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
Tom Erwin, radio and television broadcaster, primarily in Alexandria and Shreveport, died in Baton Rouge
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
Troy H. Middleton, United States Army officer in both world wars, reaching rank of lieutenant general; president of LSU, 1951-1962
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
Timmy Teepell, Republican political consultant; once called the "alter ego" of Governor Bobby Jindal
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

Baton Rouge

Notable people

Further reading