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 Insurance 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
Dennis Thomas Flynn (U.S. Congressman), representative for Oklahoma Territory's at-large congressional district (1893–1897) Elizabeth Fulton Hester (Civic leader)
1929
James S. Buchanan (Educator), 4th President of the University of Oklahoma (1924–1925) Charles Francis Colcord (Oilman) Alice Mary Robertson (U.S. Congressman), representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district (1921–1923) Richard A. Sneed (Military), Confederate Army veteran and Oklahoma Secretary of State (1923–1927;1931–1935) and Oklahoma State Treasurer (1927–1931)
1930s
1930
David Ross Boyd (Educator), 1st President of the University of Oklahoma (1892–1908) Alice Brown Davis (Seminole chief), Chief of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma 1922–1935 Edward K. Gaylord (Publisher) Annette Ross Hume (Civic leader) John Graves Leeper (Public servant) Frank Phillips (Oilman) Joseph W. Scroggs (Educator)
1931
Charles F. Barrett (Military) Laura A. Clubb (Philanthropist) Gregory Gerrer (Artist/Religious leader) Roy V. Hoffman (Military) Douglas H. Johnston (Chickasaw governor) Ernest W. Marland (Governor) Benjamin Nihart (Educator) Joseph B. Thoburn (Historian)
1932 (25th anniversary of Oklahoma)
Frank M. Bailey (Jurist), member of the Oklahoma Supreme Court (1919–1921) Joseph Blatt (Religious leader) Fowler Border (Physician) Fred S. Clinton (Oilman) John B. Connors (Public servant) John Hazelton Cotteral (Jurist) John B. Doolin (Public servant) William A. Durant (Public servant) F.B. Fite (Physician) Frank Frantz (Public servant) Thomas P. Gore (U.S. Senator) Charles Haskell (Governor) Frederick W. Hawley (Religious leader) William Miller Jenkins (Public servant) Walter A. Ledbetter (Attorney) Jasper L. McBrien (Educator) Grant McGee (Journalist) John Jasper Methvin (Missionary) Joseph Samuel Murrow (Missionary) James F. Owens (Business executive) Gabe E. Parker (Educator/Public servant) David Phillip Richardson (Physician) Will Rogers (Actor/Civic leader/Journalist) Campbell Russell (Attorney/Public servant/Rancher) Jasper Sipes (Entrepreneur) Sidney Suggs (Publisher) Elmer Thomas (U.S. Senator) Charles P. Wickmiller (Pharmacist)
1933
John A. Brown (Merchant) Madeline B. Conkling (Public servant) Edward Everett Dale (Historian) Elva Shartel Ferguson (Publisher) Bella Gibbons (Educator) John A. Hatchett (Physician) John Francis Kroutil (Entrepreneur) Daniel William Peery (Public Servant) Una Lee Roberts (Civic leader) Angie Russell (Civic leader) Angelo Cyrus Scott (Educator) Charles Bingley Stuart (Attorney/Jurist)
1934
Eugene M. Antrim (Educator) Maude Richman Calvert (Educator) Emma Estill-Harbour (Educator) Grant Foreman (Historian) William Wirt Hastings (U.S. Congressman) Samuel W. Hayes (Jurist) Travis F. Hensley (Public Servant) Thomas P. Howell (Physician) Charles William Kerr (Religious leader) Everett S. Lain (Physician) Pawnee Bill (Entrepreneur) Zack Miller (Rancher) Frances F. Threadgill (Civic leader) Clara Wilbanks Waters (Administrator)