Connecticut

Samuel Colt

(1814-1862)

Inventor/Businessman

Fame-O-Meter-5/10

Resting Place-Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford

GPS Coordinates-

41°43'19.6"N, 72°41'57.5"W

Samuel Colt was a shrewd industrialist. After creating the legendary Colt .45 pistol, he expanded his weapon empire to sell to everyone from the U.S. Government to the Confederate army and across the world as well. His name became almost synonymous with small firearms. Though he sometimes used underhanded tactics to make his empire grow such as bribery and harsh treatment of his workers. 

Charles Goodyear

(1800-1860)

Inventor

Fame-O-Meter-6/10

Resting Place-Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven

GPS Coordinates-

41°18'54.6"N, 72°55'40.6"W

Most people who have had an automobile know the name Goodyear when it comes to tires. Charles Goodyear spent years developing his patented vulcanization process which finally made rubber be a viable option in industry. However, and despite his patent, Goodyear never collected a single royalty. In fact, he was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt when he died. His invention was stolen time and time again by competitors around the world. It was only decades after his death that someone named a company in his honor. He never saw a penny from the company that bears his name.

Katharine Hepburn

(1907-2003)

Actress

Fame-O-Meter-8/10

Resting Place-Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford

GPS Coordinates-

41°43'21.6"N, 72°42'05.6"W

Katharine Hepburn was a leading actress during her time in Hollywood. She was known for her roles in The Philadelphia Story, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Lion in Winter, On Golden Pond, and Bringing Up Baby.

JP Morgan

(1837-1913)

Businessman

Fame-O-Meter-9/10

Resting Place-Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford

GPS Coordinates-

41°43'18.3"N, 72°42'04.3"W

John Pierpoint Morgan was once on the world's wealthiest men. He was known for having a keep business acumen. When his father died and left him money, JP Morgan invested that money into many noteable mergers, including US Steel, General Electric, International Harvest Company, and White Star. At one point, he was so powerful that he loaned the United States Government money to help when the gold standard crashed the economy. Fun trivia fact: he was supposed to be on the Titanic and attended the Christening, but became sick that evening and did not sail the next day.

Roger Sherman

(1721-1793)

Statesman

Fame-O-Meter-4/10

Resting Place-Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven

GPS Coordinates-

41°18'47.5"N, 72°55'34.3"W

I suppose it is fair to say that we as Americans owe a lot to Roger Sherman. He was a very influential statesman before, during, and after the American Revolution. Representing the state of Connecticut, Sherman holds a dubious record in American history as the only person to sign The Articles of Association in 1774, The Declaration of Independence in 1776, The Articles of Confederation in 1777, and The United States Constitution in 1787. Truly remarkable.

Charles Sherwood "General Tom Thumb" Stratton

(1838-1883)

Entertainer

Fame-O-Meter-4/10

Resting Place-Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport

GPS Coordinates-

41°10'19.1"N, 73°13'28.8"W

General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Stratton, a dwarf, who worked with PT Barnum as an entertainer in the circus. So famous was Stratton in his time that he met kings and queens of Europe and traveled around the world and the United States. His final height was 3'4". His marriage to Lavinia Warren in 1863 was a hugely social affair, even during the Civil War. Thousands of people attending and President Lincoln sent the couple a wedding present, later inviting them to the White House.

Lavinia Warren

(1841-1919)

Entertainer

Fame-O-Meter-3/10

Resting Place-Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport

GPS Coordinates-

41°10'19.1"N, 73°13'28.8"W

Lavinia Warren was found by PT Barnum to be an entertainer in his traveling circus. She later married "General Tom Thumb" or Charles Stratton, another diminutive performer in the circus. Their wedding was a star-studded affair with an attendance of over 2000 and a cover charge to get in--another brainchild of PT Barnum, who never missed a chance to make a buck. Lavinia far outlived Stratton, and later remarried in life. But she is buried with her first husband. 

Noah Webster

(1758-1843)

Lexicographer

Fame-O-Meter-5/10

Resting Place-Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven

GPS Coordinates-

41°18'48.2"N, 72°55'40.1"W

For hundreds of years American knew that a "Webster's" Dictionary meant the standard in American language. Noah Webster wrote the necessary materials for Americans to learn a unique American style of the English language. He standardized many New England pronunciations and spellings and changed the way Americans use English.

Eli Whitney

(1765-1825)

Inventor

Fame-O-Meter-6/10

Resting Place-Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven

GPS Coordinates-

41°18'48.1"N, 72°55'40.0"W

Eli Whitney single-handedly changed the economic fortune of the United States. After studying the problem for six months, Whitney was able to devise a new invention that did nothing less than increase cotton cleaning by a factor of 1000. His new cotton gin revolutionized life in the South and the North as well, with the increased cotton available for factories and textile mills.