
33 famous people were born within 35 miles of Selma
The nearest, Jimmie W. Monteith, was born in Low Moor, 1 mi away. Pearl S. Buck is the most widely known, written about in 142 languages. No famous person’s birth in Selma is on record yet. Over the border in Clifton Forge, 13 names are on record, led by Roger Arliner Young.
What stands out about Selma’s famous people
Famous people born near Selma
They were born in 11 towns within 35 miles, nearest first.




Lisa Disbrow
born 1962US Air Force officer and defense civilian servant







J. C. Snead
1940–2025Professional golfer, minor league baseball player

Joseph Reid Anderson
1813–1892American civil engineer, industrialist, and soldier

Mary Johnston
1870–1936American novelist and women's rights advocate


William Alexander Anderson
1842–1930American lawyer and politician

Cy Twombly
1928–2011American painter, sculptor and photographer

Robert Paxton
born 1932American political scientist and historian


Katherine Johnson
1918–2020African-American mathematician

John Leonard Hines
1868–1968(1868-1968) former Chief of Staff of the United States Army

Margaret Prescott Montague
1878–1955American writer

Robert Bruce King
born 1940United States federal judge

Pearl S. Buck
1892–1973Chinese women Nobel Prize winner, author, teacher, missionary
Who’s the most famous person from Selma?
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Be the first to say who Selma’s most famous person is.
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns around it, Clifton Forge has the most on record: 13.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Selma and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Nearby people are those born in a town within 35 miles; distances are town center to town center. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (23)
- Pearl S. Buck: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Katherine Johnson: NASA, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Pat Robertson: Paparazzo Presents, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hilary Hahn: Quincena Musical, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bimbo Coles: PO2 Wendy Hamme, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Letcher: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Chapman Revercomb: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Roger Arliner Young: Marine Biological Laboratory, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Reid Anderson: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mary Johnston: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jacob Ammen: The original uploader was GhostPirate at English Wikipedia., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Leonard Hines: Official Army Portrait, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jimmie W. Monteith: United States Army, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Phillips: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- William W. Rucker: National Photo Company, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles H. Grasty: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Gillespie: State of Illinois, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lisa Disbrow: United States Air Force, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Overstreet Jr.: US Government Photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Gary L. Miller: United States Army, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Bruce King: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Hanes Ayres: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William R. Terrill: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

