The Oklahoma Hall of Fame was founded in 1927 by Anna B. Korn to officially celebrate Statehood Day, recognize Oklahomans dedicated to their communities, and provide educational programming for all ages. The first Oklahoma Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was held the next year, inducting the first two members into the hall of fame. In the 1970s, the Hefner Mansion was donated to the association to house the exhibits and busts or portraits of the inductees, and the organization changed its name to the Oklahoma Heritage Association in 1971. It then moved into the former Mid-Continent Life Building in Oklahoma City in 2007 and opened the Gaylord-Pickens Museum with interactive exhibits. In 2015, the organization changed its name for the final time to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, in order to better represent the goals and mission of the organization.
To be eligible for induction, an individual must satisfy the following criteria:
- Reside in Oklahoma or be a former resident of the state.
- Have performed outstanding service to humanity, the State of Oklahoma and the United States.
- Be known for their public service throughout the state.
In 2000, the rules were changed to allow for posthumous nominations.
Portraits of the inductees can be seen at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum in Oklahoma City. As of 2020, 714 members have been inducted since 1928, with more inducted annually.
Notable inductees
1920s
1928
1929
1930s
1930
1931
1932 (25th anniversary of Oklahoma)
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937 (30th anniversary of Oklahoma)
1938
1939
1940s
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
- John R. Abernathy (religious leader)
- Kenneth C. Kaufman (author/educator)
- Burton Rascoe (author)
- Paul Sears (botanist)
1945
1946
- Robert Burns (public servant)
- Frances Dinsmore Davis (fine arts instructor)
- Charles Evans (educator)
- Mark R. Everett (physician)
1947 (40th anniversary of Oklahoma)
- William Green Beasley (religious leader)
- Yvonne Chouteau (ballerina)
- Daniel Luther Edwards (religious leader)
- John Elmer Mabee (oilman)
1948
1949
1950s
1950
- Angie Debo (historian)
- Norris G. Henthorne (journalist)
- Jay G. Puterbaugh (entrepreneur)
- Waldo E. Stephens (internationalist)
- Jim Thorpe (Olympian)
- Louis A. Turley (medicine)
1951
1952
1953
1954
- Felix M. Adams (physician)
- J.R. Hinshaw (physician)
- Louise Davis McMahon (music)
- Maud Lorton Myers (civic leader)
- John L. Peters (humanitarian)
- Theodore 'T.H.' Henry Steffens (humanitarian)
1955
1956
- Charles Blake Goddard (oilman)
- Robert S. Kerr (governor)
- Jesse Lee Rader (historian/librarian)
- Robert Terry Stuart Sr. (insurance)
- Nora Amaryllis Talbot (educator)
1957 (50th anniversary of Oklahoma)
1958
1959
1960s
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
- Merle Newby Buttram (civic leader)
- Harvey Pettit Everest (entrepreneur)
- Van Heflin (actor)
- Mickey Mantle (baseball)
- Tessie Mobley (opera singer)
- Clarence H. Wright (business executive)
1965
- Page Belcher (U.S. congressman)
- T. Jack Foster (real estate)
- Henry Iba (coach)
- Jacob Johnson (educator)
- Fred Jones (entrepreneur)
- Mabelle Kennedy (civic leader)
1966
1967
- Henry Bass (business executive)
- Leta McFarlin Chapman (civic leader)
- Hicks Epton (attorney)
- Malcom E. Phelps (physician)
- Harve Milt Phillips (publisher)
- George Miksch Sutton (ornithologist)
- James E. Webb (NASA administrator)
- Raymond A. Young (entrepreneur)
1968
1969
- George H. Shirk (historian)
- Dannie Bea James Hightower (civic leader)
- Morton R. Harrison (public servant)
- William T. Gossett (attorney)
- Mex Frates (civic leader)
- Frederick Alvin Daugherty (jurist, military)
- Jack Conn (banker)
1970s
1970
1971
1972
1973
- Betty Anthony Zahn (civic leader)
- Eugene L. Swearingen (educator)
- Thomas P. Stafford (astronaut)
- Paul Miller (journalist)
- John Houchin (oilman)
- Robert A. Hefner, Jr. (oilman, mayor)
- Guy Fraser Harrison (symphony conductor)
- Frances Rosser Brown (civic leader)
1974
- Kathleen Westby (civic leader)
- Cedomir "Cheddy" M. Sliepcevich (engineer)
- Joseph B. Saunders (oilman)
- Robinson Risner (military general)
- Samuel "Sam" R. Noble (oilman)
- Edward L. Gaylord (entrepreneur)
- William H. Bell (attorney)
- Armais Arutunoff (inventor, entrepreneur)
1975
- Dolphus Whitten, Jr. (educator)
- Holmes Tuttle (entrepreneur)
- Carl E. Reistle, Jr. (oilman)
- Lela J. O'Toole (educator)
- T. Howard McCasland (oilman)
- Robert J. Lafortune (oilman)
- Elanor Blake Kirkpatrick (civic leader)
- Alfred E. Aaronson (oilman)
1976
- Jim Shoulders (rodeo)
- Kent Ruth (historian)
- Merle Montgomery (business Executive, educator, musician)
- J.W. McClean (banker)
- James G. Harlow (educator)
- Jerrie Cobb (aviator, astronaut)
- Henry Bellmon (governor, military, U.S. senator)
- Harriet Barclay (botanist)
1977
1978
1979
- Christine Holland Anthony (civic leader)
- John H. Burns (diplomat)
- Henry C. Hitch, Jr. (rancher)
- Moscelyne Larkin Jasinski (ballerina)
- J. C. Kennedy (banker)
- P. C. Lauinger (publisher)
- James C. Leake, Sr. (entrepreneur)
- Dale L. Robertson (actor, rancher)
1980s
1980
- Marian Briscoe DeVore (civic leader)
- Owen Garriott (astronaut)
- Cluff E. Hopla (zoologist)
- Patience Latting (public servant)
- W. (Bill) P. Longmire, Jr. (physician)
- William (Bill) F. Martin (oilman)
- Myron (Mike) A. Wright (oilman)
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
References
External links