
Born near Basco: 18 famous people within 35 miles
The nearest, Virginia Cherrill, was born in Carthage, 7 mi away. No famous person on record lists Basco as their birthplace yet. Alton has the most of any town in Illinois: 65. After Alton, the next longest list in Illinois is Champaign City Township’s, with 64.
What stands out about Basco’s famous people
Famous people born near Basco
The 18 best known born within 35 miles, nearest first.




Robert McAfee Brown
1920–2001American activist and theologian
Alden W. Clausen
1923–2013American businessman, President of the World Bank, 1981-1986

James Arthur Baird
1877–1964American football player and coach, basketball coach, baseball player and coach, track athletes, lawyer, judge



Elsa Maxwell
1883–1963American gossip columnist, author, songwriter, and hostess






Who’s the most famous person from Basco?
Pick one and say why. Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Be the first to say who Basco’s most famous person is.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Basco and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Nearby people are those born in a town within 35 miles; distances are town center to town center. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (14)
- Virginia Cherrill: Lansing Brown, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Conrad Nagel: film screenshot, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Elsa Maxwell: Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Page: Victor-ny, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward Kimball: Studio of Joseph Hall, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Steunenberg: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Benjamin F. Marsh: Mathew Brady or Levin Handy, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Arthur Baird: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Rip Williams: Harris & Ewing, photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George Clark: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Maynard C. Krueger: Underwood & Underwood, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert McAfee Brown: Rob Croes for Anefo, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- George O Cress: U.S. Army, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mary Safford: Published in above-mentioned work, which was by Benjamin F. Gue, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons