12 noteworthy individuals born in WNY

Millard Fillmore

Hosting a natural wonder of the world, one of the first cities to feature extensive electric lighting, and the remarkable achievement that is the Erie Canal, Western New York is truly geographically and historically a place of amazement. Mark Twain, who once lived in the region, went so far as to set the Garden of Eden in Western New York in the comical “Eve’s Diary.” Attracting the medical fervor of Dr. Roswell Park, the landscaping expertise of Frederick Law Olmsted, and the architectural genius of Frank Lloyd Wright, the area has provided the world with an astounding number of impactful individuals of its own.

This unranked tribute to our homegrown giants contains only a modest sample of notable people who first breathed the air of life here in Western New York. Two-term president Grover Cleveland and CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, though considerable figures in Buffalo, have been omitted from this list for having been born in New Jersey and Germany respectively.

1. Ely S. Parker – Working as an attorney for the Union, Parker wrote the final draft of the treaty at Appomattox, effectively contributing to the conclusion of the American Civil War. Of Seneca heritage, Parker originated from the Pembroke area. During Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency, Parker served as Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

2. Father Nelson Baker – A continued candidate for canonization by the Roman Catholic Church, Father Baker founded the charitable “Association of Our Lady of Victory” in service of the Western New York community. His leadership saw the 1921-1926 construction of the Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna as well as the creation of homes for infants and unwed mothers, schools, orphanages, and hospitals. Buffalo’s own potential saint, Baker has been recognized for his efforts by Pope Benedict XVI.

3. George Pullman – A prominent industrialist, Pullman was the designer of the Pullman sleeping car for trains. Born in Brocton, NY and raised in Albion, the engineer and entrepreneur established the Chicago company town of Pullman, location of the infamous Pullman Strike. Following the Civil War, his business became a major source of employment for former slaves. The Pullman sleeping car itself has remained a common component of night train travel since 1864.

4. Herman Hollerith – This inventor of a punch-card tabulation device that simplified the 1890 U.S. census revolutionized early computing. His Tabulating Machine Company importantly merged with others to form IBM in 1924. The Buffalo born statistician’s advanced mathematical ideas later contributed to the syntax of the FORTRAN computer programming language.

5. John Roberts – Current chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, Roberts serves as the head of our nation’s judicial branch. The Buffalo-born and Harvard-educated judge replaced William Rehnquist in 2005 during the Bush administration. He has been identified by many as an advocate of state’s rights and has ruled on several critical precedent-setting cases including the heated Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision.

6. Joyce Carol Oates – Acclaimed for her dark, challenging literary accomplishments, Oates is a prominent and popular author of novels and short stories. Winner of the 1969 National Book Award and three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, many of Oates’ short stories, including the terrifying “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” have been widely and repeatedly anthologized. Born and raised in the Lockport area, she is now a professor at Princeton University.

7. Lucille Ball – Arguably the single most significant figure in television history, Ball was the tour-de-force behind the internationally adored I Love Lucy. Hailing from Jamestown, the irresistible performer was the first female to run a production company (Desilu Productions, source of such shows as Star Trek and Andy Griffith). The 1951-1957 run of I Love Lucy, where Ball starred alongside then-husband Desi Arnaz, was declared by TV Guide to be the second greatest television series of all time.

8. Millard Fillmore – The thirteenth president of the United States and the final president to be associated with the Whig Party, Fillmore was born near the Finger Lakes and later settled in East Aurora. He was the signer of the Compromise of 1850, a compromise that included the notorious Fugitive Slave Act which allowed slave owners to track runaway slaves into northern states. More positively, Fillmore also helped nurture valuable trade relations with Japan.

9. Red Jacket – Chief of the Wolf clan of the Seneca nation, this orator served as a negotiator for the Senecas during the American Revolution. He ensured his people retained land even after having sided with the British throughout the war. His speech on “Religion for the White Man and the Red,” delivered before the Senate floor, remains as an impressive example of powerful rhetoric.

10. Tim Russert – For more than sixteen years Russert was the face of Meet the Press on NBC. America’s favorite journalist, he was also a correspondent for NBC Nightly News and worked as their Washington Bureau Chief. Always supportive of Buffalo, the city that birthed him, Russert passed away tragically at the age of 58 in 2008.

11. Willis Carrier – Born in Angola, NY, in one of the country’s cooler regions, Carrier went on to cool the rest of the nation by inventing the air conditioner. His 1902 system set the standard for future temperature-adjusting machines. By 1906 he had also determined how to control constant humidity. His air conditioner design was later applied to commercial refrigerators.

12. Wilson Greatbatch – A prolific inventor behind hundreds of patents, Greatbatch, a native of West Seneca, was the force behind both the Chardack-Greatbatch cardiac pacemaker and the lithium-iodide battery cell. Many of his 1960s experiments were conducted in the Wurlitzer Organ Factory, located off Niagara Falls Boulevard in North Tonawanda. He has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Honorable Mentions: Alfred P. Southwick, inventor of the electric chair; World War II hero “Manila John” Basilone; Darwin D. Martin, businessman and commissioner of a Frank Lloyd Wright-built house; Robert E. Rich Sr., founder of Rich Products Co.; painter Charles E. Burchfield; philanthropist John R. Oishei; anti-ageism activist Maggie Kuhn.