The New Jersey Hall of Fame has announced its 50 nominees for the 2021 public vote.
The nominees to the hall, now based in Newark, are listed in five categories: Arts & Letters, Enterprise, Performing Arts, Public Service and Sports. Business and political leaders on the list include well-known names such as Denise Morrison, former CEO of Campbell Soup Co., and state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), among many others.
Click here to vote through Memorial Day.
Final inductees will be announced in June, with an induction ceremony scheduled for a virtual event in October.
“We are excited to once again highlight the depth and variety of the Garden State,” NJHOF Chairman Jon F. Hanson said in a prepared statement. “New Jerseyans will truly have their work cut out for them in choosing among these incredible nominees.”
The nominees are, according to the NJHOF:
Arts & Letters
- George Walker, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, pianist and organist
- Gay Talese, writer and journalist
- Alfred Stieglitz, photographer and modern art promoter
- Dorothy Porter Wesley, librarian, bibliographer and curator
- Anne Lindbergh, author and aviator
- John F. Nash Jr., mathematician who made fundamental contributions to game theory, differential geometry, and the study of partial differential equations
- Dorothea Lange, documentary photographer and photojournalist
- Thomas Fleming, historian and author of over forty nonfiction and fiction titles
- Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who focuses on the immigrant experience in America
- Margaret Bourke-White, the first American female war photojournalist
Enterprise
- Paul A. Volcker Jr., 12th Chair of the Federal Reserve under Presidents Carter and Reagan
- Sara Spencer Washington, founder of Apex News and Hair Company named one of the “Most Distinguished Businesswomen” at the 1939 New York World’s Fair
- Louise Scott-Roundtree, established successful chain of beauty salons in Newark and city’s first African-American female millionaire
- Henry Rowan, engineer and philanthropist
- Denise M. Morrison, former president and CEO of Campbell Soup Co.
- The Mars family, owners of confectionery company Mars Inc.
- Madeline McWhinney Dale, first female officer and vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank
- Clive Cummis, founder of one of NJ’s largest law firms and influential Democratic fundraiser
- Elizabeth Coleman White, agricultural specialist who developed the first cultivated blueberry
- James E. Burke, former CEO of Johnson & Johnson
Performing Arts
- Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye: Smith is a singer-songwriter, musician, author and poet who was part of the New York City punk rock movement in the 1970s; Kaye is a musician, writer, record producer and guitarist for Smith from her band’s inception in 1974
- Bebe Neuwirth, Emmy winning-actress, singer and dancer
- Marilyn McCoo, lead female vocalist of the 5th Dimension
- Buddy Hackett, actor and comedian
- Lesley Gore, singer, songwriter, actress, and activist
- Brian De Palma, film director and screenwriter
- Sarah Dash, award-winning vocalist who co-founded Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles
- David Copperfield, magician
- The Jonas Brothers, popular pop band made up of brothers Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas
- George Benson, jazz guitarist, singer, and songwriter
Public Service
- Loretta Weinberg, New Jersey Senate majority leader
- Richard Stockton, lawyer, jurist, legislator and a signer of the Declaration of Independence
- George P. Shultz, economist, diplomat, and businessman serving under three GOP presidents
- Antonin Scalia, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1986 until his death in 2016
- Gustave F. Perna, Army four-star general & CEO of the federal COVID-19 response for vaccine and therapeutics
- William Paterson, signer of the U.S. Constitution, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and 2nd governor of New Jersey
- David Mixner, political activist and author
- Richard J. Hughes, 45th governor of New Jersey, chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court
- Margaret Bancroft, founder of the Haddonfield Bancroft Training School for the multiply disabled
- Alexander Hamilton, founding father and first secretary of the treasury
Sports
- Lawrence Taylor, “L.T.,” former linebacker for the New York Giants
- Phil Simms, two-time Super Bowl champion and quarterback for the New York Giants
- Bill Parcells, two-time Super Bowl head coach for the New York Giants
- Heather Ann O’Reilly, three-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women’s World Cup winner for the U.S. women’s national soccer team
- John J. McMullen, naval architect, businessman, marine engineer and former owner of the New Jersey Devils and Houston Astros
- Ron Jaworski, former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and NFL analyst
- Monte Irvin, left and right fielder in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball who played with the Newark Eagles, New York Giants and Chicago Cubs
- Craig Biggio, seven-time National League All-Star second baseman, outfielder and catcher for the Houston Astros
- Al Attles, longtime basketball player and coach for the Golden State Warriors
- Valerie B. Ackerman, first president of the Women’s National Basketball Association
