List of people from Urbana, Illinois explained

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Urbana, Illinois. For a similar list, see the category page People from Urbana, Illinois.

Academics and writing

• Philip W. Anderson, earned the Nobel Prize in Physics (1977)
• John Bardeen, inventor of the transistor; awarded Nobel Prize in Physics (1956 & 1972); winner of IEEE Medal of Honor (1971)
• Iris Chang, author (The Rape of Nanking)
• Ward Churchill, author and political activist
• David Forsyth, computer scientist; co-author of Computer Vision: A Modern Approach
• Eugie Foster, science-fiction writer
• Theodore Gray, co-founder of Wolfram Research and winner of the Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2002)
• José Graziano, Brazilian agronomist; secretary general of the FAO
• Robert W. Holley, earned the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1968); graduate of Urbana High School (1939)
• Braj Kachru, linguist; created the "circle model" of world English varieties
• Edwin G. Krebs, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1994); graduate of Urbana High School (1937)
• Paul Christian Lauterbur, earned the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2003)
• Sir Anthony James Leggett, earned the Nobel Prize in Physics (2003)
• Revilo P. Oliver, professor, writer, University of Illinois (1977)
• Hamilton O. Smith, earned the Nobel Prize in Medicine (1978)
• Thelma Strabel, novelist, grew up in Urbana
• James Tobin, earned the Nobel Prize in Economics (1981)
• David Foster Wallace, author (Infinite Jest); graduate of Urbana High School
• Brian Wansink, author (); professor at Cornell University
• Gregorio Weber, Argentinian spectroscopist and protein chemist, worked in Urbana from 1962
• Carl Woese, microbiologist; identified Archaea as a domain of life

Fine arts

• Christopher Brown, painter, printmaker, and professor.^[1]

Media and music

• Ken Baumann, actor (The Secret Life of the American Teenager)
• Jay Bennett, founding member of Wilco; solo musician; died in May 2009
• Emily Blue, singer-songwriter, Chicago Reader Award winner
• Deborah Blum, journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner, author of The Poisoner's Handbook
• Roger Ebert, movie critic; Pulitzer Prize winner
• Jennie Garth, actress (What I Like About You, Beverly Hills, 90210 and 90210)
• Erika Harold, 2002 Miss Illinois and 2003 Miss America; graduate of Urbana High School
• Michael S. Hart, author, inventor of the electronic book; founder of Project Gutenberg, first project to make ebooks freely available via the Internet
• William Slavens McNutt, screenwriter (Huckleberry Finn)
• Nina Paley, cartoonist, animator, and free culture activist
• Mark Roberts, actor, comedian, writer, creator of the TV series Mike and Molly
• Chic Sale, author, actor, and vaudevillian
• Virginia Sale, actress
• Gil Shaham, violinist
• David Ogden Stiers, actor (Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on the TV series M*A*S*H)
• Sasha Velour, drag queen, artist, fashion forward winner of Season 9 of RuPaul's Drag Race
• American Football (band), midwestern emo and math rock band
• Jeff Austin, Founding member and frontman of the bluegrass band Yonder Mountain String Band until his departure in 2014.

Fictional

• HAL 9000, character in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey; upon "dying" claims he was made operational in Urbana

Business

• Brady Dougan, CEO of Credit Suisse Group^[2]
• Tony Hsieh, former CEO of Zappos
• Shahid Khan, CEO of Flex-N-Gate; owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars^[3]

Military

• Larry Allen Abshier, U.S. soldier who defected to North Korea after the Korean War in 1962
• Charles Carpenter (Lt. Col.), U.S. Army officer and army observation pilot (Second World War); taught history at Urbana High School^{[4] [5] [6]}
• Reginald C. Harmon, first US Air Force Judge Advocate General; Mayor of Urbana

Politics and law

• Thomas B. Berns, Illinois state legislator, civil engineer, and surveyor
• Bird Sim Coler, Comptroller of Greater New York
• George W. Dilling, mayor of Seattle from 1911 to 1912
• Stanley B. Weaver, Illinois state legislator, funeral director, and Mayor of Urbana^[7]
• William B. Webber, Illinois state legislator, lawyer, and mayor of Urbana
• Dennis Yao, member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)^[8]

Sports

• LaToya Bond, guard for the Indiana Fever (WNBA)
• Scott Garrelts, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants
• Jonathan Kuck, Olympic speed skater; silver medalist
• Ella Masar, forward for the Chicago Red Stars
• Spencer Patton, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs

Notes and References

1. Book: Landauer, Susan. The Not-So-Still Life: A Century of California Painting and Sculpture. Gerdts. William H.. Trenton. Patricia. 2003-11-10. University of California Press. 978-0-520-23938-8. 187. en.
2. Christine Harper and David Clarke,"American Dougan Emulates Gruebel at Credit Suisse," Bloomberg.comhttps://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=akg3Dpvfufoc
3. "Illinois businessman Shahid Khan buying Jacksonville Jaguars," bizjournals.comhttp://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2011/11/29/illinois-businessman-shahid-kahn.html
4. What's New in Aviation: Piper Cub Tank Buster, Popular Science, Vol. 146 No. 2 (February 1945) p. 84
5. Carpenter, Leland F., Piper L-4J Grasshopper , Aviation Enthusiast Corner, retrieved 21 October 2011
6. In Memoriam, Urbana High School Class of 1962, retrieved 23 October 2011
7. 'Illinois Blue Book 2001-2002,' Biographical Sketch of Stanley B. Weaver, pg. 53
8. Web site: Nomination of Dennis A. Yao To Be Federal Trade Commissioner The American Presidency Project. 2021-09-11. www.presidency.ucsb.edu.