Dr. William Townsend Dr. William Henry Townsend was the first licensed Black optometrist, one of the first Black state legislators in the Arkansas General Assembly since the 1890s, and the first Black chair of the Aging and Legislative Affairs Committee.
Pauline Hoeltzel
Pauline Hoeltzel Pauline Hoeltzel was a lifelong educator and civil servant. She was a faculty member at Little Rock Junior College and UA Little Rock, president of the American Association of University Women, and the first woman on the University…
Garnet Thomas Eisele
Garnet Thomas Eisele Judge Garnet Thomas Eisele was a lawyer, veteran, and federal district judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas for 41 years. From 1966 to 1969, he worked as Winthrop Rockefeller’s legal advisor. He played a significant role…
Edward Fry
Edward Fry Ed Fry served as chief of staff for Arkansas Representatives Tommy Robinson, Ray Thornton, and Vic Snyder. He was an active member of the Young Democrats of America (YDA) and the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL).
Graham Hawks
Graham Hawks Graham Hawks was a soldier in World War II when he met fellow soldier Winthrop Rockefeller. Surviving the war, the two men would maintain a lifelong friendship.
William “Sonny” Walker
Sonny Walker Sonny Walker, native of Arkansas and graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, was a civil rights activist and an accomplished public servant.
Conard Hays, Jr.
Conard Hays, Jr. Conard Hays, Jr., was a chaplain in the United States Army during World War II. He settled in Arkansas with his family and taught Bible and Religion at Harding University in Searcy for 34 years.
Robert Raymond Brown
Robert Brown Bishop Robert Raymond Brown led a “ministry of reconciliation” as a key figure in Little Rock Central High School’s desegregation crisis in 1957.
Scott Bond
Scott Bond During the late 19th century, former slave Scott Bond became a successful black farmer and businessman in Madison, Arkansas.
Dr. LeRoy Christophe
Dr. LeRoy Christophe Dr. LeRoy Christophe worked as an educator in Arkansas for 29 years from 1930 to 1959. After serving as a teacher in Dunbar and the principal of two Little Rock elementary schools, Dr. Christophe became principal of…
John Gould Fletcher
John Gould Fletcher John Gould Fletcher was an influential Arkansas poet and essayist. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1938 and participated in the literary movements of Agrarianism, Imagism, Modernism, and Romanticism that shaped twentieth-century literature.
Elizabeth Paisley Huckaby
Elizabeth Huckaby Elizabeth Huckaby served as vice principal of girls at Little Rock Central High School during the Little Rock crisis of 1957. Huckaby spent the year of the crisis working in support of desegregation, protecting the Little Rock Nine,…
Max Howell
Max Howell In 1946, Max Howell was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives from Little Rock. He served 2 terms. In 1950, he was elected to the Arkansas Senate to serve part of Pulaski County. He held the office…
Win Paul Rockefeller
Win Paul Rockefeller Winthrop Paul Rockefeller served as Arkansas’s seventeenth lieutenant governor from 1996-2006. Following in the footsteps of numerous Rockefellers before him, his philanthropy and political activities left a lasting impression on the state of Arkansas.
Florence Cotnam
Florence Cotnam Florence Cotnam was a suffrage leader and influential speaker from Little Rock. Her speeches influenced thousands of Americans and aided in the passage of the 19th Constitutional Amendment.
Wilson “Woody” Crockett
Woody Crockett Arkansan Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Crockett had a long, successful career in the military. He was a Tuskegee Airman in WWII, flew in 45 flights in the Korean War, and worked with the Pentagon from 1960-1970 to integrate the…
Art Porter
Art Porter Arthur Lee “Art” Porter was a gifted pianist of both classical and jazz music. He taught music at numerous schools in Little Rock and was best known as a member of the The Art Porter Trio.
Julia Burnelle Smade Babcock
Bernie Babcock Bernie Babcock was the author of many literary and historical works. She was later known as the founder and curator of the Museum of Natural History and Antiquities in Little Rock.
J. E. “Pat” Garner
Pat Garner John Edward “Pat” Garner was a radio broadcaster in the 1940s, speaking about the World War II war effort and promoting his Fort Smith community. In 1949, Garner was elected to the Arkansas State Senate, serving 4 terms.…
Jeannette Edris Rockefeller
Jeannette Rockefeller Jeannette Rockefeller was best known as Arkansas’s First Lady during her husband Winthrop Rockefeller’s time as governor. She successfully raised funds to build the Museum of Fine Arts (now the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts) and worked with…
Harvey “Lee” Goodwin
Harvey Goodwin Harvey “Lee” Goodwin was a Little Rock native whose love of performance blossomed into a career as a professional female impersonator. Despite a lifelong battle with tuberculosis, he successfully performed in movies and on stages around the world.
Wes Hall
Wes Hall Little Rock native Wes Hall founded the iconic fast-food chain Minute Man, which at its peak boasted 57 restaurants in Arkansas and seven surrounding states. Minute Man was a pioneer on the fast food landscape, and its legacy…