Inductees from 1965

George M. Cohan (1878-1942)
Categories: Music (Singers, Composers), Theater

George Michael Cohan was born in Fox Point, Providence on July 3, 1878 to Irish-Catholic parents. Cohan joined his parents and sister in a vaudeville act an an early age. Cohan became one of the leading Tin Pan Alley songwriters, publishing upwards of 300 original songs. He also became the most successful theatrical producer of the early 20th century, as well as a notable actor and playwright. Read more >
Nehemiah Dodge (1775-1856)
Categories: Craftsmen, Founders of Rhode Island, Industry - Jewelry

Nehemiah Dodge, 1769-1843 was a pioneering Rhode Island industrialist whose craft was that of "manufacturing jeweler". He is generally regarded as the principle founder of Rhode Island's costume jewelry industry. His most famous apprentice was Jabez Gorham (1792-1869), founder of the internationally renowned Gorham Manufacturing Company. Read more >
Major General Nathanael Green (1742-1786)
Categories: Military

Nathanael Greene, 1742-1786, Revolutionary War general and George Washington's second in command. Noted as an effective quartermaster general of the Continental Army (1778 - 1780),and as the brilliant strategist of the Southern Campaign of 1780 - 1781, against British General Cornwallis. He was known as "The Fighting Quaker". Read more >
Nathanael G. "Nat" Herreshoff (1848-1938)
Categories: Craftsmen, Famous RI Families, Retail Pioneers, Sports - Other

Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, 1848-1938, was a world-renowned Bristol boatbuilder who teamed with his blind brother John Brown Herreshoff to build a series of world famous racing yachts that dominated the America's Cup competition from 1893 through 1934. "Captain Nat" and his Herreshoff Manufacturing Company also built luxury yachts, cruising sailboats, and America's first torpedo boat in 1876. Read more >
Napoleon Lajoie (1874-1959)
Categories: Sports - Baseball

Napoleon Lajoie, second baseman who played for Philadelphia and Cleveland in the National League from 1896 through 1916 and was Cleveland's player-manager for five years (1905-1909). Called "The Big Frenchman", the Woonsocket-born Lajoie compiled a lifetime batting average of .339 and he led his league in batting three times. His . Read more >
Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (1785-1819)
Categories: Famous RI Families, Military

Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, 1785-1819, naval hero of the famous Battle of Lake Erie during the war of 1812. On September 10, 1813, his ten-ship squadron defeated a comparable British force, thereby giving America control of that strategic waterway, a feat that made Perry a national hero. His terse note to General William Henry Harrison has become a naval classic--"We have met the enemy, and they are ours."
. Read more >
Charles G. "Hoss" Radbourn (1854-1897)
Categories: Sports - Baseball

Charles G. Radbourn, 1854-1897, born in Rochester, New York, "Old Hoss" played baseball for Providence, Boston, and Cincinnati in the National League from 1881 through 1891. He is regarded as the greatest pitcher of the 19th century with 308 wins and 191 losses in 12 years of competition. In 1884, he pitched the Providence Grays to the first World Series title winning 60 games, an all time major league record, with only 12 losses. Read more >
Samuel Slater (1768-1835)
Categories: Craftsmen, Founders of Rhode Island, Industry - Textiles, Retail Pioneers

Samuel Slater, 1768-1835, an English-born textile operative and inventor, has been called the "Father of American Manufacturing". He migrated to Rhode Island from Derbyshire in 1789, and, in concert with Rhode Island investors and craftsman, built and activated spinning frames at Pawtucket Falls that were modeled on those of English inventor Richard Arkwright. On December 20, 1790, he spun cotton yarn from water powered machinery for the first time in America. Read more >
Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828)
Categories: Artists & Painters

Gilbert Stuart, 1755-1828, of North Kingstown is one of America's most notable portrait painters. After study in Dublin and London, he returned to America in 1793, where he painted renowned portraits of many of our founding fathers including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Read more >
Roger Williams (1603-1683)
Categories: Founders of Rhode Island, Religion & Churches

Roger Williams, 1603-1683, an English clergyman who was banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony for his teachings and, in 1636, became the founder of Providence, Rhode Island's first white settlement. Williams' pioneering views included religious liberty, complete separation of church and state, and fair treatment of the Native Americans. In 1643 he published "A Key into the Language of America", the first English language dictionary and ethnography of an American Indian people. Read more >