List of people from Erie, Pennsylvania

Last updated January 16, 2026

The following is a list of notable persons who were born, or who have lived a significant part of their lives, in Erie, Pennsylvania .

Art and literature

Richard Anuszkiewicz, founder and foremost artist of Op Art movement
Moses Billings, early American portrait painter
Marc Brown, children's book author and illustrator, creator of the Arthur book series
John Silk Deckard, painter, printmaker, sculptor
David Greenberger, artist
Thom Hatch, author and novelist who specializes in the history of the American West, the American Civil War, and the Plains Indian Wars
Eugene Iverd, illustrator and teacher
Ron Larson, author of several dozen mathematics textbooks
Leon Ray Livingston, known as "King of the Hobos"
Ruth Eleanor Newton, illustrator and designer
Joseph Plavcan, painter and teacher
Chuck Rosenthal, author
Belle Silveira, artist known for her pencil portraits
Ida M. Tarbell, author, journalist, "muckraker"
John Totleben, comic book illustrator, known for covers of DC Comics' Swamp Thing
Michael J. Varhola, author
Charles Erskine Scott Wood, author and leading civil liberties advocate, best known for "Heavenly Discourse"

Athletics

Sig Andrusking, professional football player
Art Baker, professional football player, Buffalo Bills, All-American and NCAA National Championship winner in both football and wrestling, pioneering African-American athlete
Bruce Baumgartner, heavyweight Olympic wrestler, most decorated American wrestler of all time, member of National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Dana Bible, former American football coach
Lou Bierbauer, 19th-century Major League Baseball player
Fred Biletnikoff, professional football player, Oakland Raiders, Super Bowl MVP, Pro Football Hall of Fame
James Carr, youngest-ever American Olympic wrestler, member of National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Nate Carr, Olympic wrestler (bronze medalist in 1988), three-time NCAA champion at Iowa State University, member of National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Rick Chartraw, professional ice hockey player, Montreal Canadiens
James Conner, professional football player, Arizona Cardinals
Clifton Crosby, professional football player, Indianapolis Colts
Ed Cushman, professional baseball player, Buffalo Bisons, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Athletics, New York Metropolitans, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Toledo Maumees
Dell Darling, professional baseball player, Buffalo Bisons, Chicago White Stockings, and St. Louis Browns
Don Elbaum, boxer and boxing promoter
Tim Federowicz, professional baseball player, Los Angeles Dodgers
Bill Finneran, early professional baseball umpire
George Flint, professional football player, Buffalo Bills
Fernando Frye, college football player
Eric Hicks, professional football player, Kansas City Chiefs
Essie Hollis, professional basketball player, Detroit Pistons
Sam Jethroe, Negro leagues and Major League baseball player from 1938 to 1966
Jovon Johnson, professional football player, Ottawa Redblacks, CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award
Caryn Kadavy, figure skater, 1987 world bronze medalist, 1988 Olympian
Eddie Klep, professional baseball player, first white American to play in the Negro leagues
Jack Laraway, professional football player, Buffalo Bills, Houston Oilers
Tom Lawless, professional baseball player and coach, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Montreal Expos
Bob Learn, Jr., professional bowler, 1999 U.S. Open champion who also rolled the PBA's 10th televised 300 game
Frank Liebel, professional football defensive back for NFL's New York Giants and Chicago Bears
Matt Lynch, as of 2024 the only out gay head coach in college men's basketball^[1]
Kayla McBride, professional basketball player, Minnesota Lynx, first-team All-American, Notre Dame
Mike McCoy, professional football player, Green Bay Packers, unanimous first-team All-American for Notre Dame and 1969 Heisman Trophy candidate
Curt Miller, WNBA professional basketball coach
Brian Milne, professional football player, Indianapolis Colts, Cincinnati Bengals, Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons ^[2]
Mike Morrison, professional baseball player, Cleveland Spiders, Syracuse Stars and Baltimore Orioles
Peter Nyari, professional baseball and Olympic athlete
Bob Raudman, professional baseball player
Bob Sanders, professional football player, Indianapolis Colts
Brian Stablein, professional football player, Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions
Mark Stepnoski, professional football player, Dallas Cowboys and Houston/Tennessee Oilers
Woody Thompson, professional football player, Atlanta Falcons
Blidi Wreh-Wilson, professional football player, Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons

Business and politics

Edward M. Baker, investment broker
Henry Alden Clark, U.S. congressman
Judah Colt, pioneer
Kathy Dahlkemper, U.S. congresswoman and Erie County executive
Samuel A. Davenport, U.S. congressman
Daniel Dobbins, builder of the U.S. naval fleet for Battle of Lake Erie
Thomas B. Hagen, chairman of Erie Insurance
William A. Heidt, former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia (2015-2018)
William Himrod, iron industry pioneer and abolitionist
Warren Kitzmiller, Vermont state legislator
Michael Liebel, Jr., mayor of Erie 1906–1911; Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 1915–1917
Reinhard Liebel, president of South Erie Iron Works; member of the Board of Fire Commissioners, Common Council and Select Council of Erie
Harry Markopolos, blew whistle in Madoff securities fraud
Norman Morrison, Vietnam protester who self-immolated
Joseph D. Pistone, aka Donnie Brasco, FBI agent who infiltrated Bonanno crime family
Adena Miller Rich, suffragist, social worker in Chicago, director of Immigrants' Protective League
Tom Ridge, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, governor of Pennsylvania, and U.S. congressman
James Patrick Rossiter, lawyer and politician
William Lawrence Scott, 19th-century politician and wealthy businessman
Milton Shreve, U.S. congressman
Thomas Sill, U.S. congressman

Film, stage, and television

Nick Adams, Broadway actor
Billy Blanks, inventor of Taebo and martial arts film actor
Marc Blucas, actor
Marilyn Burns, actress, known for role as Sally in 1974 movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Bob Chitester, public television and documentary film producer, known as "the man who made Milton Friedman a star"^[3]
Julie Craig, actress and singer
Ann B. Davis, actress, known for role as Alice on TV's Brady Bunch
Dorothy Dietrich, magician and escapologist
Kurt Doss, child actor
Christine Estabrook, television and film actress
Ish Kabibble, comedian and actor
Harry Kellar, magician
Tina LeBlanc, ballet dancer, teacher and ballet master
Emily Matson, journalist
Julianna McCarthy, original cast member of The Young and the Restless
Dan Rice, 19th-century entertainer and clown
Maria Sansone, television host of Good Day LA
Walker Scobell, actor
Steve Scully, host, political editor, and senior producer of C-SPAN's Washington Journal
Jonathan Stark, actor and screenwriter
Denman Thompson, playwright and actor
Alaska Thunderfuck, drag queen and winner of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 2
Kay Williams, actress

Military and aerospace

John Boyd, fighter pilot and military strategist who developed the OODA Loop and helped with the success of the Persian Gulf War
Paul K. Carlton, general United States Air Force; commander in chief of the Military Airlift Command
Philip Cochran, colonel in United States Army Air Corps; commander of the 1st Air Commando Group in World War II; inspiration for the characters "Flip Corkin" and "General Philerie" in comic strips by Milton Caniff
Charles A. Curtze, rear admiral, United States Navy
Richard E. Ellsworth, U.S. Air Force brigadier general
Charles Vernon Gridley, U.S. Navy commander, captain, U.S.S. Olympia, Battle of Manila Bay; adopted Erie as his home after taking command of the USS Michigan there
Louis J. Magill, Spanish–American War veteran; recipient of the Marine Corps Brevet Medal
Seth Reed, lt. colonel, fought at Bunker Hill; instrumental in adding "E Pluribus Unum" to U.S. coins; founded Erie, as its first settler with his family, in 1795, at Presque Isle
Strong Vincent, Union brigadier general; killed at Gettysburg; Harvard graduate; practiced law in Erie from Waterford, Erie County
Anthony Wayne, American Revolutionary War general
Paul J. Weitz, U.S. naval aviator, NASA astronaut, Skylab 2 pilot, STS-6 (Shuttle Challenger) commander
William Maxwell Wood, first surgeon general of the US Navy

Music

Alan Baer, tuba player, New York Philharmonic
Harry Burleigh, classical music composer
Walter Hendl, conductor, composer and pianist
Peter Mennin, composer and teacher
Patrick Monahan, lead singer of Train; solo artist; Grammy Award winner
Art Phillips, composer
Jack Stauber, solo musician and songwriter
Chris Vrenna, drummer of rock band Nine Inch Nails
War of Ages, Christian metal band

Naturalists

Joe Root, 19th-century naturalist who lived at Presque Isle State Park

Religion

Joan Chittister, Benedictine nun, author, and lecturer
Max C. Currick, Reform rabbi
John Mark Gannon, Catholic archbishop
Theodore Jurewicz, Russian Orthodox priest and Byzantine iconographer
Mary Lou Kownacki, Benedictine nun, activist, and writer

Science, medicine, and academia

Richard Beals, Yale professor and author of several mathematical textbooks
David Dausey, professor, author and epidemiologist
Millicent Goldschmidt, microbiologist, professor emerita at University of Texas
John Kanzius, inventor; radio and TV engineer and executive
Tara Keck, professor at University College London, published numerous scholarly articles on neuroplasticity
Paul Siple, Antarctic explorer who developed the wind chill factor
Chester L. Sutula, chemist

References

↑ Witz, Billy (March 8, 2024). "This Man Turned the Worst Job in College Basketball Into a Slam Dunk". The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
↑ https://eriesportshalloffame.org/inductee/brian-milne/
↑ McGurn, William (October 30, 2020). "The Man Who Made Milton Friedman a Star". Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 22, 2022.

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[Witz-2024-1] Witz, Billy (March 8, 2024). "This Man Turned the Worst Job in College Basketball Into a Slam Dunk". The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved March 9, 2024.

[2] ttps://eriesportshalloffame.org/inductee/brian-milne/

[3] McGurn, William (October 30, 2020). "The Man Who Made Milton Friedman a Star". Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 22, 2022.

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