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Lower Plains: Kansas, Nebraska

Some Famous Nebraskans

N ovelist Willa Cather (1873–1957) was born in Virginia but moved to Nebraska when she was ten. Best known for her novels O Pioneers! and My Ántonia , Cather chronicled frontier life in the Great Plains in several of her works. Omaha-born dancer, musician, and actor Fred Astaire (1899–1987) was one of the greatest American stars of all time. He made his dancing debut with his older sister Adele Astaire (1896–1981) at age five, going on to perform in more than 30 musicals over the course of a career that spanned more than three-quarters of a cen- tury. A number of A-list Hollywood actors have come from the Cornhusker State, including Henry Fonda (1905–1982), Marlon Brando (1924–2004), Nick Nolte (b. 1941), and Hilary Swank (b. 1974). Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard (1911–1986) was born in Tilden, the same eastern Nebraska town that produced Phillies center fielder and

Baseball Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn (1927–1997). Other ballplayers from Nebraska include Hall of Famers Wade Boggs (b. 1958) and Bob Gibson (b. 1935). William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) was a powerful figure in late 19th century and early 20th century politics, serving as U.S. Secretary of State and in the U.S. Congress. He was the Democratic Party’s nominee for President in 1896, 1900, and 1908.

Other important political figures from Nebraska include 38th President of the United States Gerald Ford (1913–2006), African American civil rights activist Malcolm X (1925–1965), and Richard Cheney (b. 1941), vice president from 2001–2009 under George W. Bush. Businessman Warren Buffett (b. 1930), nicknamed the “Oracle of Omaha” for his stock market insights, is one of the wealthiest men in the world, with a net worth valued at more than $67 billion in 2014. William Jennings Bryan

Gerald Ford