Special offer

ILLINOIS - Famous People

By
Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker - Serving INDIANA & ILLINOIS
  • Jane Addams (1860 - 1935) Earned a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in helping the inner city poor; born in Cedarville.
  • Black Hawk (1767 - 1838) Sauk leader who led the Indians in the black Hawk War; born near Rock Island.
  • Gwendolyn Brooks (1917 -  2000) The first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Price; grew up in Chicago.
  • Hillary Rodham Clinton (1947 - ) Lawyer, politician, First Lady to President Bill Clinton, First Lady elected to the United States Senate; born in Chicago.
  • Miles Davis (1926 - 1991) Trumpeter, Composer, Bandleader, and Artist; born in Alton.
  • John Deere (1804 - 1886) Invented the first successful steel plow; born in Vermont lived in Grand Detour.

  • Walt Disney (1901 - 1966) Creator of Mickey Mouse and founder of the Disneyland® and Walt Disney World® Theme Parks; born in Chicago.

  • George Ferris (1859 - 1896) Inventor of the Ferris wheel; born in Galesburg.

  • Marshall Field (1834-1906) Established the Marshall Field & Company store that became the largest retail business in the world at that time; lived in Chicago.

  • Harrison Ford (1942 - ) Actor made famous in Star Wars and as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels; born in Chicago. 

  • Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961) Nobel Prize winning author; born in Oak Park.
  • Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865) The 16th President of the United States; moved from Kentucky to New Salem at the age of 21. 
  • Marlee Matlin (1965 - ) The youngest recipient (21) to win an Oscar for an acting role; born in Morton Grove.

  • Bill Murray (1950 - ) Actor made famous in Saturday Night Live and movies such as Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day; born in Evanston.
  • Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911 - ) The 40th President of the United States; born in Tampico.

  • Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967) Pulitzer Prize winning author of Abraham Lincoln; The War Years; born in Galesburg.

  • Shel Silvertstein (1932 - 1999 ) Author of children's books such as Where the Sidewalk Ends and The Giving Tree; from Chicago.

  • Robin Williams (1952 - ) Actor made famous in the television show Mork and Mindy and movies such as Patch Adams and Toys; born in Chicago.

More Famous People of Illinois

  • Franklin Pierce Adams author, Chicago
  • Gillian Anderson actress, Chicago
  • Mary Astor actress, Quincy
  • Arnold O. Beckman inventor, Cullom
  • Jack Benny comedian, Chicago
  • Harry A. Blackmun jurist, Nashville
  • William E. Borah public official, Fairfield
  • Ray Bradbury author, Waukegan
  • William Jennings Bryan orator, politician, Salem
  • Edgar Rice Burroughs author, Chicago
  • Marvin Camras inventor, Chicago
  • Jennie Garth actress, Urbana
  • Gower Champion choreographer, Geneva
  • John Chancellor TV commentator, Chicago
  • Raymond Chandler writer, Chicago
  • Jimmy Connors tennis champion, East St. Louis
  • James Gould Cozzens author, Chicago
  • Cindy Crawford model, DeKalb
  • Richard J. Daley mayor, Chicago
  • John Dos Passos author, Chicago
  • James T. Farrell author, Chicago
  • Betty Friedan feminist, Peoria
  • Benny Goodman musician, Chicago
  • John Gunther author, Chicago
  • George E. Hale astronomer, Chicago
  • Dorothy Hamill ice skater, Chicago
  • John M. Harlan jurist, Chicago
  • Charlton Heston actor, Evanston
  • Wild Bill Hickok scout, Troy Grove
  • William Holden actor, O'Fallon
  • Rock Hudson actor, Winnetka
  • Burl Ives singer, Hunt City
  • James Jones author, Robinson
  • Quincy Jones composer, Chicago
  • Walter Kerr drama critic, Evanston
  • Archibald MacLeish poet, Glencoe
  • David Mamet playwright, Chicago
  • Homer Z. Martin inventor, Chicago
  • Stanley Mazor inventor, Chicago
  • Robert A. Millikan physicist, Morrison
  • Sherrill Milnes baritone, Downers Grove
  • John G. Neihardt poet, Sharpsburg
  • Bob Newhart actor, comedian, Chicago
  • Frank Norris author, Chicago
  • William S. Paley broadcasting executive, Chicago
  • Drew Pearson columnist, Evanston
  • Richard Pryor comedian, actor, Peoria
  • Lewis Hastings Sarett inventor, Champaign
  • Sam Shepard playwright, Fort Sheridan
  • William L. Shirer author, historian, Chicago
  • McLean Stevenson actor, Bloomington
  • Preston Sturges director, Chicago
  • Clyde W. Tombaugh astronomer, Streator
  • Gloria Swanson actress, Chicago
  • Carl Van Doren writer, educator, Hope
  • Melvin Van Peebles playwright, Chicago
  • Irving Wallace author, Chicago
  • Alfred Wallenstein conductor, Chicago
  • Raquel Welch actress, Chicago
  • Florenz Ziegfield theatrical producer, Chicago

Comments (0)