#1Film, TV & Stage
Grote Reber
1911–2002American pioneer of radio astronomy
34 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Wheaton
Of the 25 famous people born in Wheaton, an unusual share are performers
Grote Reber, the American pioneer of radio astronomy, is the most widely known, written about in 34 languages. Most were born since 1970: 14 of them. The oldest name on the list belongs to Pearl Kendrick, born in 1890, the newest to Jeffrey Jendryk, born in 1995. Half or more of the towns in Illinois have no one on record, but this one has 4.7 for every 10,000 residents.
Born here
25
notable people
Best known
Grote Reber
in 34 Wikipedia languages
First
1890
Pearl Kendrick
Youngest
1995
Jeffrey Jendryk
Most common field
Sports
11 people
Also called it home
3
notable residents
What stands out about Wheaton’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Wheaton is known for
Set against the usual town, performers come out 2.5 times as common.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Wheaton’s famous people were born
No decade has more births than the 1980s, at 7.
SportsFilm, TV & StageNotablePolitics & LawWriting & ArtsScience & MedicineMusic
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Wheaton
Ranked by languages covered: Grote Reber with 34, then Dennis Dugan with 28 and Sean Rooney with 17.
#1DD#2
Film, TV & Stage
Dennis Dugan
born 1946American actor and film director
28 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Everyone
Everyone else born in Wheaton
Still to come: 22 more, from 1890 to 1995.
No one matches both filters.
A chosen home
Also called Wheaton home
Notable people Wikidata lists as living in Wheaton, though born elsewhere.
Phil Vischer
born 1966American writer, animator, voice actor, puppeteer, and producer
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
The town’s pick
Town Square →Who’s the most famous person from Wheaton?
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Your pick
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Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, the fullest list is Glen Ellyn’s, at 20 names.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Wheaton and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (9)
- Grote Reber: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Sean Rooney: MaryG90, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tami Erin: Michael Helms, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jeffrey Jendryk: Sven Mandel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shane Acker: Natasha Baucas at https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdnatasha/, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ken Schwaber: Ken_Schwaber_and_Mike_Cohn.jpg: Ratha Grimes derivative work: Sebastian Wallroth, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Medill: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Katherine Dunham: Phyllis Twachtman, New York World Telegram & Sun, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Brian Plotkin: Jarrett Campbell from Cary, NC, USA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons