List of people from Erie, Pennsylvania

The following is a list of notable persons who were born, or who have lived a significant part of their lives, in Erie, Pennsylvania, in the United States.

Art

• Richard Anuszkiewicz, founder and foremost artist of Op Art movement
• John Silk Deckard, painter, printmaker, sculptor
• Eugene Iverd, illustrator and teacher
• Joseph Plavcan, painter and teacher

Athletics

• Sig Andrusking, football player
• Richard Arrington, consensus All-American football player and wrestler at Notre Dame, pioneering African-American athlete
• Art Baker, professional football player, Buffalo Bills, All-American and NCAA National Championship winner in both football and wrestling, pioneering African-American athlete
• Bruce Baumgartner, heavyweight Olympic wrestler, most decorated American wrestler of all time, National Wrestling Hall of Fame
• Lou Bierbauer, 19th-century Major League Baseball player
• Fred Biletnikoff, professional football player, Oakland Raiders, Super Bowl MVP, Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Jimmy Carr, youngest-ever American Olympic wrestler, National Wrestling Hall of Fame
• Nate Carr, Olympic wrestler (bronze medalist), three-time NCAA champion Iowa State University, National Wrestling Hall of Fame
• James Conner, college football player, currently a part of Pittsburgh Panthers football
• Clifton Crosby, professional football player, Indianapolis Colts
• Tim Federowicz, professional baseball player, Los Angeles Dodgers
• George Flint, professional football player, Buffalo Bills
• Eric Hicks, professional football player, Kansas City Chiefs
• Ed Hinkel, professional football player, Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens
• Sam Jethroe, Negro League and Major League baseball player from 1926 to 1966
• Jovon Johnson, professional football player, Ottawa Redblacks, CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award
• Caryn Kadavy, figure skater, 1987 World Bronze Medalist, 1988 Olympian
• Tom Lawless, professional baseball player, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Montreal Expos
• Bob Learn, Jr., professional bowler, 1999 U.S. Open champion who also rolled the PBA's 10th televised 300 game
• Frank Liebel, professional football defensive back in the National Football League who played seven seasons for the New York Giants and one with the Chicago Bears
• Kayla McBride, professional basketball player, San Antonio Stars, first-team All-American for Notre Dame; was a member of senior class that reached four Final Fours in four years, including three championship games
• Mike McCoy, professional football player, Green Bay Packers, unanimous first-team All-American for Notre Dame and 1969 Heisman Trophy candidate
• Bob Raudman, professional baseball player
• Bob Sanders, professional football player, Indianapolis Colts
• Brian Stablein, professional football player, Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions
• Mark Stepnoski, professional football player, Dallas Cowboys and Houston/Tennessee Oilers

Authors

• Marc Brown, children's book author and illustrator, creator of the Arthur book series
• Ron Larson, author of several dozen mathematics textbooks
• Chuck Rosenthal, author
• Ida M. Tarbell, author, journalist, "muckraker"
• John Totleben, comic book illustrator, known for covers of DC comics Swamp Thing
• Michael J. Varhola, author

Business and politics

• Daniel Dobbins, builder of the U.S. naval fleet for Battle of Lake Erie
• Michael Liebel, Jr., Mayor of Erie 1906–1911; Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 1915–1917
• Reinhard Liebel, President of South Erie Iron Works; member of the Board of Fire Commissioners, Common Council and Select Council of Erie
• Harry Markopolos, blew whistle in Madoff securities fraud
• Louis Marx, toy maker and founder of Louis Marx and Company; established first factories in Erie and was a part-time resident
• Norman Morrison, Vietnam protester who self-immolated
• Joseph D. Pistone, aka Donnie Brasco, FBI agent who infiltrated Bonanno crime family
• Tom Ridge, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, former Governor of Pennsylvania, and former U.S. Congressman
• James Patrick Rossiter, lawyer and politician

Film, stage, and television

• Nick Adams, Broadway actor
• Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, drag performer and recording artist
• Rebecca Bardoux, adult film actress
• Billy Blanks, inventor of Taebo and martial arts film actor
• Marc Blucas, actor
• Marilyn Burns, actress, known for role as Sally in 1974 movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
• Hans Cozzens, actor and writer
• Ann B. Davis, actress, known for role as Alice on TV's Brady Bunch
• Nikki Dial, award-winning adult film actress
• Dorothy Dietrich, magician and escapologist
• Kurt Doss, child actor
• Christine Estabrook, television and film actress
• Ish Kabibble, comedian and actor
• Harry Kellar, magician
• Julianna McCarthy, original cast member of The Young and the Restless
• Ryan Neil Postas, film and TV photographer and director
• Maria Sansone, television host of Good Day LA
• Steve Scully, host, political editor, and senior producer of C-SPAN's Washington Journal
• Jonathan Stark, actor and screenwriter

Military and aerospace

• John Boyd, military strategist who developed the OODA Loop and helped with the success of the Persian Gulf War
• Philip Cochran, colonel United States Army Air Corps; commander of the 1st Air Commando Group in World War II; inspiration for the characters of "Flip Corkin" and "General Philerie" in comic strips by Milton Caniff
• Charles A. Curtze, rear admiral United States Navy
• Richard E. Ellsworth, US Air Force pilot
• Charles Vernon Gridley, U.S. Navy Commander, Captain, U.S.S. Olympia, Battle of Manila Bay; adopted Erie as his home after taking command of the USS Michigan there
• Joseph Lesniewski, World War II veteran, part of the US Army 101st Airborne Division 506th PIR made famous in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers
• Louis J. Magill, Spanish–American War veteran; recipient of the Marine Corps Brevet Medal
• Seth Reed, Lt. Colonel, fought at Bunker Hill; instrumental in adding "E Pluribus Unum" to US coins; founded Erie, as its first settler with his family, in 1795, at Presque Isle
• Strong Vincent, Union brigadier general; killed at Gettysburg; Harvard graduate; practiced law in Erie from Waterford, Erie County
• Anthony Wayne, American Revolutionary War general
• Paul J. Weitz, US Naval aviator; NASA astronaut; Skylab 2 pilot; STS-6 (Shuttle Challenger) Commander

Music

• Alan Baer, tuba, New York Philharmonic
• Harry Burleigh, classical music composer
• Dirty Looks, 1980s rock band
• Peter Mennin, composer and teacher
• Patrick Monahan, lead singer of Train; solo artist; Grammy Award winner
• The Stabilizers, 1980s pop/rock band
• Chris Vrenna, drummer of rock band Nine Inch Nails
• War of Ages, heavy metal band

Naturalists

• Joe Root, 19th-century naturalist who lived at Presque Isle State Park

Religion

• Joan Chittister, Benedictine nun, author, and lecturer
• John Mark Gannon, Catholic archbishop
• Theodore Jurewicz, Russian Orthodox priest and Byzantine iconographer

Science and academia

• Richard Beals, Yale professor and author of several mathematical textbooks
• John Kanzius, inventor; radio and TV engineer and executive
• Paul Siple, Antarctic explorer who developed the wind chill factor