Entertainment •
Karen Black – actress, attended
Lafayette Jefferson High School •
Jeremy Camp – Christian recording artist •
Eric Carlson - lead guitarist, songwriter, founding member of
The Mentors •
Embeth Davidtz – film and television actress •
Louise Fazenda – film actor whose career spanned silent and talking movies •
Circuit Des Yeux - musician •
Charles Foley – co-inventor of the game
Twister •
Mass Giorgini – musician and record producer •
Troy Hickman – writer best known for his comic book work (
Common Grounds,
Twilight Guardian,
City of Heroes,
Witchblade,
Turok) •
Shannon Hoon – former lead vocalist of
rock band
Blind Melon •
John Korty – director, screenwriter, known for
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and documentary
Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids? •
Claudia Lee – television actress,
Hart of Dixie •
Jason Marnocha – voice actor •
Curt McDowell - director, writer, actor, artist •
Larry McNeely – musician, banjo player with Glen Campbell and for film soundtracks •
Tammy Lynn Michaels – television actor •
Ken Navarro – smooth jazz guitarist •
Chubby Parker – country music radio personality and recording artist •
Sydney Pollack – film actor, director, and producer •
Victor Potel – silent film actor •
Axl Rose – co-founder and lead vocalist of rock band
Guns N' Roses •
Julia Scheeres – author, best known for ALA Alex Award-winning memoir
Jesus Land •
Izzy Stradlin – songwriter, co-founder and former
rhythm guitarist of rock band Guns N' Roses •
Henry Stram - actor
Sports •
William Fritz Afflis known professionally as "Dick the Bruiser" – professional football player and wrestler; graduated from Lafayette Jefferson High School •
Eric Bruntlett – professional baseball player •
Clem Crowe – professional football and basketball player •
Todd Dunwoody – professional baseball player •
Ray Ewry – 10-time
Olympic champion in track and field •
Bernard "Bernie" Flowers – college and professional football player; born in Cleveland area, lived in Lafayette •
Bob Friend – professional baseball player •
Dustin Keller – professional football player; graduated from Lafayette Jefferson High School •
Pete Halsmer – professional race car driver •
Charles Kirkpatrick – professional race car driver •
Josh Lindblom – professional baseball player •
Chukie Nwokorie – professional football player; graduated from Lafayette Jefferson High School •
Clayton Richard – professional baseball player; graduated from McCutcheon High School •
Erik Sabel – professional baseball player •
Justin Smith – football player •
George Souders – professional race car driver (1927)
Business, law, politics •
Roger D. Branigin –
Governor of Indiana 1965–1969 •
John Burger – member of the
Minnesota House of Representatives •
Steve Carter –
Indiana Attorney General •
Henry Leavitt Ellsworth – first Commissioner of the
United States Patent and Trademark Office; real estate developer •
Henry W. Ellsworth – son of Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, attorney, poet, author and
Minister to Sweden •
David W. Evans –
US Representative, 6th Congressional District Indiana 1975–1983 •
Dan Flanagan – Justice of the
Indiana Supreme Court •
Lucinda Florio (1947–2022), teacher and advocate for education and literacy, who, as the wife of former New Jersey Governor
James Florio, served as the First Lady of New Jersey •
Clara Shortridge Foltz (1849–1934) – first female lawyer on the West Coast •
Joseph García – Former Lt. Governor of
Colorado •
Herman Joseph Justin – founded Justin Boot Company •
Brian Lamb – founder of C-SPAN •
Bill Long – state representative •
Frank Posegate – journalist, mayor of
St. Joseph, Missouri •
John Purdue – Purdue Block, Tippecanoe County founder, founding benefactor of
Purdue University •
Barbara Ringer – first female register of copyrights •
Alvah Curtis Roebuck – founded
Sears, Roebuck and Company •
Neal Mohan – CEO of
YouTube Academic, science, technology •
Eric J. Barron – 14th President of
Florida State University, 18th President of
Penn State •
Herbert C. Brown –
Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry •
Christopher L. Eisgruber – 20th President of
Princeton University •
Daniel X. Freedman – pioneer in
biological psychiatry, discovered link of hallucinogens to brain transmitters •
Kenneth E. Goodson –
mechanical engineer •
J. Andrew McCammon – physical and theoretical chemist •
Donald E. Williams –
astronaut •
Ian Murdock – software engineer, created
Debian Other •
Emily Thornton Charles, poet, journalist •
Benjaman Kyle, known for identity loss due to dissociative amnesia •
Evaleen Stein (1863–1923), author, limner ==Sister cities==