Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (b. 1934) -- An outfielder with the Milwaukee (later Atlanta) Braves, Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record in 1974 with his 715th home run, in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. He remained cool and dignified in the face of the media frenzy surrounding his pursuit of the record, despite receiving countless death threats and bags of hate mail from bigots who felt that Ruth's achievement should never be surpassed by a black man. He retired in 1976 with 755 homers.
Henry W. Grady (1850-89) -- Managing editor of the Atlanta Constitution, Grady preached post-Civil War reconciliation and worked passionately to draw northern capital and diversified industry to the agrarian South. His name is synonymous with the phrase "The New South."
Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908) -- Called "Georgia's Aesop," he created Uncle Remus, the wise black raconteur of children's fables. His tales of Br'er Rabbit and Br'er Fox were the basis for Disney's delightful animated feature Song of the South.
Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones (1902-71) -- The founder of the Masters tournament, Jones won golf's Grand Slam at age 28 and has been called the world's greatest golfer. He also held academic degrees in engineering, law, and English literature.
Martin Luther King, jr. (1929-68) -- Civil rights leader, minister, orator, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, King preached Gandhi's doctrine of passive resistance.
Margaret Mitchell (1900-49) -- Originally a journalist, Mitchell was the author of the definitive southern blockbuster novel, Gone With the Wind. She began writing "the book" in 1926 when a severe ankle injury forced her to give up reporting. GWTW is still one of the world's best-selling books.
John C. Portman (b. 1924) -- An architect/developer who revolutionized hotel design in the United States with his lofty atrium-lobby concept, Portman almost single-handedly designed Atlanta's skyline in the 1960s. He has been called "Atlanta's one-man urban-renewal program."
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (b. 1938) -- Dubbed "the mouth of the South," America's most dynamic media mogul, Ted Turner, created 24-hour cable news networks CNN and Headline News, along with entertainment networks Superstation TBS and TNT. Turner is vice chairman of Time Warner, Inc., and owns a portion of MGM, the Atlanta Braves, and the Atlanta Hawks.
Alfred Uhry (b. 1936) -- One of the most winning present-day playwrights (an Oscar, a Tony, and a Pulitzer Prize), Uhry, who was born and reared in Atlanta and spent much of his adult life here, has since moved away from the city. But he still has Atlanta on his mind: Many of his plays, the most notable of which are Driving Miss Daisy and The Last Night of Ballyhoo, take place in this city. Uhry's early scripts were produced when he was a student at Druid Hills High School in the mid-1950s, including one about rural life that was upstaged by a boisterous live chicken.
Robert W. Woodruff (1889-1985) -- Woodruff was the Coca-Cola Company president, a philanthropist, and a leading Atlanta citizen for more than half a century. He put Coca-Cola on the map worldwide; promoted civil rights; and gave more than $400 million to educational, artistic, civil, and medical projects in Atlanta, such as Emory University, the Woodruff Arts Center, and the High Museum.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
