by Michelle Hozey

Created on: August 26, 2010

Indiana, an agricultural state in the Midwest, is the birthplace of several big celebrities. One of these Hoosiers, as Indiana residents are called, went into space. Another went on to become the most famous pop star in the world. One Hoosier is a four-time winner of NASCAR’s Daytona 500. Let’s take a look at a few of the most famous Hoosiers.

Michael Jackson

The King of Pop was born in Gary, Indiana, an industrial town right on Lake Michigan. He was the eighth of ten children. Michael Jackson was 11 years old when he joined his brothers on stage as the Jackson 5. Jackson’s first solo album, “Off the Wall,” sold over 20 million copies. While Michael Jackson received a lot of bad press, he went on to become one of the most influential artists the music world has ever seen. When Jackson passed away in 2010, the world was shocked. The star’s official website has an area where fans can pay tribute to the man who invented the “moonwalk” dance.  

David Letterman

David Letterman hails from Indianapolis, Indiana. He graduated from Ball State University. Letterman started his career in showbiz as a stand-up comedian. He eventually moved on to writing for television. His claim to fame occurred in 1982 when he began “Late Night with David Letterman” which aired right after Johnny Carson’s “The Tonight Show” on NBC. In 1993 Letterman moved over to CBS to compete against Jay Leno, Carson’s replacement, with “Late Show with David Letterman”. Some of his show’s best segments are the “Top Ten lists” and “Stupid Human Tricks”. Letterman also has an affinity for seeing if random objects will float and what will happen if you drop watermelons or Thanksgiving turkeys off tall buildings. During a series of episodes, Letterman tried to get the city of Indianapolis to call Route 465 “The Dave”.

John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp was born in a small town. That small town is Seymour, Indiana. Mellencamp’s sing-a-long rock music seems to speak to those of us who also grew up in small towns, and even those of us who didn’t. “Jack and Diane” was his first number 1 single from the 1982 album “American Fool”. In 1985 he launched Farm Aid with the help of Willie Nelson and Neil Young to create awareness for issues faced by American Farmers.

Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart, NASCAR’s golden boy, is from Columbus, Indiana. He has raced everything from go-karts to stock cars. The driver of the number 14 car began his racing career with go-karts at the tender age of seven. Since then he has strived to be the best. Some of his biggest accomplishments include winning rookie of the year in 1999’s Spring Cup, rookie of the year in 1996’s Indianapolis 500, and winning four Daytona 500 races.

Virgil Ivan “Gus” Grissom

Gus Grissom was the second American to go to space and the first American to go twice. He was born in Mitchell, Indiana in 1926. His interest in flying started in Bedford, Indiana where he paid $1 to ride along with a local attorney in a small plane. Grissom went on to become a captain in the United States Air Force where he was selected as an astronaut for Project Mercury. Grissom died in 1967 when Apollo 1 caught on fire during a test launch. 

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