The city of Toledo, Ohio, the largest city and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, is the birthplace and home of several notable individuals. This is a list of people from Toledo, Ohio and includes people that were born or lived in Toledo and the surrounding area. Individuals included in this listing are people presumed to be notable because they have received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject.
Arts and entertainment
Architecture and design
E. O. Fallis – architect with works throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana Norman Bel Geddes – industrial designer, Hollywood set designer, noted modernist architect Alfred Hahn – architect, contributing designer of Ohio State Office Building Timothy Y. Hewlett – architect, artist, member of the American Institute of Architects Thaddeus B. Hurd – architect, professor of architecture, historian Arland W. Johnson – architect with works throughout the Midwest and New England George S. Mills – architect, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, vice president of American Institute of Architects, founding partner of Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff John N. Richards – architect, president of the American Institute of Architects Lutah Maria Riggs – architect, known for her work in Santa Barbara, California David L. Stine – architect with prominent works in Toledo Harry W. Wachter – architect, fellow of the American Institute of Architects
Art Israel Abramofsky – modern artist Richard DeVore – ceramic artist Sheree Hovsepian – Iranian-American collage artist and photographer, raised in Toledo Joseph Kosuth – conceptual artist Paul Timman – Hollywood tattoo artist
Journalism
Emily St. John Bouton – journalist, author, educator Amy Braunschweiger – freelance journalist for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal Christine Brennan – USA Today sports columnist; ESPN, ABC, and NPR sports analyst; author of seven books Janet Cooke – disgraced journalist, forced to return a Pulitzer Prize for a fabricated storyTHE PLAYERS: It Wasn't a Game - The Washington Post Steve Hartman – CBS News reporter Louise Markscheffel – journalist, editor, critic David Ross Locke – journalist and political commentator during American Civil War under pen name Petroleum V. Nasby Claudia Quigley Murphy – journalist, economic consultant, advisory counsel, author P. J. O'Rourke – political satirist, journalist, writer Gloria Steinem – founder of Ms.; feminist icon; journalist; women's rights advocate Hermon Franklin Titus – newspaper publisher, socialist activist
Literature and poetry Mildred Benson – author of the original books in the Nancy Drew series Michael Brooks – historian and journalist Paul Laurence Dunbar – poet, originally from Dayton, Ohio Edward Eager – author of children's books Louis Effler – medical writer and doctor Mari Evans – author, dramatist Sara Rowsey Foley — biographer Margaret Wynne Lawless (1847–1926) – poet, author, educator, philanthropist Christopher Moore – novelist Scott Nearing – conservationist, peace activist, educator, writer Allen Saunders – cartoonist, creator of Mary Worth and Steve Roper comic strips Scott Smith – novelist, author of A Simple Plan and The Ruins Mildred D. Taylor – author of various novels concerning race relations, particularly Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and its sequels Elizabeth Witherell – editor-in-chief of The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau
Modeling Runa Lucienne – model, actress, social media influencer Cynthia Myers – Playboy Playmate, model, actress Jan Roberts – Playboy Playmate, model
Music
Rance Allen – gospel singer Anita Baker – R&B singer, eight-time Grammy Award winner Crystal Bowersox – singer-songwriter Teresa Brewer – singer and actress Chris Byrd – gospel singer Stanley Cowell – pianist, composer Citizen – rock band Larry Fuller – jazz pianist Jon Hendricks – member of the jazz group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Chester "Lyfe" Jennings – singer Johnny and the Hurricanes – rock band Koufax – alternative rock band Lollipop Lust Kill – heavy metal/alternative band Gary Louris – singer and guitarist for The Jayhawks Shirley Murdock – R&B singer Jeff Nelson – drummer of the punk rock band Minor Threat Helen O'Connell – singer and TV personality Frank Proffitt – banjoist Jim Riggs – musician and music educator, University of North Texas Regents Professor Emeritus of Music Sanctus Real – Christian rock band Tom Scholz – founder of 1970s rock group Boston Scott Shriner – bassist of the rock band Weezer Ruby Starr – rock singer Static Rituals – alternative rock band Stylex – electroclash/new wave band Art Tatum – jazz pianist, recipient of Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award This Beautiful Republic – Christian rock band Cecile Vashaw – composer and music educator We are the Fury – alternative rock band Mary Zilba – singer
Theater and film
Dusty Anderson – actress and model Cliff Arquette – actor, comedian, grandfather of David, Patricia, Alexis, and Rosanna Arquette Jonathan Bennett – film actor Casey Biggs – actor William Blinn – screenwriter of Purple Rain, Roots, Fame, Brian's Song and Eight Is Enough Pat Brady – actor, born Robert Ellsworth Patrick Aloysious Lizze Broadway – film and television actress Joe E. Brown – actor, comedian Daws Butler – voice actor, voice of Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound Jason Cameron – actor, television presenter, model John Cromwell – actor, film producer and director, father of James Cromwell Jason Dohring – actor Robert Drew – director and pioneer of cinéma-verité Gracie Dzienny – actress Dominick Evans – filmmaker and activist Jamie Farr – actor Teresa Ganzel – actress Philip Baker Hall – actor Sandy Helberg – film and television actor Katie Holmes – actress Rich Iott – television and film producer Eric Kripke – television writer, director, and producer Otto Kruger – actor Lenore Lonergan – actress Phyllis Welch MacDonald – actress Brent Miller – film and television producer Shirley Mitchell – radio and television actress Cassie Okenka – Broadway actress Adrianne Palicki – film and television actress Rose La Rose – Burlesque dancer, actress, and theater owner Kate Shindle – Broadway actress Robert B. Sinclair – film and theater director Alyson Stoner – actor and dancer Lloyd Thaxton – producer, director, writer, hosted self-titled TV show in 1960s Danny Thomas – actor, comedian, singer and father of Marlo Thomas Bonnie Turner – creator of That '70s Show and 3rd Rock from the Sun Derek Westerman – film director, screenwriter, and producer Afton Williamson – television and film actress Scott Wozniak – YouTuber, creator, actor, director of Scott the Woz
Business Frederick Baldwin Adams – railroad man, banker, philanthropist Charles Edmund Beard – president of Braniff International Airways George A. Blair – entrepreneur and owner of waterskiing schools Thomas M. Connelly Jr. – chemical engineer, exectuve director and CEO of American Chemical Society Allen DeVilbiss Jr. – inventor and businessman Doug Dohring – former CEO and co-founder of Neopets Sarah E. Goode - entrepreneur and inventor John E. Gunckel – founder and life president of the Old Newsboys Goodfellow Association Samuel M. Jones – oilman, inventor, philanthropist, 32nd mayor of Toledo Edward Drummond Libbey – glassmaker, philanthropist, founder of Libbey Incorporated Michael Mery – owner of Chico Iron Foundry, inventor and president of the Chico Board of Trustees Clement O. Miniger – founder, president, chairman of the board of the Electric Auto-Lite Company, philanthropist Daniel H. Overmyer – entrepreneur, warehouse chain operator, and television station founder Michael Joseph Owens – inventor, glass manufacturer, founder of O-I Glass Anthony Packo – founder of Tony Packo's Cafe Jacob J. Rosenthal – theater manager Becky Schroeder - inventor and entrepreneur Ella P. Stewart – one of the first African-American female pharmacists, business owner, philanthropist Frank D. Stranahan – co-founder and treasurer of The Champion Spark Plug Co. Robert A. Stranahan – co-founder, president, and chairman of The Champion Spark Plug Co. Henry Theobald – founder of the Toledo Scale Company John Tiedtke – son of Tiedtke's founder, businessman, philanthropist, professor of economics John Willys – automobile manufacturer, founder of Willys (later Jeep), diplomat
Criminals Dellmus Colvin – serial killer Anthony Cook – serial killer Nathaniel Cook – serial killer Bruce Alan Davis – serial killer Martin Frankel – former financier convicted in 2002 of insurance fraud, racketeering and money laundering Donald Harvey – serial killer James T. "Jack White" Licavoli – mobster, bootlegger, boss of the Cleveland crime family Peter "Horseface" Licavoli – gangster, bootlegger, member of the Purple Gang Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli – gangster, bootlegger, member of the Purple Gang Thomas Noe – Republican fundraiser and activist guilty of money laundering for the George W. Bush 2004 presidential campaign and the Coingate scandal Gerald Robinson - Roman Catholic priest convicted of murdering a nun
Government and politicians Stephen Bolles – U.S. representative from Wisconsin Walter Folger Brown – former Postmaster General of the United States James M. Comly – United States Minister to Hawaii, postmaster of Columbus, brevet brigadier general Doug Ducey – Arizona secretary of the treasury, then governor Ernest E. Debs – Los Angeles City Council member and county supervisor, born in Toledo Thomas Francis Ford – member of the U.S. Congress, elected to Los Angeles City Council by write-in vote Marcy Kaptur – U.S. representative for Ohio's 9th congressional district Kristina Keneally – premier of New South Wales, Australia Foy D. Kohler – U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, assistant secretary of state for European Affairs Daniel Poneman – former U.S. deputy secretary of Energy Natalie Price – member of the Michigan House of Representatives Julia Rice Seney (1853-1915), Toledo post office administrator Jason Sheppard – member of the Michigan House of Representatives Isaac R. Sherwood – U.S. representative from Ohio's 6th and 9th congressional district, Ohio secretary of state, mayor of Toledo Morrison Waite – 7th chief justice of the United States Brand Whitlock – mayor and U.S. ambassador to Belgium during World War I
Military
Christian Albert – Medal of Honor recipient (Civil War) William Clarence Braisted – Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy Edward Byers – U.S. Navy SEAL, Medal of Honor recipient (Afghanistan) Robert Craig – Medal of Honor recipient (WWII) Charles Doolittle – U.S. Army brevet major general Alexander Drabik – first American soldier to cross the Ludendorff Bridge at the Battle of Remagen John W. Fuller – U.S. Army brevet major general Burke Hanford – Medal of Honor recipient (Boxer Rebellion) John S. Kountz – Medal of Honor recipient (Civil War) John W. Leonard – U.S. Army lieutenant general Carwood Lipton – World War II U.S. Army officer of the 101st Airborne Division who was portrayed in the book and television series Band of Brothers Robert H. McMahon – U.S. Air Force major general, assistant secretary of Defense for Sustainment William Vance McMaken – U.S. Army major general William Alexander Morgan – guerrilla commander in Cuban Revolution, leader of Escambray rebellion Peter Navarre – War of 1812 soldier, frontiersmen Stephanie Rader – OSS spy in WWII James E. Robinson Jr. – Medal of Honor recipient (WWII) Webb D. Sawyer – USMC brigadier general James B. Steedman – U.S. Army major general Ernst Torgler – Medal of Honor recipient (Civil War) Oscar J. Upham – Medal of Honor recipient (Boxer Rebellion)
Science and technology
Sean B. Carroll (born 1960), evolutionary developmental biologist John Dabiri – engineer and professor at Caltech Gerard Gaynor – electrical engineer and IEEE fellow Albert William Herre (1868–1962), ichthyologist and lichenologist.