South Carolina from A to Z

“M” is for McCottry, Catherine Mae McKee (1921-2018). Physician. Throughout her career Catherine Mae McKee McCottry emphasized public health education, especially for sickle-cell anemia which affects primarily Black persons.

“L” is for Lieber, Oscar Montgomery (1830-1862). Geologist. The General Assembly elected Lieber “Geological, Mineralogical, and Agricultural Surveyor” of the state. In his position, Lieber produced four annual reports entitled Report on the Survey of South Carolina.

"H” is for Heller, Max (1919-2011). Civic leader, mayor of Greenville.

“W” is for Welsh. Settlers of Welsh descent played an important role in the settling of South Carolina backcountry in the 1730s and 1740s.

“T” is for Tillman, Benjamin Ryan (1847-1918). U.S. senator, governor.

"S” is for St. Stephen’s Parish. Established in 1754, St. Stephen’s Parish was located on the south side of the Santee River in modern Berkeley County.

“R” is for Regulators. The Regulators were backcountry settlers who banded together in 1767 in response to a crime wave that swept their region in the aftermath of the disruptive war with the Cherokee Indians (1759-1761).

“P” is for Peace, Roger Craft (1899-1968). Journalist, businessman, U.S. senator.

"G” is for Gonzales, Ambrose Elliott (1857-1926). Journalist, businessman. Under the leadership of Gonzales, the State staked out its position as South Carolina’s leading progressive chronicle of the early twentieth century.

“F” is for Frazier, Joseph William (1944-2011). Boxer. Frazier was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1980.

“E” is for English, Alexander (b. 1954). Basketball player. By the end of his career in Denver in 1990, English had become the most prolific scorer of the 1980s.

“D” is for Dillon County (405 square miles; 2020 population 28,292).

“C” is for Catesby, Mark (1682-1749). Naturalist, artist. Catesby's richly illustrated The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands was the first extensively illustrated work on the natural history of any region of North America.

“B” is for Bennett, John (1865-1956). Author, artist. A native of Ohio, Bennett published his first and most famous work Master Skylark in 1897.

“A” is for Atlantic Beach (Horry County; 2020 population 310). A historically Black beach community, Atlantic Beach is located fifteen miles north of Myrtle beach.

“W” is for Whittaker, Miller Fulton (1892-1949). Architect, college president.

“T” is for Tukey, Richard Ellery (1918-1979). Civic leader. Richard Tukey helped transform the Upcountry's economy by international recruitment, by expansion away from textiles, and by taking a decidedly global outlook on economic development.

“S” is for Savannah River. The headwaters of the Savannah River originate in the mountains near the border where the states of South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina meet.

“P” is for Petroglyphs. In the 1990s a survey by the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology at UofSC listed some forty-seven petroglyph sites, thirty-three portable carvings, and three pictographs.

“M” is for McCormick County (360 squarer miles; 2020 population 9,430).

“L” is for Lieber, Francis (1798-1872). Educator, political scientist.

“J” is for Just, Ernest Everett (1883-1941). Marine biologist. Ernest Everett received international recognition of his work and publications—especially in Europe — but could not find work as a scientist in the U.S.

“H” is for Hayne, Robert Young (1791-1839). Governor, U.S. senator.

“G” is for Goldstein, Joseph Leonard (b. 1940). Scientist, physician, Nobel Laureate.

“F” is for Fraser, Charles (1782-1860). Miniature portraitist, painter. Charles Fraser achieved national and international recognition as a miniature portraitist during his lifetime.