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The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Aurora, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Aurora, Illinois.
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ruth VanSickle Ford | Aug 8, 1897 | Apr 18, 1989 | Owner of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts | Grew up in Aurora | ||
Frank Howell Holden | Jun 8, 1870 | May 29, 1937 | Architect | Grew up in Aurora | ||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Barrowman | Mar 11, 1967 | Actor and singer | Father was employed in Aurora | |||
Cisco Cotto | Sep 22, 1975 | Radio news anchor and pastor | Born in Aurora | [1] | ||
Kimberly Donley | Dec 15, 1965 | Adult model and actress | Born in Aurora | |||
John Drury | Jan 4, 1927 | Nov 25, 2007 | Longtime Chicago news anchorman | Raised in Aurora | [2] | |
Andrea Evans | Jun 18, 1957 | Jul 9, 2023 | Emmy-nominated actress | Born in Aurora | ||
Stana Katic | Apr 26, 1978 | Actress, co-star of ABC's Castle | Attended West Aurora High School | |||
Jim McGuinn | Feb 13, 1966 | Radio personality and program director | Born in Aurora | |||
Hayden Rolence | Jul 15, 2004 | Actor | Lives in Aurora | |||
Paul Scheuring | Nov 20, 1968 | Screenwriter and director | Born in Aurora | |||
Tom Skilling | Feb 20, 1952 | Chicago Tribune and WGN-TV meteorologist | Born in Aurora | |||
Phillip Edward Van Lear | Actor | Born in Aurora | ||||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jackie DeShannon | Aug 21, 1941 | Singer-songwriter | ||||
Gene Greene (a.k.a. The Ragtime King) | Jun 9, 1857 | Apr 5, 1930 | Entertainer, singer and composer | Born in Aurora | ||
Kenneth W. Griffin | Dec 28, 1909 | Mar 11, 1956 | Organist | Lived in Aurora and is buried there | ||
Dave Johnston | Banjoist, singer, Yonder Mountain String Band | [ citation needed ] | ||||
Jeff Olson | Jul 14, 1962 | Musician | Raised in Aurora and taught music there | |||
Maud Powell | Aug 22, 1867 | Jan 8, 1920 | Violinist | Began violin and piano lessons in Aurora in 1874 | [3] | |
Carl Thomas | Jun 15, 1972 | R&B singer | Attended East Aurora High School | |||
Ray White | Soul vocalist and rock and blues guitarist; member of Frank Zappa's touring ensembles | [ citation needed ] | ||||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clive Cussler | Jul 15, 1931 | Feb 24, 2020 | Adventure novelist and marine archaeologist | Born in Aurora | ||
M. Miriam Herrera | Author and poet | Raised in Aurora | ||||
Thom Jones | Jan 26, 1945 | Short story writer | Raised in Aurora | |||
Elizabeth Linington | Mar 11, 1921 | Apr 5, 1988 | Prolific novelist | Born in Aurora | ||
Mabel O'Donnell | 1890 | 1985 | Wrote the Alice and Jerry basal reader series | Attended East Aurora High School | ||
Vernon Louis Parrington | Aug 3, 1871 | Jun 16, 1929 | Pulitzer Prize-winning historian; college football coach | Born in Aurora | ||
Nicole Peeler | 1978 | Novelist | Born in Aurora | |||
Mary Foot Seymour | 1846 | Mar 21, 1893 | New York journalist, business woman, school founder | Born in Aurora | [4] | |
Randy Shilts | Aug 8, 1951 | Feb 17, 1994 | Pioneering gay journalist and author | |||
Valerie Taylor | Sep 7, 1913 | Oct 22, 1997 | Author of lesbian pulp fiction novels and poetry | Born in Aurora | ||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
James Compton | Apr 7, 1939 | Former president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League | Born in Aurora | |||
Jeffrey Skilling | Nov 25, 1953 | Former CEO of Enron Corporation | Attended West Aurora High School | |||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pericles Abassi | 1984 | Lawyer and online personality | Born in Aurora | |||
Rita B. Garman | Nov 19, 1943 | Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois | Born in Aurora | |||
Edna Murray | 1898 | 1966 | Depression-era outlaw | |||
Roy Solfisburg | 1912 | 1991 | Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court | Born in Aurora | ||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
James H. Monroe | Oct 17, 1944 | Feb 16, 1967 | Combat medic in the Vietnam War and recipient of the Medal of Honor | Born in Aurora | ||
Walter E. Truemper | Oct 31, 1918 | Feb 20, 1944 | Member of the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II and recipient of the Medal of Honor | Born in Aurora | ||
Lester W. Weber | Jul 30, 1948 | Feb 23, 1969 | U.S. Marine and recipient of the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam | Born in Aurora | ||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Catlin, Sr. | Nov 12, 1882 | May 16, 1956 | State legislator Wisconsin; head football coach at University of Iowa | Born in Aurora | ||
Thomas E. Coleman | Feb 23, 1893 | 1964 | Chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin | Born in Aurora | ||
Ira Clifton Copley | Oct 25, 1864 | Nov 1, 1947 | U.S. congressman and founder of Copley | |||
Michael J. Davis | Born Jul 21, 1947 | Born in Cincinatti, OH, raised in Aurora, chief Justice of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota | ||||
Suzanne Deuchler | Jul 21, 1929 | Jun 24, 2022 | Illinois state congresswoman | [ citation needed ] | ||
Charles Henry Dietrich | Nov 26, 1853 | Apr 10, 1924 | U.S. senator from and 11th governor of Nebraska | Born in Aurora | ||
Matt Hanson | May 17, 1973 | State Representative | Lived in Aurora | |||
Dennis Hastert | Jan 2, 1942 | Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives | Born in Aurora | |||
Phillip E. Johnson | Jun 18, 1940 | Nov 2, 2019 | Retired law professor and author | Born in Aurora | ||
Chris Lauzen | Dec 30, 1952 | Illinois state senator | Born in Aurora | |||
Linda Chapa LaVia | Aug 16, 1966 | Illinois state congressman | Born in Aurora | |||
Patricia Reid Lindner | Nov 29, 1939 | Illinois state congressman | Born in Aurora | |||
Lewis M. Long | Jun 22, 1883 | Sep 9, 1957 | U.S. congressman | Attended schools in Aurora | ||
Tim Mahoney | Aug 16, 1956 | U.S. congressman from Florida | Born in Aurora | |||
Scott B. Palmer | Nov 22, 1950 | Former Chief of Staff to U.S. congressman Dennis Hastert | Attended Aurora University | |||
Robert W. Pritchard | Mar 31, 1945 | Illinois state congressman | Born in Aurora | |||
Charlotte Thompson Reid | Sep 27, 1913 | Jan 25, 2007 | U.S. congresswoman | Lived and died in Aurora | ||
Frank R. Reid | Apr 18, 1879 | Jan 25, 1945 | U.S. congressman | Born in Aurora | ||
Tom Weisner | 1949 | 2018 | Mayor of Aurora | |||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nathaniel Popp | Jun 12, 1940 | Archbishop of the Orthodox Church in America's Romanian Episcopate | Born in Aurora | |||
Vasile Louis Puscas | Sep 13, 1915 | Oct 3, 2009 | Bishop emeritus of the Romanian Catholic Eparchy of St George's in Canton | Born in Aurora | ||
Alexander Raţiu | May 4, 1916 | Jul 25, 2002 | Romanian Greek-Catholic priest, political prisoner, and author | Lived and died in Aurora | ||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Henry Gale | Sep 12, 1874 | Nov 16, 1942 | Astrophysicist and author | Born in Aurora | ||
Frank Haven Hall | Feb 9, 1841 | 1911 | Inventor of the Hall Braille Writer and other Braille printing devices | Lived and died in Aurora | ||
James F. Phillips | Nov 20, 1930 | Oct 3, 2001 | Environmental activist | Born in Aurora | ||
Martha E. Sloan | 1939 | Electrical engineer, the first female president of the IEEE | Born in Aurora | |||
G. David Tilman | Jul 22, 1949 | Ecologist and college professor | Born in Aurora | |||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rich Becker | Feb 1, 1972 | Outfielder for several Major League Baseball teams | Born in Aurora | |||
Michael Bowden | Sep 9, 1986 | Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs | Attended Waubonsie Valley High School | |||
Mark Grant | Oct 24, 1963 | Pitcher for six Major League Baseball teams | Born in Aurora | |||
Bob Johnson | Apr 25, 1943 | Pitcher for five Major League Baseball teams | Born in Aurora | |||
Ken Jungels | Jun 23, 1916 | Sep 9, 1975 | Pitcher for Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates | Born in Aurora | [ citation needed ] | |
Bob Kipper | Jul 8, 1964 | Relief pitcher for California Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins | Born in Aurora | |||
Mario Ramos | Oct 19, 1977 | Pitcher for Texas Rangers | Born in Aurora | |||
Jim Reninger | Mar 7, 1915 | Aug 23, 1993 | Pitcher for Philadelphia Athletics | Born in Aurora | ||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kenny Battle | Oct 10, 1964 | Small forward for several NBA teams | Born in Aurora | |||
Ryan Boatright | Dec 27, 1992 | Point guard UConn 2014 National Championship team | Born in Aurora | |||
Bob Carney | Aug 3, 1932 | Nov 9, 2011 | Shooting guard for the Minneapolis Lakers | Born in Aurora | ||
Bob Lavoy | Jun 29, 1926 | Dec 18, 2010 | NBA player of early 1950s | Born in Aurora | ||
John Mauer | Sep 4, 1901 | Dec 20, 1978 | Basketball head coach, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida | Born in Aurora | ||
Jim Platt | Mar 1, 1952 | College basketball assistant and head coach | Born in Aurora | |||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Marger Apsit | Jun 5, 1909 | Dec 22, 1988 | Running back for four National Football League teams | Born in Aurora | ||
Kurt Becker | Dec 22, 1958 | Guard for Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams; Super Bowl XX champion | Born in Aurora | |||
Don Beebe | Dec 18, 1964 | Wide receiver for Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, and Green Bay Packers; Super Bowl XXXI champion | Born in Aurora; head football coach at Aurora Christian and later at Aurora University | |||
Brad Childress | Jun 27, 1956 | Pro and college football coach, head coach of Minnesota Vikings 2006-10 | Born in Aurora | |||
Larry English | Jan 22, 1986 | Linebacker for San Diego Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Born in Aurora | |||
Ralph Galloway | Aug 27, 1946 | Guard in Canadian Football League 1969–79 | Born in Aurora | |||
Andy Gustafson | Apr 3, 1903 | Jan 7, 1979 | Head coach in College Football Hall of Fame | Born in Aurora | ||
Roy Horstmann | Dec 6, 1910 | Jan 23, 1998 | Running back for Boston Redskins and Chicago Cardinals | Born in Aurora | ||
Joe Krakoski | Nov 11, 1962 | Linebacker for Washington Redskins | Born in Aurora | |||
Randy Melvin | Apr 3, 1959 | Defensive line coach for Cleveland Browns | Born in Aurora | |||
Andy Sabados | Nov 24, 1916 | Jul 5, 2004 | Guard for NFL's Chicago Cardinals | Born in Aurora | ||
Steve Thompson | Jun 24, 1965 | Defensive tackle for Washington Redskins | Born in Aurora | |||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mike Small | Mar 4, 1966 | College coach and PGA Tour player | Born in Aurora | |||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anna Li | Sep 4, 1988 | Artistic gymnast; member of the U.S. National Team; an alternate at the Summer 2012 London Olympics | Graduated from Waubonsie Valley High School; lives in Aurora | |||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zachary Taylor Davis | May 26, 1872 | Dec 16, 1946 | Architect of Old Comiskey Park (1910), Wrigley Field (1914) | Born in Aurora | ||
Chick Hearn | Nov 27, 1916 | Aug 5, 2002 | Sportscaster for the Los Angeles Lakers | Born in Aurora | ||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quavas Kirk | Apr 13, 1988 | Full back for the Los Angeles Galaxy and D.C. United | Born in Aurora | |||
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tom Petranoff | Apr 8, 1958 | World record javelin thrower | Born in Aurora | |||
Kane County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 516,522, making it the fifth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Geneva, and its largest city is Aurora. Kane County is one of the collar counties of the metropolitan statistical area designated "Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI" by the US census.
Aurora is a city in northeastern Illinois, United States. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane counties along the Fox River, it is the second-most populous city in Illinois, after Chicago, and the 144th-most populous city in the U.S. The population was 180,542 at the 2020 census.
Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, from light welterweight to middleweight. In 2007 and 2009, he reached a peak active pound for pound ranking of seventh by The Ring magazine. Cotto started out his career as a hard-hitting pressure fighter, but evolved over the years into a more refined boxer-puncher as he moved up in weight.
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and also in Texas through subsidiaries Colorado and Southern Railway, Fort Worth and Denver Railway, and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad. Its primary connections included Chicago, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver. Because of this extensive trackage in the midwest and mountain states, the railroad used the advertising slogans "Everywhere West", "Way of the Zephyrs", and "The Way West".
Area codes 630 and 331 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for portions of Chicago's near and far western suburbs, including the majority of DuPage County, Illinois. To the northwest, the numbering plan area (NPA) also includes a small portion of Cook County, including parts of Schaumburg, Streamwood and Hanover Park. To the west, Kane County is divided between area codes 847 and 224 in the north, including Elgin, and area codes 630 and 331 in the south, including Aurora. To the south, the northern part of Will County and a small part of southern Cook County, including the village of Burr Ridge and parts of the village of Lemont, are also included in the 630 and 331 area codes. To the southwest, the city of Yorkville, in exurban Kendall County, is included, as well.
The Fox Valley—also commonly known as the Fox River Valley—is a region centered on the Fox River of Northern Illinois, along the western edges of the Chicago metropolitan area. The region extends from the village of Antioch, in far northern Illinois, to the city of Ottawa in the south. It includes rural areas, suburban development, and 19th-century downtowns. Around 1 million people live in this area.
Aurora University (AU) is a private university in Aurora, Illinois, United States. In addition to its main campus, AU offers programs online and at its George Williams College campus in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Approximately 6,200 students are enrolled in bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs at Aurora University.
Cotto is a surname. People with the surname include:
Steve Chen is a Taiwanese-American Internet entrepreneur who is one of the co-founders and previous chief technology officer of the American video-sharing website YouTube. After he co-founded the company AVOS Systems, Inc. and built the video-sharing app MixBit, he joined Google Ventures in 2014.
Padmasree Warrior is an Indian-American businesswoman and technology executive. She is known for her leadership roles in technology firms like Cisco where she served as the CTO for seven years, and at Motorola where she was the CTO for five years. She also served as the CEO of Nio USA, an electric car maker. Currently, she is the founder and CEO of Fable, a curated reading platform focused on mental wellness. She also serves on the board of directors of Microsoft and Spotify.
The Illinois Technology and Research Corridor is a region of commerce and industry located along Interstate 88 in the Chicago metropolitan area, primarily in Cook, DuPage, Kane, and DeKalb Counties. The corridor is home to the headquarters or regional centers for many Fortune 1000 companies, several office and industrial parks, colleges and universities, research and scientific institutions, medical centers, government centers, and abundant shopping, dining, lodging, and entertainment amenities. In addition to the I-90 Golden Corridor, the I-94 Lakeshore Corridor, and the I-55 Industrial Corridor, the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor is one of the principal economic centers in suburban Chicago.
Ruth Van Sickle Ford was an American painter, art teacher, and owner of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. She credited artists George Bellows, who influenced her interest in social realism, and John Carlson, who founded the School of Landscape Painting in Woodstock, New York, with helping her to develop her talent. She traveled and made paintings in the United States, Caribbean and South America. An award-winner, her works are in many permanent public and private collections. A book has been written about her entitled Warm Light, Cool Shadows: The Life and Art of Ruth Van Sickle Ford.
The Ripper Crew or the Chicago Rippers was an organized crime group of serial killers, cannibals, rapists, and necrophiles. The group composed of Robin Gecht and three associates: Edward Spreitzer, and brothers Andrew and Thomas Kokoraleis. They were suspected in the murders of 17 women in Illinois in 1981 and 1982, as well as the unrelated fatal shooting of a man in a random drive-by shooting. According to one of the detectives who investigated the case, Gecht "made Manson look like a Boy Scout."
Mai Martinez is an American news anchor and reporter. She is the co-anchor of the morning news on WBBM (AM) Newsradio 780 AM and 105.9 FM, with Cisco Cotto. She is a reporter for the all-news radio station.
Michelangelo "Mike" Volpi is an Italian-American businessman and venture capitalist.
Cordogan Clark & Associates (CCA) is an architecture, planning and engineering firm based in Illinois with offices in Chicago, Aurora, Illinois, and Lafayette, Indiana. The firm was founded in 1951 by Louis Cordogan. John Cordogan joined the firm in 1981 and in 1984, he and John Clark became founding partners of Cordogan, Clark & Associates. In February 2016, it was announced that Cordogan Clark & Associates merged with Lafayette-based firm Keystone Architecture, Inc.
Suzanne Louise Deuchler was an American Republican politician who was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 42nd district. She retired in 1999, after nine terms.
Cisco Cotto is a radio personality and pastor, serving as morning anchor on WBBM 780/105.9 and campus pastor at Village Bible Church in Naperville, Illinois.
Mary Eggers Tendler is a volleyball coach and former volleyball player. She is the head volleyball coach at Elon University and played collegiately for Illinois where she was a First-Team All-American and winner of the Broderick Award in 1989 as the nation's top collegiate female volleyball player.