The New Jersey Hall of Fame is an organization that honors individuals from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 who have made contributions to society and the world beyond.

The Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...

 is a designated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, overseen by a Board of Commissioners. It was statutorily authorized through Public Law 2005, Chapter 232. This bi-partisan legislation was passed unanimously in the New Jersey Senate

New Jersey Senate

The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...

 on May 13, 2005, in the Assembly on June 30, 2005, and signed into law by the Governor on September 22, 2005.

Format

The New Jersey Hall of Fame selects potential nominees in five categories: General, Enterprise, Sports, Arts & Entertainment, and Historical. With only rare exceptions, nominees must have resided in New Jersey for a period of at least five years. Selection of inductees is done using a three-phase process. Phase I is conducted by a group of expert panelists selected by the New Jersey Hall of Fame Board, who compose a list of 20 individuals in each category. Phase II incorporates a group of over 100 prominent organization throughout New Jersey who narrow the field down to 6 individuals in each category. Phase III uses a public voting system via the internet and manual ballots. Upon completion of Phase III, the New Jersey Hall of Fame Board selects its inductees based on the top vote getter in each category, as well as others the board deems deserving.

Induction ceremony

The first class of inductees was honored in an induction ceremony at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center

New Jersey Performing Arts Center

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center , in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States...

 on May 4, 2008.

2008 Inductees

The inaugural class of inductees for the New Jersey Hall of Fame were announced in a press conference on October 25, 2007 by Governor Jon Corzine

Jon Corzine

Jon Stevens Corzine is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor...

.

Historical	Enterprise	Arts & Entertainment	Sports	General
Clara Barton Clara Barton Clarissa Harlowe "Clara" Barton was a pioneer American teacher, patent clerk, nurse, and humanitarian. She is best remembered for organizing the American Red Cross.-Youth, education, and family nursing:...	Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...	Frank Sinatra Frank Sinatra Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...	Yogi Berra Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra is a former American Major League Baseball catcher, outfielder, and manager. He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...	Toni Morrison Toni Morrison Toni Morrison is a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved...
Thomas Edison Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...	Malcolm Forbes Malcolm Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes was publisher of Forbes magazine, founded by his father B. C. Forbes and today run by his son Steve Forbes.-Life and career:...	Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...	Bill Bradley Bill Bradley William Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....	Norman Schwarzkopf
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...	Robert Wood Johnson II Robert Wood Johnson II Robert Wood "General" Johnson II was an American businessman. He was one of the sons of Robert Wood Johnson I . He turned the family business into one of the world's largest healthcare corporations.- Early life :Johnson was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey...	Meryl Streep Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...	Vince Lombardi Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...	Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...

2009 Inductees

The 2009 class of inductees for the New Jersey Hall of Fame were announced on February 2, 2009. The induction ceremony was held May 3, 2009, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Historical	Enterprise	Arts & Entertainment	Sports	General
Paul Robeson Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...	Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...	Bud Abbott Bud Abbott William Alexander "Bud" Abbott was an American actor, producer and comedian. He is best remembered as the straight man of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Lou Costello.-Early life:...  & Lou Costello Lou Costello Louis Francis "Lou" Costello was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott...	Althea Gibson Althea Gibson Althea Gibson was a World No. 1 American sportswoman who became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. She is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the color barrier...	F. Scott Fitzgerald F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
Walt Whitman Walt Whitman Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...	Carl Sagan Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...	Jon Bon Jovi Jon Bon Jovi Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...	Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...	William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
		Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...	Phil Rizzuto Phil Rizzuto Philip Francis Rizzuto , nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...

2010 Inductees

The 2010 class of inductees for the New Jersey Hall of Fame were announced on December 3, 2009. The induction ceremony was held May 2, 2010, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center

New Jersey Performing Arts Center

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center , in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States...

 in Newark

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

.

Historical	Enterprise	Arts & Entertainment	Sports	General
Alice Paul Alice Paul Alice Stokes Paul was an American suffragist and activist. Along with Lucy Burns and others, she led a successful campaign for women's suffrage that resulted in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.-Activism: Alice Paul received her undergraduate education from...	Michael Graves Michael Graves Michael Graves is an American architect. Identified as one of The New York Five, Graves has become a household name with his designs for domestic products sold at Target stores in the United States....	Count Basie Count Basie William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...	Larry Doby Larry Doby Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball....	Judy Blume Judy Blume Judy Blume is an American author. She has written many novels for children and young adults which have exceeded sales of 80 million and been translated into 31 languages...
Les Paul Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...	Wally Schirra Wally Schirra Walter Marty Schirra, Jr. was an American test pilot, United States Navy officer, and one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts chosen for the Project Mercury, America's effort to put humans in space. He is the only person to fly in all of America's first three space programs...	Danny DeVito Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...	Carl Lewis Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis is an American former track and field athlete, who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold. His career spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and...	William Brennan William J. Brennan, Jr. William Joseph Brennan, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1956 to 1990...
Woodrow Wilson Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...		Jack Nicholson Jack Nicholson John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...		Philip Roth Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...
		Susan Sarandon Susan Sarandon Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
		Frankie Valli Frankie Valli Frankie Valli is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons. He is well-known for his unusually powerful falsetto singing voice...

External links

• New Jersey Hall of Fame website