38.8725° N, 84.5861° W

CINCINNATI

Most Famous People Born in Cincinnati, United States

Notable people
1,772
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1938
Most distinctive
Baseball 12.5×

Cincinnati's bench is German-American old money and mid-century entertainment — the Lawyer class is the same Queen City bar that built the Taft political dynasty, the Novelist thread runs through the Over-the-Rhine literary generation, and a smaller Music vein traces from King Records and James Brown through the city's early rock-and-roll scene. The Basket cohort is the University of Cincinnati pipeline that sent Oscar Robertson north and kept sending players ever since.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Cincinnati during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 168 notable births.

What Cincinnati Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Baseball is Cincinnati's biggest profession — 14% of all notables (251).

Cincinnati over-indexes on baseball12.5× the global rate.

Cincinnati under-produces writer — only 0.7× the global rate.

  1. Baseball251
  2. Football203
  3. Politician152
  4. Actor135
  5. Basket72
  6. Lawyer54
  7. Painter42
  8. Writer40
  1. Baseball25112.5×
  2. Novelist273.9×
  3. Basket723.2×
  4. Lawyer541.8×
  5. Music391.5×
  1. Writer400.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Cincinnati's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

18001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Music
  • Other
All1,772
Sort By

Showing 77 of 1,772 notable people

0021 WRITER

Fredric Brown

1906 - 1972

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0039 PHYSICIST

John Mauchly

1909 - 1980

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0050 ACTOR

Louise Beavers

1902 - 1962

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0074 ACTOR

Libby Holman

1904 - 1971

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0083 CINEMA

Robert Surtees (cinematographer)

1906 - 1985

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0100 PHILOSOPHER

Charles Stevenson

1908 - 1979

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0107 ACTOR

John Dierkes

1905 - 1975

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0160 FILM

Dorothy Spencer

1909 - 2002

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0162 PAINTER

Isabel Bishop

1902 - 1988

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0169 DRIVER

Briggs Cunningham

1907 - 2003

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0173 BUSINESS

Marvin Bower

1903 - 2003

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0189 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Nelson Glueck

1900 - 1971

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0190 ACTOR

Wolfgang Zilzer

1901 - 1991

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0193 ART HISTORIAN

Millard Meiss

1904 - 1975

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0210 ATHLETIC

DeHart Hubbard

1903 - 1976

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0211 PHOTOGRAPHER

George Hurrell

1904 - 1992

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0221 PRODUCER

Syd Nathan

1904 - 1968

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0229 ACTOR

Blanche Mehaffey

1908 - 1968

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0240 GUITAR

Curley Weaver

1906 - 1962

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0246 ARTIST

Alexina Duchamp

1906 - 1995

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0270 ACTOR

Gertrude Short

1902 - 1968

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0273 COMPOSER

Jimmy Mundy

1907 - 1983

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0277 HEIRESS

Audrey Emery

1904 - 1971

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0312 DISCUS THROWER

John Anderson (athlete)

1907 - 1948

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0323 ACTOR

John 'Dusty' King

1909 - 1987

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0366 EDUCATOR

John Wilkinson Taylor (educator)

1906 - 2001

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0389 ARTIST

Gus Edson

1901 - 1966

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0408 ASTRONOMER

Paul Herget

1908 - 1981

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0442 PRESENTER

Ruth Lyons (broadcaster)

1905 - 1988

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0467 AUTHOR

Winston E. Kock

1909 - 1982

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0490 SOCIOLOGIST

Margaret Jarman Hagood

1907 - 1963

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0496 ACTOR

Gina Malo

1909 - 1963

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0521 POLITICIAN

Gordon H. Scherer

1906 - 1988

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0525 MUSIC

Harlan Lattimore

1908 - 1980

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0535 SWIMMER

Walter Laufer

1906 - 1984

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0641 COMPOSER

Leon René

1902 - 1982

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0645 ARTIST

Claire Zeisler

1903 - 1991

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0666 NOVELIST

Louis Kronenberger

1904 - 1980

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0667 PRIEST

Anthony John King Mussio

1902 - 1978

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0671 JOURNALIST

T. S. Matthews

1901 - 1991

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0700 ACTOR

Saul Gorss

1908 - 1966

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0746 LAWYER

Earl T. Wagner

1908 - 1990

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0747 BASEBALL

Ethan Allen (baseball)

1904 - 1993

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0793 ACTOR

Ann May

1901 - 1985

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0837 POLITICIAN

Blanche Long

1902 - 1998

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0889 ACTOR

Virginia Payne

1909 - 1977

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0955 ACTOR

Antrim Short

1900 - 1972

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1017 BASEBALL

Al Hollingsworth (baseball)

1908 - 1996

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1068 KNIFEMAKER

Bo Randall

1909 - 1989

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1104 PAINTER

Lizzie Wilkerson

1900 - 1984

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1114 CIRCUS

Celesta Geyer

1901 - 1982

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1131 LAWYER

Isaac Jack Martin

1908 - 1966

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1242 BASEBALL

Ralph Birkofer

1908 - 1971

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1256 BASEBALL

Joe Heving

1900 - 1970

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1274 BASEBALL

Buzz Boyle

1908 - 1978

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1290 LAWYER

Frank Burton Ellis

1907 - 1969

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1432 BASEBALL

Jimmy Boyle (baseball)

1904 - 1958

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1450 POLITICIAN

Walt Bachrach

1904 - 1989

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1459 BASEBALL

Flea Clifton

1908 - 1997

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1509 WRITER

Julilly House Kohler

1908 - 1976

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1512 RUNNER

Russell Payne (athlete)

1902 - 1970

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1550 BASEBALL

Bob Friedrichs

1906 - 1997

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1575 PHILANTHROPIST

LuEsther Mertz

1905 - 1991

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1577 BASEBALL

Louis Nippert

1903 - 1992

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1584 BASEBALL

Harry Wilke

1900 - 1991

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1611 BASEBALL

Johnny Hodapp

1905 - 1980

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1614 OFFICER

James Hirshfield

1902 - 1993

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1615 LAWYER

Joseph Peter Kinneary

1905 - 2003

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1623 BASEBALL

Jimmy Shevlin

1909 - 1974

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1628 BASEBALL

Jim Beckman

1905 - 1974

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1651 SPORT

Morris Doob

1907 - 1966

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1654 HORSE TRAINER

Henry Forrest (racehorse trainer)

1907 - 1975

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1664 LAWYER

David Stewart Porter

1909 - 1989

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1679 BASEBALL

Bill Steinecke

1907 - 1986

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1698 LAWYER

Marion Speed Boyd

1900 - 1988

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1711 COACH

Robert Fudge

1901 - 1955

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1729 MILITAR

Jesse D. Auton

1904 - 1952

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