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.
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
Michael A. Marletta, biochemist, MacArthur Fellow, former CEO of Scripps Research Institute
E. C. Mills, educator
H. Allen Orr, evolutionary biologist, winner of the Darwin-Wallace Medal
Robert Putnam, Harvard professor
Richard W. Rahn, economist
Marla Schweppe, chair, SIGGRAPH'99 Art Gallery and professor at RIT
Joel Seligman, current President of the 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
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.
Johnny Antonelli, MLB
Ross Barnes, hit the first recorded home run in professional baseball
Bernie Boland
Cito Culver, 2010 first-round draft pick
Heinie Groh, MLB
Mike Jones, MLB
Bob Keegan, MLB
Andy Parrino, MLB
Charley Radbourn, MLB
Tim Redding, MLB
George Selkirk, MLB
Joe Arlauckas
Al Butler, NBA
Marty Byrnes, NBA
Al Cervi, NBA player and coach
Les Harrison, NBA player and coach
Mark Jones, NBA
Jack Leasure
Art Long, NBA
Ryan Pettinella
Robert Rose, NBA and NBL (Australia) player. Won the NBL MVP award (1993, 2001), NBL champion 1992.
Bernie Voorheis, NBL
John Wallace, NBA
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
Johnny Barend
Colin Delaney, WWE
Luke Harper
Joanie "Chyna" Laurer
Gorilla Monsoon
The Roadblock
Branden Albert, NFL
Cris Crissy, NFL
Don Davey, NFL
Tony Green, NFL
Don Holleder, college football star and Vietnam War hero
Ernest Jackson, CFL
T. J. Jackson, NFL
Arthur Jones, NFL
Chandler Jones, NFL
Tony Jordan, NFL
Jim Kane, NFL
Pat Kelly, NFL
Rob Konrad, NFL
Brian Kozlowski, NFL
Leo Lyons, founder of the NFL's Rochester Jeffersons
Kevin McMahan, NFL
Seth Payne, NFL (Victor)
Adam Podlesh, NFL
Robert R. Thomas, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois and former NFL player
David Walker, NCAA coach
Roland Williams, NFL
Marcus Wilson, NFL
Alan Zemaitis, NFL
Don Allen, championship amateur golfer
Terry Diehl, PGA Tour
Danielle Downey, LPGA player
Walter Hagen, PGA legend
Calvin Peete, African-American PGA Tour pioneer
Jeff Sluman, PGA Tour and Champions Tour
Scott Bartlett, ECHL
Mike Battaglia, ECHL
Jason Bonsignore, NHL
Ryan Callahan, NHL
Adam Clendening, AHL
Chris Collins, ECHL
Greg Collins, ECHL
Rory Fitzpatrick, NHL
Brian Gionta, NHL
Stephen Gionta, NHL
Kim Insalaco, Olympic medalist
Connor Knapp, AHL
Matt Lane
Shane Prince, NHL
Marty Reasoner, NHL
Billy Sauer, ECHL
David Shields, ECHL
Francis Spain, 1936 Winter Olympic bronze medalist
Lyndsay Wall, Olympic medalist
Derek Whitmore, NHL
Paul Cantabene
Grant Catalino, MLL
Pat Cougevan, NLL
Ben DeLuca, Head Coach, Cornell University
Sean Doyle, MLL
Matt Kerwick, MILL
Jeff Long, National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee, head coach at Ithaca College
Ryan Maciaszek, NLL
Shawn Nadelen, NLL and MLL
Brett Queener, NLL and MLL
Chris Schiller, NLL and MLL
Tim Soudan
Joe Walters, NLL and MLL
Jordan Allen, MLS
Brian Bliss, MLS
Jessica Dulski, W-League
Juan Pablo Galavis, USL Division-I
Erica Henderson, W-League
Dema Kovalenko, MLS
Gretchen Miller, W-League
Kyra Petrole, W-League
Kathryn Potter, W-League
Lydia Vandenbergh, WPS
Abby Wambach, 2-time Olympic gold medalist, Women's World Cup Champion, all-time highest scoring international player
Swimming and diving
Kara Lynn Joyce, Olympic medalist
Ryan Lochte, 11-time Olympic medalist
Richard Saeger, 1984 Olympic gold medalist
Wendy Wyland, 1984 Olympic medalist, diving
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
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
Joe Altobelli, baseball manager
Nick Bremigan, MLB Umpire
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
See #Sports executives, below
See #Sport broadcasters, below
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
William Seward Burroughs I
Matthew Ewing, carpenter and inventor
James Caleb Jackson, Granula
Daniel Myron LeFever, gun maker and inventor of the hammerless shotgun
Jacob H. Myers, early lever-voting machine inventor
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
Steve Donner, hockey
Chris Economides, soccer
Kim Pegula, co-owner, Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Bandits
Morrie Silver, minor-league baseball
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
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
Burnie Burns, Voice Actor, Red Vs. Blue, Co-Founder of Rooster Teeth
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
Jimmy Wallington, actor and radio personality
Kristen Wiig, comedian and actress, Saturday Night Live
Foster Brooks
Jay Jason
Dancers and choreographers
Garth Fagan, choreographer, considers Rochester home base
Sybil Shearer
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).
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
Barry Kiener, jazz pianist
Nancy Kelly, jazz singer
Joe Locke, vibraphonist
Chuck Mangione, smooth jazz flugelhornist
Gap Mangione, bandleader
Roy McCurdy, drummer
Mitch Miller, bandleader
John Mooney, Bluesiana
Gerry Niewood, saxophonist
Joe Romano, jazz saxophonist
Frank Strazzeri, jazz pianist
John Viavattine, Mambo Kings
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, Rustix, SNMNMNM, and The Sunstreak.
Steve Alaimo, teen idol pop singer, hosted and co-produced Dick Clark's Where the Action Is
Daniel Armbruster, Joywave and Big Data
Benjamin Bailey, Joywave
Milo Bonacci, Gym Class Heroes
Paul Brenner, Joywave
Brann Dailor, Mastodon
Steve Decker, Gym Class Heroes
Sean Donnelly, Joywave
Duke Jupiter
Joe English, drummer for Wings and Sea Level
Elvio Fernandes, Daughtry
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
Joseph Morinelli, Joywave
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
The Campbell Brothers, instrumental gospel quartet
Christine Lavin, folk singer/songwriter
Julia Nunes, folk ukelelist and singer/songwriter
Lauren O'Connell, folk singer/songwriter
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
Politicians and leaders
Parmenio Adams, U.S. Representative
Nathaniel Allen, U.S. Representative
Fernando C. Beaman, U.S. Representative
Charles Billinghurst, U.S. Representative from Wisconsin
Philip Bredesen, Governor of Tennessee
Maggie Brooks, news anchor and county executive
Angus Cameron, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin
Sanford E. Church, Lieutenant Governor of New York, New York State Comptroller, and Chief Judge of New York State Court of Appeals
Myron H. Clark, Governor of New York from 1855–1857
Edward Colman, Wisconsin state senator
Cornplanter, leader of the Seneca
Stephen A. Douglas, U.S. Senator, presidential candidate from Illinois
Marion B. Folsom, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare
John Rankin Gamble, U.S. Representative from South Dakota
John W. Gunning, Wisconsin State Assemblyman
Leopold Hammel, Wisconsin State Assemblyman
Elizur K. Hart, U.S. Representative and founder of Rochester Post-Express newspaper
David J. Hayes, Deputy Secretary of the Interior
Charles H. Holmes, U.S. Representative
Kenneth Keating, U.S. Representative, Senator, and Ambassador to Israel
Robert L. King, state assemblyman, county executive, and Chancellor of the State University of New York
Brian Kolb, Minority Leader of the New York State Assembly
Charles H. Nesbitt, assemblyman and assembly minority leader
Bill Nojay, assemblyman, public authority leader, and radio talk show host
William F. Quinn, Governor of Hawaii
John Raines, state senator
Daniel Shays, leader of Shays's Rebellion in 1786
Eliakim Sherrill, politician and brigade commander in Union Army during Civil War
Louise Slaughter, U.S. Representative, chairperson of House Rules Committee
Ellicott R. Stillman, Wisconsin State Assemblyman
Thomas Benton Stoddard, first mayor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and state assemblyman
Robert R. Thomas, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois and former NFL player
John Todd Trowbridge, Wisconsin territorial legislator and sea captain
Tom Warner, representative in Florida State Legislature
William W. Wright, politician
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
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
J. A. Goodman, author of Tangled Justice and Domestic Justice
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 journalists
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
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
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
Wendell Castle, wood furniture sculptor
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
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
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, physicist, inventor of OLED
Henry Augustus Ward, naturalist and geologist, founder of Ward's Natural Science
John Ralston Williams, medical pioneer
Herbert York, nuclear physicist
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
Joy Powell, social reformer, political prisoner and anti-violence activist
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
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 woman aviator
Jane Teller, sculptor
Luke and Joanne Collins, and son Dennis Collins, Heroes Reborn
Rosalie Hale, vampire, Twilight
Emma Mason, and Peter Hartman, Tangled Justice
Mitch Delaney. 'Tangled Justice
