Denmark Vesey
(circa 1767–1822) 
The debate rages to this day: was his a serious plot to overthrow white slaveholders? Vesey prompted a real fear of slave rebellion, determining local and regional politics and actions until the Civil War.
 J. Palmer Gaillard
(1920-2006)
As the mayor who started the new tradition of annexing land into Charleston, he extended the city’s boundaries beyond the peninsula for the first time.
 Charles Fraser
(1782-1860)
A miniature painter and staunch supporter of arts and artists, Fraser, through his words and his pictures, affords us a visible image of our history.
 James B. Edwards
(b. 1927)
As president of Medical University of South Carolina from 1982 to 1999, he began the unprecedented growth of the institution. He also served as South Carolina’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction and as U.S. Secretary of Energy. /p>
 Wade Hampton
(1818-1902)
A Confederate general and S.C. governor, Hampton overturned Reconstruction in the state, yet was known as a political and social moderate who worked for racial cooperation and harmony.
 Slaves
(1670-1865 and beyond)
In the anatomy of this city, slaves were the backbone, doing much of the fine design and heavy labor that distinguishes nearly every structure. But the thousands of unnamed slaves and their descendants are also our heart and soul, having raised generations of us, creating a distinctive culture and things of beauty out of barbarity. Their labor enriched
others, as well as the city which stands
as a shrine to their memory and legacy. In their suffering and triumph, they
have endowed Charleston with much that we call sacred.
DuBose (1885-1940) and Dorothy (1890-1961) Heyward will forever be remembered for their greatest creation, the character of Porgy. Although born poor, DuBose was the descendant of slave-owning Carolina aristocrats. Encouraged by John Bennett, he started writing about Charleston, leading to a literary renaissance. Porgy, his novel about real-life beggar Sammy Smalls, was published in 1925. His Ohio-born wife, Dorothy, secretly dramatized it, and the play became a Broadway sensation in 1927, opening up dramatic roles for African Americans. George Gershwin used the play as the basis for his opera score Porgy and Bess, which premiered in 1935 and has become a standard in theater repertoires worldwide. In 1970, while the city celebrated its 300th anniversary, the opera was finally staged in Charleston, allowing blacks and whites to unite in celebration of a shared heritage and beautiful harmony.
Charles Just
(1883-1941)
Charleston’s “Black Apollo of Science,” Just wrote major texts on marine biology, important today to students at Grice Marine Lab on James Island, as well as the fishing industry.
 
Dr. St. Julien (1819-1882) and Harriott Horry (1832-1912) Ravenel.
St. Julien improved the city’s water supply through artesian wells and helped launch the fertilizer industry here; his wife, Harriott, was considered one of the last great ladies of the South, and her 1906 book on Charleston was the guide to the city for more than a generation.
John Patrick Grace
(1870-1940) 
As a two-term mayor, Grace created the Port Utilities Commission, the forerunner of
the State Ports Authority, and spearheaded the building of the first Cooper River Bridge.
 Francis L. Cardozo
(1836-1903)
Of Jewish and black
parentage, Cardozo founded the Avery Normal Institute, a school that helped transform Charleston’s black and white communities. He was also the first African American elected to a statewide office, serving as Secretary of State from 1868-1872.
 Harrison Randolph
(1871-1954)
As president of the College of Charleston from 1897 to 1941, Randolph modernized the school and raised academic standards.
 Edwin A. Harleston
(1882-1931)
Although he founded of the local NAACP chapter and was Charleston’s only
academically trained painter, in the early 20th century Harleston was largely ignored due to his race.
 William Deas
(d. early 1960s)
The reputed chef in Mayor Robert G. Rhett’s household, Deas created she-crab soup—a
cornerstone of Charleston cuisine.
 Jerry (b. 1949) and Anita (b. 1952) Zucker.
 Not only do they contribute millions of dollars to a wide range of local non-profits, they also work actively on the organizations’ behalfs every day. Indeed, it would be easier to name the organizations they don’t support than those they do.
 E.B. White
(1806-1882)
An architect,White designed Grace Church, the Huguenot Church, Market Hall, the portico of the College of Charleston’s Randolph Hall, the steeple of St. Philip’s church, and many other significant buildings.
 Lucille S. Whipper
(b. 1928)
Whipper is the only African American woman to represent Charleston in the state legislature. She also helped establish the Avery Research Center and is a community activist
and tireless church
worker.
 William Moultrie
(1730-1805)
The latest hero to get his statue on the Battery, Moultrie prevented the British from taking Charleston in 1776; he later saved us from being invaded by politicians by moving the state capital to Columbia.
 Thomas R Waring, Jr.
(1907-1993)
As the editor of the News & Courier, Waring lobbied for the segregated status quo long after the laws forbidding the policy were struck down.
 Thomas P. Stoney
(1889-1973)
When elected mayor in 1923, the 34-year-old Stoney created change immediately, bringing women into his administration, fighting corruption, paving streets, completing the Ashley River Bridge, opening playgrounds, and building the municipal golf course. After the initial boom created by World War I, Charleston’s economy began declining, and Stoney recognized that tourism could save the city. With the Lions Club, he launched the term “America’s Most Historic City” in 1924 and tried to engage everyone in “selling” the city. By the end of the decade, 47,000 visitors were pouring into Charleston annually, bringing in $4 million a year. “Nothing is worse than tourists,” one Charlestonian lamented. “They will make Charleston rich and ruin her.”
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