Confederate hospital matron, author

Harriott Horry Rutledge Ravenel

Novelist, biographer, historian

Black and white photograph of Elizabeth Pringle

Elizabeth W. Allston Pringle

Rice planter, author

Black and white photograph of Abbie Christensen holding a child in her lap

Abbie Holmes Christ

Folklorist, educator, suffragist

Black and white photograph of Dr. Treadwell

Henrie Monteith Treadwell

Civil rights activist; public health expert and advocate; First Black graduate and Black woman graduate from the University of South Carolina since Reconstruction

Hilla Sheriff

Physician, public health official

Theodosia Burr Alston

Daughter of Vice President Aaron Burr. Associated with Georgetown Co.

John Gary Anderson

John Gary Anderson was the founder of the Anderson Motor Company in Rock Hill, SC, which made automobiles from 1916 to 1926.

Anna DeCosta Banks

Charleston native, Anna DeCosta Banks, was the first head nurse at the Hospital and Training School for Nurses in Charleston, South Carolina.

A young Charlotta wearing a light lacy collar sweater and pearl-like earrings

Charlotta Bass

Born in Sumter, SC, Charlotta Bass was a newspaper publisher in Los Angeles, California, and the first African-American woman on a Presidential campaign ticket in a United States presidential election.

Ben Bernanke

Ben Bernanke grew up in Dillon, SC. Bernanke was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System from 2006-2014.

Cardinal Bernardin wearing gold framed glasses.

Joseph Louis Bernardin

Born in Columbia, SC, Joseph Louis Bernardin was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as archbishop of Chicago from 1982 until 1996.

Joseph B. Bethea United Methodist Church.

Joseph Benjamin Bethea

Dillon native Bishop Joseph Benjamin Bethea was the first African-American bishop of the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church.

James Bonham in a brown coat and white necktie

James Butler Bonham

Born near Red Bank, James Butler Bonham was a soldier who died at the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution.

Anne Bonny

Anne Bonny was a female pirate who lived in Charleston, SC.

Lucy Hughes Brown

First black female physician to practice in South Carolina

An older man with a deep receding hairline and pronounced forehead wrinkles.

Morris Brown

Morris Brown was one of the founders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC.

A standing woman holding a baby in front of a group of women.

Maude Evelyn Daniel Callen

Maude Callen served as a nurse and midwife to the poor people of Berkeley County, SC

David Coker wearing a light suit and dark tie.

David Robert Coker

David Robert Coker was a Hartsville, SC businessman and philanthropist who founded the “Coker’s Pedigreed Seed Catalogue” in 1914.

Ann Pamela Cunningham

Ann Pamela Cunningham was the founder of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association that purchased and preserved Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington.

Black and white photograph of Charles Daniel

Charles Ezra Daniel

Charles Ezra Daniel was a successful businessman and political figure in South Carolina.

Francisco de Chicora

Francisco de Chicora was a Native American that was taken to Spain, where he met chronicler Peter Martyr and told him about the Chicora tribe.

A black man with a receding hairline and mustache goatee.

Martin Robison Delany

Martin Robison Delany was an physician, writer, and first proponent of black nationalism.

BJ Dennis

Born and raised in Charleston, SC, personal chef and caterer Benjamin “BJ” Dennis infuses the flavors and culture of the Lowcountry into his Gullah Geechee cuisine.

Peggy Dillard-Toone

Peggy Dillard-Toone is a model and artist. She was the second Black woman to appear on the cover of Vogue.

Ulysses Dove

Ulysses Dove was one of the most innovative contemporary choreographers of the past half-century.

A woman sitting at a desk writing something in a book.

Eugenia Duke

Eugenia Duke created Duke's Mayonnaise

Willie Earle

Willie Earle was the victim of a brutal murder and the last racial lynching in South Carolina.

Confederate States $50 Civil War currency note, signed by Edward Elmore.

Edward C. Elmore

Edward C. Elmore was the treasurer of the Confederate States of America.

Matilda Arabella Evans

Dr. Matilda Arabella Evans was the first African-American woman licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina.

Shannon Faulkner

Shannon Faulkner was the first female student to attend The Citadel.

James Fooshe

James Fooshe was a soldier, author, farmer, philosopher, and Methodist churchman.

Richard Furman

Richard Furman was a pastor who influenced the development of the Baptist denomination in the South.

David du Bose Gaillard

David du Bose Gaillard was a U.S. Army engineer instrumental in the construction of the Panama Canal.

A older man in a navy blue suite with a yellow tie standing in front of a city

Jim Gandy

South Carolina's Weatherman, Jim Gandy, was the Chief Meteorologist for WISTV (1984-1998) and WLTX (1999-2019).

A woman on a horse and two soldiers next to a tree and horse.

Emily Geiger

Emily Geiger risked her life by serving as a messenger for the Colonial Army during the Revolutionary War.

Ambrose Gonzales wearing a light colored hat.

Ambrose E. Gonzales

Ambrose E. Gonzales and his brother, N.G. Gonzales founded The State newspaper in 1891.

Queen Quet

Marquetta L. Goodwine, better known as Queen Quet is an author, preservationist, and artist who serves as Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation.

Isaac Hayne

Issac Hayne was hanged by the British for espionage and treason during the American Revolution.

Caroline Etheredge Hembel

Caroline Etheredge Hembel was a pioneer aviator. She became the first female trainee in the Southeast to receive her pilot's license.

Jane Edna Harris Hunter

Nurse and social worker from near Pendleton, SC..

William Johnson, Jr.

William Johnson, Jr. was a U.S. Supreme Court Justice from Charleston who served from 1804 to 1834.

Joseph Kirkland wearing a navy blue suit with a burgundy red tie.

Joseph Lane Kirkland

Joseph Lane Kirkland was a labor union leader who served as president of the AFL-CIO from 1979 to 1995.

Brooklyn Mack

Brooklyn Mack is a danseur from Elgin, SC.

Rudy Mancke

Naturalist Rudy Mancke served as naturalist and co-host of South Carolina ETV's NatureScene, which began its long run in 1978.

Cassandra Maxwell

Cassandra Maxwell was the first Black woman admitted to the South Carolina Bar.

Virginia McLaurin

Born in Cheraw, SC, Virginia McLaurin is a community volunteer and supercentenarian.

Craig Melvin

Craig Melvin is a broadcast journalist and anchor at NBC News and MSNBC.

Rebecca Motte

Rebecca Motte was a widower and landowner along the Congaree River who graciously allowed Francis Marion and other Patriot soldiers to set fire to her plantation home when the British took command of the house.

A white woman sitting next to two black girls.

Ellen Murray

Ellen Murray co-founded the Penn Center with Laura Towne.

Mark Myers wearing a tan cowboy hat, red and white bandana, and a red, white, and blue plaid shirt.

Mark and Sandra Myers

Mark and Sandra Myers are the founders of The Black Cowboy: Man or Myth African American Cultural Festival in Rembert, SC.

Kathleen Parker

Kathleen Parker is a columnist for The Washington Post.

An older man with round wired glasses sits in a leather chair holding a book.

Daniel Alexander Payne

Daniel Alexander Payne was a bishop, educator, college administrator, and author from Charleston, SC.

Kitty Black Perkins

Kitty Black Perkins was the Chief Designer of Fashions and Doll Concepts for Barbie.

An older gentleman sitting in a brown leather chair

Matthew J. Perry, Jr.

Judge Matthew James Perry, Jr. was South Carolina's first Black United States District Court Judge.

Joe Pinner

Radio and television personality Joe Pinner has been an icon of South Carolina televisions since 1963.

Melvin Purvis

Melvin Purvis was an FBI agent responsible for ending the criminal careers of Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger.

Richard Samuel Roberts

Richard Samuel Roberts was one of South Carolina's most famous photographers in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his photographs captured the life of African-Americans living in the South.

A middle aged man sitting at a desk with microphones.

Eugene Harold Robinson

Eugene Harold Robinson is a newspaper columnist and an associate editor of The Washington Post.

Alexander Samuel Salley

Alexander Samuel Salley was a historian whose work and dedication to preserving South Carolina's history led to the creation of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Edwin G. Seibels

Edwin Seibels was a businessman from Edgefield, SC, who invented a vertical filing system that revolutionized record-keeping.

Robert Smalls

Robert Smalls was a Beaufort slave who hijacked a Confederate steamship, disguised himself as a white captain, and sailed to the Union-controlled enclave in Beaufort–Port Royal–Hilton Head area safety.

Lithograph Illustrating A Revival Or Camp Meeting

Josiah Smith

Josiah Smith was a clergyman who championed the causes of the Great Awakening and later the American independence.

Elliott White Springs

Elliott White Springs was a South Carolina businessman and an American flying ace of World War I.

Freddie Stowers

Freddie Stowers was a member of the 371st Infantry Regiment in World War I who was posthumously awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor.

Susie King Taylor

Nurse, teacher

Elizabeth Timothy

Elizabeth Timothy was America’s first female newspaper editor.

An older woman holding a pen and wearing a black judge robe.

Jean Hoefer Toal

Jean Toal was the first woman to serve as Chief Justice of the SC Supreme Court.

A middle aged woman with hair styled in a bun.

Laura Matilda Towne

Laura Matilda Towne was an abolitionist and educator known for forming the Penn School.

Henry McNeal Turner

Black Nationalist, repatriationist, and minister

Angelica Van Buren wearing a white feathered hat and white off shoulder gown.

Angelica Singleton Van Buren

Angelica Singleton Van Buren married Abraham Van Buren while his father, Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States.

Denmark Vesey

Denmark Vesey was a free Black pastor and community leader in Charleston, South Carolina, who was accused and convicted of planning a major slave revolt in 1822.

Spann Watson

Lt. Col. Spann Watson was a fighter pilot who served with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.

black and white photograph of Clemmie Webber

Clemmie E. Webber

Advocate of women’s rights and suffrage and co-founder of the literacy movement in South Carolina

John Blake White

John Blake White was a painter and playwright from Berkeley County. He is best known for his painting of Francis Marion.

Black an white photo of Whittaker in uniform

Johnson Chesnut Whittaker

Slave, West Point cadet, lawyer, educator

color photograph of Sylvia Woods and her husband standing in front of her restaurant

Sylvia Pressley Woods

Sylvia Pressley Woods was a restaurateur, author, businesswoman best known for Sylvia's Restaurant in New York city.

Henry Woodward

Henry Woodward was an early colonist of South Carolina who was instrumental in establishing contact with Native Americans and setting up a trading system.

Black and white photograph of Isaac Woodard with eyes swollen shut

Isaac Woodward

Black World War II veteran who became known to the world as the victim of a horrific act of racist violence that robbed him of his sight.

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Other Historical Figures

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