The city of Jacksonville, Florida, has been home to many notable people, groups, and organizations. Those listed may have been born or raised in Jacksonville, been influenced by the city while living, working or retiring there, or lived in the metropolitan area.
Civil rights leaders
Listed chronologically by year of birth:
James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938), educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and civil rights activist; wrote The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man and the words to "Lift Every Voice and Sing" A. Philip Randolph (1889–1979), African-American civil rights activist MaVynee Betsch (1935–2005), Black activist and environmentalist for American Beach
Religious leaders
Listed chronologically by year of birth:
Cataline Simmons (1806–1883), first pastor of Bethel Baptist Institutional Church William John Kenny (1853–1913), bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine Laura Adorkor Kofi (1893–1928), minister and activist of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities LeagueBen Brotemarkle, "Rise and Assassination of 'Mother Kofi'" Florida Frontiers (16 February 2016): 7A. George Moyer Alexander (1914–1983), fifth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina Homer G. Lindsay, Jr. (1927–2000), influential preacher and former pastor of the nation's third largest Southern Baptist church Frank Cerveny (born 1933), Episcopal bishop of Florida Diocese of Florida, Previous Bishops-Frank Cerveny Robert Hodges Johnson (born 1934), fifth bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina Jerry Vines (born 1937), president, Southern Baptist Convention, and former pastor of the nation's third-largest Southern Baptist church Neil Lebhar (born 1950), first bishop of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese John Howard (born 1951), Episcopal bishop of FloridaSt. John's Cathedral website: Bishop Howard biography George D. Young III (born 1955), fourth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee="George Young, fourth bishop of Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee, to be ordained on June 25", Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville, * June 2011. Retrieved on 22 March 2020. Mac Brunson (born 1957), pastor of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, First Baptist Church Dallas
Political and government leaders
Listed chronologically by year of birth: Saturiwa (16th century), paramount chief of the Saturiwa chiefdom, comprising 30 Mocama Timucua villages in present-day Jacksonville Jean Ribault (1520–1565), French naval officer who led the first recorded expedition to the Jacksonville area René Goulaine de Laudonnière (c. 1529–1574), founder of Fort Caroline in modern Jacksonville, the first French settlement in North America Isaiah Hart (1792–1861), plantation owner and founder of Jacksonville Ossian B. Hart (1821–1874), 10th governor of Florida 1873–1874 and Florida Supreme Court Justice Francis P. Fleming (1841–1908), 15th governor of Florida 1889–1893 Napoleon B. Broward (1857–1910), 19th governor of Florida 1905–1909; Jacksonville sheriff 1888–1894 Duncan U. Fletcher (1859–1936), two-term mayor of Jacksonville and U.S. senator 1909–1936 Claude L'Engle (1868–1919), United States representative from Florida St. Elmo W. Acosta (1875–1947), city commissioner, state legislator and parks commissioner Ion Farris (1878–1934), former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and member of the Florida Senate John W. Martin (1884–1958), former Jacksonville mayor and 24th governor of Florida 1921–1925 Emory H. Price (1899–1976), U.S. representative from Florida Fuller Warren (1905–1973), 30th governor of Florida 1949–1953 Charles Edward Bennett (1910–2003), U.S. representative from 2nd/3rd congressional district 1949–1993 W. Haydon Burns (1912–1987), 35th governor of Florida 1965–1967; Jacksonville mayor 1949–1965 Dorcas Drake (1916–1993), Duval County judge and philanthropist Alan Stephenson Boyd (1922–2020), the first United States secretary of transportation Ed Austin (1926–2011), mayor of Jacksonville 1991–1995; state attorney 1969–1972, 1974–1991 Willye Dennis (1926–2012), Florida House of Representatives: 15th District 1992–2009 Edward L. Howard (1926–2011), Pennsylvania state senator: 10th District 1971–1986 Claude R. Kirk, Jr. (1926–2011), 36th governor of Florida 1967–1971 Lou Ritter (1926–2010), mayor of Jacksonville 1965–1967 Hans Tanzler (1927–2013), mayor of Jacksonville 1967–1979 Don Davis (1931–2008), Jacksonville City Council 1987–1999, state representative 1999–2008 and civic leader Lou Frost (1931–2008), lawyer and public defender 1968–2005 Maurice M. Paul (1932–2016), United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida judge Don Fuqua (born 1933), U.S. representative from 9th/2nd congressional district 1963–1987 Jake Godbold (1933–2020), former mayor of Jacksonville 1978–1987 Frank F. Ledford, Jr. (1934–2019), former Surgeon General of the U.S. Army E. Pope Bassett (1935–2020), lawyer and member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 44th district Bill Birchfield (1935–2016), state legislator 1970–1974, lawyer, civic leader Tom Slade, Jr. (1936–2014), legislator, lobbyist, businessman Jim McMillan (born 1937), sheriff of Jacksonville 1986–1996 James E. King (1939–2009), state representative 1986–1999; state senator 1999–2009 Harry Shorstein (born 1941), lawyer and state attorney, 4th Judicial Circuit 1991–2008 Tillie Fowler (1942–2005), U.S. representative: 4th congressional district 1993–2001; Jacksonville City Council: 1985–1992 Nat Glover (born 1943), first African-American sheriff of Jacksonville 1995–2003 Ander Crenshaw (born 1944), state representative 1972–1978; state senator 1986–1994; U.S. representative: 4th congressional district 2001–2017 Mike Blouin (born 1945), U.S. representative for Iowa's Second Congressional District Tommy Hazouri (1945–2021), Jacksonville mayor 1987–1991 and state representative 1974–1986 Corrine Brown (born 1946), U.S. representative 1993–2017 John Rutherford (born 1952), sheriff of Jacksonville 2004–2015, U.S. representative 2017–present Angela Corey (born 1954), lawyer and state attorney, 4th Judicial Circuit 2009–2012 John Delaney (born 1956), mayor of Jacksonville 1995–2003 and president of the University of North Florida 2003–2018 Thom Tillis (born 1960), former speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and U.S. senator from North Carolina; brother of Rick Tillis Alvin Brown (born 1961), first African-American mayor of Jacksonville 2011–2015 Kim Shepard (born 1964), member of the Florida House of Representatives Rick Tillis (born 1963), member of the Tennessee House of Representatives; brother of Thom Tillis Mark Green (born 1964), U.S. representative for Tennessee John Peyton (born 1964), Jacksonville mayor 2004–2011 Jim Walsh (born 1964), state representative from Washington 2016–present, chair of the Washington State Republican Party 2023–present T. K. Waters (born 1970), sheriff of Jacksonville since 2022 Ron DeSantis (born 1978), former U.S. representative for Florida's 6th Congressional District, 46th governor of Florida Angie Nixon (born 1984), member of the Florida House of Representatives
Business and civic leaders
Listed chronologically by year of birth: Zephaniah Kingsley (1765–1843), major slaveholder and owner of Kingsley Plantation Anna Kingsley (1793–1870), former slave, common-law wife of Kingsley, who became a businesswoman and slaveholder Martha Reed Mitchell (1818–1902), philanthropist and socialite Henry Morrison Flagler (1830–1913), tycoon, real estate promoter, railroad developer and partner in Standard Oil Alice A. W. Cadwallader (1832–1910), philanthropist and temperance activist Alexander Darnes (c.1840–1894), born into slavery, gained his medical degree and became first black doctor of Jacksonville Minnie E. Neal (1858–1945), photographer and temperance leader Alfred I. duPont (1864–1935), industrialist, financier and philanthropist Abraham Lincoln Lewis (1865–1947), businessman and developer of American Beach, Florida Cora Crane (1865–1910), journalist, brothel owner known for her relationship with Stephen Crane, lived in the Jacksonville area from 1894 Eartha M. M. White (1876–1974), African-American philanthropist and humanitarian Maxey Dell Moody (1883–1949), founder of M. D. Moody & Sons, Inc. Jessie Ball duPont (1884–1970), teacher and philanthropist Charles E. Merrill (1885–1956), co-founder of Merrill, Lynch & Company Ed Ball (1888–1981), businessman who ran the Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust for 46 years H. Terry Parker (1890–1970), philanthropist; co-founder of Gulf Life Insurance Co., vice president of A.B. Farquhar Company Leslie R. Nicholas (1902–1948), The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America executive and Pacific War veteran Louis Wolfson (1912–2007), Wall Street financier, race horse owner-breeder and philanthropist Maxey Dell Moody, Jr. (1913–1987), businessman and founder of MOBRO Marine, Inc. J. J. Daniel (1916–1990), lawyer, businessman and civic leader Claude Yates (1916–1988), Southern Bell executive and "father of Jacksonville Consolidation" Leslie Nicholas Jr. (1927–2007), Southern Bell executive Raymond K. Mason (1927–2020), CEO of Charter Company and protégé of Ed Ball Herb Peyton (born 1932), founder of Gate Petroleum and civic leader Lex Hester (1935–2000), city manager and key architect of Jacksonville's consolidated government Wayne Weaver (born 1935), shoe mogul and former owner of Jacksonville Jaguars (1993–2011) Stumpy Harris (1938–2021), eminent domain lawyer and major donor and supporter of the Florida Gators Preston Haskell (born 1938), founder and chairman, The Haskell Company; minority owner of Jacksonville Jaguars, civic leader Tom Petway (born 1940), businessman, Jacksonville Jaguars minority partner, civic leader Theodore Roosevelt IV (born 1942), businessman and great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt Maxey Dell Moody III (born 1944), businessman Donald Moran (born 1945), chief judge of 4th judicial circuit 1977–2014 Dan Peña (born 1945), businessman and motivational speaker Steve Pajcic (born 1946), lawyer, state representative, Florida Gubernatorial candidate and philanthropist Gary Pajcic (1947–2006), athlete, lawyer and philanthropist Elizabeth Edwards (1949–2010), attorney, law professor and wife of Senator John Edwards Shahid Khan (born 1950), entrepreneur and owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars John Palumbo (born 1958), motivational speaker, businessman and salesman John Michael Phillips (born 1975), attorney, motivational speaker and news commentator
Artists, architects, photographers and designers Henry John Klutho (1873–1964), Prairie School architect who influenced redevelopment of Jacksonville following the Great Fire of 1901 Victor Earl Mark (1876–1948), architect Sanford Augustus Brookins (1877–1968), architect, builder, and businessperson; active in the neighborhoods of Sugar Hill, Durkee Gardens, and Riverside Augusta Savage (1892–1962), sculptor associated with the Harlem Renaissance Denham Fouts (1914–1949), prostitute, socialite and literary muse Taylor Hardwick (1925–2014), architect of Jacksonville schools, businesses and parks David Johnson (1926–2024), photographer of San Francisco's Fillmore District, first African-American student of Ansel Adams Mildred Thompson (1935–2003), painter, printmaker and sculptor Carey Cavanaugh (born 1955), professor and former ambassador/peace mediator Diana Eng (born 1983), fashion designer and contestant on Season 2 of Project Runway Arthur Cogswell (1930–2010), an architect known for his work in Modernist architecture
Writers
Listed chronologically by year of birth: Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896), author and abolitionist, best known for Uncle Tom's Cabin