State Figures

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Portrait painting of white man formal dress with pocket watch chain
Chester Ashley (1791–1848)
Chester Ashley was prominent in territorial and antebellum Arkansas. He was involved in the dispute over owner...
Young white man with blond hair in military uniform with medal
Nick Daniel (Nicky) Bacon (1945–2010)
Nick Daniel Bacon stands as one of three people connected to Arkansas to have received the Medal of Honor for...
Portrait of clean shaven white man dressed in suit with hair combed to the side
Bruce Bennett (1917–1979)
Bruce Bennett was Arkansas’s attorney general from 1957 to 1960 and from 1963 to 1966. As the state’s lead...
White woman with short hair smiling in suit
Diane Blair (1938–2000)
Diane Frances Divers Kincaid Blair was a nationally respected educator, writer, speaker, political scientist, ...
White man waving from bed of pickup truck with "Senator Jay Bradford" sign on its door
Jay T. Bradford (1940–)
Jay Bradford is an Arkansas businessman and government official. A longtime member of the Arkansas General Ass...
red stripes next to blue and black print "Doug Brandon Congress" with photo of white man in corner
Benton Douglas Brandon Jr. (1932–1992)
Benton Douglas Brandon Jr. was a legislator, businessman, and civic leader who brought a business presence int...
White man with curly hair and beard in suit and vest
Joseph Brooks (1821–1877)
Joseph Brooks was a Methodist minister who came to Arkansas during the Civil War. He played a prominent role i...
Older woman smiling in collared shirt and pearl necklace with glasses
Betty Bumpers (1925–2018)
Betty Bumpers, wife of former Arkansas governor and U.S. senator Dale Bumpers, was known for her far-reaching ...
Bradley Bunch (1818–1894)
Bradley Bunch was a longtime Arkansas legislator, Carroll County judge, and the first historian of Carroll Cou...
Older African-American man in suit and bow tie
John Bush (1856–1916)
John Edward Bush, a chairman of the Republican Party in Arkansas, rose from poverty to national prominence whe...
"T.W. Campbell to run for Congress" newspaper clipping
Tom Walter Campbell (1874–1953)
Tom Walter Campbell was a well-known Arkansas attorney and political figure in the first half of the twentieth...
Old white woman in horned cat eye glasses and suit posing with arm on table
Gressie Umsted Carnes (1903–1979)
Gressie Umsted Carnes was active in state and national politics as a member of the Democratic Party. She also ...
White men in suits sitting at table together with microphone
John Steven (Steve) Clark (1947–)
aka: Steve Clark
John Steven (Steve) Clark was the longest-serving attorney general ...
White man in glasses and tie presenting book to white woman
Osro Cobb (1904–1996)
Osro Cobb was a lawyer who, as state chairman of the Republican Party, helped establish a real two-party polit...
Rows of graves in a field bordered by an iron fence with trees in the background
Polly Conway (1809–1878)
aka: Mary Jane Bradley Conway
Mary Jane “Polly” Bradley Conway, the wife of Arkansas’s firs...
Side view of white man in suit jacket and tie
Marion Harland Crank (1915–1994)
Marion Harland Crank was a member of the Arkansas General Assembly for eighteen years; he lost narrowly to Gov...
White man smiling in suit and tie signed "Best wishes Charlie Daniels 3-17-95"
Charlie Daniels (1939–2023)
Longtime state official Charlie Daniels began public service as a member of his local school board. A career t...
Old white man with long beard reading a book
Jno Eakin (1822–1885)
aka: John Rogers Eakin
Jno Rogers (John) Eakin, an editor, jurist, champion of women’s r...
White man in black suit jacket cravat with long neck large eyes short receding brown hair with curls
Lorenzo Gibson (1804–1866)
Early Arkansas, especially Little Rock (Pulaski County), benefited from contributions made by Lorenzo Gibson i...
White woman in dress on campaign flyer "Nancy Hall State Treasurer"
Nancy Johnson Hall (1904–1991)
Nancy Pearl Johnson Hall was the first woman to be elected to a constitutional office in Arkansas. A staff mem...
African-American man with short hair and a mustache wearing a suit and bow tie
Ferd Havis (1846–1918)
aka: Ferdinand Havis
Ferdinand Havis was born a slave but became an alderman, state repr...
"Fatal encounter" newspaper clipping
Edmund Hogan (1780?–1828)
General Edmund Hogan was an imposing figure in territorial Arkansas. A veteran of the War of 1812, Hogan was o...
Younger white man with glasses in suit and tie and combed back dark hair
Max Howell (1915–1999)
William Max Howell was a politician who served in the Arkansas legislature longer than anyone in history, accu...
White woman in blue shirt and pearl necklace
Susan Burrell Hutchinson (1950–)
Susan Burrell Hutchinson is the wife of Asa Hutchinson, the forty-sixth governor of Arkansas, and the state’...
Portrait of African American man wearing suit
Jerry Donal Jewell (1930–2002)
Jerry Donal Jewell was the first African American to serve in the Arkansas Senate in the twentieth century. He...
White woman on a blue and white fan with red stars "I"m a Fan Virginia Johnson"
Virginia Lillian Morris Johnson (1928–2007)
Virginia Lillian Morris Johnson was the first woman to run for the office of governor in Arkansas. Running as ...
"Driver Carefully Vote Safely" flyer with white man in suit
Guy Hamilton "Mutt" Jones (1911–1986)
Guy Hamilton “Mutt” Jones was a lawyer and politician who became one of the most influential state lawmake...
White woman smiling on "Julia Hughes Secretary of State" flyer
Julia Hughes Jones (1939–2022)
Julia Hughes Jones was a Pulaski County circuit clerk and state auditor. She was the first woman to be elected...
African-American man with mustache in suit and tie
Mahlon Adrian Martin (1945–1995)
Mahlon Adrian Martin was the first African-American city manager in Arkansas. He was later the chief fiscal ad...
Henry Morehart (1841–1911)
Henry Morehart was a leader of the third-party agrarian political rebellion in Pulaski County during the late ...
African-American man with mustache in suit and bow tie
Elias Camp Morris (1855–1922)
Elias Camp Morris was an African American minister who, in 1895, became president of the National Baptist Conv...
white man in suit and tie gestures while speaking in front of painting and window obscured by curtains, blinds
Colter Hamilton (Ham) Moses (1888–1966)
Colter Hamilton (Ham) Moses served as secretary to governors George W. Donaghey, George W. Hays, and Charles H...