List of people from Ottawa, Illinois

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Ottawa, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Ottawa, Illinois.

Academics and scientists[edit]

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Stephen L. Brusatte		Apr 24, 1984		Paleontologist	Born in Ottawa
Tom Flanagan		Mar 5, 1944		Political scientist	Born in Ottawa

Arts and culture[edit]

Name	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Scotty Bowers	Jul 1, 1923	Oct 13, 2019	Author, Sex worker	Born and raised in Ottawa	https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/fashion/scotty-bowers-and-his-sexual-tell-all-of-old-hollywood.html?pagewanted=all
Keith Clark			Conductor and founder of the Pacific Symphony	Raised in Ottawa	^[1]
Santiago Durango	1957		Musician
Kim Howard Johnson	Aug 6, 1955		Author of Monty Python books	Born in Ottawa
Maria Kanellis	Feb 25, 1982		WWE wrestler, actress	Born in Ottawa	^[2]
George R. Lawrence	Feb 24, 1868	Dec 15, 1938	Photographer	Born in Ottawa
Russell Lee	Jul 21, 1903	Aug 28, 1986	Photographer	Born in Ottawa
Terrence Malick	Nov 30, 1943		Film writer and director	Born in Ottawa
Johnston McCulley	Feb 2, 1883	Nov 23, 1958	Author of short stories, novels, and screenplays, creator of "Zorro"	Born in Ottawa
Bob McGrath	Jun 13, 1932	Dec 4, 2022	Actor (Sesame Street)	Born in Ottawa
Walt Willey	Jan 26, 1951		Actor (All My Children)	Born in Ottawa
Alexander Wilson	May 25, 1953	Oct 26, 1993	Writer and activist	Born in Ottawa
Mary Lee Wooters	Oct 24, 1924	Jun 6, 1996	Big band singer, film actress	Born in Centralia, Illinois, raised in Ottawa	^[3]
Brad Miller	1981		Chef and TV Personality	Born in Ottawa

Crime[edit]

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
John Patrick Looney		1865	1947	Gangster, basis for character in Road to Perdition	Born in Ottawa

Military[edit]

Name	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
George H. Cameron	Jan 8, 1861	Jan 28, 1944	World War I commander of 4th Infantry Division and V Corps	Born in Ottawa
Theophilus Lyle Dickey	Oct 12, 1811	Jul 22, 1885	Federal judge and Mexican–American War cavalry officer	Resided in Ottawa
Frederic Dahl Evans	Jun 29, 1866	May 1, 1953	World War I brigadier general	Born in Ottawa	^[4]
Reed G. Landis	Jul 17, 1896	May 30, 1975	World War I ace and National Commander of the American Legion	Born in Ottawa
Arthur L. Wagner	Mar 16, 1853	Jun 17, 1905	US Army brigadier general; born in Ottawa	Born in Ottawa
W. H. L. Wallace	Jul 8, 1821	Apr 10, 1862	Union Army brigadier general in the US Civil War	Practiced law in Ottawa

Medicine and academia[edit]

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Cornelia Chase Brant		Dec 16, 1863	Mar 9, 1959	Quaker woman who began a medical career as a mature student; Dean of New York Medical College and Hospital for Women	Born in Ottawa

Politics and law[edit]

Name	Birth	Death	Known for	Association
William Reddick	Oct 31, 1812	Mar 8,1885	Businessman, Politician, Sheriff, Philanthropist	Served 47 Years in Ottawa
William D. Boyce	Jun 16, 1858	Jun 11, 1929	Founder of the Boy Scouts of America
John Edward Cassidy	Jan 31, 1896	Mar 25, 1984	Illinois Attorney General 1938-41	Born in Ottawa
Tom Corcoran	May 23, 1939		US congressman	Born in Ottawa
William Cullen	Mar 4, 1826	Jan 17, 1914	US congressman
Harry Kelly	Apr 19, 1895	Feb 8, 1971	39th governor of Michigan	Born in Ottawa
Maurice T. Moloney	Jul 26, 1849	Mar 9, 1917	Attorney General of Illinois and Mayor of Ottawa
Charles Edgar Woodward	Dec 1, 1876	May 15, 1942	Federal judge United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Sports[edit]

Baseball[edit]

Name	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Michael Hermosillo	Jan 17, 1995		Outfielder for the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels	Born in Ottawa	Baseball Reference
Guy Hoffman	Jul 9, 1956		Pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers	Born in Ottawa	Baseball Reference
Ed Mickelson	Sep 9, 1926		First baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago Cubs; born in Ottawa	Born in Ottawa	Baseball Reference
Charlie Jaeger	Apr 17, 1875	Sep 27, 1942	Pitcher for the Detroit Tigers	Born in Ottawa	Baseball Reference

Football[edit]

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Aaron Shea		Dec 5, 1976		Tight end and fullback for the Cleveland Browns and San Diego Chargers	Born in Ottawa

Golf[edit]

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Tim Finchem		Apr 19, 1947		Golf commissioner	Born in Ottawa

References[edit]

^ Patrick Webb (April 28, 2019). "Pete Seeger: Young Keith Clark didn't know he was a famous musician". Coast Weekend.
^ Gargiulo, Eric (March 17, 2008). "WWE Diva & Playboy cover girl, Maria speaks to phillyBurbs.com". PhillyBurbs.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
^ Lowrance, Dee, "Movie Fans Found Her - Hollywood Hasn't", The Montana Standard, June 15, 1941, page 30, column 4
^ Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals in Khaki. Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press. ISBN 9781571970886. OCLC 40298151.

[Seeger-1] Patrick Webb (April 28, 2019). "Pete Seeger: Young Keith Clark didn't know he was a famous musician". Coast Weekend.

[philly-2] Gargiulo, Eric (March 17, 2008). "WWE Diva & Playboy cover girl, Maria speaks to phillyBurbs.com". PhillyBurbs.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2008.

[3] Lowrance, Dee, "Movie Fans Found Her - Hollywood Hasn't", The Montana Standard, June 15, 1941, page 30, column 4

[4] Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals in Khaki. Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press. ISBN 9781571970886. OCLC 40298151.

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