Thomas Rogers Kimball, an architect who administered the construction of Nebraska's iconic State Capitol, is the newest member of the Nebraska Hall of Fame.
Kimball was chosen on the second ballot Wednesday after members of the Hall of Fame Commission narrowed the field of nominees from 12 to three.
The other finalists were George E. Johnson, former chief engineer and general manager of the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, and Howard Hanson, a nationally renowned composer and musician who was born in Wahoo.
Kimball will become the 26th member of the Hall of Fame when he is formally inducted in 2019. In the meantime, private funds will be raised and a sculptor chosen to prepare a bust that will be displayed at the Capitol.
A national leader in the architectural profession, Kimball created a number of Nebraska landmark buildings and exhibition facilities, including planning and designing the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha.
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In 1920, the Nebraska Capitol Commission chose him to be its professional adviser. Kimball, who was born in Ohio in 1862, died in 1934 shortly after completion of the Capitol in 1932.
Hall of Fame Commission member Sara Crook of Nebraska City said all of the 12 nominated candidates deserve recognition.
"We should make sure their names are prominent in their hometowns," she said. "There should be schools named after these people, parks named for them."
Others on the list: Solon Hannibal Borglum, a sculptor; Calvin Chapman, a cooper who played a role in the Underground Railroad; Charles Gere, a former state senator, University of Nebraska regent and Lincoln newspaper owner and editor; Thomas Vincent Golden, who was instrumental in bringing Irish immigrants to Nebraska; Omer Madison Kem, three-term Populist congressman; Rachel Abbie Holloway Lloyd, a chemist who helped spur Nebraska's sugar beet industry; Francis Patrick Matthews, Omaha attorney and businessman; Anna Sadilek Pavelka, associate of Willa Cather; and Matthew Savidge, pioneer Nebraska aviator.
About 30 people sat in on Wednesday's discussion at the Capitol and gave the commission a round of applause at the end.
Nominees to the Hall of Fame need to have been deceased for at least 35 years and no more than one person can be added every five years.
George W. Norris, legendary U.S. senator and father of Nebraska's unique non-partisan, one-house state legislature, was the first inductee in 1961.
Other familiar figures who are members of the Hall of Fame include Willa Cather, John J. Pershing, Father Edward Flanagan, Buffalo Bill Cody, William J. Bryan, Mari Sandoz, Chief Standing Bear, Chief Red Cloud and Susette LaFlesche Tibbles.