List of Chicago's sons and daughters
List of sons and daughters of the city Chicago ( Illinois ).
19th century
1801-1870
- Alice Bunker Stockham (1833-1912), gynecologist
- Harriet Hubbard Ayer (1849-1903), cosmetics entrepreneur
- Emma Abbott (1850-1891), opera singer
- Arthur Ryerson (1851–1912), lawyer, businessman, and steel tycoon
- Arthur Lloyd Thomas (1851–1924), businessman and politician
- James Hugh Ward (1853-1916), politician
- William F. Mahoney (1856-1904), politician
- Charles Comiskey (1859-1931), baseball player, manager, and team owner
- Harriet Monroe (1860–1936), poet and literary critic
- Edmund Michael Dunne (1864–1929), Roman Catholic clergyman and Bishop of Peoria
- William Kent (1864–1928), politician
- Isaac Henry Mayer (1864–1967), lawyer
- Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (1864–1953), pianist and patron
- Finley Peter Dunne (1867–1936), writer and journalist
- Morton D. Hull (1867-1937), politician
- William E. Zeuch (1867–1962), organist
- Florence Ziegfeld Jr. (1867–1932), theater and film producer
- George Ellery Hale (1868-1938), astronomer
- PH Moynihan (1869-1946), politician
- William Ellery Sweet (1869–1942), politician
- James R. Buckley (1870–1945), politician
- Carl R. Chindblom (1870–1956), politician
- Mary Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston (1870–1906), Viceroy of India
- Burton Holmes (1870–1958), traveler, photographer, and documentary filmmaker
- Frank Norris (1870–1902), writer
- Maurice Thatcher (1870–1973), politician and governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1910 to 1913
1871-1880
- Frederick A. Britten (1871-1946), politician
- Carol Brooks MacNeil (1871–1944), sculptor and painter
- Charles Avery (1873–1926), actor, director and screenwriter
- Sidney George Brown (1873–1948), English electrical engineer and inventor
- George E. Gorman (1873-1935), politician
- Myrtle Reed (1874-1911), author
- Edmund J. Stack (1874–1957), politician
- James Bowler (1875–1957), politician
- Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950), writer
- Gilbert Ames Bliss (1876–1951), mathematician
- Edward Joseph Kelly (1876–1950), politician
- Charles M. Thomson (1877–1943), politician
- Charles Dvorak (1878–1969), track and field athlete and Olympic champion in 1904
- George Ernest Foulkes (1878–1960), politician
- Albert W. Hawkes (1878–1971), businessman and senator
- Edward Francis Hoban (1878–1966), Roman Catholic bishop
- Thomas J. O'Brien (1878–1964), politician
- William David O'Brien (1878–1962), Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop in Chicago
- James M. Slattery (1878-1948), politician
- Harry S. Swarth (1878-1935), zoologist
- Samuel S. Arentz (1879–1934), politician
- Henry Horner (1879–1940), politician
- Joseph Medill Patterson (1879-1946), publisher
- Albert H. Taylor (1879–1961), electrical engineer
- Lincoln Ellsworth (1880–1951), polar explorer and aviator
- Arthur Franklin Fuller (* 1880; † after 1935), author, composer and opponent of discrimination
- Hazel Lavery (1880–1935), Irish-American high society lady in London society
- Ernest Poole (1880–1950), journalist and writer
- John W. Rainey (1880-1923), politician
1881-1890
1881-1885
- Franklin Leopold Adams (1881–1960), journalist, translator and radio announcer
- Winnifred Sprague Mason Huck (1882–1936), politician
- Leo Kocialkowski (1882–1958), politician
- Fritz Leiber Sr. (1882–1949), stage and film actor
- Thomas Mooney (1882-1942), labor activist
- William A. Rowan (1882–1961), politician
- William Henry Wills (1882–1946), politician
- Evarts Graham (1883-1957), surgeon
- William Richard Griffin (1883–1944), Roman Catholic clergyman, auxiliary bishop in La Crosse
- James T. Igoe (1883–1971), politician
- George Leander (1883–1904), track cyclist
- William Anthony McGuire (1881–1940), playwright and screenwriter
- Arthur Robison (1883–1935), German film director and screenwriter
- Harry Antrim (1884–1967), actor
- Samuel Berger (1884–1925), boxer
- Edward Cummins (1886-1926), golfer
- Chandler Egan (1884-1936), golfer
- William Hogenson (1884-1965), track and field athlete
- Foster Adolph Reynolds (1884–1960), instrument maker
- Bud Fisher (1885–1954), cartoonist and comic artist
- Arthur B. Modine (1885–1981), inventor and designer
- Mason Phelps (1885-1945), golfer
- Dan Russo (1885-1956), violinist
1886-1890
- Virginia Brooks (1886–1929), suffragette and author
- Frank Coyle (1886–1947), pole vaulter
- Thomas A. Doyle (1886–1935), politician
- Kenneth Edwards (1886-1952), golfer
- Robert Hunter (1886–1971), golfer
- Nella Walker (1886–1971), actress
- James Zetek (1886-1959), entomologist
- Leonard Bloomfield (1887–1949), linguist
- Martin H. Kennelly (1887–1961), politician and mayor of Chicago
- Alexander J. Resa (1887–1964), politician
- Louis Leon Thurstone (1887–1955), engineer and psychologist
- Warren Wood (1887-1926), golfer
- Jacob Bolotin (1888–1924), doctor and campaigner for the social integration of the blind
- Stanislaus Vincent Bona (1888–1967), Roman Catholic Bishop of Grand Island and Green Bay
- Beulah Bondi (1888–1981), actress
- Raymond Chandler (1888–1959), crime novelist
- Jules Furthman (1888–1966), screenwriter
- Edgar W. Hiestand (1888–1970), politician
- Edmund Jacobson (1888-1983), physician
- Kirtley F. Mather (1888-1988), geologist
- Raymond S. McKeough (1888–1979), politician
- Bernard James Sheil (1888–1969), Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop in Chicago
- Albert Spalding (1888–1953), violin virtuoso and composer
- Nels Anderson (1889-1986), sociologist
- Miles J. Breuer (1889–1945), doctor and science fiction writer
- Douglas Chandler (* 1889; † after 1963), journalist and radio propagandist for Großdeutscher Rundfunk
- George Greenbaum (* 1889; † after 1929), cameraman
- Robert Z. Leonard (1889–1968), director
- Russell Owen (1889–1952), New York Times journalist
- Bryant Washburn (1889–1963), actor
- Harold Lee Alden (1890–1964), astronomer
- Main Bocher (1890–1976), fashion designer
- Ralph W. Chaney (1890–1971), paleobotanist
- Billy DeBeck (1890–1942), comic book artist and author
- Edward Doherty (1890–1975), writer and screenwriter
- Clara Kimball Young (1890-1960), actress
- Henry Louis Larsen (1890–1962), officer
- Charles Pierce (* 1890; † after 1930), jazz saxophonist and band leader of Chicago jazz
- Marc Wright (1890–1975), pole vaulter
1891-1900
1891
- Karl K. Darrow (1891–1982), physicist
- Harry Hebner (1891–1968), swimmer
- Chic Johnson (1891–1962), comedian, actor and author
- BB Kahane (1891-1960), film producer
- Otis Adelbert Kline (1891-1946), writer
- Nella Larsen (1891–1964), writer
- George Marshall (1891–1975), film director, screenwriter, film producer and film actor
- Lessing Julius Rosenwald (1891–1979), businessman, collector of rare books and art and patron
- Martin F. Smith (1891–1954), politician
1892
- Richard Atwater (1892–1948), journalist, university lecturer, and children's book author
- Ellsworth B. Buck (1892-1970), politician
- Henry Boardman Conover (1892–1950), engineer, military man, and hobby ornithologist
- Henry Darger (1892–1973), writer and artist
- Manton S. Eddy (1892–1962), Lieutenant General in the US Army
- Clifford Gray (1892-1969), bobsledder
- Edward A. Kelly (1892–1969), politician
- Walter Lundin (1892–1954), cameraman
- Charles E. Rosendahl (1892–1977), Admiral
- Harry Segall (1892–1975), writer and screenwriter
- Lawrence Sperry (1892–1923), pilot and inventor
- Joseph C. Wright (1892–1985), production designer
- Alfred Zeisler (1892–1985), German actor, film producer and director
1893
- Milton Ager (1893–1979), composer
- Roy O. Disney (1893–1971), brother of Walt Disney , Chairman of the Board (1929–1971) and President (1945–1971) of the Walt Disney Company
- Thomas S. Gordon (1893–1959), politician
- Richard W. Hoffman (1893–1975), politician
- Arnold Johnson (1893–1975), pianist, arranger, composer and big band leader
- Michael McDermott (1893-1970), swimmer and water polo player
- John Gould Moyer (1893–1976), naval officer
- Harry Stenqvist (1893–1968), Swedish racing cyclist
- Lyman Young (1893-1984), cartoonist and comic artist
1894
- Jack Benny (1894–1974), actor and radio host
- Martin Patrick Durkin (1894–1955), politician
- John Carl Hinshaw (1894–1956), politician
- SP Meek (1894–1972), writer and army officer
- Bee Palmer (1894–1967), vaudeville singer and dancer
- Fritz Pollard (1894-1986), American football player
- Rayna Prohme (1894-1927), journalist
- Jacob Schaefer junior (1894–1975), carom player of German descent
- Alexander Herman Schutz (1894–1964), Romanist, Provençalist and Medievalist
- Friedrich Tschinke (1894–1948), Christian resistance fighter and VVN functionary
- Louis J. Witte (1894–1975), film technician
1895
- Charles Bidwill (1895-1947), sports entrepreneur
- Charles L. Bolte (1895–1989), General in the US Army
- Harry J. Collins (1895–1963), Major General of the US Forces in Austria
- Frank Foss (1895–1989), pole vaulter
- George Halas (1895-1983), football coach
- Victor Halperin (1895–1983), director
- Machine Gun Kelly (1895–1954), criminal of the prohibition era
- Neil J. Linehan (1895-1967), politician
- Dutch Sternaman (1895–1973), football player, owner of the Chicago Bears
- Edwin R. Thiele (1895–1986), theologian and archaeologist
- Richard B. Vail (1895–1955), politician
1896
- Vic Berton (1896–1951), jazz drummer
- Emmet Byrne (1896–1974), politician
- John Dos Passos (1896–1970), writer
- Bryan Foy (1896–1977), film producer and director
- Lester Germer (1896–1971), physicist
- Art Kassel (1896–1965), jazz saxophonist
- John C. Kluczynski (1896–1975), politician
- Ronald B. Levinson (1896–1980), historian of philosophy
- Husk O'Hare (1896–1970), jazz band leader and impresario
- Walter Paepcke (1896–1960), industrialist and philanthropist
- Arthur W. Radford (1896–1973), Admiral
- Blanche Sweet (1896-1986), film actress
- Ray Herbert Talbot (1896–1955), politician
- George Trafton (1896–1971) American football player
- Charmion von Wiegand (1896–1983), journalist, art critic and painter
1897
- John O. Aalberg (1897–1984), film and sound engineer
- Ewald Backe (1897–1968), German teacher and National Socialist
- Ruth Brunswick (1897-1946), psychoanalyst
- Dagmar Godowsky (1897–1975), silent film actress
- Charles Le Maire (1897–1985), costume designer
- Abe Lyman (1897–1957), band leader, drummer and composer
- Arthur C. Nielsen (1897–1980), marketing researcher
- Thomas L. Owens (1897–1948), politician
- Ed Ricketts (1897–1948), marine biologist and philosopher
- Raymond Sontag (1897–1972), historian
- Lawrence Weingarten (1897–1975), film producer
1898
- Ernst Bacon (1898–1990), composer, conductor, pianist and music teacher
- Frederick Van Ness Bradley (1898–1947), politician
- Vytautas Andrius Graičiūnas (1898–1952), Lithuanian management theorist and consultant
- Peter C. Granata (1898–1973), politician
- Sidney Lanfield (1898–1972), film director
- Martin Dewey McNamara (1898–1966), Roman Catholic Bishop of Joliet, Illinois
- Preston Sturges (1898–1959), screenwriter and director
- Alfred Wallenstein (1898–1983), cellist and conductor
- Hal B. Wallis (1898–1986), film producer
- Jimmy Yancey (1898–1951), blues and boogie-woogie pianist
1899
- Vera Caspary (1899–1987), writer and screenwriter
- Dudley DeGroot (1899-1970), football and rugby union player and coach
- Emily Taft Douglas (1899–1994), politician
- John Marshall Harlan II (1899–1971), lawyer and US Supreme Court Justice from 1955 to 1971
- Janet Lewis (1899-1998), writer
- Mezz Mezzrow (1899–1972), jazz clarinetist and saxophonist
- William T. Murphy (1899–1978), politician
- Adolf Pabst (1899–1990), mineralogist and geologist
- Williston B. Palmer (1899-1973), General
- Ralph Staub (1899–1969), producer of short films
- Gloria Swanson (1899-1983), actress
- Norman Taurog (1899–1981), film director
1900
- Horatio Fitch (1900–1985), track and field athlete
- Rollie Free (1900–1984), motorcycle racer
- Merritt B. Gerstad (1900–1974), cameraman
- Roland V. Libonati (1900–1991), politician
- Robert Lord (1900–1976), screenwriter and film producer
- Edward Stettinius Jr. (1900–1949), politician, Secretary of State of the United States
- William Stevenson (1900–1985), track and field athlete
- Victor Young (1900–1956), composer, violinist and conductor
20th century
1901-1910
1901
- Walt Disney (1901–1966), animation film producer and inventor of Mickey Mouse and Co
- Muriel Gardiner Buttinger (1901–1985), psychoanalyst
- Vincent Drucci (1901–1927), member of organized crime during the Prohibition period
- William S. Paley (1901–1990), journalist and media official
- Muggsy Spanier (1901–1967), trumpeter
- Vincent du Vigneaud (1901–1978), biochemist
- Chic Young (1901–1973), cartoonist and comic artist
1902
- May Alix (1902–1983), night club and blues singer
- Jim Crowley (1902–1986), American football player, coach, and official
- Richard J. Daley (1902–1976), politician and long-time mayor of Chicago
- Dolly Jones (1902–1975), jazz trumpeter
- Charles J. Kersten (1902–1972), politician
- Eddie Kotal (1902–1973), American football player and coach
- Jim Lanigan (1902-1983), Chicago Jazz Jazz Bassist
- George Gaylord Simpson (1902–1984), biologist, zoologist, paleontologist
- W. Clement Stone (1902-2002), entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author
- Virginia Van Upp (1902–1970), screenwriter and film producer
1903
- Sybil Bauer (1903–1927), swimmer
- Rex Bell (1903–1962), actor and politician
- Edgar Bergen (1903–1978), actor and ventriloquist
- Happy Caldwell (1903-1978), jazz musician
- James Gould Cozzens (1903-1978), writer
- Hamilton Luske (1903–1968), animator and film director
- Vincente Minnelli (1903-1986), director
- Eliot Ness (1903–1957), tax officer and prohibition agent
- William Aloysius O'Connor (1903–1983), Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield, Illinois
- Ben Pollack (1903–1971), jazz drummer and band leader
- Oscar K. Rice (1903-1978), chemist
1904
- Ralph Bellamy (1904-1991), actor
- Frank Billings (1904–1957), jazz musician
- Brett Halliday (1904-1977), writer
- Raymond Peter Hillinger (1904–1971), Roman Catholic bishop
- Day Keene (1904-1969), writer
- Floyd O'Brien (1904–1968), trombonist of Chicago jazz
- Helen Rose (1904–1985), costume and fashion designer
- William L. Shirer (1904–1993), historian, journalist and publicist
1905
- Abraham Adrian Albert (1905–1972), mathematician
- Edward Bernds (1905–2000), director, sound engineer and screenwriter
- James Burnham (1905–1987), philosopher, sociologist and political theorist
- Herrlee Creel (1905–1994), sinologist and philosopher
- Edward Rowan Finnegan (1905–1971), politician
- Darnell Howard (1905–1966), clarinetist, violinist and jazz alto saxophonist
- Luke Johnsos (1905-1984), American football player and coach
- Meyer Levin (1905–1981), writer and journalist
- Russell Malmgren (1905–1982), sound engineer and screenwriter
- Richard McPartland (1905–1957), guitarist, violinist and banjo player of Chicago jazz
- Perry Miller (1905–1963), historian and literary scholar
- Martin Obzina (1905–1979), production designer and art director
- Harold John Ockenga (1905–1985), evangelical minister
- Richard Anthony Parker (1905-1993), Egyptologist
- Hal Pereira (1905–1983), set designer
- Ruben Reeves (1905–1975), jazz trumpeter of Chicago jazz
- James Simpson junior (1905-1960), politician
- Paulus Skopp (1905–1999), German economics teacher and politician
- Charlie Spand (* 1905; † after 1940), jazz and blues pianist and singer
- Anna Stafford , (1905–2004), mathematician and university professor
1906
- Anthony Joseph Accardo (1906-1992), mobster
- Wallace Bishop (1906–1986), hot jazz and swing drummer
- Sue Carol (1906–1982), actress and talent agent
- William Droegemueller (1906–1987), pole vaulter
- Bud Freeman (1906-1991), tenor saxophonist
- Enid Annenberg Haupt (1906-2005), philanthropist
- Wilfred Jackson (1906–1988), animation director
- George E. Kimball (1906–1967), theoretical chemist and pioneer of operations research
- Jonathan Latimer (1906–1983), writer and screenwriter
- Marshall Moran (1906-1992), missionary
- Joe Sullivan (1906–1971), jazz pianist of Chicago jazz and swing
- Sam White (1906-2006), film director
1907
- Hayes Alvis (1907–1972), jazz bassist and swing tuba player
- Albert Ammons (1907-1949), pianist
- Ethel Lackie (1907–1979), swimmer
- Joe Marsala (1907–1978), jazz musician
- Jimmy McPartland (1907-1991), jazz cornetist
- Alfredo Méndez-Gonzalez (1907–1995), Roman Catholic bishop
- Arch Oboler (1907–1987), screenwriter, writer and director
- Stew Pletcher (1907–1978), jazz musician
- William Shawn (1907-1992), magazine editor
- Irene Britton Smith (1907–1999), composer
- Feliksas Vaitkus (1907-1956), pilot
- Robert Young (1907–1998), film and television actor
1908
- Max Abramovitz (1908-2004), architect
- Pierce Brodkorb (1908–1992), paleontologist and ornithologist
- Paul Cohen (1908–1970), producer and manager of country music
- Jackie Fields (1908-1987), boxer
- Sam Giancana (1908–1975), Mafioso and head of the "Chicago Outfit"
- Arthur Goldberg (1908–1990), politician, lawyer and diplomat
- Robert Halperin (1908–1985), sailor, naval officer and entrepreneur
- Phil Karlson (1908–1985), film director
- Otto Kerner (1908–1976), lawyer and politician; 33rd Governor of the State of Illinois
- Carl Laemmle junior (1908–1979), film producer
- William Joseph Lynch (1908–1976), lawyer and politician
- Babyface Nelson (1908-1934), criminal
- Jarmila Vacková (1908–1971), actress
- Crawford Wethington (1908-1994), jazz saxophonist
- Aloysius John Wycislo (1908-2005), Roman Catholic clergyman and Bishop of Green Bay
1909
- Saul Alinsky (1909–1972), community organizer and civil rights activist
- Elmer L. Andersen (1909-2004), politician
- Herbert Lawrence Block (1909–2001), political cartoonist
- Alan Curtis (1909–1953), actor
- Richard Duffin (1909-1996), physicist
- Benny Goodman (1909–1986), jazz musician and band leader
- Gene Krupa (1909–1973), jazz and big band drummer
- Carla Laemmle (1909-2014), actress
- Marty Marsala (1909–1975), jazz musician
- Willard Motley (1909-1965), writer
- Norman D. Newell (1909-2005), paleontologist
- RR Palmer (1909-2002), historian
- William Pereira (1909–1985), architect
- Ernest John Primeau (1909–1989), Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester
- Robert Ryan (1909–1973), actor
- Timothy P. Sheehan (1909-2000), politician
- Sidney R. Yates (1909-2000), politician
1910
- Boyce Brown (1910-1959), jazz musician
- J. Allen Hynek (1910-1986), astronomer
- Pepi Lederer (1910–1935), author and actress
- Fritz Leiber (1910–1992), actor and author of science fiction, fantasy and horror stories
- Oliver Lowry (1910-1996), molecular biologist
- Fern Persons (1910–2012), actress
- Lucille Ricksen (1910–1925), actress
- Edward Shils (1910–1995), sociologist and translator
- S. Sylvan Simon (1910–1951), director and producer
- Tut Soper (1910–1987), jazz pianist
- Leon Stein (1910–2002), composer
1911-1920
1911
- Philip Drucker (1911–1982), ethnologist and archaeologist
- John G. Fary (1911-1984), politician
- Burne Hogarth (1911–1996), comic artist
- Jo Jones (1911–1985), jazz drummer
- Irwin Kostal (1911–1994), arranger, composer of film music and conductor
- Edward H. Levi (1911–2000), lawyer, politician and Minister of Justice
- Byron Morrow (1911-2006), actor
- Truck Parham (1911–2002), bassist for swing and Dixieland jazz
- Jack Ruby (1911–1967), murderer of the alleged Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald
- Albert Richard Sendrey (1911–2003), composer, conductor and arranger
- George O. Smith (1911-1981), science fiction writer
- Abraham H. Taub (1911–1999), theoretical physicist and mathematician
- Gilbert F. White (1911-2006), geographer
1912
- Daniel Aaron (1912–2016), historian and Americanist
- Bernard Brindel (1912–1997), composer, music teacher and violinist
- W. Haydon Burns (1912-1987), politician
- Antonio Caponigro (1912–1980), Cosa Nostra mobster
- Charles Carpenter (1912–1978), songwriter and music producer
- Audrey Christie (1912–1989), actress
- Edward D. Freis (1912-2005), medical practitioner
- Mary Barbara Haberzetle (1912–1983), mathematician and university professor
- Carl I. Hovland (1912-1961), psychologist
- Karl Malden (1912–2009), actor
- Don Siegel (1912–1991), director
- Joseph Sistrom (1912–1966), film producer
- Harry Sukman (1912-1984), composer
- Alfred Szklarski (1912–1992), Polish writer
- Samuel A. Taylor (1912–2000), writer and screenwriter
1913
- Margaret Bonds (1913–1976), composer and pianist
- J. Herbert Burke (1913–1993), politician
- Patty Crowley (1913-2006), Roman Catholic birth control activist
- Vincent Dole (1913-2006), medical doctor
- Melvin Frank (1913–1988), screenwriter and film director
- Al Gallodoro (1913-2008), jazz musician and band leader
- Bertrand Goldberg (1913–1997), architect
- Hermann Heine Goldstine (1913–2004), mathematician
- Dorothy Kilgallen (1913–1965), television presenter and actress
- Moose Krause (birth name: Edward Walter Kriaučiūnas , 1913–1992), athlete, trainer and functionary
- Frankie Laine (1913–2007), singer, entertainer and actor
- David Stone Martin (1913–1992), painter and graphic artist
- Ray Meyer (1913-2006), basketball coach
- Stanford Moore (1913–1982), biochemist and Nobel Prize winner (1972)
- Duke Nalon (1913–2001), racing car driver
- Ray Nance (1913–1976), jazz trumpeter and violinist
- Annette Rogers (1913–2006), track and field athlete and Olympic champion
- Rosalyn Tureck (1913–2003), concert pianist and music researcher
1914
- Carl Foreman (1914–1984), screenwriter and film producer
- Thomas Joseph Grady (1914–2002), Roman Catholic Bishop of Orlando
- Rosetta Howard (1914–1974), jazz and R&B singer
- Richard Leibler (1914–2003), mathematician and cryptologist
- Edward Lofgren (1914-2016), physicist
- William Edward McManus (1914–1997), Roman Catholic Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend
- Clayton Moore (1914–1999), actor
- Norman Panama (1914–2003), screenwriter, film producer, film director and writer
- Daniel J. Ronan (1914–1969), politician
- Maurice Rosenfield (1914–2005), lawyer and film producer
- Robert H. Scanlan (1914–2001), aeronautical and wind load engineer
- Gordon D. Shirreffs (1914-1996), writer
- Ray Stark (1914-2004), film producer
- June Travis (1914-2008), actress
- Jerry Valentine (1914–1983), jazz trombonist, composer and arranger
- Philip Yordan (1914–2003), screenwriter and film producer
1915
- Frank Annunzio (1915-2001), politician
- Scoville Brown (1915-1994), jazz musician
- Jay M. Gould (1915–2005), economist, statistician and epidemiologist
- Richard Hamming (1915–1998), mathematician, one of the founders of coding theory
- Ullrich Haupt (1915–1991), German-American actor and director
- Mel Henke (1915–1979), pianist and composer
- Ring Lardner junior (1915–2000), screenwriter
- Buddy Lester (1915 / 1916–2002), actor and comedian
- Arthur C. Lundahl (1915–1992), intelligence officer
- Rosalind Marquis (1915-2006), actress
- Nicholas Metropolis (1915–1999), theoretical physicist, computer scientist and mathematician
- Eugene Polley (1915–2012), engineer
- Tadeu Henrique Prost (1915–1994), auxiliary bishop in Belém do Pará
- June Richmond (1915–1962), jazz singer and actress
- Perry Schwartz (1915-2001), American football player
- Dan Seymour (1915-1993), film actor
- Ezra Stoller (1915–2004), architectural photographer
- James Tiptree (1915–1987), science fiction writer and psychologist
- Alvin M. Weinberg (1915-2006), nuclear physicist
1916
- Budd Boetticher (1916-2001), film director
- Chester A. Chesney (1916–1986), politician
- Walter J. Cummings (1916-1999), lawyer
- Norman Davidson (1916-2002), chemist
- Dorothy Salisbury Davis (1916-2014), writer
- Johnny Frigo (1916-2007), jazz bassist and violinist
- Ina Ray Hutton (1916–1984), dancer and singer
- Paul Jordan (* around 1916, † between 1988 and 1995), jazz pianist, arranger and composer
- Benjamin Libet (1916-2007), physiologist
- Jack Miller (1916–1994), politician
- John G. Morris (1916–2017), picture editor
- Joe Polowsky (1916–1983), soldier and peace activist
- Theodore Puck (1916–2005), geneticist and biophysicist
- Irving Wallace (1916–1990), writer and screenwriter
1917
- John Alvin (1917–2009), actor
- Robert Bloch (1917–1994), writer of science fiction and horror literature as well as screenplays
- Frankie Darro (1917–1976), film actor
- Howard Luck Gossage (1917-1969), copywriter
- Sebastian de Grazia (1917–2000), political scientist, philosopher, university professor and biographer
- Harry Hoogstraal (1917–1986), acarologist and parasitologist
- Byron L. Johnson (1917-2000), politician
- RWB Lewis (1917–2002), literary scholar
- Norman Luboff (1917–1987), composer and choir director
- William Marshall (1917–1994), band musician, film actor, film director and film producer
- James C. Murray (1917–1999), lawyer and politician
- George M. O'Brien (1917–1986), politician
- Daniel Shanks (1917–1996), mathematician
- Sidney Sheldon (1917–2007), writer and screenwriter
1918
- Bob Acri (1918-2013), jazz pianist
- John R. Dellenback (1918-2002), politician
- Michael Ryan Patrick Dempsey (1918–1974), Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop in Chicago
- Armin Joseph Deutsch (1918–1969), astronomer
- Betty Ford (1918–2011), First Lady of the USA (1974–1977)
- Iceberg Slim (1918–1992), pimp and writer
- Henry S. Kaplan (1918-1984), radiologist
- Massie Kennard (1918–1986), African American Lutheran pastor
- Adolph Kiefer (1918–2017), swimmer
- Kevin A. Lynch (1918–1984), urban planner, architect and author
- Alice Provensen (1918–2018), children's author and illustrator
- Arnold Marshall Rose (1918–1968), sociologist
- Michael Rye (1918–2012), actor and voice actor
- Henry G. Saperstein (1918–1998), film producer
- Fred Wacker (1918–1998), racing car driver
- June Wayne (1918–2011), painter and graphic artist
1919
- Alfred Leo Abramowicz (1919–1999), Roman Catholic bishop
- Carl Fredrick Becker (1919–2013), violin maker and restorer
- Tony Canadeo (1919-2003), American football player
- Jack Costanzo (1919-2018), percussionist
- Israel Crosby (1919–1962), jazz bassist
- Robert James Dvorak (* 1919), composer, music teacher and horn player
- Stanley Frazen (1919-2011), film editor
- Kathleen Freeman (1919-2001), actress
- Jaroslav Gabro (1919–1980), Ukrainian-Greek Catholic bishop of Chicago
- Alfred de Grazia (1919–2014), political scientist
- Earle Hagen (1919–2008), film music composer
- William H. Hinton (1919-2004), agronomist and writer
- Donald Kalish (1919-2000), logician and antiwar activist
- Helene J. Kantor (1919–1993), archaeologist
- Eugene Kennedy (1919-2011), biochemist
- Timothy Joseph Lyne (1919–2013), Roman Catholic bishop
- Jock Mahoney (1919–1989), actor and stunt performer
- Al McKibbon (1919-2005), jazz bassist
- Doris Merrick (1919–2019), actress and model
- Hyman P. Minsky (1919–1996), economist
- Anita O'Day (1919-2006), jazz singer
- Roy Harvey Pearce (1919–2012), literary scholar
- Ralph G. Pearson (* 1919), chemist
- Joseph J. Sisco (1919–2004), diplomat, university rector and business manager
- Cecil Steffen (1919–2009), composer and music teacher
- Lennie Tristano (1919–1978), jazz musician and composer
- Sam Wanamaker (1919–1993), actor and director
1920
- Selma Jeanne Cohen (1920–2005), dance historian
- Adolph Dubs (1920–1979), diplomat
- June Hutton (1920–1973), singer
- Janet Jagan (1920–2009), Guyanese politician and writer
- Ray Linn (1920–1996), jazz trumpeter
- Jim Olin (1920-2006), politician
- Howard Wallace Pollock (1920–2011), politician
- Arthur A. Ross (1920–2008), screenwriter
- Sid Sackson (1920-2002), game designer
- Seymour Slive (1920–2014), art historian
- John Paul Stevens (1920–2019), lawyer and US Supreme Court Justice from 1975-2010
- Al Wistert (1920-2016), American football player
1921-1930
1921
- John Agar (1921-2002), actor
- Andrew Athens (1921–2013), businessman, philanthropist, and war veteran
- Seymour Barab (1921–2014), musician and composer
- Norman Bluhm (1921–1999), painter
- Lili Chookasian (1921–2012), opera singer (alto)
- Charles Francis Curtiss (1921-2007), chemist
- Betty Freeman (1921–2009), photographer
- Eddra Gale (1921–2001), actress and singer
- James Richard Ham (1921–2002), Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
- Arthur B. Pardee (1921-2019), pharmacologist and biochemist
- Robert Ghormley Parr (1921-2017), chemist
- Raymond Redheffer (1921–2005), mathematician
- Stuart A. Reiss (1921–2014), art director and production designer
- Belding Scribner (1921-2003), medical doctor
- Jean Parker Shepherd (1921–1999), author, presenter and disc jockey
- John Reese Stevenson (1921-1997), lawyer
- Bill Thomas (1921–2000), costume designer
- Earl Washington (1921–1975), jazz musician
- Bob Zimny (1921-2011), American football player
1922
- Burt Balaban (1922–1965), film director and film producer
- David Bryant (1922-2000), jazz musician
- Margia Dean (* 1922), actress and film producer
- Al Dvorin (1922–2004), band leader and artist mediator
- King Fleming (1922-2014), jazz pianist
- Marvin Leonard Goldberger (1922–2014), theoretical physicist
- Leon Golub (1922–2004), painter and graphic artist
- Tom Gries (1922–1977), director and screenwriter
- Tommy Madman Jones (1922-1993), jazz musician
- Bill Kaysing (1922-2005), author
- Richard Kiley (1922–1999), actor
- Sydney Lassick (1922-2003), actor
- Arnold Laven (1922–2009), film and television director, screenwriter and producer
- Robert B. Lees (1922-1996), linguist
- Monica Lewis (1922–2015), singer and film actress
- Jackson Mac Low (1922-2004), poet and composer
- Donald Middleton (1922-2015), British diplomat
- Agnes Nixon (1922–2016), screenwriter and film director
- James Olds (1922-1976), psychologist
- Don Patinkin (1922-1995), economist
- Jay Pritzker (1922–1999), entrepreneur, art collector and patron
- Jason Robards (1922-2000), actor
- AK Salim (* 1922), alto saxophonist
- Harold Washington (1922–1987), politician
- Haskell Wexler (1922–2015), cameraman and director
- Sheldon Wolin (1922–2015), political scientist
- Daniel Zelinsky (1922–2015), mathematician
1923
- Jean Baer (1923–1992), journalist and author
- Michael Anthony Bilandic (1923–2002), lawyer, politician and Mayor of Chicago
- Archer Blood (1923-2004), diplomat
- Ed Cassidy (1923–2012), jazz and rock drummer
- John Chambers (1923-2001), makeup artist
- Meyer Dolinsky (1923–1984), screenwriter and writer
- Von Freeman (1923–2012), jazz saxophonist
- Bonita Granville (1923–1988), actress and film producer
- Bennie Green (1923–1977), jazz musician
- Joseph R. Gusfield (1923–2015), sociologist and addiction researcher
- Johnny Hartman (1923-1983), jazz singer
- Elizabeth Hawley (1923–2018), journalist and chronicler
- Helen Horton (1923–2009), actress
- Daniel William Kucera (1923-2017), Roman Catholic Archbishop
- Melvin Moore (1923-1989), jazz trumpeter
- John Pozdro (1923–2009), composer and music teacher
- Fortunatus "Fip" Ricard (1923–1996), jazz trumpeter
- James Schuyler (1923-1991), poet
- Jody Scott (1923-2007), writer
- Raymond Siever (1923-2004), geologist
- Hank Stram (1923-2005), American football player and coach
- Giorgio Tozzi (1923–2011), opera singer
- Jean Wallace (1923–1990), actress
- Wilbur Ware (1923–1979), jazz bassist
- J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. (1923–2011), mathematician, nuclear physicist, and university professor
- Eugene Wright (* 1923), jazz double bass player
1924
- Wendell Bell (1924–2019), sociologist and futurologist
- Vincent Canby (1924-2000), film critic
- Guadalupe Carney (1924–1983), Roman Catholic priest, Jesuit, philosopher and theologian
- Robert M. Chanock (1924-2010), virologist and pediatrician
- Gene Deitch (1924-2020), illustrator, animator and film director
- Dorothy Donegan (1924-1998), jazz pianist
- Susanna Foster (1924–2009), actress
- Robert Gist (1924–1998), film director and actor
- Dolores Gray (1924–2002), singer and actress
- Cecil Heftel (1924–2010), politician
- Henry Hyde (1924-2007), politician
- Thaddeus Joseph Jakubowski (1924–2013), Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop in Chicago
- Albert S. Kobayashi (* 1924), engineering scientist
- Mark Lenard (1924–1996), actor
- Dorothy Malone (1924-2018), actress
- Ferdinand Merz (1924–1997), German psychologist
- Walter Ris (1924–1989), swimmer
- Gail Russell (1924–1961), film actress
- Ray Russell (1924-1999), writer
- Allan Sherman (1924–1973), musician, parodist, satirist and television producer
- Beatrice Winde (1924-2004), actress
- Louis Zorich (1924-2018), actor
1925
- Gene Ammons (1925–1974), jazz musician
- Elmer Angsman (1925-2002), American football player
- Dick Barwegan (1925-1966), American football player
- Ed Bonja (1925–2019), photographer and tour manager
- Sonny Cohn (1925-2006), jazz musician
- George W. Collins (1925–1972), politician
- George Connor (1925-2003), American football player and coach
- Edward Gorey (1925-2000), author and illustrator
- John Gorman (* 1925), Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop in Chicago
- Anne Meacham (1925-2006), actress
- Joan Mitchell (1925-1992), painter
- Donald O'Connor (1925–2003), actor and dancer
- Arthur Paul , called Art (1925-2018), graphic designer (Playboy Bunny)
- William J. Ruane (1925–2005), value investor, fund manager and philanthropist
- Eddie Russo (1925–2012), racing car driver
- William Schutz (1925-2002), psychologist
- Mel Tormé (1925–1999), singer
- Sam Treiman (1925–1999), theoretical physicist
- Mariana Yampolsky (1925–2002), artist
1926
- Robert McCormick Adams Jr. (1926-2018), anthropologist and archaeologist
- Chris Anderson (1926-2008), jazz pianist
- Herbert Beattie (1926–2019), opera singer
- Fred Below (1926–1988), blues musician
- Oscar Brown Jr. (1926–2005), jazz singer and lyricist
- Wilbur Campbell (1926–1999), jazz drummer
- Raymond F. Clevenger (1926–2016), politician
- Allen G. Debus (1926–2009), historian of science
- Ed Derwinski (1926–2012), politician
- Russ Freeman (1926-2002), jazz pianist
- Albert Grossman (1926–1986), music manager and impresario
- Hugh Hefner (1926–2017), founder of the Playboy empire
- Bill Henderson (1926-2016), jazz singer
- Alison Lurie (* 1926), writer and literary scholar
- James Edward Michaels (1926-2010), Roman Catholic religious and bishop
- Ben Mottelson (* 1926), American-Danish physicist
- Hilary Putnam (1926-2016), philosopher
- Frank M. Robinson (1926-2014), science fiction writer
- Ira Schulman (1926–2008), jazz musician and music teacher
- James Serrin (1926–2012), mathematician
- Sol Stein (1926–2019), writer, publicist and editor
1927
- Eddie Baker (1927-2018), jazz musician
- Tom Bosley (1927-2010), actor
- Oliver Colbentson (1927–2013), violinist and music teacher
- David Ely (* 1927), writer and journalist
- John N. Erlenborn (1927-2005), politician
- Bob Fosse (1927–1987), film director
- Jim Fuchs (1927-2010), shot putter
- James Goldman (1927-1998), playwright and screenwriter
- Stanley R. Greenberg (1927-2002), screenwriter
- Lee Konitz (1927-2020), musician
- Harvey Korman (1927–2008), actor and comedian
- Dick LaPalm (1927-2013), music promoter and producer
- Richard Long (1927–1974), actor
- Kenny Mann (1927–2008), jazz musician
- Harry M. Markowitz (* 1927), economist, Nobel Prize winner
- Reid Miles (1927-1993), graphic artist
- Richard Muth (1927–2018), economist
- Thomas Rogers (1927–2007), author and literary critic
- Victor Sproles (1927-2005), jazz bassist
- Cy Touff (1927–2003), jazz trumpeter and trombonist
- Howard Zieff (1927–2009), photographer and film director
- Earl Zindars (1927–2005), jazz composer and percussionist
1928
- Gene Allen (1928-2008), jazz musician
- Howard S. Becker (* 1928), sociologist and criminologist
- Zev Braun (1928–2019), film producer
- Martin Cooper (* 1928), electrical engineer, is considered to be the inventor of the cell phone
- Philip K. Dick (1928–1982), science fiction writer
- Ralph Foody (1928–1999), actor
- James Forman (1928-2005), civil rights activist
- Larry Gelbart (1928–2009), screenwriter
- Slade Gorton (1928-2020), politician
- Vera Green (1928-1982), anthropologist
- Johnny Griffin (1928-2008), jazz saxophonist
- Kevin Hagen (1928–2005), actor
- William Heirens (1928–2012), serial killer
- Lee Katzman (1928-2013), jazz trumpeter
- Lou Levy (1928–2001), jazz musician and pianist
- Junior Mance (* 1928), jazz pianist and composer
- Lawrence James McNamara (1928–2004), Roman Catholic Bishop of Grand Island
- Martin Moynihan (1928–1996), behavioral scientist, evolutionary biologist and ornithologist
- Dan Rostenkowski (1928-2010), politician
- Bill Russo (1928–2003), jazz musician, composer and arranger
- Paul Sarkisian (* 1928), painter
- Ethel Skakel-Kennedy (* 1928), wife of Robert F. Kennedy
- Richard Wang (1928–2016), university professor and author
- James Watson (* 1928), biochemist and Nobel Prize winner
- John Quinn Weitzel (* 1928), Roman Catholic Bishop of Samoa-Pago Pago in American Samoa
- Carol Beach York (1928–2013), author of youth literature
- Marvin Zuckerman (1928-2018), psychologist
1929
- Lorez Alexandria (1929–2001), gospel and jazz singer
- LaVern Baker (1929–1997), rhythm and blues singer
- Charles Beaumont (1929-1967), author
- Harold Bradley (born 1929), football player, actor and musician
- Morris Ellis (1929-2017), trombonist and band leader
- Kenneth Henry (1929-2009), speed skater
- Louis Norberg Howard (1929-2015), mathematician
- Jerry Hoyt (1929–1955), racing car driver
- Daniel D. Joseph (1929–2011), engineer
- Don Laz (1929–1996), pole vaulter
- Joseph Anthony Mandarino (1929–2007), American-Canadian mineralogist
- Scott M. Matheson (1929–1990), politician
- James McDivitt (born 1929), astronaut
- Robert Muczynski (1929–2010), composer, pianist and university professor
- Jack Noren (1929–1990), Swedish-American jazz drummer
- Harold Ousley (1929–2015), jazz tenor saxophonist and flautist
- Frank Rosenthal (1929–2008), Casino Manager in Las Vegas
- Norman Simmons (* 1929), jazz pianist and arranger
- Paula Stewart (born 1929), actress and singer
- Albert Tocco (1929–2005), criminal and mafia boss in Chicago
1930
- Muhal Richard Abrams (1930–2017), jazz musician and composer
- Harve Bennett (1930–2015), film producer and screenwriter
- Gordon Robert Beyer (1930-2010), diplomat
- Albert Borowitz (* 1930), collector, historian and author
- Buddy Bregman (1930–2017), television director, producer, composer and band leader
- Ronnell Bright (* 1930), jazz pianist
- Phil Crane (1930-2014), politician
- Richard Davis (* 1930), jazz bassist
- Harold Demsetz (1930–2019), economist
- Frank Drake (* 1930), astronomer and astrophysicist
- William J. Eaton (1930–2005), journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner 1970
- Armond Fields (1930–2008), painter, graphic artist and biographer
- Jerome I. Friedman (* 1930), physicist
- Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965), playwright
- Skip Homeier (1930–2017), actor
- Joni James (born 1930), singer
- Leonard Lamensdorf (* 1930), writer
- Ronald Larsen (* 1930), mathematician
- Anton Szandor LaVey (1930–1997), founder of the Church of Satan
- Abbey Lincoln (1930-2010), jazz singer
- Victor Lundin (1930–2013), actor, screenwriter and producer
- Mark McCormack (1930-2003), manager
- Mike McCormack (1930-2013), American football player and coach
- John F. Muth (1930-2005), economist
- John Neely (1930-1994), jazz musician
- Dick Price (1930–1985), psychologist
- Rita Raines (1930-2014), singer
- Lawrence Sabatini (* 1930), Roman Catholic Bishop of Kamloops
- Fred Saberhagen (1930-2007), science fiction author
- Marshall Sahlins (* 1930), anthropologist
- Shel Silverstein (1930–1999), musician, screenwriter, and cartoonist
- Adlai Ewing Stevenson III (born 1930), politician
- Ed Thigpen (1930-2010), jazz drummer
- Stanley Tigerman (1930–2019), architect, designer and architectural theorist
1931-1940
1931
- Barbara Bain (born 1931), actress
- Barbara Barrie (* 1931), actress and children's book author
- Bill Bidwill (1931–2019), entrepreneur and owner of the NFL team Arizona Cardinals
- Richard Cain (1931–1973), corrupt police officer
- James Cronin (1931-2016), physicist
- John E. Cunningham (born 1931), politician
- Billy Davenport (1931-1999), blues drummer
- Clyde Emrich (* 1931), weightlifter
- Siegfried Engelmann (1931–2019), educator
- Mitzi Gaynor (born 1931), actress
- Marla Gibbs (* 1931), actress, singer and television producer
- Andrew Hill (1931-2007), jazz musician
- Henry Theophilus Howaniec (1931–2018), Roman Catholic religious, Bishop of Almaty in Kazakhstan
- John Jenkins (1931–1993), hardbop alto saxophonist
- Clifford Jordan (1931-1993), jazz saxophonist
- James Patrick Keleher (* 1931), Roman Catholic clergyman and Archbishop of Kansas City
- Philip Kotler (* 1931), economist
- Joan Marshall (1931–1992), actress
- Julian May (1931-2017), writer
- Joanna Merlin (* 1931), actress, casting director and acting teacher
- John Norman (* 1931), writer in the genres of fantasy and science fiction
- Vera Pless (1931–2020), mathematician
- Robert O. Ragland (1931–2012), film composer
- Frederic Raphael (* 1931), screenwriter
- Jack Sharkey (1931-1992), writer
- Joe Vito (1931-2010), jazz musician and orchestra conductor
1932
- Richard Clark Barkley (1932-2015), diplomat
- Robert Barry (1932-2018), jazz drummer
- Jodie Christian (1932–2012), jazz pianist
- Michael Colgrass (1932–2019), composer and drummer
- Bruce Alexander Cook (1932–2003), journalist and writer
- William J. Duiker (* 1932), historian
- Friedrich Fahr (1932–2007), Roman Catholic Archbishop Financial Director in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising
- George Furth (1932–2008), actor, author and Tony Award winner
- Jack Gelber (1932-2003), playwright
- Bruce Glover (born 1932), actor
- Gene H. Golub (1932-2007), mathematician
- Allen Guttmann (* 1932), sports historian
- Lee Hoffman (1932–2007), writer of science fiction and western novels
- Kenneth I. Howard (1932-2000), psychotherapy researcher and psychotherapist
- John Jakes (* 1932), writer
- Leroy Jenkins (1932–2007), composer and free jazz musician
- Irene Kral (1932–1978), jazz singer
- Matt Lamb (1932–2012), Irish-American painter and peace activist
- Johnny Lattner (1932-2016), American football player
- Morgan F. Murphy (1932-2016), politician
- Thomas Joseph Murphy (1932–1997), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Seattle
- Walter Perkins (1932-2004), jazz drummer
- Donald Rumsfeld (* 1932), politician, US Secretary of Defense
- Paul Serrano (1932–2015), jazz trumpeter and sound engineer
- Richard H. Tilly (* 1932), economic and social historian
- Edward O. Thorp (* 1932), mathematician, author and hedge fund manager
- Barbara Wersba (1932–2018), author of books for young people and children
- Marilyn Yalom (1932–2019), literary scholar, gender researcher and feminist non-fiction author
1933
- Lou Adler (* 1933), producer, manager and managing director
- Gloria Foster (1933-2001), actress
- Donald Ginsberg (1933-2007), physicist
- Maynard Wayne Glitman (1933-2010), diplomat
- Morris Hirsch (* 1933), mathematician
- John Hopfield (* 1933), physicist, molecular biologist and neuroscientist
- Corinne Jacker (1933–2013), playwright and screenwriter
- Quincy Jones (* 1933), music, television and film producer and musician
- Marvin Knopp (1933–2011), mathematician
- Steve McCall (1933–1989), creative jazz drummer
- Ira Murchison (1933–1994), track and field athlete
- Ron Miller (1933–2007), songwriter and music producer
- Kim Novak (born 1933), film actress
- Larry Novak (1933-2020), jazz pianist
- Lou Rawls (1933-2006), soul and pop singer
- Theodore Roszak (1933–2011), historian
- Barbara Weil (1933–2018), artist
1934
- Casey Anderson (1934–1976), blues and folk singer
- Robert T. Anderson (1934–2009), organist and music teacher
- Clay Armstrong (born 1934), physiologist
- Alan Berg (1934–1984), lawyer and radio host
- James Bjorken (* 1934), theoretical physicist
- Eugene Cernan (1934-2017), astronaut
- Darlene Conley (1934–2007), Irish-American actress
- Edwin Michael Conway (1934–2004), Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop in Chicago
- Dolores Dorn (born 1934), actress
- James R. Flynn (* 1934), political scientist
- David Hafemeister (* 1934), physicist and armaments expert
- Eddie Harris (1934-1996), jazz musician
- Kurt Frederic Kaiser (1934–2018), musician
- Stuart Kaminsky (1934–2009), writer
- John Richard Keating (1934–1998), Roman Catholic Bishop of Arlington
- Lois Lilienstein (1934–2015), American-Canadian actress, singer and pianist
- Terrence McCann (1934-2006), wrestler and Olympic champion
- David Sackett (1934-2015), Canadian medic
- Vincent Sarich (1934–2012), ethnologist
- Gilbert Strang (* 1934), mathematician
1935
- Billy Boy Arnold (born 1935), blues musician
- Ronnie Boykins (1935-1980), jazz bassist
- Robert Conrad (1935-2020), actor
- Jack Davis (1935-2018), politician
- William Friedkin (born 1935), director, screenwriter and producer
- Charlie Hickman (1935–1979), singer, actor and presenter
- Nancy Johnson (born 1935), politician
- Lance LeGault (1935–2012), actor
- Ramsey Lewis (born 1935), jazz musician
- Emmett McBain (1935–2012), graphic designer
1936
- Andree Anderson (born 1936), figure skater
- Don Cornelius (1936–2012), television producer and presenter
- Dan Crane (1936–2019), politician
- Bruce Dern (born 1936), actor
- Arlene Golonka (born 1936), actress
- Erwin Helfer (* 1936), blues, boogie-woogie and jazz pianist
- Clifton James (born 1936), blues musician
- Fred Karlin (1936–2004), composer and book author
- Philip Kaufman (* 1936), director and screenwriter
- Walter Koenig (* 1936), actor
- Philip W. Majerus (1936-2016), hematologist
- Ron Māsak (born 1936), actor
- Ken Mattingly (born 1936), astronaut
- Jim McDermott (born 1936), psychiatrist and politician
- Hod O'Brien (1936-2016), jazz pianist
- Kenneth A. Ross (* 1936), mathematician
- Jerry Sanders III (* 1936), electrical engineer
- Larry Siedentop (* 1936), political scientist, historian and philosopher
- Virginia Steen-McIntyre (born 1936), geologist
- James R. Thompson (1936-2020), politician
- Jack Wilson (1936-2007), jazz pianist
- Joseph A. Wolf (* 1936), mathematician
- Eldee Young (1936-2007), jazz bassist
1937
- Judy Biggert (* 1937), politician
- Allan Carr (1937–1999), film and theater director and film producer
- Gene Chandler (born 1937), singer and music producer
- Irun R. Cohen (* 1937), Israeli-American physician and immunologist
- Sidney Coleman (1937-2007), theoretical physicist
- William Ferris (1937–2000), composer, organist and choir director
- Francis George (1937–2015), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Chicago and Cardinal
- Burton Greene (born 1937), jazz pianist
- Carl R. Hagen (* 1937), theoretical physicist
- Charles H. Henry (1937-2016), physicist
- Seymour Hersh (born 1937), investigative journalist
- Barbara Jones (born 1937), track and field athlete
- Bill Lipinski (* 1937), politician
- Theodor Holm Nelson (* 1937), philosopher and information technology pioneer
- Jack Nitzsche (1937–2000), pianist, arranger and composer
- Tom Paxton (* 1937), folk singer, songwriter and children's book author
- Robert Ressler (1937–2013), criminologist and FBI agent
- Tommy Sands (born 1937), singer and actor
- John F. Seymour (* 1937), real estate investor and politician
- John George Vlazny (* 1937), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Portland, Oregon
- Leroy Williams (* 1937), jazz musician
1938
- Bruce Alberts (born 1938), biochemist and President of the National Academy of Sciences
- Bob Alcivar (* 1938), jazz pianist, music producer, composer and arranger
- Raymond Battalio (1938-2004), economist
- Jason Bernard (1938–1996), actor
- Samuel Bodman (1938-2018), politician
- Bill Brimfield (1938–2012), jazz trumpeter
- Barry Dennen (1938–2017), film and stage actor
- Ed Doemland (1938–2012), composer, organist, jazz pianist and percussionist
- Nick Gravenites (born 1938), singer, songwriter and producer
- Gary Gygax (1938–2008), inventor of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons
- Dolores Hart (born 1938), film actress
- Robion Kirby (* 1938), mathematician
- Justin Leiber (1938–2016), philosopher, university professor and writer
- Lynn Margulis (1938-2011), biologist
- Lawrence G. Paull (1938-2019), film architect
- Samuel K. Skinner (* 1938), business manager, lawyer and politician
- Paul Slovic (* 1938), psychologist
- Anthony Spilotro (1938–1986), Chicago Outfit Mafioso
- Paul Holzworth Strohm (* 1938), linguist
- Denny Zeitlin (* 1938), jazz musician
1939
- Larry Bell (* 1939), minimalist artist
- Judy Chicago (* 1939), artist and writer
- David Eisenberg (* 1939), biochemist
- Dennis Edward Groh (* 1939), archaeologist
- Michael Hudson (* 1939), economist
- Bill Janklow (1939–2012), politician
- Jim Knapp (* 1939), jazz trumpeter
- Paul F. Knitter (* 1939), Roman Catholic theologian and religious scholar
- Robert Joseph Kurtz (* 1939), Roman Catholic bishop
- Major Lance (1939-1994), rhythm and blues singer
- James Patterson Lyke OFM (1939–1992), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Atlanta
- Ray Manzarek (1939–2013), musician ( The Doors )
- Lynn Morley Martin (born 1939), politician
- Alfred Mueller (* 1939), theoretical elementary particle physicist
- Kenneth Nordtvedt (* 1939), physicist
- Carol Sobieski (1939–1990), screenwriter
- Donald Spero (* 1939), rower
- Mavis Staples (* 1939), soul singer
1940
- Alice Arlen (1940-2016), screenwriter
- Judy Grahn (* 1940), author
- Herbie Hancock (* 1940), jazz pianist and composer
- Robert G. Houdek (1940-2010), diplomat
- Roscoe Mitchell (* 1940), jazz saxophonist
- Elizabeth Murray (1940–2007), artist
- Theodore Olson (* 1940), lawyer
- Mark Ptashne (* 1940), molecular biologist
- William S. Saric (born 1940), engineer
- Bernard Shaw (born 1940), journalist
- Ronald Gene Simmons (1940–1990), mass murderer
- Edward James Slattery (born 1940), Roman Catholic bishop
- Raquel Welch (born 1940), actress
- Timi Yuro (1940-2004), soul and rhythm and blues singer
1941-1950
1941
- Eddy Bell (1941–2012), rockabilly, rock 'n' roll and polka musician
- David Bennett (* 1941), opera singer, illustrator and painter
- John Capodice (born 1941), actor
- James Di Pasquale (born 1941), composer
- Evelyn Einstein (1941–2011), Albert Einstein's adopted granddaughter
- William H. Fenical (* 1941), chemist and marine biologist
- Brian Mark Hoffman (* 1941), biochemist
- Robert O. Keohane (* 1941), political scientist
- Gerald Frederick Kicanas (* 1941), Roman Catholic clergyman and Bishop Emeritus of Tucson
- Jeffrey Masson (* 1941), author and psychoanalyst
- Stanley Mazor (* 1941), computer engineer
- Stan Persky (* 1941), Canadian writer and university lecturer
- Joel Robbin (* 1941), mathematician
- Andrea Seastrand (* 1941), politician
- Shel Talmy (born 1941), music producer
- Emmett Till (1941–1955), murder victim
- Phil Upchurch (* 1941), jazz guitarist
- James Zagel (* 1941), lawyer and judge
- Jerrold Howard Zar (* 1941), biologist and statistician
1942
- John Ashcroft (born 1942), politician
- Jennifer Bassey (born 1942), actress
- Robert G. Bergman (* 1942), chemist
- Ned Block (* 1942), philosopher and professor at New York University
- Roger Brown (1942-1997), basketball player
- Dick Butkus (born 1942), American football player
- Paul Butterfield (1942–1987), musician
- Jack Cafferty (* 1942), journalist and television commentator
- Charmian Carr (1942–2016), actress
- Michael Crichton (1942–2008), writer, screenwriter and director
- Richard M. Daley (born 1942), politician; from 1989 to 2011 mayor of Chicago
- Jack DeJohnette (* 1942), jazz drummer and pianist
- Bernardine Dohrn (* 1942), lawyer, leader of the Weather Underground Organization (WUO)
- Richard Driehaus (* 1942), entrepreneur and founder
- Harrison Ford (born 1942), actor
- John Wayne Gacy (1942–1994), serial killer
- Barry Goldberg (* 1942), blues musician, keyboard player
- Paul B. Henry (1942–1993), politician
- Bruce Johnston (born 1942), musician and songwriter; Member of the band The Beach Boys
- Theodore Kaczynski (* 1942), letter bomb assassin
- Francis Kane (* 1942), Roman Catholic clergyman and auxiliary bishop in Chicago
- Ken Kramer (* 1942), politician
- Art Linson (* 1942), film producer, director and screenwriter
- Curtis Mayfield (1942–1999), soul musician
- Roger McGuinn (born 1942), folk rock musician
- Jack Miles (* 1942), theologian, biblical and literary scholar
- Mike Resnick (1942-2020), science fiction writer
- Jay Rosenberg (1942-2008), philosopher
- Milford H. Wolpoff (* 1942), paleoanthropologist
1943
- Rashid Bakr (* 1943), drummer of free and creative jazz
- Michael Bloomfield (1943–1981), blues guitarist
- Jim Cantalupo (1943–2004), head of the McDonald's restaurant group
- Johnnie Carson (* 1943), diplomat
- Pete Cosey (1943–2012), fusion guitarist
- Ral Donner (1943–1984), rock'n'roll singer and songwriter
- Robert James Fischer (1943–2008), chess player
- Donald Geman (* 1943), mathematician
- Jerry Goodman (born 1943), violinist
- Christopher S. Hyatt (1943–2008), psychologist, occultist and author
- Roger Janotta (* 1943), composer and jazz musician
- Donald Johanson (* 1943), paleoanthropologist, discoverer of Lucy
- Leonard Jones (* 1943), jazz bassist
- Harry Manfredini (* 1943), film composer
- Michael Mann (* 1943), director, producer and screenwriter
- Daniel Thomas Turley Murphy (* 1943), Roman Catholic Bishop of Chulucanas in Peru
- Franklin Rosemont (1943–2009), anarchist, poet and artist
- Joseph Schwantner (* 1943), composer
- Richard Sennett (* 1943), sociologist
- Jim Sensenbrenner (* 1943), politician
- Ben Sidran (* 1943), jazz musician, musicologist, journalist and producer
- David Soul (born 1943), actor and singer
1944
- Cathleen Black (* 1944), entrepreneur, publisher and business manager
- Oscar Brashear (* 1944), jazz trumpeter
- Edward Kenneth Braxton (* 1944), Roman Catholic clergyman and Bishop of Belleville
- Ari Brown (* 1944), jazz musician
- Peter Cetera (* 1944), singer, songwriter and bassist
- Wesley Clark (* 1944), politician and former NATO commander in chief
- Chuck Domanico (1944-2002), jazz bassist
- Dennis Farina (1944-2013), actor
- Dennis Franz (* 1944), actor
- Kinky Friedman (born 1944), country musician, writer and politician
- David Gerrold (* 1944), screenwriter and science fiction writer
- Robert Hanssen (* 1944), double agent
- James Heckman (* 1944), economist and Nobel Prize winner
- Bobby Heenan (1944–2017), pro wrestler, manager and television commentator
- Mary Pat Kelly (born 1944), writer and director
- Don Kent (1944–2015), record collector and connoisseur of blues and bluegrass recordings
- Sherry Lansing (* 1944), actress and film producer
- Claude Lawrence (* 1944), jazz saxophonist
- Frank Luther (* 1944), jazz musician
- Harold Ramis (1944–2014), actor, director and screenwriter
- Marty Russo (* 1944), politician
- Jan Schakowsky (* 1944), politician
- Adrian Smith (* 1944), architect
- Barbara Sonneborn (* 1944), photographer
- Henry Threadgill (* 1944), jazz musician
- Judy Baar Topinka (1944–2014), politician
- Charles Lacy Veach (1944-1995), astronaut
1945
- Bob Balaban (* 1945), actor, film director and film producer
- Anthony Braxton (* 1945), composer and multi-instrumentalist
- Terry Callier (1945–2012), jazz, soul and folk musician
- Charles Clark (1945–1969), jazz bassist and cellist
- Brian Doyle-Murray (* 1945), actor and screenwriter
- Mimsy Farmer (born 1945), actress
- Roger Joseph Foys (* 1945), Roman Catholic Bishop of Covington
- Lani Hall (born 1945), singer
- Donny Hathaway (1945–1979), soul musician
- Roger Howe (* 1945), mathematician
- Arnold Kanter (1945–2010), diplomat
- Scott Lash (* 1945), sociologist
- John Manz (* 1945), Roman Catholic clergyman and auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Chicago
- Bob Miller (* 1945), politician and governor of the state of Nevada from 1989 to 1999
- Joseph Neisendorfer (* 1945), mathematician
- Frank Novak (* 1945), actor
- Nadrian C. Seeman (* 1945), biochemist and biophysicist
- Michael Shamberg (* 1945), film producer
- Laurie Spiegel (* 1945), composer
- Tony Williams (1945–1997), jazz musician
1946
- Gary Buslik (born 1946), writer
- Nick Charles (1946-2011), sports presenter
- Eugene Charniak (* 1946), computer scientist
- Jerome Cooper (1946–2015), jazz drummer, flautist and pianist
- Andrew Davis (* 1946), film director, producer and screenwriter
- Joel Futterman (born 1946), pianist
- Barry Gifford (* 1946), writer and screenwriter
- Jim Hager (1946–2008), musician, comedian, actor and television presenter
- Loleatta Holloway (1946-2011), singer
- Terry Alan Kath (1946–1978), musician
- Joe Kernan (1946–2020), politician and governor of the state of Indiana
- Job (Bishop) (1946–2009), Orthodox Archbishop of the Orthodox Church in America
- Harry Petersen (* 1946), jazz musician
- Pat Sajak (* 1946), moderator
- Gene Siskel (1946–1999), journalist, film critic and television presenter
- Patti Smith (* 1946), rock musician and rock poet
- Eve Sonneman (* 1946), photographer
- Dodie Stevens (born 1946), singer and actress
- Beverly Todd (born 1946), actress
1947
- Laurie Anderson (* 1947), performance artist and musician
- Carol Moseley Braun (* 1947), politician
- Gregory Chaitin (* 1947), mathematician and philosopher
- Hillary Clinton (* 1947), US First Lady from 1993 to 2001, Democratic Party politician and 2016 presidential candidate
- Val Fuentes (born 1947), drummer
- Stuart Gordon (1947-2020), director, producer and screenwriter
- Susan Gossick (* 1947), water diver and Olympic champion
- Wilton Daniel Gregory (* 1947), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington
- Michael Gross (* 1947), actor
- Fred Hopkins (1947-1999), jazz bassist
- H. Robert Horvitz (* 1947), professor of biology
- Daniel Robert Jenky (* 1947), Roman Catholic Bishop of Peoria
- Mike Krzyzewski (* 1947), basketball coach
- Gene Lancour (born 1947), writer
- Richard Laymon (1947-2001), writer
- David Mamet (* 1947), screenwriter, playwright, film director, writer
- Larry Manetti (born 1947), actor
- Joe Mantegna (born 1947), actor
- John Meriwether (born 1947), Wall Street trader
- Marilyn Middleton Pollock (born 1947), singer
- Avreeayl Ra (* 1947), jazz musician
- Minnie Riperton (1947–1979), soul singer
- Steven Schiff (1947–1998), politician
- Mark Washington (born 1947), American football player
- Warren Zevon (1947-2003), rock 'n' roll musician
1948
- Thurman Barker (* 1948), jazz drummer, percussionist and composer
- William M. Daley (* 1948), businessman and politician
- Debra DeLee (* 1948), politician
- Aaron Dodd (1948-2010), jazz tuba player
- Steve Goodman (1948–1984), singer and composer of folk music
- Bonnie Greer (* 1948), American-British writer and critic
- Fred Hampton (1948–1969), civil rights activist and Black Panther Party activist
- Hurley Haywood (born 1948), racing car driver
- Dennis Hejhal (* 1948), mathematician
- Rick Holbrook (1948-2007), weightlifter
- Bill Klein (* 1948), entrepreneur and poker player
- Doug Moench (* 1948), author and journalist
- George Paulus (1948–2014), blues producer
- Joseph Perry (* 1948), Roman Catholic clergyman and auxiliary bishop in Chicago
- Kathy Reichs (* 1948), anthropologist and crime novelist
- Frances-Marie Uitti (* 1948), cellist and composer
- George Wendt (* 1948), actor
1949
- Frank Abbinanti (* 1949), composer and musician
- John Belushi (1949–1982), Albanian-American singer and actor
- Tom Berenger (born 1949), actor
- Anita Borg (1949–2003), computer scientist and women's rights activist
- Martin Brody (* 1949), composer and music teacher
- Chicago Beau (* 1949), blues musician and author
- Jay Cassidy (born 1949), film editor
- Richard Dennis (* 1949), commodity speculator
- Chico Freeman (* 1949), jazz musician
- Stuart Geman (* 1949), mathematician
- Sue Hendrickson (* 1949), paleontologist
- Sherman Howard (born 1949), actor and voice actor
- Charles Levin (1949-2019), actor
- Susan Lindquist (1949–2016), biologist and university professor
- Jerome Listecki (* 1949), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Milwaukee
- Timothy McCarthy (born 1949), Secret Service agent and police officer
- Jim McNeely (* 1949), jazz pianist
- Don Keith Opper (* 1949), actor and screenwriter
- Geoff Pierson (born 1949), actor
- Harvey S. Rosen (* 1949), economist
- Randy Sandke (* 1949), jazz musician
- Howard Sandroff (* 1949), composer and music teacher
- Gil Scott-Heron (1949–2011), musician and poet
- Garry Shandling (1949-2016), actor and comedian
- Marc Smith (born 1949), poet
- Scott Turow (* 1949), lawyer and author
- Ann E. Ward (1949–2016), jazz musician and music teacher
1950
- Jim Baker (* 1950), jazz and improvisation musician
- L. Scott Caldwell (born 1950), actress
- William Patrick Callahan (born 1950), Roman Catholic Bishop of La Crosse
- Vincent Chancey (* 1950), jazz horn player and composer
- Jeffery Deaver (born 1950), thriller writer
- Chuck Greenberg (1950–1995), fusion musician
- Dave Jurasevich (born 1950), amateur astronomer
- Fred Karger (* 1950), activist of the lesbian and gay movement
- Mercedes Lackey (* 1950), fantasy writer
- John Landis (born 1950), film director and screenwriter
- Ike Levin (* 1950), jazz musician
- Amy Madigan (born 1950), actress
- John McNaughton (born 1950), director
- Natalia Nogulich (born 1950), actress
- Mary Doria Russell (born 1950), writer of science fiction and historical novels
- Jean Shy (born 1950), singer
- Kathy Sinnott (* 1950), Irish politician
- Jill Stein (* 1950), doctor and politician
- Tom Towles (1950-2015), actor
- John Vande Velde (* 1950), track cyclist and sports official
- Amy Wright (born 1950), actress
1951-1960
1951
- Billy Branch (* 1951), blues musician
- Jim Cooper (* 1951), jazz vibraphonist
- Corey Goodman (* 1951), scientist and entrepreneur
- Phil Gordon (* 1951), politician
- Amy Hempel (* 1951), writer and journalist
- Dianne Holum (* 1951), speed skater
- Nils Lofgren (* 1951), rock musician
- Carol Mendelsohn (* 1951), screenwriter and producer
- Alley Mills (born 1951), actress
- Jemeel Moondoc (* 1951), jazz musician
- Deborah Pratt (* 1951), actress, screenwriter and television producer
- Jonathan Rosenberg (* 1951), mathematician
- Mark D. Siljander (* 1951), politician
- John Stagliano (* 1951), porn actor and director
- Marc Tardue (* 1951), conductor
- Tim Walberg (* 1951), politician
- Robin Williams (1951–2014), actor and comedian
- Timothy Zahn (born 1951), science fiction author
- Larry Zbyszko (born 1951), wrestler
1952
- Ray Anderson (* 1952), jazz trombonist
- David Arkenstone (* 1952), musician and composer
- Tom Campbell (born 1952), politician
- Julius Carry (1952-2008), actor
- Francis Fukuyama (* 1952), political scientist
- Merrick B. Garland (* 1952), lawyer and judge
- Christie Hefner (* 1952), entrepreneur and daughter of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner
- Marilu Henner (* 1952), actress
- Gary Jonland (* 1952), speed skater
- Jim Kahr (* 1952), guitarist and singer
- Christine Korsgaard (* 1952), philosopher
- George Lewis (* 1952), trombonist
- Mr. T (born 1952), actor
- Skip Novak (* 1952), sailor, mountaineer and author
- Michael O'Hare (1952–2012), actor
- Thomas John Paprocki (* 1952), Roman Catholic bishop
- Judd Parkin (* 1952), screenwriter and film producer
- Mandy Patinkin (* 1952), actor and singer
- Julian Kerbis Peterhans (* 1952), mammal loge
- Bruce Pontow (* 1952), badminton player
- Stan Shaw (born 1952), actor
- Thomas Siebel (* 1952), entrepreneur
- James Signorile (* 1952), composer
- Walter Sittler (* 1952), German actor
- Robert Zemeckis (* 1952), director and film producer
- Edward Zwick (* 1952), film producer, film director and screenwriter
1953
- Mike Bidlo (born 1953), artist
- Ana Castillo (* 1953), writer
- Christine Ebersole (* 1953), actress and singer
- Kahil El'Zabar (* 1953), drummer, multi-instrumentalist and composer of Creative Jazz
- Sy Friedman (* 1953), mathematician
- Mary Margaret Gross (* 1953), actress and comedian
- Luis Gutiérrez (* 1953), politician
- John P. Hiler (* 1953), politician
- Robert Irving III (* 1953), jazz pianist and keyboarder, composer and arranger
- Kathy Kelly (* 1953), pacifist and author
- Janet Lynn Nowicki (* 1953), figure skater
- John Murphy (born 1953), swimmer
- John Musker (* 1953), animation film director
- William Petersen (born 1953), actor
- Charles Ray (* 1953), object artist, multimedia and film artist
- Craig Reynolds (* 1953), expert in the fields of artificial life and computer graphics
- Evelyn Thomas (* 1953), singer
- Paul Wertico (* 1953), jazz drummer
1954
- Michael Anthony (born 1954), musician
- Randall Balmer (* 1954), historian of religion
- James Belushi (* 1954), Albanian-American actor and musician
- Sandra Cisneros (* 1954), Mexican-American writer and poet
- Stuart Curtis (1954–2012), jazz musician
- John B. Emerson (* 1954), business lawyer and from 2013 to 2017 Ambassador of the United States to Germany
- Jo Ann Garrett (* 1954), soul singer
- Gary Gianni (* 1954), comic book artist and illustrator
- Rickey Green (born 1954), basketball player
- Barry Greenstein (born 1954), poker player
- Michael G. Hagerty (born 1954), film actor
- Henry Johnson (* 1954), jazz guitarist
- Rickie Lee Jones (* 1954), pop and jazz musician
- Cynthia Kenyon (* 1954), molecular biologist
- Leonard Mlodinow (* 1954), physicist and author
- Wendy Schaal (born 1954), actress
- Robert I. Sutton (* 1954), university professor
- Tani Tabbal (* 1954), musician of creative jazz
- Brian Torff (* 1954), jazz musician
- David Weinstein (* 1954), keyboardist and composer
- Mark Weisbrot (* 1954), economist and publicist
- Adrian Zmed (* 1954), Romanian-American actor
1955
- Sandra Elaine Allen (1955–2008), height record holder with 2.32 m
- Nancy Atherton (* 1955), writer
- Patricia Barber (* 1955), jazz singer, pianist, songwriter and band leader
- Shabba Doo (* 1955), actor, dancer, choreographer and director
- James Eckhouse (* 1955), actor and director
- Mark Feldman (* 1955), violinist and composer
- Lee Fogolin junior (born 1955), ice hockey player
- Margaret Hamburg (* 1955), doctor and government official
- Jeff Jur (* 1955), cameraman
- Gregory J. Nickels (* 1955), politician
- Mike O'Connell (* 1955), ice hockey player, coach and official
- Robert F. Prevost OSA (* 1955), Roman Catholic Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru
- William T. Redmond (born 1955), politician
- Adam Rudolph (* 1955), percussionist and composer
- Maria Shriver (* 1955), journalist
- Gary Sinise (born 1955), actor
- Andy Tennant (born 1955), director
- Angus Bangus Thomas (* 1955), jazz bassist
- Chris Walas (* 1955), special effects artist and makeup artist
1956
- Michael Angelo Batio (* 1956), guitarist
- Rod Blagojevich (* 1956), Governor of Illinois convicted of corruption
- Rosalyn Bryant (* 1956), sprinter
- Exene Cervenka (* 1956), musician and writer
- Maurice Cheeks (born 1956), basketball player
- Steve Coleman (* 1956), jazz musician, alto saxophonist, leader
- Emery de Gaál (* 1956), Roman Catholic theologian
- Kevin Dunn (born 1956), actor
- Scott Fields (born 1956), musician
- David Garfield (* 1956), keyboard player, songwriter and producer
- Brian Grice (born around 1956 - † 2010), drummer
- Dorothy Hamill (* 1956), figure skater
- Sue Harnett (* 1956), bank manager
- Scott Jacoby (born 1956), actor
- Cynthia Kadohata (* 1956), writer
- Dieter Lüst (* 1956), German theoretical physicist
- Deval Patrick (* 1956), politician
- Bruce Rauner (* 1956), politician and entrepreneur
- Aaron Scott (* 1956), jazz musician
- Susan Solomon (* 1956), atmospheric chemist
- Gust Tsilis (* 1956), jazz musician and composer
1957
- Bruce Beutler (* 1957), immunologist and geneticist
- Dan Castellaneta (* 1957), actor and voice actor
- Michael Clarke Duncan (1957–2012), actor
- Bernie Mac (1957-2008), actor
- Michael Madsen (born 1957), actor
- Frances McDormand (born 1957), actress
- Stewart D. Nozette (* 1957), astronomer
- William O'Leary (born 1957), actor
- Declan Quinn (born 1957), cameraman
- Virginia Rometty (* 1957), computer scientist, electrical engineer and business manager
- Mike Smith (* 1957), jazz saxophonist
- Erica Spindler (* 1957), writer
- Robert Townsend (* 1957), actor, comedian, director and screenwriter
1958
- Mindy Baha El Din (1958–2013), Egyptian herpetologist, eco-activist and environmentalist of American origin
- Lurrie Bell (* 1958), blues musician
- Ann Hampton Callaway (* 1958), composer, singer and actress
- Ellen Christi (* 1958), singer of creative jazz and music producer
- Bart Conner (* 1958), artistic gymnast
- Bill Dickens (* 1958), bassist, songwriter and music producer
- Jeffrey Erickson (1958–1992), bank robber and murderer
- Michael Flatley (* 1958), dancer with Irish roots
- Greg Foster (born 1958), track and field athlete
- Ardo Hansson (* 1958), Estonian-American economist
- Rickey Henderson (born 1958), baseball player
- Lynn-Holly Johnson (* 1958), figure skater and actress
- Jeannie Pepper (* 1958), porn actress
- Gary Primich (1958–2007), blues harmonica and guitar player
- Mark Pivarunas (* 1958), clergyman, bishop and Superior General of the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen
- Bobby Rangell (* approx. 1958), jazz musician
- Vincent Wilburn (* 1958), fusion musician and record producer
- Michael Zerang (* 1958), drummer and composer
- Arvydas Petras Žygas (1958–2011), Lithuanian anthropologist
1959
- Mark Aguirre (born 1959), basketball player
- Robert Barron (* 1959), Roman Catholic clergyman, auxiliary bishop in Los Angeles
- André Bormanis (* 1959), television producer and screenwriter
- Rahm Emanuel (* 1959), politician
- Eric Forsberg (* 1959), director and screenwriter
- Nan Hayworth (born 1959), politician
- Julie Hyzy (* 1959), writer
- Marshall Jefferson (* 1959), DJ and musician on the house scene in Chicago
- Eddie Johnson (born 1959), basketball player
- Stanley Jordan (* 1959), jazz guitarist
- Penny Pritzker (* 1959), entrepreneur and politician
- Aidan Quinn (born 1959), actor
- Gary Rydstrom (* 1959), sound engineer and animation director
- Mike Smith (born 1959), American football coach
- Jody Watley (* 1959), musician
- Bill White (* 1959), bobsledder
- Evan Ziporyn (* 1959), composer and clarinetist
1960
- Steve Bannos (born 1960), actor
- Jean-Paul Bourelly (* 1960), jazz guitarist
- Richard Scott Cohen (* 1960), music teacher
- Sidney Corbett (* 1960), composer of new music, electric guitarist and professor of composition
- Neil Flynn (born 1960), actor
- Don Franklin (born 1960), film actor
- Marla Glen (born 1960), singer
- Daryl Hannah (born 1960), actress
- Larry Heard (* 1960), musician
- Lucy Kaplansky (* 1960), singer and musician
- Lonnie Plaxico (* 1960), jazz musician
- Kirby Puckett (1960-2006), baseball player
- Jennifer Runyon (born 1960), actress
- Scott Stearney (1960–2018), naval aviator and vice admiral
- James Tyler (* 1960), bobsleigh athlete
- Diane Williams (born 1960), track and field athlete
1961-1970
1961
- Daniel Clowes (* 1961), comic artist and screenwriter
- Kenny Davis (* 1961), jazz bassist
- Chris Hinton (born 1961), American football player
- Bonnie Hunt (* 1961), actress, film producer, screenwriter and director
- Darryl Jones (* 1961), bassist
- Richard A. Knaak (* 1961), author
- Chris Kneifel (* 1961), racing car driver and motorsport official
- Harald Leibrecht (* 1961), German politician (FDP)
- Virginia Madsen (born 1961), actress
- Chi McBride (born 1961), actor
- Rod McGaha (* 1961), jazz trumpeter
- Wally Pfister (* 1961), cameraman and director
- Mark Protosevich (born 1961), screenwriter
- Girard Rhoden (* 1961), opera, musical and lied singer (tenor)
- Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (* 1961), basketball player and coach
- James Rollins (born 1961), veterinarian and writer
- Casey Siemaszko (* 1961), American actor of Polish origin
- Amanda Simpson (born 1961), transsexual
- Isiah Thomas (born 1961), basketball player
- Lauren Tom (born 1961), Sino-American actress
- Mark Walker (* 1961), jazz musician
- Lisa Zane (born 1961), actress
1962
- Rose Abdoo (born 1962), actress
- Melissa Bean (born 1962), politician
- Carlos Bernard (born 1962), actor
- Andre Braugher (* 1962), actor
- Chris Chelios (born 1962), ice hockey player
- Mike Conley Sr. (born 1962), track and field athlete
- Alex Datcher (born 1962), actress
- Jennifer Egan (born 1962), writer
- Michael Patrick Flanagan (* 1962), politician
- Jeff Garlin (born 1962), actor, screenwriter and director
- Steve Hurley (* 1962), house producer and club DJ
- Tom Kalin (* 1962), screenwriter, film director and film producer
- Ali LeRoi (* 1962), television producer, director, author and actor
- Rusty Schwimmer (born 1962), actress
- Jill Talley (born 1962), actress and voice actress
- Michael T. Weiss (* 1962), actor
- Barbara Alyn Woods (born 1962), actress
1963
- Jennifer Beals (born 1963), actress
- Eric Bolling (* 1963), television presenter and commentator
- Philip Collin (* 1963), racing car driver
- Cynthia Cooper (born 1963), basketball player
- John Corbett (* 1963), music journalist, guitarist and music producer
- Lisa Darr (* 1963), actress
- Bruce Eisenbeil (* 1963), jazz guitarist
- Brad Goode (* 1963), jazz musician and university professor
- Fareed Haque (* 1963), jazz guitarist
- Yoron Israel (* 1963), jazz musician
- Kenna James (born 1963), poker player
- Eric Korita (born 1963), tennis player
- Richard Marx (* 1963), singer and songwriter
- Paul Speckmann (* 1963), metal singer and bassist
- Don Thompson (born 1963), manager
- Reginald Veal (* 1963), jazz musician
1964
- Martin Betz (* 1964), musician, cabaret artist and author
- Ed Boon (born 1964), video game programmer
- Lisa Boyle (* 1964), actress and model
- Arne Duncan (* 1964), politician
- Daniel Fernández Torres (* 1964), Roman Catholic clergyman and Bishop of Arecibo
- Davy Jones (* 1964), racing car driver
- Earl Jones (born 1964), middle-distance runner
- Harry J. Lennix (born 1964), actor
- Michael McGovern (* 1964), clergyman and Roman Catholic Bishop of Belleville
- Michelle Obama (* 1964), lawyer and wife of Barack Obama
- Margaret A. Ryan (* 1964), lawyer and judge
- Dan Savage (* 1964), journalist and author
- Andrew Urdiales (1964-2018), serial killer
1965
- Tom Allen (born 1965), opera singer
- Bernard Allison (* 1965), blues guitarist, singer and songwriter
- Jason Gedrick (born 1965), actor
- Jami Gertz (* 1965), actress
- Steve Harris (born 1965), actor
- Kathleen Horvath (* 1965), tennis player
- Peter Jacobson (born 1965), actor
- Andrea Jaeger (* 1965), tennis player
- Natalija Jaresko (* 1965), US-Ukrainian investment banker
- Alex Meneses (born 1965), actress
- Bill Morrison (* 1965), cartoonist
- Max Mutchnick (* 1965), film director, film producer and screenwriter
- Blake Nelson (born 1965), writer
- Jeremy Piven (born 1965), actor
- JB Pritzker (* 1965), investor, businessman, philanthropist and billionaire
- John C. Reilly (born 1965), actor
- Sterling Sharpe (born 1965), American football player
- Darryl Thomas (1965-2018), basketball player
1966
- Steve Atwater (born 1966), American football player
- Chip E. (* 1966), musician and DJ
- Kevin Dorff (* 1966), actor and comedian
- Mark Filip (* 1966), lawyer, prosecutor and judge
- George Fludas (* 1966), jazz musician
- Tim Hardaway (born 1966), basketball player
- Helga Hengge (* 1966), German journalist, author and mountaineer
- Dan Lipinski (* 1966), politician
- LisaRaye (* 1966), actress
- Lisa Madigan (* 1966), politician
- Ed Olczyk (* 1966), ice hockey player and coach
- Mark Pincus (* 1966), co-founder and current CEO of Zynga
- Adam Rifkin (* 1966), screenwriter, film director, producer and actor
- Cynda Williams (born 1966), actress
- Billy Zane (born 1966), actor
1967
- Marcelo Balboa (* 1967), football player
- Ronnie Baker Brooks (* 1967), blues guitarist, singer and songwriter
- Robert Casey (* 1967), auxiliary bishop in Chicago
- Hollis Conway (* 1967), high jumper
- Billy Corgan (* 1967), musician and poet
- Kurt Elling (* 1967), jazz singer
- Ronald Hicks (* 1967), Roman Catholic clergyman and Bishop of Joliet in Illinois
- R. Kelly (* 1967), singer and composer
- Dan Kotowski (* 1967), politician
- Ben Marcus (* 1967), author
- Ed Partyka (* 1967), jazz musician
- Salli Richardson (born 1967), actress
- Lili Taylor (* 1967), actress
1968
- Katrina Adams (* 1968), tennis player
- Anastacia (* 1968), singer
- Gillian Anderson (born 1968), actress
- Patricia Arquette (* 1968), actress
- Lauralee Bell (born 1968), actress
- Johnni Black , actually Laurie Golem (* 1968), porn actress
- DuShon Monique Brown (1968-2018), actress
- Jon Glaser (* 1968), actor and screenwriter
- Green Velvet (* 1968), DJ and producer in the electronic music scene
- Craig Hurley (born 1968), film actor
- James Yoshinobu Iha (* 1968), musician
- Ahrue Luster (* 1968), guitarist
- Deb Mell (born 1968), politician
- Alexandra Patsavas (* 1968), musical supervisor
- Shannon Sharpe (born 1968), American football player
- Todd Stashwick (born 1968), actor
1969
- Paul Adelstein (* 1969), actor
- Kelvin Atkinson (* 1969), politician
- David Auburn (born 1969), playwright and director
- Tim Griffin (born 1969), actor
- Terrence Howard (born 1969), actor
- Esther Jones (* 1969), sprinter
- Russell Maryland (born 1969), American football player
- Gary Novak (* 1969), drummer
- John Tobias (* 1969), video game designer
1970
- Nelson Diebel (* 1970), swimmer
- Dave Eggers (* 1970), writer
- Montell Griffin (* 1970), boxer and former WBC light heavyweight champion
- Yolanda Griffith (* 1970), basketball player
- Sean Hayes (born 1970), actor
- Karen Kamensek (* 1970), conductor
- Devon Michaels (* 1970), fitness model and porn actress
- Shonda Rhimes (* 1970), screenwriter and producer of television series
- Todd Rokita (* 1970), politician
- DJ Rush (* 1970), techno DJ and music producer
- Tanya Wexler (* 1970), director
1971-1980
1971
- Michael Bennett (born 1971), boxer
- Michael Ian Black (born 1971), actor
- Russell Gunn (* 1971), trumpeter, keyboardist and percussionist of modern jazz
- Felix da Housecat (* 1971), house and techno producer and DJ
- Chris LiPuma (* 1971), ice hockey player
- No ID (* 1971), hip-hop producer
- Chris Potter (* 1971), jazz saxophonist and composer
- Bill Rancic (* 1971), entrepreneur
- Craig Robinson (* 1971), actor and stand-up comedian
- Joe Smith (born 1971), jazz drummer
- DB Weiss (* 1971), book and screenwriter
1972
- Reiko Aylesworth (born 1972), actress
- Josh Berman (* 1972), jazz musician
- Rosa Blasi (* 1972), actress
- Bailey Chase (born 1972), actor
- Common (born 1972), rapper and actor
- Nicole DeBoom (* 1972), triathlete and Ironman winner (2004)
- Amanda Dee (* 1972), porn actress, actress and film producer
- Crispin Freeman (born 1972), voice actor
- Vincent Gardner (* 1972), jazz trombonist, composer, band leader and music teacher
- Michael Grant (* 1972), heavyweight boxer
- Nate Jones (* 1972), heavyweight boxer
- Justina Machado (* 1972), American actress of Puerto Rican origin
- Jenny McCarthy (* 1972), actress, model and presenter
- Jason Shaw (* 1972), photo model
- Robin Tunney (born 1972), actress
- November Wanderin (* 1972), film director
- Anthony Wonsey (* 1972), jazz pianist
1973
- Andrew Bird (* 1973), musician
- Tempestt Bledsoe (born 1973), actress
- Juwan Howard (* 1973), basketball player
- Donell Jones (* 1973), rhythm'n'blues singer, songwriter and producer
- Danny Lloyd (* 1973), child actor
- Matthew Lux (* 1973), jazz musician
- Suzy Nakamura (* 1973), actress
- Marisol Nichols (born 1973), actress
- Twista (born 1973), rapper
1974
- Vaughn Bean (born 1974), heavyweight boxer
- Aaron McGruder (born 1974), cartoonist
- Sendhil Ramamurthy (born 1974), actor
- Jason Ridge (born 1974), porn actor
- Frank Rosaly (* 1974), jazz and improvisation musician
- David Schumacher (* 1974), jazz musician
- Inari Vachs (* 1974), porn actress
1975
- Flozell Adams (born 1975), American football player
- Emanuel Augustus (* 1975), professional boxer
- Chris Baldwin (* 1975), racing cyclist
- George Bastl (* 1975), Swiss tennis player
- Bates Battaglia (born 1975), ice hockey player
- Heather Burns (born 1975), actress
- Kelly McCarty (born 1975), basketball player
- Ryan McPartlin (born 1975), actor
- Mark Miller (* 1975), basketball coach and player
- Michael Muhney (* 1975), actor and screenwriter
- Freddy Rodríguez (* 1975), actor
- Aries Spears (* 1975), actor and comedian
- Antwon Tanner (* 1975), film and television actor
- Larenz Tate (born 1975), actor
1976
- Donovan McNabb (born 1976), American football player
- Michael Peña (* 1976), film and theater actor
- Fred Savage (born 1976), actor
- Matt Skiba (* 1976), musician
- Antoine Walker (born 1976), basketball player
1977
- Ike Barinholtz (* 1977), comedian and actor
- Amir ElSaffar (* 1977), jazz musician and composer
- LaTasha Jenkins (born 1977), track and field athlete
- Hayes MacArthur (born 1977), actor and stand-up comedian
- Nazr Mohammed (* 1977), basketball player
- Evelyn Pollock (* 1977), opera singer
- Rhymefest (* 1977), rapper
- Jason Wheeler (born 1977), poker player
- Hillary Wolf (* 1977), actress and judoka
1978
- Diablo Cody (* 1978), author
- Scott DuBois (* 1978), jazz guitarist, composer and band leader
- Aimee Garcia (born 1978), actress
- Shawn Marion (born 1978), basketball player
- Tim McIlrath (* 1978), singer and songwriter
- Kel Mitchell (* 1978), actor and singer
- Jason Price (* 1978), basketball player and coach
- CM Punk (born 1978), wrestler
- Matana Roberts (* around 1978), jazz musician
- Nadine Velazquez (* 1978), Puerto Rican-American actress and model
1979
- Anthony Battaglia (born 1979), ice hockey player
- Max Botkin (* 1979), screenwriter
- Erica Hubbard (born 1979), actress
- Colombe Jacobsen-Derstine (* 1979), actress, TV chef and fitness trainer
- Jennifer Morrison (born 1979), actress
- Jannero Pargo (* 1979), basketball player
- Danny Pudi (* 1979), actor
- Jonathan Sadowski (born 1979), actor
- Marc Salyers (* 1979), basketball player
- Corey Wilkes (* 1979), jazz trumpeter
1980
- Colt Cabana (born 1980), wrestler
- Anna Chlumsky (* 1980), actress
- David Diehl (born 1980), American football player
- Henry Domercant (born 1980), basketball player
- Greg Lewis (born 1980), American football player
- Quentin Richardson (born 1980), basketball player
- Ben Savage (born 1980), actor
- Ricky Sinz (* 1980), porn actor
1981-1990
1981
- Matthew A. Cherry (* 1981), director and former American football player
- Brett Chukerman (born 1981), actor
- Laura Granville (* 1981), tennis player
- Jennifer Hudson (* 1981), singer and actress
- Lily Koppel (* 1981), non-fiction author and journalist
- Aaliyah Love (* 1981), porn actress
- Consuella Moore (* 1981), sprinter
- Graham Moore (* 1981), screenwriter and writer
- Christina Santiago (* 1981), model and actress of Puerto Rican origin
- Charles Tillman (born 1981), American football player
- Jesse Williams (* 1981), actor and political activist
1982
- Benjamin Agosto (* 1982), figure skater
- Tony Allen (* 1982), basketball player
- Cashis (born 1982), rapper
- Shani Davis (* 1982), speed skater
- Lupe Fiasco (* 1982), rapper
- Cassidy Freeman (* 1982), actress and musician
- Jaime Hammer (* 1982), photo model
- Luther Head (* 1982), basketball player
- Samm Levine (born 1982), actor
- David Logan (born 1982), basketball player
- Brit Marling (* 1982), screenwriter, film producer, director and actress
- Michael Stahl-David (* 1982), actor
- Marcus Storey (* 1982), soccer player
- Dwyane Wade (born 1982), basketball player
- Greg Ward (* 1982), jazz musician
1983
- Abbey Brooks (* 1983), porn actress and model
- Hannibal Buress (* 1983), actor, author and comedian
- Will Bynum (born 1983), basketball player
- Matt Chrabot (born 1983), triathlete
- Jason Maxiell (born 1983), basketball player
- Lamorne Morris (born 1983), actor
- David Moss (born 1983), basketball player
- Sam Moyer (* 1983), artist
- Peter Quillin (* 1983), professional boxer
- Agustín Viana (* 1983), Uruguayan football player
1984
- Willie Applewhite (born 1984), jazz musician
- Adrian Hegyvary (* 1984), cyclist
- Liesel Matthews (* 1984), child actress and heiress
- Danny Richmond (born 1984), ice hockey player
- Wallace Spearmon (* 1984), sprinter
- Lena Waithe (* 1984), screenwriter, actress and film producer
1985
- Robbie Earl (born 1985), ice hockey player
- Christian Hopkins (born 1985), American football player
- Christina Loukas (* 1985), water diver
- Evan Lysacek (* 1985), figure skater
- Aries Merritt (* 1985), hurdler
- Stephanie Nilles (* 1985), folk, jazz and blues singer and pianist
- Drew Sidora (* 1985), actress and singer
- Cindy Tsai (* 1985), chess player
- Yung Berg (born 1985), rapper
1986
- Steve Billirakis (* 1986), poker player
- Tyrone Brazelton (* 1986), basketball player
- Mason Gamble (born 1986), actor
- Trevor Morgan (born 1986), film actor
- Jeremy Pargo (born 1986), basketball player
- Aaron Swartz (1986-2013), programmer, author, and hacktivist
- Mike Taylor (* 1986), basketball player
- Jacob Zachar (* 1986), actor
1987
- Alexandria Anderson (* 1987), sprinter
- Dolla (1987-2009), rapper
- Aiden English (born 1987), wrestler
- Jeremih (* 1987), R&B singer
- Matt O'Leary (born 1987), film actor
- April Rose (* 1987), model and actress
1988
- Patrick Beverley (* 1988), basketball player
- Jason Jordan (born 1988), wrestler
- Tadhg Kelly (* 1988), actor
- DeAndre Liggins (born 1988), basketball player
- Greta Neimanas (* 1988), racing cyclist
- Derrick Rose (* 1988), basketball player
- Christopher Richard Stringini (* 1988), singer with the pop band US5
- Evan Turner (born 1988), basketball player
1989
- Ali Cobrin (* 1989), actress
- Troy Doris (* 1989), Guyanese-American triple jumper
- Connor Drinan (* 1989), poker player
- Marquis Hill (* around 1989), jazz musician and composer
- Donald Young (* 1989), tennis player
1990
- Soulja Boy (* 1990), rapper
- Lana Gehring (* 1990), speed skater and short tracker
- Steve Grand (born 1990), country singer
- Laura Harrier (* 1990), actress and model
- Illenium (* 1990), music producer and DJ
- Matt Piet (* around 1990), jazz musician
- Tessa Violet (* 1990), musician, vlogger and model
- Diante Watkins (born 1990), basketball player
- De'Shawn Washington ( b.1990 ), actor
1991-2000
- Ellis Coleman (born 1991), wrestler
- Regina George (* 1991), Nigerian sprinter
- Maestro Harrell (* 1991), actor, DJ and dancer
- Matthew Ladley (born 1991), snowboarder
- Nayel Nassar (* 1991), rider
- Austin Jones (b.1992), singer and web video producer; convicted sex offender
- Evan King (born 1992), tennis player
- Karlie Kloss (* 1992), model
- Alexa Nikolas (* 1992), actress
- Alexander Ruuttu (* 1992), Finnish ice hockey player
- Anthony Davis (born 1993), basketball player
- Kenny Golladay (born 1993), football player
- Morgan Lee (* 1993), porn actress
- Zoe Levin (* 1993), actress
- Michael Redlicki (* 1993), tennis player
- Mike Reilly (* 1993), ice hockey player
- Vinnie Hinostroza (* 1994), ice hockey player
- Drew Mikuska (born 1994), actor
- Corey Davis (born 1995), football player
- Noah Gray-Cabey (* 1995), actor and pianist
- John Hayden (born 1995), ice hockey player
- Chief Keef (born 1995), rapper
- Tavi Gevinson (* 1996), fashion blogger
- Stefanie Scott (* 1996), actress
- CupcakKe (* 1997), rapper
- Christian Fischer (* 1997), ice hockey player
- Shealeigh (* 1998), singer and songwriter
- Juice Wrld (1998–2019), rapper, singer and songwriter
- Kiernan Shipka (* 1999), actress
- Landry Bender (* 2000), actress
Year of birth unknown
- Kipleigh Brown , actress and comedian
- Anna Burden , cellist and music teacher
- Tyree Cooper , house musician, rapper and DJ
- Fast Eddie , record producer and DJ
- Julio Finn , author and blues musician
- Tom Fischer , jazz clarinetist and saxophonist
- Gene Ha , comic book artist
- Larry Kohut , jazz bassist and pianist
- Cheryl Lichter , singer, music teacher and conductor
- Bob Mamet , pianist and composer
- Howard Mandel , music journalist, non-fiction author and radio presenter
- Ladell McLin , blues musician
- Jim Miller , film editor
- Reggie Nicholson , drummer, percussionist and composer of avant-garde jazz
- Woody Omens , cameraman
- Dave Payne , screenwriter, director and actor
- Matt Piet , jazz pianist
- Isaiah Spencer (* ≈1979), jazz musician
- Michael Patrick Thornton , actor and theater director
- Matt Ulery , jazz musician
- Eleni Vassilika , Greek-American Egyptologist
21st century
- Roberto Hategan (* 2001), football player
- Jacob Melton (* 2001), actor
- Maxwell Jenkins (* 2005), actor
Web links
Commons : People of Chicago - collection of pictures, videos and audio files