So what defines a famous person? I've had several friends ask if I was going write about one person or another. Some people have really made their names well known. Others have done great things but gotten little recognition. The population of Freeport, Illinois, is around 25,000 people, and the city has been around for about 175 years. I've also added some other Stephenson County residents. So who to include?

To me, someone is famous if they have done something remarkable with their lives and deserve to be remembered.

I'm a prolific researcher and writer. I've already written about quite a number of Freeporters, and this page will link everyone I think should be a Famous Freeporter!

Some people have had the good fortune to be born in Freeport, but were then snatched away by their parents and never returned.

Some were born elsewhere, and had the good fortune to attend Freeport schools. Some came from somewhere and did their life's work in Freeport or did something remarkable there. And some lived much of their lives elsewhere, and retired to Freeport, died and are buried there.

I've also included certain war veterans and some who died in service.

This list will eventually include some from each category. This page will list the name, a brief description, and if I deem them interesting, a more complete biography on another page. Where there's a name but no link, check back in a few months (or years). I'm still researching! The page is alphabetical to easily find someone, not to punish George Zipf! Those listed in red are still alive, & I won't say much about them.

Freeport's Mayors, brief biographies of some interesting characters

Jane Addams, of Cedarville, the first American woman to earn the Nobel Peace Prize, also in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans and National Women’s Hall of Fame

Barry Armstrong, Killed in Action, Vietnam War

Smith Dykins Atkins, (Jun. 9, 1835 - Mar. 27, 1913) Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General; The Stephenson County Civil War Monument was designed by Gen. Atkins. 20,000 people attended the dedication. "Build them monuments of marble, surmounted with statues of Victory. Cut their names in enduring tablets of stone. Tell of their heroic deeds in story, and sing of them in song. Keep their memories green in our hearts forevermore. And yet we will not pay one half the great debt of gratitude and love we owe."—General Smith D. Atkins, Dedication of the Stephenson County Soldiers' Monument, 4 July, 1871; editor Freeport Daily Journal; postmaster; author Democracy and Dred Scott (1860) and Abraham Lincoln (1909).

Dan Balz, columnist Washington Post, author of The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election (I've read it. It's pretty good.), and Storming the Gates: Protest Politics and the Republican Revival. Dan has worked for the Post as National Editor, Political Editor and White House correspondent. He frequently appears as a guest expert on Meet the Press and Washington Week. He's a 1964 Pretzel.

Harry H. Barber, industrialist

Ken Behring, real estate developer, former owner of the Seattle Seahawks

Arthur Fischer Bentley, philosopher, political scientist, author

Black Abe, aka, Abram Follock, the first black student in Freeport schools

William "Tutty" Baker, founder of Freeport

Reuben Baumgartner, Freeport High School Principal, "Father of Highland Community College"

Van Bluemel, associate professor of physics at Worcester Polytechnical Institute

Robert Bonebright, Killed in Action, Vietnam War

Wesley Brubaker, aviation pioneer

Horatio Chapin Burchard (September 22, 1825 - May 14, 1908), US Congressman, 1869-1879

Frederick H. Buttel, sociologist

Carl Cain, basketball player, Winner of Gold Medal in Basketball at 1956 Olympic Games

W.F. “Doc” Carver, of Winslow, in the National Trapshooting Hall of Fame

John A. Clark, Surveyor General of the New Mexico Territory under President Lincoln

Alfred A. Cohn, journalist, newspaper editor, screenwriter, Police Commissioner of Los Angeles, nominated for Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for The Jazz Singer in 1929

Leonard Colby, Assistant Attorney General of the United States, scoundrel

McKinley “Deacon” Davis, basketball player, Harlem Globe Trotters, social worker

Theodore Demeter, Killed in Action, World War I

G. Dirksen, silversmith

William Dole Eckert, Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force, Commissioner of Major League Baseball

Clark Eichelberger, Executive Director of the League of Nations Associations, convinced world leaders to form the United Nations, confidant of Presidents, consultant to the League of Nations Secretariat, delegate to the San Francisco Conference in 1945 that led to the formation of the United Nations, member of the committee which created the first working draft of the Charter of the United Nations, author of several books about the United Nations, one of the most famous and influential peace activists of the 20th century

Callista Flockhart, actress

Luther Fulwider, Freeport High School Principal

Arnold Glasow, American humorist

Charles Guiteau, assassin of President Garfield, more info here

Doug Hagen, Medal of Honor winner, Vietnam

Roger Hayes, a 1965 Pretzel, is author of On Point, A Rifleman's Year in the Boonies, 1967-1968 (I read it; it's excellent. And that's not just my opinion--it is used as a textbook at the U.S. Army War College.), sang & played guitar in several bands in Freeport, includes photos from this website on a YouTube video

Edmund Heller, zoologist, author

Mathias K. Hettinger (1810-1890), Hettinger County, North Dakota, named after him in 1883

Art "Doc" Hillebrand, member of the College Football Hall of Fame

Homer Hillebrand, major league baseball player

Alexander Cameron Hunt, one of the first 25 students in Freeport School in 1837, the second mayor of Freeport from 1856-1857, and the fourth governor of Colorado from 1867-1869

Joyce Salter Johnson, author of The Early Black Settlers of Stephenson County, Illinois – 1830-1930, and A Pictorial History of Early Black Settlers of Stephenson County, Illinois – 1830-1930

Robert Johnson, a 1964 Pretzel, cable TV executive, in 1980 founded Black Entertainment Television (BET), the first black billionaire, co-owned a professional basketball team with Michael Jordan and rapper Nelly (later sold his share to Jordan)

Clemens Kalvelage, humanitarian, founder of St. Francis Hospital and St. Vincent's Orphanage, Rector of St. Joseph's Church

Donald Keep, Killed in Action, Vietnam War

Robert Leon Knipschild, artist

Robert Koenig, philanthropist

Andrew Lancaster, Killed in Action, the Iraq War

Robert Langenstein, Killed in Action, World War I

Harry B. Liggett, winner of the Distinguished Service Cross in World War I on October 10, 1918, at Bois de Chaume, France

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, debated Stephen A. Douglas in Freeport on August 27, 1858 for the United States Senate seat from Illinois.

George Dewey Lipscomb, author

Larry Mack, Killed in Action, Vietnam War

Richard C. Macke, Admiral U.S. Navy

The Marx Brothers played their first comedy gig in Freeport

Jimmie Mattern (March 8, 1905 – December 17, 1988), aviation pioneer, Lockheed test pilot, his pilot's license was carried to the moon aboard Apollo 11; in 1932 set record for flying across Atlantic Ocean in 10 hours 50 minutes; in 1981 was named to Oklahoma Air and Space Hall of Fame; author of Cloud Country, his autobiography

Charles A. McCoy, winner of the Distinguished Service Cross in World War I on October 5, 1918 at Verdun, France

Gerald McClellan, boxer, second place in the 1988 Golden Gloves competition, critically injured during a fight in London on February 25, 1995, now blind, partially deaf and unable to care for himself; click on photo for fund-raiser. In 2007, he was elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame.

Alexander C. Miller, telegrapher

Zintkala Nuni, also known as Zintka, Lost Bird, and Marguerite Elizabeth Colby, infant survivor of the Massacre at Wounded Knee

Richard Otte, Killed in Action, Vietnam War

Louella Parsons, movie columnist

Preston Pearson, high school basketball and football star at FHS, played basketball at the University of Illinois, played professional football (special teams, running back & receiver) in the NFL for the Baltimore Colts, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys, played in 5 Super Bowls. In 14 seasons in the NFL, he rushed for 3,609 yards, caught 254 passes for 3,095 yards, returned punts, and ran 2,801 yards on kickoff returns. He scored 33 touchdowns.

Neil D. Petsche, killed in the Iraq War

Franklin Picking, Killed in Action, Vietnam War

Jerry Pool, Killed in Action, Vietnam War

Charles Flint Putnam, officer in the United States Navy, two ships have been named after him

W. T. Rawleigh, entrepreneur, industrialist, philanthropist

William Avery Rockefeller, father of billionaire John D. Rockefeller

Susan Rosenstiel, Red Cross nurse in World War I

Adolph Rupp, FHS basketball coach, also did some coaching at the University of Kentucky, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Nathan Salsbury, soldier, actor, playwright, co-owner of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show

Charles Brewster Schofield, soldier, indian fighter, just missed Custer's Last Stand

George Wheeler Schofield, Civil War General, Buffalo Soldier, pistol designer, commander of Fort Apache

John McAllister Schofield, Medal of Honor winner, Civil War General, Secretary of War, West Point Superintendent, Commander of the Army, author

Terry Schoonhoven, artist

John Wilson Shaffer, Civil War General, Governor of Utah

Louie Shianna, Killed in Action, Vietnam War

Peter Shianna, author of Take Off—A Time for War, A Time for Love, a World War II novel; and Love Tag.

Ted Snyder, American Hall of Fame lyricist and composer

Clyde Aubra Southwick, professional baseball player

William J. Sullivan, Jesuit priest, president of Seattle University, chaired the Seattle Organizing Committee for the 1990 Goodwill Games

Spencer Tracy, actor, voted the 15th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly, 9 nominations & won 2 Oscars for Best Actor, appeared in 74 films

Thomas Johnston Turner, (April 5, 1815 - April 4, 1874) first mayor of Freeport, established first newspaper, congressman, Civil War Colonel, postmaster, district attorney

Jack Warhop, major league baseball pitcher

Raymond White, Jr., archaeoastronomer and renaissance man

Robert Wienand, Killed in Action, World War II

Fred R. Wilkins, winner of the Distinguished Service Cross in World War I on July 4, 1918, at Hamel, Belgium

Willie Wright, Killed in Action, Vietnam War, winner of the Silver Star

George Zipf, Harvard Professor, Zipf's Law on frequency of words in language, author

Think someone else should be on this list? Email me at and tell me why.

The Polaris

Freeport in 1954

Freeport in 2002

Freeport in 2006

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