List of people from Kansas

The following are notable people who were either born, raised, or have lived for a significant period of time in the American state of Kansas.

Academics and Nobel Prize Laureates 

 Milton S. Eisenhower (1899–1985), university president; Abilene
 Wendell Johnson (1906–1965), psychologist and speech pathologist, author of The Monster Study; Roxbury
 Jack S. Kilby (1923–2005), Nobel Prize winner in Physics; Great Bend
 Solon Toothaker Kimball (1909–1982), anthropologist; Manhattan
 Stanford Lehmberg (born 1931), historian; McPherson
 Norman Malcolm (1911–1990), philosopher; Selden
 Deane Waldo Malott (1898–1996), president of Cornell University; Abilene
 Abby Lillian Marlatt (1869–1943), home economics; Manhattan
 Eric K. Meyer (born 1953), journalism professor and Pulitzer Prize nominee; Marion
 M. Lee Pelton (born 1950), president of Willamette University; Wichita
 John Brooks Slaughter (born 1934), college president and first African-American director of the National Science Foundation; Topeka
 Vernon L. Smith (born 1927), Nobel Memorial Prize winner in Economics; Wichita
 Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. (1915–1974), 1971 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology and Medicine; Burlingame
 Donald Worster (born 1941), historian; Lawrence

Arts and literature

Artists 
 Nina E. Allender (1873–1957), artist and women's suffrage cartoonist; Auburn
 Grace Bilger (1907–2000), artist; Olathe
 Grant Bond (born 1974), artist; Kansas City
 Blackbear Bosin (1921–1980), Native American artist; Wichita
 Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (1917–2000), poet; Topeka
 Bruce Conner (1933–2008), artist; McPherson
 John Steuart Curry (1897–1946), artist; Winchester
 Aaron Douglas (1900–1979), artist; Topeka
 Randall Duell (1903–1992), architect and art director; Russell County
 Edgar Heap of Birds (born 1954), artist; Wichita
 Bruce Helander (born 1947), artist; Great Bend
 Elizabeth Layton (1909–1993), artist; Wellsville
 Evan Lindquist (born 1936), printmaker, Artist Laureate of Arkansas; Salina
 Barbara Morgan (1900–1992), photographer; Buffalo, Kansas
 Gordon Parks (1912–2006), photographer and film director; Fort Scott
 Birger Sandzen (1871–1954), artist, art professor at Bethany College; Lindsborg
 Gary Mark Smith (born 1956), photographer, studied at University of Kansas; Wichita
 W. Eugene Smith (1918–1978), photographer; Wichita
 Mort Walker (1923–2018), cartoonist, creator of Beetle Bailey and Hi and Lois comic strips; El Dorado

Authors 
 Laura Abbot (), author of Harlequin romance novels; Kansas City
 Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000), author, poet; Topeka
 William Burroughs (1914–1997), author; Lawrence
 Don Coldsmith (1926–2009), author of Western fiction; Iola
 Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879–1958), author of children's books; Lawrence
 Thomas Frank (born 1965), author and editor; Mission Hills
 Jane Heap (1883–1964), author and publisher; Topeka
 Scott Heim (born 1966), author; Hutchinson
 Langston Hughes (1902–1967), author and poet; Lawrence
 William Inge (1913–1973), playwright; Independence
 Bill James (born 1949), author; Mayetta, Kansas
 Bill Martin, Jr. (1916–2004), children's author; Hiawatha
 Fred Myton (1885–1955), screenwriter; Garden City
 Kathy Patrick (), author, founder of Pulpwood Queens Book Club; Eureka
 Scott Phillips (born 1961), author; Wichita
 Vance Randolph (1892–1980), folklorist; Pittsburg
 Red Reeder (1902–1998), author and United States Army officer; Fort Leavenworth
 Richard Rhodes (born 1937), author and historian; Kansas City
 Lois Ruby (), author of historic fiction; Lawrence
 Damon Runyon (1880–1946), author; Manhattan
 Mary Francis Shura (1923–1990), children's, romance and mystery author; Pratt
 William Stafford (1914–1993), poet and pacifist; Hutchinson
 Max Yoho (born 1934), author; Colony

Dancers 
 Clark Tippet (1954–1992), ballet; Parsons

Musicians

Athletics

Athletes 
A–F

 Alvan Adams (born 1954), basketball; Lawrence
 John H. Adams (born 1915), jockey; Iola
 Neil Allen (born 1958), baseball pitcher, pitching coach; Kansas City
 David Arkin (born 1987), pro football player; Wichita
 Elden Auker (1910–2006), baseball pitcher; Norcatur
 Chase Austin (born 1989), NASCAR driver; Eudora
 Ron Baker (born 1993), NBA player (New York Knicks); Utica and Scott City (born in Hays)
 Thane Baker (born 1931), gold medalist at 1956 Summer Olympics, decathlon; Elkhart
 Tony Barker (born 1968),  football player; Wichita
 Chris Barnes (born 1970), professional bowler; Topeka
 James Bausch (1906–1974), gold medalist 1932 Summer Olympics; Garden Plain
 Judy Bell (born 1936), member of World Golf Hall of Fame; Wichita
 Matt Besler (born 1987), professional soccer player; Overland Park
 B.H. Born (born 1932), basketball player; Medicine Lodge
 Clint Bowyer (born 1979), NASCAR driver; Emporia
 George Brett (born 1953), baseball Hall of Famer; Mission Hills
 Bryce Brown (born 1991), football player; Wichita
 Orville Brown (1908–1981), pro wrestler, NWA champion; Sharon
 Mildred Bliss Burke (1915–1989), wrestler, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame; Coffeyville
 Enos Cabell (born 1949), baseball player; Fort Riley
 Veronica Campbell-Brown (born 1982), track and field athlete (Olympic and world champion); Great Bend
 Antoine Carr (born 1961),; basketball player
 Larry Cheney (1886–1969), baseball pitcher; Belleville
 Jack Christiansen (1928–1986), football Hall of Famer; Sublette
 Tony Clark (born 1972), baseball player; Newton
 Maliek Collins (born 1995), football player; Kansas City
 Baron Corbin (born 1984), football player, WWE wrestler; Lenexa
 Nolan Cromwell (born 1955), football player; Smith Center
 Aaron Crow (born 1986), baseball player; Topeka
 Glenn Cunningham (1909–1988), silver medalist, 1936 Olympic Games,1,500m run; Elkhart
 Johnny Damon (born 1973), baseball player; Fort Riley
 Eldon Danenhauer (born 1935), football player; Clay Center
 Darren Daulton (born 1962), baseball player; Arkansas City
 Wantha Davis (born 1918), jockey; Liberal
 Joey Devine (born 1983), baseball player; Junction City
 Lynn Dickey (born 1949), football player; Osawatomie
 Andy Dirks (born 1986), baseball player; Burrton
 Larry Drew (born 1958), basketball player and coach; Kansas City
 Mark Duckens (born 1965), football player; Wichita
 Brian Duensing (born 1983), baseball player; Marysville
 Brody Eldridge (born 1987), football player; La Cygne
 Tim Elliott (born 1986), mixed martial artist; Wichita
 Maurice Evans (born 1978), basketball player; Wichita
 Kyle Farnsworth (born 1976), baseball player; Wichita
 Galen Fiss (1931–2006), football player; Johnson City
 Scott Fulhage (born 1961), football player; Beloit

G–M

 Andrew Gachkar (born 1988), football player; Overland Park
 Tyson Gay (born 1982), track and field athlete (world champion); Great Bend
 Maurice Greene (born 1974), track and field athlete (world and Olympic champion); Kansas City
 Adrian Griffin (born 1974), basketball player and coach; Wichita
 Geneo Grissom (born 1992), football player; Hutchinson
 Andy Gruenebaum (born 1982), soccer player
 Don Gutteridge (1912–2008), baseball player and manager; Pittsburg
 Joe Hastings (born 1987), football player; Wichita
 Tanner Hawkinson (born 1990), football player; McPherson
 Mark Haynes (born 1958), football player; Kansas City
 Ben Heeney (born 1992), football player; Hutchinson
 Bobby Henrich (born 1938), baseball player; Lawrence
 Don Hill (1904–1967), football player; Hiawatha
 Shaun Hill (born 1980), football player; Parsons
 Chief Hogsett (1903–2001), baseball player; Brownell
 Lionel Hollins (born 1953), basketball player and coach; Arkansas City
 Scott Huffman (born 1964), pole vaulter; Quinter
 Damian Johnson (born 1962), football player; Great Bend
 Walter Johnson (1887–1946), baseball Hall of Famer; Humboldt
 Pete Kilduff (1893–1930), baseball player; Weir
 Fred Kipp (born 1931), baseball pitcher; Piqua
 Tonya Knight (born 1966), IFBB professional bodybuilder; Overland Park
 Laurie Koehn (born 1982), WNBA player; Moundridge
 Gene Krug (born 1955), baseball player; Garden City
 Adam LaRoche (born 1979), baseball player; Fort Scott
 Bobby Lashley (born 1976), professional wrestler for WWE; Junction City
 Shalee Lehning (born 1987), WNBA player; Sublette
 Martin Lewis (born 1975), NBA basketball player; Liberal
 Danny Manning (born 1966), NBA basketball player; Lawrence
 Rudy May (born 1944), baseball player; Coffeyville
 Jon McGraw (), professional football player; Riley
 Archie "Hap" McKain (1911–1985), baseball player; Delphos
 Peter Mehringer (1910–1987), Olympic gold medalist wrestler, pro football player; Kinsley
 Brian Moorman (born 1976), football player; Sedgwick
 Mike Morin (born 1991), baseball player; Leawood

N–Z

 Marcio Navarro (born 1978), professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist; Wichita
 Jordy Nelson (born 1985), football player; Leonardville
 Terence Newman (born 1978), football player; Salina
 Nicole Ohlde (born 1982), WNBA player; Clay Center
 Antonio Orozco (born 1987), professional boxer; Garden City
 Victor Ortiz (born 1987), professional boxer; Garden City
 Bob Orton (1929–2006), professional wrestler; Kansas City
 Bob Orton, Jr. (born 1950), professional wrestler, WWE Hall of Fame; Kansas City
 John Parrella (born 1969), professional football player; Topeka
 Hal Patterson (1932–2011), professional football player; Larned
 Jordan Phillips (born 1992), professional football player; Towanda
 Joseph Randle (born 1991), professional football player; Wichita
 Ronn Reynolds (born 1958), professional baseball player; Wichita
 Dustin Richardson (born 1984), MLB pitcher; Newton
 John Riggins (born 1949), football player, Pro Football Hall of Famer; Centralia
 Brandon Rios (born 1986), professional boxer; Garden City
 Lafayette Russell (1905–1978), football player, B-movie actor "Reb" Russell; Osawatomie
 Johnny Rutherford (born 1938), race car driver; Coffeyville
 Jim Ryun (born 1947), athlete and politician; Wichita
 Barry Sanders (born 1968), football player, NFL Hall of Famer; Wichita
 Melvin Sanders (born January 3, 1981), pro basketball player; Liberal
 Wes Santee (1932–2010),  NCAA cross country champion, track and field athlete; Ashland
 Gale Sayers (born 1943), NFL Hall of Famer; Wichita
 Otto Schnellbacher (1923–2008), pro basketball and football player; Sublette
 Ryan Schraeder (born 1988), professional football player; Wichita
 Wayne Simien (born 1983), NCAA All-American, NBA basketball player; Leavenworth
 Mark Simoneau (born 1977), professional football player; Smith Center
 Marilynn Smith (born 1928), professional golfer and LPGA co-founder; Topeka
 Lee Stevens (born 1967), professional baseball player; Lawrence
 Darren Sproles (born 1983), professional football player; Olathe
 Jackie Stiles (born 1978), WNBA basketball player; Claflin
 Stewart "Smokey" Stover (born 1938), professional football player; McPherson
 Darrell Stuckey (born 1987), professional football player; Kansas City
 Tom Sturdivant (1930–2009), professional baseball player; Gordon
 Steve Tasker (born 1962), NFL Pro Bowl MVP in 1993; Leoti (born in Smith Center
 Luther Haden "Dummy" Taylor (1875–1958), baseball pitcher; Oskaloosa
 Doug Terry (born February 10, 1968), pro football player; Liberal
 Tommy Thompson (1916–1989), pro football player; Hutchinson
 Blake Treinen (born 1988), professional baseball player; Osage City
 Jerame Tuman (born March 24, 1976), pro football player; Liberal
 Ron Warner (born 1975), professional football player; Independence
 Earl Watson (born 1979), NBA basketball player; Kansas City
 Tom Watson (born 1949), golfer, member of World Golf Hall of Fame; Stilwell
 Mitch Webster (born 1959), MLB player; Larned
 Kendra Wecker (born 1982), WNBA player; Marysville
 Michael Wilhoite (born 1986), pro football player; Manhattan
 Jess Willard (1881–1968), world heavyweight boxing champion, St. Clere; Pottawatomie County
 Kamerion Wimbley (born 1983), professional football player; Wichita
 Lynette Woodard (born 1959), basketball Hall of Famer; Wichita
 Brad Ziegler (born 1979), baseball player; Pratt
 John Zook (born 1947), professional football player; Garden City

Coaches

Aviators and astronauts 
 Walter Herschel Beech (1891–1950), aviator and aircraft designer; Wichita
 Clyde Vernon Cessna (1879–1954), aviator and aircraft designer; Rago
 Amelia Earhart (1897–1937), aviator; Atchison
 Joe Engle (born 1932), astronaut; Chapman
 Ronald Evans (1933–1990), astronaut; St. Francis
 Daniel Forbes (1920–1948), United States Army Air Corps pilot; Carbondale
 Steve Hawley (born 1951), astronaut; Salina
 Donald Hudson (1895–1967), World War I flying ace; Topeka
 Glenn L. Martin (1886–1955), aviation pioneer; Salina
 Lloyd Carlton Stearman (1898–1975), aviator and aircraft designer; Wellsville

Businesspeople and inventors 
 Philip Anschutz (born 1939), billionaire investor; Russell
 Bion Barnett (1857–1958), co-founder of Barnett Bank; Hiawatha
 Olive Ann Beech, Chairwoman of Beech Aircraft Company; Wichita (born in Waverly)
 Dan and Frank Carney (Dan born 1931, Frank born 1938), founders of Pizza Hut; Wichita
 Walter Chrysler (1875–1940), founder of Chrysler Corporation; Wamego
 William Coffin Coleman (1870–1957), founder of the Coleman Company; Wichita
 David Dillon (born 1951), former CEO of Kroger; Hutchinson
 Vic Edelbrock (1913–1962), automotive engineer; Eudora
 James Harbord (1866–1947), President and Chairman of the Board of RCA; Manhattan
 William Wadsworth Hodkinson (1881–1971), pioneer film marketer and distributor; Independence
 Omar Knedlik (1915–1989), inventor of the ICEE frozen drink; Barnes
 Charles G. Koch (born 1935), CEO of Koch Industries; Wichita
 David H. Koch (born 1940), executive and politician; Wichita
 Alan Mulally (born 1945), engineer, former President and CEO of the Ford Motor Company; Lawrence
 Matthew K. Rose (born 1959), Chairman and CEO of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.; Salina
 Harry F. Sinclair (1876–1956), founder of Sinclair Oil company; Independence
 Russell Stover (1888–1954), founder of Russell Stover Candies; Alton

Film, stage and television

Actors and performers

Directors 
 Michael Almereyda (born 1960), film director; Overland Park
 Steve Balderson (born 1975), film director; Wamego
 Darren Lynn Bousman (born 1979), film director; Overland Park
 Chris Buck (born 1960), film director, animator; Wichita
 Eric Darnell (born 1960), director, writer, songwriter, animator; Prairie Village
 Randall Duell (1903–1992), art director; Russell County
 Alex Graves (born 1968), television director; El Dorado
 Sherman Halsey, music video and television director; Independence
 Martin and Osa Johnson (1884–1937 and 1894–1953), film pioneer, explorer; Chanute
 Oscar Micheaux (1893–1951), film director; Great Bend
 Gordon Parks (1912–2006), film director; Fort Scott
 Richard Thorpe (1896–1991), film director; Hutchinson

Public figures

Journalists 
 Frank Marshall Davis (1905–1987), journalist, poet, political and labor movement activist; Arkansas City
 Steve Doocy (born 1956), co-host of Fox News's Fox & Friends; Abilene
 Elizabeth Farnsworth (born 1943), television journalist; Topeka
 William M. Gallagher (1923–1975), Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist; Hiawatha
 Jane Grant (1892–1972), journalist who co-founded The New Yorker; Girard, Kansas
 E. W. Howe (1853–1937), author and newspaper editor; Atchison
 Bill Kurtis (born 1940), television journalist; Independence
 Jim Lehrer (born 1934), television journalist; Wichita
 Melissa McDermott (born 1960s), television news anchor for CBS's Up to the Minute; Wichita
 Clementine Paddleford (1898–1967), journalist and food critic; Riley County
 Eugene C. Pulliam (1889–1975), founder Central Newspapers, Inc.; Ulysses
 Roy A. Roberts (1887–1967), newspaper editor; Muscotah
 W. Eugene Smith (1918–1978), photojournalist; Wichita
 John Cameron Swayze (1906–1995), television journalist; Wichita
 Julius Wayland (1854–1912), newspaper editor, Appeal to Reason; Girard
 William Allen White (1868–1944), author and newspaper editor; Emporia
 Gene Wojciechowski, author, sportswriter and ESPN commentator; Salina

Politics and law

Military and national security

Religious 
 William Bickerton (1815–1905), founder of The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) and the Zion Valley, Kansas, colony; St. John
 Charles J. Chaput (born 1944), Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver; Concordia
 Sheri L. Dew (born 1953), influential Latter-day Saint spokeswoman; Ulysses
 Bart D. Ehrman (born 1955), New Testament scholar; Lawrence
 Jerry Johnston (born 1959), Southern Baptist Convention evangelist and pastor; Overland Park
 Emil Kapaun (1916–1951), Army chaplain Korean War, posthumous Medal of Honor recipient, Catholic martyr and sainthood candidate; Pilsen
 Ron Kenoly (born 1944), musical worship leader; Coffeyville
 Fred Phelps (1929–2014), leader of Westboro Baptist Church; Topeka
 James Reeb (1927–1965), Unitarian minister beaten to death by segregationists in Selma, Alabama, during the Civil Rights Movement; Wichita
 David Laurin Ricken (born 1954), bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne; Dodge City
 Michael Jarboe Sheehan (born 1939), Archbishop of Santa Fe; Wichita
 M. Madeline Southard (1877–1967), Methodist minister and writer
 John Joseph Sullivan (1920–2001), Bishop of Grand Island, Nebraska, and Kansas City-St. Joseph; Horton
 Gerald B. Winrod (1900–1957), evangelical Christian and Nazi sympathizer; Wichita
 Gordon Winrod (born 1926), Christian Identity minister; Hesston

Scientists and programmers

Others

Notable individuals

Notable historical people not from Kansas but were part of an important event in Kansas 
 John Brown (1800–1859), abolitionist; Osawatomie
 Buffalo Bill Cody (1846–1917), buffalo hunter and showman; Leavenworth
 Wyatt Earp (1848–1929), lawman; Wichita and Dodge City
 Dora Hand (1844–1878), dance hall singer, Dodge City, Kansas
 Wild Bill Hickok (1837–1876), lawman; Hays and Abilene
 James H. Lane (1814-1866), abolitionist, senator and union general; Lawrence
 Bat Masterson (1853–1921), lawman; Dodge City
 Carrie Nation (1846–1911), temperance activist; Medicine Lodge
 John James Ingalls (1833–1900), politician
 Kris Kobach (1966), Candidate for Governor in 2018, Kansas Secretary of State.

Infamous persons

Fictional persons

References 

Kansas