#1Famous people · Selma
70 famous people were born in Selma, more of them musicians than in most towns
The best known is the American soccer player Mia Hamm, with articles in 61 languages. Behind the leader come Jeff Sessions and Jo Bonner. More than half were born between 1920 and 1969, 36 in all. Selma’s list is the longest of any town in Alabama.
Born here
70
notable people
Best known
Mia Hamm
in 61 Wikipedia languages
First
1826
David Abner
Youngest
1990
Robert Stewart
Most common field
Politics & Law
23 people
What stands out about Selma’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Selma is known for
Set against the usual town, musicians come out 2.3 times as common.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Selma
Two of the three are leaders.
#1
#2
#3Through the years
When Selma’s famous people were born
More of them were born in the 1950s than in any other ten years, 9 in all.
Politics & LawSportsMusicWriting & ArtsFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicineFaithMilitaryNotableBusiness
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Selma
Another 67, 21 of them leaders.
Kathryn Tucker Windham
1918–2011American journalist, author and photographer
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Michael Johnson
born 1987American football defensive end in the NFL (born 1987, active 2009–2018)
SportsWikipedia ↗
Ralph Jordan
1910–1980American college football coach, college basketball coach, College Football Hall of Fame member
SportsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
The town’s pick
Town Square →Who’s the most famous person from Selma?
Pick one and say why. Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Your pick
No picks yet
Be the first to say who Selma’s most famous person is.
Or tell us
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Selma and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (31)
- Mia Hamm: Rob Poetsch on Flickr; cropped by Blackcat, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jeff Sessions: United States Department of Justice, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jo Bonner: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Suzan DelBene: Robert Kangas from Seattle, WA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bull Connor: City of Birmingham, Alabama, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ann Bedsole: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- W. C. Morrow: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Lehman: Image courtesy of the Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Cornelia Sharpe: CBS Television, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Samuel Francis Hobbs: U.S. House of Representatives, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ben Obomanu: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Howard W. Gilmore: US Naval History & Heritage Command, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Johnny Moore: Atlantic Records, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Johnson: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shwetak Patel: Ubicomp Lab @ UW, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- William Benjamin Craig: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bill Corr: U.S. Government Website, Dept of Health and Human Services, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Frederick D. Reese: Mrsdonzaleighabernathy, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jai Miller: Minda Haas Kuhlmann: flickr, personal website, twitter, instagram, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kenny Brown: Cowfish, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard M. Myers: Jennifer Tarkington, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rick Perales: Wesley Farnsworth, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Terry Leach: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Truman McGill Hobbs: United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Clarence Matthews: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Abner: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Helen Smith Woodruff: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Joanne Bland: Office of Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Sheyann Webb: National Photo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Wendell Lewis: Dennis Adair, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dawne Shand: Jolds777, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons