Melvin Belli (1907 - 1996)

Attorney. A native of Sonora, California, Belli graduated from the University of California Berkeley in 1929 and received his law degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law in 1933. Establishing his practice in San Francisco, he quickly made a name for himself as an expert in personal injury cases. His many successes in such […]

John Harris Behan (1845 - 1912)

Lawman. Born in Westport, Missouri in what is now Kansas City, the third of nine children of Peter and Sarah Harris Behan. Johnny moved west to San Francisco, working as a miner and a freighter. During the American Civil War Johnny was a 19-year-old civilian employee of Carleton’s Column of Union Volunteers in California. He […]

Sam Bean (1874 - 1907)

Saloon Keeper, Folk Figure. Sam Bean was raised in Langtry, Texas. His father was a famous Judge known as “Law, West of the Pecos,” his mother was a Spanish woman. His parents were married in San Antonio soon after the Civil War. About 1914 Sam moved to Del Rio, Texas, opening a saloon and dance […]

Roy “Judge” Bean (1970 - 1903)

Western Law Figure. Born in Mason County, Kentucky, during the Civil War, he ran a blockade by hauling cotton from San Antonio, Texas, to British ships off the coast. After the war, he established a small saloon near the Pecos River in a tent city he named Vinegaroon. With the nearest court being 200 miles […]

Gregson Edward “Greg” Bautzer (1911 - 1987)

A Navy pilot in WWII, Bautzer was The Attorney to the Stars, representing Ginger Rogers, Ingrid Bergman and Joan Crawford to name a few, he also represented MGM owner Kirk Kerkorian and Howard Hughes. Engaged to actresses Barbara Payton, Lana Turner and Dorothy Lamour, he married actress Dana Wynter. He is also credited with founding […]

Richard Achilles Ballinger (1858 - 1922)

Presidential Cabinet Secretary. Served as Mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1904 to 1906. Served as Secretary of the Interior in President William H. Taft’s administration from 1909 to 1911. In 1909 he was President of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition World’s Fair. Named Lake Ballinger in honor of his father, Col. Richard H. Ballinger.  Family links:  Parents: […]

D. M. Ballew (1877 - 1922)

D. M. Ballew Western Lawman. Born David Monticello Ballew, he was a most controversial and effective Ardmore, Oklahoma Territory Deputy Sheriff. A very noted gun fighter, he first made headlines killing Pete Bynum who was in the middle of a holdup. Later he killed outlaws Steve Talkington for resisting arrest, James Perle and two men […]

Lola Greene Baldwin (1970 - 1957)

First Policewoman of the United States. Born Aurora “Lola” Greene in Elmira, New York. Her father died in 1877, causing Lola to quit high school to earn money. She taught school for a number of years in New York and Nebraska before marrying LeGrand Baldwin in 1884. During her remaining years in Lincoln, she found […]

Ella M. Backus (1970 - 1938)

Pioneering Woman. She was the first female Assistant United States Attorney. The Western District of Michigan set a precedent when it hired Ella M. Backus as an Assistant United States Attorney in 1903. In an age when traditional values dictated gender roles and job opportunities, Ms. Backus not only became the first female Assistant United […]

Austin Ira Aten (1862 - 1953)

Texas Ranger. Born in Cairo, Illinois, in 1862, he later moved to Round Rock,Texas, with his father, who was a methodist minister. In 1878, while living in Round Rock, he witnessed the death of outlaw Sam Bass by the Texas Rangers. This is when he decided to be a lawman. In 1883, Aten joined the […]

Chester Ashley (1791 - 1848)

US Senator,  Attorney.  He was a prominent figure in the early history of Arkansas.  Raised in Hudson,  New York,  he graduated from Williams College in Williamstown,  Massachusetts (1813) and Connecticut’s Litchfield Law School (1814) before beginning his law career in Hudson. Personal ambition led him to seek his fortune in the western frontier and in […]

Chang Apana (1871 - 1933)

Folk Figure.  He was the inspiration for the fictional sleuth Charlie Chan.  The son of Chinese immigrants,  he worked as a cowboy on Oahu before joining the new Honolulu Police Department in 1898.  Carrying a whip instead of a gun,  he often led the force in arrests and became Hawaii’s most famous cop.  During his […]

Clinton H. Anderson (1903 - 1989)

American Folk Figure. Clinton began his career in law enforcement as a Beverly Hills police officer in 1929. He was promoted to chief of police in December, 1942.  From 1942 until he resigned in 1969, Clinton protected the city’s image as a sleepy little town for big screen stars. Back then, protecting the privacy of […]

Macon Bolling Allen (1816 - 1894)

Judicial Figure. He was the first African-American in United States history to received a law degree and to receive a judgeship. Born in Indiana as a freeman, he was self taught, and ultimately becoming a school teacher in Indiana where he taught for five years. In the late 1830’s he elected to move to Portland, […]

Frederick Argyle Aiken (1832 - 1878)

Lincoln Assassination Trial Attorney. A Massachusetts native he moved with his parents to Hardwick, Vermont when he was ten years old. As a young man he studied at Middlebury College from 1855 to 1857. Drawn to journalism he became the editor of the “Burlington Sentinel”. After he married Sarah Olivia Weston (1846-1900), daughter of Judge […]

Oscar Zeta Acosta (1970 - 1970)

American Folk Figure. He was immortalized in  gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s novel, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, in which Thompson used him as the model for his “Samoan” attorney character. Born in El Paso, Texas, he served in the United States Air Force, and had a a brief stint as a missionary in […]

Bert C. Moore (1935 - 2000)

Iranian Hostage. A Foreign Service Officer with the United States Department of State, he was one of the 52 Americans held hostage by Iran from 1979 to 1981. (bio by: Erik Lander)

Ebenezer Francis (1743 - 1777)

Revolutionary War Continental Militia Officer. He was killed while commanding Massachusetts militia at the Battle of Hubbardton, Vermont, in 1777, the only Revolutionary War battle fought entirely on Vermont soil. After driving the American army under General Arthur St. Clair from Fort Ticonderoga, British commander General John Burgoyne ordered a force under General Simon Fraser […]

Ken Hudson (1970 - 1970)

Ken Hudson, the first full-time African American referee for the NBA, died on May 9 in Atlanta, Ga. Mr. Hudson became a pioneering NBA referee, officiating in the league from 1968 to 1972. During this phase of his career, he interacted with such notable players as Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Julius (Dr. J) Erving, Walt […]

William Kenzo Nakamura (1922 - 1944)

World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. Killed by a sniper’s bullet on the outskirts of Castellina, Italy. A tragic story great courage following being rousted from his home, along with many others of his heritage, this native son of Seattle, was not considered such as he was of Japanese descent. Just a month […]

George Martin Skurla (1921 - 2001)

Noted Aerospace Engineer. As President of Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, his leadership was instrumental when the company’s Lunar Module landed Americans on the Moon. (bio by: Paul S.)

William Keough (1930 - 1985)

Iranian Hostage. One of the 52 Americans held hostage by Iran from 1979 to 1981. Served as Superintendent of the American School in Tehran.  (bio by: Erik Lander)  Family links:  Spouse:  Katherine Eisenberger Keough (1943 – 2004)* *Calculated relationship

James Doty (1799 - 1865)

Following his career as a judge, James Duane Doty served as a member of the Michigan Territorial Council from 1834 to 1835, representing the western part of the territory. In this capacity Doty argued for the creation of a new territorial government for Wisconsin, sending petitions to Congress in favor of splitting Michigan Territory into […]

William Allen Trimble (1786 - 1821)

William Allen Trimble (April 4, 1786 – December 13, 1821) was a Democratic-Republican politician from Ohio. He served in the United States Senate. Trimble was born in Woodford, Kentucky, the son of James and Jane (Allen) Trimble. He graduated from Transylvania College and was admitted to the bar in 1811. He briefly practiced law in Highland […]

Eugene Asa Niel Carr (1830 - 1910)

Eugene Carr was born in Hamburg, New York. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1850, 19th in a class of 44 cadets. He was appointed a brevet second lieutenant in the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen, and served in the Indian Wars until 1861, seeing his first bit […]

John Reynolds (1788 - 1865)

John Reynolds (February 26, 1788 – May 8, 1865) was a United States politician from the state of Illinois. He was one of the original four justices of the Illinois Supreme Court, 1818–1825, a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1826–1830, 1846–1848, and 1852–1854 (when he was Speaker of the House), and the […]

Eddie John Convey (1910 - 1969)

Professional Hockey Player. At 5’11 and 165lbs, he played the position of Left-Wing for the New York Americans from 1930 to 1933. (bio by: K)

August Solberg “Gus” Marker (1905 - 1997)

Canadian hockey player. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Maroons and New York Americans.

John D McKeel, Jr (1953 - 1991)

Unites States Marine Sergeant. One of the 52 Americans held hostage by Iran from 1979 to 1981. Shot to death while trying to help a woman who was being robbed. (bio by: Erik Lander)  Inscription:US Marine CorpsVietnam Veteran

Septima Poinsette Clark (1898 - 1987)

Septima Clark first heard of the NAACP while she was teaching on John’s Island from 1916-1919. There was no NAACP chapter on John’s Island, but a meeting was held in which various preachers came and spoke about what the NAACP was and what exactly it was trying to do. The superintendent was in attendance to […]