# List of people from South Kingstown, Rhode Island

This is a list of prominent people who were born in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island or who spent significant periods of their lives in the town.

## Academia

* Herman Churchill (1869–1941) – historian, college professor, and founder of the University of Rhode Island's history department
* T. Stephen Crawford (1900–1987) – chemical engineer and dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Rhode Island
* Caroline Hazard (1856–1945) – fifth president of Wellesley College
* William Metz (1914–2013) – historian and chairman of the University of Rhode Island's history department
* Roy G. Poulsen (1918–2006) – economist and director of the Research Center in Business and Economics at the University of Rhode Island
* Michael Rice (born 1955) – Chairman of the Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science at the University of Rhode Island
* Hermann Viets (1943–2017) – astronautics engineer and president of the Milwaukee School of Engineering
* Homer Jay Wheeler (1861–1945) – chemist and director of the Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Rhode Island

## Activism, civil rights, and philanthropy

* George Fayerweather (1802–1869) – abolitionist and blacksmith
* Sarah Harris Fayerweather (1812–1878) – abolitionist
* Edward Everett Hale (1822–1909) – religious leader and abolitionist
* Joe Patrick II (born 1963) – activist and retired Army soldier

## Art, literature, and design

* Jhumpa Lahiri (born 1967) – author
* C. J. Chivers (born 1964) – author

## Business

* Augustus George Hazard (1802–1868) – businessman and gunpowder manufacturer
* Rowland Hazard III (1881–1945) – businessman and politician
* Rowland G. Hazard (1801–1888) – industrialist and politician

## Crime

* Michael Woodmansee (born 1958) – child murderer

## Film, television, and stage

* Mark Atkinson – actor
* Andrew Burnap (born 1991) – actor
* Kate French (born 1984) – actress
* Brendan O'Malley (born 1969) – actor

## Journalism

* Bob Rathbun (born 1954) – sportscaster
* Lindsay Crouse (born 1984) - documentary film producer

## Military

* William J. Babcock (1841–1897) – Medal of Honor recipient
* David B. Champagne (1932–1952) – Medal of Honor recipient
* William G. Fournier (1913–1943) – Medal of Honor recipient
* Stephen Champlin (1789–1870) – Navy officer
* Christopher Raymond Perry (1761–1818) – Navy officer and Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Washington County
* Matthew C. Perry (1794–1858) – Navy officer
* Oliver Hazard Perry (1785–1819) – Navy officer
* Isaac P. Rodman (1822 – 1862) – Army officer and politician

## Music

* Aaron Rossi (born 1980) – drummer
* Erika Van Pelt (born 1985) – singer

## Politics and government

* Lemuel H. Arnold (1792–1852) – Governor of Rhode Island and U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
* James V. Aukerman (born 1948) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
* George Brown (1746–1836) – Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island
* Erasmus D. Campbell (1811–1873) – Governor of Wisconsin
* Kathleen Fogarty (born 1965) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
* John Gardner (1747–1808) – delegate to the Congress of the Confederation from Rhode Island
* Walter Gray (born 1926) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
* Grafton Kenyon (1882–1960) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and Rhode Island Senate
* Tom Keefe – member of the Branford (Connecticut) Representative Town Meeting and former member of the Colorado First Judicial District Retention Commission
* Carder Hazard (1734–1792) – Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
* George Hazard (1700–1738) – Deputy Governor of Colonial Rhode Island
* Edward Holland (1931 or 1932-2015) – Rhode Island Senator
* Robert Hazard (1702–1751) – Deputy Governor of Colonial Rhode Island
* Gilbert V. Indeglia (born 1941) – Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
* John Shanley Jr. (1944–2021) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
* Henry Marchant (1741–1796) – Founding Father and Attorney General of Rhode Island
* Paul Mumford (1734–1805) – Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island and Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
* Thomas Mumford (1625–1692) – settled South Kingstown and served as the first High Sheriff
* Peter Neronha (born 1963) – 74th Attorney General of Rhode Island
* Nathaniel Niles (1741–1828) – U.S. Representative from Vermont
* Elisha R. Potter (1764–1835) – U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
* Elisha R. Potter Jr. (1811–1882) – U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
* Samuel J. Potter (1753–1804) – Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island and U.S. Senator from Rhode Island
* William Robinson (1693–1751) – Deputy Governor of Colonial Rhode Island
* Rob Roy Rawlings (1920–2001) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
* Roy Willard Rawlings (1883–1973) – Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
* V. Susan Sosnowski (born 1955) – Rhode Island Senator
* Teresa Tanzi (born 1971) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
* Robert Tiernan (1929–2014) – U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
* Lucy Rawlings Tootell (1911–2010) – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives

## Science

* John Barlow (1872–1944) – entomologist
* Dorothy Bliss (1916–1987) – carcinologist and president of the American Society of Zoologists
* Alexander M. Cruickshank (1919–2017) – chemist and director of the Gordon Research Conferences
* Silvester Gardiner (1708 – 1786) – physician
* W. George Parks (1904–1975) – chemist and director of the Gordon Research Conferences
* John Sieburth (1927–2006) – biologist
* Samuel Slocum (1792–1861) – inventor
* Clarence M. Tarzwell (1907–1993) – biologist
* Malford W. Thewlis (1889–1956) – physician
* Richard W. Traxler (1928–2010) – microbiologist

## Sports

* William Beck (1929-2017) – U.S. Olympian (1952 and 1956)
* Bob Bellemore (born 1959) – ice hockey coach
* Harry P. Cross (1873–1955) – football player and coach
* Martha Fierro (born 1977) – chess grandmaster and vice president of FIDE
* Parker Ford (born 2000) - NHL hockey player. Made his professional debut on January 30, 2025 for the Winnipeg Jets versus the Boston Bruins and scored his first pro goal in the third period, adding his name to the list of NHL players who scored a goal in their debut professional hockey game.
* Ron Locke (born 1942) – baseball player
* Sean Maloney (born 1971) – baseball player
* Fred Tootell (1902–1964) – U.S. Olympian (1924)