List of people from Rochester, New York

Rochester, New York in the United States, and its suburbs, is or has been home to many famous individuals. These people include businessmen, civil rights activists, politicians, entertainers, educators, athletes and much more.

Easily the three most prominent Rochesterians in the national consciousness are abolitionist Frederick Douglass, suffragist Susan B. Anthony, and inventor/philanthropist George Eastman. But the list of notable personages that have passed through Rochester is much larger than just those three.

Academics

• Martin Brewer Anderson, first president of University of Rochester
• Richard N. Aslin, developmental psychologist at the University of Rochester
• Boris Bittker, legal academic
• Hilda Conrady Kingslake, optics engineer
• Rudolf Kingslake, optics engineer
• H. Allen Orr, evolutionary biologist, winner of the Darwin-Wallace Medal
• Robert Putnam, Harvard Professor
• Richard W. Rahn, economist
• Joel Seligman, current President of University of Rochester
• Ching W. Tang, 2011 recipient of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry
• Robert E. Wright, Nef Family Chair of Political Economy, Augustana College, South Dakota

Architects and designers

• Claude Fayette Bragdon, architect
• Harvey Ellis, architect
• Robert Trent Jones, golf course architect
• Fletcher Steele, landscape designer
• Clarence Stein, urban planner, architect and writer who advocated for the Garden City Movement
• Andrew Jackson Warner, architect
• J. Foster Warner, architect

Athletes

Like most cities, Rochester has its share of famous (and not-so-famous) athletes. Among the biggest names are Walter Hagen in golf, Johnny Antonelli in baseball, Brian Gionta and Ryan Callahan in hockey, Abby Wambach in soccer, and Jon "Bones" Jones in mixed martial arts.

Baseball

• Johnny Antonelli, MLB^[1]
• Ross Barnes, hit the first recorded home run in professional baseball^[2]
• Bernie Boland^[3]
• Cito Culver, 2010 first-round draft pick^[4]
• Heinie Groh, MLB^[5]
• Mike Jones, MLB
• Bob Keegan, MLB^[6]
• Andy Parrino, MLB^[7]
• Charley Radbourn, MLB^[8]
• Tim Redding, MLB^[9]
• George Selkirk, MLB^[10]

Basketball

• Joe Arlauckas^[11]
• Al Butler, NBA^[12]
• Al Cervi, NBA player and coach^[13]
• Les Harrison, NBA player and coach^[14]
• Mark Jones, NBA^[15]
• Jack Leasure^[16]
• Art Long, NBA^[17]
• Ryan Pettinella^[18]
• Bernie Voorheis, NBL^[19]
• John Wallace, NBA^[20]

Combat sports

• Carmen Basilio, champion boxer
• Jon "Bones" Jones, UFC light heavyweight champion
• Willie Monroe, Jr., middleweight boxer
• Charles "The Natural" Murray, light welterweight boxer
• Felicia Zimmerman, fencer, 1996 and 2000 Olympics
• Iris Zimmerman, fencer, 2000 Olympics

Wrestling

• Johnny Barend^[21]
• Colin Delaney, WWE^[22]
• Luke Harper^[23]
• Joanie "Chyna" Laurer^[24]
• Gorilla Monsoon^[25]

Football

• Branden Albert, NFL^[26]
• Cris Crissy, NFL^[27]
• Don Davey, NFL^[28]
• Tony Green, NFL
• Don Holleder, college football star and Vietnam War hero^[29]
• Ernest Jackson, CFL^[30]
• T. J. Jackson, NFL^[31]
• Arthur Jones, NFL^[32]
• Chandler Jones, NFL^[33]
• Tony Jordan, NFL^[34]
• Jim Kane, NFL^[35]
• Pat Kelly, NFL^[36]
• Rob Konrad, NFL^[37]
• Brian Kozlowski, NFL^[38]
• Leo Lyons, founder of the NFL's Rochester Jeffersons^[39]
• Kevin McMahan, NFL^[40]
• Seth Payne, NFL (Victor)^[41]
• Adam Podlesh, NFL^[42]
• Robert R. Thomas, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois and former NFL player^[43]
• David Walker, NCAA coach^[44]
• Roland Williams, NFL^[45]
• Marcus Wilson, NFL^[46]
• Alan Zemaitis, NFL^[47]

Golf

• Don Allen, championship amateur golfer
• Terry Diehl, PGA Tour
• Danielle Downey, LPGA player^[48]
• Walter Hagen, PGA legend^[49]
• Calvin Peete, African-American PGA Tour pioneer
• Jeff Sluman, PGA Tour and Champions Tour^[50]

Hockey

• Scott Bartlett, ECHL^[51]
• Mike Battaglia, ECHL^[52]
• Jason Bonsignore, NHL^[53]
• Ryan Callahan, NHL^[54]
• Adam Clendening, AHL^[55]
• Chris Collins, ECHL^[56]
• Greg Collins, ECHL^[57]
• Rory Fitzpatrick, NHL^[58]
• Brian Gionta, NHL^[59]
• Stephen Gionta, NHL^[60]
• Kim Insalaco, Olympic medalist^[61]
• Connor Knapp, AHL^[62]
• Matt Lane^[63]
• Shane Prince, NHL^[64]
• Marty Reasoner, NHL^[65]
• Billy Sauer, ECHL^[66]
• David Shields, ECHL^[67]
• Francis Spain, 1936 Winter Olympic bronze medalist^[68]
• Lyndsay Wall, Olympic medalist^[69]
• Derek Whitmore, NHL^[70]

Lacrosse

• Paul Cantabene^[71]
• Grant Catalino, MLL^[72]
• Pat Cougevan, NLL^[73]
• Ben DeLuca, Head Coach, Cornell University^[74]
• Sean Doyle, MLL^[75]
• Matt Kerwick, MILL
• Ryan Maciaszek, NLL^[76]
• Shawn Nadelen, NLL and MLL^[77]
• Brett Queener, NLL and MLL^[78]
• Chris Schiller, NLL and MLL^[79]
• Tim Soudan^[80]
• Joe Walters, NLL and MLL^[81]

Soccer

• Brian Bliss, MLS^[82]
• Jessica Dulski, W-League^[83]
• Juan Pablo Galavis, USL Division-I
• Erica Henderson, W-League^[84]
• Dema Kovalenko, MLS^[85]
• Gretchen Miller, W-League^[86]
• Kyra Petrole, W-League^[87]
• Kathryn Potter, W-League^[88]
• Lydia Vandenbergh, WPS^[89]
• Abby Wambach, 2-time Olympic gold medalist, Women's World Cup Champion, all-time highest scoring international player^[90]

Swimming and diving

• Kara Lynn Joyce, Olympic medalist
• Ryan Lochte, 11-time Olympic medalist^[91]
• Richard Saeger, 1984 Olympic gold medalist^[92]
• Wendy Wyland, 1984 Olympic medalist, diving^[93]

Other athletes

• Dick Buerkle, athlete, former world-record holder, indoor mile
• Tommy Castle, softball, National Softball Hall of Fame inductee
• William Cox, athlete, 1924 Olympic medalist
• Irving Crane, billiards, six-time world champion
• Bill Davey, bodybuilder, 1997 AAU Mr. America
• Louis Fox, 1865 national billiards champion
• Harold "Shifty" Gears, Kodak Park pitcher, first National Softball Hall of Famer
• Dave Jewett, Lumberjack World Champion (1995, 2015)
• Doug Kent, professional bowler, 2006-07 PBA Player of the Year
• A.J. Kitt, skier
• Jason McElwain, basketball personality
• Danny Padilla, bodybuilder, "The Giant Killer"
• Stacey Pensgen, figure skater and meteorologist
• Pete Pfitzinger, marathoner, 1984 and 1988 U.S. Olympics
• Frank Ritter Shumway, figure skater
• Mike Sigel, billiards, Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer
• Brycen Spratling, two-time track and field world record holder in the 500 meter dash and distance Medley^[94][95]
• Jenn Suhr (née Stuczynski), 2012 Olympic gold medalist, pole vault
• Maynard Troyer, NASCAR
• Cathy Turner, Olympic gold medalist, short-track speed skating
• Jason Turner, 2008 Olympic medalist, air pistol

Coaches

• Joe Altobelli, baseball manager

Officials

• Jimmy Debell, NFL official
• Ken Kaiser, MLB baseball umpire
• Bill Klem, umpire in Baseball Hall of Fame; umpired in a record 18 World Series
• Silk O'Loughlin, MLB baseball umpire

Executives

See #Sports executives, below

Broadcasters

See #Sport broadcasters, below

Businesspeople

Rochester's history of innovation and progress is reflected in the long list of notable businessmen who founded their companies here. Eastman Kodak, Bausch + Lomb, Xerox, Gannett Company, and Western Union all trace their roots to Rochester.

• Charles August, co-founder of Monro Muffler Brake
• John Jacob Bausch, co-founder of Bausch & Lomb
• George Eastman, Eastman Kodak founder
• Charles J. Folger, lawyer, jurist and statesman
• Frank Gannett, founder of Gannett newspapers; presidential candidate
• Malcolm Glazer, CEO of First Allied; owner of Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Manchester United
• Kate Gleason, first female mechanical engineer
• Tom Golisano, Paychex founder, philanthropist, gubernatorial candidate; owner of NHL's Buffalo Sabres (2003–2010)
• Martha Matilda Harper, hair care entrepreneur
• Leonard Jerome, financier, "King of Wall Street"; grandfather of Sir Winston Churchill
• David T. Kearns, Xerox CEO and Deputy Secretary of Education
• Henry Lomb, co-founder of Bausch & Lomb
• Arthur Rock, venture capitalist
• Hiram Sibley, Western Union co-founder
• Henry A. Strong, Eastman Kodak co-founder and president
• Hulbert Harrington Warner, patent medicine sales
• Don Alonzo Watson, Western Union co-founder
• Danny Wegman, CEO of Wegmans Food Markets
• Henry Wells, founder of American Express and co-founder of Wells Fargo
• Joseph C. Wilson, founder of Xerox Corporation
• Luke Wood, president of Beats Electronics

Computing and Internet

• Eric Bauman, founder of eBaum's World
• Paul Buchheit, creator of Gmail and AdSense; founder of FriendFeed
• Burnie Burns, co-founder of Rooster Teeth, an online video production company.
• Diane Greene, founder of VMware

Inventors

• William Seward Burroughs I
• Matthew Ewing, carpenter and inventor
• James Caleb Jackson, Granula
• Daniel Myron LeFever, gun maker and inventor of the hammerless shotgun
• John Samuel Rowell, agricultural inventor and manufacturing industrialist
• Steve Sasson, demonstrated first digital electronic camera
• George B. Selden, automotive pioneer
• S. Donald Stookey, inventor of CorningWare

Sports executives

• Steve Donner, hockey
• Chris Economides, soccer
• Morrie Silver, minor-league baseball

Criminals (suspected or convicted)

• The Alphabet Killer, cold case
• Kenneth Bianchi, one of the Hillside Stranglers
• Angelo Buono, Jr., one of the Hillside Stranglers
• Arthur Shawcross, serial killer
• Francis Tumblety, one of the Jack the Ripper suspects

Entertainers

Actors and models

The most acclaimed actor to come out of the Rochester area is Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman; prior to him, Rochester's main claim to fame on stage and screen was Robert Forster. John Lithgow was born (but not raised) in Rochester, and Louise Brooks died in Rochester after many years as a recluse there. Other popular Rochesterians on the screen include comedian Kristen Wiig and voice actor Vincent Martella.

• Florenz Ames, singer and actor
• Tyson Beckford, fashion model and television personality
• John Bolton, actor, A Christmas Story: The Musical
• Pandora Boxx, drag queen
• Louise Brooks, actress of 1920s and 30s
• Donna Lynne Champlin, Broadway actress
• Julie Lynn Cialini, Playboy model
• Jordan Clarke, actor, Guiding Light
• Jennifer Cody, dancer and actress
• Taye Diggs, actor, Rent, Private Practice
• Pete Duel, actor, Alias Smith and Jones
• Dan Finnerty, singer and actor
• Nicole Fiscella, actress, Gossip Girl
• Robert Forster, Oscar-nominated actor, Jackie Brown
• Susan Gibney, actress, Crossing Jordan
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, Oscar-winning actor
• Tom Keene, western actor
• Mimi Kennedy, actress and activist
• Norman Kerry, silent film actor
• Hudson Leick, actress, Xena: Warrior Princess
• Kara Lindsay, actress, Newsies
• John Lithgow, Oscar, Tony and Emmy-nominated actor
• Vincent Martella, actor, Everybody Hates Chris
• Timothy Mitchum, actor, The Lion King
• Audrey Munson, early 20th-century nude model
• Paul Napier, television and commercial actor, SAG leader
• Hugh O'Brian, actor, films and Wyatt Earp television series
• Michael Park, actor, As the World Turns
• Richard Ryder, actor, Forever Young
• Sean Michael Smith, director, actor, writer, producer
• Brennan Swain, contestant, The Amazing Race
• Joy Tanner, actress
• Tom Villard, actor, We Got it Made
• Kristen Wiig, comedian and actress, Saturday Night Live

Comedians

• Foster Brooks
• Jay Jason

Dancers and choreographers

• Garth Fagan, choreographer, considers Rochester home base
• Sybil Shearer

Musicians

Thanks in part to the Eastman School of Music, Rochester has an especially rich musical legacy, most notably as the birthplace of Cab Calloway and the hometown of jazz great Chuck Mangione. Lou Gramm of Foreigner is also a native, while Gene Cornish of The Rascals is a more recent transplant. Jeff Tyzik is one of the great jazz arrangers and pops conductors. A number of nationally known musicians have passed through the halls of the Eastman School, either as students or professors (or both).

Classical music

• David Diamond, composer
• Renée Fleming, soprano
• Adolphus Hailstork, composer
• Howard Hanson, composer and conductor
• David Hochstein, virtuoso violinist
• Daniel Katzen
• Gregory Kunde, tenor
• Ward Stare, conductor and trombonist
• Jeff Tyzik, conductor and jazz trumpeter
• William Warfield, bass-baritone
• Alec Wilder, composer
• Zvi Zeitlin, violinist and teacher

Jazz, big bands, and blues

• Cab Calloway, bandleader
• Steve Gadd, drummer
• Michael Hashim, saxophonist
• Son House, bluesman
• Vijay Iyer, jazz pianist
• Nancy Kelly, jazz singer
• Joe Locke, vibraphonist
• Chuck Mangione, smooth jazz flugelhornist
• Gap Mangione, bandleader
• Mitch Miller, bandleader
• John Mooney, Bluesiana
• Gerry Niewood, saxophonist
• John Viavattine, Mambo Kings

Popular music

Lou Gramm, lead singer of Foreigner, and Gene Cornish of the Rascals might be the most well-known pop musicians from Rochester. Notable bands whose members are largely or entirely Rochesterians include Gym Class Heroes, Joywave, SNMNMNM, and The Sunstreak.

• Steve Alaimo, teen idol pop singer, hosted and co-produced Dick Clark's Where the Action Is^[96]
• Daniel Armbruster, Joywave and Big Data
• Milo Bonacci, Gym Class Heroes
• Brann Dailor, Mastodon
• Steve Decker, Gym Class Heroes
• Duke Jupiter
• Joe English, drummer for Wings and Sea Level
• Jack Flynn, The Sunstreak
• Gary Foster, The Sunstreak
• Teddy Geiger
• Ryan Geise, Gym Class Heroes
• Glory
• Kim Gordon, Sonic Youth
• Lou Gramm, Foreigner
• DJ Green Lantern, rapper
• Mick Guzauski, mixer
• Davey Havok, AFI and Blaqk Audio
• Will Hollis, Eagles
• Bill Kelliher, Mastodon
• Michael Lasaponara, Cute Is What We Aim For and Roses Are Red
• Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo, Gym Class Heroes
• Lydia Lunch
• Kevin Mahoney, Hit the Lights, Polar Bear Club, Roses Are Red
• Travis McCoy, Gym Class Heroes
• Matt McGinley, Gym Class Heroes
• Bat McGrath
• Qwanell Mosley, Day26
• Bob Nastanovich, Pavement
• Mike Piano, The Sandpipers
• Don Potter
• Tony Rebis, The Sunstreak
• Eric Roberts, Gym Class Heroes
• Emilio Rojas, rapper
• Jason Sarkis, The Sunstreak
• David Schuler, The Sunstreak
• Zach Shields, Dead Man's Bones
• Peter Shukoff ("NicePeter")
• Joyce Sims
• William Tell, Something Corporate
• Tweet, born Charlene Keys
• Virus, aka Andre Karkos, Device, Big & Rich, Dope, Lords of Acid
• Bill Wadhams, Animotion
• Leehom Wang, C-pop
• Wendy O. Williams, Plasmatics
• Tim Yeung, Divine Heresy

Others

• The Campbell Brothers, instrumental gospel quartet
• Christine Lavin, folk singer/songwriter
• Julia Nunes, folk ukelelist and singer/songwriter
• Lauren O'Connell, folk singer/songwriter

Other

• Raul daSilva, author, filmmaker
• Andrea Nix Fine, Oscar-winning documentary producer, Inocente
• Sean Fine, Oscar-winning documentarian, Inocente
• Jason Hawes, founder of the Atlantic Paranormal Society and Sci Fi Channel series Ghost Hunters
• Frank LaLoggia, film director of Lady in White
• Jenna Mourey, YouTube personality, screen name "Jenna Marbles"
• James Sibley Watson, grandson of Western Union founders Hiram Sibley and Don Alonzo Watson; doctor and filmmaker

Government

Politicians and leaders

• Parmenio Adams, U.S. Representative^[97]
• Nathaniel Allen, U.S. Representative^[98]
• Fernando C. Beaman, Congressman^[99]
• Charles Billinghurst, U.S. Representative from Wisconsin^[100]
• Philip Bredesen, Governor of Tennessee
• Maggie Brooks, news anchor and county executive^[101]
• Angus Cameron, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin^[102]
• Sanford E. Church, Lieutenant Governor of New York, New York State Comptroller, and Chief Judge of New York State Court of Appeals^[103]
• Myron H. Clark, Governor of New York from 1855–1857
• Edward Colman, Wisconsin state senator^[104]
• Cornplanter, leader of the Seneca^[105]
• Stephen A. Douglas, U.S. Senator, presidential candidate from Illinois
• Marion B. Folsom, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare^[106]
• John Rankin Gamble, U.S. Representative from South Dakota^[107]
• John W. Gunning, Wisconsin State Assemblyman^[108]
• Leopold Hammel, Wisconsin State Assemblyman^[109]
• Elizur K. Hart, U.S. Representative and founder of Rochester Post-Express newspaper^[110]
• David J. Hayes, Deputy Secretary of the Interior^[111]
• Charles H. Holmes, U.S. Representative^[112]
• Kenneth Keating, U.S. Representative, Senator, and Ambassador to Israel^[113]
• Robert L. King, state assemblyman, county executive, and Chancellor of the State University of New York^[114]
• Brian Kolb, Minority Leader of the New York State Assembly^[115]
• Charles H. Nesbitt, assemblyman and assembly minority leader^[116]
• William F. Quinn, Governor of Hawaii^[117]
• John Raines, state senator^[118]
• Daniel Shays, leader of Shays's Rebellion in 1786
• Eliakim Sherrill, politician and brigade commander in Union Army during Civil War^[119]
• Louise Slaughter, U.S. Representative, chairperson of House Rules Committee^[120]
• Ellicott R. Stillman, Wisconsin State Assemblyman^[121]
• Thomas Benton Stoddard, first mayor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and state assemblyman^[122]
• Robert R. Thomas, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois and former NFL player^[123]
• John Todd Trowbridge, Wisconsin territorial legislator and sea captain^[124]
• Tom Warner, representative in Florida State Legislature^[125]
• William W. Wright, politician

Military personnel

• Brigadier General John F. Albert, Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force
• Major General Mary E. Clarke, director of the Women's Army Corps; first woman to attain the rank of major general in the US Army
• Rear Admiral Leslie Gheres, Captain of the U.S.S. Franklin
• Lieutenant Colonel Elmer W Hiendl, WWII Chaplain
• Major General William Augustus Mills, served during the defense of the Niagara frontier in the War of 1812
• Colonel Patrick O'Rorke
• 2nd Lieutenant Norman J. Rogers, Jr., commander of the crew victimized in the Rüsselsheim massacre

Media

Authors and writers

• John Ashbery, poet
• Nicholson Baker, author
• Andrea Barrett, short-story writer
• Philip Barry, playwright
• Richard Brookhiser, biographer
• Rob Byrnes, writer, Lambda Literary Award winner
• Ron Carlivati, head writer of One Life to Live, General Hospital
• Tom Chiarella, writer for Esquire
• Francis Pharcellus Church, publisher and editor
• Cornelius Eady, poet
• Thomas Fenton, screenwriter, Saw IV
• Joseph Fornieri, historian, political scientist
• Dana Fox, screenwriter, The Wedding Date
• Geoffrey Giuliano, biographer
• Virginia Haviland, librarian and writer
• Edward D. Hoch, mystery writer
• Mary Jane Holmes, 19th-century author
• David Hudson, lawyer and writer
• Charles R. Jackson, author of The Lost Weekend
• Shirley Jackson, author, The Lottery
• David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize winner, reporter for New York Times
• Garson Kanin, playwright and screenwriter
• Mollie Katzen, chef and cookbook author
• Stanton Davis Kirkham, naturalist
• Michael Muhammad Knight, novelist
• Jerre Mangione, writer
• Linda Sue Park, Newbery Medal winner
• Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author, Pulitzer Prize winner for The Yearling
• David Oliver Relin, journalist and author, Three Cups of Tea
• Julia Sauer, librarian and author
• David Schickler, author, Kissing in Manhattan and Sweet and Vicious
• Mark Shulman, children's author
• Joe Simon, comic book writer, co-creator of Captain America
• Thomas Thackeray Swinburne (1865-1926), poet
• Chris Van Etten, TV writer and author

Broadcasters and reporters

• Don Alhart, television journalist
• Louise Alley, radio journalist and advertising executive in Shreveport, Louisiana, born in Rochester in 1927
• Ralph Bown, radio pioneer
• Brother Wease, radio personality
• Richard Ben Cramer, journalist and author, Pulitzer Prize winner
• Jean Giambrone, journalist, first woman credentialed for Masters golf
• David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize winner, reporter for New York Times
• Sean Lahman, sports statistician and newspaper journalist
• Anne Montgomery, WROC sports reporter and ESPN broadcaster
• Henry Jarvis Raymond, journalist and founder of New York Times
• Neil Rogers, radio host
• Martin Sargent, professional "nerd" and host of TWIF
• Steve Scully, C-SPAN host; reporter and anchor at WHEC-TV in Rochester
• Jimmy Wallington, radio personality
• Irv Weinstein, television journalist

Sport broadcasters

• Mike Catalana, Rochester television executive
• Lanny Frattare, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Josh Lewin, San Diego Chargers and Texas Rangers
• Clem McCarthy, sportscaster and newsreel narrator
• Nick Nickson, Jr., Los Angeles Kings
• Bill Stern, sportscaster in National Radio Hall of Fame
• Jeff Van Gundy, pro basketball
• Pete Van Wieren, Atlanta Braves

Photographers and artists

Metalwork sculptor Albert Paley, although originally from Philadelphia, has lived and worked in Rochester for over four decades; he's probably the region's most prominent artist. Like many other artists, he came to Rochester because of RIT's School for American Crafts.

• Alfred Agate, painter
• Frederick Styles Agate, painter
• Harry Bliss, cartoonist
• Arthur Dove, abstract painter
• Emil Gruppe, impressionist painter
• Nicholas Gurewitch, creator of The Perry Bible Fellowship
• Peter Hannan, creator of CatDog
• James D. Havens, woodcut artist; early insulin recipient
• Maud Humphrey, commercial illustrator, suffragist; mother of actor Humphrey Bogart
• Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum, needlework designer
• Albert Paley, metalwork sculptor
• Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, photographer
• Ramón Santiago, painter, artist

Other

• Larry Ashmead, book editor

Religion and philosophy

• Reverend Francis Bellamy, wrote the Pledge of Allegiance
• Antoinette Brown Blackwell, first female minister
• Kate, Leah, and Margaret Fox, spiritualists
• Philip Kapleau, brought Zen Buddhism to western mainstream 1964; founded Rochester Zen Center
• Bishop Bernard John McQuaid
• Carolyn Merchant, philosopher and historian
• Walter Rauschenbusch, theologian
• Benjamin Titus Roberts, founder, Free Methodist Church
• Bishop Fulton Sheen, archbishop and television personality
• Joseph Smith, founder of Latter Day Saint movement
• Paul J. Swain, Roman Catholic bishop
• Reverend Dr. Howard Thurman

Scientists

Pioneering physician Elizabeth Blackwell, pioneering astronaut Pamela Melroy, and naturalist Henry Augustus Ward are the most notable scientists to come from the Rochester area.

• James C. Adamson, astronaut
• Elizabeth Blackwell, first woman to become qualified as a medical doctor
• Esther M. Conwell, physicist, 1997 recipient of the IEEE Edison Medal
• Frank J. Duarte, laser physicist and author
• Grove Karl Gilbert, geologist
• David Lipman, bioinformaticist
• Edward Tsang Lu, space shuttle astronaut, International Space Station resident
• Pamela Melroy, astronaut
• Lewis Henry Morgan, anthropologist
• John Wesley Powell, geologist
• Mark Rosenzweig, research psychologist
• Lewis A. Swift, astronomer
• Ching W. Tang, chemist, physician, inventor of OLED
• Henry Augustus Ward, naturalist and geologist, founder of Ward's Natural Science
• John Ralston Williams, medical pioneer
• Herbert York, nuclear physicist

Social reformers

No list of notable Rochesterians could ever omit Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, but the area has a long history of progressive social reformers. Anarchist Emma Goldman lived there for a time.

• Terry A. Anderson, former hostage and humanitarian
• Susan B. Anthony, women's rights leader
• Walter Cooper, research scientist, urban education reformer and civil rights activist
• Frederick Douglass, abolitionist
• Emma Goldman, anarchist
• Helen Barrett Montgomery, social reformer and women’s activist
• Helen Pitts, abolitionist and feminist
• Lillian Wald, public health nurse and social worker
• Samuel Ringgold Ward, African-American pastor and abolitionist
• Frances Willard, suffragist and temperance reformer
• Fannie Barrier Williams, black social reformer
• Mabel Sine Wadsworth, birth control activist

Others

• Josh Arieh, 2005 World Series of Poker champion
• Douglas Brei, sports historian
• Obadiah Bush, ancestor of the Bush financial and political family
• Elizabeth Eden, figure in the Dog Day Afternoon bank heist
• Ed Edmondson, chess arbiter
• Jon Finkel, Magic: The Gathering champion
• Jerome Fuller, jurist
• Gideon Granger, U.S. Postmaster General under Thomas Jefferson
• Seth Green, pioneer in fish farming
• Mary Jemison, the White Lady of the Genesee
• Lincoln Kirstein, writer, ballet impresario, art connoisseur, and one of the Monuments Men
• Thomas Krens, former director, current senior adviser, at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
• Increase A. Lapham, "father" of the United States Weather Service
• Christopher Lasch, historian
• Belva Ann Lockwood, first female attorney to practice before the Supreme Court
• Shawn Rabideau, event planner, TV personality
• Nathaniel Rochester, city founder
• Blanche Stuart Scott, first American aviatrix
• Jane Teller, sculptor

Fictional Rochesterians

• Luke and Joanne Collins, and son Dennis Collins, Heroes Reborn
• Rosalie Hale, vampire, Twilight

References

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4. "Cito Culver". Pro-Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
5. "Heinie Groh". Pro-Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
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7. "Andy Parrino". Pro-Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
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10. http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/16ee6100
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15. "Mark Jones". Pro-Basketball Reference. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
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23. "Luke Harper". profightdb.com. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
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25. "Gorilla Monsoon". wwe.com. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
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28. "Don Davey". Pro-Football Reference.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
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