Author

Educator · Author

Booker T. Washington, founder of the Tuskegee Institute and a leading educator, was born into slavery in Franklin County, Virginia.

Educator · Author

Carter G. Woodson, the "Father of Black History," was born in Buckingham County, Virginia.

Author

David Baldacci, a best-selling author of legal and political thrillers, was born in Richmond, Virginia.

Author

Ellen Glasgow, a Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist of the American South, was born in Richmond, Virginia.

Politician · Author

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States, born in Albemarle County, Virginia.

Author · Journalist

Tom Wolfe, a pioneer of New Journalism and best-selling novelist, was born in Richmond, Virginia.

Author

Willa Cather, the Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist of the American frontier, was born near Winchester in Frederick County, Virginia.

Author

William Styron, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of "Sophie's Choice," was born in Newport News, Virginia.