List of people from Palo Alto explained

This is a list of notable people from Palo Alto, California. It includes people who were born/raised in, lived in, or spent portions of their lives in Palo Alto, or for whom Palo Alto is a significant part of their identity.

Visual arts

Designers

Musicians

• William Ackerman, acoustic guitarist, founded influential New Age record label Windham Hill Records^[1]
• Joan Baez, folk singer, went to school in Palo Alto,^[2] now resides in Woodside, California^[3]
• Lindsey Buckingham, musician, singer, songwriter, and producer, best known as lead guitarist and one of the vocalists of the musical group Fleetwood Mac, born and raised in Palo Alto^{[4] [5]}
• Doug Clifford, drummer of Creedence Clearwater Revival and Palo Alto native^[6]
• The Donnas, rock group, met while growing up in Palo Alto; graduated from Palo Alto High in 1997^{[7] [8]}
• The Grateful Dead, rock "jam" band; early incarnations of the band were based in Palo Alto^[9]
  • Jerry Garcia (1942–1995), founding member of the Grateful Dead; moved to Palo Alto in the 1960s
  • Bill Kreutzmann (born 1946), founding member and drummer of the Grateful Dead; born and raised in Palo Alto
  • Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (1945–1973), founding member of the Grateful Dead; moved to Palo Alto as a teenager; buried at Alta Mesa Memorial Park
• Stephan Jenkins, rock musician with Third Eye Blind and Gunn High School alumnus (1983)^[10]
• The Kingston Trio,^[11] folk group, formed in Palo Alto while its members were enrolled at Stanford University and nearby Menlo College
• Rick Nowels, pop music record producer and songwriter
• Virginia Seay, composer and musicologist, born in Palo Alto in 1922^[12]
• Matt Simons, singer-songwriter, born and raised in Palo Alto; graduated from Gunn High School in 2005
• Grace Slick, singer with the rock group Jefferson Airplane, later known as Jefferson Starship^[13]
• Molly Tuttle, singer-songwriter, banjo player, guitarist, recording artist, and teacher in the bluegrass tradition, raised in Palo Alto and attended Palo Alto High School^[14]
• Ugly Kid Joe, rock band; members Whitfield Crane and Klaus Eichstadt grew up in Palo Alto,^[15] as did producer Eric Valentine
• Remi Wolf, indie pop singer-songwriter, born and raised in Palo Alto;^[16] graduated from Palo Alto High School in 2014^[17]

Politicians, political figures and civil servants

• Robert Bell, Virginia State Delegate, born in Palo Alto
• Ron Christie, former advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney and political pundit
• Jerry Daniels, CIA officer in Laos during the Vietnam War^[18]
• Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States; starting in 1916, maintained a home in Palo Alto
• Jon Huntsman, Jr., former governor of Utah and U.S Ambassador to China
• Merrill Newman (born 1928), Palo Alto Channing House resident, former United States Army officer, and Korean War veteran, noted for his 2013 arrest in North Korea
• Guy H. Preston, US Army brigadier general^[19]
• Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State
• Thomas T. Riley, former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco
• Manabendra Nath Roy, Indian nationalist and revolutionary^[20]
• Byron Sher (born 1928), served in the California State Senate 1996–2004, the California State Assembly from 1980 and 1996, and was a professor emeritus at Stanford Law School^[21]
• Sarah Wallis (1825–1905), first president of the California Woman Suffrage Educational Association^[22]
• Ron Wyden, United States Senator

Religion

• John Duryea, former Palo Alto Catholic priest excommunicated by the church in the 1970s and author of his autobiography^[23]
• Gerrit W. Gong, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church),^[24] raised in Palo Alto
• Indradyumna Swami (formerly Brian Tibbitts), ISKCON Guru and a sannyasi for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, born and raised in Palo Alto

Scientists

• Richard R. Ernst, Nobel laureate in chemistry, worked at Varian Associates in Palo Alto^[25]
• Gene F. Franklin, control engineer and NASA scientist
• Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist, author, and college professor; attended Cubberly High School and built an atom smasher in his parents' garage^[26]
• Brian Kobilka, Nobel laureate in chemistry, lives in Palo Alto
• Arthur Kornberg (1918–2007), Nobel prize-winning biochemist
• Pamela Melroy, astronaut and second woman to command a space shuttle mission
• Maryam Mirzakhani (1977–2017), Iranian mathematician and professor of mathematics at Stanford University^[27]
• James G. Moore (born 1930), geologist, born in Palo Alto
• Ida Shepard Oldroyd, conchologist and curator (1856 - 1940)
• Perley Ason Ross, physicist who worked on essential problems in the behavior of X-rays
• William Shockley, Nobel laureate in physics and eugenicist^[28]
• Robert Spinrad (1932–2009), computer pioneer as director of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center^[29]
• Sidney Dean Townley, astronomer, geodeticist, and Stanford University professor emeritus^[30]

Athletes

• Davante Adams, NFL wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders, East Palo Alto resident and Palo Alto High School graduate^[31]
• Harris Barton (born 1964), All Pro NFL offensive lineman
• Matt Biondi (born 1965), swimmer and winner of 11 Olympic medals (8 gold), born in Palo Alto
• Hunter Bishop (born 1998), baseball player
• Nick Bravin (born 1971), Olympic fencer
• Jim Harbaugh, former football player and current head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1982^[32]
• Tony Hargain, NFL player
• Phil Hellmuth, professional poker player, holds a record 16 WSOP bracelets with total earnings of more than $25 million to date
• Katie Hoff, Olympic swimmer, Palo Alto native
• Adam Juratovac, professional football player and Arena Bowl XXIII champion alumnus of Gunn High School
• Dana Kirk, Olympic swimmer, coaches for Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics
• Tara Kirk, Olympic swimmer, swam with Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics; American record holder in 100 and 200yd breaststroke
• Hilary Knight, PHWL ice hockey player, 1-time Olympic gold medal winner, 9-time Women's World Championships winner
• Trajan Langdon, basketball executive and former player
• Francie Larrieu-Smith, long-distance runner and first female athlete to make five Olympic teams, born in Palo Alto
• Jeremy Lin (born 1988), basketball player, formerly for the NBA's Toronto Raptors, alumnus of Palo Alto High School
• Jim Loscutoff, basketball player who won seven NBA championships with the Boston Celtics^{[33] [34]}
• Don MacLean, UCLA and NBA basketball player^[35]
• Bob Melvin (born 1961), Major League Baseball player and manager of the San Francisco Giants
• Joc Pederson (born 1992), baseball player for the Arizona Diamondbacks
• Dan Petry, pitcher for 1984 World Series champion Detroit Tigers, born in Palo Alto
• Tim Rossovich, professional football player
• Dave Schultz, Olympic gold medalist and World Champion in freestyle wrestling, subject of film Foxcatcher
• Mark Schultz, Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Champion in freestyle wrestling, subject of film Foxcatcher
• Pop Warner, early football player and head coach of eight colleges including Stanford University (1924–1932), lived and died in Palo Alto
• Charles Wright, professional wrestler, formerly worked for WWE as Papa Shango and The Godfather
• Steve Young, former professional football player for the San Francisco 49ers and NFL Hall of Famer^[36]
• Vincent Zhou, figure skater, attended the 2018 Winter Olympics

See also

• List of people from Oakland, California
• List of people from San Francisco
• List of people from San Jose, California
• List of people from Santa Cruz, California

Notes and References

1. Web site: Windham Hill founder Will Ackerman returning to Stanford. Freeman. Paul. 2015-12-04. The Mercury News. 2017-07-01.
2. Web site: The Joan Baez Web Pages – Chronology. November 12, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20160817040215/http://www.joanbaez.com/chronology.html. 2016-08-17. dead.
3. News: Woodside: Mother of Joan Baez dies at 100. Boyce. Dave. 2013-04-24. Almanac News. 2017-07-01. en.
4. Lindsey Buckingham, Lonely Guy. Rolling Stone. 2017-07-28.
5. Lindsey Buckingham - Biography. Billboard. en. 2017-07-28. 2017-02-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20170226031557/http://www.billboard.com/artist/307425/lindsey-buckingham/biography. dead.
6. News: Creedence with drummer Doug Clifford. Norbom. Mary Ann. Santa Ynez Valley News. 2017-07-01. en.
7. Web site: The Donnas - Biography - AllMusic. Huey. Steve. AllMusic.
8. Web site: Schoolhouse rock. Harrington. Jim. 1997-03-14. Palo Alto Online. 2017-07-01.
9. Web site: The Grateful Dead: Making the Scene in Palo Alto. Palo Alto Historical Society. August 20, 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090804171737/http://www.paloaltohistory.com/gratefuldead.html. August 4, 2009.
10. Web site: Blind-sided. Harrington. Jim. 1997-06-07. Palo Alto Online. 2017-07-01.
11. Web site: The Kingston Trio (Inducted 2000). The Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation. January 25, 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160117224732/http://www.vocalgroup.org/inductees/kingston_trio.html. January 17, 2016.
12. Book: Cohen, Aaron I. . International Encyclopedia of Women Composers . 1987 . Books & Music (USA) . 978-0-9617485-2-4 . en.
13. Web site: Slick elvolves into art goddess: Psychedelic rocker has tamed the wild child. Curtis. Kim. limelightagency.com. Palo Alto Daily News. January 26, 2015.
14. Web site: Molly Tuttle's Album Debut. Metro Silicon Valley. April 27, 2022. Palopoli. Steve. July 1, 2022.
15. News: Party Animals Flocking to Ugly Kid Joe's Debut Album. Hunt. Dennis. 1992-03-21. Los Angeles Times. 2017-07-01. en-US. 0458-3035.
16. Web site: Smyth . David . 2020-06-05 . Virtually famous: Remi Wolf . 2024-11-12 . The Standard . en.
17. Web site: Nee . Mischa . Senior Remi Wolf auditions for American Idol . 2024-11-12 . The Campanile.
18. Morrison, Gayle L. (2013), Hog's Exit: Jerry Daniels, the Hmong, and the CIA, Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press.
19. News: December 13, 1952 . Gen. Preston Dies at 88 . . San Francisco, California . 13 . Newspapers.com.
20. Sibnarayan Ray, In Freedom's Quest: Life of M.N. Roy (Vol. 1: 1887–1922). Calcutta: Minerva Associates, 1998; pp. 46–47.
21. Web site: Guide to the Byron D. Sher Papers. 2020-07-12. Online Archive of California (OAC), California Digital Library.
22. Web site: California Historical Landmark #969: Homesite of Sarah Wallis Mayfield Farm in Palo Alto. 2020-11-10. noehill.com.
23. Web site: Thorwaldson. Jay. Father John Duryea dies at 88. 2019-11-07. Palo Alto Weekly. en.
24. News: Elder Gerrit W. Gong . . May 2010 . 140. 21 September 2021.
25. Web site: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1991: Richard R. Ernst . Nobel Prize Media AB .
26. Web site: Michio Kaku Biography: Physicist, Scientist (1947–) . A&E Television Networks, LLC . January 25, 2015 . January 29, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150129060425/http://www.biography.com/people/michio-kaku-21429817#synopsis . dead .
27. News: Putic. George. Iranian-American Woman Wins Top Mathematics Prize. 18 July 2017. Voice of America. 13 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20170729230743/https://www.voanews.com/a/iranian-becomes-first-woman-to-win-maths-top-prize/2411610.html. 29 July 2017. live.
28. Web site: The MOAH Neighborhood . Palo Alto Museum of American History . August 20, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110626083005/http://moah.org/exhibits/archives/house/neighborhood.html#shockley . 2011-06-26 . dead .
29. Markoff, John. Robert Spinrad, a Pioneer in Computing, Dies at 77", The New York Times, September 6, 2009. Accessed September 9, 2009.
30. News: 1946-03-23. Dr. Sidney Townley, Stanford Professor Is Dead In Palo Alto. 3. Waukesha Daily Freeman. 2020-07-17.
31. Web site: Davante Adams - Football. Fresno State Athletics. en. 2019-10-26. HIGH SCHOOL: Palo Alto.
32. Web site: Stanford Official Athletic site – Bio: Jim Harbaugh. November 12, 2009.
33. News: The Last Roundup . Horgan, John . Oakland Tribune . February 25, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130622115455/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20050225/ai_n11832491. dead. June 22, 2013. November 12, 2009.
34. News: Mr. Basketball 2003: Trevor's Time . Tennis, Mark . Scout.com . April 3, 2003 .
35. Web site: Donald James MacLean. Baseball-Reference.Com. December 3, 2012.
36. Web site: Stanford announces future of Searsville Dam. 2015-05-01. The Mercury News. 2017-06-26.