51 Notable alumni of Illinois Wesleyan University
Updated: June 15, 2026 EliteDegrees
Illinois Wesleyan University is ranked #1,998 in the world and #496 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 51 notable alumni from Illinois Wesleyan University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Illinois Wesleyan University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. James Stevenson Ewing
1835-1918 (aged 83)
lawyer
James Stevenson Ewing was an American diplomat and lawyer.
2. Rudolph B. Welch
1850-1906 (aged 56)
lawyer
Rudolph Blair Welch was an American educator and attorney most notable for serving as the fourth president of the Kansas State Normal School (KSN), now known as Emporia State University, in Emporia, Kansas.
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3. John Allen Sterling
1857-1918 (aged 61)
lawyer
politician
John Allen Sterling was a U.S. representative from Illinois, and brother of Thomas Sterling.
4. Louis Fitzhenry
1870-1935 (aged 65)
lawyer
journalist
judge
politician
Louis FitzHenry was a United States representative from Illinois, a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
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5. Margaret Ashmore Sudduth
1859-1957 (aged 98)
writer
Margaret Ashmore Sudduth was an American educator, editor, and temperance advocate. She was the senior editor upon the staff of the Woman's Temperance Publishing Association, overseeing The Union Signal. Sudduth was called in July 1887 to a position as editor of Oak and Ivy Leaf, organ of the Young Woman's Christian Temperance Union (YWCTU), and soon became associate editor of...
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6. John O. Spencer
1857-1947 (aged 90)
John Oakley Spencer, Ph.D., LL.D. was an ordained minister and college administrator who served as the fourth president of Morgan College from 1902 to 1937. Spencer's presidency is considered to be a renaissance period and the first "Era of Progress" for Morgan, in which the campus underwent major transformations. The other "Era's of Progress" were under the presidency of Martin...
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7. Arthur Hall Smith
1929-2013 (aged 84)
painter
Arthur Hall Smith was an American painter.
8. Antoinette Funk
1873-1942 (aged 69)
lawyer
suffragist
Antoinette Funk was a lawyer and women's rights advocate during the 20th century. She served as the executive secretary of the Congressional Committee of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
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9. Woodson Ratcliffe Oglesby
1867-1955 (aged 88)
lawyer
politician
Woodson Ratcliffe Oglesby was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a U.S. representative from New York from 1913 to 1917. He was a cousin of Richard James Oglesby.
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10. Martin A. Brennan
1879-1941 (aged 62)
lawyer
judge
politician
Martin Adlai Brennan was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.
11. Florence Fifer Bohrer
1877-1960 (aged 83)
politician
Florence Fifer Bohrer was an American activist and politician in Illinois. She was the daughter of former Illinois governor Joseph W. Fifer and was the first female senator in the Illinois General Assembly. She served for two terms from 1924 to 1932.
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12. J. Bradley Burzynski
1955-. (aged 71)
politician
J. Bradley Burzynski is a former Republican member of the Illinois General Assembly serving in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1990 to 1993 and the Illinois Senate from 1993 to 2011.
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13. Charles A. Karch
1875-1932 (aged 57)
lawyer
politician
Charles Adam Karch was a U.S. representative from Illinois.
14. Harriet Burton Laidlaw
1873-1949 (aged 76)
suffragist
Harriet Wright Laidlaw was an American social reformer and suffragist. She campaigned in support of the Nineteenth Amendment and the United Nations, and was the first female corporate director of Standard & Poor's.
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15. Lindley H. Hadley
1861-1948 (aged 87)
lawyer
politician
Lindley Hoag Hadley was a U.S. Representative from Washington.
16. H. C. Baldridge
1868-1947 (aged 79)
politician
H. Clarence Baldridge was an American politician. A Republican, he was the 14th governor of Idaho, serving from 1927 until 1931.
17. Stephen Ondra
1957-. (aged 69)
surgeon
Stephen L. Ondra is vice president of MITRE's Center for Transforming Health and director of the CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare federally funded research and development center. Ondra leads collaboration with government, industry, and academia to drive innovation in healthcare, public health, and social services. Previously at MITRE, Ondra served as chief medical advisor for the Health FFRDC, advising all...
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18. George L. Fox
1900-1943 (aged 43)
protestant military chaplain
Methodist minister
George Lansing Fox was a Methodist minister and a lieutenant in the United States Army. He was one of the Four Chaplains who gave their lives to save other soldiers during the sinking of the troop transport Dorchester during World War II.
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19. Arthur Naparstek
1938-2004 (aged 66)
social worker
Dr. Arthur J. Naparstek was a professor of social work and Dean of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He was an expert on urban redevelopment and neighborhood revitalization whose community-building concepts served as the basis for local and national government programs in both the United States and Israel.
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20. Margaret Illington
1881-1934 (aged 53)
stage actor
actor
Margaret Illington was an American stage actress popular in the first decade of the 20th century. She later made an attempt at silent film acting by making two films with Adolph Zukor's Famous Players–Lasky franchise.
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21. Harlan Hogan
1946-. (aged 80)
voice actor
Harlan Hogan is a voice actor and author. He has provided the voice-overs for countless commercials, documentaries and films. Many famous advertising catch phrases such as: "Strong enough for a man...", "You never get a second chance to make a first impression...", "When you care enough to send the very best..." and "Quaker Life, It's the cereal even Mikey likes...",...
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22. Harold Hodge
1904-1990 (aged 86)
toxicologist
Harold Carpenter Hodge was a well-known toxicologist who published close to 300 papers and five books. He was the first president of the Society of Toxicology in 1960. He received a BS from Illinois Wesleyan University and a PhD in 1930 from the State University of Iowa, publishing his first paper in 1927. He received a number of honors and...
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23. George W. English
1866-1941 (aged 75)
lawyer
judge
politician
George Washington English was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois. Charged with abuse of power and other offenses, English was impeached by the United States House of Representatives on April 1, 1926, and resigned his position before proceedings could continue.
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24. Robert B. Duncan
1920-2011 (aged 91)
lawyer
politician
Robert Blackford Duncan was an American politician from the state of Oregon. A Democrat, he served multiple terms in the Oregon Legislative Assembly and as a U.S. congressman from Oregon. In the Oregon House of Representatives he served as speaker for four years, and in the U.S. House he represented two different districts. The Illinois native and World War II...
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25. Phill Wilson
1956-. (aged 70)
HIV/AIDS activist
Phill Wilson is an American activist who founded the Black AIDS Institute in 1999, and served as its CEO, and is a prominent African-American HIV/AIDS activist.
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26. Sandra K. Steingraber
1959-. (aged 67)
biologist
ecologist
non-fiction writer
university teacher
Sandra Steingraber is an American biologist, author, and cancer survivor. Steingraber writes and lectures on the environmental factors that contribute to reproductive health problems and environmental links to cancer.
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27. Grace Raymond Hebard
1861-1936 (aged 75)
economist
writer
surveyor
suffragist
librarian
Grace Raymond Hebard was an American historian, suffragist, scholar, writer, political economist, and noted University of Wyoming educator. Hebard's standing as a historian in part rose from her years trekking Wyoming's high plains and mountains seeking first-hand accounts of Wyoming's early pioneers. Today, her books on Wyoming history are sometimes challenged due to her romanticization of the Old West, spurring...
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28. Tom Cross
1958-. (aged 68)
politician
Tom Cross is an American lawyer and former Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives where he served from 1993 to 2015. He served as House Minority Leader from January 2002 to August 2013, when he resigned to run for Illinois Treasurer.
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29. Glen Gray
1906-1963 (aged 57)
bandleader
conductor
saxophonist
jazz musician
Glenn Gray Knoblauch, known professionally as Glen Gray, was an American jazz saxophonist and leader of the Casa Loma Orchestra.
30. Doug Rader
1944-. (aged 82)
baseball player
Douglas Lee Rader, nicknamed "the Red Rooster", is an American former manager, coach, and third baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who was known primarily for his defensive ability, winning five straight Gold Glove Awards from 1970 to 1974.
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31. Charles "Buffalo" Jones
1844-1919 (aged 75)
husbandry worker
politician
conservationist
Charles Jesse Jones, known as "Buffalo Jones", was an American frontiersman, farmer, rancher, hunter, conservationist, and politician. He cofounded Garden City, Kansas. He has been cited by the National Archives as one of the "preservers of the American bison".
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32. Bill Brady
1961-. (aged 65)
politician
William E. Brady is an American politician who was a Republican member of the Illinois Senate from May 2002 until his resignation in December 2020.
33. Peter D. Haas
diplomat
Peter David Haas is an American diplomat who served as the United States ambassador to Bangladesh from March 2022 to July 2024. Haas previously served as acting assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs.
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34. Bill Damaschke
1963-. (aged 63)
film producer
actor
television producer
William Damaschke is an American film executive and producer who currently serves as the president of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. Previously, he had spent 20 years at DreamWorks Animation, most recently as Chief Creative Officer, where he was involved in the creative, artistic, and operational direction of the company. His tenure oversaw the release of some of the company's big...
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35. Jack Sikma
1955-. (aged 71)
basketball player
basketball coach
Jack Wayne Sikma is an American former professional basketball center. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star with the Seattle SuperSonics, who drafted him in the first round with the eighth overall pick of the 1977 NBA draft. In 1979, he won an NBA championship with Seattle. Sikma finished his playing career with the Milwaukee Bucks. He was elected to the...
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36. Scott W. Lucas
1892-1968 (aged 76)
politician
lawyer
chairperson
baseball player
state's attorney
Scott Wike Lucas was an American attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives (1935–1939) and the U.S. Senate (1939–1951). He was the Senate Majority Leader from 1949 to 1951.
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37. Christina Moore
1973-. (aged 53)
screenwriter
television actor
actor
film actor
Christina Moore is an American actress. She is best known for her recurring roles as Laurie Forman on the sixth season of the Fox period comedy series That '70s Show (2003–04), Tracy Clark on The CW teen drama series 90210 (2008–13), Suzanne McKittrick on the fourth and fifth seasons of the HBO fantasy horror series True Blood (2011–12), Christina Ross...
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38. Frankie Faison
1949-. (aged 77)
television actor
stage actor
actor
film actor
Frankie Russel Faison is an American actor known for his role as Commissioner Ervin Burrell in the HBO series The Wire, as Barney Matthews in the Hannibal Lecter franchise, and as Sugar Bates in the Cinemax series Banshee.
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39. Kevin Dunn
1956-. (aged 70)
television actor
voice actor
film producer
actor
film actor
Kevin Dunn is an American actor who has appeared in supporting roles in numerous films and television series since the 1980s.
40. Richard Jenkins
1947-. (aged 79)
television actor
stage actor
actor
film actor
Richard Dale Jenkins is an American actor. He began his career in theater at the Trinity Repertory Company and made his film debut in 1974. He has worked steadily in film and television since the 1980s, mostly in supporting roles.
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41. Julia A. Ames
1861-1891 (aged 30)
journalist
editor
Julia A. Ames was an American journalist, editor and a temperance reformer. She served as an associate editor of the Woman's Temperance Publishing Association's Union Signal. Ames died in 1891 at the age of 30. The year after her death, the journalist and spiritualist W. T. Stead published automatic writing which was said to have been sent by Ames to...
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42. Joseph Crane Hartzell
1842-1929 (aged 87)
priest
Joseph Crane Hartzell was an American Missionary Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church who served in the United States and in Africa. Hartzell's missionary work included presiding over four Annual Sessions of the Liberia Annual Conference, organizing the Congo Mission Conference and presiding over the first sessions of the East Central Africa and West Central Africa Mission Conferences for which...
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43. Colin Egglesfield
1973-. (aged 53)
model
television actor
actor
film actor
Colin Egglesfield is an American actor. He played Josh Madden in the soap opera All My Children, Auggie Kirkpatrick on The CW's reboot of the drama series Melrose Place, and Dex in the film Something Borrowed.
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44. William R. Roy
1926-2014 (aged 88)
gynecologist
politician
journalist
obstetrician
military officer
William Robert Roy, also known as Bill Roy, was a United States representative from Kansas, a physician, and a columnist for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the Democratic nominee for U.S Senator from Kansas in the 1974 and 1978 senate elections, but lost both races.
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45. Adlai Stevenson I
1835-1914 (aged 79)
lawyer
politician
Adlai Ewing Stevenson I was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Grover Cleveland. A member of the Democratic Party, Stevenson served as a U.S. Representative for Illinois in the late 1870s and early 1880s. He was the founder of the Stevenson political family.
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46. Lester C. Hunt
1892-1954 (aged 62)
dentist
politician
Lester Callaway Hunt, Sr., was an American Democratic politician from the state of Wyoming. Hunt was the first to be elected to two consecutive terms as Wyoming's governor, serving as its 19th governor from January 4, 1943, to January 3, 1949. In 1948, he was elected by a decisive margin to the U.S. Senate, and began his term on January...
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47. Alfred Orendorff
1845-1909 (aged 64)
lawyer
politician
Alfred Orendorff was an Illinois lawyer and politician.
48. James E. Talmage
1862-1933 (aged 71)
theologian
geologist
writer
James Edward Talmage was an English chemist, geologist, and religious leader who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1911 until his death.
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49. Andy Dick
1965-. (aged 61)
film actor
voice actor
stage actor
film director
film producer
Andrew Roane Dick is an American actor and comedian. Dick was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and joined The Second City and studied improvisational theater. Dick has had a long career as a stand-up comedian; he has appeared throughout the United States, has released several comedy albums, and has acted in television and film. Dick's first regular television role was...
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50. Alfred Oscar Coffin
1861-1933 (aged 72)
biologist
Alfred Oscar Coffin was a professor of mathematics and Romance language. He is best known for being the first African American to obtain a PhD in biology.
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51. Alfred Augustus Stockton
1842-1907 (aged 65)
university teacher
lawyer
politician
Alfred Augustus Stockton, Ph.D, LL.D was a Canadian lawyer, professor, politician, and writer.