The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Newport, Rhode Island.
Notable people born in Newport
18th century
Vice-Admiral Sir Jahleel Brenton, Royal Navy
William Ellery Channing, one of the foremost Unitarian preachers
Caleb Gardner, captain and consul of French Empire
Edward Malbone, artist and miniaturist
David Olyphant, China merchant and member of American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions Christopher Raymond Perry, naval officer in American Revolution Solomon Southwick, publisher of Newport Mercury and advocate for Patriot cause in American Revolution Abigail Stoneman, widow and businesswoman
19th century
D. Putnam Brinley, artist
Clarence G. Child, scholar
William Ennis, U.S. Army brigadier general
Thomas Harper Ince, actor
Clarence R. King, geologist, mountaineer, and first director of the U.S. Geological Survey (1879–1881); noted for exploration of Sierra Nevada Ida Lewis, lighthouse keeper credited with saving 18 lives in Newport Harbor; received national attention and numerous honors; a Coast Guard buoy tender bears her name David Melville, credited with first gas street lighting in the United States Matthew C. Perry, Navy Commodore who opened Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854, under the threat of military force Cornelia Bryce Pinchot, native of Newport who became a conservationist, Progressive politician, women’s rights activist, and First Lady of Pennsylvania Cynthia Taggart, poet Charles C. Van Zandt, 34th Governor of Rhode Island
20th century
Harry Anderson, actor and comedian (Night Court) Margaret Frances Andrews, socialite and show dog breeder Allen Bestwick, NASCAR and IndyCar Series announcer Nadia Bjorlin, soap opera actress (Days of Our Lives) Frank Corridon, pitcher for Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals; invented now-illegal pitch, the spitball Tanya Donelly, musician; vocalist for Rhode Island-based bands Belly and Throwing Muses; guitarist for the band The Breeders Charlie Fern, White House speechwriter, journalist Van Johnson, actor, known best for "all-American" roles in MGM films during World War II Lawson Little, 1940 U.S. Open golf champion Mena Suvari, actress, known for role in 1999 film American Beauty Leon Wilkeson, bass guitarist
Notable people who lived or worked in Newport
17th century
Benedict Arnold, Governor of Rhode Island
John Clarke, Baptist minister and drafter of Royal Charter
William Coddington, Governor of Rhode Island
Nicholas Easton, Governor of Rhode Island
George Gardiner, early settler of Rhode Island, early Newport resident
18th century
George Berkeley, philosopher
Louis Alexandre Berthier, French army officer, later Marshal of France and Napoleon's chief of staff William Ellery, signer of Declaration of Independence Robert Feke, portrait painter Peter Harrison, architect Samuel Hopkins, Congregational minister, Calvinist theologian, leader for abolition of slave trade Aaron Lopez, merchant Louis-Marie, vicomte de Noailles, French army officer Charles Theodore Pachelbel, first organist of Newport's Trinity Church; son of Johann Pachelbel Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French general William Selby, organist at Trinity Church, composer John Smybert, artist Ezra Stiles, minister, diarist, and President of Yale Gilbert Stuart, portrait painter Isaac Touro, hazzan at Synagogue Judah Touro, merchant and philanthropist
19th century to 1885
George Bancroft, historian, Secretary of the Navy, diplomat, and summer resident
August Belmont, financier
Ambrose Burnside, Army officer stationed at Fort Adams, later Civil War general, governor, senator Julia Ward Howe, author and summer resident Henry James, author William James, philosopher and Harvard professor John Kensett, artist Clement C. Moore, summer resident and author of "'Twas the Night before Christmas" Levi P. Morton, summer resident and donor of Morton Park, later Vice President of the United States Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of War of 1812 William Trost Richards, artist Milton H. Sanford, textile magnate and thoroughbred racehorse owner Judah Touro, philanthropist Richard Upjohn, architect Mahlon Van Horne, politician