4th class
Carol Burnett
b. 1933
Legendary entertainer Carol Burnett captured America’s heart in the movies, on television, and on the stage.
Raised in an unglamorous part of Hollywood, Burnett attended UCLA before discovering her true calling as an entertainer and moving to New York.
Andrew S. Grove
(1936 – 2016)
As the person most responsible for harnessing the power of the microchip, Andy Grove revolutionized the way we work and live today.
Grove came to the United States as a refugee from Soviet-occupied Hungary and earned his PhD in chemical engineering from UC Berkeley in 1963. After working for Fairchild Semiconductor, he participated in the founding of Intel Corporation in 1968, became president in 1979, and later served as CEO and chairman.
Hiram Johnson
1866-1945
Whether serving as an attorney, a California governor, or a United States senator, Hiram Warren Johnson placed principles solidly above politics. His progressive vision of a better society became the stepping-off point for California’s journey through the 20th century.
Johnson studied law in his father’s office in Sacramento, was admitted to the bar in 1888, and moved to San Francisco in 1902. In 1908 he was appointed Assistant District Attorney, beginning his long career in public service.
Rafer Johnson
1935-2020
From humble beginnings in the California cotton fields, Rafer Johnson rose to become one of the world’s greatest athletes.
Johnson developed a passion for track and field while in high school in Kingsburg, California. At UCLA, where he served as student body president, he played basketball under legendary coach John Wooden and was captain of the varsity track team. In 1955 he competed in the Pan American Games, winning gold in perhaps the most grueling sporting event, the decathlon.
Henry J. Kaiser
1882-1967
Entrepreneur and industrialist Henry John Kaiser’s innovations in shipbuilding and in healthcare changed the course of history.
In 1913, Kaiser bought a failing road-building company, and over the next fifteen years built dams in California, levees in Mississippi, highways in Cuba and he was just getting started. In the 1930s, his company played a leading role in the construction of some of the 20th century’s most massive projects, including Hoover Dam and the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge.
George Lucas
b. 1944
George Lucas’ devotion to timeless storytelling and cutting-edge innovation has resulted in some of the most successful and beloved films of all time.
The Modesto native’s genius was becoming evident by the time he was a student at the University of Southern California, where he created a short film that took first prize in a national competition. In 1971, with friend Francis Ford Coppola as executive producer, Lucas transformed that student project into his first feature film, THX-1138.
John Madden
b. 1936
With one of America’s most recognized voices, John Madden has been a dominant force in professional football for more than half a century as a broadcaster, an unrivaled coach and outstanding athlete.
As a player at California Polytechnic University, Madden was twice voted to the All-Conference team in 1957 and 1958 for his outstanding performance on both the offensive and defensive lines. A knee injury in his rookie season with the Philadelphia Eagles ended his career as a player, but not his life in football.
Harvey Milk
1930-1978
The first openly gay person elected to a significant public office in the United States, Harvey Milk put the dream of equal rights within reach for all.
Milk encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens to live their lives openly, believing that was the only way they could achieve social equality.
Fritz Scholder
1937-2005
Wielding bold colors and abstract shapes, Fritz Scholder forever changed the way the world saw American Indians in art.
Scholder was one-quarter Luiseño, a Southern California tribe, but was raised as white, a dichotomy that later would inform the themes of his artwork. Interested in art from an early age, he moved to Sacramento in 1957 and enrolled first at Sacramento City College, where he studied under Pop artist Wayne Thiebaud, and then at Sacramento State College.
Danielle Steel
b. 1947
Remarkable for her success as an author and for her business savvy, Danielle Steel has written 108 books, a majority of which have earned bestseller status.
Joe Weider
b. 1920
A pioneer of the modern health and fitness movement, Joe Weider brought strength, fitness and healthy living to the public’s consciousness around the globe for the last 70 years.
At age twelve, Weider purchased two used weight-lifting magazines for a penny, built a set of barbells from surplus railroad parts, and began training.
Two years later he competed in his first amateur contest and lifted more than any competitor in his weight class earning him a national ranking.
Chuck Yeager
1923 – 2020
The most accomplished test pilot of all time, Chuck Yeager earned a permanent place in history when he became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound.
His aviation career got its start when, just out of high school, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps to serve in WWII. Entering combat in December 1942, he shot down his first enemy plane in March 1944. The next day he was shot down over enemy territory, but with help from the French resistance, escaped to Spain.