Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge is the capital city of Louisiana and home of Louisiana State University.

Notable people

• Jody Amedee, former state senator
• J. Al Amiss, sheriff of East Baton Rouge Parish, 1972 to 1983
• Buddy Amoroso, former member of the Metro Council
• Robert E. Anderson, Southern Baptist clergyman from Shreveport and Baton Rouge
• Kyle Ardoin, Louisiana secretary of state since 2018
• Harrison Bagwell, Baton Rouge attorney and Republican Party pioneer
• Jesse Bankston, Democratic Party activist
• Kirt Bennett, founder of Young Leaders Academy of Baton Rouge, established to support the education of African-American boys
• Jack Breaux, first Republican mayor in Louisiana since Reconstruction: Zachary in East Baton Rouge Parish from 1966 to 1980
• James H. "Jim" Brown, former state senator, Louisiana secretary of state and insurance commissioner
• Ossie Brown, East Baton Rouge Parish district attorney, 1972-1984
• Bryan Bush, district attorney, 1985-1990
• Theo Cangelosi, attorney; gubernatorial confidant
• Stephen Frank Carter, departing state representative for District 68
• Jack Christian, East Baton Rouge mayor-president, 1957-1964
• Dan Claitor, attorney and departing state senator from District 16
• Thomas Clausen, former state superintendent of education
• Tom Colten, former mayor of Minden, appointee to the state Department of Transportation and Development, based in Baton Rouge
• Beth Courtney, president and CEO of Louisiana Public Broadcasting
• John Easterly Coxe, state education superintendent, 1940 to 1948
• Carl Crane, District 70 state representative, 1982 to 2008
• Ed Cullen, newspaper and radio journalist who specializes in human interest essays
• Charles Cusimano, I, longest serving member of the LSU Board of Supervisors, 1974-2006
• J. D. DeBlieux, former state senator known for civil rights activism
• Joe Delpit, former state representative, owner of The Chicken Shack
• John Desmond, architect
• Kenneth L. Dixon, youngest war correspondent in World War II; worked at The Baton Rouge Advocate from 1967 to 1971
• Margaret Dixon, influential woman journalist of 20th century; former managing editor of The Baton Rouge Advocate
• Bill Dodd, state representative from Allen Parish (1940-1948); lived in Baton Rouge while lieutenant governor (1948-1952), and state education superintendent (1964-1972)1972
• Woodrow Wilson Dumas, Mayor-President, 1965 to 1980
• Mike Dunne, environmental journalist
• Jack M. Dyer, attorney and one-term state representative, 1960 to 1964
• Edwin Edwards, four-term governor born in Marksville but resided in Crowley and then Baton Rouge
• John Bel Edwards, governor of Louisiana
• Mike Futrell, former state representative
• Gaston Gerald, state senator from Greenwell Springs in East Baton Rouge Parish; expelled from Senate for corruption in 1981
• E. Clark Gaudin, first Republican to represent East Baton Rouge Parish in the state legislature in the 20th century
• Hunter Greene, family court judge and former state representative
• Jack P. F. Gremillion, state attorney general, 1956 to 1972
• James Gremillion, secretary of state from 1940 to 1944
• Francis Grevemberg, superintendent of state police, 1952-1955 who conducted raids against organized crime
• Dudley Guglielmo, state insurance commissioner, 1964-1972
• T. H. Harris, state education superintendent from 1908 to 1940
• E. L. "Bubba" Henry, attorney and former Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
• Barry Ivey, District 65 state representative since 2013
• Shelby M. Jackson, Concordia Parish native, lived in Baton Rouge as state education superintendent, 1948 to 1964
• Bobby Jindal, governor, 2008-2016
• Donald Kennard, state representative from 1988 to 2008; LSU athletic department official
• Claude Kirkpatrick, businessman, hospital administrator, state representative for Jefferson Davis Parish (1952-1960)
• Eddie Lambert, attorney and state senator for Ascension Parish
• Elmer Litchfield, sheriff of East Baton Rouge Parish, 1983 to 2006
• Maurice Mapes, lobbyist and consultant
• Chuck McMains, attorney-businessman and former state representative for East Baton Rouge Parish
• Tom Ed McHugh, former Baton Rouge mayor-president
• Scott McKnight, state representative for District 68
• J. Kelly Nix, state education superintendent, 1976 to 1984; Baton Rouge businessman and former professor
• Edward Grady Partin, business agent of Teamsters union; his immunized testimony sent Jimmy Hoffa to prison
• G. Allen Penniman, Jr., businessman known for Pak-a-Sak convenience store chain
• Cecil Picard, former state education superintendent who served in both houses of the legislature for Vermilion Parish
• Bernie Pinsonat, political pollster
• Erich Ponti, businessman who was a Republican state representative from 2008 to 2015
• Kevin Reilly, executive with Lamar Advertising Company, state representative from 1972 to 1988
• Dan Richey, political consultant, former member of both house of the legislature
• Eddie Rispone, 2019 Republican candidate for governor
• Buddy Roemer, former governor
• Alfred Shapiro, former Baton Rouge lawyer and legal counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union
• Bobby Simpson, former Baton Rouge mayor-president and mayor of Baker
• James Monroe Smith, 1930s LSU president caught up in Louisiana Hayride scandal
• Charles E. Thompson, former educator
• Sandra Thompson, former director of the Atchafalaya Basin project
• R. B. Walden, attorney who directed the desegregation of the Louisiana Department of Hospitals
• Harry D. Wilson, commissioner of agriculture and forestry from 1916 until his death in 1948; lived in Tangipahoa Parish
• Aubrey Young, state alcohol counselor and political activist
• A. Z. Young, first black to head a Louisiana state government agency

Further reading

• Martin, Mark E. and Andrew D. Lytle. Andrew D. Lytle's Baton Rouge: Photographs, 1863-1910 (The Hill Collection: Holdings of the LSU Libraries) (2008) excerpt and text search