List of people from Aurora, Illinois

Last updated March 14, 2024

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.

Arts and culture

Art and architecture

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

Film, radio, and television

Name	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

Music

Name	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 ]}

Writing and journalism

Name	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

Business and administrative

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

Law and crime

Name	Birth	Death	Known for	Association
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

Military

Name	Birth	Death	Known for	Association
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

Politics

Name	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 Press	Lived and died in Aurora
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

Religion

Name	Birth	Death	Known for	Association
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

Science

Name	Birth	Death	Known for	Association
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

Sports

Baseball

Name	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

Basketball

Name	Birth	Death	Known for	Association
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

Football

Name	Birth	Death	Known for	Association
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

Golf

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Mike Small		Mar 4, 1966		College coach and PGA Tour player	Born in Aurora

Gymnastics

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

Sports-related professionals

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

Soccer

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

Track and field

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Tom Petranoff		Apr 8, 1958		World record javelin thrower	Born in Aurora

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References

↑ https://www.audacy.com/wbbm780/authors/cisco-cotto title= WBBM Newsradio Morning Host Cisco Cotto
↑ "John Drury's Path To Fame - Chicago Tribune". articles.chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-02.
↑ Life & Career Timeline of Maud Powell. Born 1867 in Peru, Illinois, began violin & piano lessons in Aurora in 1874
↑ Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1897). American Women: Fifteen Hundred Biographies with Over 1,400 Portraits: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of the Lives and Achievements of American Women During the Nineteenth Century. Mast, Crowell & Kirkpatrick. pp. 645–.

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[1] ttps://www.audacy.com/wbbm780/authors/cisco-cotto title= WBBM Newsradio Morning Host Cisco Cotto

[2] "John Drury's Path To Fame - Chicago Tribune". articles.chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-02.

[3] Life & Career Timeline of Maud Powell. Born 1867 in Peru, Illinois, began violin & piano lessons in Aurora in 1874

[4] Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1897). American Women: Fifteen Hundred Biographies with Over 1,400 Portraits: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of the Lives and Achievements of American Women During the Nineteenth Century. Mast, Crowell & Kirkpatrick. pp. 645–.

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