List of people from Fort Wayne, Indiana

The following is a list of notable natives, residents, or former residents of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Notable natives and former residents

Artists, designers, architects

* Bill Blass, fashion designer
* Jack Boyd Buckley, civil engineer
* Steven Montgomery, documentary filmmaker
* Gray Morrow, comic book illustrator, art director for "Spider-Man"
* Bruce Nauman, artist
* Frederick William Sievers, sculptor
* Alvin M. Strauss, architect
* Brentwood S. Tolan, architect
* Thomas J. Tolan, architect
* George Washington Whistler, railroad engineer

Athletes

* Jason Baker, professional football player, NFL Carolina Panthers
* Lloy Ball, professional volleyball player, Olympic gold medalist, 2008 Summer Olympics
* Roosevelt Barnes, professional football player, NFL Detroit Lions
* DaMarcus Beasley, professional soccer player, Rangers FC of the Scottish Premier League, U.S. national team, MLS Chicago Fire
* Jamar Beasley, professional soccer player, MLS New England Revolution, Chicago Fire
* Will Billingsley, professional football player, NFL Miami Dolphins
* Adam Bobay, martial artist, UFC
* Rob Bowen, professional baseball player, MLB Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs
* Johnny Bright, professional football player, CFL Edmonton Eskimos, field at Drake University named for him
* Rob Brooks, professional BMX racer in 1980-90's
* Vaughn Dunbar, professional football player, NFL New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars
* Eric England, professional football player, NFL Phoenix Cardinals
* Trai Essex, professional football player, NFL Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl XL champion
* Bill Everitt, professional baseball player, MLB Chicago Colts/Orphans, Washington Senators
* Jason Fabini, professional football player, NFL Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, Washington Redskins
* Jon Fitch, martial artist, UFC
* James Hardy, professional football player, NFL Buffalo Bills
* Butch Henline, former professional baseball player, MLB New York Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Brooklyn Robins, Chicago White Sox
* Robert Howe, martial artist
* Henry James, former professional basketball player, NBA Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks
* Billy Kratzert, former professional golfer, sportcaster
* Selwyn Lymon, professional football player, NFL Miami Dolphins
* Kyle Macy, former professional basketball player, NBA Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, sportscaster
* Bobby Milton, basketball player, manager of Harlem Globetrotters
* Matt Painter, head coach of Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team
* Bernard Pollard, professional football player, NFL Kansas City Chiefs
* Bill Roberts, former professional basketball player, NBA
* Emil Sitko, former professional football player, NFL San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Cardinals
* Art Smith, aviator, invented "loop the loop"
* Lamar Smith, former professional football player, NFL Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers
* Anthony Spencer, professional football player, NFL Dallas Cowboys
* Mark Virts, diver, participated in boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics led by President Jimmy Carter
* Matt Vogel, swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, 1976 Summer Olympics
* Eric Wedge, professional baseball player, MLB Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, manager of Cleveland Indians
* Sharon Wichman, swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, 1968 Summer Olympics
* Rod Woodson, professional football player, NFL Pittsburgh Steelers and future Pro Football Hall of Famer
* Justin Wynn, professional football player, NFL Miami Dolphins

Authors, writers and journalists

* E. Jean Carroll, author, journalist
* Constance Cumbey, author, lawyer
* Edith Hamilton, author, mythology expert, sister of Dr. Alice Hamilton
* Stephen King, best-selling author
* Ross Lockridge, Jr., author, "Raintree County"
* Nicole Manske, 1998 Miss Teen USA semi-finalist, former journalist for CBS affiliate WANE-TV, former co-host of Speed Channel's "The Speed Report", current host of ESPN's "NASCAR Now"
* Michael A. Martone, author
* George Jean Nathan, author, drama critic, founder of "American Spectator
* Emmanuel Ortiz, poet, writer
* William Rockhill Nelson, founder of the "Kansas City Star", namesake of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri
* Charlie Savage, "Boston Globe" columnist, 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winner
* Chris Schenkel, sportscaster
* Ray Scherer, NBC News television journalist
* Nancy Snyderman, NBC News chief medical editor, journalist
* David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of "Men's Health", author of "Eat This, Not That

Business leaders

* Andrew George Burry, philanthropist, paper box manufacturer
* Angie Hicks, founder of [http://www.angieslist.com/AngiesList/ AngiesList.com] , consumer "guru"
* Russell W. Kruse, auctioneer, founder of Kruse International
* Dale "Mr. Mac" McMillen, founder of Central Soya, Wayne Feeds, Allied Mills
* Cosette Simon, philanhthropist, politician, first female mayor of Fort Wayne
* Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's International
* Kevin Wall, Emmy Award-winning producer, founder of Live Earth
* Fred Zollner, industrialist, founder of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (later Detroit Pistons)

Entertainers

* Joey Allen, glam metal guitarist, "Warrant"
* Julia Barr, Daytime Emmy six-time nominee and two-time winning actress, "All My Children"
* Jill Bennett, actress, "Dante's Cove"
* Jeoffrey Benward, Contemporary Christian singer, songwriter
* Eric Bruskotter, actor, "Starship Troopers", "Six Feet Under"
* Dan Butler, actor, "Frasier"
* Ann Colone, broadcaster, talkshow host, "The Ann Colone Show"
* Monique Edwards, actress
* Jenna Fischer, Emmy-nominated actress, "The Office"
* Sharon Gabet, actress, "The Edge of Night", "One Life to Live"
* Hilliard Gates, sportscaster
* Daniel E. Gawthrop, composer
* Heather Headley, Tony Award-winning and two-time Grammy Award-nominee, Broadway and R&B singer
* Drake Hogestyn, actor, "Days of Our Lives"
* Neil LaBute, director, screenwriter, playwright
* Stephanie Larimore, Playmate
* Carole Lombard, Oscar-nominated actress, "My Man Godfrey"
* Shelley Long, Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award-winning actress, "Cheers"
* Marilyn Maxwell, actress, "The Lemon Drop Kid"
* Patrick McVey, actor, "Dark Shadows", "North by Northwest"
* Edwin C. Metcalfe, saxophonist with Spike Jones
* Lee Miles, folk singer, songwriter
* Megan Mullins, country music singer
* Amanda Perez, R&B singer
* Robert Rusler, actor, "Babylon 5", "Weird Science"
* Jon Schaffer, heavy metal guitarist, songwriter, "Iced Earth"
* Chris Schenkel, sportscaster
* Cameron Scher, actor, "Beerfest"
* Troy Shondell, singer
* Herb Shriner, comedian, game show host, "Two for the Money", father of Wil Shriner
* Randy Thompson, actor, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
* John Bon Tingley, drummer, "Rosemary Gates"
* Herb Vigran, actor, "White Christmas", "The Flintstones", "Benji"
* Dick York, actor, "Bewitched"

Miscellaneous

* Dean Corll, serial killer, responsible for the deaths of 27 people
* Frank Burns, the fictitious major played by Larry Linville from the series "M*A*S*H"
* Margaret Ringenberg, early female aviator
* Colonel George Taylor, fictitious character played by Charlton Heston in the 1968 movie "Planet of the Apes"
* Homer Van Meter, gangster, bank robber

Physicians and medical researchers

* Alice Hamilton, M.D., first woman on faculty of Harvard Medical School, sister of Edith Hamilton
* Leonard A. Scheele, M.D., former U.S. Surgeon General
* Allen Steere, M.D., identifier of Lyme Disease

Public servants

* E. Ross Adair, former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, U.S. Representative
* Robert E. Armstrong, politician, former Fort Wayne mayor and councilman
* Harry W. Baals, politician, longest-serving mayor of Fort Wayne
* Paul Baer, first American ace of World War I
* Samuel Bigger, politician, Seventh Governor of Indiana
* Claude Bowers, former U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Chile, author
* Samuel Brenton, former U.S. Representative
* Daniel R. Coats, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator
* Harry Gandy, former U.S. Representative
* Phil GiaQuinta, U.S. Representative
* Allen Hamilton, first Allen County, Indiana sheriff, banker
* Tom Hayhurst, politician, former Fort Wayne councilman
* Paul Helmke, politician, former mayor, current president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
* Tom Henry, politician, former Fort Wayne councilman, current mayor
* William J. Hosey, politician, former mayor
* Merchant W. Huxford, politician, physician, former mayor
* Matt Kelty, politician, architect
* Henry Lawton U.S. Army General during Spanish-American War, namesake of Lawton, Oklahoma
* Hugh McCulloch, former United States Secretary of the Treasury, first Comptroller of the Currency, namesake of McCulloch Park
* Armin H. Meyer, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Lebanon, and Iran
* Robert Meyers, politician, judge, former mayor
* Winfield Moses, politician, former mayor
* Graham Richard, politician, former mayor
* Mark Souder, U.S. Representative
* George W. Wood, politician, first mayor of Fort Wayne

Religious leaders

* John Chapman, Swedenborgian missionary, famous American folklore figure
* Archbishop John Noll, founder of "Our Sunday Visitor"

cientists and inventors

* Robert Borkenstein, inventor of the breathalyzer alcohol detection device
* Sylvanus Bowser, inventor of the gas pump
* Marion Donovan, invented prototype of the disposable diaper
* Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of the television
* Joseph Hoagland and Cornelius Hoagland, inventors of baking powder
* James Jenny, perfected arc light
* James J. Wood, holder of 240 patents (fourth greatest number for General Electric)