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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WISCONSIN: A LEGACY OF ORIGINAL THINKERS

Perhaps it's the Midwestern work ethic, or the state's famously unpredictable weather. Or, maybe there's something about the water. Whatever the reason, this much is clear - Wisconsin has always been, and continues to be, a fertile ground for original thinkers. While these visionaries have run the gamut from environmentalists to entrepreneurs, and inventors to artists, there is a common thread of independence, perseverance and self-reliance that runs through them … a thread that is uniquely Wisconsin. Here is a sampling of these "Wisconsin originals."

Arts and Entertainment

H.H. Bennett 

One of the fathers of modern photography, Henry Hamilton Bennett's pictures of the dells of the Wisconsin River helped turn the area into a major tourist destination. He also influenced generations of landscape photographers who came after him, including Ansell Adams.

Ferne Caulker 

Sierra Leon native Ferne Caulker founded Ko-Thi Dance Co. in Milwaukee in 1969. The international touring dance company uses traditional instruments, authentic costumes, dance and more to educate the world about the African Diaspora.

Michael Feldman 

Milwaukee-born and Madison-educated, Feldman is the host of "Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know," a long-running and nationally popular public radio show.

Harry Houdini 

Appleton native Harry Houdini was universally known for his work as a magician, escapologist and stunt performer. Now, nearly a century later, his name is still synonymous with incredible escapes.

Tim Keck, Christopher Johnson (The Onion) 

Tim Keck and Christopher Johnson founded The Onion while attending University of Wisconsin in 1988. The Onion's satirical articles on international, national, and local news have since developed a cult-like following across the nation.

Randall Duk Kim 

American Players Theater was founded in 1979 by Randall Duk Kim, Anne Occhiogrosso and Charles Bright. American Players Theater, located in Spring Green is one of the nation's most popular outdoor classical theaters.

Liberace 

Born in West Allis pianist Wladziu Valentino Liberace - better known as Liberace - was a popular (albeit flamboyant) from the 1940s until his death in the 1980s.

Georgia O'Keefe 

Born in a farmhouse on a large dairy farm outside Sun Prairie, Georgia O'Keefe is most well-known for paintings in which she synthesizes abstraction and representation in paintings of flowers, rocks, shells, animal bones and landscapes.

Les Paul 

Born and raised in Waukesha jazz guitarist Les Paul is recognized as the father of the solid-body electric guitar. Rock and roll would never have happened without him.

The Ringling Brothers 

Seven brothers created the Ringling Brothers Circus in 1884 in Baraboo. Identified as the largest and best-run circus in the country, it later joined with the Barnum & Bailey Circus to become "Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus." Their legacy lives on today at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo.

Laura Ingalls Wilder 

Born near the village of Pepin in 1867, Wilder chronicled her early childhood years in the classic children's book, "Little House in the Big Woods."

Thornton Wilder 

Madison native Thorton Wilder, was a novelist and playwright who won the Pulitzer Prize for drama for his plays, "Our Town" and "The Skin of Our Teeth."

Frank Lloyd Wright 

Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect, interior designer, writer, educator and philosopher who designed more than 1,000 projects, of which more than 500 resulted in completed works. Born in Richland Center, Wright is most well-known for the following Wisconsin buildings: Taliesin, Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, Seth Peterson Cottage, S.C. Johnson Wax Administration Building, plus many others.

The Zucker Brothers 

Shorewood natives David, Jim and Jerry Zucker made a host of smash film comedies, including "Airplane," the three "Naked Gun" films and the television series "Police Squad."

Environmentalism

Warren P. Knowles 

In 1989, former Gov. Warren P. Knowles, along with then Sen. Gaylord Nelson, created the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. The program aims to preserve valuable natural areas and wildlife habitat, protect water quality and fisheries, and expand opportunities for outdoor recreational activities.

Aldo Leopold 

As an ecologist, forester and environmentalist, Aldo Leopold was influential in the development of modern environmental ethics and in the movement for wilderness preservation. He is considered to be the father of wildlife management, and his home is an official landmark of the city of Madison.

John Muir 

One of the first modern preservationists, John Muir's letters, essays, and books of his adventures in nature and wildlife were read by millions and are still popular today. Muir attended the University of Wisconsin and then founded The Sierra Club, one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States.

Gaylord Nelson 

Clear Lake native Gaylord Nelson, a Democratic politician who was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate and then served as the 35th governor of Wisconsin, was the principal founder of Earth Day.

Tourism and Sports

Stan Anderson (Father of the indoor waterpark) As one of the owners of the Polynesian Resort Hotel & Suites in Wisconsin Dells, Stan Anderson is considered to be the inventor of the indoor waterpark. After scouting out water attraction ideas at a Texas tradeshow, Anderson sketched out a design on a napkin. Soon after, construction began on the first indoor waterpark, which led to the Dells becoming a year-round waterpark destination. Family vacations may never be the same.

Tommy Bartlett 

A Wisconsin showman and entertainment mogul, Milwaukee native Tommy Bartlett is most often associated with the water skiing thrill show based in Wisconsin Dells known as the Tommy Bartlett Show. The success of this and other traveling water ski shows led to Bartlett's induction into the Water Ski Hall of Fame in 1993.

Dr. James Cameron 

In 1988, Dr. James Cameron founded America's Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee. As one of the largest African-American museums in the country, it documents injustices suffered by people of African heritage in the United States. Dr. Cameron is also the author of, "A Time of Terror," an autobiographical depiction of his life-changing encounter with the Ku Klux Klan.

Tom Every (Dr. Evermore) 

Tom Every, better known as Dr. Evermore, is a nationally acclaimed artist who used to work as a scrap-metal dealer. Dr. Evermore's Scrap Metal Park features hundreds of sculptures made from scrap metal, including Foreverton Machine, which reaches six stories and is identified as the largest scrap metal sculpture in the world. (Note: Dr. Evermore's Scrap Metal Park is just one of many well-known folk art collections in Wisconsin. Others of note include the Dickeyville Grotto, Wisconsin Concrete Park and the Prairie Moon Sculpture Garden.)

Alex Jordan 

After having a falling out with Frank Lloyd Wright and his Taliesin circle of architects, Alex Jordan decided to build a parody of Wright's architecture. That building grew into the fascinatingly eccentric The House on the Rock, which has since become one of Wisconsin's most-visited tourist attractions.

Curley Lambeau 

In 1919, a young man from Green Bay convinced his employer, the Indian Packing Company, to donate money to start up a football team. One of the NFL's founding fathers, Curley Lambeau went on to play for and coach the Green Bay "Packers," whose field is named after him.

Vince Lombardi 

Arguably the most famous football coach of all time, Vince Lombardi was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1959-67. During that time, he won five league championships and the first two Super Bowls.

Brett Favre 

Brett Favre's enthusiasm, durability and unconventional approach to football made him the NFL's all-time passing leader and one of the most popular players ever to wear a Packer uniform.

Political leaders

Bob La Follette 

Nicknamed "Fighting Bob" La Follette, Bob La Follette was a politician who served as a U.S. congressman, the 20th governor of Wisconsin and Republican senator from Wisconsin. He ran for president of the United States as the nominee of his own Progressive Party in 1924, carrying Wisconsin and 17 per cent of the national popular vote.

Henry Maier 

Mayor of Milwaukee for 28 years, Henry Maier was Milwaukee's longest-serving mayor. He was known for his leadership during racial strife and his vision for the summer music festival that became Summerfest. Numerous landmarks and events were named in his honor including the Summerfest venue, The Henry Maier Festival Park.

Gov. Francis E. McGovern, John R. Commons 

The founders of Wisconsin's worker's compensation program are identified as former governor of Wisconsin, Francis E. McGovern, and University of Wisconsin professor of Economics, John R. Commons. Noted as a revolutionary initiative, the state's worker's compensation program was the first such program in the United States.

Golda Meier 

Israel's first woman prime minister, Golda Meier (born Goldie Mabovitch) and her family lived in Milwaukee (after settling in the U.S.) from 1906 to 1921.

Dr. James "Jamie" Thompson 

As a developmental biologist, professor of anatomy at University of Wisconsin and chief pathologist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, Dr. James Thomson is a leader in stem cell research. His group's work led to the first successful isolation of human embryonic stem cell lines in 1998.

Entrepreneurs, inventors and industrialists

Stephen Babcock 

Stephen Babcock discovered the Babcock test - which determines butterfat content in milk and cheese - while working as chair of the Agricultural Chemistry Department at University of Wisconsin. Also, while at UW, Babcock discovered the "single-grain experiment," which led to the development of nutritional science.

Ralph Bruno 

Annoyed by Chicago White Sox fans who mockingly called Brewers fans "cheeseheads," Ralph Bruno invented the now-iconic cheesehead hat in 1987. The rest is history.

Seymour Cray 

A U.S. electrical engineer and supercomputer architect who founded Cray Research, Chippewa Falls native Seymour Cray helped create the first commercially successful scientific computer.

Carl Eliason 

A resident of snowy Sayner in Vilas County, Carl Eliason took two years to create his one-of-a-kind "motor toboggan." Patented in 1927, the "motor toboggan" was the direct forerunner of the modern snowmobile.

Ole Evinrude 

Ole Evinrude is known for the invention of the first outboard motor with practical commercial application. Born in Norway, Evinrude immigrated with his family to Cambridge, Wisconsin. He later co-founded the Milwaukee custom engine firm Clemick & Evinrude. His invention was spurred by frustration over the slow speed of a trip by rowboat to get his girlfriend an ice cream cone during a summer lake outing in Waukesha County (the cone melted before he got back.).

William Harley and Arthur Davidson 

The founders of Harley-Davidson, William Harley and Arthur Davidson, labored over the design of the motor-bicycle for years. After many trials and tribulations, the first "real" Harley-Davidson motorcycle became functional in 1904, proving their motor-bicycle experiments as valuable learning experiences.

Palmer Johnson 

Palmer Johnson transformed his father's boating repair business into a custom yacht company in 1928. Based in Sturgeon Bay, Palmer Johnson Inc. continues to this day as one of the world's largest builders of luxury yachts.

Samuel Johnson 

Creator of S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc., located in Racine, Samuel Johnson started out as a parquet flooring salesman for the Racine Hardware Manufacturing Co. S.C. Johnson remains privately held by the Johnson family today and operates in more than 70 countries, employs 12,000 people and provides products in more than 110 countries around the world.

John Kimberly, Charles Clark, Frank Shattuck and Havilah Babcock 

Kimberly-Clark Co. was founded by four pioneers in Neenah in 1872: John Kimberly, Havilah Babcock, Charles Clark, and Frank Shattuck. Kimberly-Clark is a global health and hygiene company that produces brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex, Depend and more.

Kohler Family/ Herbert Vollrath Kohler 

The Kohler family came to the Sheboygan area in 1873 from Austria. Soon after, the Kohler Co. was founded; it has since become a world-wide leader in plumbing products, furniture, engines and generators. The company's current leader, Herbert Vollrath Kohler, dramatically expanded the scope of the company in the last two decades by creating four nationally acclaimed golf courses, including Whistling Straits/Straits Course and Blackwolf Run/River Course. His courses, part of the American Club Resort, have since become venues for major international tournaments including PGA Championship, the U.S. Women's Open, 

The U.S. Senior Open and the Ryder Cup.

Pleasant Rowland 

An educator, writer and entrepreneur best known for creating the American Girl Brand, Pleasant Rowland was born and raised in Madison, and founded the Pleasant Co., which manufactures American Girl dolls and accessories.

Food and Culinary Arts

Barry Levenson 

Barry Levenson founded the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum in 1992. Located in Mount Horeb, the museum features more than 4,400 mustards and hundreds of items of mustard memorabilia.

Noteworthy Artisan Cheesemakers: 

Sid Cook 

Sid Cook is the owner and operator of Carr Valley Cheese and is certified for cheddar and fontina. The company has won numerous awards including 28 from the 2007 American Cheese Society Cheese Competition. First place awards were given for the following contests: Fresh Unripened Cheeses, Cow's Milk; American Originals, Goat's Milk; American Originals, Sheep's Milk and/or Mixed Milks.

Myron Olson 

The pungent smell of limburger cheese is unique to the Chalet Cheese Cooperative in Monroe. Myron Olson is manager of the Chalet Cheese Co-op, which is the sole U.S. producer of limburger.

Bruce Workman 

Bruce Workman is the owner of Edelweiss Towne Hall cheese factory in Monticello, which is the only U.S. producer of classic big-wheel, Swiss cheese.

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