G. Late 20th & Early 21st Centuries | South Carolina Hall of Fame

1945 to present

Meet South Carolinians who made significant contribution during Cold War America (1945-1991) and The Civil Rights Movement (1947 - 1972). Also meet the outstanding South Carolinians from the world of politics, economics, sports, literature and the arts.

Within this Series

Smokin’ Joe Frazier | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Joseph William Frazier was born January 12, 1944, in Beaufort, South Carolina. He held the world heavyweight boxing title from February 16, 1970, until January 22, 1973. Known for his powerful left...

Rudy Mancke | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Rudy Mancke (1941-2023) grew up in Spartanburg and for many years hosted SCETV’s nationally renowned series NatureScene, touring fifty states and ten countries to examine and share their natural...

Darius Rucker | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Darius Rucker (Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which...

Leo Twiggs | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 7 8 9 10 11 12

Leo Franklin Twiggs (born 1934 in St. Stephen, South Carolina) is an American batik artist. He taught from 1973 until 1998 at South Carolina State University. He was the first visual artist to receive...

Stanley Donen | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Stanley Donen is an Oscar winning film director and Broadway stage choreographer, who is credited for changing the way Hollywood musicals are viewed by movie audiences worldwide. He was born and...

Anne Worsham Richardson | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Known as the “Charleston Bird Lady,” Anne Worsham Richardson (1919-2012), renowned wildlife artist, was sometimes dubbed the Audubon of her time. No other South Carolinian has done more to portray the...

David Bancroft Johnson | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

As Superintendent of Schools in Columbia, South Carolina, David Bancroft Johnson saw the need for an institution that would focus on training teachers. He received funds from Robert Winthrop and the...

Joseph P. Riley, Jr. | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Joseph P. Riley, Jr. was born in 1943 in Charleston, South Carolina. He attended The Citadel and the University of South Carolina School of Law.Riley served six years in the South Carolina House of...

Darla Moore | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 6 7 8

Darla Moore was born and raised near Lake City, South Carolina, growing up on the family cotton, soybean and tobacco farm. After graduating from Lake City High School, she attended the University of...

S.C. Astronauts | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 5 8

S.C. Astronauts is a mini-documentary about South Carolina's three astronauts: Charles Duke, Jr. of Apollo 16; Ronald McNair of the Space Shuttle Challenger; and Shuttle Astronaut and current NASA...

Governor John C. West | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

John Carl West, Sr. served as the 109th Governor of South Carolina from 1971 to 1975. From 1977 to 1981, he was the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Governor West died on March 21, 2004.

Ronald Erwin McNair | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

One of three astronauts inducted into the South Carolina Hall Of Fame, Ronald McNair was one of the shuttle astronauts killed in the Challenger explosion on January 28, 1986. Born and raised in Lake...

William Jennings Bryan Dorn | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

William Jennings Bryan Dorn (1916-2005) was a United States Congressman from Greenwood, South Carolina, known for his work on the GI Bill, Keowee-Toxaway Project, and the creation of Lakes Hartwell...

Roger Milliken | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Roger Milliken led Milliken & Company for 71 years, during which it grew to become the world's largest privately owned textile and chemical manufacturer. Milliken was the driving force behind the...

Walter Edgar | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Dr. Walter B. Edgar was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1943. He received his undergraduate education from Davidson College in 1965 and his M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of South Carolina...

Senator Strom Thurmond | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

James Strom Thurmond (December 5, 1902—June 26, 2003) served 48 years as United States Senator from South Carolina. He was Governor of South Carolina from 1947-1951 and ran for President in 1948 as...

Matthew Perry | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Matthew James Perry, Jr. was born in Columbia, South Carolina, August 3, 1921. He attended law school at South Carolina State College and would play a central role in nearly every noteworthy civil...

Robert Bass | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Dr. Robert Duncan Bass (1904-1983) was born in Scranton, South Carolina (Florence County). He received degrees from the University of South Carolina and became one of the nation's leading scholars of...

Robert Marvin | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Robert Marvin, the father of southern landscape architecture, received numerous accolades and international recognition for his work in and philosophy of modern design within landscape architecture...

William S. Hall | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Dr. William S. Hall (1915-1995) -- William S. Hall, M.D., served as the Superintendent for the S.C. State Hospital and became the first State Commissioner of Mental Health in S.C. After WWII, the S.C...

Septima Clark | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

A pioneer in grassroots citizenship education, Septima Clark was called the ‘‘Mother of the Civil Rights Movement’’ by Martin Luther King. Clark was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1898...

Jasper Johns | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

A glimpse into the life of ground-breaking artist Jasper Johns, tracing the origins of his highly stylistic work and the birth of an art movement.

Mary Simms Oliphant | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Mary Simms Oliphant (1891-1988), granddaughter of novelist and historian William Gilmore Simms, wrote the South Carolina History textbook used in public schools. She was Director of the State Public...

Marian Wright Edelman | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Marian Wright Edelman is founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund, the nation’s strongest advocacy group for children and families. Born in 1939 in Bennettsville, South Carolina, she...