by Mark Dykeman

Created on: August 22, 2008   Last Updated: September 17, 2009

There are more famous people from Maine than you might realize. Maine, a New England state tucked away in the most north-eastern part of the US, is one of the smaller and less celebrated 50 states. However, some famous and celebrated individuals have come from Maine. Here, for your reading pleasure, is a listing of eleven famous people who were born in the state of Maine.

1. Milton Bradley the board game pioneer, famous for inventing The Game of Life and for creating the Milton Bradley company, was born in Vienna, Maine. Do you also know that Mr. Bradley invented the paper cutter?

2. and 3. Author Stephen King and his wife, novelist Tabitha King, were both born in Maine and make their home in the state for at least part of the year. As you may know, Stephen King is famous for using a fictionalized version of Maine as the setting for many of his novels.

4. Julianna Hatfield, formerly of the band Blake Babies and more recently a solo artist, makes her home in the Boston area, but she was born in Wiscasset, Maine.

5. Edmund Muskie, the former US senator, Maine Governor, and US Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter, was born in Rumford, Maine. Muskie gained national attention in his bid to become the Democratic Party nominee for US President during the 1972 campaign but eventually lost to George McGovern.

6. Judd Nelson (actor, The Breakfast Club) was born in Portland, Maine.

7. The famous poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine.

8. The actor John O'Hurley gained national attention in his role as Mr. Peterman, Elaine's one-time boss, on the TV sitcom Seinfeld. O'Hurley also held some high profile game shot hosting gigs , including Family Feud and To Tell The Truth. He was born in Kittery, Maine.

9. Believe it or not, Nelson Rockefeller (former governor of New York and US Vice President) was born in Bar Harbor, Maine.

10. Tim Sample, a comedian who specializes in providing a "Down East" brand of humor, is, of course, from Maine and has lived there all of his life.

11. Samantha Smith (born in Houlton, Maine) became famous for writing a letter to Soviet leader Andropov in the early 1980s. Smith was invited to visit the Soviet Union after reading her letter. The event was seen as a sign of a growing possibility of peace between the Soviet Union and the United States. Sadly, Miss Smith died in a tragic plane crash in Maine at age 13.

Surprised by this list of famous people from Maine? I was!

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