Notable Ancestors

[ussfletcher]

So now that we have a family surname thread. How about a notable ancestor thread.

I'll start off.

On my mother's side there Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the reaper and founder of modern farming (and modern society in general because of that) His invention revolutionized the world.

 

[nageov3t]

we've got our own trophy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vezina_Trophy

 

[Dr. Zaus]

My dad's mom's dad's uncle (on his mother's side) was Robert Frost.

 

[guyver01]

i know one of my ancestors survived the russian pogroms.

that's an achievement in itself.

 

[BoomerD]

According to family legends...a couple of my ancestors fought with Sitting Bull at the Battle of Little Big Horn...

 

[MrPickins]

Supposedly I'm related to Alexander Hamilton, but I don't put much stock in it...

 

[CycloWizard]

My paternal grandfather was the chief engineering inspector for the B-17 during WWII - no plane left the US until he OKed it. Interestingly, my maternal grandfather was a forward observer in Germany also during WWII and called in a lot of B-17 runs. Not sure if this qualifies, but I think it's pretty cool. The engineer also went on to design and supervise the construction of lots of missile silos all over the country after the war, though I'm not sure exactly where he was in that organization.