Year Inducted: 1998
Ann Smith Franklin - James Franklin (1697-1735) was the first of ten children born to Josiah Franklin and Abiah Folger of Boston. He learned the printing trade in England and then returned to America, where in 1721, he began publication of the controversial and independent New England Courant, a newspaper disrespectful of civil and ecclesiastical policies. Young Benjamin Franklin--child…
Armand M. LaMontagne - Armand L. LaMontagne stands out as one of the most celebrated and gifted artists/sculptors that Rhode Island has ever produced. Born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on February 3, 1938, to Raymond, a general superintendent, and his wife, Jeanne [nee Ferland], Armand L. LaMontagne attended Pawtucket public schools. Recognized by the Providence Journal for his innate…
Bishop George Berkeley - Eighteenth-century Rhode Island’s most famous scholar was Irish clergyman George Berkeley (pronounced Barkley), an Anglican essayist and philosopher, who renovated and resided at the beautifully preserved Whitehall Farm in present-day Middletown during his eventful stay in America from 1729 to 1731. Berkeley was born in Dysart Castle in County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1685. He was…
Dr. George W. Waterman - The late Dr. George W. Waterman, was a Providence native and renowned obstetrician and gynecologist whose medical career spanned half a century and included significant work in the fight against cancer. A graduate of Brown and Cornell Universities, he was a past president of the Rhode Island and New England Medical Societies; was acclaimed for…
Edwin G. O’Connor - The late Edwin G. O'Connor, a Providence native and former Woonsocket resident, was a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist whose works included The Last Hurrah, The Edge of Sadness, for which he received the Pulizer; and "All in the Family." A multi-talented individual, he was also a playwright, creating I Was Daning and Traveler for Brazil for…
Governor and Chief Justice Samuel Ward - Samuel Ward (1725-1776) was born in Newport, one of fourteen children of Governor Richard Ward and Mary (Tillinghast) Ward. He was twice descended (in both paternal and maternal lines) from Roger Williams. His father, a prosperous merchant, served as governor of Rhode Island from 1740 to 1743. Young Sam was destined by his father to…
Governor Samuel Cranston - Samuel Cranston (1659-1727) was governor of Rhode Island for almost twenty-nine years, from 1698 to 1727, a tenure not only longer than any other Rhode Island governor but also exceeding the tenure of any other chief executive of an American colony or state. Cranston was the son of John Cranston, who was also a Rhode…
Helen Metcalf Danforth - The late Helen Metcalf Danforth, 1887-1984, formerly of Providence, served as President of the Corporation of the Rhode Island School of Design from 1931-1947. She also served as a member of the RISD education committee until 1965, when she was elected Chairman Emeratia. During her term of office she is credited with guiding RISD from…
Hubert C. “Ted” Hersey - The late Hubert C. "Ted" Hersey of Middletown was an internationally recognized science teacher at St. George's school, chairman of the school's science and computer departments and renowned teacher of physics. Hersey was also a highly successful coach of cross-country and track & field. His prominence in teaching earned him a 1992 Presidential Award for…
James Franklin - James Franklin (1697-1735) was the first of ten children born to Josiah Franklin and Abiah Folger of Boston. He learned the printing trade in England and then returned to America, where in 1721, he began publication of the controversial and independent New England Courant, a newspaper disrespectful of civil and ecclesiastical policies. Young Benjamin Franklin--child…
James H. Woods - James H. Woods formerly of Warwick, now living in Los Angeles, is a multi-award winning stage and screen actor who has had an extraordinary career. An extremely versatile performer he has excelled across a wide spectrum of acting roles in major movie, television and theater productions. His honored performances in Ghosts of Mississippi and Salvador…
John Hazen White Sr. - John Hazen White, Sr. , 1914-2001,of Barrington, was a prominent businessman whose Cranston-based "TACO, Inc." is among the country's most successful manufacturing companies. He has defended Rhode Islanders by enlightening them to the cost of Government and the consequences of legislative decisions through his innovative "Red Alert" efforts, while bearing all costs associated with the…
John Townsend - John Townsend (1733-1809) was one of at least nineteen family members in an extended three-generation Quaker family of Townsends and Goddards who crafted the famed Newport style of American furniture from 1740 to 1840. Newport was the destination of many cargoes of fine mahogany woods from Honduras and Santo Domingo. Wealth created by Caribbean shipping…
Peter Harrison - Judge Nathaniel Byfield (1653-1733), the most important of Bristol’s original proprietors, was born in Surry, England, in 1653, the youngest of twenty-one children. He arrived in Boston in 1674 and soon gained wealth as a merchant. In 1680, the prosperous Byfield became one of Bristol’s four proprietors, acquiring title to all of Bristol and Mount…
Rev. James MacSparran - Dr. James MacSparran (1693-1757) was born in County Derry, Ireland, of Presbyterian parents who had migrated from Scotland. He earned a master’s degree at the University of Glasgow and then studied for the Presbyterian ministry. In 1718, he came to America from his native Ireland and served for a year in Bristol as pastor of…
Reverend Ezra Stiles - Ezra Stiles (1727-1795) was born in North Haven, Connecticut, the son of Isaac Stiles, a Yale-educated Congregational minister, and Kezia Taylor, who died five days after his birth. Ezra entered Yale himself at age fifteen and graduated at nineteen in 1746. Three years later, he joined the ministry. As a young man, he also studied…
Samuel Casey - Samuel Casey (1724-1773) was born in Newport, the descendant of Thomas Casey, an Irishman who allegedly fled his country in the 1640s to escape English persecution. Little is known of Casey's early life or his training for the craft of silversmithing other than an apprenticeship to Jacob Hurd in Boston. In 1745, he was admitted…
Sarah Updike Goddard - There are certain ingredients necessary to create an independent, self-governing, stable commonwealth. A thriving economy always helps. Strong, healthy community institutions like religious congregations and schools and colleges help, as do economic engines like banks and insurance societies. But a vital key to unlocking the participation of the public is the role of the press.…
Silas Downer - Silas Downer, a patriot and lawyer, was born in Norwich, Connecticut, to a farm family that subsequently moved to Sunderland, Massachusetts, near Deerfield, where Downer got his early schooling. He entered Harvard College at age fourteen and earned an undergraduate degree and a Master of Arts degree by age twenty-one. After graduation in 1750, Downer…
William Claggett Sr. - William Claggett (1696-1749) was born in England or Wales, the son of a baker about whom little else is known. As a youth, he migrated with his family to Boston, served an apprenticeship to clockmaker Benjamin Bagnall, and at age nineteen, married Mary Armstrong in a ceremony presided over by Cotton Mather. His son William,…
William F. F. Farley - William F. Farley, of Pawtucket, now of Chicago, is businessman who was was chairman and CEO of Fruit of the Loom the highly successful international manufacturer and distributor of basic family apparel for fifteen years (1985-1999). Farley acquired Fruit of the Loom in 1986. Under Farley's leadership, sales exceeded $2 billion. He has received the…
