# List of people from Bloomington, Illinois

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

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

## Business and engineering

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

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Steve George | May 20, 1955 | | musician and keyboardist of the pop band Mr. Mister | 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 | |

### Fictional

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

## Military

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

| Name | Birth | Death | Known for | Association |
| 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
### Baseball

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

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

### Football

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

| 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

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