Dorothy Simpson Masterson (July 28, 1897 - March 22, 1991) has been called Charlotte's First Lady of the Theatre. She was an experienced and professionally trained actress. Mrs. Masterson studied drama at the Perry Manville School and studied theatre directing at the Southwestern School of the Theatre in Dallas, Texas. Her acting experience included work in Decatur, Illinois, and in radio shows in Chicago.
Neill Morrison (1728 - 9/1784) was one of the original signers of the Meckenburg Declaration of Independence. Neill, son of James Morrison, was born in Philadelphia and married Annabelle Johnston of New Castle, Delaware. Neill, Annabelle, and James moved to the Four-Mile Creek area of Mecklenburg County in Providence township.
George Stephens (1873-1946) was a banker, and a pioneer in Charlotte's real estate development. He was a native of Guilford County, North Carolina. He was a graduate of UNC, now UNC-CH, and later served on the University's Board of Trustees.
Stephens' business career in Charlotte began in 1896. He was a founder in 1901 and later president of the Southern States Trust Company, which evolved into the American Trust Company.
Born in Ohio, Sue Myrick (1941-) is a former advertising executive who first held political office on Charlotte's City Council from 1983-85. In 1987, Myrick, a Republican, was elected the city's first female mayor and served two terms until 1991. Part of her winning campaign was based on the need to build new roads as Charlotte experienced tremendous growth. In 1994, she won the 9th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She has been a member of the Budget Committee and the Rules Committee. She and her husband, Ed Myrick, have two children.
Thad Lincoln Tate (1865-1951) was one of Charlotte's earliest and most prominent African American businessmen. He came to Charlotte as a barber. In 1882, he opened his own shop, an enterprise that he would operate for 61 years.
In addition to a his own business, Tate was prominent in banking in Charlotte. He served as director of the Mechanics' Perpetual Building and Loan Company. He was a founder of the Mecklenburg Investment Company.
Comparing North Carolina's accomplishments to those of prestigious neighbors Virginia and South Carolina, she said in 1900, "Where there are mountains of conceit, there are bound to be valleys of humility." Her famous quote, which she spoke as the first woman ever to address the Mecklenburg Historical Society, has been repeated often. Widely known for her outspoken opinions, this Charlotte native wrote frequently about current and historical events for local and regional newspapers.
Dr. Dennis O'Donoghue (Dec. 8, 1841-Dec. 4, 1904) was a native of Ireland. He came to the United States in 1871. He soon joined the U.S. Signal Corps where he trained as a meteorologist. He was first assigned to Mobile, Alabama where he earned his medical degree while still working for the Signal Corps. He was next assigned to Washington, D.C. and it was from that post he came to Charlotte.Dr. O'Donoghue, as a Signal Corps member, opened and manned Charlotte's first real weather bureau.
From rural Edgefield County, S.C., came D.A. Tompkins (1851-1914), a man destined to bring industrial growth to Charlotte. He studied engineering at the University of South Carolina, and graduated from New York's prestigious Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1873.
Harriet Abigail Morrison Irwin (1828-1897) was the first woman architect to patent an architectural plan for a house. The patent, entered in 1869, was a design for a hexagonal house. She used her plan to design and build her house which was located at 912 W. 5th Street in Charlotte. She built at least two other houses in Charlotte. These two houses were built using more conventional designs.