The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Aurora, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Aurora, Illinois.
Arts and culture
Art and architecture
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
Ruth VanSickle Ford | | Aug 8, 1897 | Apr 18, 1989 | Owner of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts | Grew up in Aurora | |
Frank Howell Holden | | Jun 8, 1870 | May 29, 1937 | Architect | Grew up in Aurora | |
Film, radio, and television
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
John Barrowman | | Mar 11, 1967 | | Actor and singer | Father was employed in Aurora | |
Cisco Cotto | | Sep 22, 1975 | | Radio news anchor and pastor | Born in Aurora | [1] |
Kimberly Donley | | Dec 15, 1965 | | Adult model and actress | Born in Aurora | |
John Drury | | Jan 4, 1927 | Nov 25, 2007 | Longtime Chicago news anchorman | Raised in Aurora | [2] |
Andrea Evans | | Jun 18, 1957 | Jul 9, 2023 | Emmy-nominated actress | Born in Aurora | |
Stana Katic | | Apr 26, 1978 | | Actress, co-star of ABC's Castle | Attended West Aurora High School | |
Jim McGuinn | | Feb 13, 1966 | | Radio personality and program director | Born in Aurora | |
Hayden Rolence | | Jul 15, 2004 | | Actor | Lives in Aurora | |
Paul Scheuring | | Nov 20, 1968 | | Screenwriter and director | Born in Aurora | |
Tom Skilling | | Feb 20, 1952 | | Chicago Tribune and WGN-TV meteorologist | Born in Aurora | |
Phillip Edward Van Lear | | | | Actor | Born in Aurora | |
Music
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
Jackie DeShannon | | Aug 21, 1941 | | Singer-songwriter | | |
Gene Greene (a.k.a. The Ragtime King) | | Jun 9, 1857 | Apr 5, 1930 | Entertainer, singer and composer | Born in Aurora | |
Kenneth W. Griffin | | Dec 28, 1909 | Mar 11, 1956 | Organist | Lived in Aurora and is buried there | |
Dave Johnston | | | | Banjoist, singer, Yonder Mountain String Band | | [citation needed] |
Jeff Olson | | Jul 14, 1962 | | Musician | Raised in Aurora and taught music there | |
Maud Powell | | Aug 22, 1867 | Jan 8, 1920 | Violinist | Began violin and piano lessons in Aurora in 1874 | [3] |
Carl Thomas | | Jun 15, 1972 | | R&B singer | Attended East Aurora High School | |
Ray White | | | | Soul vocalist and rock and blues guitarist; member of Frank Zappa's touring ensembles | | [citation needed] |
Writing and journalism
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
Clive Cussler | | Jul 15, 1931 | Feb 24, 2020 | Adventure novelist and marine archaeologist | Born in Aurora | |
M. Miriam Herrera | | | | Author and poet | Raised in Aurora | |
Thom Jones | | Jan 26, 1945 | | Short story writer | Raised in Aurora | |
Elizabeth Linington | | Mar 11, 1921 | Apr 5, 1988 | Prolific novelist | Born in Aurora | |
Mabel O'Donnell | | 1890 | 1985 | Wrote the Alice and Jerry basal reader series | Attended East Aurora High School | |
Vernon Louis Parrington | | Aug 3, 1871 | Jun 16, 1929 | Pulitzer Prize-winning historian; college football coach | Born in Aurora | |
Nicole Peeler | | 1978 | | Novelist | Born in Aurora | |
Mary Foot Seymour | | 1846 | Mar 21, 1893 | New York journalist, business woman, school founder | Born in Aurora | [4] |
Randy Shilts | | Aug 8, 1951 | Feb 17, 1994 | Pioneering gay journalist and author | | |
Valerie Taylor | | Sep 7, 1913 | Oct 22, 1997 | Author of lesbian pulp fiction novels and poetry | Born in Aurora | |
Business and administrative
Law and crime
Military
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
James H. Monroe | | Oct 17, 1944 | Feb 16, 1967 | Combat medic in the Vietnam War and recipient of the Medal of Honor | Born in Aurora | |
Walter E. Truemper | | Oct 31, 1918 | Feb 20, 1944 | Member of the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II and recipient of the Medal of Honor | Born in Aurora | |
Lester W. Weber | | Jul 30, 1948 | Feb 23, 1969 | U.S. Marine and recipient of the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam | Born in Aurora | |
Politics
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
Mark Catlin, Sr. | | Nov 12, 1882 | May 16, 1956 | State legislator Wisconsin; head football coach at University of Iowa | Born in Aurora | |
Thomas E. Coleman | | Feb 23, 1893 | 1964 | Chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin | Born in Aurora | |
Ira Clifton Copley | | Oct 25, 1864 | Nov 1, 1947 | U.S. congressman and founder of Copley |
Michael J. Davis | Born Jul 21, 1947 | Born in Cincinmati, OH, raised in Aurora, chief Justice of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota | |
Suzanne Deuchler | Jul 21, 1929 | Jun 24, 2022 | Illinois state congresswoman | | [citation needed] |
Charles Henry Dietrich | | Nov 26, 1853 | Apr 10, 1924 | U.S. senator from and 11th governor of Nebraska | Born in Aurora | |
Matt Hanson | | May 17, 1973 | | State Representative | Lived in Aurora | |
Dennis Hastert | | Jan 2, 1942 | | Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives | Born in Aurora | |
Phillip E. Johnson | | Jun 18, 1940 | Nov 2, 2019 | Retired law professor and author | Born in Aurora | |
Chris Lauzen | | Dec 30, 1952 | | Illinois state senator | Born in Aurora | |
Linda Chapa LaVia | | Aug 16, 1966 | | Illinois state congressman | Born in Aurora | |
Patricia Reid Lindner | | Nov 29, 1939 | | Illinois state congressman | Born in Aurora | |
Lewis M. Long | | Jun 22, 1883 | Sep 9, 1957 | U.S. congressman | Attended schools in Aurora | |
Tim Mahoney | | Aug 16, 1956 | | U.S. congressman from Florida | Born in Aurora | |
Scott B. Palmer | | Nov 22, 1950 | | Former Chief of Staff to U.S. congressman Dennis Hastert | Attended Aurora University | |
Robert W. Pritchard | | Mar 31, 1945 | | Illinois state congressman | Born in Aurora | |
Charlotte Thompson Reid | | Sep 27, 1913 | Jan 25, 2007 | U.S. congresswoman | Lived and died in Aurora | |
Frank R. Reid | | Apr 18, 1879 | Jan 25, 1945 | U.S. congressman | Born in Aurora | |
Tom Weisner | | 1949 | 2018 | Mayor of Aurora | | |
Religion
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
Nathaniel Popp | | Jun 12, 1940 | | Archbishop of the Orthodox Church in America's Romanian Episcopate | Born in Aurora | |
Vasile Louis Puscas | | Sep 13, 1915 | Oct 3, 2009 | Bishop emeritus of the Romanian Catholic Eparchy of St George's in Canton | Born in Aurora | |
Alexander Raţiu | | May 4, 1916 | Jul 25, 2002 | Romanian Greek-Catholic priest, political prisoner, and author | Lived and died in Aurora | |
Science
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
Henry Gale | | Sep 12, 1874 | Nov 16, 1942 | Astrophysicist and author | Born in Aurora | |
Frank Haven Hall | | Feb 9, 1841 | 1911 | Inventor of the Hall Braille Writer and other Braille printing devices | Lived and died in Aurora | |
James F. Phillips | | Nov 20, 1930 | Oct 3, 2001 | Environmental activist | Born in Aurora | |
Martha E. Sloan | | 1939 | | Electrical engineer, the first female president of the IEEE | Born in Aurora | |
G. David Tilman | | Jul 22, 1949 | | Ecologist and college professor | Born in Aurora | |
Sports
Baseball
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
Rich Becker | | Feb 1, 1972 | | Outfielder for several Major League Baseball teams | Born in Aurora | |
Michael Bowden | | Sep 9, 1986 | | Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs | Attended Waubonsie Valley High School | |
Mark Grant | | Oct 24, 1963 | | Pitcher for six Major League Baseball teams | Born in Aurora | |
Bob Johnson | | Apr 25, 1943 | | Pitcher for five Major League Baseball teams | Born in Aurora | |
Ken Jungels | | Jun 23, 1916 | Sep 9, 1975 | Pitcher for Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates | Born in Aurora | [citation needed] |
Bob Kipper | | Jul 8, 1964 | | Relief pitcher for California Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins | Born in Aurora | |
Mario Ramos | | Oct 19, 1977 | | Pitcher for Texas Rangers | Born in Aurora | |
Jim Reninger | | Mar 7, 1915 | Aug 23, 1993 | Pitcher for Philadelphia Athletics | Born in Aurora | |
Basketball
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
Kenny Battle | | Oct 10, 1964 | | Small forward for several NBA teams | Born in Aurora | |
Ryan Boatright | | Dec 27, 1992 | | Point guard UConn 2014 National Championship team | Born in Aurora | |
Bob Carney | | Aug 3, 1932 | Nov 9, 2011 | Shooting guard for the Minneapolis Lakers | Born in Aurora | |
Bob Lavoy | | Jun 29, 1926 | Dec 18, 2010 | NBA player of early 1950s | Born in Aurora | |
John Mauer | | Sep 4, 1901 | Dec 20, 1978 | Basketball head coach, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida | Born in Aurora | |
Jim Platt | | Mar 1, 1952 | | College basketball assistant and head coach | Born in Aurora | |
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
Marger Apsit | | Jun 5, 1909 | Dec 22, 1988 | Running back for four National Football League teams | Born in Aurora | |
Kurt Becker | | Dec 22, 1958 | | Guard for Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams; Super Bowl XX champion | Born in Aurora | |
Don Beebe | | Dec 18, 1964 | | Wide receiver for Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, and Green Bay Packers; Super Bowl XXXI champion | Born in Aurora; head football coach at Aurora Christian and later at Aurora University | |
Brad Childress | | Jun 27, 1956 | | Pro and college football coach, head coach of Minnesota Vikings 2006-10 | Born in Aurora | |
Larry English | | Jan 22, 1986 | | Linebacker for San Diego Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Born in Aurora | |
Ralph Galloway | | Aug 27, 1946 | | Guard in Canadian Football League 1969–79 | Born in Aurora | |
Andy Gustafson | | Apr 3, 1903 | Jan 7, 1979 | Head coach in College Football Hall of Fame | Born in Aurora | |
Roy Horstmann | | Dec 6, 1910 | Jan 23, 1998 | Running back for Boston Redskins and Chicago Cardinals | Born in Aurora | |
Joe Krakoski | | Nov 11, 1962 | | Linebacker for Washington Redskins | Born in Aurora | |
Randy Melvin | | Apr 3, 1959 | | Defensive line coach for Cleveland Browns | Born in Aurora | |
Andy Sabados | | Nov 24, 1916 | Jul 5, 2004 | Guard for NFL's Chicago Cardinals | Born in Aurora | |
Steve Thompson | | Jun 24, 1965 | | Defensive tackle for Washington Redskins | Born in Aurora | |
Golf
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
Mike Small | | Mar 4, 1966 | | College coach and PGA Tour player | Born in Aurora | |
Gymnastics
Soccer
Track and field
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
Tom Petranoff | | Apr 8, 1958 | | World record javelin thrower | Born in Aurora | |
References
- ^ https://www.audacy.com/wbbm780/authors/cisco-cotto title= WBBM Newsradio Morning Host Cisco Cotto
- ^ "John Drury's Path To Fame - Chicago Tribune". articles.chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-02.
- ^ Life & Career Timeline of Maud Powell. Born 1867 in Peru, Illinois, began violin & piano lessons in Aurora in 1874
- ^ Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1897). American Women: Fifteen Hundred Biographies with Over 1,400 Portraits: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of the Lives and Achievements of American Women During the Nineteenth Century. Mast, Crowell & Kirkpatrick. pp. 645–.
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People | |
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History | |
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