List of people from Wisconsin

This is a list of notable people from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The person's hometown is in parentheses.

Art and literature

 * A–G


 * Frank Ackerman (born 1946), economist, author, co-founder and editor of Dollars & Sense magazine (Madison)
 * David Adler (1882–1949), architect (Milwaukee)
 * Kevin J. Anderson (born 1962), writer (Racine)
 * Rasmus B. Anderson (1846–1936), author, professor, and historian (Albion)
 * Walter Annenberg (1908–2002), creator of TV Guide and Seventeen magazines (Milwaukee)
 * Antler (born 1946), poet (Wauwatosa)
 * Ruth Ball (1879–1960), sculptor (Madison)
 * Lynda Barry (born 1956), author and cartoonist (Richland Center)
 * Gary Beecham (born 1955), glass artist (Ladysmith)
 * George Bergstrom (1876–1955), architect, designer of The Pentagon (Neenah)
 * Norbert Blei (born 1935), writer (Ellison Bay)
 * Carrie Jacobs Bond (1862–1946), songwriter (Janesville)
 * Esther Bubley (1921–1998), photojournalist (Phillips)
 * Nancy Ekholm Burkert (born 1933), artist and illustrator, recipient of Caldecott Medal (Milwaukee)
 * Ole Amundsen Buslett (1855–1924), author, newspaperman, politician (Town of Iola, Northland, La Crosse, Stoughton)
 * Kathryn Casey, writer and journalist
 * Jessie Kalmbach Chase (1879-1970), painter (Door County and Madison)
 * Connie Clausen (1923–1997), literary agent (Menasha)
 * Chester Commodore (1914–2004), cartoonist (Racine)
 * Jeremiah Curtin (1835–1906), translator (Milwaukee County)
 * Tyler Dennett (1883–1949), biographer, recipient of Pulitzer Prize (Spencer)
 * August Derleth (1909–1971), writer (Sauk City)
 * Gene DeWeese (born 1934), writer (Milwaukee)
 * Donn F. Draeger (1922–1982), writer and martial artist (Milwaukee)
 * Chip Duncan (born 1955), filmmaker, author and photographer (Milwaukee)
 * Bill Dwyre (born 1944), columnist and editor (Sheboygan)
 * Alter Esselin (1889–1974), poet (Milwaukee)
 * Edna Ferber (1885–1968), writer (Appleton)
 * Jack Finney (1911–1995), writer (Milwaukee)
 * Daniel R. Fitzpatrick (1891–1969), cartoonist (Superior)
 * Lewis R. Freeman (1878–1960), journalist (Genoa Junction)
 * Zona Gale (1874–1938), writer, playwright, recipient of Pulitzer Prize (Portage, Beaver Dam, Milwaukee)
 * Hamlin Garland (1860–1940), novelist, biographer, poet (West Salem)
 * Greg Graffin (born 1964), singer, song writer, musician, professor, college lecturer, author (Madison, Racine, Milwaukee)
 * Elmer Grey (1872–1963), architect and painter (Milwaukee)
 * E. Gary Gygax (1938–2008), novelist, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons (Lake Geneva)


 * H–O


 * Jane Hamilton (born 1957), writer (Rochester)
 * Stephen Hayes, senior writer for The Weekly Standard, Fox News contributor, author (Wauwatosa)
 * Kevin Henkes (born 1960), author and illustrator, recipient of Caldecott Medal (Racine, Madison)
 * Eastman Johnson (1824–1906), co-founder of Metropolitan Museum of Art (Superior)
 * Russell Klika, combat photojournalist (Appleton)
 * Jim Knipfel (born 1965), writer (Green Bay)
 * Ron Kovic (born 1946), writer, Born on the Fourth of July (Ladysmith)
 * David Lenz (born 1962), painter (Milwaukee)
 * Gerda Lerner (born 1920), Women's Studies, founder of women's history (Madison)
 * Paul Linebarger (1913–1966), writer (Milwaukee)
 * Ben Logan (1920–2014), writer (The Land Remembers)
 * Per Lysne (1880–1947), folk artist, popularized rosemaling (Stoughton)
 * Karl E. Meyer, journalist for The New York Times; editor of World Policy Journal (Madison)
 * Jacquelyn Mitchard (born 1957), writer (Milwaukee, Madison)
 * John Nichols, political correspondent for The Nation (Union Grove)
 * Lorine Niedecker (1903–1970), poet (Fort Atkinson)
 * Lucius W. Nieman (1857–1935), founder of Milwaukee Journal; Nieman Foundation for Journalism dedicated to him (Sauk County)
 * Jessica Nelson North (1891–1988), writer (Madison, Edgerton)
 * Sterling North (1906–1974), writer (Edgerton)
 * Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986), artist (Sun Prairie)


 * P–Z


 * George Wilbur Peck (1840–1916), writer, newspaper editor, politician (Cold Spring, Ripon, La Crosse, Milwaukee)
 * George Pollard (1920–2008), artist (Waldo, Kenosha)
 * Richard Quinney (born 1934), sociologist and writer (Madison)
 * Ellen Raskin (1928–1984), writer and illustrator (Milwaukee)
 * Vinnie Ream (1847–1914), sculptor (Madison)
 * John Ridley (born 1965), novelist (Milwaukee)
 * David Robbins (born 1957), artist, writer (Whitefish Bay)
 * Patrick Rothfuss (born 1973), writer (Madison)
 * Joe Schoenmann, journalist and author
 * Ruth Shalit (born 1971), writer, journalist (Milwaukee)
 * Clifford D. Simak (1904–1988), writer (Millville)
 * Mona Simpson (born 1957), author (Green Bay)
 * Red Smith (1905-1982), Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist (Green Bay)
 * Peter Straub (born 1943), writer (Milwaukee)
 * John Toland (1912–2004), Pulitzer Prize–winning writer (La Crosse)
 * Arthur Thrall (born 1926), artist (Milwaukee)
 * Neal Ulevich (born 1946), Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer (Milwaukee)
 * Dave Umhoefer (born 1961), Pulitzer Prize recipient (La Crosse)
 * Jim VandeHei (born 1971), executive editor and co-founder of Politico (Oshkosh)
 * Ignatiy Vishnevetsky (born 1986), film critic and essayist (Wauwatosa)
 * Viola S. Wendt (1907–1986), poet (West Bend)
 * Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919), writer and poet (Johnstown)
 * John Wilde (1919–2006), artist (Milwaukee, Evansville)
 * Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957), writer (Pepin)
 * Thornton Wilder (1897–1975), writer (Madison)
 * Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959), architect (Richland Center, Madison, Spring Green)
 * David Zurawik, journalist, author (Milwaukee)

Business



 * George Addes (1911–1990), founder of United Auto Workers (La Crosse)
 * Edward P. Allis (1824–1899), co-founder of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company (Two Rivers, Milwaukee)
 * J. Ogden Armour (1863–1927), meatpacking magnate, owner of Armour and Company (Milwaukee)
 * Carol Bartz (born 1948), president and chief executive officer of Yahoo! (Alma)
 * Ernest J. Briskey (1930–2006), Vice President, Technical and Administration of Campbell Soup Company (Waunakee)
 * William W. Cargill (1844–1909), business executive, founder of Cargill (Janesville)
 * Jerome Case (1819–1891), founder of an agricultural and construction equipment company (Racine)
 * Leo Crowley (1889–1972), banker and FDIC director (Milton)
 * John Cudahy (1887–1943), industrialist (Milwaukee)
 * Michael Cudahy (born 1924), entrepreneur (Milwaukee)
 * Alexander M. Cutler, chief executive officer of the Eaton Corporation (Milwaukee)
 * Arthur Davidson (1881–1950), co-founder of Harley-Davidson (Milwaukee)
 * Edward L. Doheny (1856–1935), oil tycoon (Fond du Lac)
 * Ole Evinrude (1877–1924), inventor and entrepreneur (Cambridge, Madison, Milwaukee)
 * Bob Galvin (1922–2011), chief executive officer of Motorola (Marshfield)
 * Chris Gardner (born 1954), entrepreneur, subject of movie The Pursuit of Happyness (Milwaukee)
 * King C. Gillette (1855–1932), industrialist (Fond du Lac)
 * Donald Goerke (1926–2010), Campbell Soup Company executive, inventor of SpaghettiOs (Waukesha)
 * William S. Harley (1880–1943), co-founder of Harley-Davidson (Milwaukee)
 * Randolph E. Haugan (1902–1985), editor and publisher (Martell)
 * Ken Hendricks (1941–2007), billionaire (Janesville, Beloit, Afton)
 * Jay L. Johnson, chief executive officer of General Dynamics (West Salem)
 * Samuel Curtis Johnson, Sr. (1833–1919), founder of consumer products company (Racine)
 * Phil Katz (1962–2000), computer programmer (Glendale)
 * Carl Kiekhaefer (1906–1983), owner of Mercury Marine (Mequon)
 * Alan Klapmeier (born 1958), aircraft designer and aviation entrepreneur (Baraboo)
 * Dale Klapmeier (born 1961), aircraft designer and aviation entrepreneur (Baraboo)
 * Herbert Kohler (born 1939), business executive (Kohler)
 * John H. MacMillan, Sr. (1869–1944), businessman (La Crosse)
 * Marissa Mayer (born 1975), chief executive officer of Yahoo (Wausau)
 * Oscar Mayer (1859–1955), founder of meat packing company (Milwaukee, Fitchburg)
 * John Menard (born 1940), business executive (Eau Claire)
 * George Safford Parker (1863–1937), pen inventor and entrepreneur (Shullsburg, Janesville)
 * Paul Poberezny (1921–2013), aircraft designer, aviator and founder of the Experimental Aircraft Association (Oshkosh)
 * Herbert A. Simon (1916–2001), economist and computer scientist (Milwaukee)
 * James Trane (1857–1936), founder of heating and air conditioning company (La Crosse)
 * Reuben Trane (1886–1954), co-founder of Trane (La Crosse)
 * Elmer Winter (1912–2009), co-founder of Manpower Inc. (Milwaukee)
 * Dean Witter (1887–1969), founder of Dean Witter & Co. investment house (Wausau)
 * Walter Wriston (1919–2005), chairman and chief executive officer of Citicorp (Appleton)
 * Judith Faulkner, formerly of New Jersey, an American billionaire, the CEO and founder of Epic Systems, a healthcare software company located in Wisconsin.

Brewing

 * Valentin Blatz (Milwaukee)
 * Harry G. John (Milwaukee)
 * Frederick Miller (Milwaukee)
 * Frederick Pabst (Milwaukee, Whitefish Bay)
 * Joseph Schlitz (Milwaukee)

Education



 * Florence Eliza Allen (1876–1960), mathematician and assistant professor at University of Wisconsin–Madison (Horicon)
 * Thomas Barnett (born 1962), Professor of Warfare Analysis & Research at Naval War College (Chilton, Boscobel)
 * Theodore Brameld (1904–1987), professor at Long Island University, Adelphi, Minnesota, NYU, and Boston University (Neillsville)
 * Arthur Louis Breslich (1873–1924), President of German Wallace College and Baldwin-Wallace (Madison, Milwaukee)
 * Ernest J. Briskey (1930–2006), Dean of Agricultural Science of Oregon State University (Waunakee)
 * Albin C. Bro (1893–1956), President of Shimer College (Prentice)
 * Carlos Castillo-Chavez, Professor of Mathematical Biology at Arizona State University
 * Edwin Copeland, noted botanist and founder of University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Agriculture
 * Joanne V. Creighton, President of Mount Holyoke College (Marinette)
 * Tyler Dennett (1883–1949), Professor of American History at Johns Hopkins University and Columbia, Professor of International Relations at Princeton, President of Williams College (Spencer)
 * Katharine Elizabeth Dopp (1863–1944), Dean of Chicago Normal School (Dopp)
 * Lars Paul Esbjörn (1808–1870), Professor of Theology at Illinois State Normal University (Clinton)
 * Ernst Guillemin (1898–1970), electrical engineer and computer scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Milwaukee)
 * Harlan Hanson (1925–1996), Director of Advanced Placement program from 1965 to 1989 (Madison)
 * Frederick Hemke (born 1935), Professor of Saxophone at Northwestern University (Milwaukee)
 * Bruno E. Jacob (1899–1979), founder of National Forensic League (Valders)
 * Peter Laurentius Larsen (1833–1915), founding President of Luther College
 * John Leonora (1928–2006), Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology at Loma Linda University (Milwaukee)
 * A. Carl Leopold (1919–2009), Graduate Dean of University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Madison)
 * A. Starker Leopold (1913–1983), Professor of Zoology and Conservation at University of California, Berkeley (Madison)
 * Luna Leopold (1915–2006), Professor of Geology and Geophysics University of California, Berkeley (Madison)
 * Charles McCarthy, librarian and political scientist (Madison)
 * Thorbjorn N. Mohn (1844–1899), founding President of St. Olaf College (Columbia County)
 * Christian Keyser Preus (1852–1921), President of Luther College (Spring Prairie)
 * Margarethe Schurz (1851–1876), opened first kindergarten in U.S. (Watertown)
 * Philip Stieg (born 1952), Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University and New York-Presbyterian Medical Center (Milwaukee)
 * David F. Swensen, Chief Investment Officer at Yale University since 1985 (River Falls)
 * Rose Thering (1920–2006), Professor of Catholic-Jewish Dialogue at Seton Hall University (Plain, Racine)
 * Norman Wengert (1916–2001), faculty member City College of New York, North Dakota State, Maryland, Wayne State, Penn State, University of Sarajevo (Milwaukee)
 * James Wright (born 1939), President of Dartmouth College (Madison)
 * Nicholas S. Zeppos (born 1954), Chancellor of Vanderbilt University (Milwaukee)

Film and theatre



 * A–M


 * Jim Abrahams (born 1944), director (Shorewood, Eagle River)
 * Marc Alaimo (born 1942), actor (Milwaukee)
 * Don Ameche (1908–1993), actor (Kenosha)
 * William Bast (born 1931), screenwriter (Milwaukee, Kenosha)
 * Abner Biberman (1909–1977), actor and director (Milwaukee)
 * Mark Borchardt (born 1966), director (Menomonee Falls)
 * Joyce Carlson (1923–2008), Disney animator (Racine)
 * Jack Carson (1910–1963), actor (Milwaukee)
 * Ellen Corby (1911–1999), actress (Racine)
 * Anthony Crivello (born 1955), Tony Award-winning actor, singer (Milwaukee)
 * Dan Davies (born 1965), actor and screenwriter (Milwaukee)
 * Willem Dafoe (born 1955), actor (Appleton)
 * Brian Donlevy (1901–1972), actor (Racine)
 * Robert Easton (1930–2011), actor, voice actor, dialogue coach (Milwaukee)
 * Chris Farley (1964–1997), actor (Madison, Minocqua)
 * John P. Farley (born 1968), actor (Madison)
 * Kevin Farley (born 1965), actor (Madison)
 * Don Fellows (1922–2007), actor (Madison)
 * Lynn Fontanne (1887–1983), Emmy Award- and Tony Award-winning actress (Genesee Depot)
 * Gloria Foster (1933–2001), actress (Janesville)
 * Heather Graham (born 1970), actress (Milwaukee)
 * Uta Hagen, actress (Madison)
 * Theodore Hardeen (1876–1945), magician and escape artist, founder of the Magicians Guild of America (Appleton)
 * Howard Hawks (1896–1977), director (Neenah)
 * Harry Houdini (1874–1926), magician (Appleton)
 * Tom Hulce (born 1953), actor (Whitewater)
 * Jeana Keough (born 1955), actress, Playboy Playmate (Milwaukee)
 * Imran Khan (born 1983), actor (Madison)
 * David Koepp (born 1963), writer/director (Pewaukee, Wales)
 * Carole Landis (1919–1948), actor (Fairchild)
 * Tom Laughlin (born 1931), actor (Milwaukee)
 * Joseph Losey (1909–1984), director (La Crosse)
 * Alfred Lunt (1892–1977), actor (Milwaukee, Genesee Depot)
 * Fred MacMurray (1908–1991), actor (Beaver Dam)
 * Michael Maize (born 1974), actor (Milwaukee)
 * Fredric March (1897–1975), actor (Racine)
 * Rob Marshall (born 1960), director (Madison)
 * Kerwin Mathews (1926–2007), actor (Janesville)
 * John Matuszak (1950–1989), actor and football player (Milwaukee, Oak Creek)
 * Hattie McDaniel (1895–1952), actress, first African-American to win an Academy Award (Milwaukee)
 * Niels Mueller (born 1961), writer/director (Milwaukee)


 * N–Z


 * Cyrus Nowrasteh (born 1956), writer/director (Madison)
 * Pat O'Brien (1899–1983), actor (Milwaukee)
 * Robert Emmett O'Connor (1885–1962), actor (Milwaukee)
 * Nancy Olson (born 1928), actress (Milwaukee)
 * Nick Oram (born 1979), television producer and actor
 * Jack Perkins (1921–1998), actor (Medford)
 * Manilla Powers, actress (Janesville)
 * Nicholas Ray (1911–1979), director (Galesville)
 * John Ridley (born 1965), screenwriter, director (Milwaukee)
 * Richard Riehle (born 1948), actor (Menomonee Falls)
 * Michael Ritchie (1938–2001), director (Waukesha)
 * Gena Rowlands (born 1930), actor (Madison, Cambria, Milwaukee)
 * Mark Ruffalo (born 1967), actor (Kenosha)
 * Richard Schickel (born 1933), critic (Milwaukee)
 * Greg Dean Schmitz (born 1970), online film journalist (Westfield, Middleton)
 * Paul Shenar (1936–1989), actor (Milwaukee)
 * Tony Shalhoub (born 1953), actor (Green Bay)
 * Oliver Smith (1918–1994), theatrical scenic designer (Waupun)
 * Zack Snyder (born 1966), director (Green Bay)
 * Ford Sterling (1882–1939), actor (La Crosse)
 * Eric Szmanda (born 1975), actor (Milwaukee)
 * George Tillman, Jr., director (Milwaukee)
 * Spencer Tracy (1900–1967), actor (Milwaukee, Lake Geneva)
 * Judy Tyler (1932–1957), actress (Milwaukee)
 * Bob Uecker (born 1935), actor and sports commentator (Milwaukee)
 * James Valcq (born 1963), theatre composer (Milwaukee)
 * Marc Webb (born 1974), director (Madison)
 * Peter Weller (born 1947), actor (Stevens Point)
 * Orson Welles (1915–1985), director (Kenosha)
 * Shannon Whirry (born 1964), actress (Green Lake)
 * Gene Wilder (1933–2016), actor (Milwaukee)
 * David Zucker (born 1947), director (Milwaukee)
 * Jerry Zucker (born 1950), director (Milwaukee)
 * Terry Zwigoff (born 1949), director (Appleton)

Television

 * A–M


 * Andrea Anders (born 1975), actress, Joey, Better Off Ted (Madison, DeForest)
 * Bonnie Bartlett (born 1929), Emmy Award-winning actress (Wisconsin Rapids)
 * Kristin Bauer van Straten (born 1966), actress (Racine)
 * Lamont Bentley (1973–2005), actor, Moesha (Milwaukee)
 * Brad Beyer (born 1973), actor, Stanley Richmond on Jericho (Waukesha)
 * Peter Bonerz (born 1938), actor and director (Milwaukee)
 * Gary Burghoff (born 1943), actor, Radar O'Reilly on M*A*S*H (Delavan)
 * Annie Burgstede (born 1983), actress (Waupaca)
 * Ellen Corby (1911–1999), actress (Racine)
 * Rich Dahm, Emmy Award-winning writer and producer
 * James Daly (1918–1978), actor (Wisconsin Rapids)
 * Tyne Daly (born 1946), actress (Madison)
 * Nancy Dickerson (1927–1997), NBC News correspondent (Wauwatosa)
 * Sean Duffy (born 1971), reality television star, ESPN commentator (Hayward)
 * Jerry Dunphy (1920–2002), television newscaster (Milwaukee)
 * Greg Eagles (born 1970), voice actor, Grim & Evil (Milwaukee)
 * Kathryn Edwards (born 1964), model, reality television star, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (Milwaukee)
 * John Fiedler (1925–2005), actor, voice of Piglet (Platteville, Shorewood)
 * Paul Gigot (born 1955), host and commentator on Journal Editorial Report (Green Bay, De Pere)
 * David Giuntoli (born 1980), actor, Grimm (Milwaukee)
 * Andrea Hall (born 1947), actress (Milwaukee)
 * Deidre Hall (born 1947), actress (Milwaukee)
 * Joel Hodgson (born 1960), actor, comedian, creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Stevens Point, Green Bay)
 * Isabella Hofmann (born 1958), actress, Lt. Megan Russert on Homicide: Life on the Street (East Troy)
 * Gregory Itzin (born 1948), actor, President Charles Logan on 24 (Burlington)
 * Ernie Johnson, Jr. (born 1956), sportscaster for Turner Sports and CBS Sports (Milwaukee)
 * Jane Kaczmarek (born 1955), actress (Greendale)
 * Laura Kaeppeler (born 1988), Miss America 2012 (Kenosha)
 * Kathy Kinney (born 1954), actress (Stevens Point)
 * Trenni Kusnierek (born 1977), reporter and studio host for MLB Network (Muskego)
 * Allen Ludden (1917–1981), game show host (Mineral Point)
 * Trixie Mattel (born Brian Michael Firkus, 1989), Drag queen and entertainer (Milwaukee)
 * Terry Meeuwsen (born 1949), Miss America 1973; co-host of The 700 Club (De Pere)
 * Carol Merrill (born 1941), prize presenter, Let's Make a Deal (Frederic)
 * Chris Mulkey (born 1948), actor, Bakersfield P.D., Twin Peaks (Viroqua)


 * N–Z


 * Chris Noth (born 1954), actor, Det. Mike Logan on Law & Order and Mr. Big on Sex and the City (Madison)
 * Caitlin O'Heaney (born 1953), actress, Tales of the Gold Monkey (Whitefish Bay)
 * Sam Page (born 1976), actor, Shark, Point Pleasant (Whitefish Bay)
 * Vic Perrin (1916–1989), actor (Menomonee Falls)
 * Michael Phillips (born 1961), film critic and co-host of At the Movies (Kenosha, Racine)
 * Amy Pietz (born 1969), actor (Milwaukee)
 * Charlotte Rae (born 1926), actress (Milwaukee, Shorewood)
 * Brad Rowe (born 1970), actor, Wasteland (Milwaukee)
 * Tony Shalhoub (born 1953), actor (Green Bay)
 * Kurtwood Smith (born 1943), actor, Red Forman on That '70s Show (New Lisbon)
 * Tom Snyder (1936–2007), talk show host (Milwaukee)
 * Melinda Stolp, The Real World: Austin cast member (Germantown)
 * Eric Szmanda (born 1975), actor (Milwaukee)
 * Jessica Szohr (born 1985), actress (Menomonee Falls)
 * Daniel J. Travanti (born 1940), Emmy Award-winning actor, Hill Street Blues (Kenosha)
 * Steve True (born 1954), Emmy Award-winning sportscaster (Milwaukee)
 * Greta Van Susteren (born 1954), television commentator (Appleton)
 * J. D. Walsh (born 1974), actor, Smart Guy (Madison)
 * Tom Welling (born 1977), actor (Janesville)
 * Bradley Whitford (born 1959), actor (Madison)
 * Tom Wopat (born 1951), actor (Lodi)
 * Linda Young (born 1953), anime dubbing voice actress with FUNimation (Milwaukee)
 * Chip Zien (born 1947), actor (Milwaukee)

Comedy

 * Frank Caliendo (born 1974), comedian (Waukesha)
 * Randy Chestnut (born 1971), comedian (Baraboo, Madison)
 * Chris Farley (1964–1997), comedian (Madison)
 * Jackie Kashian, stand-up comedian (South Milwaukee)
 * Jackie Mason (born 1931), comedian and actor (Sheboygan)
 * John McGivern, comedian (Milwaukee)

Music



 * A–M


 * Naima Adedapo (born 1984), finalist on season 10 of American Idol (Milwaukee)
 * Carl Allen (born 1961), drummer
 * John Altenburgh (born 1960), musician, composer, producer (Wausau)
 * Durrell Babbs (born 1976), singer/songwriter, stage name is Tank, member of R&B group TGT (Milwaukee)
 * Eric Benét (born 1966), singer (Milwaukee)
 * Bunny Berigan (1908–1942), musician (Hilbert, Fox Lake)
 * Erin Boheme, jazz singer (Oshkosh)
 * Skylar Grey (born 1986), singer-songwriter (Mazomanie)
 * Felice Bryant (1925–2003), songwriter (Milwaukee)
 * Victor DeLorenzo (born 1954), musician, drummer for Violent Femmes (1981–1993, 2002–2006) (Racine, Milwaukee)
 * Dave Dudley (1928–2003), country singer (Spencer)
 * Howie Epstein (1955–2003), bassist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Milwaukee)
 * Betty Everett (1939–2001), R&B musician (Beloit)
 * Gordon Gano (born 1963), musician, singer for Violent Femmes (Milwaukee)
 * Danny Gokey (born 1980), a finalist on season 8 of American Idol (Milwaukee)
 * Greg Graffin (born 1964), singer (Racine)
 * Jerry Harrison (born 1949), keyboardist and guitarist for Talking Heads (Milwaukee)
 * Woody Herman (1913–1987), musician (Milwaukee)
 * Bobby Hatfield (born 1940), member of The Righteous Brothers (Beaver Dam)
 * Hildegarde (1906–2005), cabaret singer (Adell, New Holstein)
 * Guy Hoffman (born 1954), musician, drummer for Violent Femmes (1993–2002, 2006) (Milwaukee)
 * Andy Hurley (born 1980), drummer for Fall Out Boy (Menomonee Falls)
 * Al Jarreau (1940-2017), singer (Milwaukee)
 * Pee Wee King (1914–2000), musician (Milwaukee, Abrams)
 * Liberace (1919–1987), musician (West Allis)
 * Locksley (2003-present), band (Madison)
 * Jeff Loomis (born 1971), guitarist for Nevermore, Arch Enemy (Appleton)
 * Rico Love (born 1982), rapper (Milwaukee)
 * Steve Miller (born 1943), musician (Milwaukee)
 * Ava Max (born 1994), musician (Milwaukee)


 * N–Z


 * Les Paul (1915–2009), musician, inventor (Waukesha)
 * Jim Pekol (born 1961), musician (Wausau)
 * Jeff Pilson, musician
 * Stevie Rachelle (born 1966), singer for Tuff (Oshkosh)
 * Bruce Robb (born 1954), music producer for film/television, former member of 1960s folk rock group The Robbs (Oconomowoc)
 * Art Paul Schlosser (born 1960), musician, songwriter, busker (Madison)
 * Ben Sidran (born 1943), jazz pianist (Racine)
 * Clyde Stubblefield (born 1943), drummer (Madison)
 * Daryl Stuermer (born 1952), guitarist (Milwaukee)
 * Josh Thompson (born 1978), country singer-songwriter (Cedarburg)
 * Justin Vernon (born 1981), singer-songwriter of Bon Iver (Eau Claire)
 * Butch Vig (born 1957), drummer for Garbage; musician and producer for Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and Garbage (Viroqua, Madison)
 * Davey von Bohlen (born 1975), singer/guitarist for Cap'n Jazz, The Promise Ring, Vermont, and Maritime (Milwaukee)
 * Joseph Philbrick Webster (1819–1875), songwriter and composer (Racine, Elkhorn)
 * Jane Wiedlin (born 1958), rhythm guitarist of The Go-Go's (Oconomowoc, Madison)
 * Robin Zander (born 1953), lead singer and guitarist of Cheap Trick (Beloit)

History



 * Stephen Ambrose (1936–2002), historian (Whitewater)
 * William Cronon (born 1954), environmental historian (Madison)
 * Lyman Draper (1815–1891), historian and librarian (Madison)
 * Harvey Goldberg (1922–1987), historian (Madison)
 * George Mosse (1918–1999), social and cultural historian (Madison)
 * Gerhard Brandt Naeseth (1913–1994), founder of the Norwegian-American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library (Madison)
 * James Breck Perkins (1847–1910), historian and U.S. Congressman (St. Croix Falls)
 * David Schoenbaum (born 1935), historian and social scientist (Milwaukee)
 * Kenneth M. Stampp (1912–2009), historian (Milwaukee)
 * John Toland (1912–2004), Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author (La Crosse)
 * Frederick Jackson Turner (1861–1932), historian, known for his Frontier Thesis (Portage)
 * T. Harry Williams (1909–1979), Pulitzer Prize-winning historian (Hazel Green)

Military

 * A–B


 * Harold C. Agerholm (1925–1944), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Racine)
 * Frank L. Anders (1875–1966), Philippine–American War Medal of Honor recipient (Ripon)
 * James Roy Andersen (1904–1945), U.S. Army general (Racine)
 * Beauford T. Anderson (1922–1996), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Eagle, Soldiers Grove)
 * Mark E. Anderson, U.S. National Guard general (Wisconsin Rapids)
 * Peter Anderson (1847–1907), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Lafayette County)
 * Fred Ascani (1917–2010), U.S. Air Force Major General (Beloit)
 * Margaret H. Bair, U.S. Air National Guard general (Lake Geneva)
 * Merton W. Baker (1924–2000), U.S. Air Force Major General (Tomahawk)
 * George Barnett (1859–1930), Commandant of the United States Marine Corps (Lancaster, Boscobel)
 * Stuart E. Barstad (1929–2009), Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force (Colfax)
 * William A. Barstow (1813–1865), Union Army general (Waukesha, Janesville)
 * Frank E. Beatty (1853–1926), U.S. Navy admiral (Aztalan)
 * Harry Bell (1860–1938), Philippine–American War Medal of Honor recipient (Milwaukee)
 * Leslie Allen Bellrichard (1941–1967), Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient (Janesville)
 * Harold Medberry Bemis (1884–1970), U.S. Navy admiral (Oshkosh)
 * Paul M. Blayney, U.S. Coast Guard admiral (Milwaukee, Jefferson)
 * Orville Emil Bloch (1915–1983), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Big Falls)
 * Robert D. Bohn, U.S. Marine Corps Major General (Neenah)
 * Richard Bong (1920–1945), World War II pilot (Superior)
 * Frank Matteson Bostwick (1857–1945), U.S. Navy Commodore (Janesville)
 * Peter J. Boylan, U.S. Army Major General (Portage)
 * John Bradley (1923–1994), Iwo Jima flag-raiser (Antigo)
 * Edward S. Bragg (1827–1912), Union Army general (Fond du Lac)
 * Oscar Brookin, Spanish–American War Medal of Honor recipient (Byron)
 * Deming Bronson (1894–1957), World War I Medal of Honor recipient (Rhinelander)
 * Clarence John Brown (1895–1973), U.S. Navy Vice Admiral (Plum City)
 * F. Taylor Brown (1925–2011), U.S. Navy admiral (Ashland)
 * Robert Whitney Burns (1908–1964), U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General (Stanley)
 * Elmer J. Burr (1908–1942), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Neenah, Menasha)


 * C–E


 * Joseph Cable (1848–1877), American Indian Wars Medal of Honor recipient (Madison)
 * James J. Carey, U.S. Navy admiral (Green Lake County, Aurora)
 * Irving J. Carr (1875–1963), U.S. Army Major General (Chippewa Falls)
 * Guy W.S. Castle (1879–1919), Medal of Honor recipient
 * Arthur S. Champeny (1893–1979), U.S. Army general (Briggsville)
 * Stanley R. Christianson (1925–1950), Korean War Medal of Honor recipient (Mindoro)
 * Paul Clemens, U.S. Army general (Superior)
 * Gerald W. Clusen, U.S. Navy admiral (Manitowoc)
 * Jefferson Coates (1843–1880), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Boscobel)
 * James Kelsey Cogswell (1847–1908), U.S. Navy admiral (Milwaukee)
 * Robert Grimes Coman (1887–1963), U.S. Navy Commodore (Trempealeau)
 * Richard H. Cosgriff (1845–1910), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Hudson, Chippewa Falls)
 * James E. Croft (1833–1914), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Janesville)
 * Winfield S. Cunningham (1900–1986), U.S. Navy admiral (Rockbridge)
 * James B. Currie (1925–2009), U.S. Air Force Major General (Milwaukee)
 * William B. Cushing (1842–1874), Navy officer who sank the CSS Albemarle; namesake of the USS Cushing (Delafield)
 * Marshall E. Cusic Jr., U.S. Navy admiral (Marshfield)
 * Lysander Cutler (1807–1866), Union Army general (Milwaukee)
 * Clinton W. Davies (1899–1989), U.S. Air Force general (Racine)
 * Frederick Curtice Davis (1915–1941), highly decorated Navy officer; namesake of the USS Frederick C. Davis (Rock County)
 * Leighton I. Davis (1910–1995), U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General (Sparta)
 * Charles G. Dawes (1865–1951), U.S. Army general (La Crosse)
 * Dirk J. Debbink, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral; Chief of Navy Reserve (Oconomowoc)
 * Abraham DeSomer (1884–1974), Medal of Honor recipient (Milwaukee)
 * John Durham (1843–1918), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Malone)
 * Herbert W. Ehrgott (1910–1982), U.S. Air Force general (Milwaukee)
 * Clarence Ekstrom, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral (Waupaca)
 * Horace Ellis (1843–1867), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Chippewa Falls)
 * William Ellis (1834–1875), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Watertown)
 * Gerald L. Endl (1915–1944), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Fort Atkinson, Janesville)


 * F–I


 * Lucius Fairchild (1831–1896), Union Army general (Madison)
 * Peter Fanta, U.S. Navy admiral (Manitowoc)
 * Jack K. Farris (born 1934), U.S. Air Force Major General (Fennimore)
 * Richard W. Fellows (1914–1998), U.S. Air Force general (Algoma)
 * Art Fiala (1899–2005), World War I (Kewaunee)
 * James H. Flatley (1906–1958), U.S. Navy Vice Admiral (Green Bay)
 * Lawrence J. Fleming (1922–2006), U.S. Air Force Major General (Green Bay)
 * James F. Flock, U.S. Marine Corps Major General (Milwaukee)
 * Amos Fries (1873–1963), U.S. Army Major General, Chief of the Chemical Warfare Service (Viroqua)
 * Harold A. Fritz (born 1944), Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient (Milwaukee)
 * Julius A. Furer (1880–1963), U.S. Navy admiral (Mosel)
 * Augustus F. Gearhard (1893–1975), Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force (Milwaukee)
 * Theodore W. Goldin (1858–1935), American Indian Wars Medal of Honor recipient (Avon, Brodhead, Janesville, King)
 * Albert W. Grant (1856–1930), U.S. Navy Vice Admiral (Stevens Point)
 * Sandra A. Gregory, U.S. Air Force general (Loyal)
 * Kenneth E. Gruennert (1922–1942), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Helenville)
 * Charles Smith Hamilton (1822–1891), Union Army Major General (Milwaukee)
 * Melvin O. Handrich (1919–1950), Korean War Medal of Honor recipient (Manawa)
 * Rodney R. Hannula, U.S. National Guard Major General (Saxon)
 * William Frederick Hase (1874–1935), U.S. Army Major General (Milwaukee)
 * J. Michael Hayes, U.S. Marine Corps general (Milwaukee)
 * Philip Hayes (1887–1949), U.S. Army Major General (Portage)
 * John Higgins (1899–1973), U.S. Navy admiral (Madison)
 * Frank E. Hill (1850–1906), American Indian Wars Medal of Honor recipient (Mayfield)
 * Benjamin Hilliker, American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Town of Waupaca)
 * Harrison Carroll Hobart (1815–1902), Union Army general (Sheboygan, Chilton, Milwaukee)
 * Roy Hoffmann, U.S. Navy admiral (Milwaukee)
 * Lucius Roy Holbrook (1875–1952), U.S. Army Major General (Arkansaw)
 * Willard Ames Holbrook (1860–1932), U.S. Army Major General (Arkansaw)
 * David William Hutchison (1908–1982), U.S. Air Force Major General (Mineral Point)
 * Einar H. Ingman, Jr. (born 1929), Korean War Medal of Honor recipient (Milwaukee, Tomahawk)


 * J–L




 * Frank B. James (1912–2004), U.S. Air Force general (Delavan)
 * Marvin John Jensen (1908–1993), U.S. Navy admiral (Sheboygan)
 * John L. Jerstad (1918–1943), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Racine, Milwaukee)
 * Jay L. Johnson, Chief of Naval Operations (West Salem)
 * John Johnson (1842–1907), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Janesville)
 * Stephen E. Johnson, U.S. Navy admiral (Wisconsin Rapids)
 * Donald S. Jones (1928–2004), U.S. Navy Vice Admiral (Madison)
 * Harley Sanford Jones (1902–1997), U.S. Air Force general (Fox Lake)
 * Emil C. Kiel (1895–1977), U.S. Air Force general
 * Charles King (1844–1933), U.S. Army general (Milwaukee)
 * Rufus King (1814–1876), Union Army general (Milwaukee)
 * John Baxter Kinne (1877–1954), Philippine–American War Medal of Honor recipient (Beloit)
 * Louis Joseph Kirn (1908–1995), U.S. Navy admiral (Milwaukee)
 * Russell Klika, combat photographer (Appleton)
 * Richard A. Knobloch (1918–2001), U.S. Air Force general (West Allis, Milwaukee)
 * Oscar Koch (1897–1970), U.S. Army general, member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame (Milwaukee)
 * Edmond Konrad, U.S. Navy admiral (Oshkosh)
 * James Benjamin Lampert (1914–1978), U.S. Army Lieutenant General
 * Thomas B. Larkin (1890–1968), Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army (Louisburg)
 * Daniel P. Leaf, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General, Commander of the United States Pacific Command (Shawano)
 * William D. Leahy (1875–1959), U.S. Navy Fleet Admiral, first military officer to reach of five-star rank (Ashland)
 * James J. LeCleir (born 1941), U.S. Air Force Major General (Chippewa Falls)
 * Scott D. Legwold, U.S. National Guard general (Eau Claire)
 * James J. Lindsay (born 1932), U.S. Army General, first Commander of the United States Special Operations Command (Portage)
 * Nathan J. Lindsay (born 1936), U.S. Air Force Major General (Monroe)
 * Arno H. Luehman (1911–1989), U.S. Air Force Major General (Milwaukee)
 * Edward E. Lyon (1871–1931), Philippine–American War Medal of Honor recipient (Hixton)


 * M–O


 * Arthur MacArthur, Jr. (1845–1912), Medal of Honor Civil War, "On Wisconsin", father of General Douglas MacArthur (Milwaukee)
 * Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964), General of the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, Medal of Honor recipient (Milwaukee)
 * Alexander Mackenzie (1844–1921), U.S. Army Chief of Engineers (Postosi)
 * Lester J. Maitland (1899–1990), U.S. Army Air Service general (Milwaukee)
 * Francis Marshall, U.S. Army general (Darlington)
 * Michael A. McAuliffe (born 1941), U.S. Air Force general (Ashland)
 * Michael J. McCarthy, U.S. Air Force Major General (Niagara)
 * John E. McCoy, U.S. Air National Guard general (Janesville, Stoughton)
 * Robert Bruce McCoy (1867–1926), U.S. National Guard Major General (Kenosha, Lafayette, Sparta)
 * Arthur L. McCullough, U.S. Air Force general (Milwaukee)
 * Charles C. McDonald (born 1933), U.S. Air Force General (Barron)
 * Edward McGlachlin, Jr., U.S. Army Major General (Fond du Lac, Stevens Point)
 * Hugh J. McGrath (1858–1899), Philippine–American War Medal of Honor recipient (Fond du Lac)
 * John S. Mills (1906–1996), U.S. Air Force Major General (Appleton)
 * Andrew Miller (1916–1944), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Manitowoc, Two Rivers)
 * Billy Mitchell (1879–1936), U.S. general, aviation (raised in West Allis)
 * Marc Mitscher (1887–1947), World War II admiral (Hillsboro)
 * Robert J. Modrzejewski (born 1934), Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient (Milwaukee)
 * Daniel B. Moore (1838–1914), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Mifflin)
 * Charles E. Mower (1924–1944), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Chippewa Falls)
 * Dennis Murphy (1830–1901), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Green Bay)
 * Beryl Newman (1911–1998), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Baraboo)
 * Richard J. Nolan (1848–1905), American Indian Wars Medal of Honor recipient (Milwaukee)
 * William Nordeen (1936–1988), U.S. Navy officer, killed in terrorist attack (Amery, Centuria)
 * Albert O'Connor, American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Lodi)
 * Tad J. Oelstrom, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General (Milwaukee)
 * Ralph A. Ofstie (1897–1956), U.S. Navy Vice Admiral (Eau Claire)
 * Truman O. Olson (1917–1944), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Christiana, Cambridge)
 * Andrew P. O'Meara (1907–2005), U.S. Army General, Commander-in-Chief of United States Southern Command and United States Army Europe (West Bend)
 * John Birdsell Oren (1909–2006), U.S. Coast Guard admiral (Madison)


 * P–S


 * Halbert E. Paine (1826–1905), Union Army general (Milwaukee)
 * John Patterson (1838–1922), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Summit, Mauston)
 * Ernest Dichmann Peek (1878–1950), U.S. Army Major General (Oshkosh)
 * Oscar V. Peterson (1899–1942), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Prentice)
 * George F. Pond (1844–1911), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Fairwater)
 * James Pond (1838–1903), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Janesville)
 * Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr. (1924–1950), Korean War Medal of Honor recipient (Hatfield, Merrillan)
 * Marcus Robbins (1851–1924), American Indian Wars Medal of Honor recipient (Elba)
 * Carson Abel Roberts (1905–1983), U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General (Lancaster)
 * Marcus W. Robertson (1870–1948), Philippine–American War Medal of Honor recipient (Suamico)
 * Davis C. Rohr, U.S. Air Force Major General (Burlington)
 * Thomas H. Ruger (1833–1907), Superintendent of the United States Military Academy (Janesville)
 * Margaret A. Rykowski, U.S. Navy admiral (Milwaukee)
 * Ben L. Salomon (1914–1944), World War II Medal of Honor recipient (Milwaukee)
 * Frederick C. Salomon (1826–1897), Union Army general (Manitowoc)
 * Elmer Salzman, U.S. Marine Corps Major General (Kiel)
 * Walter Schindler (1897–1991), U.S. Navy Vice Admiral (New Glarus)
 * Herman Alfred Schmid (1910–1985), U.S. Air Force general (Milwaukee)
 * Carl Schurz (1829–1906), Union Army Major General (Town of Watertown, Milwaukee)
 * Richard Severson, U.S. Air Force general (Brooklyn)
 * James Shields (1810–1879), Union Army general
 * Henry Hastings Sibley (1811–1891), Union Army general
 * William Sickles (1844–1938), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Fall River)
 * John Otto Siegel (1890–1973), World War I Medal of Honor recipient (Milwaukee)
 * Lance Sijan (1942–1968), Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient (Milwaukee)
 * Clayton K. Slack (1896–1976), World War I Medal of Honor recipient (Plover)
 * Fred R. Sloan, U.S. Air National Guard Major General (Milwaukee)
 * John Converse Starkweather (1829–1890), Union Army general (Milwaukee)
 * Henry J. Stehling (1918–2001), U.S. Air Force general (Milwaukee)
 * Joseph Stika (1889–1976), U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral (Milwaukee, Kewaunee)
 * Kenneth E. Stumpf (born 1944), Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient (Neenah, Milwaukee)
 * Jerome A. Sudut (1930–1951), Korean War Medal of Honor recipient (Wausau)
 * Dennis B. Sullivan (born 1927), U.S. Air Force general (Chippewa Falls)
 * Timothy S. Sullivan, U.S. Coast Guard admiral (Milwaukee)
 * Woodrow Swancutt (1915–1993), U.S. Air Force Major General (Edgar)


 * T–Z




 * Eugene L. Tattini, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General (Madison)
 * Claude Taugher (1895–1963), World War I Distinguished Service Cross and Navy Cross recipient (Marathon City)
 * Thomas Toohey (1835–1918), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Milwaukee)
 * Robin G. Tornow (1942–2010), U.S. Air Force general (Monroe)
 * Charles Treat, U.S. Army general (Monroe)
 * Clement A. Trott, U.S. Army Major General (Milwaukee)
 * Edwin M. Truell (1841–1907), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (Mauston)
 * Merrill B. Twining (1902–1996), U.S. Marine Corps General (Monroe)
 * Nathan C. Twining (1869–1924), U.S. Navy admiral (Boscobel)
 * Nathan Farragut Twining (1897–1982), U.S. Air Force general (Monroe)
 * William J. Van Ryzin (1914–2002), U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General (Appleton)
 * James M. Vande Hey (1916–2009), U.S. Air Force general
 * Hoyt Vandenberg (1899–1954), U.S. Air Force general (Milwaukee)
 * James R. Van Den Elzen (born 1931), U.S. Marine Corps general (Green Bay)
 * Alfred Verhulst (1921–1975), U.S. Air Force general (Sheboygan Falls)
 * Fred W. Vetter, Jr. (1921–2002), U.S. Air Force general (Milwaukee)
 * Lutz Wahl (1869–1928), Adjutant General of the U.S. Army (Milwaukee)
 * William Miller Wallace (1844–1924), U.S. Army general (Prairie du Chien)
 * Francis A. Wallar (1840–1911), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (De Soto)
 * Cadwallader C. Washburn (1818–1882), Union Army Major General (Mineral Point, La Crosse)
 * Waldemar F.A. Wendt (1912–1997), U.S. Navy Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Naval Forces Europe
 * Don S. Wenger (1911–1986), U.S. Air Force Major General (Monroe)
 * Leslie J. Westberg (1920–1997), U.S. Air Force general (Menasha)
 * Gary George Wetzel (born 1947), Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient (South Milwaukee, Milwaukee)
 * Charles W. Whittlesey (1884–1921), World War I Medal of Honor recipient (Florence)
 * Hugh E. Wild (born 1918), U.S. Air Force general (Elmwood)
 * Albert H. Wilkening, U.S. Air National Guard Major General
 * Donald Erwin Wilson, U.S. Navy admiral (Taylor County)
 * Claron A. Windus, Indian Wars Medal of Honor recipient (Janesville)
 * Arthur Wolcott Yates, U.S. Army general
 * Cassin Young (1894–1942), World War II Medal of Honor recipient
 * Frank Albert Young (1876–1941), China Relief Expedition Medal of Honor recipient (Milwaukee)
 * Elmo Zumwalt (1920–2000), Chief of Naval Operations (Milwaukee)
 * Ralph Wise Zwicker (1903–1991), U.S. Army Major General (Stoughton)

Nobel laureates



 * Joseph Erlanger (1874–1965), recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1944 (Madison)
 * Herbert Spencer Gasser (1888–1963), B.S. 1910, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1944 (Platteville)
 * John Bardeen (1908–1991), B.S. 1928 and M.S. 1929, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956 and 1972 (Madison)
 * Edward Lawrie Tatum (1909–1975), B.A. 1931, M.S. 1932, Ph.D. 1935, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1958 (Madison)
 * Joshua Lederberg (1925–2008), recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1958 (Madison)
 * Stanford Moore (1913–1982), Ph.D. 1938, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1972 (Madison)
 * William P. Murphy (1892–1987), recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934 (Stoughton)
 * John H. van Vleck (1899–1980), A.B. 1920, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977 (Madison)
 * Herbert A. Simon (1916–2001), B.A. 1936, Ph.D. 1943, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1978 (Milwaukee)
 * Theodore Schultz (1902–1998), M.S. 1928, Ph.D. 1930, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979 (Madison)
 * Erwin Neher (born 1944), M.S. 1967, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1991 (Madison)
 * Paul D. Boyer (born 1918), M.S. 1941, Ph.D. 1943, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1997 (Madison)
 * Günter Blobel (born 1936), Ph.D. 1967, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1999 (Madison)
 * Jack Kilby (1923–2005), M.S. 1950, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics for the integrated circuit in 2000 (Milwaukee)
 * Alan G. MacDiarmid (1927–2007), M.S. 1952, Ph.D. 1953, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000 (Madison)

Politics and activism

 * A–B


 * Nick Wyrembeck (1993 - ), General Badass (Sheboygan, Wisconsin)
 * Glenn A. Abbey (1898–1962), U.S. diplomat (Dodgeville)
 * Alva Adams (1850–1922), Governor of Colorado (Iowa County)
 * Billy Adams (1861–1954), Governor of Colorado (Blue Mounds)
 * J. Frank Aldrich (1853–1933), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Two Rivers)
 * William Aldrich (1820–1885), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Fond du Lac)
 * William A. Anderson (1873–1954), Mayor of Minneapolis (Adams County)
 * George R. Andrews (1808–1873), U.S. Representative from New York (Oshkosh)
 * Walter Annenberg (1908–2002), U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom (Milwaukee)
 * Les Aspin (1938–1995), Congressman and Secretary of Defense (Milwaukee)
 * Gerhard A. Bading (1870–1946), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee)
 * John Miller Baer (1886–1970), U.S. Representative from North Dakota (Black Creek)
 * Hiram Barber, Jr. (1835–1924), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Horicon, Juneau)
 * Thomas M. Barrett (born 1953), Congressman and Mayor of Milwaukee (Milwaukee)
 * William A. Barstow (1813–1865), Governor (Waukesha, Janesville)
 * Coles Bashford (1816–1878), Governor, U.S. Congressional Delegate from the Arizona Territory (Oshkosh)
 * David L. Bazelon (1909–1993), Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (Superior)
 * Charles S. Benton (1810–1882), U.S. Representative from New York (Milwaukee, La Crosse)
 * Victor L. Berger (1860–1929)), U.S. Representative (Milwaukee)
 * Benjamin P. Birdsall (1858–1917), U.S. Representative from Iowa (Weyauwega)
 * John J. Blaine (1875–1934), Governor and U.S. Senator (Wingville)
 * C. A. Bottolfsen (1891–1964), Governor of Idaho (Superior)
 * Matthias J. Bovee (1793–1872), U.S. Representative from New York (Milwaukee, Eagle)
 * Edward S. Bragg (1827–1912), U.S. diplomat (Fond du Lac)
 * John A. Bryan (1794–1864), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee, Menasha)
 * James Budd (1851–1908), California Governor (Janesville)
 * George Bunn (1865–1918), Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (Sparta)
 * John H. Burke (1894–1951), U.S. Representative from California (Excelsior)
 * John R. Burke (1924–1993), U.S. diplomat (Madison)
 * Charles C. Butler, Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court (Milwaukee)
 * John W. Byrnes (1913–1985), U.S. Representative (Green Bay)


 * C–E


 * Thomas Cale (1848–1941), U.S. Congressional Delegate from the Alaska Territory (Fond du Lac)
 * John Benton Callis (1828–1898), U.S. Representative from Alabama (Lancaster)
 * Lois Capps (born 1938), U.S. Representative from California (Ladysmith)
 * Milton Robert Carr (born 1943), U.S. Representative from Michigan (Janesville)
 * Carrie Chapman Catt (1859–1947), feminist (Ripon)
 * Eugene W. Chafin (1852–1920), Prohibition Party candidate for President of the United States (East Troy, Waukesha)
 * Liz Cheney (born 1966), U.S. Representative from Wyoming (Madison)
 * Kathryn F. Clarenbach (1920–1994), first chairwoman of the National Organization for Women (Sparta)
 * Paul Clement (born 1966), Solicitor General of the United States (Town of Cedarburg)
 * Cliff Clevenger (1885–1960), U.S. Representative from Ohio (Appleton)
 * Wilbur J. Cohen (1913–1987), U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (Milwaukee)
 * Harmon Sweatland Conger (1816–1882), U.S. Representative from New York (Janesville)
 * Willis C. Cook (1874–1942), U.S. diplomat (Gratiot)
 * Henry A. Cooper (1850–1931), U.S. Representative (Spring Prairie, Burlington, Racine)
 * Michael Copps (born 1940), Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (Milwaukee)
 * John W. Cox Jr. (born 1947), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Hazel Green)
 * Kenneth H. Dahlberg (born 1917), figure in the Watergate scandal, later cleared (Wilson)
 * Henry C. A. Damm (1874–1929), U.S. diplomat (Waushara County)
 * Joseph E. Davies (1876–1958), U.S. diplomat (Watertown)
 * Charles G. Dawes (1865–1951), Vice President of the United States (La Crosse)
 * Thomas Cleland Dawson (1865–1912), U.S. diplomat (Hudson)
 * Ada Deer (born 1935), Native-American/Menominee activist, former BIA official (Keshena)
 * Peter V. Deuster (1831–1904), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee, Port Washington)
 * Bernardine Dohrn (born 1942), activist (Milwaukee)
 * Michael Dombeck, former Chief of the US Forest Service
 * F. Ryan Duffy (1888–1979), Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (Fond du Lac)
 * Charles Durkee (1805–1870), U.S. Senator, Governor of the Utah Territory (Kenosha)
 * Lawrence Eagleburger (1930–2011), Secretary of State (Milwaukee)
 * John E. Erickson (1863–1946), U.S. Senator from Montana (Stoughton)
 * John J. Esch (1861–1941), U.S. Representative (Norwalk, La Crosse)
 * Experience Estabrook (1813–1894), U.S. Congressional Delegate from Nebraska Territory (Geneva)
 * Evan Alfred Evans (1876–1948), Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (Spring Green, Baraboo)


 * F–I


 * Lucius Fairchild (1831–1896), U.S. diplomat (Madison)
 * Thomas E. Fairchild (1912–2007), Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (Milwaukee)
 * Jacob Fawcett, Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court (Benton)
 * Russ Feingold (born 1953), U.S. Senator and co-author of McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act (Janesville, Middleton)
 * William R. Finch (1847–1913), U.S. diplomat (Walworth County)
 * Albert Fowler (1802–1883), Mayor of Rockford, Illinois (Milwaukee, Wauwatosa)
 * James A. Frear (1861–1939), U.S. Representative (Hudson)
 * George A. Garrett (1888–1971), U.S. diplomat (La Crosse)
 * Hiram Gill (1866–1919), Mayor of Seattle (Watertown)
 * James Gillett (1860–1937), U.S. Representative from California (Viroqua, Sparta)
 * Callista Gingrich (born 1966), wife of former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Whitehall)
 * Glory of the Morning, the only female chief ever recorded in the oral history of the Ho-Chunk nation
 * Guy D. Goff (1866–1933), U.S. Senator from West Virginia (Milwaukee)
 * William Goodell (1792–1878), prominent abolitionist, candidate for President of the United States (Janesville)
 * Warren Green (1870–1945), Governor of South Dakota (Jackson County)
 * John A. Gronouski (1919–1996), U.S. Postmaster General (Dunbar, Green Bay)
 * Richard W. Guenther (1845–1913), U.S. diplomat (Oshkosh)
 * Herbert James Hagerman (1871–1935), Governor of the New Mexico Territory (Milwaukee)
 * Darwin Hall (1844–1919), U.S. Representative from Minnesota (Wheatland, Grand Rapids)
 * John Hammill (1875–1936), Governor of Iowa (Linden)
 * Henry C. Hansbrough (1848–1933), U.S. Senator from North Dakota (Baraboo)
 * Ole Hanson (1874–1940), Mayor of Seattle (Racine County)
 * Mildred Harnack (1902–1943), resistance fighter in Nazi Germany (Milwaukee)
 * Gilbert N. Haugen (1859–1933), U.S. Representative from Iowa (Orfordville)
 * Everis A. Hayes (1855–1942), U.S. Representative from California (Waterloo)
 * Ned R. Healy (1905–1977), U.S. Representative from California (Milwaukee)
 * Charles N. Herreid (1857–1928), Governor of South Dakota (Madison)
 * Lorena Hickok (1893–1968), friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, helped Harry Hopkins with fact-finding missions during the New Deal (East Troy)
 * Fred H. Hildebrandt (1874–1956), U.S. Representative from South Dakota (West Bend, Waupun)
 * George H. Hodges (1866–1947), Governor of Kansas (Orion)
 * Adoniram J. Holmes (1842–1902), U.S. Representative from Iowa (Palmyra)
 * Timothy O. Howe (1816–1883), U.S. Postmaster General (Green Bay)
 * Daniel Hugunin, Jr. (1790–1850), U.S. Representative from New York (Kenosha)
 * Merlin Hull (1871–1953), U.S. Representative (Black River Falls)
 * Paul O. Husting (1866–1917), U.S. Senator (Fond du Lac)


 * J–L


 * Franklin M. Jahnke (born 1990), member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
 * Edward H. Jenison (1907–1996), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Fond du Lac)
 * J. Leroy Johnson (1888–1961), U.S. Representative from California (Wausau)
 * Martin N. Johnson (1850–1909), U.S. Senator from North Dakota (Racine County)
 * Charles Jonas (1840–1896), U.S. diplomat (Racine)
 * Edgar A. Jonas (1885–1965), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Mishicot)
 * Francis B. Keene, U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee)
 * Oscar Keller (1878–1927), U.S. Representative from Minnesota (Helenville)
 * John Edward Kelley (1853–1941), U.S. Representative from South Dakota (Portage)
 * George F. Kennan (1904–2005), diplomat (Milwaukee)
 * Rufus King (1814–1876), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee)
 * Jerry Kleczka (born 1943), U.S. Representative (Milwaukee)
 * Herb Kohl (born 1935), U.S. Senator and sports-franchise owner (Milwaukee)
 * Julius Albert Krug (1907–1970), U.S. Secretary of the Interior (Madison)
 * Paul John Kvale (1896–1960), U.S. Representative from Minnesota (Orfordville)
 * Robert M. La Follette Sr. (1855–1925), Congressman, Governor and U.S. Senator (Primrose, Madison)
 * Robert M. La Follette Jr. (1895–1953), U.S. Senator (Madison)
 * Mel Laird (born 1922), Congressman and Secretary of Defense (Marshfield)
 * Richard D. Lamm (born 1935), Governor of Colorado, Reform Party candidate for President of the United States (Madison)
 * Gilbert L. Laws (1838–1907), U.S. Representative from Nebraska (Richland Center)
 * Irvine Lenroot (1869–1949), U.S. Senator (Superior)
 * Jerris G. Leonard (1931–2006), Administrator of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (Milwaukee)
 * Francis O. Lindquist (1869–1924), U.S. Representative from Michigan (Marinette)
 * Thomas A. Livesley (1863–1947), Mayor of Salem, Oregon (Ironton)
 * Thomas A. Loftus (born 1945), U.S. diplomat (Stoughton)
 * James B. Loken (born 1940), Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (Madison)
 * Don Lathrop Love (1863–1940), Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska (Janesville)
 * Patrick Joseph Lucey (born 1918), U.S. diplomat, Independent candidate for Vice President of the United States (La Crosse, Prairie du Chien)


 * M–O


 * William Josiah MacDonald (1873–1946), U.S. Representative from Michigan (Potosi)
 * Henry Markham (1840–1923), U.S. Representative from California (Milwaukee)
 * John McCarthy (1857–1943), U.S. Representative from Nebraska (Stoughton)
 * Joseph McCarthy (1908–1957), U.S. Senator (Grand Chute, Shawano)
 * James McCleary (1853–1924), U.S. Representative from Minnesota (Maiden Rock)
 * Myron Hawley McCord (1840–1908), U.S. Representative, Governor of the Arizona Territory (Shawano, Merrill)
 * K. T. McFarland (born 1951), Deputy National Security Advisor (Madison)
 * George de Rue Meiklejohn (1857–1929), U.S. Representative from Nebraska (Weyauwega)
 * Golda Meir (1898–1978), Israeli Prime Minister (Milwaukee)
 * Abner J. Mikva (born 1926), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Milwaukee)
 * John L. Mitchell (1842–1904), Congressman and U.S. Senator (Milwaukee)
 * Charles Henry Morgan (1842–1912), U.S. Representative from Missouri (Pewaukee)
 * John Morrow (1865–1935), U.S. Representative from New Mexico (Darlington)
 * Wayne L. Morse (1900–1974), U.S. Senator from Oregon (Madison)
 * Mary Mullarkey (born 1943), Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court (New London)
 * Robert Daniel Murphy (1894–1978), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee)
 * Philleo Nash (1909–1987), Commissioner of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs (Wisconsin Rapids)
 * Gaylord Nelson (1916–2005), Governor and U.S. Senator (Clear Lake, Madison)
 * Knute Nelson (1843–1923), U.S. Senator from Minnesota (Palmyra, Madison)
 * Orsen N. Nielsen, U.S. diplomat (Beloit)
 * William Nordeen (1936–1988), U.S. diplomat assassinated by the terrorist group Revolutionary Organization 17 November (Amery, Centuria)
 * Frank Nye (1852–1935), U.S. Representative from Minnesota (River Falls, Hudson)
 * Gerald Nye (1892–1971), U.S. Senator from North Dakota (Hortonville, Wittenberg)
 * Dave Obey (born 1938), U.S. Representative (Wausau)
 * Mike O'Callaghan (1929–2004), Governor of Nevada (La Crosse)
 * Kenneth J. O'Connell (1909–2000), Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court (Bayfield)
 * Alvin O'Konski (1904–1987), U.S. Representative (Kewaunee, Rhinelander)
 * Ole H. Olson (1872–1954), Governor of North Dakota (Mondovi)


 * P–S


 * Halbert E. Paine (1826–1905), U.S. Representative (Milwaukee)
 * Henry C. Payne (1843–1904), Postmaster General of the United States (Milwaukee)
 * James Breck Perkins (1847–1910), U.S. Representative from New York (St. Croix Falls)
 * Russell W. Peterson (born 1916), Governor of Delaware (Portage)
 * Tom Petri (born 1940), U.S. Representative (Marinette, Fond du Lac)
 * Augustus Herman Pettibone (1825–1918), U.S. Representative from Tennessee (La Crosse)
 * Milton Rice Polland (1909–2006), Marshall Islands diplomat (Milwaukee)
 * John F. Potter (1817–1899), U.S. diplomat (Town of East Troy)
 * Steve Preston (born 1960), SBA administrator, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Janesville)
 * J. A. O. Preus (1883–1961), Governor of Minnesota (Columbia County)
 * Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, White House Chief of Staff (Kenosha)
 * William Proxmire (1915–2005), U.S. Senator (Madison)
 * Joseph V. Quarles (1943–1911), U.S. Senator (Kenosha)
 * Alexander Randall (1819–1872), U.S. Postmaster General (Waukesha)
 * Edwin M. Randall (1822–1895), Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court (Waukesha)
 * Louise Goff Reece (1898–1970), U.S. Representative from Tennessee (Milwaukee)
 * William Rehnquist (1924–2005), U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice (Milwaukee, Shorewood)
 * Paul Samuel Reinsch (1869–1923), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee)
 * Henry S. Reuss (1912–2002), U.S. Representative (Milwaukee)
 * James DeNoon Reymert (1821–1896), State legislator and newspaper publisher (Muskego, Norway)
 * William A. Richards (1849–1912), Wyoming Governor (Town of Hazel Green)
 * Ben A. Riehle (1897–1967), member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
 * Jim Risch (born 1943), U.S. Senator from Idaho (Milwaukee)
 * Charles R. Robertson (1889–1951), U.S. Representative from North Dakota (Madison)
 * Thomas J. B. Robinson (1868–1958), U.S. Representative from Iowa (New Diggings)
 * Thomas H. Ruger (1833–1907), Governor of Georgia (Janesville)
 * Loret Miller Ruppe (1936–1996), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee)
 * Jeremiah McLain Rusk (1830–1893), U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (Viroqua)
 * Paul Ryan (born 1970), U.S. Representative (Janesville), Speaker of the House, and 2012 Republican nominee for Vice President under Mitt Romney
 * George Myron Sabin (1833–1890), U.S. District Court Judge in Nevada (Madison)
 * Elmore Y. Sarles (1859–1929), Governor of North Dakota (Wonewoc)
 * Charles R. Savage (1906–1976), U.S. Representative from Washington (La Farge)
 * John G. Schmitz (1930–2001), U.S. Representative from California, American Independent Party candidate for President of the United States (Milwaukee)
 * Lester Schnare, U.S. diplomat (Mondovi)
 * Carl Schurz (1829–1906), U.S. Secretary of the Interior (Watertown, Milwaukee)
 * Lewis B. Schwellenbach (1894–1948), U.S. Secretary of Labor (Superior)
 * Stuart Nash Scott (1906–1991), U.S. diplomat (Madison)
 * Jim Sensenbrenner (born 1943), U.S. Representative (Shorewood)
 * Carlos D. Shelden (1840–1904), U.S. Representative from Michigan (Walworth)
 * James Shields (1806–1879), U.S. Senator from Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri
 * Henry Hastings Sibley (1811–1891), U.S. Congressional Delegate, Governor of Minnesota
 * Steve Sisolak (born 1953), Governor of Nevada (Milwaukee)
 * Albert Smith (1805–1870), U.S. Representative from New York (Milwaukee)
 * Daniel V. Speckhard (born 1959), U.S. diplomat (Clintonville)
 * William H. Stafford (1869–1957), U.S. Representative (Milwaukee)
 * Pete Stark (born 1931), U.S. Representative from California (Milwaukee)
 * George A. Starkweather (1794–1879), U.S. Representative from New York (Milwaukee)
 * Halvor Steenerson (1852–1926), U.S. Representative from Minnesota (Pleasant Springs)
 * Janet Dempsey Steiger (1939–2004), Chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission (Oshkosh)
 * William Story (1843–1921), Lieutenant Governor of Colorado (Milwaukee)
 * William H. H. Stowell (1840–1922), U.S. Representative from Virginia (Appleton)
 * Robert C. Strong (1915–1999), U.S. diplomat (Beloit)
 * Bart Stupak (born 1952), Michigan Congressman (Milwaukee)


 * T–Z


 * Clark W. Thompson, U.S. Representative from Texas (La Crosse)
 * Tommy Thompson (born 1941), Governor, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and 2008 candidate for President (Elroy)
 * Peter G. Torkildsen (born 1958), U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (Milwaukee)
 * William M. Treloar (1850–1935), U.S. Representative from Missouri (Linden)
 * Ben Tremain (born 1888)
 * Fran Ulmer (born 1947), Lieutenant Governor of Alaska (Horicon)
 * Robert Scadden Vessey (1858–1929), Governor of South Dakota (Oshkosh)
 * William Freeman Vilas (1840–1908), U.S. Postmaster General and U.S. Secretary of the Interior (Madison)
 * Aad J. Vinje (1857–1929), Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (Superior)
 * Davis H. Waite (1825–1901), Governor of Colorado (Princeton)
 * Thomas J. Walsh (1859–1933), U.S. Senator and main prosecutor in the Teapot Dome Scandal hearings (Two Rivers)
 * William Warner (1840–1916), U.S. Senator from Missouri (Shullsburg, Madison)
 * Cadwallader C. Washburn (1818–1882), U.S. Representative (Mineral Point, La Crosse)
 * Paul Weyrich (1942–2008), commentator (Racine)
 * Alexander Wiley (1884–1967), U.S. Senator (Chippewa Falls)
 * Frances Willard (1839–1898), suffragist and temperance activist (Janesville)
 * John A. Williams (1835–1900), U.S. District Court Judge in Arkansas (Delafield)
 * Gardner R. Withrow (1892–1964), U.S. Representative (La Crosse)
 * Leonard G. Wolf (1925–1970), U.S. Representative from Iowa (Mazomanie)
 * Frank P. Woods (1868–1944), U.S. Representative from Iowa (Sharon)
 * Clement J. Zablocki (1912–1983), U.S. Representative (Milwaukee)
 * Carl Zeidler (1908–1942), mayor of Milwaukee
 * Frank Zeidler (1912–2006), mayor of Milwaukee, Socialist Party candidate for president in 1976 (Milwaukee)
 * Roger H. Zion (born 1921), U.S. Representative from Indiana (Milwaukee)

Religion



 * Anton Anderledy (1819–1892), Superior General of the Society of Jesus (Green Bay)
 * Stuart E. Barstad (1929–2009), Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force (Colfax)
 * David Benke (born 1946), President of the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (Milwaukee)
 * Thea Bowman (1937–1990), Roman Catholic nun (La Crosse)
 * Fabian Bruskewitz (born 1935), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln (Milwaukee)
 * Raymond Leo Burke (born 1948), Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura (Richland Center)
 * Solanus Casey (1870–1957), Roman Catholic priest, declared Venerable by Blessed John Paul II (Oak Grove)
 * W. Patrick Donlin, Supreme Advocate of the Knights of Columbus (Madison)
 * Selena Fox (born 1949), Wiccan priestess, religious-rights activist, and founder of Circle Sanctuary (Barneveld) and Pagan Spirit Gathering
 * Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (Madison)
 * Augustus F. Gearhard (1893–1975), Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force (Milwaukee)
 * Zenas H. Gurley, Sr. (1801–1871), Apostle of the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints (Yellowstone)
 * Francis J. Haas (1889–1953), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids (Racine)
 * Jerome J. Hastrich (1914–1995), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup (Milwaukee)
 * Carl Christian Hein (1868–1937), President of the American Lutheran Church (Marion)
 * Keith K. Hilbig (born 1942), General authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Milwaukee)
 * Francis Peter Leipzig (1895–1981), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baker (Chilton)
 * Felix Ley (1909–1972), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Naha (Hewitt)
 * Arthur C. Lichtenberger (1900–1968), Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (Oshkosh)
 * Albert Gregory Meyer (1903–1965), Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
 * Aloisius Joseph Muench (1889–1962), Roman Catholic Cardinal (Milwaukee)
 * Joseph Perry (born 1948), Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago (Mount Calvary, Milwaukee)
 * Franz Pieper (1852–1931), President of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (Manitowoc)
 * Herman Amberg Preus (1825–1894), President of the Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Spring Prairie)
 * Vincent James Ryan (1884–1951), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bismarck (Arlington)
 * Augustine Francis Schinner (1863–1937), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Superior and Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane (Milwaukee)
 * Mark Francis Schmitt (born 1923), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette (Algoma)
 * James Strang (1813–1856), founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) (Voree)
 * Hans Gerhard Stub (1849–1931), Bishop of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (Muskego)
 * Paul Francis Tanner (1905–1994), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine (Milwaukee)

Science, including medicine



 * Frank Ackerman (born 1946), economist (Madison)
 * Roy Chapman Andrews (1884–1960), naturalist (Beloit)
 * John Bardeen (1908–1991), Nobel Prize-winning physicist (Madison)
 * George Harold Brown (1908–1987), developer of color television (Portage)
 * Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin (1843–1928), geologist (Beloit)
 * John Henry Comstock (1849–1931), entomologist (Janesville)
 * Edwin Copeland, noted botanist and founder of the University of the Philippines Los Banos College of Agriculture
 * Seymour Cray (1925–1996), computer designer (Chippewa Falls)
 * John Thomas Curtis (1913–1961), botanist and ecologist; the Bray Curtis dissimilarity is partially named for him (Milwaukee)
 * Marshall E. Cusic Jr., Chief of the U.S. Navy Medical Reserve Corps (Marshfield)
 * Farrington Daniels (1889–1972), pioneer researcher in Solar energy (Madison)
 * Richard Davidson (born 1951), psychologist, pioneer of affective neuroscience (Madison)
 * Hector DeLuca, Vitamin D metabolism (Madison)
 * Michael Dhuey (born 1958), co-developer of the Macintosh II and the iPod (Milwaukee)
 * Olin J. Eggen (1919–1998), astronomer (Orfordville)
 * Milton Erickson (1901–1980), founding president of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis, NLP (Lowell)
 * Ernst Guillemin (1898–1970), recipient of the IEEE Medal of Honor (Milwaukee)
 * Ned Hollister (1876–1924), biologist (Delavan)
 * Donald Knuth (born 1938), computer scientist (Milwaukee)
 * Elmer Kraemer (1898–1943), chemist (Liberty)
 * Donald Laub (born 1935), plastic surgeon (Milwaukee)
 * Albert Lehninger (1917–1986), biochemist (Madison)
 * Aldo Leopold (1887–1948), ecologist (Madison)
 * Karl Paul Link (1901–1978), discovered warfarin (named for the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation) (Madison)
 * William Shainline Middleton (1890–1975), co-founder and Secretary-Treasurer of the American Board of Internal Medicine (Madison)
 * John Muir (1838–1914), environmentalist (Portage)
 * John Benjamin Murphy (1857–1916), inventor of Murphy's punch sign, Murphy's sign, and the Murphy drip (Appleton)
 * Robert B. Pinter (1937–2001), biomedical engineer (Milwaukee)
 * Carl Rogers (1902–1987), psychologist and originator of "client-centered therapy" (Madison)
 * Francis G. Slack (1897–1985), physicist (Superior)
 * Harry Steenbock (1886–1967), Vitamin D catalyzed by sunlight, D-fortified milk; rickets cured (Charlestown, New Holstein, Madison)
 * Jeremiah Burnham Tainter (1836–1920), inventor of the Tainter gate (Prairie du Chien)
 * James Thomson (born 1958), first scientist to isolate human embryonic stem cells (Madison)
 * Darold Treffert, psychiatrist (Fond du Lac)
 * Charles R. Van Hise (1857–1918), geologist and academic (Fulton)
 * Thorstein Veblen (1857–1929), sociologist, economist, social theorist (Cato)
 * Warren Weaver (1894–1978), pioneer of machine translation (Reedsburg)
 * Louis Jolyon West (1924–1999), psychiatrist (Madison)
 * Daniel Hale Williams (1858–1931), surgeon (Janesville)
 * Oliver E. Williamson (born 1932), economist (Superior)
 * Joseph Zimmermann (1912–2004), inventor of the answering machine (Kenosha)
 * Otto Julius Zobel (1887–1970), inventor of the m-derived filter and the Zobel network (Ripon)

Space exploration



 * Daniel Brandenstein (born 1943), astronaut (Watertown)
 * Raja Chari (born 1977), astronaut candidate
 * Leroy Chiao (born 1960), astronaut (Milwaukee)
 * Laurel Clark (1961–2003), astronaut; died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (Racine)
 * Mark C. Lee (born 1952), astronaut (Viroqua)
 * Nathan J. Lindsay (born 1936), astronaut (Monroe)
 * Jim Lovell (born 1928), astronaut (Milwaukee)
 * Deke Slayton (1924–1993), astronaut (Sparta)
 * Eugene L. Tattini, Deputy Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Madison)
 * Jeffrey Williams (born 1958), astronaut (Superior, Winter)

Sports

 * A–B


 * Earl Abell (1892–1956), head coach of Colgate Raiders and Virginia Cavaliers football teams, member of College Football Hall of Fame (Portage)
 * Ellen Ahrndt (1922–2009), All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player (Racine, Brodhead)
 * Austin Aries (born 1978), professional wrestler (Milwaukee)
 * Bill Albright (born 1929), football player (Racine)
 * Alan Ameche (1933–1988), football player, Heisman Trophy winner (Kenosha)
 * Morrie Arnovich (1910–1959), MLB All-Star outfielder
 * Ben Askren (born 1984), amateur wrestler, mixed martial artist (Hartland)
 * Ed Aspatore, football player (Fond du Lac)
 * Glena Avila (born 1975), mixed martial artist (Sparta)
 * Pete Banaszak (born 1944), football player (Crivitz)
 * Jimmy Banks (born 1964), soccer player (Milwaukee)
 * Peter Barrett (1935–2000), Olympic gold medalist (Madison)
 * Sam Barry (1892–1950), head coach, Iowa and USC, basketball, baseball, football; member of Basketball Hall of Fame (Madison)
 * Myrt Basing, football player (Appleton)
 * Mistie Bass (born 1983), basketball player (Janesville)
 * Lemoine Batson (1898–1991), Olympic athlete (Eau Claire)
 * Ginger Beaumont (1876–1956), baseball player, first player to bat in World Series (Rochester, Honey Creek, Burlington)
 * Wayland Becker (1910–1984), football player (Soperton)
 * Travis Beckum (born 1987), football player (Milwaukee)
 * Ken Behring (born 1928), former Seattle Seahawks owner (Monroe)
 * Chuck Belin (born 1970), football player (Milwaukee)
 * Michael Bennett (born 1978), football player (Milwaukee)
 * Tony Bennett (born 1969), basketball coach at Virginia men's basketball, player at UW-Green Bay (Green Bay)
 * Jason Berken (born 1983), baseball player (Green Bay)
 * Dennis Berkholtz (born 1945), Olympic athlete (Appleton)
 * Ray Berres (1907–2007), baseball player and coach (Kenosha)
 * George Berry, football player (Milwaukee)
 * Rich Bickle (born 1961), NASCAR driver (Edgerton)
 * Tom Bienemann, football player (Kenosha)
 * Dick Bilda, football player (Milwaukee)
 * Kelly Bires (born 1984), NASCAR driver (Mauston)
 * Rocky Bleier (born 1946), football player, Pittsburgh Steelers (Appleton)
 * Bob Blewett (1877–1958), baseball player (Fond du Lac)
 * Dick Bosman (born 1944), MLB player and coach (Kenosha)
 * Pat Bowlen (born 1944), owner of Denver Broncos (Prairie du Chien)
 * Gene Brabender (1941–1996), baseball player (Madison)
 * Gil Brandt (born 1933), NFL executive, Dallas Cowboys (Milwaukee)
 * Tyrone Braxton (born 1964), football player (Madison)
 * Erika Brown (born 1973), national champion curler (Madison)
 * J.T. Bruett (born 1967), baseball player (Milwaukee)
 * Maureen Brunt (born 1982), Olympic medalist, world champion curler (Portage)
 * Cub Buck (1892–1966), NFL player, college football coach (Eau Claire)
 * Ray Busler, football player (Watertown)
 * Brian Butch (born 1984), basketball player (Appleton)
 * Caron Butler (born 1980), basketball player (Racine)
 * Karyn Bye, Olympic gold medalist (River Falls)


 * C–E


 * Dave Cahill (born 1942), football player (Stanley)
 * Mike Cahill (born 1952), tennis player (Waukesha, Germantown)
 * Jim Caldwell (born 1955), NFL head coach (Beloit)
 * Dick Campbell (born 1935), football player (Green Bay)
 * Gabe Carimi (born 1988), All-American and NFL football player
 * Bill Carollo (born 1951), NFL referee (Brookfield, Shorewood)
 * Kip Carpenter (born 1979), Olympic medalist, world champion speed skater (Brookfield)
 * Anthony Carter (born 1975), basketball player (Milwaukee)
 * Rick Chryst, Commissioner of the Mid-American Conference (Madison)
 * Franklin Clarke (born 1934), football player (Beloit)
 * John Coatta (1929–2000), NFL scout (Madison)
 * Colin Cochart (born 1987), football player (Kewaunee)
 * Eddie Cochems (1877–1953), college football coach (Sturgeon Bay, Madison)
 * Craig Counsell (born 1970), player and manager for Milwaukee Brewers (Whitefish Bay)
 * Lave Cross (1866–1927), baseball player (Milwaukee)
 * Press Cruthers (1890–1976), baseball player (Kenosha)
 * Abner Dalrymple (1857–1939), baseball player, first player to ever be intentionally walked with the bases loaded (Gratiot)
 * Margaret Danhauser (1921–1987), baseball player (Racine)
 * Ralph Davis, football player (Seymour)
 * Sam Dekker (born 1994), basketball player (Sheboygan)
 * Jay DeMerit (born 1979), soccer player (Green Bay)
 * John DeMerit (born 1936), baseball player (West Bend)
 * Dan Devine (1924–2002), Notre Dame and Green Bay Packers head coach, College Football Hall of Fame (Augusta)
 * Travis Diener (born 1982), basketball player (Fond du Lac)
 * Mary Docter (born 1961), Olympic athlete (Madison)
 * Sarah Docter (born 1964), Olympic athlete (Madison)
 * John Doehring (1909–1972), football player (Milwaukee)
 * Chad Dombrowski (born 1980), soccer player (West Allis)
 * Tighe Dombrowski (born 1982), soccer player (West Allis)
 * Gus Dorais (1891–1954), NFL head coach, College Football Hall of Fame (Chippewa Falls)
 * Jake Dowell (born 1985), hockey player for Minnesota Wild (Eau Claire)
 * Davis Drewiske (born 1984), hockey player for Los Angeles Kings (Hudson)
 * Alyson Dudek (born 1990), Olympic athlete (Hales Corners)
 * Mike Dunleavy, Jr. (born 1980), basketball player (Mequon)
 * Ryne Duren (1929–2011), baseball player (Cazenovia)
 * Claude Elliott (1876–1923), baseball player (Pardeeville)
 * Brent Emery (born 1957), Olympic medalist (Milwaukee)
 * Molly Engstrom (born 1983), Olympic medalist (Siren)
 * Louise Erickson (born 1929), All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player (Arcadia)
 * Cory Everson (born 1958), bodybuilder, six-time Ms. Olympia (Racine)


 * F–G


 * Suzy Favor-Hamilton (born 1967), Olympic runner (Stevens Point)
 * Yasmin Farooq (born 1965), Olympic rower (Waupun)
 * Happy Felsch, baseball player (Milwaukee)
 * Bill Fischer (born 1930), MLB pitcher and coach (Wausau)
 * Clarke Fischer, football player (Milwaukee)
 * Jim Fitzgerald (born 1926), basketball team owner (Janesville)
 * Stan Fox (1952–2000), Indycar driver (Janesville)
 * Travis Frederick (born 1991), football player (Sharon)
 * Tucker Fredricks (born 1984), Olympic athlete, world champion speedskater (Janesville)
 * Doug Free (born 1984), football player (Manitowoc)
 * Lewis R. Freeman (1878–1960), football head coach, USC (Genoa Junction)
 * Ted Fritsch (1920–1979), football player and basketball player (Spencer)
 * Ted Fritsch, Jr. (born 1950), football player (Green Bay)
 * Bruce Froemming (born 1939), MLB umpire (Milwaukee)
 * Reece Gaines (born 1981), basketball player (Madison)
 * Jim Gantner (born 1953), baseball player (Fond du Lac, Eden)
 * Charlie Ganzel (1862–1914), baseball player (Waterford)
 * Warren Giese (born 1924), football head coach, South Carolina (Milwaukee)
 * George N. Gillett, Jr. (born 1938), co-owner of Liverpool F.C. and Richard Petty Motorsports, owned Montreal Canadiens (Racine)
 * Earl Girard (1927–1997), football player (Marinette)
 * Ed Glick (1900–1976), football player (Marinette)
 * Charles Goldenberg (1911–1986), All-Pro NFL player (Milwaukee)
 * Bud Grant (born 1927), football player and coach, basketball player (Superior)
 * Jabari Greer (born 1982), football player (Milwaukee)
 * Chris Greisen (born 1976), football player (Berlin)
 * Nick Greisen (born 1979), football player (Sturgeon Bay)
 * Burleigh Grimes (1893–1985), MLB player and manager, Baseball Hall of Fame (Emerald)
 * Ryan Groy (born 1990), football player (Middleton)
 * Paul Gruber (born 1965), football player (Prairie du Sac)
 * Mark Grudzielanek (born 1970), baseball player (Milwaukee)
 * Ruth Grulkowski (born 1930), Olympic athlete
 * Tim Gullikson (1951–1996), tennis player (La Crosse)
 * Tom Gullikson (born 1951), tennis player (La Crosse)


 * H–J


 * Jim Haluska (born 1932), football player (Racine)
 * Becca Hamilton (born 1990), Olympic Curler (McFarland)
 * Matt Hamilton (curler) (born 1989), Olympic Curler (McFarland)
 * Morgan Hamm (born 1982), Olympic medalist (Waukesha)
 * Paul Hamm (born 1982), Olympic gold medalist (Waukesha)
 * Hal Hanson (1895–1973), NFL player and head coach (La Crosse)
 * Pat Harder (1922–1992), football player, College Football Hall of Fame (Milwaukee)
 * Devin Harris (born 1983), basketball player (Milwaukee)
 * Art Hauser (born 1929), NFL player (Rubicon)
 * Joe Hauser (1899–1997), baseball player (Milwaukee, Sheboygan)
 * Nick Hayden (born 1986), football player (Hartland)
 * Beth Heiden (born 1959), speedskater and cyclist (Madison)
 * Eric Heiden (born 1958), athlete, Olympic champion (Madison)
 * Ben Heller (born 1991), baseball player for New York Yankees (Milwaukee)
 * Phil Hellmuth (born 1964), professional poker player (Madison)
 * Arnie Herber (1910–1969), football player (Green Bay)
 * Eric Hinske (born 1977), baseball player for Atlanta Braves (Menasha)
 * Elroy Hirsch (1923–2004), football player, college administrator, actor, Pro Football Hall of Fame (Wausau, Madison)
 * Ed Hochuli (born 1950), NFL referee (Milwaukee)
 * Aaron Hohlbein (born 1985), soccer player (Middleton)
 * Larry Hough (born 1944), Olympic medalist (Janesville)
 * Mitch Jacoby (born 1973), football player (Port Washington)
 * Jeff Jagodzinski (born 1963), NFL assistant coach, Boston College coach (Milwaukee)
 * Dan Jansen (born 1965), speedskater (West Allis)
 * Chuck Jaskwhich (1911–1988), basketball coach, Ole Miss (Kenosha)
 * Mike Jirschele (born 1959), baseball coach, Kansas City Royals (Clintonville)
 * Larry Johnson (1909–1972), football player (Odanah)
 * Mark Johnson (born 1957), NHL player; gold medalist 1980 Winter Olympics Miracle on Ice team (Madison)
 * Swede Johnston (1910–2002), football player (Appleton)
 * Davy Jones (1880–1972), baseball player (Cambria)
 * Whip Jones (1909–2001), founder Aspen Highlands Skiing (Oconomowoc)
 * Nicole Joraanstad (born 1980), Olympic athlete, national champion curler (Madison)
 * Barbara Jordan (born 1957), tennis player (Milwaukee)
 * Addie Joss (1880–1911), baseball player, Hall of Fame (Woodland)


 * K–L


 * Colin Kaepernick (born 1987), football player (Milwaukee)
 * John Kaiser (born 1962), NFL player (North Lake)
 * Coby Karl (born 1983), basketball player (Mequon)
 * Karl Kassulke (1941–2008), football player (Milwaukee)
 * Bill Kazmaier (born 1953), powerlifter (Burlington)
 * Ken Keltner (1916–1991), baseball player (Milwaukee)
 * Lance Kendricks (born 1988), football player (Milwaukee)
 * Ken Kennedy (born 1976), professional wrestler (Wisconsin Rapids, Two Rivers, Green Bay)
 * Matt Kenseth (born 1972), NASCAR driver (Cambridge)
 * Amanda Kessel (born 1991), ice hockey player (Madison)
 * Phil Kessel (born 1987), ice hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins (Madison)
 * Walt Kichefski (1916–1992), NFL player and head coach of the Miami Hurricanes football team (Rhinelander)
 * Carl Kiekhaefer (1906–1983), NASCAR owner, Motorsports Hall of Fame (Mequon)
 * Ed Killian (1876–1928), baseball player (Racine)
 * Gordon King (born 1956), football player (Madison)
 * A. J. Klein (born 1991), football player (Appleton)
 * Nap Kloza (1903–1962), baseball player and manager (Milwaukee)
 * Todd Kluever (born 1978), NASCAR driver (Sun Prairie)
 * Gene Knutson (1932–2008), football player (Beloit)
 * Herman Koehler, football coach, Army Black Knights
 * Phyllis Koehn (1922–2007), baseball player (Madison)
 * Ed Konetchy (1885–1947), baseball player (La Crosse)
 * Peter Konz (born 1989), football player (Oshkosh)
 * Dave Koslo (1920–1975), baseball player (Menasha)
 * Alvin Kraenzlein (1876–1928), Olympic champion (Milwaukee)
 * Dave Krieg (born 1958), football player (Iola)
 * Clint Kriewaldt (born 1976), football player (Shiocton)
 * Wayne Kreklow (born 1957), basketball player (Neenah)
 * Rocky Krsnich (born 1927), baseball player (West Allis)
 * Tony Kubek (born 1935), baseball player (Milwaukee)
 * Harvey Kuenn (1930–1988), baseball player and manager (West Allis)
 * Duane Kuiper (born 1950), baseball player and sportscaster (Racine)
 * Alan Kulwicki (1954–1993), NASCAR driver (Greenfield)
 * Garrott Kuzzy (born 1982), Olympic athlete
 * Travis Kvapil (born 1976), NASCAR driver (Janesville)
 * Steve Lacy (born 1957), Olympic athlete-runner (McFarland)
 * Maria Lamb (born 1986), Olympic athlete, national champion speedskater (River Falls)
 * Curly Lambeau (1898–1965), football player and coach (Green Bay)
 * Carl Landry (born 1983), NBA basketball player (Milwaukee)
 * Marcus Landry (born 1985), basketball player (Milwaukee)
 * Austen Lane (born 1987), football player (Iola)
 * Dan Lanphear (born 1938), football player (Madison)
 * Debi Laszewski (born 1969), IFBB professional bodybuilder (Madison)
 * Alphonse Leemans (1912–1979), football player, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Superior)
 * Jim Leonhard (born 1982), football player (Ladysmith)
 * DeAndre Levy (born 1987), football player (Milwaukee)
 * Reggie "The Crusher" Lisowski (1926–2005), world champion professional wrestler (South Milwaukee, Milwaukee)
 * Fred Luderus (1885–1961), baseball player (Milwaukee)
 * Craig Ludwig (born 1961), NHL player and assistant coach (Rhinelander)
 * D. Wayne Lukas (born 1935), horse trainer (Antigo)


 * M–O


 * Rick Majerus (1948–2012), basketball coach, head coach of Marquette, Utah, Ball State and Saint Louis men's basketball teams (Sheboygan)
 * Edgar Manske (1913–2002), football player, member of the College Football Hall of Fame (Nekoosa)
 * Chris Maragos (born 1987), football player (Racine)
 * Kevin Mather, baseball executive (Madison)
 * Wesley Matthews (born 1986), basketball player (Madison)
 * Greg Mattison (born 1949), NFL assistant coach (Madison)
 * John Matuszak (1950–1989), football player (Milwaukee, Oak Creek)
 * Debbie McCormick (born 1974), Olympic athlete, world champion curler (Rio, Madison)
 * Francis J. McCormick, football player (Antigo)
 * Chris McIntosh (born 1977), football player (Pewaukee)
 * John McNally (1903–1985), NFL player and head coach, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (New Richmond)
 * Jack Mead (born 1921), football player (Appleton)
 * John Menard, Jr. (born 1940), owner of Team Menard (Eau Claire)
 * Paul Menard (born 1980), NASCAR driver (Eau Claire)
 * David Merkow (born 1985), golfer (Hartland)
 * Chris Mihm (born 1979), basketball player (Milwaukee)
 * Candice Michelle (born 1978), professional wrestler (Milwaukee)
 * Damian Miller (born 1969), baseball player (La Crosse)
 * Bob Mionske (born 1962), former Olympic and professional bicycle racer (Madison)
 * John Morrissey (1856–1884), baseball player (Janesville)
 * Tom Morrissey (1860–1941), baseball player (Janesville)
 * Bob Morrow (born 1918), football player (Madison)
 * Dom Moselle (1926–2010), football player (Gile)
 * Pat Neshek (born 1980), baseball player (Madison)
 * Rick Neuheisel (born 1961), NFL player and assistant coach, head coach of the UCLA Bruins (Madison)
 * Kid Nichols (1869–1953), MLB player and manager, member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame (Madison)
 * Andy North (born 1950), professional golfer (Thorp, Monona)
 * Brad Nortman (born 1989), NFL player (Brookfield)
 * Steve Novak (born 1983), basketball player (Brown Deer)
 * Scott O'Brien (born 1957), NFL player and assistant coach (Superior)
 * John Offerdahl (born 1964), football player (Wisconsin Rapids)
 * Leslie Osborne (born 1983), soccer player (Milwaukee, Brookfield)
 * Jim Otto (born 1938), football player (Wausau)


 * P–R


 * Andy Pafko (born 1921), baseball player (Boyceville)
 * Karl Pagel (born 1955), baseball player (Madison)
 * Marvin Panch (born 1926), NASCAR driver (Menomonie)
 * Danica Patrick (born 1982), Indycar and NASCAR driver (Beloit)
 * Joe Pavelski (born 1984), ice hockey player for the San Jose Sharks (Stevens Point)
 * Nick Pearson (born 1979), Olympic athlete, national champion speedskater (Vernon)
 * Hal Peck (1917–1995), baseball player (Big Bend)
 * Joe Perrault (born 1924), Olympic athlete (Green Bay)
 * Ben Peterson, Olympic gold medalist (Cumberland)
 * John Peterson (born 1948), Olympic gold medalist (Cumberland)
 * Phil Pettey (born 1961), NFL player and assistant coach (Kenosha)
 * Anthony Pettis (born 1987), former UFC and WEC lightweight champion (Milwaukee)
 * Sergio Pettis (born 1993), MMA/UFC-fighter and brother of Anthony Pettis (Milwaukee)
 * Dick Phillips (1931–1998), MLB player and coach (Racine)
 * Dan Plante, professional ice hockey player (Hayward)
 * George Poage (1880–1962), athlete (La Crosse)
 * Terry Porter (born 1963), NBA player and head coach (Milwaukee)
 * Dylan Postl (born 1986), professional wrestler (Oshkosh)
 * Armintie Price (born 1985), basketball player (Milwaukee)
 * Casey Rabach (born 1977), football player (Sturgeon Bay)
 * Brad Radke (born 1972), baseball player (Eau Claire)
 * Catherine Raney-Norman (born 1980), Olympic athlete, national champion speedskater (Elm Grove)
 * Shane Rawley (born 1955), baseball player (Racine)
 * Russ Rebholz (1909–2002), football player (Portage)
 * Joel Rechlicz (born 1987), hockey player (Milwaukee, Brookfield)
 * Hans Reese (1891–1973), Olympic athlete (Madison)
 * Tom Regner (born 1944), football player (Kenosha)
 * Mike Reinfeldt (born 1953), NFL player and general manager (Baraboo)
 * Lee Remmel (born 1924), NFL historian (Shawano)
 * Pat Richter (born 1941), football player, member of the College Football Hall of Fame (Madison)
 * Joe Riggert (1886–1973), baseball player (Janesville)
 * Nick Roach (born 1985), football player (Milwaukee)
 * Chester J. Roberts, head coach of the Miami Redskins football and men's basketball teams (Birnamwood)
 * Andrew Rock (born 1982), track (Marshfield, Stratford)
 * Ryan Rohlinger (born 1983), third baseman for San Francisco Giants (West Bend)
 * Tony Romo (born 1980), football player (Burlington)
 * Aaron Ross (born 1982), football player (Hartford)
 * Braggo Roth (1892–1936), baseball player (Burlington)
 * Frank Roth (1878–1955), baseball player (Burlington)
 * Nina Roth (1988), Olympic Curler (McFarland)
 * Pants Rowland (1879–1969), baseball manager (Platteville)
 * Steve Russ (born 1972), football player and assistant coach (Stetsonville)
 * Terry Ryan (born 1953), baseball general manager (Janesville)


 * S–T


 * Tracy Sachtjen (born 1969), Olympic athlete, world champion curler (Lodi)
 * Zeke Sanborn (1899–1991), Olympic gold medalist (Jefferson)
 * Jay Sauter (born 1964), NASCAR driver (Necedah)
 * Jim Sauter (born 1943), former NASCAR driver (Necedah)
 * Johnny Sauter (born 1978), NASCAR driver (Necedah)
 * Tim Sauter (born 1964), NASCAR driver (Necedah)
 * Owen Schmitt (born 1985), football player (Gilman)
 * Mike Schneck (born 1977), football player (Whitefish Bay)
 * Dave Schreiner (1921–1945), football player, Hall of Fame (Lancaster)
 * Bill Schroeder (born 1923), football player (Sheboygan)
 * Bill Schroeder (born 1971), football player (Eau Claire, Sheboygan)
 * Jay Schroeder (born 1961), football player (Milwaukee)
 * Champ Seibold (1911–1971), football player (Oshkosh)
 * Bud Selig (born 1934), baseball commissioner (Milwaukee)
 * Rich Seubert (born 1979), football player (Stratford)
 * John Shinners (born 1947), football player (Hartford)
 * Al Simmons (1902–1956), baseball player, member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame (Milwaukee)
 * Jack Skille (born 1987), hockey player (Madison)
 * Shaka Smart (born 1977), basketball head coach, VCU (Madison)
 * Bill Southworth (born 1945), baseball player (Madison)
 * Latrell Sprewell (born 1970), basketball player (Milwaukee)
 * David Steckel (born 1982), ihockey player for Nürnberg Ice Tigers (West Bend)
 * Aaron Stecker (born 1975), football player (Green Bay, Ashwaubenon)
 * Kevin Stemke (born 1978), football player (Green Bay)
 * Greg Stiemsma (born 1985), basketball player (Randolph)
 * Terry Stieve (born 1954), football player (Baraboo)
 * Bob Strampe (born 1950), baseball player (Janesville)
 * Steve Stricker (born 1967), golfer (Edgerton, Madison)
 * Eric Studesville (born 1967), NFL head coach (Madison)
 * Billy Sullivan (1875–1965), baseball player (Oakland)
 * Bob Suter (born 1957), hockey player, 1980 Winter Olympics Miracle on Ice team (Madison)
 * Gary Suter (born 1964), NHL player, Olympic medalist (Madison)
 * Ryan Suter (born 1985), NHL player, Olympic athlete (Madison)
 * Jerry Tagge (born 1950), football player (Green Bay)
 * Tyree Talton (born 1976), football player (Beloit)
 * Lindsay Tarpley (born 1983), soccer player, Olympic gold medalist (Madison)
 * Claude Taugher (1895–1963), football player (Marathon City)
 * Mark Tauscher (born 1977), football player (Marshfield)
 * Matt Tegenkamp (born 1982), professional distance runner (Madison)
 * Doris Tetzlaff (1921–1998), baseball player (Watertown)
 * Joe Thomas (born 1984), football player (Brookfield)
 * Mike Thompson (born 1971), football player (Portage)
 * Fuzzy Thurston (born 1933), football player (Altoona)
 * Dick Trickle (born 1941), racecar driver (Wisconsin Rapids)
 * Matt Turk (born 1968), punter for Houston Texans (Greenfield)


 * U–Z


 * Bob Uecker (born 1935), baseball player, sportscaster and actor (Milwaukee)
 * Nick Van Exel (born 1971), basketball player (Kenosha)
 * Ron Vander Kelen (born 1939), football player (Green Bay)
 * Gary Varsho (born 1961), MLB player and manager (Marshfield)
 * Joe Vavra (born 1959), MLB hitting coach (Chippewa Falls)
 * Jessie Vetter (born 1985), Olympic athlete, world champion hockey player (Cottage Grove)
 * John Wallace (1903–1990), Olympic athlete (Prescott)
 * Jimmie Ward (born 1991), football player (Racine)
 * Jarrod Washburn (born 1974), baseball player (La Crosse)
 * J. J. Watt (born 1989), football player (Waukesha)
 * Kyle Weaver (born 1986), basketball player (Beloit)
 * Bruce Weber (born 1956), college basketball coach (Milwaukee)
 * Garrett Weber-Gale (born 1985), US Olympic swimmer (Stevens Point)
 * Mike Webster (1952–2002), football player (Rhinelander)
 * Lee Weigel (born 1963), football player (Marshfield)
 * Gus Welch (1892–1970), Olympic athlete, NFL player, coach at Washington State and Virginia, College Football Hall of Fame (Spooner)
 * Don Werner (born 1953), baseball player (Appleton)
 * Charlie Whitehurst (born 1982), football player (Green Bay)
 * Mitchell Whitmore (born 1989), Olympic athlete, national champion speedskater (Waukesha)
 * Bob Wickman (born 1969), baseball player (Abrams)
 * Mark Wilson (born 1974), golfer (Menomonee Falls)
 * Chris Wimmer (born 1979), NASCAR driver (Wausau)
 * Scott Wimmer (born 1976), NASCAR driver (Wausau)
 * Joe Wolf (born 1964), NBA player and assistant coach (Kohler)
 * Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej (born 1986), Olympic athlete (Eagle River)
 * Jordan Zimmermann (born 1986), pitcher for Washington Nationals (Auburndale)
 * Reed Zuehlke (born 1960), Olympic athlete (Eau Claire)

Notorious and infamous Wisconsinites



 * Aldrich Ames (born 1941), convicted spy (River Falls)
 * Dwight Armstrong (1951–2010), accomplice in the Sterling Hall bombing
 * Steven Avery (born 1962), convicted of murder after DNA exoneration from rape conviction
 * Lawrencia Bembenek (1958–2010), convicted murderer (Milwaukee)
 * Arthur Bremer (born 1950), would-be assassin of George Wallace (Milwaukee)
 * Mary Brunner (born 1943), member of the Manson Family
 * Jeffrey Dahmer (1960–1994), serial killer (West Allis)
 * Jeane Dixon (1904–1997), psychic
 * Bernardine Dohrn (born 1942), co-founder and former leader of the Weather Underground (Whitefish Bay)
 * Evelyn Frechette (1907–1969), lover and accomplice of John Dillinger (Neopit, Shawano)
 * Ed Gein (1906–1984), murderer (La Crosse County)
 * Charles J. Guiteau (1841–1882), assassin of 20th President James A. Garfield, lived in Ulao, 1850–1855
 * Eugene Hasenfus (born 1941), CIA cargo handler (Marinette)
 * Kato Kaelin (born 1959), person of interest, O. J. Simpson criminal trial (Glendale)
 * Bridey Murphy, alleged previous life
 * Oleg Nikolaenko (born 1987), fugitive (Milwaukee)

Fictional characters



 * Characters from the television series The Bold and the Beautiful
 * Characters from the television series Happy Days
 * Characters from the television series Laverne and Shirley
 * Characters from the television series Liv and Maddie
 * Characters from the television series Picket Fences
 * Characters from the television series That '70s Show
 * Characters from the television series The Young and the Restless
 * Larry Appleton (portrayed by Mark Linn-Baker), from the television series Perfect Strangers
 * Barbie, a doll manufactured by Mattel, Inc. and a character from a series of novels published by Random House
 * Ryan Bingham (portrayed by George Clooney), from the film Up in the Air (2009)
 * Robert Harrison Blake, from the short story "The Haunter of the Dark" by H.P. Lovecraft
 * Paul Bunyan, mythological lumberjack (various origins cited)
 * William Cross, the alter ego of the comic book supervillain Crossfire
 * Ashley Crawford, the alter ego of the comic book superhero Big Bertha
 * Jack Dawson (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio), from the film Titanic (1997)
 * Roz Doyle (portrayed by Peri Gilpin), from the television series Frasier; from Bloomer
 * Alan Fagan, the fourth alter ego of the comic book supervillain Mister Fear
 * Grand Slam, a character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic book series, and cartoon series
 * Richard Harrow (portrayed by Jack Huston), from the television series Boardwalk Empire
 * Jennifer-Lynn Hayden, the alter ego of the comic book superhero Jade
 * Craig Hollis, the alter ego of the comic book superhero Mister Immortal
 * Conrad Josten, the alter ego of the comic book superhero Smuggler
 * Erik Josten, a comic book superhero from Marvel Comics
 * Karl Kaufman, the second alter ego of the comic book superhero Phantom Eagle
 * Jennifer Keller (portrayed by Jewel Staite), from the television series Stargate Atlantis
 * Hannibal King (portrayed by Ryan Reynolds), from Marvel Comics and the film Blade: Trinity (2004)
 * Vlad Masters (portrayed by Martin Mull), the alter ego of the supervillain Vlad Plasmius from the television series Danny Phantom
 * Donna Moss (portrayed by Janel Moloney), from the television series The West Wing
 * Sonny Munroe (portrayed by Demi Lovato), from the television series Sonny with a Chance
 * Mike Nelson (portrayed by Michael J. Nelson), from the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000
 * Pickles the Drummer (portrayed by Brendon Small), from the television series Metalocalypse
 * Daniel Plainview (portrayed by Daniel Day Lewis), from the film There Will Be Blood (from Fond du Lac)
 * Gwen Raiden (portrayed by Alexa Davalos), from the television series Angel and the comic book series Angel: After the Fall
 * Recondo, a character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic book series, and cartoon series
 * Todd Rice, the alter ego of the comic book superhero Obsidian
 * Stan Ross (portrayed by Bernie Mac), a Milwaukee baseball star from the film Mr. 3000
 * President Andrew Shepherd (portrayed by Michael Douglas), a character from the film The American President
 * Samantha Spade (portrayed by Poppy Montgomery), from the television series Without a Trace
 * Norbert Sykes, the alter ego of the comic book superhero The Badger
 * Albert Tappman from the novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
 * Martha and Steven Thompson, from the South Park episode "How to Eat with Your Butt" when a practical joke leads them to mistake Kenny for their missing son, Tommy Thompson, who has a butt on his face
 * Wendell Vaughn, the alter ego of the comic book superhero Quasar
 * Seth Voelker, the alter ego of the comic book supervillain Sidewinder
 * Greg Willis, the alter ego of the comic book superhero Gravity