List of people from Norwalk, Connecticut
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Norwalk, Connecticut, has been home to numerous notable people, residents and others, past and present:
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[edit] Authors, writers
- Faith Baldwin (1893-1978), popular novelist who published more than 60 books and later worked with the Famous Writers School, lived in the Silvermine neighborhood and died in Norwalk.
- A. Scott Berg (b. 1949) an award-winning biographer of Katharine Hepburn, Maxwell Perkins, Samuel Goldwyn, Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was born in Norwalk.
- Philip Caputo (b. 1941), author whose best-known work is A Rumor of War (1977)
- Jerry Craft, cartoonist who draws the Mama's Boyz strip which is syndicated in more than 1500 newspapers.
- Johnny Gruelle (1880-1938), artist and author, creator of Raggedy Ann, lived in town and later moved to Wilton.
- Alyse Gregory (1884-1967), suffragist, journalist, novelist and friend to such eminent writers as Theodore Dreiser, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Marianne Moore, was born in Norwalk.
- Warren E. Preece, (1921–2007) was editor of Encyclopædia Britannica 15th edition.
- Andy Rooney (b. 1919), commentator on "60 Minutes" television newsmagazine on CBS
- Stephen W. Sears (b. 1932), a Civil War historian whose works include Landscape turned Red: The Battle of Antietam, lives in Norwalk.
- Sloan Wilson (1920–2003), author of The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit was born in the city.
[edit] Actors, musicians, entertainers
- Roger Bart, (b. 1962) was born in Norwalk and made his Broadway debut in Big River as Tom Sawyer in 1987.
- Jesse Bradford (b. 1979), a film actor, was born in Norwalk.
- Ruth Chatterton (1893-1961), actress, writer and aviatrix, died in the city in 1961.
- Frances Dee (1909-2004), an actress, died in the city.
- Mat Devine (b. 1974), lead singer of Kill Hannah
- Ellen Hanley (1926-2007), was a musical theater performer.
- Eileen Heckart (1919-2001), an Academy Award-winning actress, died (2001) in her home in the city.
- Vince Mendoza (b. 1961), a music arranger and composer, was born in Norwalk.
- Artie Shaw (1910-2004), Big Band composer, made famous Frenesi and Begin the Beguine, lived in Norwalk in 1950's[1]
- Horace Silver (b. 1928), jazz pianist and composer, was born in the city.
- John Simon (b. 1941) a musician, record producer, and composer best known for his work with The Band, was born in Norwalk.
- Joan Wasser (b. 1970), violinist and singer/songwriter in the indie rock world, was raised in the city.
- Bruce Weitz (b. 1943), actor best known for playing Sgt. Michael "Mick" Belker on the 1980s television program Hill Street Blues, was born in Norwalk.
- Treat Williams (b. 1951), actor, Rowayton resident.
- Lawrence Timothy Wrentz (1954-1997), film actor, was born in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1954. He was in such movies as The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Congo, Junior, and White Man's Burden; along with doing several documentaries about Connecticut including Purdy's Station about an underground Railroad which ran through Connecticut.
[edit] Sports
- Erik Bedard (b. 1979) left-handed starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, went to Norwalk Community College.
- Mickey Kydes, former soccer player for the NY/NJ MetroStars of Major League Soccer.
- Randy LaJoie (b. 1961), NASCAR driver.
- Bob Miller (1929-2006), NFL Detroit Lions football player (1952-1958) was born in the city.
- Kevin Morton, former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, selected in the 1st Round, 29th overall in the 1989 amateur draft.
- Calvin Murphy (b. 1948), former NBA basketball player and Hall of Famer, grew up in town.
- Idris Price (b. 1976), football player for the Tampa Bay Bucaneers.
- Leif Shiras (b. 1959), former tennis player and now a tennis journalist.
- Travis Simms (b. 1971), welterweight champion of the World Boxing Association (as of January 2007), and South Norwalk native
- Luke Vercollone (b. 1982), a professional soccer player with the Charleston Battery of the USL First Division (b. 1982), grew up in Norwalk.
- Mo Vaughn (b. 1967), former baseball player for the Boston Red Sox, Anaheim Angels and New York Mets; American League MVP for 1995.
[edit] Government and politics
- William Benton (1900-1973), U.S. Senator and later publisher of the Encyclopedia Britannica, lived in the city.
- Thaddeus Betts, (1789-1840) was a United States Senator from Connecticut.
- William Thomas Clark, (1831–1905) was an American Civil War general, U.S. Congressman, and abolitionist.
- Darius N. Couch (1822–1897) a naturalist and Union general in the Civil War, died in Norwalk.
- Jeremiah Donovan, nineteenth century mayor and U.S. congressman; proprietor of a saloon still in business at the corner of Washington and Water streets
- Thomas Fitch (1696-1774), colonial governor of Connecticut.
- Alex Knopp, was the two-term mayor of Norwalk from 2001-2005.
- Brien McMahon, (1903-1952), United States Senator (D-CT), authored the Atomic Energy Act of 1946. McMahon was born, raised, and is buried in Norwalk. One of the city's two high schools is named after him.
- Dick Moccia, was elected mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut on November 8, 2005.
- Isaac Sears (1729 or 1730-1786), a merchant, sailor, and political figure nicknamed "King Sears" for his influential role in organizing and leading Patriot mobs before and during the American Revolution, was raised in Norwalk (though his being born in the city or Massachusetts is disputed).
- Levi Warner (1831-1911) was a United States Representative from Connecticut.
- Peter Willcox (b. 1953), a Greenpeace activist who was captain of the Rainbow Warrior when it was bombed by French agents, was raised in the city.
[edit] Other
- Daniel T. Barry (b. 1953), a retired NASA astronaut who spent 30 days in space, was born (1953) in Norwalk.
- D. J. Caruso (b. 1965) a movie and television director (of films such as Disturbia) and producer, was born in the city and attended Norwalk High School.
- Sarah Louise Bouton Felt, (1850—1928) was the first general president of the children's Primary organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Edward Calvin Kendall (1886-1972), a chemist who, together with Philip S. Hench and Tadeus Reichstein, won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1950, was born in Norwalk.
- Sarah Kemble Knight (1666-1727), a preacher, school mistress and traveler who, in 1704, traveled alone on horseback from Boston to New York. She later settled in Norwalk.
- John D. Magrath (d. 1945), a World War II Medal of Honor recipient
- Alexander Rummler (1867-1959), American painter, lived in the city for 35 years painting many scenes of Norwalk life.
- Daniel J. Shea (1947–1969), a recipient of the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War
- Charles Robert Sherman (1788–1829), a lawyer, Ohio public servant, and the father of William Tecumseh Sherman was born in Norwalk.[2]
- Mary Emma Woolley (1863–1947), president of Mount Holyoke College, 1901-1937, born in South Norwalk[3]
[edit] See also
- List of people from Connecticut
- List of people from Bridgeport, Connecticut
- List of people from Darien, Connecticut
- List of people from Greenwich, Connecticut
- List of people from New Canaan, Connecticut
- List of people from Ridgefield, Connecticut
- List of people from Redding, Connecticut
- List of people from Stamford, Connecticut
- List of people from Westport, Connecticut
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ [1]Grudens, Richard, Jukebox Saturday Night: More Memories of the Big Band Era and Beyond, (1999) Pine Hill Press, Freeman, S.D., ISBN 1-57579-142-0, page 29, accessed through Google Books (free registration required) on August 4, 2006
- ^ Hirshson, Stanley P., The White Tecumseh: A Biography of General William T. Sherman, John Wiley & Sons, 1997, ISBN 0-471-17578-1
- ^ [2]Web page titled "Mary Emma Wolley" at Encyclopedia Britannica Web site, accessed May 4, 2007
