Musicians stand out among the 35 famous people born in Kingsport
Lisa Alther, the American novelist, is the most widely known, written about in 13 languages. The next two names are Cyrus Thomas and Diana Harshbarger. 25 of them were born between 1920 and 1969, more than in any other period. The list runs from Cyrus Thomas, born in 1825, to Coty Sensabaugh, born in 1988.
What stands out about Kingsport’s famous people
What Kingsport is known for
Kingsport has 2.6× the usual share of musicians.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
When Kingsport’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1960s, with 11 people born in that decade.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Born in Kingsport
Two of the three are writers and artists.
#2Cyrus Thomas
1825–1910American Mesoamericanist and entomologist
#3Diana Harshbarger
born 1960American pharmacist, businesswoman and politician
Everyone else born in Kingsport
Another 32, the earliest born in 1887.
















Matt Mahaffey
born 1973American multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and record engineer

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From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Kingsport 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 (19)
- Cyrus Thomas: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Diana Harshbarger: Office of Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Beverly McClellan: JulioCardia, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Selwa Roosevelt: National Council of US-Arab Relations, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Daniel Kilgore: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Alan Shelton: Eric Frommer, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Coty Sensabaugh: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gerald Sensabaugh: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Frazier Barker: Zach Pippin, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jerry Kilgore: Office of Congressman Frank Wolf, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Palmer: NBC, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Kenneth Simonds: Kensal35, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ryan Williams: Jay.Klein, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Terry Kilgore: Virginia State Parks, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Barry Bales: Filberthockey (a.k.a. Forrest L. Smith, III), CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jendia Gammon: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mark H. Landes: U.S. Army, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Matt Mahaffey: Mamorymoog at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jay Y. Gillenwater: Eduardo Montes-Bradley, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons