USA Famous People of Illinois

Illinois (IL) 

bullet Jane Addams (1860 - 1935) Earned a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in helping the inner city poor; born in Cedarville.
bullet Black Hawk (1767 - 1838) Sauk leader who led the Indians in the black Hawk War; born near Rock Island.
bullet Gwendolyn Brooks (1917 -  2000) The first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Price; grew up in Chicago.
bullet Hillary Rodham Clinton (1947 - ) Lawyer, politician, First Lady to President Bill Clinton, First Lady elected to the United States Senate; born in Chicago.
bullet Miles Davis (1926 - 1991) Trumpeter, Composer, Bandleader, and Artist; born in Alton.
bullet

John Deere (1804 - 1886) Invented the first successful steel plow; born in Vermont lived in Grand Detour.

bullet

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

bullet

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

bullet

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.

bullet

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. 

bullet Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961) Nobel Prize winning author; born in Oak Park.
bullet Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865) The 16th President of the United States; moved from Kentucky to New Salem at the age of 21. 
bullet

Marlee Matlin (1965 - ) The youngest recipient (21) to win an Oscar for an acting role; born in Morton Grove.

bullet Bill Murray (1950 - ) Actor made famous in Saturday Night Live and movies such as Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day; born in Evanston.
bullet

Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911 - ) The 40th President of the United States; born in Tampico.

bullet

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

bullet

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

bullet 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

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