This is a list of notable people from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The person's hometown is in parentheses.
Art and literature A–G
Frank Ackerman (1946–2019), economist, author, co-founder and editor of Dollars & Sense magazine (Madison) David Adler (1882–1949), architect (Milwaukee) Kevin J. Anderson (born 1962), writer (Racine) Rasmus B. Anderson (1846–1936), author, professor, and historian (Albion) Walter Annenberg (1908–2002), creator of TV Guide and Seventeen magazines (Milwaukee) Antler (born 1946), poet (Wauwatosa) Ruth Ball (1879–1960), sculptor (Madison) Annie Wall Barnett (1859–1942), writer, litterateur, poet (Richland County or Crawford County) Lynda Barry (born 1956), author and cartoonist (Richland Center) Gary Beecham (born 1955), glass artist (Ladysmith) George Bergstrom (1876–1955), architect, designer of The Pentagon (Neenah) Norbert Blei (1935–2013), writer (Ellison Bay) Carrie Jacobs Bond (1862–1946), songwriter (Janesville) Esther Bubley (1921–1998), photojournalist (Phillips) Nancy Ekholm Burkert (born 1933), artist and illustrator, recipient of Caldecott Medal (Milwaukee) Nickolas Butler, writer, author, journalist (Eau Claire) Kathryn Casey, writer and journalist Kashana Cauley, comedy writer, writer and columnist Jessie Kalmbach Chase (1879–1970), painter (Door County and Madison) Connie Clausen (1923–1997), literary agent (Menasha) Chester Commodore (1914–2004), cartoonist (Racine) Harriet L. Cramer (1847–1922), newspaper publisher (Waupun) Alice Arnold Crawford (1850–1874), author Jeremiah Curtin (1835–1906), translator (Milwaukee County) Oliver Daniel (1911–1990), arts administrator, musicologist and composer (De Pere) Tyler Dennett (1883–1949), biographer, recipient of Pulitzer Prize (Spencer) August Derleth (1909–1971), writer (Sauk City) Gene DeWeese (1934–2012), writer (Milwaukee) Donn F. Draeger (1922–1982), writer and martial artist (Milwaukee) Chip Duncan (born 1955), filmmaker, author and photographer (Milwaukee) Bill Dwyre (born 1944), columnist and editor (Sheboygan) Alter Esselin (1889–1974), poet (Milwaukee) Ernest R. Feidler (1910–1976), secretary and general consul of the National Gallery of Art (Superior) Edna Ferber (1885–1968), writer (Appleton) Jack Finney (1911–1995), writer (Milwaukee) Daniel R. Fitzpatrick (1891–1969), cartoonist (Superior) Lewis R. Freeman (1878–1960), journalist (Genoa Junction) Ellen Gabler, journalist (Eau Claire) Zona Gale (1874–1938), writer, playwright, recipient of Pulitzer Prize (Portage, Beaver Dam, Milwaukee) Hamlin Garland (1860–1940), novelist, biographer, poet (West Salem) Greg Graffin (born 1964), singer, songwriter, musician, professor, college lecturer, author (Madison, Racine, Milwaukee) Elmer Grey (1872–1963), architect and painter (Milwaukee) Eva Kinney Griffith (1852–1918), journalist, editor, publisher E. Gary Gygax (1938–2008), novelist, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons (Lake Geneva)
H–O
Jane Hamilton (born 1957), writer (Rochester) Stephen Hayes, senior writer for The Weekly Standard, Fox News contributor, author (Wauwatosa) Kevin Henkes (born 1960), author and illustrator, recipient of Caldecott Medal (Racine, Madison) Sarah Dyer Hobart (1845–1921), author Eastman Johnson (1824–1906), co-founder of Metropolitan Museum of Art (Superior) Russell Klika, combat photojournalist (Appleton) Jim Knipfel (born 1965), writer (Green Bay) Ron Kovic (born 1946), writer, Born on the Fourth of July (Ladysmith) Mabel Johnson Leland (1871–1947), lecturer, translator David Lenz (born 1962), painter (Milwaukee) Gerda Lerner (1920–2013), Women's Studies, founder of women's history (Madison) Paul Linebarger (1913–1966), writer (Milwaukee) Ben Logan (1920–2014), writer (The Land Remembers) Flora E. Lowry (1879–1933), anthologist Per Lysne (1880–1947), folk artist, popularized rosemaling (Stoughton) Velma Caldwell (1858–1924), editor and writer Karl E. Meyer, journalist for The New York Times; editor of World Policy Journal (Madison) Jacquelyn Mitchard (born 1957), writer (Milwaukee, Madison) John Nichols (born 1959), political correspondent for The Nation (Union Grove) Lorine Niedecker (1903–1970), poet (Fort Atkinson) Lucius W. Nieman (1857–1935), founder of Milwaukee Journal; Nieman Foundation for Journalism dedicated to him (Sauk County) Jessica Nelson North (1891–1988), writer (Madison, Edgerton) Sterling North (1906–1974), writer (Edgerton) Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986), artist (Sun Prairie)
P–Z
George Wilbur Peck (1840–1916), writer, newspaper editor, politician (Cold Spring, Ripon, La Crosse, Milwaukee) George Pollard (1920–2008), artist (Waldo, Kenosha) Marion Manville Pope (1859–1930), author Richard Quinney (born 1934), sociologist and writer (Madison) Ellen Raskin (1928–1984), writer and illustrator (Milwaukee) Emma May Alexander Reinertsen (1853–1920), writer (Milwaukee) Vinnie Ream (1847–1914), sculptor (Madison) John Ridley (born 1965), novelist (Milwaukee) David Robbins (born 1957), artist, writer (Whitefish Bay) Adelaide Day Rollston (1854–1941), poet and author Patrick Rothfuss (born 1973), writer (Madison) Ella Giles Ruddy (1851–1917), author and editor Mary Stebbins Savage (1850–1915), poet, writer Joe Schoenmann, journalist and author Ruth Shalit (born 1971), writer, journalist (Milwaukee) Clifford D. Simak (1904–1988), writer (Millville) Mona Simpson (born 1957), author (Green Bay) Red Smith (1905–1982), Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist (Green Bay) Peter Straub (1943–2022), writer (Milwaukee) Arthur Thrall (1926–2015), artist (Milwaukee) John Toland (1912–2004), Pulitzer Prize–winning writer (La Crosse) Neal Ulevich (born 1946), Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer (Milwaukee) Dave Umhoefer (born 1961), Pulitzer Prize recipient (La Crosse) Jim VandeHei (born 1971), executive editor and co-founder of Politico (Oshkosh) Ignatiy Vishnevetsky (born 1986), film critic and essayist (Wauwatosa) Viola S. Wendt (1907–1986), poet (West Bend) Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919), writer and poet (Johnstown) John Wilde (1919–2006), artist (Milwaukee, Evansville) Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957), writer (Pepin) Thornton Wilder (1897–1975), writer (Madison) Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959), architect (Richland Center, Madison, Spring Green) David Zurawik, journalist, author (Milwaukee)
Business
George Addes (1911–1990), founder of United Auto Workers (La Crosse) Edward P. Allis (1824–1899), co-founder of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company (Two Rivers, Milwaukee) J. Ogden Armour (1863–1927), meatpacking magnate, owner of Armour and Company (Milwaukee) Carol Bartz (born 1948), president and chief executive officer of Yahoo! (Alma) Ernest J. Briskey (1930–2006), vice president, technical and administration of Campbell's (Waunakee) William Wallace Cargill (1844–1909), business executive, founder of Cargill (Janesville) Jerome Case (1819–1891), founder of an agricultural and construction equipment company (Racine) Betty Cohen (born 1956) (Racine) Toby Crabel (born 1955), hedge fund manager and tennis player. Leo Crowley (1889–1972), banker and FDIC director (Milton) John Cudahy (1887–1943), industrialist (Milwaukee) Michael Cudahy (1924–2022), entrepreneur (Milwaukee) Craig Culver (born 1950), co-founder of Culver’s fast food chain (Neenah) Alexander M. Cutler, chief executive officer of the Eaton Corporation (Milwaukee) Arthur Davidson (1881–1950), co-founder of Harley-Davidson (Milwaukee) Edward L. Doheny (1856–1935), oil tycoon (Fond du Lac) Ole Evinrude (1877–1924), inventor and entrepreneur (Cambridge, Madison, Milwaukee) Judith Faulkner (born 1943), formerly of New Jersey; billionaire; CEO and founder of Epic Systems, a healthcare software company located in Wisconsin Bob Galvin (1922–2011), chief executive officer of Motorola (Marshfield) Chris Gardner (born 1954), entrepreneur, subject of movie The Pursuit of Happyness (Milwaukee) King C. Gillette (1855–1932), industrialist (Fond du Lac) Donald Goerke (1926–2010), Campbell's executive, inventor of SpaghettiOs (Waukesha) William S. Harley (1880–1943), co-founder of Harley-Davidson (Milwaukee) Randolph E. Haugan (1902–1985), editor and publisher (Martell) Ken Hendricks (1941–2007), billionaire (Janesville, Beloit, Afton) Electa Amanda Wright Johnson (1938–1929), philanthropist, writer Jay L. Johnson (born 1946), chief executive officer of General Dynamics (West Salem) Samuel Curtis Johnson, Sr. (1833–1919), founder of consumer products company (Racine) Al C. Kalmbach (1910–1981), founder of Kalmbach Publishing Company (Sturgeon Bay) Phil Katz (1962–2000), computer programmer (Glendale) Carl Kiekhaefer (1906–1983), owner of Mercury Marine (Mequon) Alan Klapmeier (born 1958), aircraft designer and aviation entrepreneur (Baraboo) Dale Klapmeier (born 1961), aircraft designer and aviation entrepreneur (Baraboo) Herbert Kohler (born 1939), business executive (Kohler) John H. MacMillan Sr. (1869–1944), businessman (La Crosse) Marissa Mayer (born 1975), chief executive officer of Yahoo (Wausau) Oscar Mayer (1859–1955), founder of meat packing company (Milwaukee, Fitchburg) John Menard Jr. (born 1940), business executive, founder of Menards (Eau Claire) George Safford Parker (1863–1937), pen inventor and entrepreneur (Shullsburg, Janesville) Paul Poberezny (1921–2013), aircraft designer, military aviator and founder of the Experimental Aircraft Association (Oshkosh) Tom Poberezny (1946–2022), world champion aerobatic aviator and president of the Experimental Aircraft Association (Oshkosh) Charles Ringling (1863–1926), co-founder of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus (Prairie du Chien, Baraboo) John Ringling (1866–1936), real estate developer, co-founder of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus (Prairie du Chien, Baraboo) Pleasant Rowland (born 1941), businesswoman, founder of the American Girl doll company (Madison) Herbert A. Simon (1916–2001), economist and computer scientist (Milwaukee) James Trane (1857–1936), founder of heating and air conditioning company (La Crosse) Reuben Trane (1886–1954), co-founder of Trane (La Crosse) Elmer Winter (1912–2009), co-founder of Manpower Inc. (Milwaukee) Dean Witter (1887–1969), founder of Dean Witter & Co. investment house (Wausau) Walter Wriston (1919–2005), chairman and chief executive officer of Citicorp (Appleton)Walter B. Wriston Archives, Biography
Brewing
Valentin Blatz (Milwaukee) Harry G. John (Milwaukee) Frederick Miller (Milwaukee) Frederick Pabst (Milwaukee, Whitefish Bay) Joseph Schlitz (Milwaukee)
Education
Florence Eliza Allen (1876–1960), mathematician and assistant professor at University of Wisconsin–Madison (Horicon) Thomas Barnett (born 1962), professor of warfare analysis & research at Naval War College (Chilton, Boscobel) Theodore Brameld (1904–1987), professor at Long Island University, Adelphi, Minnesota, NYU, and Boston University (Neillsville) Arthur Louis Breslich (1873–1924), president of German Wallace College and Baldwin-Wallace (Madison, Milwaukee) Ernest J. Briskey (1930–2006), dean of Agricultural Science of Oregon State University (Waunakee) Albin C. Bro (1893–1956), president of Shimer College (Prentice) Carlos Castillo-Chavez (born 1952), professor of mathematical biology at Arizona State University Edwin Copeland, noted botanist and founder of University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Agriculture Joanne V. Creighton, president of Mount Holyoke College (Marinette) Tyler Dennett (1883–1949), professor of American history at Johns Hopkins University and Columbia, professor of international relations at Princeton, president of Williams College (Spencer) Katharine Elizabeth Dopp (1863–1944), dean of Chicago Normal School (Dopp) Lars Paul Esbjörn (1808–1870), professor of Theology at Illinois State Normal University (Clinton)