List of people from Chester, Pennsylvania
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The following is a list of notable residents, natives, and persons generally associated with the city of Chester, Pennsylvania, the first city in Pennsylvania.
Academia
- Elaine Diacumakos, cell biologist and head of the cytobiology laboratory at Rockefeller University
- Sylvanus Morley, archaeologist and Mayanist scholar
- Josiah Sleeper, founder of Sleeper's College
Art & architecture
- Bud Grace, cartoonist
- Lisa Kereszi, photographer
Business
- Thomas Clyde, founder of the Clyde Line of steamers
- John Price Crozer, textile manufacturer and philanthropist
- Alfred O. Deshong, industrialist, philanthropist and art collector
- John O. Deshong, businessman and banker
- Peter Deshong, businessman and banker
- David Reese Esrey, businessman and banker
- John Larkin, Jr., businessman, banker and first mayor of Chester
- John Roach, industrialist and shipbuilder
- David Trainer, textile manufacturer and banker
- Jonathan Edwards Woodbridge, shipbuilder and naval architect
Film, television, and theater
Ethel Waters - 1943
- Fran Brill, voice actress and Muppeteer
- Helen Curry (1896-1931), stage actress
- J. R. Gach, talk radio host
- Steve Gordon, screenwriter and film director
- Robert Harland, actor
- Mignonette Kokin, vaudeville dancer, comedian
- Lee McLaughlin, film and television actor
- Joe Pyne, radio and TV talk show host
- Joey Stefano, pornographic actor
- Ethel Waters, Grammy-winning blues recording artist, Broadway performer, Academy Award nominee for Pinky (1949)
- Eleanor D. Wilson, Tony-nominated actress and artist
Historical figures
- George Clymer, Founding Father of the United States, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, lived in Chester with his family during the British Army assault on Philadelphia[1]
- David Lloyd, Attorney General of Pennsylvania, six-term Speaker of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
- John Morton, Founding Father of the United States, cast a key vote on the Declaration of Independence. Buried in Chester.[2]
- Caleb Pusey, early settler of Chester, friend and business partner of William Penn
Media and literature
- Theodore Enslin, poet
- Bill Fleischman (1939–2019), sports journalist and professor[3]
- Charles Morris, journalist and author
- Brent Staples, editorial writer for the New York Times
- Robin Toner, national political correspondent for the New York Times
Military figures
- Thomas N. Barnes, first African-American Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
- Franklin Archibald Dick, Missouri provost marshal general
- Frederick K. Engle, rear admiral of the United States Navy
- Hubert R. Harmon, first superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy
- John Martin Howard, U.S. Navy officer, mine disposal unit, USS John M. Howard (IX-75) named in his honor
- John M. Paxton, Jr., United States Marine Corps general officer
- William G. Price Jr., commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard's 28th Infantry Division
- David Dixon Porter, leading officer and reformer in the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War
- William D. Porter, flag officer in the U.S. Navy
- James W. Reese, U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient in World War II
Music and entertainment
- Al Albertini, or Al Alberts, and The Four Aces were all born or resided in Chester
- Bill Haley & His Comets, pioneering rock-and-roll band, was based in Chester and maintained corporate headquarters there from the early 1950s into the 1960s
- Marcus Belgrave, jazz trumpeter
- Ron Bennington, host of XM Satellite Radio program The Ron and Fez Show
- Jahlil Beats, music producer
- Joe Chambers, jazz drummer
- Clamma Dale, opera singer
- Bob Lamey, radio announcer, play-by-play announcer for the Indianapolis Colts
- Kevin Michael, soul singer
- Alex North, composer, 15-time Academy Award nominee
- Donnie Owens, singer, guitarist, producer and composer
- Rudy Pompilli, saxophonist with Bill Haley and the Comets
- Bertice Reading, actress, singer, revue artiste
- Matthew Ryan, singer-songwriter
- AverySunshine, soul singer
- Anthony Tucker, also known as The Beat Bully, record producer and songwriter
- Brandi Wells, singer-songwriter
- Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian and Eastern European musician
Politics
- Samuel Anderson, U.S. Congressman for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district
- William Anderson, major in the Continental Army and U.S. Congressman
- Joseph F. Battle Jr., 25th Mayor of Chester and judge on Delaware County Court of Common Pleas
- William H. Berry, 10th Mayor of Chester and Treasurer of Pennsylvania
- Crosby M. Black, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County and 7th Mayor of Chester
- Louis A. Bloom, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1947-1952), Judge on Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for Delaware County
- Barbara Bohannan-Sheppard, 27th Mayor of Chester
- E. Wallace Chadwick, U.S. Congressman
- Robert Chadwick, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County
- Joseph R.T. Coates, 5th mayor of Chester and officer in the Union Army during the US Civil War
- Lawrence A. Conner, Sr., Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1953-1954)
- Walter H. Craig, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1923-1925), Chester City Council member (1925-1937)
- Edward Darlington, U.S. Congressman
- Kathrynann Durham, Pennsylvania State Representative for 160th district (1979-1996) and Judge on Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for Delaware County
- Jill Duson, lawyer, lobbyist and politician in Maine
- Samuel Edwards, U.S. Congressman
- Lenora Fulani, psychologist, psychotherapist and political activist
- James Henry Gorbey, United States federal judge and 25th mayor of Chester
- John E. Gremminger, Pennsylvania State Representative
- John K. Hagerty, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1921-1922), Chester City Council member (1907-1918)
- John B. Hinkson, lawyer, businessman, 6th mayor of Chester
- E. W. Jackson, Virginia politician and Christian minister
- Edmund Jones, Pennsylvania State Representative
- Brian Joseph Kirkland, Pennsylvania State Representative
- Thaddeus Kirkland, Pennsylvania State Representative, 32nd Mayor of Chester
- Willie Mae James Leake, first African-American and female Mayor of Chester
- John Linder, 31st Mayor of Chester
- John J. McClure, Pennsylvania State Senator and leader of Delaware County Republican political machine
- John H. Nacrelli, 24th Mayor of Chester, convicted of racketeering and bribery
- Edward Nothnagle, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1926-1936), Chester City Council member
- Dominic Pileggi, Pennsylvania State Senator
- William T. Ramsey, Pennsylvania State Representative and 16th mayor of Chester
- V. Gilpin Robinson, Pennsylvania State Representative
- William I. Schaffer, Pennsylvania Attorney General
- James Ross Snowden (1809-1878), 67th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Director of the U.S. Mint
- William Cameron Sproul, 27th Governor of Pennsylvania
- Ellwood J. Turner, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1925-1948), 119th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1939-1941)
- Young Singleton Walter, Pennsylvania State Representative and owner of the Delaware County Republican newspaper
- William Ward, U.S. Congressman
- William Ward Jr., Pennsylvania State Representative and two term mayor of Chester
- Thomas Worrilow, Pennsylvania State Representative
- Robert C. Wright, Pennsylvania State Representative
Sports
- George Campbell, soccer player for Atlanta United
- Lamar Campbell, former NFL defensive back
- Tom Chism, Major League Baseball player
- Ted Cottrell, NFL player and coach
- Ben Davis, Major League Baseball player, Philadelphia Phillies sports announcer
- Tyreke Evans, professional basketball player
- Fredia Gibbs, martial artist, kickboxer, boxer
- Ron Henry, professional baseball player
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Toronto Raptors forward
- Will Hunter, Minnesota Vikings safety and Syracuse University standout
- Derrick Jones Jr., Portland Trail Blazers forward
- Kevin Jones, Chicago Bears running back and former Virginia Tech football standout
- Joe Klecko, lineman with New York Jets and Temple University; father of Dan Klecko of New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles
- Lew Krausse Jr., professional baseball player
- Bob Kuberski, football player for Green Bay Packers
- John Linehan, assistant basketball coach for the Saint Joseph's Hawks.
- Nicholas K. Miller, middle guard, and defensive MVP for Ohio State Buckeyes
- John Mobley, Denver Broncos linebacker and former Kutztown University football standout
- Danny Murtaugh, manager of Pittsburgh Pirates who guided team to World Series titles in 1960 and 1971
- Jameer Nelson, professional basketball player
- Curly Ogden, professional baseball player
- Jack Ogden, professional baseball player
- Johnny Podgajny, professional baseball player
- Bo Ryan, former head coach of Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team, coached UW-Platteville to four NCAA Division III national championships
Other
- J. Pius Barbour, executive director of the National Baptist Association, mentor to then-college student Martin Luther King Jr.
- Ruth L. Bennett, social worker, first president of the Chester branch of the NAACP
- Ed Blizzard, prominent pharmaceutical injury attorney
- Stanley Branche, civil rights leader, founder of the Committee for Freedom Now
- Dorothy Chacko, social worker, medical doctor, Padma Shri award recipient
- Audrey B. Collins, United States District Judge
- John Ernst Worrell Keely, con man, inventor of the Keely Motor
- Muhammad Kenyatta, civil rights leader
- George Raymond, president of NAACP Chester branch from 1942 to 1977
References
References are on the article pages if not listed here.
- ^ "George Clymer". www.dsdi1776.com. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
- ^ Morton was born in nearby Ridley Township and is buried in Chester.
"Old Chester, PA: Cemeteries — St. Paul's Burying Ground". Retrieved October 22, 2007. - ^ Barkowitz, Ed (May 2, 2019). "Bill Fleischman, 80, versatile journalist". Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. p. A38.
; Barkowitz, Ed (May 2, 2019). "Bill Fleischman; covered Flyers in Stanley Cup years". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. p. B8.