The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Chicago, Illinois, United States. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Chicago, Illinois.
Academics, science, and engineering
Name ImageBirthDeathKnown forAssociationReference Architect: designed the Guaranty Building, Chicago Stock Exchange Building, and Wainwright Building, considered to be the world's first skyscraper Lived and died in Chicago Philosopher, educator, and popular author University of Chicago professor; lived in Chicago President of Shimer College and Sun-Times editor Born and worked in Chicago Community organizer and writer; considered to be the founder of modern community organizing Born in Chicago Metals chemist and Women's Army Corps officer; worked on the Manhattan Project University of Chicago professor; lived and died in Chicago Mathematician and animal welfare advocate First totally blind physician fully licensed to practice medicine Sophonisba P. BreckinridgeApr 1, 1866Jul 30, 1948Founder, School of Social Works Administration at the University of ChicagoLived and worked in Chicago Orthodontics educator Architect Inventor First Chicago pharmacist Educator Architect Philanthropist Philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer; an early developer of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology University of Chicago Professor and founder of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools First president of the Illinois State Dental Society Dental anatomist Rockwell King DuMoulinArchitectProfessor and department chair at the Rhode Island School of Design Early figure in U.S. psychosomatic medicine Architect Architect Philosopher Architect Architect AstronomerMichelle HawkinsMeterorologistGrew up in Chicago Biochemist; co-founder of American Brewing AcademyAmerican Brewing Academy – Tenth Anniversary Reunion (American Brewing Academy, 1901) Architect ArchitectDorothy Evans Holmes1943Psychoanalytic thinker known for her work on racial and cultural traumaBorn in Chicago Architect Architect Writer and chair of The President's Council on Bioethics Nuclear engineer and pioneer of the recycling industry Civil engineer Astronomer, archeoastronomer, director of Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles Born in Chicago Folk singer, radio personality, brain researcher Born in ChicagoIllinois, Cook County Birth Certificates, 1878–1938, index, FamilySearch, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVPC-D2YV : accessed 15 February 2015 Architect Architect Dental educator Dental educator Early Chicago physician Architect African American philosopher and academic administrator Dental educator Architect Dental educator Israeli-American economist; President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Inorganic chemist; developed the concept of hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB theory) Born in Chicago Architect President of Alverno College; longest-serving college president in U.S. history Born in ChicagoKennedy J. ReedMay 24, 1944Jun 20, 2023Theoretical atomic physicist in the Theory Group in the Physics & Advanced Technologies Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); a founder of the National Physical Science Consortium (NPSC)Raised in south Chicago Inventor of the four-color lithographic press Orthodontist and African-American activist Architect Architect Architect Physician and distinguished professor at Harvard Medical School Born in Chicago President of the International Association for Dental Research Physicist; venture capitalist; and European Rowing Championships bronze medalist and Olympic rower (1964). Political philosopher ArchitectPhysician and Wikipedia editor who was named 2016 co-Wikimedian of the YearBorn in Chicago Dental educator, wrote Theory and Practice of Crown and Bridge Prosthesis Marijuana Pepsi VandyckEducation professionalRaised in Chicago Economist and social critic Gravitational physicist, author of the textbook General Relativity (1984), and recipient of the Einstein Prize (APS) University of Chicago Professor Architect
Nobel laureates and Fields medalists
Name ImageBirthDeathKnown forAssociationReference Social worker and activist; founder of Hull House; first American woman awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1931) Lived and died in Chicago Author; Nobel laureate in Literature (1976); Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1976) Grew up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago Mel Gussow and Charles McGrath, Saul Bellow, Who Breathed Life Into American Novel, Dies at 89 , The New York Times April 6, 2005. Retrieved 2008-10-21. Astrophysicist; Nobel laureate in physics (1983) University of Chicago professor; died in Chicago Nuclear physicist; Nobel laureate in physics (1964) University of Chicago professor; born in Chicago Pioneering mathematician; Fields medalist (1990) University of Chicago professor Experimental and theoretical physicist, co-developer of the first nuclear reactor (Chicago Pile-1); Nobel laureate in physics (1938) University of Chicago professor; died in Chicago Chemical physicist and member of the Manhattan Project; Nobel laureate in physics (1925) Director of the Chemistry Division of the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago Leader of the Chicago school of economics; Nobel laureate in economics (1976); University of Chicago professor and graduate Born in Chicago; member of the Chicago school of economics; Nobel laureate in economics (2000) University of Chicago professor Economics professor Experimental physicist; Nobel laureate in physics (1988); director emeritus of Fermilab; founded the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy Illinois Institute of Technology professor Theoretical physicist; Nobel laureate in physics (2008) University of Chicago professor Chair of the Chicago school of economics; Nobel laureate in economics (1979) University of Chicago professor Political, economic, psychological and computer science polymath; Nobel laureate in economic sciences (1978) Illinois Institute of Technology professor and University of Chicago graduate Applied physicist; co-inventor of the charge-coupled device; Nobel laureate in physics (2009) University of Chicago graduate Biologist; Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1962); proposed the correct structure for DNA with Francis Crick while a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Sir Lawrence Bragg in the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge in 1953 Grew up on the south side of Chicago and attended public schools; graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.S. (1947) in Zoology at age 19 Theoretical physicist; Nobel laureate in physics (2004) Enrolled at the University of Chicago at 15 years old Founder and first director of Fermilab; Nobel laureate in physics (1978)
Authors and writers
Name ImageBirthDeathKnown forAssociationReference Columnist Born in Chicago Author Children's author Born in Chicago Founder and publisher of Skandinaven Author Comic book editor and writer Born in Chicago Macroeconomist Writer and translator Writer Writer and activist Author Born and raised in Chicago suburb, Waukegan Poet Author Author Born in Chicago Journalist Journalist Born in Chicago Author of Chicken Soup for The Soul Journalist Writer Born in Chicago Sports writer Born in Chicago Author Born in Chicago Screenwriter Children's writer Born in Chicago Writer Residing in Chicago Novelist Born in Chicago Writer Born in Chicago Writer Born in Chicago Writer Elizabeth DillingWriter and far-right activistBorn in Chicago Newspaper columnist Writer, humorist (Mr. Dooley) Born in Chicago Author Born in Chicago Film critic Lived and died in Chicago Writer, editor, publisher Writer Born in Chicago Poet, writer Author, playwright Writer Writer Born in Chicago Writer, editor Comedy writer Born in Chicago Oct 25, 1946 October 13, 2025 Author, activist, community organizer Born in Chicago Writer Author Born in Chicago Playwright Born in Chicago Journalist Born in Chicago Newspaper publisher and playwright Screenwriter, playwright, journalist, director, and producer Lived and worked in Chicago Novelist Born in Chicago Novelist, short story writer, and journalist Born and raised in Chicago suburb, Oak Park; lived and worked in Chicago Novelist Seymour HershApr 8, 1937JournalistBorn in Chicago AuthorBorn in Chicago Author Journalist Born in Chicago Fashion blogger and activist Resides in Chicago Newspaper reporter, editor, playwright and producer Worked in Chicago (aka Ruth Crowley; aka Esther Pauline Friedman Lederer) Columnist Novelist Born in ChicagoRing Lardner Sports columnist, short story writer, playwright, composer, and lyricistWorked & lived in ChicagoRing Lardner Jr. Journalist and screenwriterBorn in ChicagoRing Lardner Jr. Newspaper publisher; founder of Lerner Newspapers Born in Chicago Photographer and author Poet Born in Chicago Journalist Born in Chicago Newspaper publisher Author Born in Chicago Author and radio host; advocate for victims of domestic violence Born in Chicago Author Novelist Born in Chicago Columnist Intersex activist, writer, artist, and consultant Born in Chicago Novelist Artist Born and died in Chicago Journalist and newspaper editor Author and futurist Novelist Born and died in Chicago"Chicago Authoress is Morphine Victim" Indianapolis Star (December 23, 1911): 5. via Newspapers.com Poet; editor of Poetry Magazine (1955–1969) Journalist and editor Lived and died in Chicago Journalist and politician; editor of the Illinois Staats-Zeitung (1867–1891) Lived in Chicago, buried in Graceland CemeteryBlair, Francis P., John C. Rives, Franklin Rives, and George A. Bailey. The Congressional Globe. 1st ed. Vol. 66. Cambridge: Blair & Rives, 1872. Print. The Congressional Globe. Author Film critic Born in Chicago Columnist Born and died in Chicago Biographer; recipient of the Bancroft Prize and the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography Born in ChicagoRoss Allen RosenbergPsychotherapist and authorBorn in Chicago Poet; recipient of three Pulitzer Prizes Lived in Chicago Columnist Born in Chicago Playwright and librettist Playwright, screenwriter, novelist Journalist and historian Born in ChicagoDora ShulnerJul 24, 1890May 12, 1964Yiddish writerResided in Chicago Poet, songwriter, and children's writer Born in Chicago Film critic Born in Chicago Poet, writer, essayist, philosopher, businessman, and former journalist Author Born in Chicago Broadcaster and author Lived and died in Chicago Author Born in Chicago Author, publisher, producer, researcher, archivist, historian; "one of the foremost authorities on Elvis Presley" Born in Chicago Author Born in Chicago Author Born in Chicago Author Author, painter, activist Born in Chicago
Business and philanthropy