New Jerseyans have another chance to choose their heroes as the New Jersey Hall of Fame (NJHOF) announces its 50 nominees for the 2021 public vote in five categories: Arts & Letters, Enterprise, Performing Arts, Public Service, and Sports. The public is invited to vote at ChooseHeroes.com from May 5 through Memorial Day. Those nominees receiving the most votes in each category are automatically inducted.
The final inductees will be announced in June, with the induction ceremony taking place in October. The 13th annual New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony will once again be a virtual event as it was last year, in an abundance of caution amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. It will be broadcast on television, radio and social media platforms, bringing the event closer to the public.
“We are excited to once again highlight the depth and variety of the Garden State,” said Jon F. Hanson, chairman of the NJHOF. “New Jerseyans will truly have their work cut out for them in choosing among these incredible nominees.”
“The 50 nominees included in this year’s public vote reflect the best that New Jersey has to offer,” said Steve Edwards, president of the NJHOF. “We’re honored to carry on our longstanding tradition of promoting the many deserving role models in our great state and bring recognition to their amazing talent and work.”
Full biographies of the nominees, as well as the ballot, can be found at ChooseHeroes.com.
ARTS & LETTERS
- George Theophilus Walker, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, pianist and organist
- Gay Talese, writer and journalist
- Alfred Stieglitz, photographer and modern art promoter
- Dorothy Louise Porter Wesley, librarian, bibliographer and curator
- Anne Spencer Morrow 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 Company
- 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 Russell 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 Washington Benson, jazz guitarist, singer, and songwriter
PUBLIC SERVICE
- Loretta Weinberg, New Jersey State 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, U.S. 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 Benjamin Mixner, political activist and author
- Richard Joseph Hughes, 45th Governor of New Jersey, Chief Justice of the NJ 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 (NL) All-Star second baseman, outfielder and catcher for the Houston Astros
- Alvin Austin Attles Jr., longtime basketball player and coach for the Golden State Warriors
- Valerie B. Ackerman, first president of the Women’s National Basketball Association