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Famous North Dakotans
Sitting Bull
New research has revealed that the building in which the great Lakota Sioux spiritual leader Sitting Bull surrendered in 1881 still stands at Fort Buford State Historic Site near Williston. Together with Lakota Sioux Chieftain Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull forged the coalition that fought at the Battle of Rosebud and the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. Following four years of exile in Canada, Sitting Bull decided to return to the U.S. and on the morning of July 20, 1881, tendered his rifle, through his six-year-old son, Crow Foot, to Fort Buford's commanding officer.
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| Photo courtesy of North Dakota Governor's Office. |
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Theodore Roosevelt
In 1883, after the death of his beloved mother and wife on the same day, Theodore Roosevelt traveled to what is now North Dakota to regain his strength and health. In the North Dakota Badlands, he hunted and established two cattle ranches, the Maltese Cross Ranch and the Elkhorn Ranch. The log cabin from the Maltese Cross Ranch may still be visited at the visitor center of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Roosevelt was very much the educated Easterner, but considered his time in the North Dakota Badlands as especially meaningful and said many times that "had it not been for the years spent in North Dakota and what I learned there, I would not have been president."
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| Photo courtesy of North Dakota Governor's Office. |
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Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk, North Dakota's most famous "favorite son," was born and raised in a sod house on a small farmstead near Strasburg. Leaving in 1924 at the age of 21, this young accordionist from a German from Russia heritage began his illustrious career by playing at radio stations and local dances. After several hurdles and low paying gigs, Lawrence Welk became one of the greatest entertainers in the world through his weekly television show featuring his distinctive "champagne music."
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| Photo courtesy of North Dakota Governor's Office. |
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Roger Maris
Roger Maris, for many years baseball's single-season home run king, was a football and basketball star at Shanley High School in Fargo. While playing for the Yankees in 1961, Maris hit 61 home runs, one more than Babe Ruth hit in a season.
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| Photo courtesy of North Dakota Governor's Office. |
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Eric Sevareid
Nationally know television commentator, news analyst and author Eric Sevareid grew up in Velva. Sevareid became a radio correspondent for CBS in 1939, covering the war in Europe, and was later known for his coverage of presidential elections and meetings of the United Nations Assembly in Paris.
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| Photo courtesy of North Dakota Governor's Office. |
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Louis L'Amour
An award-winning western author and screenwriter, Louis L'Amour published more than 400 short stories and more than 100 novels. L'Amour was born in Jamestown in 1908. A self-educated man, L'Amour joined the circus at 15 and was a prizefighter. L'Amour books have been translated into 10 languages.
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| Photo courtesy of North Dakota Governor's Office. |
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Peggy Lee
Born Norma Delores Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota, on May 26, 1922, Peggy Lee was one of eight children. She received much encouragement and recognition for her singing in school and church choirs. In 1938, after graduating from high school, she went to Hollywood, California, but later returned to Fargo and worked for WDAY radio. She moved to Minneapolis, where she met and began touring with the Will Osborne Band, and later with Benny Goodman.
Lee has also written music and lyrics, both for herself and the movie industry. She has published a book of verse entitled Softly with Feeling.
Lee starred in several films with Bing Crosby and Danny Thomas and was nominated for an Academy Award.
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| Photo courtesy of North Dakota Governor's Office. |
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Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson was born Angeline Brown in the small farming community of Kulm. She grew up around the sights and sounds of her family's weekly newspaper offices in the 1930s. Moving to California, she took her prairie work ethic to the aircraft industry and worked in a parts plant to finance acting lessons. Dickinson has appeared on the big screen, has a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame and earned a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series.
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| Photo courtesy of North Dakota Governor's Office. |
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Harold Schafer
North Dakota's Harold Schafer, founder of the Gold Seal Company, is noted for his Medora restoration project and the Medora Musical, which entertains over 120,000 visitors each season. The Gold Seal Company is known worldwide for Glass Wax, Mr. Bubble and Snowy Bleach.
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| Photo courtesy of North Dakota Governor's Office. |
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Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson grew up in Williston, where he was a standout basketball player at Williston High School. An All-American at the University of North Dakota, Jackson was drafted by the New York Knicks and was instrumental in leading the Knicks to a National Basketball Association championship in 1973. As the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989-1998, he won three championships in a row on two different occasions. Jackson subsequently coached the Lakers beginning in 1999, winning three championships in a row with them as well.
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| Photo courtesy of North Dakota Governor's Office. |
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Bobby Vee
Born Robert Velline in Fargo in 1943, Bobby Vee became interested in music as a teenager listening to the new and exciting sounds of Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. At age 13, he bought a used guitar for $30 and started jamming with this brother and his friends. Their informal band, "The Shadows," gained national attention 40 years ago when they filled in for Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper who were scheduled to perform in Moorhead, Minn., when their plane crashed, killing all on board. In the following 40 years, Bobby Vee produced six gold records. He has also recorded 14 top 40 hits and 38 songs in the Billboard Top 100 charts.
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Darin Erstad
Darin Erstad was a four-sport star in Jamestown, playing football, track, hockey and American Legion baseball. Erstad went to college at the University of Nebraska, where he played baseball and football. As a punter on the University of Nebraska football team, he was on the team that won the 1994 NCAA National Championship. Erstad was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and played baseball for that organization until this season, when he joined the Chicago White Sox. He has a solid .286 career batting average. Erstad has also won three Gold Glove awards for his prowess in the field, winning two Gold Gloves as an outfielder and one as a first baseman.
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Phil Hansen
Phil Hansen is a former American Football defensive end who played for the Buffalo Bills. An Oakes, North Dakota native, he played college football for the North Dakota State University Bison.
Phil Hansen was a second round draft pick out of North Dakota State and was the 12th defensive lineman taken in the 1991 draft, the 54th pick overall. "If not for the fact that he played at a division II school, Phil Hansen would have been a first round draft pick," proclaimed Bills General Manager Bill Polian.
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Travis Hafner
Travis Hafner participated in basketball, track and baseball during high school in the small town of Sykeston, from which he graduated in 1995. Hafner went to college at Cowley Community College in Arkansas, and was drafted in 1996 by Texas. He made his major league debut in 2002 with the Cleveland Indians. He has played first base for the Cleveland Indians, but has settled in as their designated hitter. During the 2005 Major League Baseball season, Hafner finished fifth in the American League Most Valuable Player voting, after hitting 32 home runs and having 106 runs batted in.
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Johnny Lang
A modern blues singer, Jonny Lang grew up in Fargo. His band Kid Jonny Lang and the Big Bang released its debut album, Smokin, in 1995. Lang was in his early teens at the time. This release was a major hit in the upper Midwest, and subsequently led to Lang signing with A&M Records in 1996. He then released big-label albums such as Lie to Me, Wander This World and Long Time Coming.
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Jim Kleinsasser
Jim Kleinsasser hails from Carrington, where in high school he excelled in basketball, football and track. Kleinsasser attended college at the University of North Dakota, where he played football. He played tight end for the Sioux, and as a senior won Divison II consensus All-America honors. He was drafted in the second round of the 1999 National Football League draft by the Minnesota Vikings, for whom he has played the tight end and fullback positions. Kleinsasser is noted for his powerful blocking, and has been an important part of the Vikings' offense for years.
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Shannon Curfman
Born in Fargo, Curfman is a blues-rock guitarist and lead singer who has had success at a young age. Her first album, Loud Guitars, Big Suspicion, was released in 1999, when Curfman was only 14 years old. The album went to No. 3 on the Billboard Blues Chart. Subsequently, Curfman has played with such musical greats at B.B. King and Santana, and has just released the C.D. Take It Like A Man.
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Josh Duhamel
Josh Duhamel was born and raised in Minot, North Dakota, Josh attended Minot State University, playing collegiate-level football and basketball. He earned a bachelor of science degree in biology, with plans of a career in dentistry. His grades not being good enough to get into dentistry school, he decided to move to Los Angeles and began to pursue an acting career via a friend who worked at a talent agency. He got discovered while posing for fashion magazines. During his time in Los Angeles, Josh auditioned for All My Children and then went to Europe, where he starred in his first leading role as Dorian Gray, in an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. After completing the film, he was notified to pack his bags and head for New York City, where he landed the role as Leo du Pres. After his stint on All My Children Josh landed a Role in the t.v. show "Las Vegas" alongside James Caan.
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