This is a list of some famous people who were born or lived in Indiana.
Founders and pioneers
Military
- Jeremy Michael Boorda, Admiral Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C
- Ambrose Burnside, General in the Civil War, sideburns are named after him (Liberty)
- George Rogers Clark, man who conquered Indiana for the United States, (Clarksville)
- William Grose, Civil War General, (New Castle)
- Walter Bedell Smith, General, U.S. Army, chief of staff to General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Indianapolis)
- John Poindexter, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy, and National Security Adviser to President Ronald Reagan who became a figure in the Iran-Contra affair, (Odon)
- Raymond Ames Spruance, Admiral, U.S. Navy, Flagship Commander USS Indianapolis (Indianapolis)
- Samuel Woodfill, most decorated American soldier in World War I, (Jefferson County)
Politicians and activists
- Frank J. Anderson, Marion County Sheriff (Indianapolis)
- Birch Bayh, former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate (Terre Haute)
- Evan Bayh, U.S. Senator and former Governor of Indiana (Shirkieville)
- Otis R. Bowen, Governor of Indiana and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Roger D. Branigin, Governor of Indiana and 1968 candidate for President. (Franklin)
- Jesse D. Bright, U.S Senator and President Pro Tempore of the Senate (Madison)
- George Washington Buckner, U.S. minister to Liberia, 1913-1915, (Evansville)
- Earl Butz, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (Albion)
- Maria Cantwell, U.S. Congresswoman and U.S. Senator (Indianapolis)
- Homer E. Capehart, businessman and U.S. Senator (Algiers)
- Benjamin V. Cohen - a key figure in the administrations of presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman (Muncie)
- Schuyler Colfax, U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House of Representatives, U.S. Vice President (South Bend)
- John Wesley Davis, U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House of Representatives Carlisle)
- Eugene V. Debs, labor and political leader (Terre Haute)
- William Hayden English, U.S. Congressman and Vice Presidential Candidate (Lexington)
- Charles W. Fairbanks, U.S. Senator and Vice President of the United States (Indianapolis)
- John W. Foster, U.S. Secretary of State (Evansville)
- Walter Q. Gresham, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Postmaster General, Secretary of State (Lanesville)
- Charles A. Halleck, U.S. Congressman (Rensselaer)
- Lee H. Hamilton, U.S. Congressman (Bloomington)
- Clifford Hardin, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (Knightstown)
- Benjamin Harrison, U.S. President
- William Henry Harrison, U.S. President and Governor of Indiana Territory
- Richard Hatcher, Gary Mayor Gary}
- John Hay, U.S. Secretary of State (Salem)
- Will H. Hays, U.S. Postmaster General (Sullivan)
- Thomas A. Hendricks, U.S. Senator and Vice President (Indianapolis)
- Jonathan Jennings, First congressional representative from the Indiana Territory and early abolitionist (Vincennes)
- Cleve Jones, Gay/Human rights activist, created the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt (West Lafayette)
- Michael C. Kerr, U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House of Representatives (New Albany)
- Abraham Lincoln, 16th President, lived in Indiana from ages 7–21 (Spencer County)
- Richard Lugar, U.S. Senator and former Mayor of Indianapolis (Indianapolis)
- Thomas R. Marshall, U.S. Vice President (North Manchester)
- Edward Ralph May, only delegate to the Indiana Constitutional Convention of 1850 to support African American suffrage (Angola)
- Hugh McCulloch, US. Secretary of the Treasury (Fort Wayne)
- William H.H. Miller, U.S. Attorney General (Indianapolis)
- Sherman Minton, U.S. Senator and Supreme Court Justice
- Oliver P. Morton, Governor of Indiana (Centerville)
- Harry S. New, U.S. Postmaster General (Indianapolis)
- Mike Pence, US Congressman (Columbus)
- Dennis Pennington, State Senator and early abolitionist (Central Barren)
- Bart Peterson, former Mayor of Indianapolis (Indianapolis)
- Dan Quayle, former U.S. Senator and U.S. Vice President (Indianapolis)
- John Rarick, former U.S. Representative from Louisiana
- John Roberts, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice (Long Beach)
- William Ruckelshaus, former U.S. Director of the F.B.I. and Deputy Attorney General.
- Caleb Blood Smith, U.S. Secretary of the Interior (Indianapolis)
- Ted Stevens, U.S. Senator from Alaska (Indianapolis)
- John Palmer Usher, U.S. Secretary of the Interior (Terre Haute)
- Gary Webb, Journalist
- Ryan White, AIDS activist (Kokomo)
- Claude R. Wickard, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (Camden)
- Wendell Wilkie, 1940 Republican presidential nominee (Elwood)
Native American leaders
Entertainment
Film and theatre
- Leon Ames, actor (Portland)
- Anne Baxter, actress (Michigan City)
- Abraham Benrubi, actor (Bloomington)
- Monte Blue, actor, (Indianapolis)
- Avery Brooks, actor, (Evansville)
- David Canary, actor (Elwood)
- James Dean, actor (Fairmount)
- Major Dodge, actor, producer, model, (New Albany)
- Heather Douglas, actress, (New Albany)
- Irene Dunne, actress, (Madison)
- Jenna Fischer, actress, (Fort Wayne)
- Ken Foree, actor, (Indianapolis)
- Vivica A. Fox actress (Indianapolis)
- Brendan Fraser, actor, (Indianapolis)
- Sid Grauman, impresario (Indianapolis)
- Phil Harris, actor (Linton)
- Doug Jones, actor (Indianapolis)
- Greg Kinnear, actor (Logansport)
- Elmo Lincoln, actor (Rochester)
- Sarah Litzsinger, actress, (Indianapolis)
- Carole Lombard, actress, (Fort Wayne)
- Shelley Long, actress, (Fort Wayne)
- Marjorie Main, actress (Acton)
- Karl Malden, actor, (Gary)
- John McMartin, actor, (Warsaw)
- Steve McQueen, actor, (Beech Grove)
- Michael Michele, actress, (Evansville)
- Sydney Pollack, actor, producer, director, (Lafayette)
- James Rebhorn, actor, (Anderson)
- Michael Rosenbaum, actor (Newburgh)
- Max Terhune, actor, (Anderson)
- Forrest Tucker, actor, (Plainfield)
- Clifton Webb, actor, (Indianapolis)
- Isiah Whitlock, Jr., actor, (South Bend)
- Jo Anne Worley, actress, (Lowell)
Comedians
Musicians
- Amanda Perez R&B artist, singer, songwriter, producer (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
- Scrapper Blackwell Blues Legend, writer of the earliest version of Sweet Home Chicago (Indianapolis)
- Amanda Overmyer singer, American Idol (season 7) finalist (Camden)
- Kyle Cook, Matchbox Twenty guitarist (Frankfort, Indiana)
- Shannon Hoon, Blind Melon singer (Lafayette, Indiana)
- Joshua Bell, violinist
- Hoagy Carmichael, songwriter (Bloomington)
- Leroy Carr, blues pianist and songwriter (Indianapolis)
- Randy Carr, singer, songwriter, producer (Columbus)
- Paul Dresser, songwriter (Terre Haute)
- Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, singer, producer (Indianapolis)
- Janie Fricke, singer (South Whitley)
- Bill Gaither, singer (Alexandria)
- Gloria Gaither, songwriter (Alexandria)
- Crystal Gayle, singer (Wabash)
- Krystal Harris, pianist, singer-songwriter (Anderson)
- Bobby Helms, singer (Bloomington)
- John Hiatt, singer, songwriter (Indianapolis)
- Janet Jackson, singer (Gary)
- Michael Jackson, singer (Gary)
- JJ Johnson, jazz trombonist (Indianapolis)
- Mick Mars (real name Robert Deal), Mötley Crüe lead guitarist (Terre Haute)
- Rich Mullins,Christian Contemporary Artist (Richmond, Indiana)
- Ryan McCombs, singer (Dunkirk, Indiana)*
- Jon McLaughlin, singer-songwriter (Anderson, Indiana)
- John Mellencamp, singer, songwriter, musician (Seymour)
- Luke Menard, singer, musician (Crawfordsville, Indiana)
- Wes Montgomery, jazz guitarist (Indianapolis)
- Cole Porter, songwriter (Peru)
- Ned Rorem, composer (Richmond)
- Axl Rose, Guns N' Roses singer (Lafayette)
- David Lee Roth, Van Halen singer (Bloomington)
- Connie Smith, singer (Elkhart)
- Henry Lee Summer, singer (Elwood, Indiana)
- Izzy Stradlin, Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist (Lafayette)
- Steve Wariner, singer (Noblesville, Indiana)
- Deniece Williams, singer (Gary, Indiana)
- DJ Ashba, lead guitarits of Sixx:A.M. Monticello, Indiana
Musical groups
Television
- Arija Bareikis, actress (Bloomington)
- Julia Barr, actor (Fort Wayne)
- James Best, actor (Corydon, Indiana)
- John Bromfield, actor (South Bend
- Avery Brooks, actor (Evansville)
- Dan Butler, actor (Fort Wayne)
- Mary Jane Croft actress (Muncie)
- Scatman Crothers, actor (Terre Haute)
- Joyce DeWitt, actress (raised in Speedway, Indiana)
- Chad Everett, actor (South Bend)
- Jenna Fischer, actress (Fort Wayne)
- Dolores Fuller, actress (South Bend)
- Will Geer, actor (Frankfort)
- Ron Glass, actor (Evansville)
- Florence Henderson, actress (Dale)
- Drake Hogestyn, actor (Fort Wayne)
- Jamie Hyneman, MythBusters host (Columbus)
- Anissa Jones, actress (West Lafayette)
- Adam Kennedy, actor, author, painter (Otterbein)
- Brook Kerr, actress (Indianapolis)
- David Letterman, late night entertainer (Indianapolis)
- Shelley Long, actress (Fort Wayne)
- Karl Malden, actor (Gary)
- Patrick McVey, actor (Fort Wayne)
- Alvy Moore, actor (Vincennes) and (Terre Haute)
- Jane Pauley, news anchor (Indianapolis)
- Madelyn Pugh, writer (I Love Lucy) (Indianapolis)
- Michael Rosenbaum, actor (Newburgh)
- Tavis Smiley, talk show host on PBS and NPR (Kokomo)
- David Shuster, reporter (Bloomington)
- Michael Warren, actor "Hill Street Blues" (South Bend)
- Vincent Ventresca, actor (Indianapolis)
- Dick York, actor (Fort Wayne)
Modeling
Sports
- William "Dick the Bruiser" Afflis, football player and professional wrestler (Indianapolis)
- Steve Alford, basketball player (New Castle)
- John Andretti, racer (Indianapolis)
- Damon Bailey, basketball player (Heltonville)
- Alison Bales, basketball player (Indianapolis)
- Clint Barmes, baseball player (Vincennes)
- Danny "the Damaja" Basham, professional wrestler (Seymour)
- Damarcus Beasley, soccer player (Fort Wayne)
- Larry Bird, basketball player (French Lick)
- Blaine Bishop, football player (Indianapolis)
- Phil Bradley, baseball player (Bloomington)
- Donald Brashear, hockey player (Bedford)
- Eric Bruntlett, baseball player (Lafayette)
- Donie Bush, baseball player (Indianapolis)
- Max Carey, baseball player (Terre Haute)
- Jamey Carroll, baseball player (Evansville)
- Calbert Cheaney, basketball player (Evansville)
- Mark Clayton, football player (Indianapolis)
- Roosevelt Colvin, football player (Indianapolis)
- Mike Conley, Jr., basketball player (Indianapolis)
- Lou Criger, baseball player (Elkhart)
- George Crowe, baseball player (Whiteland)
- Nig Cuppy, baseball player (Logansport)
- Chad Curtis, baseball player (Marion)
- Jay Cutler, football player (Santa Claus)
- Len Dawson, football player (West Lafayette)
- Ken Dilger, football player (Lincoln City)
- Terry Dischinger, basketball player (Terre Haute)
- Katie Douglas, WNBA player (Indianapolis)
- Carl Erskine, baseball player (Anderson)
- Trai Essex, Football player (Fort Wayne)
- Jason Fabini, football player (Fort Wayne)
- Charlie Finley , MLB owner of Kansas City/Oakland A's, NHL owner Oakland/California Seals, ABA owner Memphis Pros/Tams (LaPorte)
- Mick Foley, professional wrestler (Bloomington)
- Ford Frick, writer and Commissioner of Major League Baseball (Wawaka)
- Bob Friend, baseball player (West Lafayette)
- Bill Garrett (William Leon Garrett), basketball player (Shelbyville)
- Katie Gearlds, basketball player (Beach Grove)
- Jeff George, football player (Indianapolis)
- Eric Gordon, basketball player (Indianapolis)
- Jeff Gordon, racer (Pittsboro)
- Bob Griese, football player (Evansville)
- Rex Grossman, football player (Bloomington)
- Corey Harris, football player (Indianapolis)
- Del Harris, basketball coach (Plainfield)
- Alan Henderson, basketball player (Indianapolis)
- Billy Herman, baseball player (New Albany)
- Mark Herrmann, football player (Carmel)
- Tony Hinkle, basketball coach (inventor of orange basketball) (Logansport)
- Gil Hodges, baseball player (Princeton)
- Tony Hulman, owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Kenny Irwin, racer, (Indianapolis)
- Tommy John, baseball player (Terra Haute)
- Alex Karras, football player (Gary)
- Shawn Kemp, basketball player (Elkhart)
- Mel Kenyon, midget car racer (Lebanon)
- Jeff King, baseball player (Marion)
- Mathias Kiwanuka, football player (Indianapolis)
- Chuck Klein, baseball player (Indianapolis)
- Ward Lambert, basketball coach West Lafayette)
- Don Larsen, baseball player (Michigan City)
- Don Lash, long-distance runner (Bluffton and Auburn)
- Kenny Lofton, baseball player (East Chicago)
- Don Mattingly, baseball player (Evansville)
- Brad Maynard, football player (Tipton)
- Walter McCarty, basketball player (Evansville)
- George McGinnis, basketball player (Indianapolis)
- Josh McRoberts, basketball player (Carmel)
- John Mengelt, basketball player (Elwood)
- Brad Miller, basketball player (Kendallville)
- Rick Mirer, football quarterback (Goshen)
- Rick Mount, basketball player (Lebanon)
- Stretch Murphy, basketball player (Marion)
- Ryan Newman, racer (South Bend)
- Greg Oden, basketball player (Indianapolis)
- Elmer Oliphant, football player (Washington)
- Mike Phipps, football player (Columbus)
- Dan Plesac, baseball player (Gary)
- Tony Raines, racer (LaPorte)
- Zach Randolph, baskeball player (Marion)
- Ron Reed, baseball and basketball player (LaPorte)
- Sam Rice, baseball player (Morocco)
- Oscar Robertson, basketball player (Indianapolis)
- Glenn Robinson, basketball player (Gary)
- Scott Rolen, baseball player (Jasper)
- Edd Roush, baseball player (Oakland City)
- Jeff Samardzija baseball player (Valparaiso)
- Everett Scott, baseball player (Bluffton)
- Scott Skiles, basketball player (Plymouth)
- Anthony Spencer, football player (Fort Wayne)
- Tony Stewart, racer (Columbus)
- Hank Stram, football coach (Gary)
- David Stremme, racer (South Bend)
- Dan Stryzinski, football player (Vincennes)
- Eric Stults, baseball player (Argos)
- Charles "Chuck" Taylor, basketball player, sports shoe pioneer (Brown County)
- Marshall "Major" Taylor, cyclist (Indianapolis)
- Sam Thompson, baseball player (Danville)
- Dickie Thon, baseball player (South Bend)
- Bonzi Wells basketball player (Muncie)
- Stephanie White, former WNBA player (Williamsport)
- Cy Williams, baseball player (Wadena)
- Eugene Wilson, football player (Merrillville)
- John Wooden, basketball player and coach (Martinsville)
- Rod Woodson, football player and television analyst (Fort Wayne)
- Tony Zale, boxer (Gary)
- Rollie Zeider, baseball player (Hoover and Auburn)
- Fuzzy Zoeller, golfer (New Albany)
- Shanna Zolman, WNBA player (Syracuse)
- Ultimate Warrior, WWE Wrestler (Crawfordsville)
Business
- Madam C.J. Walker, businesswoman (Indianapolis)
- Bill Blass, fashion designer (Fort Wayne)
- Steve Bellamy, sports and media businessman
- Charles G. Conn, manufacturer of band instruments (Elkhart)
- Steve Ells, Founder and CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill (Indianapolis)
- Carl G. Fisher, founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Prestolite (Indianapolis)
- Richard Jordan Gatling, inventor of gatling gun (Indianapolis)
- Colonel Sanders, founder of KFC (Henryville)
- Jared Fogle, spokesperson of Subway (Indianapolis)
- Halston, fashion designer (Evansville)
- Norman Norell, fashion designer (Noblesville)
- Orville Redenbacher, businessman (Brazil, Indiana)
- John Schnatter, Founder and CEO of Papa John's Pizza (Jeffersonville)
Education
Art and literature
- George Ade, author and journalist, (Kentland)
- J. Ottis Adams, artist (Indianapolis)
- Norman Bridwell, author (Kokomo)
- Jared Carter, poet (Elwood)
- William Merritt Chase, painter, (Nineveh, Johnson County)
- Will Cuppy, humorist (Auburn)
- Jim Davis, cartoonist (Fairmount)
- Lloyd C. Douglas, author, (Monroeville)
- Theodore Dreiser, author (Terre Haute)
- William Forsyth (artist), artist (Indianapolis)
- Art Green, painter (member of The Hairy Who)
- Richard Gruelle, artist (Indianapolis)
- Christine Howser, author
- Kin Hubbard, humorist, writer, cartoonist (Indianapolis)
- Robert Indiana, artist (New Castle)
- Stephen King, author (Fort Wayne)
- Ross Lockridge, Jr., author (Bloomington)
- Bubba the Love Sponge, radio personality (Warsaw)
- John T. McCutcheon, cartoonist (Lafayette)
- Bruce Nauman, artist (Fort Wayne)
- Meredith Nicholson, author (Crawfordsville)
- Bill Peet, author, Disney artist, and Caldecott Honor recipient (Grandview)
- Ernie Pyle, newsman, legendary war correspondent during World War II (Dana)
- E. A. Richardson, poet, first Poet Laureate of Indiana. (Pike County)
- James Whitcomb Riley, poet (Greenfield)
- Zerna Sharp, author and educator (Frankfort)
- Will Shortz, editor of The New York Times crossword puzzle and host of the puzzle segment on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday (Crawfordsville)
- David Smith, Abstract Expressionist sculptor (Decatur)
- Otto Stark, artist (Indianapolis)
- T. C. Steele, artist (Indianapolis)
- Gene Stratton Porter, author (Wabash County)
- Booth Tarkington, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Alice Adams, Seventeen, and The Magnificent Ambersons (Indianapolis)
- Kurt Vonnegut, author (Indianapolis)
- Lew Wallace, author (Crawfordsville)
- J.N. Williamson, author (Noblesville)
Science and medicine
- Paul A. Samuelson, May 15, 1915 – December 13, 2009) was an American economist. He was the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Economics.(Gary)
- Herbert C. Brown, Nobel Prize in Chemistry (West Lafayette)
- James Bert Garner, chemist, inventor of the gas mask (Lebanon)
- Colonel Eli Lilly, founder of Eli Lilly (Indianapolis)
- Goethe Link, surgeon (Indianapolis)
- Elwood Haynes, Inventor of stainless steel (Kokomo)
- Salvador E. Luria, Noble Prize in Medicine (Bloomington)
- Edward Mills Purcell, Nobel Prize in Physics (West Lafayette)
- Ben Roy Mottelson, Nobel Prize in Physics (West Lafayette)
- Hermann Joseph Muller, Nobel Prize in Medicine (Bloomington)
- Julian Schwinger, Nobel Prize in Physics (West Lafayette)
- Vernon Smith, Nobel Prize in Economics (West Lafayette)
- Harold Urey, Nobel Prize in Chemistry (Walkerton)
- James D. Watson, Nobel Prize in Medicine (Bloomington)
Aviation and space
- Joseph P. Allen, astronaut (Crawfordsville)
- Frank Borman, astronaut (Gary)
- Kenneth Bowersox, astronaut (Bedford)
- Mark N. Brown, astronaut (Valparaiso)
- Amelia Earhart, pioneer woman aviator (West Lafayette)
- Anthony England, astronaut (Indianapolis)
- Gus Grissom, astronaut (Mitchell)
- Jerry Ross, astronaut (Crown Point)
- David Wolf, astronaut (Indianapolis)
- Charles D. Walker, astronaut (Bedford)
- Wilbur Wright, Inventor (Millville)
Martial Artists
- Robert Bowles, An American Karate teacher, 10th Degree black belt in Shuri-ryu karate (Fort Wayne)
- Joe Morris, Founder of Morris Martial Arts Academy, USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame, Writer, instructor, instructional videos (Rising Sun)
- Bill Wallace, World Karate Champion, Actor, Author (Muncie)
Notorious and infamous Indiana
- Michael Alig, founding member of Club Kids, murderer (South Bend)
- Lowell Amos, murderer, (Anderson)
- Sam Bass, train robber (Mitchell)
- John Dillinger, bank robber (Indianapolis)
- Belle Gunness, serial killer (La Porte)
- Jimmy Hoffa, labor-union leader (Brazil)
- Jim Jones, cult founder/leader (Richmond)
- Tony Kiritsis, hostage-taker (Indianapolis)
- Sylvia Likens, murder victim (Indianapolis)
- Madge Oberholtzer, murder victim (Clay City)
- Reno Brothers, murderers, committed the first three peacetime train robberies in U.S. history (Rockford)
- Shanda Sharer, murder victim (New Albany)
- D.C. Stephenson, Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, convicted murderer and rapist (Evansville)
See also
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
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