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List of people from Bloomington, Illinois

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Bloomington, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Bloomington, Illinois.

Academics and writing

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Name Image Birth Death Known for Association Reference
Kate Charles 1950 Mystery writer
Eyestone, Lura Oct 14, 1872 Mar 9, 1965 Educator Born in Bloomington
Elbert Hubbard Jun 19, 1856 May 7, 1915 Essayist Born in Bloomington
Frederic W. Goudy Mar 8, 1865 May 11, 1947 Typographer Born in Bloomington
Gertrude Hull Nov 16, 1866 Mar 22, 1947 Teacher Born in Bloomington
John Wesley Powell Mar 24, 1834 Sep 23, 1902 Naturalist [1]
Harold Sinclair May 8, 1907 May 24, 1966 Novelist, jazz musician Born in Chicago, lived in Bloomington since age 8
Wilson Tucker Nov 23, 1914 Oct 6, 2006 Author
Curtis White Author, novelist, essayist, and theorist [citation needed]

Business and engineering

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Name Image Birth Death Known for Association Reference
George J. Mecherle Jun 7, 1877 Mar 10, 1951 Founder of State Farm Insurance Lived and died in Bloomington
Marc W. Miller 1947 Award-winning game designer Lives in Bloomington
Verne Winchell Oct 30, 1915 Nov 26, 2002 Founder of Winchell's Donuts Born in Bloomington

Media and arts

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Name Image Birth Death Known for Association Reference
Wally Bishop Aug 17, 1905 Jan 15, 1982 Cartoonist Grew up in Bloomington
Ryan Bliss Digital artist; founder of Digital Blasphemy
Tim Bradstreet Feb 16, 1967 Eisner Award-nominated artist and illustrator Graduated BHS, Class of 1985 [citation needed]
David S. Broder Sep 11, 1929 Mar 9, 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalist Worked for Pantagraph newspaper in Bloomington
Sidney Smith

Feb 13, 1877 Oct 20, 1935 Million-dollar "Chicago Tribune" cartoonist of The Gumps Worked for The Sunday Eye newspaper in Bloomington
John Campbell Jul 7, 1955 Jazz pianist Born in Bloomington
Rachel Crothers Dec 12, 1870 Jul 5, 1958 Playwright Born in Bloomington
Joel Higgins Sep 28, 1943 Actor (Edward W. Stratton, III on Silver Spoons) Born in Bloomington
Pawnee Bill Feb 14, 1860 Feb 3, 1942 Wild West showman Born in Bloomington
Pokey LaFarge June 26, 1983 Musician and songwriter focusing on the American roots genre Born in Bloomington
Cleo Madison Mar 26, 1883 Mar 11, 1964 Silent-film actress and director Born in Bloomington
Frederic Remington Oct 4, 1861 Dec 26, 1909 Artist and sculptor of the Old West Lived in Bloomington
Paul Rhymer 1905 Oct 26, 1964 Scriptwriter and humorist, creator of Vic and Sade Grew up in Bloomington
McLean Stevenson Nov 14, 1927 Feb 15, 1996 Actor (Henry Blake on M*A*S*H) Grew up in Bloomington area
Kathleen McClellan Apr 28, 1970 Actress, Former Miss Illinois Teen USA in 1988 Grew up in Bloomington
Dawn Upshaw Jul 17, 1960 Singer [citation needed]

Fictional

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Name Image Birth Death Known for Association Reference
Henry Blake Character on the TV show M*A*S*H

Military

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Name Image Birth Death Known for Association Reference
Sharon K.G. Dunbar Jul 12, 1960 US Air Force major general – graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in the 3rd class to accept females; commanded Air Force Basic Military Training; first female to command the Air Force District of Washington; highest ranking Korean-American general in the Air Force. Raised in Bloomington
Ralph Eaton Aug 5, 1898 May 1, 1986 US Army brigadier general – graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point; WWII Chief of Staff 82nd Airborne Division, Army Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit. Born in Bloomington
James Harbord Mar 21, 1866 Aug 20, 1947 US Army general in World War I Born in Bloomington
Marie Meyer (espionage) Apr 7, 1897 Dec 1969 US linguist who worked on Venona project Raised in Bloomington
William Orme Feb 17, 1832 Sep 13, 1866 Union Army general in the Civil War Lived in Bloomington later half of life
James I. Poynter Dec 1, 1916 Nov 4, 1950 US Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient for actions at The Battle of Chosin Reservoir in Korean War Born in Bloomington
Sidney S. Wade Sep 30, 1909 Nov 24, 2002 US Marine Corps major general who commanded Marine Forces during 1958 Lebanon crisis Born in Bloomington

Politics

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Name Image Birth Death Known for Association Reference
David Davis Mar 9, 1815 Jun 26, 1886 Appointed to US Supreme Court by Abraham Lincoln Lived and died in Bloomington
Joseph W. Fifer Oct 28, 1840 Aug 6, 1938 19th Governor of Illinois Attended Illinois Wesleyan University, served as city attorney of Bloomington
John Marshall Hamilton May 28, 1847 Sep 22, 1905 18th Governor of Illinois Lived in Bloomington.
Ward Hill Lamon Jan 6, 1828 May 7, 1893 Personal friend and bodyguard of Abraham Lincoln
John Brown Lennon Oct 12, 1850 Jan 18, 1923 Labor union leader and American Federation of Labor treasurer
George Lincoln Rockwell Mar 9, 1918 Aug 25, 1967 American Nazi leader Born in Bloomington
Rick Scott Dec 1, 1952 45th Governor of Florida; United States Senator from Florida Born in Bloomington
Kelly Loeffler Nov 27, 1970 United States Senator from Georgia Born in Bloomington
Adlai E. Stevenson I Oct 23, 1835 Jun 14, 1914 23rd Vice President of the United States under Grover Cleveland; his wife Letitia Green was born in Bloomington Was raised in Bloomington and attended Illinois Wesleyan University
Adlai E. Stevenson II Feb 5, 1900 Jul 14, 1965 31st Governor of Illinois, US presidential candidate, and US Ambassador to the United Nations Was raised in Bloomington and attended University High School

Sports

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Baseball

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Name Image Birth Death Known for Association Reference
Bill Conroy Feb 26, 1915 Nov 13, 1997 Catcher for Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox Born in Bloomington
Jim Cox May 28, 1950 Second baseman for Montreal Expos Born in Bloomington
Bill King Oct 6, 1927 Oct 18, 2005 Radio sports announcer for Oakland Athletics and Oakland/LA Raiders; Baseball Hall of Fame Born in Bloomington
Lyle Luttrell Feb 22, 1930 Jul 11, 1984 Shortstop for Washington Senators Born in Bloomington
Bernie Neis Sep 26, 1895 Nov 29, 1972 Outfielder for Brooklyn Robins, Boston Braves, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox Born in Bloomington
Jack Powell Jul 9, 1874 Oct 17, 1944 Pitcher for Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Perfectos, St. Louis Browns and New York Highlanders Born in Bloomington
Old Hoss Radbourn Dec 11, 1854 Feb 5, 1897 Pitcher in Baseball Hall of Fame Lived and died in Bloomington
Curt Raydon Nov 18, 1933 Mar 3, 2018 Pitcher for Pittsburgh Pirates Born in Bloomington

Basketball

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Name Image Birth Death Known for Association Reference
Jim Crews Feb 14, 1954 NCAA basketball player and coach Attended University High School [citation needed]

Football

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Name Image Birth Death Known for Association Reference
Bump Elliott Jan 30, 1925 Dec 7, 2019 Player for Michigan and Purdue; head coach at Michigan (1959–1968); athletic director at Iowa (1970–1991); College Football Hall of Fame Raised in Bloomington
Pete Elliott Sep 29, 1926 Jan 4, 2013 Quarterback of undefeated Michigan football teams (1947 and 1948); head coach at Nebraska, Illinois, Cal, and Miami; College Football Hall of Fame Born in Bloomington [citation needed]
Michael Hoomanawanui Jul 4, 1988 Tight end for New Orleans Saints Born in Bloomington
Brandon Hughes May 23, 1986 Former NFL cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles Born in Bloomington

Volleyball

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Name Image Birth Death Known for Association Reference
Ogonna Nnamani Jul 29, 1983 US volleyball team member in the 2004 Olympics and 2008 Olympics (silver medalist); graduate of University High School Born in Bloomington

Australian football

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Name Image Birth Death Known for Association Reference
Don Pyke Dec 5, 1968 Head coach of Adelaide Football Club in Australian Football League,[2] player for West Coast Eagles 1990s. Born in Bloomington

References

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  1. ^ Bearnson, Margaret S. "John Wesley Powell". Utah History Encyclopedia.
  2. ^ "Pyke named new Crows coach". afc.com.au. Adelaide Crows. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.