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