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Famous people · Rochester

27 famous people were born in Rochester, more of them musicians than in most towns

John Lithgow, the American actor, is the most widely known, written about in 64 languages. Behind the leader come Ryan Lochte and Cab Calloway. More than half were born between 1920 and 1969, 16 in all. From Blanche Calloway in 1902 to Jon Jones in 1987, the births cover 85 years.

#1 best knownJohn LithgowFilm, TV & Stage · born 1945
+23more
Born here
27
notable people
Best known
John Lithgow
in 64 Wikipedia languages
First
1902
Blanche Calloway
Youngest
1987
Jon Jones
Most common field
Film, TV & Stage
7 people
Also called it home
7
notable residents

What stands out about Rochester’s famous people

★ What stands out · Known for

What Rochester is known for

Compared with the usual town, musicians are the most over-represented field, at 4.7 times.

The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.

The best known

Born in Rochester

John Lithgow, Ryan Lochte and Cab Calloway are written about in 64, 51 and 46 languages.

John Lithgow#1
Film, TV & Stage

John Lithgow

born 1945

American actor

64 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Ryan Lochte#2
Sports

Ryan Lochte

born 1984

American swimmer

51 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Cab Calloway#3
Music

Cab Calloway

1907–1994

American jazz singer

46 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years

When Rochester’s famous people were born

More were born in the 1940s than in any other decade: 5.

Mills & railroadsThe American centuryToday190019502000John LithgowCab CallowayJohn AshberyRyan Lochte
Film, TV & StageSportsMusicScience & MedicineWriting & ArtsBusinessNotable

Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.

Everyone

Everyone else born in Rochester

Another 24, 6 of them athletes.

Robert Forster

Robert Forster

1941–2019

American actor

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
Jon Jones

Jon Jones

born 1987

American mixed martial arts fighter

John Ashbery

John Ashbery

1927–2017

Poet from the United States of America

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
RP

Robert D. Putnam

born 1941

American political scientist

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
KG

Kim Gordon

born 1953

American musician and artist, most known as co-founding member of Sonic Youth

Leehom Wang

Leehom Wang

born 1976

Taiwanese singer, songwriter, actor

MG

Malcolm Glazer

1928–2014

American businessman, sports franchise owner

LG

Lou Gramm

born 1950

American rock singer-songwriter

JG

Joel Glazer

born 1970

American sports executive

AW

Arthur Wightman

1922–2013

American physicist

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
CT

Cathy Turner

born 1962

Short track speed skater

KS

Keesha Sharp

born 1973

American actress

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
JA

Joe Arlauckas

born 1965

American basketball player

SC

Suzanne Cryer

born 1967

American actress

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
JB

Jeremy Bernstein

1929–2025

American physicist

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
AL

Aaron Lustig

born 1956

American actor

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
BC

Blanche Calloway

1902–1978

American singer, bandleader and composer

MK

Michael Kanin

1910–1993

American film director

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
JB

Jeffrey Boam

1946–2000

American screenwriter, film producer

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
A chosen home

Also called Rochester home

Born elsewhere, they lived here: 7 in all, led by Stanley Engerman.

SE

Stanley Engerman

1936–2023

American economist

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
DJ

David Cay Johnston

born 1948

Investigative journalist and author

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
HS

Helen Searle

1830–1884

American painter

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
KM

Kathleen McEnery

1885–1971

American artist and writer

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
CS

Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez

born 1964

American composer

LM

Louise Herschman Mannheimer

1845–1920

Czech-born American writer, teacher and inventor

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
SE

Sarah Elnicky

born 1982

American soccer player

The town’s pick

Who’s the most famous person from Rochester?

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Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

Greece leads the towns around it, with 3 names.

From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Rochester 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)