Ezra Taft Benson (1899 -- 1994)
He spent his early life working in fields, milking cows, and doing other farm chores. At the age of 53, President Dwight D. Eisenhower selected Benson as the Secretary of Agriculture. While in this position he urged for flexible price supports for agriculture products. Benson was known as a man of principle. He appeared on the covers of Time magazine and Saturday Evening Post. Benson served eight years as Secretary of Agriculture.
Reva Beck Bosone (1895 -- 1983)
She started her career as a high school teacher then later became one of the first female lawyers. Bosone became a member in the House of Representatives in 1932; four years later she was elected as the first women judge. She was later elected to the United States Congress where she served two terms. Bosone became the judicial officer of the Post Office (1960) where she was the highest ranking woman in that department. Through her years of service, Bosone wanted to raise the image of women in politics and the public office.
John M. Browning (1855 -- 1926)
He is known as one of the most famous and the best firearms inventor the world known. Browning made his first gun, the single shot rifle, when he was 14 years old. He was an active gun maker for 47 years. During those years he manufactured 50 million sport and military weapons. Some of his most famous guns are the .45 caliber pistol, Colt Peacemaker machine gun, the Browning automatic rifle, and the Browning automatic shotgun that was first make in 1902 and still made today.
Martha Hughes Cannon (1857 -- 1932)
She was an elementary school teacher at the age of 14. Cannon later studied medicine and was a resident physician at a hospital. She practiced medicine in Salt Lake City and she also taught nursing classes. Cannon was involved in politics and women's suffrage. She was elected in November of 1896 as a State Senator where she served two terms. Cannon was the first female to be elected as a state senator.
George H. Dern (1872 -- 1936)
He served in the state senate and was later elected as the Governor of Utah where he served two terms. Dern improved the state's tax system and he supported unemployment insurance. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) appointed Dern as his secretary of war. Dern was the first Utahn to fill a position in the presidential cabinet. He died while serving as the secretary of war.
Marriner S. Eccles (1890 -- 1977)
He formed the Eccles-Browning Affiliated Banks and Organized the First Security Corporation to control and manage 17 banks. Eccles became the head of the Federal Reserves in 1935. He helped draft the Emergency Banking Act and the Federal Housing Act. He spoke to business groups and appeared on National television talk shows. Eccles was the leading banker in the Intermountain West.
Alf Engen (1909 -- 1997)
He is a world class skier that added to Utahs skiing industry. Through his career he has earned many medals and awards one was for "outstanding skier of the first 50 years of the 20th century." Engen was the National Classic Champion (Cross-country skiing and jumping combined) twice, U.S. National jumping champion eight times, one of those times he was using borrowed skis. He was the National downhill and slalom champion. Engen coached the United States Olympic ski team in 1948.
Philo Farnsworth (1906 -- 1971)
He was fascinated with electricity, by the time he was 15 years old he developed a theory of electronic transmission of pictures. In 1927 Farnsworth patented and produced the first working, all electronic television system. Farnsworth has the legal right and patent for the invention of the television. His experiments donated to the development of the radar, electron microscopes, incubators for newborns, and guidance systems for aircraft.
Debbi Fields (1956 -- )
She founded Mrs. Fields Cookies at the age of 20. Fields now has 700 company owned and franchised stores in the United States and 6 in foreign nations. She has written two recipe books, hosted a television show and is a motivational speaker. She has also won a number of prestigious awards for professional achievement.
John Fitzgerald (1907 -- 1988)
He is a well-known author in the United States, England, and Germany. His books attract mostly children. Fitzgerald is the author of The Great Brain series as well as his best seller Papa Married a Mormon. He is also the author of Mamma's Boarding House and two textbooks about creative writing.
Daniel Jackling (1869 -- 1956)
He was the founder of the Utah Copper Mine Company. He developed a method of low-grade ore processing. By mid 20th century more then 60 percent of the world's copper production resulted from his development of low grad ore processing. Jackling had his hand in most of the copper companies in the American West as a manager and/or director.
Willem Kolff (1911 -- )
He developed the first useful artificial kidney in 1941. Three years later the kidney saved its first patient's life. Kolff was the head of the department of artificial organs. In 1957 he completed the first implant of a totally artificial heart in the chest of an animal. He was the director for the University of Utah biomedical engineering and artificial organs division. In 1982 the first artificial heart was implanted in a human patient. Kolff has received many awards for his efforts in the research and study of artificial organs.
Karl Malone (1963 -- )
He led his college team, Louisiana Tech, to the NCAA tournament two years in a row. Malone is a professional basketball player in the NBA and played for the Utah Jazz from 1985 until 2003. His professional career started when he was picked 13th in the 1985 NBA draft. He was on the Olympic basketball team twice, winning two gold medals. Malone is second as the NBA all-time scorer and the oldest NBA player to win the MVP award (1999). He has been on the Western Conference All-Star team 11 years in a row and the all NBA team 11 years in a row. In 1996 he was selected as one of the "50 Greatest Players in NBA History." Malone went to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2003.
Robert LeRoy Parker (Butch Cassidy) (1866 -- ?)
He was known as the "Robin Hood of the West." He got his nickname Butch from working in a butcher shop and he got Cassidy from one of the guys he hung out with. Cassidy was the master planner of trains, banks, and mine payroll robberies. He created a gang in 1896 that has some other well-known Western outlaws like Sundance Kid. At the turn of the century this gang had the longest sequence of successful bank robberies in the history of the American West. Cassidy moved to South America because the law in America was chasing him. After robbing banks in South America, he was caught in Bolivia. No one knows what happened after he was caught. Some say he was killed and other say he moved back to the West and lived under different names.
Robert Redford (1937 -- )
He is an American actor, director, and producer. He made his motion picture debut in the movie War Hunt (1962). Redford won an academy award as best director for the movie Ordinary People (1980). A year later he created the Sundance Institute to encourage new talent and creation of the independent films. Redford is the host Sundance Film Festival that is in Utah every year. He is one of the top 100 movie stars of all time.
John Stockton (1962 -- )
He started his career as the 16th pick in the NBA draft in 1984. Stockton played for the Utah Jazz and was on two gold medal U.S. Olympic teams. Stockton is the NBA all-time career leader in assists and steals. He has a Jazz career mark of the most games played, most steals, and most assists. Stockton has won nine in a row assist titles and has been named to the all NBA 1st team twice. He holds the records for most assists in a season (1164 in 90-91) and the highest average of assists per game (14.5 in 89-90). Stockton was selected in 1996 as one of the "50 Greatest Players in NBA History." Stockton retired in 2003 holding the league record for most seasons with the same franchise (19).
George Sutherland (1862 -- 1942)
He joined the first House of Representatives and later became a United States Senator. Sutherland was the only Utah representative in the United States House from 1900-1903. He was the advisor to the presidential Warren G. Harding. Harding was elected as the President (1920) and he appointed Sutherland as a Supreme Court Justice in 1922. Sutherland retired from the Supreme Court in 1938.
Lester Wire (1857 -- 1958)
Wire wrote the first Salt Lake City traffic rules and was the head of the first traffic squad in Salt Lake City. He invented the first electric traffic signal, which looked like a flashing birdhouse. He never patented the light so he never got any money for his invention.
Brigham Young (1801 -- 1877)
He organized the mass Mormon migration West. Young personally led the first pioneer company to the Great Basin on July 24, 1847 and settled in the Great Salt Lake Valley. Over the next 30 years he supervise the migration of thousands of immigrants. Young was appointed the first territorial governor where he served seven years. He was also a principal Mormon leader and supervised the formation of ZCMI (Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution.
Steve Young (1961 -- )
He started his football career as starting quarter back at BYU University his senior year. Young's professional career started in 1985 when he played in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Two years later he went and played for the 49'ers where he was the back-up quarter back to Joe Montana for four seasons. Young led the NFL in passing for four consecutive years (91-94). He led the 49'ers to a Superbowl win and was named the game MVP by throwing six touchdown passes which was a Superbowl record. Young was named the NFL player of the year in 1992 and 1994.
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