Notable people who were born in or have been residents of Montclair, New Jersey, include:

Academics and science Mark C. Alexander, law professor at Seton Hall UniversityDao, James. "Homecoming; The Bill Bradley Campaign as a Celebration and Affirmation of the Garden State", The New York Times, October 24, 1999. Accessed October 18, 2015. "Mark Alexander, 35, was teaching at Seton Hall Law School when Mr. Bradley hired him as his issues director. A former aide to Senator Ted Kennedy, he lives in Montclair." Buzz Aldrin (born 1930), astronaut, who was the second man to walk on the MoonReflections on a Lifetime of Achievement , accessed December 21, 2006. "Buzz Aldrin has led an exciting and fascinating life. This timeline covers the highlights of his distinguished career, beginning with his early life in Montclair, New Jersey." Virginia Lee Block (1902–1970), psychologist who contributed to studies regarding child and adolescent psychology"Dr. Virginia Lee Blocks Visiting Here", The Montclair Times, August 27, 1953. Accessed November 16, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Dr. Virginia Lee Block of San Francisco, Calif., formerly of Montclair, is visiting her mother, Mrs. Frank Block of 14 Forest Street, and her brother, Dr. Max Block of 80 Bellevue Avenue, Upper Montclair." Stella Stevens Bradford (1871–1959), doctor, specialist in tuberculosis and physical rehabilitationThe Women's Project of New Jersey. Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women, p. 112. Syracuse University Press, 1997. . Accessed July 8, 2019. "Stella Stevens Bradford, renowned physician and pioneer in the use of physical therapy to rehabilitate physically handicapped children and adults, was born on June 27, 1871, in Montclair (Essex County), NJ, the eldest child of the Rev. Dr. Amory Howe Bradford and Julia (Stevens) Bradford." H. Bruce Franklin (1934–2024), author and historian who was expelled from his Stanford University professorship for involvement in a leftist groupHorner, Shirley. "About Books", The New York Times, November 10, 1985. Accessed February 28, 2011. "Two years ago, H. Bruce Franklin of Montclair, a professor of English at Rutgers-Newark, found himself, he recalled in a recent interview, 'making my usual complaint about a course on Vietnam that I teach here: that no adequate documentary history of the war that tore this nation apart for over 10 years was readily available in one volume.'" Tom Galligan (born 1955), lawyer, legal scholar, administrator, and educator who is currently the dean and professor of law of Louisiana State University's Paul M. Hebert Law CenterStaff. "Q&A with: Colby-Sawyer College president Tom Galligan", New Hampshire Business Review, March 16, 2007. Accessed November 4, 2019. "I went to college, and at that point in my life, I decided I didn’t want to be a lawyer. So I went home to Montclair, N.J., where I’m from originally, and got a job as a lawn doctor." Dean Hamer (born 1952), scientist, author, and filmmaker who discovered a link between sexual orientation and Xq28Dr. Dean Hamer , The Great Lecture Library. Accessed October 2, 2015. "Dr. Dean Hamer was born in Montclair, N.J." Jordan Harrod (born 1996), research scientist and YouTuber who works on neuroengineering, brain-machine interfaces, and machine learning for medicineJordan Harrod, '18, Cornell Engineering. Accessed March 9, 2021. "Hometown: Montclair, NJ" George Rice Hovey (1860–1943), university president, professor, minister, and author who served as the president of Virginia Union University from 1904 to 1918"Hovey Rites Will Be Held In New Jersey; Educator Had Headed Virginia Union School",Richmond Times-Dispatch, January 31, 1943. Accessed March 3, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Montclair N J— Funeral service for George Rice Hovey president of Virginia Union University from 1905 to 1919 who died at his home here Thursday will be conducted at 3 P. M. Monday at the First Baptist Church of Montclair." John A. Kenney Jr. (1914–2003), pioneering African-American dermatologist who specialized in the study of skin disorders affecting racial minorities, earning him recognition as the "dean of black dermatology""Kenney, John A., Jr." in Contemporary Black Biography, via Encyclopedia.com, Thomson Gale, 2005. Accessed March 22, 2018. "When the Ku Klux Klan threatened his life and burned a cross on the family's lawn: the Kenney family fled within 24 hours, moving north to Montclair, New Jersey.... After graduating from Montclair High School, Kenney attended Bates College, a college founded in 1855 by Maine abolitionists. " Joshua Lederberg (1925–2008), geneticist who received the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work in bacterial genetics; born in MontclairMorse, Stephen S. "Joshua Lederberg (1925–2008)", Science, March 7, 2008, vol 319, p. 1351.Broad, William J. "Joshua Lederberg, 82, a Nobel Winner, Dies", The New York Times, February 5, 2008. Accessed February 21, 2012. "Dr. Lederberg was born May 23, 1925, in Montclair, N.J., to Zvi Hirsch Lederberg, a rabbi, and the former Esther Goldenbaum, who had emigrated from what is now Israel two years earlier. His family moved to the Washington Heights section of Manhattan when he was 6 months old." Ronald T. Raines (born 1958), chemical biologist and expert on the chemistry and biology of proteinsJenkins, Cara L., and Raines, Ronald T. Insights on the conformational stability of collagen, Department of Chemistry and Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin–Madison, August 28, 2001. Accessed February 21, 2012. "Ronald T. Raines was born in 1958 in Montclair, NJ. He received ScB degrees in chemistry and biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology." Mark SaFranko, writer, playwright and actorDiDonato, Valentina. "Around The World: All Roads Lead Back To Montclair", Montclair Neighbors, June 2023. Accessed February 16, 2025. "Montclair has been home to many talented individuals over the years, and one family that has made a mark not just in town but abroad is the SaFranko-Foster family. Mark SaFranko, a true multihyphenate; prolific writer, painter, musician, journalist, and actor, and his wife Lorrie Foster, an expert in international relations, moved to Montclair with their son in 2000." Kenneth B. Smith (1931–2008), President of the Board of Education of the Chicago Public Schools who also served as President of the Chicago Theological SeminaryThe Honorable Kenneth Smith Sr. , The HistoryMakers. Accessed July 21, 2015. "The Reverend Dr. Kenneth B. Smith Sr. was born in Montclair, New Jersey, on February 19, 1931." Leo Sternbach (1908–2005), chemist, invented precursor to ValiumPearce, Jeremy. "Leo Sternbach, 97, Valium Creator, Dies", The New York Times, October 1, 2005. Accessed October 17, 2007. "The couple lived in Upper Montclair, N.J., until last year, when they moved to Chapel Hill."Inventor of Valium and National Inventors Hall of Fame , Roche, September 30, 2005. Accessed October 17, 2007. "A devoted family man, Sternbach lived with his wife, Herta, in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, from 1943 to 2003..." Bruce Wands (1949–2022), educator, author, artist, and musician, with a specific interest in digital artBruce E. Wands, Prout Funeral Home. Accessed July 9, 2023. "Bruce Wands, 72, of Verona, New Jersey, passed away on July 6, 2022. Born October 22, 1949 in Montclair, NJ he was the youngest of three children." Edward Weston (1850–1936), electrical engineer and inventor whose Weston Electrical Instrument Company won the contract to illuminate the Brooklyn BridgeStaff. "Dr. Edward Weston Is 85.", The New York Times, May 10, 1935. Accessed April 16, 2012. "Montclair, N. J., May 9. – Dr. Edward Weston, scientist and inventor, whose contributions to the advancement of electrical engineering during the last half century have gained for him world-wide renown, celebrated his eighty-fifth birthday today with a dinner ar his home 37 North Mountain Avenue, here."

Arts

Authors, journalists, and publishers

Virginia Hamilton Adair (1913–2004), poetFox, Margalit. "Virginia Hamilton Adair, 91, a Poet Famous Late in Life, Dies", The New York Times, September 18, 2004. Accessed April 16, 2012. "Mary Virginia Hamilton was born in the Bronx on Feb. 28, 1913, and was raised in Montclair, N.J. She disliked the name Mary and dropped it as soon as she left home." Jonathan Alter (born 1957), Newsweek magazine journalistBrubaker, Paul. "Journalism from both sides now: Newsweek's Jonathan Alter speaks on making news and touching history", The Montclair Times, June 16, 2005. Accessed June 6, 2007. "I prepared sedulously for the interview, Alter remembered, sitting in the living room of his Upper Mountain Avenue home, taking a break from a book he is writing on President Franklin D. Roosevelt." Wheeler Antabanez (born 1977), author who has written for Weird NJVanderhoof, Tricia. "Mondays with Author Halloween treat: Wheeler Antabanez, Matt Kent and dreams", Courier News, October 30, 2016. Accessed September 9, 2019. He grew up in West Caldwell and has lived in Montclair for the past eight years with wife Sara, daughter Star Magick, and a menagerie of species." Mary Travis Arny (1909–1997), author, naturalist, historian, and educatorFadool, Cynthia R. Contemporary Authors: A Bio-bibliographical Guide to Current Authors and Their Works, Volumes 61-64, p. 31. Gale Research Company, 1976. . Accessed September 9, 2019. "Arny, Mary (Travis) 1909- Personal: Born October 13, 1909, in Montclair, N.J." Zain Asher (born 1983), news anchor at CNN International, who anchors the network's primetime, global news show One World with Zain AsherMartin, Julia. "CNN International anchor Zain Asher says relentless hard work led her to success",The Record, October 28, 2022. Accessed April 15, 2023. "Asher, who now lives in Montclair with her husband, Steve Peoples, a political writer for the Associated Press, and their two young sons, says that people are often eager to learn her mothers' secrets; even her children's teachers would ask her mother for advice for raising their own children." Jim Axelrod (born 1963), national correspondent for CBS News; reporter for the CBS Evening News, CBS News. Accessed June 5, 2011. "He was born in New Brunswick, N.J. Axelrod was graduated from Cornell University in 1985 with a bachelor of arts degree in history and from Brown University in 1989 with a master of arts degree in history. He and his wife, Christina, live in Montclair, N.J., with their three children." Eric Boehlert (1965–2022), journalist, author, frequent contributor to The Huffington Post, and contributing editor to Rolling StoneNamecheck, The Huffington Post, July 27, 2006. Accessed June 6, 2007. "Boehlert, who recently published 'Lapdogs: How The Press Rolled Over for Bush,' will be based out of his home in Montclair, NJ and will start by the end of the summer." David Carr (1956–2015), media and culture columnist for The New York TimesGalant, Debbie. "David Carr, Movie Star", Baristanet, February 4, 2011. Accessed July 13, 2012. "Add this to the list of accomplishments of Montclair's David Carr: movie star. In addition to being a New York Times media columnist, a former drug addict and memoirist and a master tweeter with a following of 295,491, Carr is the star of Andrew Rossi's documentary "Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times," which got tons of buzz at Sundance last week." Wendy Coakley-Thompson (born 1966), author of the novel Back to LifeWendy Coakley-Thompson, Ph.D , Page One. Accessed October 19, 2012. "Wendy Coakley-Thompson: Back to Life is my first published novel. The context is real. In 1989, a gang of Italians menaced three Black teens in Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, NY, and a Black teenager named Yusuf Hawkins was shot to death. The story is set in Montclair, NJ, where I spent most of my life in the US."