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, noted illustrator and teacher
- Joseph Plavcan, notable painter and teacher
Athletics
- 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
- 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
- Sam Jethroe, Negro League and Major League baseball player from 1926 to 1966
- Jovon Johnson, professional football player, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 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
- 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 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
- Chuck Rosenthal, author
- Ida M. Tarbell, author, journalist, "muckraker"
- John Totleben, comic book illustrator, Best known for covers of DC comics Swamp Thing.
- Michael J. Varhola, author
- Ron Larson, author of several dozen mathematics textbooks
Business and politics
- Daniel Dobbins, builder of the U.S. naval fleet for Battle of Lake Erie
- Harry Markopolos, blew whistle in Madoff securities fraud
- Louis Marx, toymaker 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
- Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, drag performance artist - runner up season five of RuPaul's Drag Race
- Nick Adams, Broadway actor
- Rebecca Bardoux, adult film actress
- Billy Blanks, inventor of Taebo and martial arts film actor
- Marc Blucas, actor
- Marilyn Burns, actress, best known for role as Sally in 1974 movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
- Ann B. Davis, actress, best 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
- 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 and was awarded the Marine Corps Brevet Medal
- Seth Reed, Lt. Colonel who fought at Bunker Hill, was instrumental in adding E Pluribus Unum to US coins, and who 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 Erie, Pa. from: Waterford, Erie County Pa.
- Anthony Wayne, American Revolutionary War general
- Paul J. Weitz, US Naval Aviator, NASA Astronaut: Skylab 2 Pilot, STS-6 (Shuttle Challenger) Commander
Music
- Harry Burleigh, classical music composer
- Dirty Looks, 1980s rock band
- Peter Mennin, composer and teacher
- Patrick Monahan, lead singer of Train, solo music artist and grammy award winner
- The Stabilizers, 1980s pop/rock band
- Chris Vrenna, rock music drummer of Nine Inch Nails
- Alan Baer, tuba New York Philharmonic
- War of Ages Heavy Metal Band
Naturalists
- Joe Root, a 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 (mathematician), 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