Posted in West Virginia State Pride May 12, 2015 by

No One Will Ever Forget These 8 West Virginians When They’re Gone

I always love to hear about the amazing people that have been born in or grew up in this mountain state. It makes me feel so proud!

Here is a list of just 8 of the many awesome West Virginians that have given something to the world! (In no particular order).

1) Allen Harvey Woodward was born in Wheeling, WV on September 16, 1876.
Mike Wood Flickr
Woodward was an American businessman and was also the owner of the Birmingham Barons. After his father died, he was the President of the Woodward Iron Company, which was located in Alabama.
2) Rod Thorn, born on May 23, 1941 in Princeton, WV, is the President of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Bari D Flickr
Rod Thorn went to Princeton High School and had an amazing basketball career there. He then went on to West Virginia University. He was eventually drafted by the Baltimore Bullets and has now been a player and a coach to several teams.
3) Harry Ford Sinclair, born on July 6, 1876, in Benwood, WV, is the founder of Sinclair Oil.
Don O'Brien Flickr
4) Alex Schoenbaum, born on August 8, 1915 in Charleston, WV, is best known for founding the Shoney's restaurants.
JPreisler.com Flickr
Pictured above is Alex in front of the first Shoney's restaurant in Charleston, WV.
5) Milan Puskar was actually born in Pennsylvania in 1934, but was raised and died in Morgantown, WV.
mr_t_77 Flickr
In 1961, Puskar and Don Panoz co-founded the pharmaceutical company Mylan, Inc. Puskar made a $20 million donation to WVU and so the university's stadium was named after him.
6) George Preston Marshall, born in Grafton, WV on October 11, 1896, was the owner and President of the Washington Redskins from 1932 until his death in 1969.
Joseph Glorioso Photography Flickr
7) John Chambers was actually born in Ohio but has his Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees in business and a law degree from West Virginia University.
Dan Farber Flickr
Chambers grew up in Kanawha City, WV, and is now CEO and Chairman of the Board of Cisco Systems.
8) Jim Justice, II, is the wealthiest West Virginian with a net worth of $1.69 billion.
Serena Flickr
This 64 year old West Virginian owns the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV and his main source of wealth is coal companies. Pictured above is the main lobby in the Greenbrier Resort.

Woah! I had no idea that the founder of Shoney’s grew up in West Virginia! I used to love that place when I was a kid, because what kid doesn’t love a good buffet?

Anyways, those were so cool! Think of all of the jobs that these West Virginians have created just by the things that they have done.

What is something that you would like to see written about in an article about West Virginia? Comment below!

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