Elgin, Illinois

Elgin is a city of Illinois in the United States. It is roughly 40 mi northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 108,188. It is the eighth-largest city in Illinois and the 241st largest city in the United States. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area.

Authors and academics

 * E.C. "Mike" Alft, historian, author, and former mayor of Elgin.
 * Nina Burleigh, journalist and best-selling author.
 * Paul Flory, chemist, Nobel Prize winner (1974).
 * Lloyd Hall, chemist.
 * Douglas J. Mink, astronomer, co-discover of the rings around the planet Uranus.
 * John Platt, computer scientist.
 * Tom Shales, journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner (1988).
 * Carleton Washburne, educator, author of the Winnetka Plan.

Business and invention

 * Max Adler, vice-president of Sears & Roebuck, benefactor of Adler Planetarium.
 * Lawrence B. Hamlin, violator of the Pure Food and Drug Act on claiming that his family's patent medicine could cure cancer.
 * Lysander Hamlin, co-originator with John Austen Hamlin of Hamlin's Wizard Oil, father of Lawrence B. Hamlin.
 * Jimmy John Liautaud, founder of Jimmy John's, benefactor of UIC's Liautaud Graduate School of Business.
 * Earl "Madman" Muntz, marketer, car stereo and 4-track cartridge pioneer.
 * James Roche, former chairman of General Motors.

Media and arts

 * Dan Andriano, musician.
 * Joe Becker, musician.
 * Bruce Boxleitner, actor.
 * BarlowGirl, Christian rock band.
 * Alyssa Barlow
 * Becca Barlow
 * Lauren Barlow
 * Chelsea Brummet, actress.
 * Josh Caterer, songwriter, musician, lead singer of indie rock band Smoking Popes.
 * Chuck Harder, radio talk show host.
 * John Austen Hamlin, magician, brother of Lysander Hamlin.
 * Matt Hoffman, Big brother 12.
 * Charles Ingalls, father of Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie) spent part of his childhood in the nearby Campton Township.
 * Laurence Kaptain, international performer/recording artist, and Dean, College of Music and Dramatic Arts, Louisiana State University.
 * William LeBaron, playwright, movie producer.
 * David Otunga, Harvard educated lawyer, reality show contestant on VH1's I Love New York 2, fiance of singer/actress Jennifer Hudson.
 * Jane Peterson, painter and artist.
 * John Qualen, actor.
 * David Strackany, folk singer-songwriter aka Paleo, born in Elgin

Military

 * Harry Chamberlin, Brigadier General, equestrian, Olympic gold medalist (1932).

Politics

 * Ray Barnhart, Texas Republican politician
 * Peter Fitzgerald, United States Senator (R-IL).

Sports

 * Charlene Barnett (1928-1979), All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player and member of three champion teams.
 * Brian Oldfield (born 1945), Olympic shot putter.
 * Flynn Robinson (born 1941), basketball player for the Cincinnati Royals, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Baltimore Bullets.