Since the inception of Rhode Island in 1636 as a colony founded by Roger Williams, the state has grown to become one of the most beautiful states in the U.S., known for making silverware, fine jewelry, and exceptional individuals.
In this article, we’ll look at the most influential people in Rhode Island, starting with the founding father, Roger Williams.
17 Most Influential People In Rhode Island
Here is an outline of the most influential people in Rhode Island:
- Roger Williams
- Nathanael Greene
- Pat Toomey
- Claudia Jordan
- H.P. Lovecraft
- Gary Albright
- Meredith Viera
- Will Blackmon
- Matthew Calbraith Perry
- Grant Wilson
- Walt Mossberg
- David Hedison
- James Woods
- Zachariah Allen
- Joyce Jillson
- Joe Nocera
- Nicholas Colasanto
1. Roger Williams
Roger Williams is regarded as the founder of Rhode Island. He was born in London, England on December 23, 1603 – 1683.
As a young man, he was taken as an apprentice by Sir Edward Coke, the famous jurist, and was educated at Charterhouse School under Coke’s guidance.
Roger Williams was a vital propagator for religious freedom, separation of church and state, and fair dealings with Native Americans.
In January 1636, he fled persecution by Puritan authorities in Massachusetts and, a few months later, moved on property peacefully acquired from Native Americans with a few of his disciples. He named his new settlement Providence.
Williams also established the first Baptist Church congregation in America in 1638 and 1639, despite spending a great part of his life unaffiliated with any official church.
When he returned to England in 1643, he used his influence with top Puritan officials to acquire a charter uniting Providence with two other havens from Puritan Massachusetts persecution—Newport and Portsmouth—securing the colony’s distinct legal existence.
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2. Nathanael Greene
The Greenes were among the first inhabitants of Rhode Island, helping to establish the colony in the 1630s. They were devoted Quakers, and his ancestor, John Greene Sr., moved to Rhode Island after fleeing the Massachusetts Bay Colony due to strife with the Puritans.
Born in Warwick into a Quaker family, Nathanael Green read the military history on his own. Still, he was overlooked from becoming an officer in East Greenwich’s Kentish Guards due to a limp he had developed as a child. After the eruption of the Revolutionary War in Lexington and Concord, the Rhode Island government granted his wishes and made him a leading military commander.
Greene quickly advanced to major general in the Continental Army.
Greene built the Major General Nathanael Greene Homestead, in 1770, in Coventry at 50 Taft Street, open to the public.
He tragically died of heatstroke at the age of forty-four, while working on the plantation in Georgia granted to him by that state.
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3. Pat Toomey
Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is a businessman and politician from Pennsylvania. He has served as the junior United States Senator since 2011.
He formerly served as the Republican Party’s U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania’s 15th congressional district from 1999 to 2005 before pulling the strings.
After clinching the Republican nominee ticket for the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania, Toomey won a spot in the seat on November 2, 2010, beating his Democratic opponent, former U.S. Navy Three-star admiral and Congressman Joe Sestak in a close competition.
In 2016, Toomey was re-elected to his second term as the junior United States Senator.
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4. Claudia Jordan
Claudia Angela Jordan was born in Providence, Rhode Island on April 12, 1973. She is an American actress, model, reality TV, and radio personality.
Jordan is renowned for her appearance on the U.S. version of Deal or No Deal and The Price is Right. It is also worth noting that she competed in Seasons 2 and 6 of Celebrity Apprentice.
Jordan appeared on the Bravo reality television series, The Real Housewives of Atlanta for its seventh season.
Jordan was a sprinter in high school and earned all-state honors in track and field. She also competed in three Junior Olympics and in college, became an All-American sprinter in the 400-meter relay.
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5. H.P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft was an American writer of weird science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He was born on August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937, in Providence, Rhode Island.
His horror fiction novels have had an impact, with “The Call of Cthulhu” being the most notable.
Lovecraft’s literary canon is based around the idea of cosmicism, which was both his personal philosophy and the central theme of his fiction. Cosmicism asserts that humanity is an insignificant part of the cosmos, and could be erased at any moment.
He also enjoyed a stint in journalism, advocating for amateurism’s superiority over commercialism.
6. Gary Albright
Gary Albright was an American professional wrestler born on May 18, 1963. Albright kickstarted his wrestling career while in High School. He wrestled for Billings West High School, Montana, with a 55-2 record.
Albright was a two-time World Tag Team Champion in AJPW. He was also known in Canada for his stint with Stampede Wrestling under his birth name and the ring moniker Vokhan Singh.
Gary Albright was a member through the marriage of the famous Anoaʻi wrestling family, including Afa and Sika, Yokozuna, Rikishi, The Rock, Jimmy and Jey Uso, and Roman Reigns. His widow, Monica, is the daughter of Afa Anoaʻi.
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7. Meredith Viera
Meredith Louise Vieira born on December 30, 1953, is a broadcast journalist and TV host from the United States.
She is most known for being the first moderator of the daytime talk show, The View (1997 – 2006), the first host of the syndicated daytime edition of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (2002-2013).
Viera also co-anchored the NBC morning news program Today from 2006–2011 before moving on to anchor the weekday syndicated game program 25 Words or Less.
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8. Will Blackmon
William Edwards Blackmon is a former safety and return specialist in American football. He played football as a student for the Boston College Eagles before being selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft.
He played for the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, and shortly for the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.
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9. Matthew Calbraith Perry
Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848).
Perry, born in Newport, became a professional naval officer under the command of his younger brother, Oliver Hazard Perry, before serving as an army commander in the War of 1812.
Most notably, following President Millard Fillmore’s orders, he led a U.S. naval expedition to Japan on two visits in 1853 and 1854, establishing U.S. trade with Japan, which had previously been left out from the outside world for nearly 250 years.
Because of his outstanding services to the United States, He is considered the father of the United States steam navy.
In addition to his remarkable performance in the US Navy, Perry was recognized as a reformer in naval education, recruit training, and steam engineering. He contributed to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis curriculum, and many of his concepts were taught at the United States Naval War College in Newport.
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10. Grant Wilson
Grant Steven Wilson is an Art Director & Developer for Rather Dashing Games (now a division of Kalmbach Publishing), a game company he established with Michael Richie. He also co-founded The Atlantic Paranormal Society based in Warwick with his friend Jason Hawes.
Wilson initially met TAPS co-founder Jason Hawes when he offered to update the Rhode Island Paranormal Society (RIPS) website, a support group Hawes founded for those who had paranormal encounters. Wilson subsequently stated that he wanted to meet Hawes because he had suffered an intense, recurring mystical experience beginning at fifteen. Hawes and Wilson went on to co-found TAPS.
He is also the star and co-producer of the cable television reality series Ghost Hunters.
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11. Walt Mossberg
Walter S. Mossberg is an American journalist popularly renowned for pioneering modern, consumer-focused technology review and commentary. He was the principal technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal.
Born on March 27, 1947, Mossberg, a native of Warwick, Rhode Island, attended Pilgrim High School, Brandeis University, and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
He was a founding member of AllThingsD, Recode, and the D and Code Conferences. Mossberg was also the Executive Editor of The Verge and Editor-at-Large of Recode, both owned by Vox Media, from 2015 to 2017.
In April 2017, Mossberg announced his plans to retire. Currently, he serves on the board of The News Literacy Project.
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12. David Hedison
Albert David Hedison Jr. (May 20, 1927 – July 18, 2019) was an American film, television, and state actor.
In his early cinematic career, he was billed as Al Hedison until 1959, when he was cast as Victor Sebastian in the short-lived spy television series Five Fingers. When NBC insisted that he change his name, he proposed his middle name and was later known as David Hedison.
He was best known for his roles in Irwin Allen’s television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as Captain Lee Crane and as CIA operative Felix Leiter in two James Bond films, Live and Let Die and Licence to Kill.
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13. James Woods
Award-winning actor James Woods was born and brought up in Warwick where he attended Pilgrim High School.
He is most recognized for his portrayals as Bill W. in My Name Is Bill W. (1989), Roy Cohn in Citizen Cohn (1992), and Rudy Giuliani in Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story. On May 20, 1995, Woods acted as Defense Attorney Danny Davis in Indictment: The McMartin Trial, a television film that premiered on HBO.
Due to his outstanding performances, Woods was nominated for two Academy Awards: one for Best Actor for his work in Oliver Stone’s Salvador (1986) and another for Best Supporting Actor for Rob Reiner’s Ghosts of Mississippi (1996).
He received two Primetime Emmy Awards for the television movies Promise (1987) and My Name Is Bill W. (1989).
On October 15, 1998, the star actor received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Motion Pictures Category at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
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14. Zachariah Allen
Zachariah Allen is one of the most influential people in Rhode Island. He was an American textile manufacturer, scientist, lawyer, writer, inventor, and civil leader from Providence, Rhode Island.
After his education at Phillips Exeter Academy and Brown University in 1813, Allen went on to become a textile manufacturer. In 1822, he constructed a Woolen mill, adopting innovative fire-safety features and mechanical improvements.
He also created the first hot-air furnace system for household heating. In 1833, he invented his most famous invention, the automatic cut-off valve for steam engines. In 1835, he formed the Manufacturers’ Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the progenitor of today’s FM Global. Allen was also a prolific scientific text writer, publishing multiple books and articles during his lifetime.
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15. Joyce Jillson
Born Joyce Twitchell in Cranston, Rhode Island (December 26, 1945 – October 1, 2004), Jillson was a syndicated newspaper columnist, best-selling author, actress, and astrologer, whose column
Joyce Jillson (December 26, 1945 – October 1, 2004) was a best-selling author, actress, astrologer, and newspaper columnist whose column was published worldwide in over 200 papers and magazines.
She started her acting career in New York City, where she featured on Broadway in the Anthony Newley musical, The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd, and many other series.
She also authored the following books, The Fine Art of Flirting; Real Women Don’t Pump Gas, Joyce Jillson’s Lifesigns, and A Year of Good Luck. Her final manuscripts, Astrology for Dogs and Astrology for Cats, were published after her death.
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16. Joe Nocera
Joseph “Joe” Nocera (born May 6, 1952, in Providence, Rhode Island) is an American business journalist and author. Currently, Nocera writes about sports at The New York Times, where he formerly wrote about business. Earlier in his career, he was a columnist for the newspaper’s Op-Ed page.
Nocera’s book, A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class won him many awards, including the New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Award for best non-fiction. In 2007, he was named a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary finalist. In 2017, his sports article, Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA, which he co-wrote with Ben Strauss, won the PEN America ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting.
You can follow him on the following social media handles:
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17. Nicholas Colasanto
Nicholas Colasanto was an American actor and TV director best known for his role as “Coach” Ernie Pantusso in the American sitcom “Cheers.” Colasanto kickstarted his career as an accountant, but after seeing Henry Fonda play on Broadway, he developed an interest in acting and directing.
He directed more than 100 episodes of various television series. His television credits include ‘ChiPs,’ ‘Run for Your Life,’ ‘Bonanza,’ and ‘Hawaii Five-O.’ His film credits include ‘Family Plot,’ ‘Fat City,’ and ‘The Counterfeit Killer.’
Colasanto landed his most notable role as “Coach” Ernie Pantuso much later in his career. His portrayal earned him widespread acclaim and three Emmy nominations over his three years on the show.
His most recent important role was in the blockbuster hit biographical sports-drama film ‘Raging Bull,’ starring Robert De Niro. Colasanto had been an alcoholic for over two decades before becoming an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous and reaching sobriety.
FAQs On Rhode Island
Rhode Island is the smallest state in the United States regarding land area. It has a total size of 1,214 square miles.
Rhode Island is known for making silverware and fine jewellery.
Rhode Island is a New England state bordered by Massachusetts to the north and east, the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and Connecticut to the west.
The main language of communication in Rhode Island is English with a northeastern American dialect.
Conclusion
Though Rhode Island may be small in size, the state is rich in history and blessed with a pool of human resources who go on to make an indelible mark in the life of humanity. I hope our list of the most influential people in Rhode Island got you inspired.
References
- ranker.com – Famous People From Rhode Island
- onlyinyourstate.com – You May Be Surprised To Learn These 11 Famous People Are From Rhode Island
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