Oregon is a state located in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. The area was inhabitated by many indigenous tribes before the traders. settlers, and explorers arrived. On February 14, 1849, Oregon became the 33rd state.
You will find Oregon located on the Pacific coast between Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada to the southeast and Idaho to the west. In 2000m Oregon had a population of about 3.5 million, by 2006 it had increased to 3.7 million. Oregon has 199 public school districts, and Portland Public School is noted as the largest.
Oregon covers a total area of 98, 466 square miles. It also ranks in the United States, as the 9th largest state, by area. And the 27th largest state by population. It is also nicknamed Beaver State.
Oregon was admitted into the Union on February 14, 1859. Find out more about this great state at www.oregon.org .
Oregon is yet another great state full of many successful people, from all walks of life. Below you’ll find the ones that I found most interesting while researching the state and it’s people.
River Phoenix was a successful actor who was born in Metolius, Oregon on August 23, 1970. His life was cut short when he died on Halloween morning in 1993, in Hollywood he was 23. His younger siblings include Joaquin Phoenix and Summer Phoenix. His birth name was River Jude Bottom. His mother’s name is Heart Phoenix. His other siblings include Rain, Summer, and Liberty. He also had a older half sister from his father’s previous relationship, Jodenem she later changed it to ‘Trust’. River had appeared in movies like Stand By Me, This Thing Called love, A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, My Own Private Idaho, and many others. He also appeared in television roles for various shows including Family Ties, Celebrity, Robert Kennedy & His Times, along with many other roles. He was also nominated for many awards, many of which he won. His life was cut much too short, but even in his short-lived life he found much success professionally.
Beverly Cleary the writer, was born in McMinnville, Oregon in 1916. She was just five when her family moved to Portland, where she attended all of her school years. She has written many, many books. Some of my favorites include Ramona’s World, Ramona the Brave, Ramona and Her Father, Leave it to Beaver (the tie-in), Beezus and Ramona, Henry Huggins, Fifteen, Ramona Forever, and many others. This woman has written many unforgettable books and has found much success as a writer and author. Don’t forget to check out The World of Beverly Cleary at http://www.beverlycleary.com/index.html .
Sally Struthers was born in Portland, Oregon in 1948. She attended Grant High School. She married a psychiatrist in 1977, they divorced in 1983. Together, they had a daughter names Samantha Struthers Radar. Sally first garnered fame for her role in All in the Family. She was spotted by Producer Norman Lear while dancing on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Rob Reiner was on the writing staff for the show. Struthers has been active in the entertainment industry since 1970. Struthers has been in shows like Still Standing, Dinosaurs, Aline in Wonderland, Gilmore Girls, Fred Flintston and Friends, General Hospital, 9 to 5, A Gun in the House, Talespin (all three parts), The Awful Truth with Micheal Moore, and many others.
Tonya Harding, the American Figure Skating Champion, was born in Portland, Oregon, on November 12, 1970. She attended David Douglas High School during her 10th grade year, before she stopped attending to earn her GED. She was still in Junior High when she started receiving assignments to international skating competitions. In 1990, she married Jeff Gillooly, she was 19. They were divorced in 1993. We all know of her success in the Olympics and her Nancy Kerrigan scandal. After her career ended due to the Kerrigan scandal, she began boxing on the Fox TV network Celebrity Boxing. She boxed against Pauka Jones, and won the fight. In 2003, she made her women’s professional boxing debut. She won her third pro bout against Alejandra Lopez. She contributed the end of her boxing career to asthma and let her record with 3-3-0.
Larry Mahan the six time World All-Around Rodeo Championship Cowboy,Terri Irwin the wife of The Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, even Bill Bowerman the co-founder of Nike is from Oregon.
Other notables from the state of Oregon include athletes like Sonny Sixkiller, Wally Backman, Jeffrey Barry, Grayson Boucher, Danny Ainge, Chad Cota, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jeremy Guthrie, Mark Parent, Steve Prefontaine, and Harold Reynolds.
Actors, Olympians, activists, athletes, screenwriters, directors, actresses, Major League Baseball players, journalists, chemists, writers, authors, physicists, musicians, country singers, politicians, and many others career minded people also hail from the state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon
http://www.wikipedia.org
www.fiftystates.com
