List of people from Hartford, Connecticut

The following list includes people who were born in, lived in or are otherwise closely connected with Hartford, Connecticut.

Academia

• August Coppola, academic, film executive and father of Nicolas Cage
• Michael C. FitzGerald (born 1953), art historian and Picasso scholar at Trinity College in Hartford
• Stephen Cole Kleene (1909–1994), mathematician and professor
• Spencer Shaw (1916–2010), librarian and professor at the University of Washington ^[1]

Art and architecture

• A. Everett "Chick" Austin (1900–1957), arts innovator and director of the Wadsworth Atheneum
• Nadine M. DeLawrence (1953–1992), African-American visual artist; born and raised in Hartford ^[2]
• Dorothea H. Denslow (1900–1971), sculptor, educator
• George Keller (1842–1935), architect, noted for Hartford's Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch and Hartford Union Station
• Kathleen Kucka (born 1962), abstract painter
• Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), landscape architect and urban planner, noted for many of the New York City parks and Stanford University's campus

Business

• Nick Cianfaglione (born 1998), founder of Artist Republik and RestauRent
• Samuel Colt (1814–1862), firearm inventor and industrialist
• J. P. Morgan (1837–1913), financier and industrialist
• Albert A. Pope (1843–1909), Manufacturer of Pope Manufacturing Company automobiles and bicycles
• Amos Whitney (1832–1920), mechanical engineer, inventor and co-founder of Pratt & Whitney company ^[3]

Entertainment

Katharine Hepburn

Film and television

• Robert Ames (1889–1931), stage and screen actor
• Julie Banderas (born 1973), Emmy Award-winning, television news anchor
• Ed Begley (1901–1970), actor
• Amy Brenneman (born 1964), actress, best known for the television series Judging Amy
• Christopher Briney (born 1998), actor, best known for Dalíland and The Summer I Turned Pretty
• Brooke Burke (born 1971), television personality, model and dancer
• Ben Cooper, best known for western films and television appearances in the 1960s and 1970s ^[4]
• Ann Corio (1914–1999), burlesque star ^[5]
• Jenna Dewan (born 1980), actress ^[6]
• Linda Evans (born 1942), actress, best known for Dynasty ^[7]
• Totie Fields (1930–1978), comedian ^[8]
• William Gillette (1853–1937), actor, director, famed for playing Sherlock Holmes on stage
• Thomas Ian Griffith (born 1962), actor, producer, screenwriter, musician and martial artist; best known for playing Terry Silver in The Karate Kid Part III and Cobra Kai
• Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003), Oscar-winning actress; buried in the Hepburn family plot in Cedar Hill Cemetery ^[9]
• Elyse Knox (1917–2012), model and actress; wife of Tom Harmon and mother of Mark Harmon ^[10]
• Eriq La Salle (born 1962), actor known for the television show ER
• Norman Lear (1922–2023), television producer ^[11]
• Ken Ober, host of Remote Control
• Charles Nelson Reilly (1931–2007), actor, director and TV personality
• Ken Richters (born 1955), stage actor, playwright, and voice actor, known for impersonations of Mark Twain
• Tony Todd, Broadway, film and television actor ^[12]
• Wavy Gravy, hippie icon, entertainer, and peace activist
• Emily Wright (born 1980), songwriter, producer and engineer
• Kim Zolciak (born 1978), star of The Real Housewives of Atlanta , country music singer

Music

• Igor Buketoff (1915–2001), conductor
• Kurt Carr, gospel music composer and performer
• Fates Warning, a progressive metal band formed in 1982
• Charles Flores (1970–2012), jazz bassist and member of the Michel Camilo Trio ^[13]
• Grayson Hugh, singer-songwriter
• Natália Kelly, singer
• Barbara Kolb (born 1939), composer
• Mark McGrath (born 1968), lead singer of Sugar Ray
• Jackie McLean (1931–2006), jazz alto saxophonist and educator ^[14]
• Notch, R&B, dancehall and Reggaeton artist
• Gene Pitney (1940–2006), singer ^[15]
• Jeff Porcaro (1954–1992), ^[16] of the rock band Toto
• Joe Porcaro, jazz drummer; father of Jeff and Steve Porcaro ^[17]
• Mike Porcaro (1955–2015), ^[18] of the rock band Toto
• Steve Porcaro (born 1957), of the rock band Toto
• Doobie Powell, gospel musician and pastor
• Sophie Tucker (1884–1966), "last of the red-hot mamas," singer and comedian

Radio

• Jason Jackson, hosted a local sports radio show on ESPN Radio
• Phil Tonken (1919–2000), announcer at New York station WOR-AM-TV

Law

• Frank A. Hooker, chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court ^[19]

Mark Twain, photo taken three years before he moved to the city

Literature and journalism

• Steven Anzovin, non-fiction writer best known for his Famous First Facts book series
• Bill Branon, novelist
• Oliver Butterworth (1915–1990), children's author and educator
• Suzanne Collins (born 1962), author of the Hunger Games trilogy
• Lyn Crost (1915–1997), World War II correspondent
• Tom Curry (1900–1976), pulp fiction writer
• Mary Ann Hanmer Dodd (1813–1878), poet
• Dominick Dunne (1925–2009), writer
• John Gregory Dunne (1932–2003), writer
• Austin Gary, novelist
• Stephenie Meyer (born 1973), author of Twilight series novels
• Jim Murray (1919–1998), Pulitzer Prize-winning sports columnist of the Los Angeles Times
• Greensbury Washington Offley (1808–1896), slave narrative author and minister
• Lydia Sigourney (1791-1865), poet
• Wallace Stevens (1879–1955), poet; insurance executive
• Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896), author of Uncle Tom's Cabin , settled in Hartford during the 1870s; her Nook Farm ^[20] home is open to the public and adjoins Mark Twain's
• Mark Twain (real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens) (1835–1910), author known for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court , and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ^[21]
• Ocean Vuong (born 1988), poet and novelist, author of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

Military

• William Bryden (1880–1972), U.S. Army major general ^[22]
• John H. Griebel (1901–1969), Marine Corps general
• Joseph B. Murdock (1851–1931), US Navy rear admiral
• Colonel Sherwood C. Spring (born 1944), United States Army colonel, test pilot and astronaut
• Griffin Alexander Stedman (1838–1864), Union Army colonel
• Alfred Terry (1827–1890), Union army general
• Robert O. Tyler (1831–1874), Union army general
• Donald M. Weller (1908–1985), Marine Corps general and pioneer in Naval gunfire support

Politics

• Parmenio Adams (1776–1832), United States congressman; born in Hartford ^[23]
• James J. Barbour (1869–1946), Illinois lawyer and state legislator; born in Hartford ^[24]
• L. Paul Bremer (born 1941), ex-administrator of US-occupied Iraq and foreign service officer
• Harold V. Camp (1935–2022), Connecticut lawyer, state legislator, and businessman
• Charles R. Chapman, mayor of Hartford, served in both houses of Connecticut legislature ^[25]
• Ezra Clark Jr. (1813–1896), US representative ^[26]
• Horace S. Cooley, Illinois Secretary of State
• William A. DiBella, Majority Leader of the Connecticut State Senate
• Frank Fasi, mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii
• George A. French, Minnesota state legislator and lawyer ^[27]
• Elizabeth Bartlett Grannis (1840–1926), suffragist, social reformer, editor
• Thomas Hooker, founder of Connecticut
• Bruce Hyer, Green Party of Canada Member of Parliament
• Wilfred X. Johnson (1920–1972), first African American elected to the Connecticut General Assembly ^[28]
• John B. Larson (born 1948), U.S. representative for Connecticut ^[29]
• A. Lucille Matarese, Connecticut state legislator and Roman Catholic Benedictine nun
• Edward Ralph May (1819–1852), only delegate to the Indiana Constitutional Convention of 1850 to vote in favor of African American suffrage
• Elizabeth May, former Sierra Club of Canada president and former leader of the Green Party of Canada
• Alice Merritt (1876–1950), first woman to serve in the Connecticut State Senate (1925–1929); represented Hartford
• Rachel Taylor Milton, community activist and Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame inductee ^[30]
• Chris Murphy (born 1973), U.S. senator, U.S. congressman ^[31]
• Lewis Rome (1933–2015), Connecticut State Senate leader and Republican Party nominee in the 1982 Connecticut gubernatorial election
• Maria W. Stewart, abolitionist
• Thomas A. Sullivan, Wisconsin State assemblyman
• Elmer Watson, US Army officer and Connecticut State Senate majority leader

Religion

• Horace Bushnell (1802–1876), Congregational minister and theologian
• Mary E. Van Lennep (1821–1844), missionary, school founder, memoirist

Science and medicine

• Barbara McClintock (1902–1992), cytogeneticist, awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Frederick E. Olmsted (1872–1925), forester and one of the founders of American forestry
• Alexander Rich (1925–2015), biologist and biophysicist
• Paul Schimmel (b. 1940), biophysical chemist and translational medicine pioneer
• Theodore Wirth (1863–1949), horticulturalist and park planner

Sports

• Michael Adams (born 1963), NBA player
• Steve Berthiaume, ESPN anchor
• Nick Bonino (born 1988), NHL player ^[32]
• Marcus Camby (born 1974), NBA player
• John Carney (born 1964), NFL placekicker ^[33]
• Jacob Conde (born 1992), soccer player who represented the Puerto Rico national team ^[34]
• Mike Crispino, sportscaster for WVIT and WRCH, and ESPN
• Andre Drummond (born 1993), NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers
• Jayson Durocher (born 1974), MLB player for the Milwaukee Brewers
• Johnny Egan (1939–2022), NBA player
• Dwight Freeney (born 1980), NFL player ^[35]
• Craig Janney (born 1968), NHL player
• Tyrique Jones (born 1997), basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Rick Mahorn (born 1958), NBA player
• Eric Mangini (born 1971), head coach of Cleveland Browns and New York Jets
• Mike McGuirl (born 1998), basketball player for Hapoel Haifa in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Stephanie McMahon, businesswoman, professional wrestling personality
• Alex Mighten (born 2002), footballer
• Cliff Olander (born 1955), player of gridiron football ^[36]
• Steve Potts (born 1967), former West Ham United footballer, current U21 coach
• Ryan Preece (born 1990), NASCAR driver
• Eugene Robinson (born 1963), NFL player ^[37]
• Will Solomon (born 1978), basketball player
• Charley Steiner, Los Angeles Dodgers sportscaster
• John Sullivan (born 1961), NFL player ^[38]
• Roderick G. (Rod) Taylor (1943–2014), Olympic skier ^[39]
• Tony Younger (born 1980), American-Israeli basketball player in the Israeli National League

Other

• Nathaniel Bar-Jonah (1957–2008), convicted child molester and a suspected serial killer and cannibal
• Howard Long (1905–1939), convicted murderer and child molester
• Martha Bulloch Roosevelt (1835–1884), mother of president Theodore Roosevelt and grandmother of Eleanor Roosevelt

See also

• List of people from Connecticut
• List of people from Bridgeport, Connecticut
• List of people from Brookfield, Connecticut
• List of people from Darien, Connecticut
• List of people from Greenwich, Connecticut
• List of people from New Canaan, Connecticut
• List of people from New Haven, Connecticut
• List of people from Norwalk, Connecticut
• List of people from Redding, Connecticut
• List of people from Ridgefield, Connecticut
• List of people from Stamford, Connecticut
• List of people from Westport, Connecticut

Notes

1. American Library Association (June 29, 2010). "Memorial Resolution Honoring Dr. Spencer G. Shaw" (PDF). ala.org. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
2. "Nadine M. Delawrence, 39; Artist Exhibited Internationally". Hartford Courant . November 28, 1992. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
3. "History | Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems". www.prattandwhitney.com. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
4. Barnes, Mike (February 26, 2020). "Ben Cooper, Actor in 'Johnny Guitar' and Lots of Other Westerns, Dies at 86". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
5. "Ann Corio | Burlesque Hall of Fame". December 23, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
6. "Jenna Dewan News". Us Weekly. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
7. WRITER, JOHANNA CROSBY,STAFF. "'Dynasty' legends are at it again". Cape Cod Times. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
8. Barreca, Gina (July 4, 2021). "Opinion: Why isn't CT funnier?". Connecticut Post. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
9. Hall Meares, Hadley (October 7, 2022). "Miss Independent: Katharine Hepburn's Obsessive Originality". Vanity Fair. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
10. Lennon, Troy (December 14, 2017). "Film star Elyse Knox's love story was better than any Hollywood movie". The Daily Telegraph (Australia). Retrieved November 12, 2022.
11. "TV Legend And Connecticut Native Norman Lear Turns 95". Connecticut Public. July 27, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
12. "Tony Todd on Candyman, Black Lives Matter and seeing stars cry on the set of Platoon". the Guardian. October 1, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
13. "Charles Flores Dead: Grammy-Winning Jazz Bassist Passes Away From Throat Cancer at Age 41". Spinner . August 27, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
14. Dixon, Ken, "Music Hall of Fame proposed for state ", article in Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, Connecticut, April 26, 2007 ("Other famous state residents include the late jazz saxophonist Jackie McLean of Hartford")
15. "Obituary: Gene Pitney". the Guardian. April 6, 2006. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
16. "The Greats: Jeff Porcaro". Modern Drummer Magazine. March 31, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
17. Lifton, Dave. "Drummer Joe Porcaro Dies at 90". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
18. Chawkins, Steve (March 16, 2015). "Mike Porcaro dies at 59; bassist played with two brothers in rock band Toto". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
19. Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society - Frank Hooker
20. "Stowe's Hartford Neighborhood, Nook Farm". Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
21. "Biography". Mark Twain House. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
22. Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals In Khaki. Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press. pp. 56–57. ISBN   978-1-5719-7088-6 – via Google Books.
23. Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
24. 'Illinois Blue Book 1941-1942,'Biographical Sketch of James J. Barbour, pg. 126-127
25. "OBITUARY SKETCH OF CHARLES R. CHAPMAN". Connecticut State Library. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
26. "CLARK, Ezra, Jr". Congress.gov . Retrieved October 27, 2024.
27. Minnesota Legislators: Past & Present-Georhe A. French
28. Matthews, Anthony (May 31, 2013), "Johnson, Wilfred X." , African American Studies Center, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.39431, ISBN   978-0-19-530173-1 , retrieved January 24, 2022
29. "LARSON, John B." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
30. Feeney, Mark K. (July 8, 1995). "Rachel Taylor Milton; Urban League Founder". courant.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
31. Schumaker, Erin (May 11, 2023). "'I care about it': Sen. Chris Murphy's battle against loneliness". Politico. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
32. "Nick Bonino Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Salary, Title". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
33. "John Carney Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
34. "Hartford native Jacob Conde will suit up for the Puerto Rican national team on Saturday, with his father watching, and a dream still alive". Hartford Courant . August 15, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
35. "Dwight Freeney Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
36. "Cliff Olander Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
37. "Eugene Robinson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
38. "John Sullivan Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
39. The Republican-American: Roderick G. Taylor, former U.S. Olympic ski team member Archived 2014-07-25 at archive.today : retrieved July 17, 2014