Literature
1.
Thomas Hornsby Ferril- Poet Laureate of Colorado; winner of Robert Frost Poetry Award.
2.
Dalton Trumbo- Author and Academy Award winning screenwriter.
3.
Allen Ginsberg- Beat poet, Author of
, Co-founder of Naropa Institute’s Jack
Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder in 1969.
4.
Horace Greeley- Publisher and editor of the
5.
Helen Hunt Jackson- Lived in Colorado Springs in 1873; she wrote about the relationship between
Coloradans and the Native Indian Tribes.
6.
Enos Mills- Started his career as a nationally recognized writer on outdoor subjects, he became an advocate of the National Park System and is considered the father of the Rocky Mountain National
Park.
7.
James Albert Michener- Author of
which is about Colorado History. His archives are presently held at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley where he worked as a professor.
8.
Helen Bonfils- Philanthropist and publisher of the
9.
Ellis Meredith -was an American suffragist, journalist, and novelist, known as the Susan B.
Anthony of Colorado
10.
William Kumpai Hosokawa - was a Japanese American author and journalist who worked for 38 years at
Entertainment and Theater
, before retiring as the editorial page editor from that particular paper in 1984
1.
Mary Coyle Case- Playwright who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1945 for her play made into a major motion picture starring James Stewart.
, which was later
2.
Antoinette Perry- Namesake of the Tony Award for excellence in theater; director and president of
Experimental Theatre; Chairperson of American Wing; actress.
3.
Hattie McDaniel- First African-American to win the Academy Award for her role as Mammy in
4.
Douglas Fairbanks- Famous silent screen star.
5.
Cleo Parker Robinson- Founder of the internationally renowned Cleo Parker Robinson Modern Dance
Ensemble.
6.
Leontyne Price- An American soprano who rose to international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s; one of the first African-Americans to become a leading artist in the Metropolitan Opera.

7.
Amy Adams- Amy Lou Adams is an American actress and singer.
8.
Tim Allen- film and television actor, comedian .
9.
Don Cheadle- actor, Academy Award nominee and two-time Golden Globe Award winner
10.
AnnaSophia Robb– film and TV actress, starred in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Bridge to
Terabithia.
Artists
1.
William Henry Jackson- Started as a photographer for the U.S. Geological Survey and Union Pacific
Railroad; created one of the largest and most expensive western photographic collections in the world.
2.
Robert Adams- Photographer of the western landscape.
3.
Berke Breathed- Creator of the satirical comic strips
and
.
4.
George Elbert Burr- Celebrated etcher whose western themed work is the permanent collections of many of the nation’s largest museums.
5.
Antonia Brico- Symphony director; first woman to be admitted into the prestigious Berlin Academy; founded the Women’s Orchestra of New York and Denver Businessman’s Orchestra.
6.
Judy Collins- Internationally known folk singer and anti-war advocate during the Vietnam War.
7.
John Denver- Nationally known folk and pop musician.
8.
Glenn Miller- One of the preeminent “Big Band” swing orchestra conductors.
9.
George Morrison- Started his jazz career in Boulder and Denver; one of America’s most important band leaders.
10.
Paul Whiteman- Considered the “King of Jazz.”
11.
Eppie Archuleta- Globally recognized for preserving the ancient folk art of weaving and the loom through her Spanish and Indian rugs and tapestries.
12.
John Fielder- Is an American landscape photographer and nature writer. He specializes in photography and writings of the US state of Colorado.
13.
Katharine Lee Bates - was an American songwriter. She is remembered as the author of the words to the anthem "America the Beautiful".
Athletics
1.
Alex English- Considered the best basketball player in Denver Nuggets history.
2.
Jack Dempsey- Became the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion from 1910 to 1926.

3.
Babe Didriksen Zaharias- Broke four golf records in the 1932 Olympics. In 1947, she was the first
American to win the British Women’s Golf Championship. Also won the National Women’s Open Golf
Tournament.
4.
Wallace Werner- One of the great skiers of all time. In 1962, he was the first American to win a major European ski event, Austria’s Hahnehamm.
5.
Amy Van Dyken- First American woman to win four gold medals in a single Olympics in 1996. Her swimming career is even more amazing in that her asthma only allows her to use 65% of her lung power.
6.
John Elway- Quarterback for the Denver Broncos from 1984 to 1999; led the Broncos to three Super-
Bowl losses before back-to-back wins in Super Bowl XXXII and XXXIII.
7.
Jerome C. Biffle- Won gold medal in the long jump in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics with a jump of 24 feet, 10 inches. After the Olympics, he returned to Denver to become a coach and counselor at East
High School for three decades.
8.
Marcelo Balboa- Retired American soccer defender; member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
9.
Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez- Mexican-American boxer, poet and political activist.
10.
Missy Franklin- Four-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming.
11.
Ben Nighthorse Campbell- Olympic athlete, U.S. representative and U.S. Senator.
12.
William Winston “Billy” Kidd- Olympic ski champion; alpine ski racer.
Politics
1.
Federico Pena- City and County of Denver Mayor from 1983-1991; advocated for large civic projects, like Denver International Airport and the Denver Convention Center, to boost local economy.
2.
John Evans- U.S. politician, physician, railroad promoter, and Governor of the Territory of Colorado; noted for being one of the founders of both the University of Denver and Northwestern University.
3.
John Hickenlooper- Current governor of Colorado.
4.
Nathaniel P. Hill- Mayor of Black Hawk in 1871; elected as a Republican to the US Senate from 1879-
1885.
5.
Robert Speer- City and County of Denver Mayor from 1904-1912 and 1916-1918. Through his influence, the Denver Mountain Parks System was developed, Civic Center Park was created, parks were added, trees lined the streets, and the history and arts were funded.
6.
Lindsey- Pioneer of the Juvenile Court System and child welfare advocate; served as a Denver Judge from 1900-1927 promoting controversial views like juvenile rehabilitation.
7.
Michael Hancock- 4 th mayor.
and current mayor of Denver, Colorado; Denver’s second African-American
8.
Pat Schroeder- The longest serving woman in the U.S. House of Representatives.

9.
John Salazar- Democratic congressman from 2005-2011.
10.
Wellington Webb- First African-American mayor of Denver; elected to the Colorado House of
Representatives.
11.
Golda Meir- Former prime minister of Israel; one of the most prominent female politicians of her era.
12.
Casimiro Barela-Known as a highly respected legislator whose career in the State Senate spanned 25 continuous years. Elected from Las Animas county, Barela was instrumental in ensuring that Colorado legislation was printed in the Spanish language.
13.
Ralph Carr- Thirty-first governor of Colorado. Known best for his humanitarian actions concerning
Japanese-Americans during World War II. He created legislation that ensured those of Japanese ancestry their basic freedoms and a safe haven from the internment camps of the western coast.
14.
James William Denver- Known as the man for whom Denver was named; federal commissioner of
Indian affairs; served in the California State Legislature and was the leader of the Relief Expedition of
1852 in which 50,000 immigrants crossed the Sierra Mountains to California.
15.
Black Kettle- Cheyenne Chief who tried to keep peace with the settlers.
16.
Mamie Dowd Eisenhower- Former first lady of the United States.
17.
Edwin C. Johnson- Colorado’s only three-time governor.
18.
Byron White- Pro-football player who became a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
19.
Condoleeza Rice- American political scientist and diplomat; served as the 66 th under the administration of George W. Bush.
US Secretary of State
20.
William Bent- Developed the first trade empire in the Colorado Region at Bent’s Fort in 1833. As tensions grew between white settlers and Native-Americans, Bent became a peace negotiator for both sides as his wives were Native-American and he befriended the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes.
21.
Josephine Aspinwall Roche- First policewoman in Colorado; first woman to run a major coal company; second woman to serve in a presidential cabinet.
22.
William Gilpin- U.S. explorer, politician and writer about the American west; first governor of the
Colorado territory.
23.
Elizabeth Piper Ensley (1848-1919), Colorado suffragist, circa 1900
24.
John Long Routt - was a U.S. Republican political figure. Born in Eddyville, Kentucky, he served as the first and seventh Governor of Colorado from 1876 to 1879 and 1891 to 1893.
Business
1.
General William Jackson Palmer- Founder of the Town of Colorado Springs. One of the railroad pioneers.
2.
Horace Tabor- American prospector, businessman, and politician; known as the “Bonanza King of
Leadville.”

3.
Augusta Tabor: Augusta successfully ran businesses, owned real estate, and carefully managed her money at a time when few women were allowed to be involved in financial and business matters.
4.
Adolph Coors- Based out of Golden, Coors established his now famous brewery in 1873 using the region’s famous mountain spring water. Coors is presently the nation’s third largest brewer. The family has been active in Colorado politics and philanthropy.
5.
Charles Boettcher- Made his initial fortune during the Leadville silver boom by providing miners with supplies. He took his money and made various fortunes in many Colorado industries such as meatpacking, sugar, and railroads. His name lives on through the philanthropic work of the Boettcher
Foundation.
6.
Barney Ford- Businessman and civil rights leader in early Colorado history.
7.
Bob Magness- Founder of Tele-Communications Incorporated (TCI). Also remembered as a generous philanthropist in his numerous donations to the University of Colorado, Boy Scouts of America and the underprivileged.
8.
Ruth Handler- American businesswoman known for her roll in marketing the Barbie doll; president of
Mattel toy manufacturer.
9.
David H. Moffat- One of Denver’s most important financiers and industrialists; responsible for the development of the Middle Park area.
10.
Byron White- Was a football halfback and later an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States. Appointed to the court by President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
11.
Jack Swiggert Was a NASA astronaut, one of the 24 persons who have flown to the Moon.
12.
M. Scott Carpenter- Is an American test pilot, astronaut and aquanaut. He is best known as one of the original seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury in April 1959.
13.
Buffalo Bill- Was an American soldier, bison hunter and showman.
14.
F.O. Stanley- Co-inventor of the Stanley Steamer automobile; designed The Stanley Hotel in Estes
Park.
15.
Bob Sakata- An icon in American farming, his family owns a farm in Brighton, CO that is 2,400 acres and includes sweet corn, onions, broccoli and cabbage. His family moved to Colorado after they were relocated to Japanese Internment Camps in 1941 in California.
16.
Frances Wisebart Jacobs - established businesses in Denver and Central City.
17.
Mary Elitch Long - was one of the original owners of Elitch Gardens in Denver, CO.
18.
Fannie Mae Duncan- was the first African-American woman to succeed as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and community activist in Colorado Springs.
19.
Kate Slaughterback-Rattlesnake Kate Slaughterback killed 140 rattlesnakes in one afternoon near
Hudson, Colorado.

Scientists
1.
Justina Ford- Denver’s first female African-American doctor; was a pioneer in opening up the medical profession for African-Americans and women; helped Denver’s sick and needy.
2.
Florence Rena Sabin- Known as the famous medical researcher and humanitarian, sought to improve health laws in Colorado; first woman professor at Johns Hopkins University; first woman to be elected to life membership in the National Academy of Sciences.
3.
John Wesley Powell- U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois
State University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. Lake Powell, a reservoir on the Colorado River, was named in his honor.
4.
David Packard- Engineer who co-founded Hewlett-Packard.
5.
Martha Maxwell- Self-educated naturalist and artist who came to Colorado during the gold rush in
1860; helped found modern taxidermy; first woman to collect her own animal skins and mounts.
6.
Doc Susie- Practiced medicine in the high mountains of Grand County during the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19; treated many men who were injured during the construction of the Moffat Tunnel through the Rocky Mountains.
7.
Margaret Murnane- Physicist and professor at the University of Colorado. Her work has won her multiple awards including the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship award in 2000.
8.
Hazel Schmoll- botanist, Board Member Colorado Mountain Club
9.
Richard Russell- saved the lives of many people in Arvada, Colorado, during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic.
Miscellaneous
1.
Chipeta- In 1859 she became the second wife of Ouray, chief of the Ute Indian Nation. She advocated for peace with white settlers.
2.
Clara Brown- Known as the founder of Denver’s first Sunday school in 1859; first African-American to come to Colorado in the gold rush in 1859.
3.
Elrey Jeppesen- American aviation pioneer; Denver International Airport is named after him.
4.
Owl Woman- Cheyenne princess and daughter of White Thunder, a medicine man from the Cheyenne tribe; married William Bent; managed relations between Native American tribes and white men.
5.
Molly Brown- American socialite, activist and philanthropist who became famous for her survival of the 1912 sinking of the ship Titanic. Molly helped to establish the Colorado chapter of the American
Women Suffrage Association, and worked in soup kitchens to assist miners’ families.
6.
Kit Carson- Known best as a mountain man; had a long military service record; accompanied three of the Fremont expeditions as a guide.
7.
Owen J. Goldrick- Known as the founder of Denver’s first school in September 1859.

8.
Emily Griffith- Known as the founder of Emily Griffith Opportunity School, opened in 1916 and still in operation today, the school was a national model for life-long learning and of adult learning for people from all levels of educational background.
9.
Chief Ouray- Known as the great Ute Indian Chief; recognized as the man who brought peace forward between his people and white men. Ouray County was named for this famous Chief of the
Utes.
10.
Little Raven- Arapahoe Chief who sought peaceful relations between the Native-Americans and the whites even amidst the Sand Creek Massacre.
11.
Zebulon Montgomery Pike- American explorer and military officer who explored the Rocky
Mountains and tried to find the source of the Mississippi River. Pike’s Peak in Colorado is named after him.
12.
Lily Nie- Founded the organization Chinese Children Adoption International to help people adopt children from China as well as the Chinese Children Charity Fund to raise money to feed and care for the children in Chinese orphanages. She also founded the Joyous Chinese Cultural School to teach adopted Chinese children their native language and culture.
13.
Chin Lin Sou - was an influential leader in the Chinese American community and prominent figure in Colorado.
14.
John Lewis Dyer - pioneering Methodist Episcopal itinerant preacher, first in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and then in the mining camps and other communities of his adopted U.S. state of Colorado.
15.
Otto Mears - a famous Colorado railroad builder and entrepreneur who played a major role in the early development of southwestern Colorado.
16.
Felipe Baca- Colorado Hispanic pioneer who helped found Trinidad, Colorado.
17.
Dottie Lamm-is a modern day renaissance woman who wears her many hats with pride. For 12 years she was Colorado’s first lady as wife of Governor Dick Lamm
18.
Jose Dario Gallegos- the son of a merchant. He moved north into Colorado, leading the establishment of settlement of San Luis de Culebra in 1851.