40.3596° N, 82.2875° W

SPRINGFIELD

Most Famous People Born in Springfield, United States

Notable people
936
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1933
Most distinctive
Baseball 9.5×

There are several Springfields in this dataset and they blur together statistically, which is the point - the 9.5× Baseball over-index is small-town America's pre-television obsession crystallized, the era when every Midwestern Springfield fielded a semi-pro team and a few of those kids made the Cardinals or Reds. The 2.6× Lawyer ratio is the Lincoln-era Springfield, IL signal still echoing through the data.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 90 notable births.

What Springfield Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Springfield's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (124).

Springfield over-indexes on baseball — 9.5× the global rate.

Springfield under-produces football — only 0.7× the global rate.

  1. Politician124
  2. Baseball101
  3. Football72
  4. Actor59
  5. Lawyer43
  6. Basket38
  7. Music26
  8. Writer23
  1. Baseball1019.5×
  2. Basket383.2×
  3. Lawyer432.6×
  4. Novelist92.4×
  5. Screenwriter92.2×
  6. Music261.9×
  7. Officer101.6×
  1. Football720.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

16501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Other
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Showing 44 of 936 notable people

0007 WRITER

Dr. Seuss

1904 - 1991

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0028 BASEBALL

Leo Durocher

1905 - 1991

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0049 POLITICIAN

Chester Bowles

1901 - 1986

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0065 FILM

George Tomasini

1909 - 1964

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0069 GOLF

Horton Smith

1908 - 1963

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0078 ACTOR

Billy Curtis

1909 - 1988

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0124 MUSIC

Quentin Jackson

1909 - 1976

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0134 PLAYER

George Lott

1906 - 1991

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0141 BOTANIST

Albert Charles Smith

1906 - 1999

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0168 POET

R. P. Blackmur

1904 - 1965

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0179 CLARINET

Garvin Bushell

1902 - 1991

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0214 BANDLEADER

Cecil Scott

1905 - 1964

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0298 PHYSICIAN

William Randolph Lovelace II

1907 - 1965

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0299 NOVELIST

Max Ehrlich (writer)

1909 - 1983

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0317 BOTANIST

Hugh M. Raup

1901 - 1995

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0337 FOOTBALL

Joey Sternaman

1900 - 1988

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0341 BANDLEADER

Lloyd Scott (musician)

Born 1902

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0348 MUSIC

June Cole

1903 - 1960

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0382 ENGINEER

Elmer Raguse

1901 - 1972

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0400 BASEBALL

Paul Derringer

1906 - 1987

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0402 ACTOR

Frances Morris (actress)

1908 - 2003

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0404 SCIENTIST

Roberts Rugh

1903 - 1978

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0414 ACTOR

Leonard Penn

1907 - 1975

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0420 PAINTER

Howard Cook

1901 - 1980

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0471 CIRCUS

Elizabeth Green the Stork Woman

1905 - 2001

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0480 BASEBALL

Billy Rogell

1904 - 2003

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0485 BOTANIST

Florence Meier Chase

1902 - 1978

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0498 HOCKEY

Weston Adams

1904 - 1973

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0508 CENTENARIAN

Edythe Kirchmaier

1908 - 2015

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0512 LIBRARIAN

Frances E. Henne

1906 - 1985

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0514 BASEBALL

Ray Lucas (baseball)

1908 - 1969

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0559 COMMISSIONER

George P. Larrick

1901 - 1968

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0597 PRINTMAKER

Richard V. Correll

1904 - 1990

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0608 ACTOR

James Anderson (filmmaker)

1902 - 1960

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0639 COACH

Edward Jackson (American football)

Born 1907

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0655 BASEBALL

Phil Page

1905 - 1958

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0656 BOTANIST

Robert Crichton Foster

1904 - 1986

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0688 BANK

Asa Smith Bushnell III

1900 - 1975

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0719 GOVERNMENT

Wallace H. Kuralt. Sr.

1908 - 1994

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0739 MUSIC

Don Frye (Pianist)

1903 - 1981

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0780 POLITICIAN

Carolyn Conn Moore

1904 - 1986

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0828 MISSING

William Ludwig Ullmann

1908 - 1993

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0882 ARTIST

Bert Grimm

1900 - 1985

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0925 FOOTBALL

Tom Leary

1904 - 1976

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