Important Note! It has come to my attention that an older version of my Famous Homeschoolers list was circulated via e-mail, then posted on some blogs and websites, without my permission and with no source given. Please be aware that this page of mine was the original source of that list. Many of the names were ones that I discovered while doing research for my book, Learning for Life: Educational Words of Wisdom. I work hard to create unique content to bring visitors to my website. Using my list without permission is a violation of copyright. If you have copied it onto your site or blog, I ask you to either remove it or give credit to me in a prominent place on the page along with a link back to my site. If you have seen this list somewhere else, please provide me with the URL or contact info so that I may inform them. E-mail . Thanks! ~Teri

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Homeschooling is a modern term but it is a form of education that has been around for centuries. Before the push for public schools began in the 1830’s-1840’s, most children were taught at home. If you look at references to education before there was a public school system, you will see phrases such as “tutored at home,” “self-taught,” or “no formal education” referring to individuals we might now call homeschooled.

In general, a person can be considered as being homeschooled if they fall into any one of the following categories: 1.) their mother, father, or another family member teaches them at home; 2.) a private tutor or a governess is hired to instruct them in the home; 3.) they are self-educated or unschooled and learn on their own; 4.) they are in a traveling show-business family and use homeschool curriculum while on the road.

In some cases it can be confusing when looking up a person’s biography which may say the names of school(s) that he or she attended. Even though they can be on record as having attended one or more particular schools, often the bio doesn’t explain that there were other years when they were homeschooled. I usually try to find the person’s autobiography and get the facts about their childhood education right from the source. Wikipedia is another good reference.

Throughout the years, many famous people were self-educated, privately tutored, or schooled at home. These include: Constitutional Convention Delegates, Presidents, Statesmen, Military Leaders, Supreme Court Judges, Religious Leaders, Explorers, Scientists, Inventors, Artists, Composers, Writers, Educators, Medical Practitioners, Business Entrepreneurs, Performers, Athletes, and Others.

On the following pages you will find a “Who’s Who” of homeschoolers from past to present, as well as a list of notable contemporary homeschool parents. Refer to this resource whenever you have to deal with critics who attempt to tell you all of the reasons why homeschooling won’t work, or that your child will be a social misfit, or that you are not qualified to teach your own children. It is certainly an encouragement to homeschooling parents and children to see how many homeschoolers have become highly successful members of our society.

My goal is to be as thorough and as accurate as possible. I would like to clarify that not everyone on the following list was homeschooled exclusively, but homeschooling was definitely a significant factor in their education at one time or another. This resource is a work in progress and I do plan on adding footnotes as soon as I have the time. Meanwhile, I hope that you will find my lists of Famous Homeschoolers and Famous Homeschool Parents to provide an interesting bit of trivia that can be useful as a starting point for further research.

Constitutional Convention Delegates

Lisa Whelchel - former actress, "The Facts of Life", now a pastor's wife and author

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