By Lee Davis
A vice president of the United States, a rocket scientist, a Supreme Court justice and a world-renowned botanist are all hanging out at Samford University.
So are dozens of other prominent men with Alabama connections who contributed to the state, the nation and the world. They are members of the Alabama Men’s Hall of Fame, where they are honored with a special bronze plaque at the Harwell Goodwin Davis Library on the Samford campus.
Jeremiah Denton, a hero of the Vietnam War and a former United States senator, will be inducted into the hall during a luncheon in his honor Sept. 20. Denton, who died in 2014, was a native of Mobile.
The present day hall was formed in 1987 by act of the state Legislature. A predecessor organization, the Alabama Hall of Fame, existed between 1951 and 1965 and inducted a number of prominent men from the state. The inductees were adopted by the new Hall of Fame after its creation.
“This is a great way for the people of Alabama to realize how many of their fellow Alabamians have made positive contributions to our world,” said Frank McDaniel, a former legislator who is the chairman of the Hall of Fame. “We have even put together lesson plans that can be taught in the classroom on our website for most of the members to help teach school children about their contributions.”
Inductees do not have to be born in Alabama, but they must have a strong connection to the state. For example, rocket scientist Werner Von Braun was a native of Germany, but he helped make Huntsville one of the most important cities in America’s race to the moon in the 1960s.
“People will look at the plaques at Samford and say, ‘I had no idea that this person or that person had a connection with Alabama,’” McDaniel said. “We’ve had leaders in politics, business, agriculture, science and just about every category you can imagine.”
Many Alabamians do not realize that the state has produced a vice president. Although a native of North Carolina, William Rufus King came to Alabama before statehood was granted in 1819. He founded the city of Selma and was elected to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate. In 1852, King was chosen as the Democratic Party’s nominee for vice president on the ticket with presidential candidate Franklin Pierce. Pierce and King won the election. King died in office the next year. He is buried in Selma.
Other well-known members of the Hall of Fame include former Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, U.S. Sen. Lister Hill and Oscar W. Underwood, scientist George Washington Carver, educator Booker T. Washington, civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., medical giants Dr. John Webster Kirklin and Lloyd Noland, and captains of industry John Harbert, John Eagan, and Emory Cunningham, just to name a few.
McDaniel said the Hall of Fame welcomes participation from the public in the nominating process. Nominees must have been deceased for at least two years to be eligible for consideration, and no Hall of Fame class will have more than three members in a particular year.
A deadline for submitting nominations is generally set in early March and is announced through the media and on the Hall of Fame website.
Nominations are usually reviewed by a selection committee designated by Alabama Men’s Hall of Fame board members. The committee’s recommendations, along with the list of all nominations, are submitted to the full Board in April for a final vote. The formal induction ceremony is held each year in September in Birmingham.
Denton is best known for his service as a pilot during a bombing mission over North Vietnam in 1965. He was shot down, captured and held in the notorious North Vietnamese prison camp known as the Hanoi Hilton.
Denton spent four of his eight years of captivity in solitary confinement before being released after America’s involvement in the war ended in 1973.
Denton served in the U.S. Senate from 1981-87.
“Admiral Denton made incredible sacrifices for our nation and is a true hero in every sense of the word,” McDaniel said. “He is a very deserving member of the Hall of Fame.”
The public is invited to the induction luncheon at 11:30 a.m. at The Club in Birmingham. To reserve a seat at the luncheon, call 968-0967 by Sept. 12.
