I found this very interesting List of Notable American Presbyterians on Wikipedia. People that I found interesting: Andrew Carnegie (yes THE Carnegie), Comedian Jim Carrey (Lair, Lair; The Mask; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Soul), Astronaut and United States Senator John Glenn, Actress Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond), famous talk show host David Letterman, and of course you can’t forget Mister Rogers. There have also been more Presbyterian US Presidents than any other Denomination (James Buchanan, Grover Cleveland, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, James Knox Polk, Ronald Reagan, and Woodrow Wilson.)
People that were not included on this list that, in my opption should have: sisters Patty and Mildred Hill school teachers in Louisville, Kentucky who in 1893 wrote the melody to Happy Birthday to You, Sarah Hale who in 1830 wrote the poem that would become the popular song Mary Had a Little Lamb, and the infamous leader of the Heaven’s Gate Cult Marshall Applewhite was PK (Preachers Kid) and raise Presbyterian.
Who is your favorite Famous or Infamous Presbyterian?
Of the current administration, I know that Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice is Presbyterian, as she comes from a lineage of Presbyterian ministers. Her scholarship and sense of the publc good fit into the Reformed ethos.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I've been told that Donald Rumsfield is a member at Fourth Presbyterian in Chicago, but I don't know that for sure.
Also, the Walton Family, read WAL-MART, is Presbyterian. Mrs. Helen Walton, widow of Mr. Sam Walton has served as chair of the Presbyterian Foundation and is the only Trustee Emeritus.
Also, both US Senators from Tennessee and Missouri are Presbies. Check out adherents.com which also has a list of notable people. I think they differ as to if we have the most Presidents of any denomination.
Also, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist from TN is Presbyterian as well as his counterpart in TN Lamar Alexander. Both of whom attend the same church.
Mr. Porter Goss, head of the CIA is Presbyterian.
As is movie actor John Wayne.
J. Edgar Hoover and Ross Perot also appear on the adherents.com list.
And of course, the Rev. John Witherspoon, the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence and the founder of Princeton.
Hope this offers some interesting tidbits.
Benjamin Franklin
ReplyDelete(Though he seems to have been more of a Deist, he was educated as a Presbyterian and paid tithe to and occasionally attended a Presbyterian church.)
I also read somewhere that Candice Bergen is, or at least was raised, Presbyterian.
ReplyDeleteKatie Couric is a member of Brick Pres in NYC.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe about Rumsfield.
Frist and Alexander do belong to Westminster in Nashville, pastored by KC Ptomey, board member of the Covenant Network. There's a church with something going on.
Bruce Matthews (football all-star) was a member of my church in TX (also QGrace's church!)
I left out Sherly Crow who I know was/is a member of the a Presbyterian in Kennett, Missouri. I have also hear that she was also an Ordianed Elder or Deacon.
ReplyDeletearen't the Indigo Girls presbyterian?
ReplyDeleteAs a member of Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, I can confirm that Rumsfeld is a member. Sadly, he rarely shows up and even more rarely seems to listen to what's said and lived there.
ReplyDeleteBilly Sunday was a Presbyterian.
ReplyDeleteDick Van Dyke is a Presbyterian elder.
ReplyDeleteLee Myung-bak, the new President of South Korea, is a Presbyterian. Read more about him http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Myung-bak
ReplyDeleteor read more about Presbyterianism in Korea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyterianism
I've gotta learn to write everything in one message.
ReplyDeleteKim Il Sung, the founder of the modern-day evil North Korea, was born & raised by his line of Presbyterian ancestors. His father & maternal grandfather were Presbyterian ministers. But how he turned evil himself, only God knows...
He is the father of Evil himself, Kim Jung Il (aka the "Dear Leader")
And JK Rowling too. She's a member of the Church of Scotland