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The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Champaign, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Champaign, Illinois.
| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Abramovitz | May 23, 1908 | Sep 12, 2004 | Architect | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
| Scott Anderson | Jun 26, 1913 | Oct 1, 2006 | Physicist | President of the Rotary Club of Champaign (1963 to 1964); founder of the Urban League of Champaign County | ||
| Marc Andreessen |  | Jul 9, 1971 | Co-author of Mosaic and founder of Netscape | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
| John Bardeen |  | May 23, 1908 | Jan 30, 1991 | Electrical engineer and physicist; two time Nobel Prize winner in Physics | Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | |
| Steve Chen |  | Aug 18, 1978 | Co-founder of YouTube | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
| Jawed Karim |  | Jan 1, 1979 | Co-founder of YouTube | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
| Jimmy John Liautaud |  | Jan 12, 1964 | Jimmy John's Owner, founder, & chairman | |||
| Anthony James Leggett |  | Mar 26, 1938 | Physicist; Nobel Prize winner in Physics | Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
| W. Dwight Pierce | Nov 16, 1881 | Apr 29, 1967 | Entomologist | Born in Champaign | ||
| Jerry Sanders |  | Sep 12, 1936 | Founder and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
| Lewis Hastings Sarett | Dec 22, 1917 | Nov 29, 1999 | Inventor of synthetic cortisone | Born in Champaign | ||
| James Tobin | Mar 5, 1918 | Mar 11, 2002 | Laureate of the Nobel prize in economics (1981) | Born in Champaign | ||
| Stephen Wolfram |  | Aug 29, 1959 | Founder of Wolfram Research, makers of Mathematica | Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
| Tony Khan |  | Oct 10, 1982 | Founder of All Elite Wrestling | Born in Champaign | ||
| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steven Phillip Kazmierczak | Aug 26, 1980 | Feb 14, 2008 | Perpetrator in the Northern Illinois University shooting | Attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
| Michael H. Kenyon | Convicted criminal; nicknamed the "Enema Bandit" | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||||
| Karyn Hearn Slover | Sep 27, 1996 | 1996 murder victim | ||||
| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Ayer | Jan 18, 1968 | Filmmaker | Born in Champaign. | [1] | ||
| Irving Azoff | Dec 12, 1947 | Music promotion | Attended UIUC. Started Blytham Ltd with Bob Nutt | [2] | ||
| Marc Beeson | Dec 20, 1954 | Country music singer and songwriter | Born in Champaign | |||
| Tom Bodett | Feb 23, 1955 | Author, voiceover actor, and spokesman | Born in Champaign | |||
| Harold Bradley Jr. |  | Oct 13, 1929 | Former American football player and actor, singer, artist, TV host (WCIA Channel 3, WICD Channel 15) and painter. | Lived 19 years in Champaign | ||
| Iris Chang | Mar 28, 1968 | Nov 9, 2004 | Author ( The Rape of Nanking ) | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
| Amy Chua |  | Oct 26, 1962 | Author ( Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother ) | Born in Champaign | ||
| Jeremih Felton |  | Jul 17, 1987 | R&B singer | Attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
| Hart D. Fisher | Comic book creator and publisher | Born in Champaign | ||||
| Michael Fumento | Journalist and author of The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS | Born in Champaign | ||||
| Mike Connolly | 1914 | Nov 19, 1966 | Magazine reporter and Hollywood gossip columnist for The Hollywood Reporter | Attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he was the city editor of the Daily Illini , the independent student-run newspaper, known for his 1937–38 crusade against prostitution in Champaign | ||
| Bill Geist | May 10, 1945 | CBS News correspondent and author | Born in Champaign | |||
| Nathan Gunn | Nov 26, 1970 | Operatic baritone; one of People magazine's 2008 Sexiest Men Alive | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | |||
| Steven Hager | May 25, 1951 | Magazine editor | Born in Champaign | |||
| Bruce Hall |  | Mar 5, 1953 | Bass guitar player (REO Speedwagon) | Born in Champaign | ||
| Stuart Hamm | Feb 8, 1960 | Bass guitar player | Grew up in Champaign | |||
| Megyn Kelly |  | Nov 18, 1970 | American journalist, political commentator, and former corporate defense attorney | Born in Champaign | ||
| Alison Krauss |  | Jul 23, 1971 | Bluegrass singer | Grew up in Champaign | ||
| Christopher Bridges (a.k.a. Ludacris) |  | Sep 11, 1977 | Rapper | Born in Champaign | ||
| Marcella Martin | Jun 5, 1916 | Oct 31, 1986 | Actress | Born in Champaign | ||
| Jack McDuff | Sep 17, 1926 | Jan 23, 2001 | Jazz musician | Born in Champaign | ||
| Jeff Mondak | Mar 26, 1962 | Children's poet and songwriter | Lives in Champaign | |||
| David Foster Wallace |  | Feb 21, 1962 | Sep 12, 2008 | Author of Infinite Jest | Lived in Champaign | |
| George Will |  | May 4, 1941 | Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author | Born in Champaign | ||
| Douglas Wilson | Interior designer and television personality ( Trading Spaces ) | Graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||||
| Louise Woodroofe | Jan 28, 1892 | Feb 15, 1996 | Painter and University of Illinois professor | Born and grew up in Champaign, attended University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
| Name | Image | Founded | Disbanded | Music | Association | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Beauty Shop |  | 1999 | 2008 | Alt-country band | Formed in Champaign | |
| Braid | 1993 | Rock band | Formed in Champaign | |||
| Champaign | 1981 | R&B, soft rock group | Formed in Champaign | |||
| Headlights |  | 2004 | 2012 | Indie rock band | Formed in Champaign | |
| Hostyle Gospel |  | 2003 | Christian hip hop | Formed in Champaign | ||
| Hum | 1989 | Alternative rock group | Formed in Champaign | |||
| Pacifica Quartet | 1994 | 2008 Grammy-winning string quartet | Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Illinois School of Music, 2003–2012 | |||
| Poster Children | 1987 | Rock group | Formed in Champaign | |||
| REO Speedwagon |  | 1967 | Rock group | Formed in Champaign | ||
| Starcastle | 1969 | 2006 | Rock group | Formed in Champaign | ||
| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kamala Harris |  | Oct 20, 1964 | Vice President of the United States | Lived in Champaign | ||
| Mark Kirk |  | Sep 15, 1959 | United States Senator | Born in Champaign | ||
| Vashti McCollum | Nov 6, 1912 | Aug 20, 2006 | Plaintiff in the landmark 1948 Supreme Court case McCollum v. Board of Education | Lived and died in Champaign | ||
| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Herman Meyer | Nov 21, 1874 | 1951 | American Methodist Episcopal clergyman and editor | Born in Champaign | ||
| Name | Image | Birth | Death | Known for | Association | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chantal Bailey | May 28, 1965 | Olympic speed skater | Born in Champaign | ||||
| Walter "Boom-Boom" Beck |  | Oct 16, 1904 | May 7, 1987 | Pitcher for six Major League Baseball teams | Lived and died in Champaign | ||
| Bonnie Blair |  | Mar 18, 1964 | Speed skater, Olympic gold medalist | Grew up in Champaign | |||
| Harold Bradley Jr. | | Oct 13, 1929 | Apr 13, 2021 | Former American football player and actor, singer, artist, TV host (WCIA Channel 3, WICD Channel 15) and painter. | Lived 19 years in Champaign | ||
| Fred Brainard | Feb 17, 1892 | Apr 17, 1959 | Infielder for the New York Giants | Born in Champaign | |||
| Don Branson | Jun 2, 1920 | Nov 12, 1966 | Indy-car driver | [ citation needed ] | |||
| Dick Butkus | Dec 9, 1942 | Oct 5, 2023 [3] | Football linebacker for the Fighting Illini | Attended UIUC | |||
| Steve Dunn | Apr 18, 1970 | First baseman for the Minnesota Twins | Born in Champaign | ||||
| Matt Herges |  | Apr 1, 1970 | Pitcher for eight Major League Baseball teams | Born in Champaign | |||
| Reggie Hodges |  | Jan 26, 1982 | Punter for the Cleveland Browns | Born in Champaign | |||
| Bershawn Jackson |  | May 8, 1983 | Olympic 400M hurdler | Lives in Champaign | |||
| Rhaka Khan |  | Dec 25, 1981 | Wrestler with the WWE | Born in Champaign | |||
| Jonathan Kuck |  | Mar 14, 1990 | Speed skater and silver medalist in the 2010 Winter Olympics | Attending University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | |||
| Don Laz |  | May 17, 1929 | Feb 21, 1996 | Pole vaulter; Olympic silver medalist | [ citation needed ] | ||
| Jeremy Leman |  | Mar 1, 1985 | Linebacker for Illinois Illini and six NFL teams | Born and lives in Champaign | |||
| Mikel Leshoure |  | Mar 30, 1990 | Running back for the Detroit Lions | Graduated from Centennial High School in Champaign | |||
| Troy Mattes | Aug 26, 1975 | Pitcher for the Montreal Expos | Born in Champaign | ||||
| Tyler McGill | Aug 18, 1987 | Swimmer, US Olympic team 2012 | Born in Champaign | ||||
| Big Jeff Pfeffer |  | Mar 31, 1882 | Dec 19, 1954 | Pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Beaneaters/Doves and Boston Rustlers | Born in Champaign | ||
| Roy Radebaugh |  | Feb 22, 1881 | Jan 17, 1945 | Pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals | Born in Champaign | ||
| Katherine Reutter |  | Jul 30, 1988 | Short track speed skater, Olympic silver medalist | Born in Champaign | |||
| Rayvonte Rice |  | Jul 14, 1992 | Starting guard for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team | Born in Champaign | |||
| Bob Richards |  | Feb 20, 1926 | Feb 26, 2023 | Pole vaulter; Olympic gold medalist | |||
| Adam Seward | Jun 15, 1982 | Linebacker for the Carolina Panthers | Born in Champaign | ||||
| Emily Stevenson | Jul 26, 1925 | Dec 30, 2012 | Backup catcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League | Born in Champaign | |||
Vermilion County is a county in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois, between the Indiana border and Champaign County. It was established in 1826 and was the 45th of Illinois' 102 counties. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 74,188. It contains 21 incorporated settlements; the county seat and largest city is Danville.
Champaign County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 205,865, making it the 10th-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Urbana.
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in the state outside the Chicago metropolitan area. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents in 2020.
Urbana is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents in 2020.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. It is the flagship institution of the University of Illinois system and was established in 1867. With over 53,000 students, the University of Illinois is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the United States.
The Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, also known as Champaign–Urbana and Urbana–Champaign as well as Chambana (colloquially), is a metropolitan area in east-central Illinois. As defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the metropolitan area has a population of 236,514 as of the 2022 U.S. Census, which ranks it as the 200th largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. The area is anchored by the principal cities of Champaign and Urbana, and is home to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system.
The Champaign–Urbana Mass Transit District is a mass transit system that operates in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area in eastern Illinois. MTD is headquartered in Urbana and operates its primary hub at the intermodal Illinois Terminal in downtown Champaign. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 7,797,100, or about 24,200 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023.
William Brown McKinley was an American banker and Republican politician who represented the state of Illinois in the United States House of Representatives for seven terms and in the United States Senate for one term from 1921 to 1926.
Boneyard Creek is a 3.3-mile-long (5.3 km) waterway that drains much of the cities of Champaign and Urbana, Illinois, United States. It is a tributary of the Saline Branch of the Salt Fork Vermilion River, which is a tributary of the south-flowing Vermilion River and the Wabash River. The creek flows through the northern sections of the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The newsletter of the university's ACM chapter is Banks of the Boneyard, named after the creek.
The School of Information Sciences, also The iSchool at Illinois, is an undergraduate and graduate school at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. Its Master of Science in Library and Information Science is currently accredited in full good standing by the American Library Association. The school is a charter member of the iSchool initiative.
Champaign Township is a township in Champaign County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,264 and it contained 5,091 housing units.
Cunningham Township is a township in Champaign County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 38,336 and it contained 18,321 housing units. Cunningham Township is coterminous with the City of Urbana. It is one of two coterminous townships in Champaign County and one of seventeen coterminous townships statewide.
Somer Township is a township in Champaign County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 988 and it contained 469 housing units.
The Channing-Murray Foundation, resides in the former Unitarian Church at 1209 West Oregon Street in Urbana, Illinois. It is the Unitarian Universalist campus ministry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It includes a chapel and a vegetarian restaurant, Red Herring. The Foundation was established in 1954 after a merger between the Unitarian and Universalist churches in Urbana. At the time, it was also as a merger of the Murray Club of the Universalist Church in Urbana, and the Young People's Club or Unity Club of the Unitarian Church. The building was constructed in 1908 as the Unitarian Church
The Illinois Fighting Illini women's volleyball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate volleyball program of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, often referred to as "Illinois", located in Champaign, Illinois. The Illinois volleyball team competes in the Big Ten Conference and has played their home games in Huff Hall since 1990. Since moving into Huff Hall from the Kenney Gym, Illinois Volleyball has remained in the top 10 in the nation for average home attendance. In 2013, the program broke its previous home attendance record, averaging 3,117 per match.
Carol Ammons is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who has represented the 103rd district since January 2015. The 103rd district includes all or parts of Champaign, Urbana, and Staley. She is the first African American woman to serve in the seat, and the first from Champaign County to be elected beyond the County Board level. Ammons is a co-chair of the Illinois House's Progressive Caucus.
The University Library at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign is the network of libraries, including both physical and virtual library spaces, which serves the university's students, faculty, and staff, as well as scholars and researchers worldwide. The University Library continues to evolve to serve the needs of the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign campus.
The history of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign dates back to 1862. U of I is a public research-intensive university in the U.S. state of Illinois. A land-grant university, it is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign opened on March 2, 1868, and is the second oldest public university in the state, and is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference.
Robert J. Jones is an American crop physiology scientist who is the tenth chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jones is the first African-American to hold this office. He previously served as president of the University of Albany. In addition to his academic career, Jones was a tenor singer in Sounds of Blackness, a vocal ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota that sings gospel, soul, and R&B.
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