# List of people from Cincinnati

This is a list of notable residents of Cincinnati, Ohio.

## Politics

* Stan Aronoff – member of Ohio Senate 1967–1996, its president 1989–96
* William Evans Arthur (1825–1897) – born in Cincinnati, United States congressman from Kentucky
* Steve Austria – Republican congressman, 2009–2013
* Jess L. Baily – United States Ambassador to North Macedonia, 2015–2019
* Walt Bachrach – long-serving mayor of Cincinnati
* Ken Blackwell – former mayor of Cincinnati 1999–2007, Republican, Ohio Secretary of State and unsuccessful 2006 candidate for governor of Ohio
* James G. Birney – abolitionist and Liberty Party presidential candidate
* John Boehner – congressman and former Speaker of the House
* William K. Bond – Whig congressman, 1849–1853
* Stanley E. Bowdle – Democratic congressman, 1913–1915
* John Bridgeland – lawyer and activist
* Tom Brinkman – Republican Ohio House of Representatives member
* Ethan Allen Brown – 7th governor of Ohio
* Frank Brogan – 15th lieutenant governor of Florida
* Henry Francis Bryan – United States Navy rear admiral and the 17th governor of American Samoa
* Jacob Burnet – U.S. senator, 1828–1831
* Phillip Burton – Democratic congressman from California
* Benjamin Butterworth – Republican congressman, 1879–1883, 1885–1891
* Mary Edith Campbell – suffragette, board of education member
* Samuel Fenton Cary – congressman and temperance movement leader
* John Cranley – former mayor of Cincinnati, 2013–2022
* Steve Chabot – Republican congressman, 1995–2009; 2011–2023
* Thomas R. Chandler – perennial candidate
* Donald D. Clancy – former Republican congressman
* Levi Coffin – abolitionist, member of the Underground Railroad
* Aaron H. Conrow – Confederate congressman and general
* Moses Dickson – Abolitionist leader
* David T. Disney – Democratic congressman, 1849–1855
* Ozro J. Dodds – Democratic congressman, 1872–1873
* Steve Driehaus – Democratic congressman, 2009–2011
* Alexander Duncan – physician, Democratic congressman, 1837–1841, 1843–1845
* Thomas O. Edwards – Whig congressman, 1847–1849
* Edwin Einstein – Republican congressman from New York, 1879–1881
* Richard Kenneth Fox – United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, 1977–1979
* George Fries – physician, Democratic congressman, 1845–1849
* James W. Gazlay – Republican congressman, 1823–1825
* Thomas Geoghegan – labor lawyer
* John J. Gilligan – former governor of Ohio
* Herman P. Goebel – Republican congressman, 1903–1911
* Bill Gradison – Republican congressman, former mayor of Cincinnati
* Buddy Gray – activist and social worker
* William S. Groesbeck – lawyer, Democratic congressman, 1857–1859
* John A. Gurley – Republican congressman, 1859–1863
* George W. Hayes – slave, Republican Ohio House of Representatives member
* William E. Hess – Republican congressman, 1929–1937, 1939–1949, 1951–1961
* Dave Hobson – former Republican congressman
* Cynthia Hogan – counsel to Joe Biden
* Henry Thomas Hunt – former mayor of Cincinnati, 1912–1913
* Andy Ireland – Democrat/Republican congressman from Florida, 1977–1993
* B. Todd Jones lawyer, director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 2011–2015
* Joel Hills Johnson – Utah Territorial legislator, 1849–1850
* William J. Keating – former Republican congressman, brother of Charles Keating
* Simon L. Leis, Jr. – Hamilton County, Ohio prosecutor and sheriff
* Mark Lippert – former ambassador to South Korea
* Jesse D. Locker – former Cincinnati city councilman and United States Ambassador to Liberia, 1953–55
* Nicholas Longworth – former Speaker of the House and Majority Leader
* Charlie Luken – former congressman and mayor of Cincinnati
* Tom Luken – former congressman
* Greg Landsman – Democratic congressman, 2023–
* Robert Todd Lytle – congressman, 1833–1835
* Mark L. Mallory – former mayor of Cincinnati, 2005–2013
* William L. Mallory, Sr. – first African-American Ohio House of Representatives majority leader
* Sam Malone – former Cincinnati city councilman
* Lawrence Maxwell, Jr. – United States Solicitor General, 1893–1895
* Neil H. McElroy – Secretary of Defense, 1957–1959
* John McLean – congressman, 1813–16, U.S. Postmaster General, 1823–1829, U.S. Supreme Court justice, 1829–1861
* Alexander C. Mitchell – Republican congressman from Kansas, 1911
* Tom Mooney – teacher, labor union activist
* Harold G. Mosier – Democratic congressman, 1937–1939
* Edward Follansbee Noyes – governor of Ohio, Ambassador to France
* Kabaka Oba – civil rights activist
* Lucy Evelyn Peabody – conservation activist
* Aaron F. Perry – congressman, 1871–1872
* Rob Portman – congressman, United States Trade Representative; director of Office of Management and Budget; U.S. senator 2011–2023
* Todd Portune – former Cincinnati city councilman
* Trey Radel – former Republican congressman from Florida
* James B. Ray – governor of Indiana, 1825–1831
* Lindsay Reynolds – chief of staff to First Lady of the United States Melania Trump
* Carl West Rich – Republican congressman, three-time mayor of Cincinnati
* Eugene P. Ruehlmann – mayor of Cincinnati, 1967–1971
* Jerry Rubin – political activist, Chicago Seven
* Charles W. Sawyer – United States Secretary of Commerce, 1948–1953 under President Harry Truman
* Milton Sayler – Cincinnati city councilman, congressman, 1873–1879
* Bob Schaffer – former Republican congressman from Colorado
* Jean Schmidt – Republican congresswoman, 2005–2013; Ohio state senator 2001–2004, 2021–
* Bob Schuler – Ohio state senator, 2002–2009
* P.G. Sittenfeld – former Cincinnati city councilman, convicted of felony bribery
* Kathleen Sebelius – governor of Kansas 2003–2009, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services 2009–14
* William B. Shattuc – congressman, 1897–1903
* Christopher Smitherman – former Cincinnati city councilman
* Potter Stewart – lawyer, U.S. Supreme Court justice, 1958–1981
* Bellamy Storer (1796–1875) – lawyer, congressman, 1835–1837
* Bellamy Storer (1847–1922) – congressman, 1891–1895, diplomat
* Bob Taft – governor of Ohio, 1999–2007
* Charles Phelps Taft II – mayor of Cincinnati, 1955–1957
* Robert A. Taft – Senate leader; son of William Howard Taft
* Robert Taft Jr. – congressman 1963–1965, 1967–1971; U.S. senator 1971–1976
* William Howard Taft – 27th president of the United States, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

## Business

* Marcellus Bailey – patent attorney for Alexander Graham Bell
* Emma Beckwith – bookkeeper, optician, inventor, suffragette
* Powel Crosley Jr. – inventor and entrepreneur
* Francis L. Dale – lawyer, Cincinnati Reds owner, Republican Party operative
* Maxwell Dane – advertising executive
* James Gamble – co-founder of Procter & Gamble
* Alfred T. Goshorn – businessman, civic booster, founder of the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team
* Michael Green – inventor, co-founder and CEO of Athena Security
* Lou Groen – entrepreneur, inventor of the Filet-O-Fish sandwich
* Kevin Harrington – infomercial entrepreneur
* Bob Herbold – former executive vice president and chief operating officer of Microsoft Corporation
* Louise McCarren Herring – leader of the credit union movement
* Charles R. Hook Sr. – steel industrialist
* Ronald Howes – inventor of the Easy-Bake Oven
* Jeffrey R. Immelt – CEO of General Electric
* Charles Keating – banker involved in savings and loan crisis of the 1980s
* Jim Koch – founder of Boston Beer Company
* Bernard Kroger – founder of the Kroger supermarket chain
* Chris Kempczinski – president & CEO of McDonald's Corporation (born in Boston, raised in Cincinnati)
* Isaac Herbert Kempner – founder of Imperial Sugar
* James Michael Lafferty – CEO of Fine Hygienic Holding, former regional CEO for Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and British American Tobacco; Olympic track and field coach
* Harry Ward Leonard – electrical engineer and inventor
* Carl Lindner, Jr. – businessman and co-founder of United Dairy Farmers; founder of American Financial Group
* William F. Nast – diplomat, railroad businessman
* Henry Nicholas – communications technology entrepreneur
* Vivek Ramaswamy – biopharmaceutical entrepreneur, Republican Party presidential candidate
* Stephen Sanger – former chairman of General Mills
* Marge Schott – women's business pioneer; former owner of the Cincinnati Reds
* David Sinton – pig iron industrialist
* Ted Turner – founder of Turner Broadcasting System
* David Uible – businessman and county commissioner
* Douglas A. Warner III – banker
* Joseph Ray Watkins – born in city, entrepreneur and founder of Watkins Incorporated
* Luman Watson – 19th-century clockmaker
* Granville Woods – inventor

## Science

* Cleveland Abbe – meteorologist
* C. David Allis – geneticist
* Richard Allison – Surgeon General of the Army
* Ellen Harding Baker – astronomer and teacher
* Charles J. Bates – food scientist
* Amanda Bauer – astronomer
* George Robert Carruthers – physicist
* Robin T. Cotton – pediatrician
* Naomi Deutsch – nurse and educator
* Michael Dine – theoretical physicist
* William Doherty – entomologist
* Joseph Leo Doob – mathematician
* Ronald G. Douglas – mathematician and university provost
* Daniel Drake – physician and writer
* Richard S. Hamilton – mathematician
* Olive Hazlett – mathematician
* Henry Heimlich – co-developer of the Heimlich maneuver
* Karl Gordon Henize – NASA astronaut
* Robert Kistner – gynecologist, textbook author
* Thomas Samuel Kuhn – science historian
* John Mauchly – physicist, co-designer of ENIAC
* Ann Moore – pediatric nurse, inventor of the Snugli baby carrier
* Sharlotte Neely – anthropologist
* Louis Harry Newburgh – Professor of Clinical Investigation
* Joseph Ransohoff – neurosurgeon
* Samuel Mitja Rapoport – biochemist, Communist activist in Cincinnati in the 1930s
* Tom Rapoport – cell biologist at the Harvard Medical School
* Marion Rawson – archaeologist
* George Rieveschl – inventor of Benadryl
* Rae Robertson-Anderson – biophysicist
* Albert Sabin – discoverer of oral polio vaccine

## Journalism and media

* Jon Arthur – syndicated radio personality
* Gamaliel Bailey – journalist and abolitionist
* Delilah L. Beasley – first African American woman to be published regularly in a major metropolitan newspaper
* Marty Brennaman – Cincinnati Reds radio play-by-play announcer 1974–2019
* Thom Brennaman – sports broadcaster
* Ric Bucher – sports journalist and television host
* Gary Burbank – radio personality
* Nick Clooney – journalist, anchorman, and television host, father of George Clooney
* Gail Collins – columnist for The New York Times
* The Cool Ghoul, real name Dick VonHoene – news anchor, talk show and horror-movie show host
* Bill Cunningham – attorney, radio and television talk show host
* Paul Dixon – Cincinnati-area daytime television host
* Elizabeth Drew – political journalist and author
* Sara Eisen – CNBC news anchor
* Courtis Fuller – local news anchor
* Bill Hemmer – Fox News Channel anchor and correspondent; former CNN anchor and reporter
* Steven L. Herman – Voice of America bureau chief and correspondent
* Derrin Horton – sportscaster
* Mary Coffin Johnson – newspaper publisher, activist
* Joe Kernen – CNBC news anchor
* Dan La Botz – journalist, author and socialist activist
* Alan Light – former editor of VIBE and Spin
* Ruth Lyons – radio and television personality
* Edward Deering Mansfield – 19th-century newspaper editor
* William Maxwell – engraver, printer, publisher of the first newspaper in Cincinnati
* Mike McConnell – syndicated radio talk show host
* John Roll McLean – owner and publisher of The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Washington Post
* Washington McLean – owner and publisher of The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Washington Post
* Erin McPike – White House Correspondent for Independent Journal Review, formerly with CNN and NBC News
* David Mendell – journalist and Barack Obama biographer
* Dan Patrick – sportscaster and radio personality (from Mason, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati)
* Virginia Payne – radio actress
* Wally Phillips – radio personality
* James S. Robbins – opinion journalist, author and scholar
* Glenn Ryle – television personality
* Al Schottelkotte – television news anchor and reporter
* Bob Shreve – early television personality
* Larry Smith – puppeteer and children's television host
* Tony Snow – news commentator, White House Press Secretary for George W. Bush administration
* Dale Sommers – radio personality also known as "the Truckin' Bozo"
* Estelle Sternberger – radio commentator and women's activist
* Anne Marie Tiernon – local news anchor
* Linda Vester – Fox News Channel anchor
* Carolyn Washburn – former vice president and editor of The Cincinnati Enquirer
* Liz Wheeler – conservative political commentator, formerly with One America News Network
* Todd Wright – Sports radio personality
* Frederick Ziv – television producer and syndication pioneer

## Artists and entertainment
### Acting, motion pictures, and television

* Kevin Allison – actor, sketch comedian (The State)
* Patti Astor – underground film actress
* Theda Bara – silent film actress
* Powhatan Beaty – American Civil War soldier and stage actor
* Louise Beavers – actress
* Andy Blankenbuehler – dancer and choreographer
* Ron Bohmer – singer and actor
* Zach Bolton – voice actor and ADR director affiliated with Funimation
* Mark Boone Junior – actor
* Lee Bowman – film and television actor
* Bob Braun – local television and radio personality
* Don Brodie – actor and director
* Nana Bryant – actress
* Mabel Brownell – stage actress
* Rebecca Budig – soap opera and television actress
* Marty Callner – music video director
* Rocky Carroll – actor (NCIS)
* Marguerite Clark – stage and silent film actress
* Majel Coleman – actress and model
* Ray Combs – host of Family Feud, 1988–1994
* Walter Connolly – film actor
* Shamika Cotton – actress
* Chase Crawford – actor and producer
* Joel Crothers – actor
* Raymond Garfield Dandridge – poet
* Doris Day – popular singer and actress
* Tim de Zarn – actor
* Gabrielle Dennis – actress (The Game)
* John Diehl – actor
* John Dierkes – actor
* Pamella D'Pella – actress
* Carmen Electra (born Tara Leigh Patrick) – actress, singer
* Vera-Ellen – actress and dancer (White Christmas)
* Susan Floyd – actress
* Trixie Friganza – vaudeville and film actress
* Stephen Geoffreys – film, stage, and gay pornography actor
* Nikki Glaser – stand-up comedian and actress
* Sidney M. Goldin – silent film director
* Charles Guggenheim – movie director
* Julie Hagerty – model and actress (Airplane!)
* Pauline Hall – stage actress and dancer
* Porter Hall – actor (Miracle on 34th Street)
* Emily Harper – actress
* Maurice Hegeman – Broadway musical actor, lyricist, and playwright
* Tiffany Hines – actress
* Libby Holman – torch singer and actress
* Tonya Ingram – poet, disability activist, mental health advocate
* IShowSpeed, real name Darren Watkins Jr. – YouTube personality, streamer, rapper, and songwriter
* Arthur V. Johnson – silent film actor and director
* Lanny Joon – actor
* Noah Keen – actor
* Dagney Kerr – actress
* Mike Kleinhenz – voice actor
* Ida Koverman – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film executive
* Eric Lange – actor (Lost and Victorious)
* Dorothy Layton – actress
* KiKi Layne – actress
* Hal Le Roy – dancer, singer, stage actor
* Hudson Leick – actress
* Edward LeSaint – silent film actor and director
* Marcia Lewis – actress
* Vicki Lewis – actress (NewsRadio)
* Floriana Lima – actress
* Todd Louiso – actor
* Gina Malo – actress
* Irene Manning – actress and singer
* Jack Manning – actor
* Markiplier, real name Mark Edward Fischbach – YouTube personality, originally from Honolulu, later moved to Los Angeles
* Ann May – silent film actress
* Eve McVeagh – actress
* Benjamin S. Mears – actor and playwright
* Blanche Mehaffey – showgirl and actress
* Gertrude Michael – film and television actress
* Fanny Midgley – silent film actress
* Harry F. Millarde – silent film actor and director
* Marjorie Monaghan – actress
* J. Madison Wright Morris – actress and model
* Kathryn Morris – actress (Cold Case)
* Sydney Morton – actor
* Heidi Mueller – actress
* Pamela Myers – Broadway and television actress
* Stephen Nichols – actor
* Luke Null – comedian, cast member on Saturday Night Live
* Gary Owen – stand-up comedian and actor
* Jay Patterson – actor
* Jo Ellen Pellman – actress
* Richard M. Powell – television and film screenwriter
* Tyrone Power – actor (The Mark of Zorro, Witness for the Prosecution)
* Lee Roy Reams – Broadway actor and director, born in Covington, Kentucky
* Theresa Rebeck – television (NYPD Blue) and film screenwriter
* Theodore Reed – movie director
* Hari Rhodes – actor
* Sy Richardson – actor
* Diana-Maria Riva – actress
* Dennis Roady – actor and YouTube personality
* Wendy Robie – actress
* Roy Rogers – actor and singer, iconic western film star
* Bonnie Rotten – porn star
* Brenda Scott – actress
* Tom Segura – comedian
* Iva Shepard – silent film actress
* Gertrude Short – silent film actress
* Hal Sparks – actor and comedian
* Shane Sparks – choreographer
* Steven Spielberg – Oscar-winning film director
* Jerry Springer – mayor of Cincinnati, talk show host (born in London, of Austrian parents)
* Pat Stanley – actress, dancer, and singer
* Galadriel Stineman – actress
* Brette Taylor – actress and singer-songwriter
* Amanda Tepe – actress
* Jordan Trovillion – actress and singer
* Evelyn Venable – actress
* Daniel von Bargen – actor
* Patricia Wettig – actress and playwright
* Robert J. Wilke – actor
* Katt Williams – stand-up comedian and actor
* Jennie Worrell – 19th-century burlesque actress
* Rudy Wurlitzer – screenwriter
* Amy Yasbeck – actress
* Wolfgang Zilzer – actor

### Music

* Marty Balin – founder and original lead singer of Jefferson Airplane
* Matt Berninger – lead singer of The National
* LaKiesha Berri – R&B singer
* Boom Bip – electronic musician
* Andy Biersack – rock singer (Black Veil Brides)
* Bobby Borchers – country music singer-songwriter
* Earl Bostic – jazz and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist
* Mia Carruthers – singer-songwriter
* Mel Carter – R&B singer
* Bootsy Collins – Parliament Funkadelic funk bass player
* Danny Cox – folk singer/songwriter
* Gustav Dannreuther – violinist and conductor
* Hal Davis – songwriter and record producer for Motown Records
* Carl Dobkins, Jr. – rockabilly singer
* George Duning – trumpet and piano player
* Fat Jon – hip hop producer
* Frank Foster – jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger
* Stephen Foster – songwriter and arranger
* Homer and Jethro – Grammy-winning country comedy duo
* H-Bomb Ferguson – jump blues singer
* Henry Fillmore – march music composer
* Peter Frampton – musician, previously lived in Cincinnati
* Jane French – singer-songwriter
* Reed Ghazala – electronic musician and instrument builder
* Larry Hall – singer ("Sandy")
* Fred Hersch – jazz pianist
* Hi-Tek – rapper and producer
* Joel Hills Johnson – gospel songwriter called "Zion's Songster"
* Gloria Jones – singer-songwriter
* Grandpa Jones – entertainer, banjo player and "old time" country and gospel singer
* Kenna – electronic musician
* Steve Kipner – songwriter ("Let's Get Physical")
* Drew Lachey – winner of Dancing With The Stars
* Nick Lachey – lead singer of 98 Degrees
* James Levine – conductor
* Scott Lindroth – composer
* Lonnie Mack – blues artist
* Arlo McKinley – singer-songwriter
* Len Mink – Christian evangelist and musician
* Sonny Moorman – blues guitarist
* Nicole C. Mullen – songwriter and choreographer
* Naked Cowboy – busker
* Curtis Peagler – jazz saxophonist
* Ralph Penland – jazz drummer
* Awadagin Pratt – concert pianist
* Tyler Ramsey – guitarist for Band of Horses
* Antonio "L.A." Reid – record executive
* Katie Reider – singer-songwriter
* Sheldon Reynolds – R&B guitarist
* George Russell – jazz pianist and composer
* Mamie Smith – blues singer
* Sudan Archives – violinist and R&B singer
* Merle Travis – country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist
* Constance Cochnower Virtue – composer
* Speed Walton – hip hop musician
* Dave Widow – singer-songwriter
* Andy Williams – pop singer
* David Wolfenberger – singer-songwriter
* Philippe Wynne – lead singer for The Spinners

#### Groups

* 98 Degrees – boy band of the 1990s
* Afghan Whigs – rock band
* Ass Ponys – rock band
* The Bears – rock band
* Beneath the Sky – metalcore band
* Black Veil Brides – rock band
* Blessid Union of Souls – rock band
* Buffalo Killers – rock band
* The Casinos – doo-wop group
* The Deele – R&B/Soul group
* Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods – 1970s pop band
* Ellery – alt-folk band
* Five Deez – Hip Hop group
* Foxy Shazam – rock band
* The Greenhornes – rock band
* Heartless Bastards – indie rock band
* The Isley Brothers – R&B/soul group
* The Lemon Pipers – pop band from the 1960s
* The National – indie rock band
* Otis Williams and the Charms – doo-wop vocal group
* Over the Rhine – rock band
* Pomegranates – indie rock band
* Pure Prairie League – pop/country band
* RyanDan – dual operatic singer/gospel
* The Students – doo-wop group
* Walk the Moon – indie-rock band
* Wussy – indie rock band

### Authors

* Karen Ackerman – children's author
* Melissa Elizabeth Riddle Banta (1834–1907) – poet
* David Bell – novelist
* Thomas Berger – author
* Eva Best – story writer, poet, music composer, dramatist
* Christopher Bollen – novelist
* Fredric Brown – author
* Alice Cary – poet
* Phoebe Cary – poet
* Stuart Archer Cohen – novelist
* Sharon Creech – novelist
* Michael Cunningham – novelist (The Hours)
* Kelcey Ervick – author and artist
* Nikki Giovanni – poet and author
* Shari Goldhagen – novelist
* Richard Hague – poet, author and educator
* Kenneth Koch – New York School poet
* Tim Lucas – film critic, novelist, author
* William Matthews – poet
* William Holmes McGuffey – educator, author of McGuffey Readers
* Karen Marie Moning – paranormal romance/thriller author
* David Quammen – science and travel writer
* Susan Elizabeth Phillips – author
* Mike Resnick – Hugo Award-winning science fiction writer
* Helen Hooven Santmyer – writer
* Stanley Schmidt – science fiction author and magazine editor
* Curtis Sittenfeld – novelist
* Henry Thew Stevenson – academic and writer
* Harriet Beecher Stowe – author and abolitionist
* Jonathan Valin – novelist
* Edmund White – author

### Visual artists

* James Presley Ball – photographer and abolitionist
* Karl Bissinger – photographer
* Robert Frederick Blum – lithographer
* Jim Borgman – Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist
* Jim Dine – pop artist
* Robert S. Duncanson – painter and muralist
* Frank Duveneck – figure and portrait painter
* Elliot Earls – graphic designer
* Alfred Oscar Elzner – architect
* Suzanne Farrell – ballerina
* Tim Folzenlogen – realist painter
* William H. Fry – Aesthetic movement wood carver and gilder
* Frank J. Girardin – painter
* Daniel Greene – painter
* Harry Hake – architect
* Samuel Hannaford – architect, designer of Cincinnati's Music Hall
* Charley Harper – wildlife artist
* Robert Henri – painter, leader of the Ashcan School movement
* Ida Holterhoff Holloway – painter
* Charles S. Kaelin – American Impressionist painter
* Graham Ingels – comic book and magazine illustrator
* Thomas Rogers Kimball – architect
* Janis Crystal Lipzin – multi-media artist, filmmaker, photographer
* Gary Lord – faux painter and decorator
* Mary Louise McLaughlin – ceramic painter and studio potter
* Lewis Henry Meakin – American Impressionist painter
* Henry Mosler – painter
* Alfred B. Mullett – architect
* Frank Harmon Myers – painter
* Charles Henry Niehaus – sculptor
* Thomas Satterwhite Noble – painter
* Elizabeth Nourse – painter
* Diane Pfister – artist and painter
* Edward Henry Potthast – American Impressionist painter
* Hiram Powers – sculptor
* John Ruthven – painter of wildlife
* Sara Sax – ceramic painter
* Kataro Shirayamadani – ceramic painter
* Sheida Soleimani – Iranian-American multidisciplinary artist
* Lilly Martin Spencer – painter
* Francis Marion Stokes – architect
* Maria Longworth Nichols Storer – founder of the Rookwood Pottery Company
* Adolph Strauch – landscape architect
* John Robinson Tait – landscape painter
* Tony Tasset – contemporary artist
* Mary Lee Tate – African American painter, educator
* Tom Tsuchiya – sculptor
* John Henry Twachtman – impressionist landscape painter
* Leon Van Loo – photographer
* Edward Charles Volkert – American Impressionist painter
* Tom Wesselmann – pop artist

## Sports
### Baseball

* Mike Adams – MLB outfielder
* Ethan Allen – MLB player, coach at Yale University
* Nick Altrock – MLB pitcher
* Charlie Armbruster – MLB catcher
* Skeeter Barnes – MLB utility player
* Al Bashang – MLB outfielder
* Buddy Bell – MLB third baseman and manager
* Charlie Bell – MLB pitcher
* David Bell – MLB third baseman and Cincinnati Reds manager
* Frank Bell – MLB player
* Mike Bell – MLB third baseman
* Andrew Benintendi – MLB outfielder
* Ralph Birkofer – MLB pitcher
* Red Bittmann – MLB second baseman
* Ethan Blackaby – MLB outfielder
* Jim Bolger – MLB outfielder
* Barry Bonnell – MLB player
* Daryl Boston – MLB outfielder
* Buzz Boyle – MLB outfielder
* Jack Boyle – MLB player
* Jimmy Boyle – MLB catcher
* Andrew Brackman – former MLB pitcher
* Ed Brinkman – MLB player
* Jim Brosnan – MLB pitcher, author of The Long Season and Pennant Race
* Nelson Burbrink – MLB catcher and scout
* Moe Burtschy – MLB pitcher
* Jack Bushelman – MLB pitcher
* Flea Clifton – MLB pitcher
* Joe Crotty – MLB catcher
* Bob Daughters – MLB player
* Zach Day – MLB pitcher
* Dory Dean – MLB pitcher
* Drew Denson – MLB first baseman
* Red Dooin – MLB player and manager
* Bill Doran – MLB second baseman
* Richard Dotson – MLB pitcher
* Dick Drott – MLB pitcher
* Louis Dula – Negro leagues pitcher
* Leon Durham – MLB player
* Joe Ellick – MLB player
* Buck Ewing – Hall of Fame catcher and manager
* Bill Faul – MLB pitcher
* Tom Flanigan – MLB pitcher
* Danny Friend – MLB pitcher
* Charlie Grant – Negro leagues second baseman
* Bob Gilks – MLB player
* Ed Glenn – MLB player
* Charlie Gould – National League baseball player
* Ken Griffey Jr. – MLB outfielder, Baseball Hall of Famer (born in Donora, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Cincinnati)
* Tommy Griffith – MLB outfielder
* Heinie Groh – MLB third baseman
* Josh Harrison – MLB third baseman
* Dan Hayden – Miami University (OH) baseball coach
* August Herrmann – Cincinnati Reds president, 1903–1920
* Johnny Hodapp – MLB infielder
* Ed Hug – MLB catcher
* Miller Huggins – MLB player; Hall of Fame manager for the New York Yankees
* Roy Hughes – MLB infielder
* Tom Hume – MLB pitcher and coach
* Adam Hyzdu – MLB and Japanese baseball outfielder
* Larry Jacobus – MLB pitcher
* Betsy Jochum – All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
* Lance Johnson – MLB player
* David Justice – MLB player
* Al Kaiser – MLB outfielder
* Dorothy Kamenshek – All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
* Scott Klingenbeck – MLB pitcher
* Eddie Kolb – MLB pitcher, businessman
* Al Lakeman – MLB player
* Margie Lang – All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
* Barry Larkin – MLB shortstop, Baseball Hall of Famer
* Stephen Larkin – MLB first baseman
* Steve Larkin – MLB pitcher
* Charlie Leesman – MLB pitcher
* Dick LeMay – MLB pitcher
* Jensen Lewis – MLB pitcher
* Jim Leyritz – MLB catcher
* Bill Long – MLB pitcher
* Garry Maddox – MLB outfielder
* Lee Magee – MLB player and manager
* Art Mahaffey – MLB pitcher
* Lefty Marr – MLB third baseman
* Len Matuszek – MLB first baseman
* Wally Mayer – MLB catcher
* Roger McDowell – MLB pitcher and coach
* Bobby Mitchell – MLB pitcher
* Ralph Miller – MLB pitcher
* Ron Moeller – MLB pitcher
* Bobby Moore – MLB player who is currently a coach for the Atlanta Braves organization
* Red Munson – MLB catcher
* Charles Murphy – sportswriter, owner of the Chicago Cubs
* Tim Naehring – MLB player
* Russ Nagelson – MLB player
* Chris Nichting – MLB pitcher
* Bob Nieman – MLB player
* Russ Nixon – MLB player and manager (born in Cleves, a suburb of Cincinnati)
* Joe Nuxhall – pitcher, later long-time color commentator for Cincinnati Reds games (from Hamilton, Ohio)
* Brian O'Connor MLB pitcher
* Ron Oester – MLB player
* Jayhawk Owens – MLB player
* Dave Parker – MLB outfielder, Baseball Hall of Famer (born in Grenada, Mississippi, grew up in Cincinnati)
* George Paynter – MLB outfielder
* George Pechiney – MLB pitcher
* Dave Pember – MLB pitcher
* Shannon Penn – MLB designated hitter
* Eduardo Pérez – MLB player; son of Tony Pérez
* Jack Pfiester – MLB pitcher
* Cy Pfirman – MLB umpire
* Icicle Reeder – MLB outfielder
* Tuffy Rhodes – MLB and Japanese player
* Billy Riley – MLB player outfielder
* Pete Rose – All-Star MLB player, holds record for most hits in a career
* Pete Rose Jr. – minor league baseball player
* Jeff Russell – MLB pitcher
* Scott Sauerbeck – MLB pitcher
* Admiral Schlei – MLB catcher
* Jimmy Shevlin – MLB first baseman
* John Shoupe – 19th-century shortstop
* Joe Smith – MLB player
* Rudy Sommers – MLB pitcher
* Ed Sperber – MLB outfielder
* Jake Stenzel – MLB outfielder
* Shannon Stewart – MLB player
* Eric Surkamp – MLB pitcher
* Brent Suter – MLB pitcher
* Pat Tabler – MLB player and baseball analyst
* Kent Tekulve – MLB pitcher
* Bill Wegman – MLB pitcher
* Marie Wegman – All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
* Alex Wimmers – MLB pitcher
* Jimmy Wynn – MLB outfielder
* George Yeager – MLB catcher
* Kevin Youkilis – All-Star MLB first and third baseman
* Don Zimmer – MLB player and manager

### Basketball

* Luke Babbitt – NBA player
* Dennis Bell – NBA player
* Tom Boerwinkle – NBA player
* Ric Bucher – ESPN NBA analyst
* Rick Calloway – NBA player
* Jeremy Chappell – Robert Morris and European league player
* Kwan Cheatham (born 1995) – basketball player in the Israel Basketball Premier League
* Semaj Christon – Xavier University and NBA Development League player
* Mick Cronin – UCLA and University of Cincinnati basketball coach
* Ralph Crosthwaite – Western Kentucky University and NBA player
* Erik Daniels – University of Kentucky and NBA player
* Dee Davis – WNBA player
* Derrek Dickey – NBA player and analyst
* Justin Doellman – Xavier University and Spanish League player
* Josh Duncan – Xavier University and European league player
* Jacob Eisner – Israeli basketball player
* Robin Freeman – 1955 and 1956 All-American at Ohio State
* Yancy Gates – player for Ironi Nahariya of the Israeli Premier League
* Matt Harpring – NBA player
* Tyrone Hill – Xavier University and NBA player
* Robert Hite – NBA player
* Rick Hughes – NBA player
* Brandon Hunter – NBA player
* Kannard Johnson – NBA player
* Pat Kelsey – College of Charleston Cougars men's basketball head coach
* Shane Larkin – plays in the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi for Anadolu Efes S.K., son of Barry Larkin
* Brad Loesing – Wofford and European league player
* Mike Mathis – NBA referee
* Kelsey Mitchell – 2018 Big Ten Women's Basketball Player of the Year for Ohio State
* Louis Orr – NBA player and college coach
* Dave Robisch – NBA and ABA player
* Kelly Schumacher – WNBA basketball player
* Jordan Sibert – NBA player
* Mel Thomas – UConn player
* LaSalle Thompson – NBA player
* Bob Wiesenhahn – NBA player
* Devin Williams – West Virginia and NBA G League player

### Boxing

* Tim Austin – 1992 Olympic bronze medalist and bantamweight boxing champion
* Adrien Broner – light welterweight boxer
* Ezzard Charles – heavyweight champion boxer
* Larry Donald – Olympic and professional heavyweight boxer
* George Foster – featherweight boxer
* Billy Joiner – heavyweight boxer and trainer
* Freddie Miller – featherweight boxer
* Aaron Pryor – world light welterweight champion boxer
* Brad Rone – journeyman boxer who died in the ring
* Ronald Siler – 2004 Olympic flyweight boxer
* Wallace Smith – lightweight boxer
* Reggie Strickland – has the most known losses of any boxer in history
* Tony Tubbs – heavyweight boxer
* Rau'shee Warren – bantamweight boxer
* Ricardo Williams – 2000 Olympic light welterweight silver medalist boxer
* Harry Woodson – 19th-century boxer

### Football

* Alex Albright – NFL linebacker
* Kevin Allen – NFL offensive tackle
* Darren Anderson – NFL cornerback
* Mel Anthony – Michigan and CFL fullback; 1965 Rose Bowl MVP
* Steve Apke – replacement player during 1987 NFL players' strike
* B.J. Askew – NFL fullback
* Alex Bannister – NFL wide receiver
* Darren Barnett – NFL cornerback
* Ron Beagle – College Football Hall of Fame end for Navy
* Bruce Beekley – NFL linebacker
* Ed Biles – NFL Houston Oilers head coach, 1981–1983
* Rocky Boiman – Notre Dame and NFL linebacker, radio host
* Vaughn Booker – NFL defensive end
* Jim Boyle – NFL offensive tackle
* Colin Branch – NFL safety
* Tyrone Brown – NFL and CFL wide receiver
* Al Brosky – College Football Hall of Fame cornerback
* Dante Brown – NFL running back
* Ricky Brown – NFL linebacker for Boston College and the Oakland Raiders
* Trevor Canfield – NFL offensive lineman
* Tank Carradine – Florida State and NFL defensive tackle
* Brent Celek – NFL tight end
* Garrett Celek – NFL tight end
* Frank Clair – Canadian Football League coach
* Vinnie Clark – NFL cornerback
* Robert Cobb – NFL defensive end
* John Conner – University of Kentucky and New York Jets fullback
* Bob Crable – NFL player, businessman
* Shane Curry – NFL defensive end; murdered in 1992
* Dane Dastillung – American football player
* Jerome Davis – NFL nose tackle
* Wayne Davis – NFL cornerback
* Jerry Doerger – NFL center
* Nate Ebner – Ohio State and NFL New England Patriots safety and 2016 rugby sevens Olympian
* Dixon Edwards – NFL linebacker
* Marc Edwards – NFL fullback
* Ray Edwards – NFL defensive end
* Mark Elder – Eastern Kentucky college football head coach
* Mark Fischer – Purdue and Washington Redskins offensive lineman
* Dave Foley – Ohio State and NFL offensive tackle
* Greg Frey – Ohio State quarterback
* Bob Fry – NFL offensive lineman
* Dave Frye – NFL linebacker
* Bob Goodridge – NFL wide receiver
* Dick Gordon – Pro Bowl wide receiver
* Carlton Gray – NFL cornerback
* Gino Guidugli – University of Cincinnati quarterback
* Darryl Hardy – NFL linebacker
* Maurice Harvey – NFL safety
* Clint Haslerig – Michigan and NFL wide receiver
* Don Hasselbeck – NFL tight end
* Joel Heath – NFL defensive tackle
* Rodney Heath – NFL cornerback
* Mark Herrmann – NFL quarterback
* Jordan Hicks – NFL linebacker
* Alex Higdon – Ohio State and NFL tight end
* Darius Hillary – Wisconsin and NFL cornerback
* Robert Hoernschemeyer – NFL running back
* Jack Hoffman – NFL player
* Sam Hubbard – defensive end for the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cincinnati Bengals
* Kevin Huber – NFL punter
* Russ Huesman – college football coach
* Tony Hunter – Notre Dame and NFL tight end
* Tom Jackson – NFL player and ESPN analyst (lives in Cincinnati)
* Dan James – NFL and Ohio State offensive lineman
* Melvin Johnson – NFL safety
* Paris Johnson Jr. – Ohio State offensive lineman
* Greg Jones – NFL linebacker
* Michael Jordan – NFL offensive lineman
* Steve Junker – NFL tight end
* Mark Kamphaus – Boston College quarterback
* Eric Kattus – NFL tight end
* Terry Killens – NFL linebacker
* Austin King – NFL center
* Eric Joel Kresser – NFL quarterback
* Luke Kuechly – NFL linebacker; 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year
* David Long Jr. – NFL linebacker
* Dante Love – Ball State wide receiver
* Greg Mancz – NFL center
* Michael Matthews – NFL tight end
* Napoleon McCallum – College Football Hall of Fame running back for Navy
* Jake McQuaide – Los Angeles Rams Pro Bowl Long snapper
* Brandon Miree – NFL fullback
* Michael Muñoz – Tennessee offensive tackle
* Justin Murray – NFL offensive tackle
* Leon Murray – Tennessee State quarterback
* Rico Murray – NFL cornerback
* Al Nelson – former NFL cornerback
* Steve Niehaus – first draft choice of NFL Seattle Seahawks; defensive tackle
* Ray Nolting – NFL running back, University of Cincinnati football coach
* Andrew Norwell – NFL offensive lineman, 2017 All-Pro
* David Nugent – NFL defensive lineman
* Tom O'Brien – North Carolina State Wolfpack football head coach
* Antwan Peek – NFL linebacker
* Ahmed Plummer – NFL cornerback (from Wyoming, suburb of Cincinnati)
* P. J. Pope – NFL running back
* DeVier Posey – NFL wide receiver
* George Ratterman – football player
* Reggie Redding – NFL offensive lineman
* Ike Reese – NFL linebacker and radio host
* Jack Reynolds – NFL linebacker
* J. Burton Rix – SMU and Miami (FL) head football coach
* Kurt Rocco – Arena Football League quarterback
* Kyle Rudolph – Minnesota Vikings tight end
* Marcus Rush – NFL linebacker
* Abdul Salaam – NFL defensive tackle
* Greg Scruggs – NFL linebacker
* Mike Sensibaugh – NFL safety
* Tyler Sheehan – NFL and indoor football quarterback
* Ed Shuttlesworth – Michigan and CFL fullback
* Chris Smith – NFL running back
* Sean Smith – NFL defensive end
* Kirk Springs – NFL safety
* Ryan Stanchek – NFL offensive lineman
* Ralph Staub – Cincinnati Bearcats football player and coach
* Roger Staubach – Heisman Trophy-winning Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback
* Milt Stegall – NFL and CFL wide receiver, Canadian Football Hall of Famer
* Greg Stemrick – NFL cornerback
* Ken Stone – NFL safety
* Zach Strief – NFL offensive lineman
* Dana Stubblefield – NFL defensive tackle
* Steve Sylvester – NFL offensive lineman
* Matthew Teague – NFL and CFL linebacker
* Matt Tennant – NFL offensive lineman
* Steve Tensi – NFL quarterback
* Brian Townsend – NFL linebacker
* DeJuan Tribble – NFL cornerback
* Tom Waddle – NFL wide receiver and football analyst
* Eric Wood – NFL center
* Spencer Ware – NFL running back
* Adolphus Washington – Ohio State and NFL defensive tackle
* John Wiethe – All-Pro NFL guard/linebacker and Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball head coach, 1946–1952
* Russell Wilson – NFL quarterback and Super Bowl XLVIII Champion
* DeShawn Wynn – NFL running back

### Golf

* Steve Flesch (1967–) – professional golfer
* Jim Herman (1977–) – professional golfer
* Bob Lohr (1960–) – professional golfer
* Tom Nieporte (1928–2014) – professional golfer
* Marissa Steen (1989–) – professional golfer
* Brett Wetterich (1973–) – professional golfer

### Tennis

* Winona Closterman (1877–1944) – tennis player
* Ruth Sanders Cordes (1890–1968) – tennis player
* Steve DeVries (1964–) – tennis player
* Nat Emerson (1874–1958) – tennis player
* Nicole Gibbs (1993–) – tennis player
* Reuben A. Holden III (1890–1967) – tennis player
* Emmy Kaiser (1990–) – wheelchair tennis player
* Louis Kuhler (1902–1925) – tennis player
* Paul Kunkel (1903–1977) – amateur tennis player
* Barry MacKay (1935–2012) – tennis player and broadcaster
* Caty McNally (2001–) – tennis player
* Monica Nolan (1913–1995) – tennis player
* Eric Quigley (1989–) – tennis player
* Peyton Stearns (2001–) – tennis player
* Dudley Sutphin (1875–1926) – tennis player, lawyer
* Bill Talbert (1918–1999) – tennis player and administrator
* Tony Trabert (1930–2021) – tennis player and instructor
* Clara Louise Zinke (1909–1978) – tennis player
* J.J. Wolf (1998–) – tennis player

### Other

* Rachael Adams – 2016 Olympic women's volleyball bronze medalist
* Eddie Arcaro – Triple Crown-winning jockey
* Austin Berry – soccer player
* Amanda Borden – 1996 gold-medal winning gymnast
* Danielle Borgman – soccer player
* Jordan Brauninger – figure skater
* Aimee Bruder – bronze medal-winning Paralympics swimmer
* Caleb Bragg – racecar driver and automobile inventor
* Marc Burch – soccer player
* Amber Campbell – 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games hammer thrower
* Nina Castagna – rowing coxswain
* Steve Cauthen – Triple Crown-winning jockey (from Covington, Kentucky)
* Rodney Combs – NASCAR driver
* Katherine Copely – Lithuanian ice dancer
* Angelo Dawkins – WWE tag team wrestler with Street Profits
* Deena Deardurff – 1972 Olympic swimming gold medalist
* Carson Foster – 2024 Olympic swimming silver medalist
* Rich Franklin – Ultimate Fighting Championship champion
* Curt Fraser – National Hockey League (NHL) player and coach
* Christina Gao – figure skater
* Mike Goldberg – Ultimate Fighting Championship play-by-play commentator
* Jonathan Good – AEW professional wrestler known as Jon Moxley; formerly known as Dean Ambrose in WWE
* Nick Hagglund – soccer player
* Maxwell Holt – 2016 and 2024 Olympic men's volleyball bronze medalist
* Harlan Holden – track and field athlete at the 1912 Summer Olympics
* Ted Horn – race car driver
* DeHart Hubbard – first African-American to win an individual Olympic gold medal
* Joseph Hudepohl – Olympic swimmer
* Tori Huster – soccer player
* Julie Isphording – long-distance runner
* Rebecca Jasontek – 2004 bronze medal-winning synchronized swimmer
* Jenny Kemp – 1972 Olympic swimming gold medalist
* Dan Ketchum – Olympic swimmer
* Aubrey Kingsbury – professional soccer player of Washington Spirit and the United States national team
* Walter Laufer – 1928 gold medal-winning swimmer
* Rose Lavelle – 2019 World Cup champion, 2024 Olympic gold medallist, and NWSL player for NJ/NY Gotham FC
* Linda Miles – professional wrestler (WWE's "Shaniqua")
* Betsy Mitchell – 1984 Olympic swimming gold medalist
* Heather Mitts – soccer player
* Darrell Pace – 1976 and 1984 Olympic gold-medal winning archer
* David Payne – hurdler
* Erin Phenix – gold-medal winning swimmer at the 2000 Summer Olympics
* Brian Pillman – NFL nose tackle and professional wrestler
* Brian Pillman Jr. – professional wrestler, son of Brian Pillman
* Lexie Priessman – gymnast
* Kerry Schall – UFC fighter
* Vivian St. John – professional wrestler
* Josh Schneider – former World Record holder, swimming
* Robert Shmalo – ice dancer
* Bridget Sloan – Olympic gymnast and 2009 world all-around champion
* Kyle Smith – soccer player
* Brandon Sosna – sports administrator and executive
* Sam Stoller – sprinter and long jumper
* Les Thatcher – professional wrestler, announcer, and trainer
* Nick Thoman – 2012 swimming gold medalist
* Mary Lee Tracy – gymnastics coach
* Albertson Van Zo Post – 1904 double gold medal-winning fencer
* Bryan Volpenhein – 2004 gold medal-winning rower
* Olga Strashun Weil – amateur golfer and tennis player
* Mary Wineberg – 2008 Olympic gold medalist, track and field
* Russ Witherby – Olympic ice dancing competitor
* Brian Woermann – professional wrestler ("Matt Stryker")
* Jimmy Yang – professional wrestler
* Jeanne Zelasko – sports broadcaster

## Military

* Christian Albert – Medal of Honor recipient at Siege of Vicksburg
* Nicholas Longworth Anderson – Civil War colonel
* George J. Austin (c. 1881–1930), Black military officer; worked for Black representation in the U.S. military during segregation
* Edward William Boers – Navy Medal of Honor recipient
* Henry Francis Bryan – United States Navy rear admiral and 17th governor of American Samoa
* James Calhoun – cavalryman killed at Battle of the Little Bighorn
* Henry M. Cist – Civil War general
* Charles Clark – Confederate Army general, plantation owner, Confederate governor of Mississippi
* Cordelia E Cook – first woman to receive both the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart
* John Cook – Medal of Honor recipient at Battle of Antietam
* Hubert Dilger – Civil War artillery officer
* William Dwight – Union Civil War general
* Wilson V. Eagleson II – U.S. Army Air Force officer and decorated combat fighter pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen
* James E. Earheart, Jr. – Marine killed in action during World War II
* William S. Fellers – Marine Corps major general, Director of Staff of Inter-American Defense Board
* Manning Force – Civil War general and Medal of Honor recipient
* John R. Fox – World War II-era Medal of Honor recipient
* Kenner Garrard – Civil War general
* James Augustin Greer – Civil War-era admiral
* Webb Hayes – Medal of Honor recipient, co-founder of Union Carbide
* Victor Heintz – decorated World War I veteran; Republican congressman, 1917–1919
* Andrew Hickenlooper – Civil War general
* James Hirshfield – United States Coast Guard vice admiral, Navy Cross recipient
* Heinrich Hoffman – Civil War Medal of Honor recipient
* Francis Lupo – World War I soldier whose remains were discovered in 2003
* William Haines Lytle – poet; Civil War general; killed at Battle of Chickamauga (1863)
* Keith Matthew Maupin – soldier, missing and captured in Iraq for nearly four years
* Nathaniel McLean – Union Civil War general
* John Moore – Surgeon General of the Army
* Abram S. Piatt – Union Civil War general
* James Pine – United States Coast Guard vice admiral
* John P. Slough – Union Civil War general
* George E. Stratemeyer – Air Force general
* Melancthon S. Wade – Union Civil War general
* Godfrey Weitzel – Union Civil War general

## Other notable people

* Clara Adams – aviation pioneer
* Pierre Adrian – chef at The Maisonette
* Joseph H. Albers – first bishop of Lansing, Michigan
* Anthony Allaire – New York City Police inspector
* Michael Anthony – chef
* Levi Addison Ault – businessman, naturalist, donor of Cincinnati's Ault Park
* John Bardo – 13th president of Wichita State University, 10th chancellor of Western Carolina University
* Samri Baldwin – stage magician
* Daniel Carter Beard – founder Sons of Daniel Boone
* Betty Blake – historic preservationist
* Kim Bobo – labor activist
* Thomas D. Boyatt – former United States Ambassador to Burkina Faso and Colombia
* Kitty Burke – nightclub entertainer who attempted to bat in a baseball game
* Mary Towne Burt – temperance reformer, newspaper publisher, and benefactor
* Oba Chandler – rapist and murderer on death row in Florida
* Peter H. Clark – abolitionist and educator
* Levi Coffin – abolitionist
* Lorenzo Collins – mentally ill man shot by Cincinnati police in 1997
* Robert Daniel Conlon – Roman Catholic Bishop of Steubenville, Ohio
* Sara Jane Crafts (1845–1930), educator, author, social reformer
* Moses Dickson – African-American abolitionist, soldier and minister
* Jonathan Edwards – first president of Washington & Jefferson College
* William Henry Elder – long-serving Roman Catholic Bishop of Cincinnati
* Audrey Emery – heiress and socialite
* Mary Emery – philanthropist
* T. Higbee Embry – aviation enthusiast and co-founder of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
* Dana Fabe – Chief Justice Alaska Supreme Court
* Bernard T. Espelage – first Bishop of Gallup, New Mexico
* Mary Jane Farell – Contract bridge player
* Susan Fessenden (1840–1932) – activist, social reformer
* Thomas Milton Gatch – president of Willamette University, Oregon State University and University of Washington
* Nelson Glueck – rabbi and archaeologist
* Alfred Gottschalk – president of Hebrew Union College and leader in Reform Judaism
* Henry Joseph Grimmelsmann – first Bishop of Evansville
* Alice Claypoole Gwynne – wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt II
* Don Helbig – Guinness World Record holder for roller coaster riding
* John R. Hicks – murderer executed by the State of Ohio
* Edith Irwin Hobart – 14th president general of the Daughters of the American Revolution and 1st national president of the American Legion Auxiliary
* Helena Keith-Falconer, Countess of Kintore – heiress and socialite
* Charles L. Kuhn – art historian
* Alice Stone Ilchman – eighth president of Sarah Lawrence College
* Joseph Jonas – first Jew to settle in Cincinnati, founder of the Old Jewish Cemetery
* Stewart Judah – card magician
* Posteal Laskey – serial killer nicknamed the "Cincinnati Strangler"
* William Mackey Lomasney – Irish revolutionary
* Longworth family – early leading Cincinnati family
* Lytle family – early leading Cincinnati family
* Mike Mangold – pilot
* Helen Taft Manning – daughter of William Howard Taft, historian
* Charles Manson – cult leader, convicted murderer
* Carl K. Moeddel – auxiliary bishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, 1993–2007
* Julian Morgenstern – rabbi, professor, and president of Hebrew Union College
* Sara Murphy – socialite, Pablo Picasso portrait subject
* Anthony John King Mussio – first Roman Catholic bishop of Steubenville, Ohio
* David Leroy Nickens – freed slave, first African American licensed minister in Ohio
* Jack Norris – dietitian and vegan activist
* Olive Peterson – contract bridge player and teacher
* David Philipson – Reform rabbi
* Harriet Augusta Prunk – educator and school founder
* John Baptist Purcell – long-serving Roman Catholic Bishop of Cincinnati
* George Remus – bootlegger
* Robert Ruwe – United States Tax Court judge
* William Knox Schroeder – student killed in the Kent State shootings
* William Smith – murderer executed in 2005
* Hermann, Freiherr von Soden – biblical scholar
* Joseph Strauss – chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge
* Jule Sugarman – creator of Head Start
* Denise Trauth – 9th president of Texas State University
* Myra L. Uhlfelder – classicist
* Otto Warmbier – University of Virginia student arrested in North Korea; later died in custody in 2017
* Irvin F. Westheimer – founder of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America