# List of people from Aurora, Illinois

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 | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 | | | 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 | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| 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 | |
| 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 |
| 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 | |

### Writing and journalism

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| 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 |
| 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

| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
| James Compton | | Apr 7, 1939 | | Former president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League | Born in Aurora | |
| Jeffrey Skilling | | Nov 25, 1953 | | Former CEO of Enron Corporation | Attended West Aurora High School | |

## Law and crime

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| Pericles Abassi | 1984 | | Lawyer and online personality | Born in Aurora |
| Rita B. Garman | Nov 19, 1943 | | Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois | Born in Aurora |
| Edna Murray | 1898 | 1966 | Depression-era outlaw | |
| Roy Solfisburg | 1912 | 1991 | Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court | Born in Aurora |

## Military

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| 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 |
| 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 | | |
| 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 | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| 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 | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| 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 | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| 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 |
| 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 | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| 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 |

### Football

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| 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

| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
| Anna Li | | Sep 4, 1988 | | Artistic gymnast; member of the U.S. National Team; an alternate at the Summer 2012 London Olympics | Graduated from Waubonsie Valley High School; lives in Aurora | |

### Sports-related professionals

| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
| Zachary Taylor Davis | | May 26, 1872 | Dec 16, 1946 | Architect of Old Comiskey Park (1910), Wrigley Field (1914) | Born in Aurora | |
| Chick Hearn | | Nov 27, 1916 | Aug 5, 2002 | Sportscaster for the Los Angeles Lakers | Born in Aurora | |

### Soccer

| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
| Wyatt Borso | | Mar 8, 2004 | | Forward | Hometown | |
| Quavas Kirk | | Apr 13, 1988 | | Defender and forward | Born in Aurora | |

### Track and field

| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
| Tom Petranoff | | Apr 8, 1958 | | World record javelin thrower | Born in Aurora | |