Famous People Born in Ohio a to z

Sherwood Anderson was a U.S. short-story writer and novelist known for his groundbreaking characterization and narrative forms.

Casey Anthony is best known for her connection to the mysterious disappearance of her daughter, Caylee Anthony.

Astronaut, military pilot, and educator, Neil Armstrong made history on July 20, 1969, by becoming the first man to walk on the moon.

The Black Keys' guitarist Dan Auerbach and his drummer, Patrick Carney, won multiple 2013 Grammy Awards for their album El Camino and its hit track, "Lonely Boy."

Jim Backus was a film and TV actor known for his roles in Rebel Without a Cause and Gilligan’s Island, as well as being the voice of Mr. Magoo.

Halle Berry is an American actress, former fashion model and former beauty queen. One of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, she is also a Revlon spokeswoman.

John Boehner is best known as the Republican Speaker of the House, beginning in January 2011.

Humorist, writer, columnist and journalist Erma Bombeck found the humor in the everyday experiences of being a wife and mother and shared it with her readers.

Crystal Bowersox landed a spot on the ninth season of American Idol and became the first runner-up.

African American actor Richard Brooks is best known for his role as Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette in the first three seasons of NBC's Law & Order.

Comedian Drew Carey came to national attention with his hit sitcom The Drew Carey Show before becoming the host of The Price Is Right.

Scientist George Carruthers created inventions, such as the ultraviolet camera, or spectograph, which was used by NASA in the 1972 Apollo 16 flight, revealing the mysteries of space and the Earth's atmosphere.

American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman received wide fame in the late 1980s and '90s with songs like "Give Me One Reason" and "Fast Car."

Charles Chesnutt was a trailblazing short-story author and novelist who presented African-American life in works like The Conjure Woman and The Colonel's Dream.

Former Major League Baseball player Roger Clemens, of the Red Sox, won 7 Cy Young Awards and recorded 4,672 strikeouts. He was indicted for perjury in 2010.

Tim Conway is an American comedian and actor, best known for co-starring alongside Carol Burnett on The Carol Burnett Show.

Wes Craven is a horror film director, screenwriter and producer known for projects like Swamp Thing, Nightmare on Elm Street and the Scream series.

George Custer was an American general who in 1876 led 210 men into battle at Little Bighorn against Native Americans. Custer and his men were killed.

Dorothy Dandridge was an American actress and popular singer, and was the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for best actress.

Charles G. Dawes was a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize who became the 30th U.S. vice president under Calvin Coolidge.

Doris Day was a singer and actress most popular in the 1950s and early-1960s. She starred in a television sitcom called "The Doris Day Show" from 1968-1973.

Ruby Dee is an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, activist, poet and journalist, perhaps best known for starring in the 1961 film A Raisin in the Sun. She's also known for her civic work with husband Ossie Davis.

First noticed as a contestant on Groucho Marx's game show in 1955, Phyllis Diller went on to become a successful comedian, actress and author.

African-American author Paul Laurence Dunbar is best known for his verse and short stories, many of which are written in black dialect.

Inventor Thomas Edison created such great innovations as the electric light bulb, the telephone and the phonograph. A savvy businessman, he held more than a 1,000 patents for his inventions.

Charles W. Fairbanks was a U.S. attorney and senator who was the country’s 26th vice president under Theodore Roosevelt.

A winner of Next Food Network Star, Guy Fieri now hosts several television shows, including Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Writer James Frey wrote the book, A Million Little Pieces. When The Smoking Gun discredited the book as a memoir, he had to apologize on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Dubbed “King of Hollywood,” Gone with the Wind actor Clark Gable epitomized Hollywood's Golden Age, and was a legend for his on- and off-screen romances.

James Garfield is best known as the 20th president of the United States. He was assassinated after only a few months in office.

Lucretia Garfield was the wife of President James Garfield and, thusly, first lady of the United States for nine months.

American actress Teri Garr is best known for her role as Dustin Hoffman's neurotic girlfriend in the comedy hit Tootsie (1981). Other notable roles include The Conversation (1974), Young Frankenstein (1974) and Mr. Mom (1983). 

Dorothy Gish, younger sister of actress Lillian Gish, was a film actress in the first half of the 20th century.

John Glenn was the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth, completing three orbits in 1962. He has also served as an Ohio senator.

Ulysses S. Grant served as U.S. general and commander of the Union armies during the late years of the American Civil War, later becoming the 18th U.S. president.

Singer-songwriter Macy Gray is widely known for her 1999 hit single, "I Try." She is also an actress and philanthropist.

As drummer for Nirvana and founding member of the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl gave alternative rock its driving beat.

Arsenio Hall is an American actor, comedian and was the first black late-night talk show host, on his groundbreaking The Arsenio Hall Show.

Scott Hamilton is a U.S. Gold Medal Olympiad also known for his sports commentary and raising cancer awareness.

Virginia Hamilton was a multiple award-winning children's author whose work celebrated diversity and the African-American experience.

Jim Harbaugh is a former American football player who became a highly successful coach for Stanford University and the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.

John Harbaugh is an American football coach in the NFL and the older brother of former player-turned-coach Jim Harbaugh.

Warren G. Harding was elected the 29th U.S. president on his birthday, and served from 1921 to 1923. His term followed World War I and a campaign promising a "return to normalcy."

In 1982, Jean Harris shot and killed author and cardiologist Herman Tarnower, who wrote the international best-seller The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet.

Benjamin Harrison is best known as the 23rd president of the United States. He was the grandson of President William Henry Harrison.

Caroline Harrison married future U.S. President Benjamin Harrison in 1853. As first lady, she oversaw the installation of electricity in the White House.

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was a blues/soul singer known for his over-the-top theatricality and the hit “I Put a Spell on You.”

Rutherford B. Hayes was the 19th president of the United States and oversaw the end of the rebuilding efforts of the Reconstruction.

Actress Anne Heche got her start on the soap opera Another World. She is known for dating comedian Ellen DeGeneres, and for starring in the series Men in Trees.

A versatile stage, television and film actor, Hal Holbrook is an Emmy and Tony winner, and a longtime Mark Twain impersonator.

Actress Katie Holmes played Joey Potter on The WB teen drama Dawson's Creek from 1998 to 2003. She has a daughter with actor Tom Cruise.

LeBron James, one of the NBA's leading players, is the youngest player to win the Rookie of the Year Award, among several other distinctions. He led the Miami Heat to an NBA champion victory in 2012.

Philip Johnson was an American architect best known for the design for his own home, the Glass House, in New Canaan, CT.

Drew Lachey first made it big as part of the 1990s boy band 98 Degrees. He won the second season of Dancing With the Stars in 2006.

Jerome Lawrence was an American playwright. He collaborated with Robert Edwin Lee for over 50 years. Inherit The Wind is their most well known play.

Singer-songwriter John Legend won his first Grammy Award with 2004's Get Lifted. The album went platinum, thanks in part to the hit single "Ordinary People."

James Levine is a renowned pianist, violinist and conductor who has served as music director of the Metropolitan Opera since 1971.

Traci Lords is an actress who gained notoriety in the 1980s when she appeared in pornographic films at the age of 15.

Jim Lovell is a former U.S. astronaut who commanded NASA's nearly disastrous Apollo 13 flight to the moon.

Actor Paul Lynde is best known for his work on the fledgling game show Hollywood Squares, where he worked for 15 years.

Charles Manson is an American cult leader whose followers carried out several notorious murders in the late 1960s and inspired the book Helter Skelter.

Actor, singer Dean Martin starred in several films with Jerry Lewis and belonged to the "Rat Pack," which included Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Ida McKinley was the wife of 25th U.S. President William McKinley. She served as first lady from 1897 until McKinley's assassination in 1901.

William McKinley is best known for being president when the United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

Toni Morrison is a Nobel Prize- and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved.

African-American hairdresser and inventor Lyda Newman patented an improved hairbrush design in New York City in 1898.

Paul Newman came to be known as one of the finest actors of his time. He also started the Newman's Own food company, which donates all profits to charity.

Professional golfer Jack Nicklaus, nicknamed "the Golden Bear," won the U.S. Open four times and the Professional Golfers Association championship five times.

Actor Ed O'Neill is best known as the dad in TV sitcoms like Married... with Children and Modern Family.