41.7994° N, 87.4912° W

MADISON

Most Famous People Born in Madison, United States

Notable people
567
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1950
Most distinctive
Skater 9.5×
Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 80 notable births.

What Madison Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Madison's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (73).

Madison over-indexes on skater — 9.5× the global rate.

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

  1. Politician73
  2. Football54
  3. Actor36
  4. Baseball33
  5. Lawyer28
  6. Hockey26
  7. Basket21
  8. Business14
  1. Skater139.5×
  2. Baseball335.1×
  3. Hockey263.9×
  4. Basket212.9×
  5. Lawyer282.8×
  6. Novelist62.7×
  7. Physicist62.5×
  8. Business142.5×
  1. Writer130.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Science
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Other
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Showing 29 of 567 notable people

0003 PLAYWRIGHT

Thornton Wilder

1897 - 1975

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0020 PHYSICIAN

William P. Murphy

1892 - 1987

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0031 POLITICIAN

Robert M. La Follette Jr.

1895 - 1953

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0055 POLITICIAN

Philip La Follette

1897 - 1965

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0077 FILM

Nick Grinde

1893 - 1979

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0092 POET

Amos Wilder

1895 - 1993

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0105 ATHLETIC

Eugene Luther Vidal

1895 - 1969

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0150 ECONOMIST

Sumner Slichter

1892 - 1959

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0168 POET

Charlotte Wilder

1898 - 1980

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0188 OPERA

Mary Cardwell Dawson

1894 - 1962

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0199 BOTANIST

Ira Loren Wiggins

1899 - 1987

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0209 POLITICIAN

William T. Schulte

1890 - 1966

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0217 WRITER

Jessica Nelson North

1891 - 1988

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0229 PHYSICIST

Louis B. Slichter

1896 - 1978

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0264 JOURNALIST

Jessica Smith (editor)

1895 - 1983

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0289 ACADEMIC

Thomas G. Pullen

1898 - 1979

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0303 FOOTBALL

Lewie Hardage

1891 - 1973

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0315 MILITAR

Horace L. McBride

1894 - 1962

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0351 POLITICIAN

Merrill K. Riddick

1895 - 1988

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0421 FOOTBALL

Roman Brumm

1898 - 1981

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0432 POLITICIAN

Walter H. Jurgensen

1894 - 1973

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0435 BASKET

Guy Sundt

1898 - 1955

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0448 BIOCHEMIST

Mary Van Rensselaer Buell

1893 - 1969

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0475 BASEBALL

George Levis

1894 - 1980

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0491 OFFICER

Leo Hewlett Thebaud

1890 - 1980

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0494 BASEBALL

Johnny Meador

1892 - 1970

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0504 INVENTOR

Gregory Joseph Kessenich

1896 - 1958

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0505 LIEUTENANT

Robert Opie Lindsay

1894 - 1952

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0513 OFFICER

John Higgins (admiral)

1899 - 1973

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