Editing Alton, Illinois (section)

==Notable people==
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* [[Jesse Anderson]], murderer who stabbed his wife to death in 1992; murdered in prison alongside serial killer [[Jeffrey Dahmer]] by [[Christopher Scarver]] in 1994<ref>{{Cite web |date=1994-12-01 |title=Inmate Beaten Alongside Dahmer Dies |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-12-01-9412010082-story.html |website=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref>
* [[David J. Apple]], pioneer in ophthalmological research and ophthalmic pathology; medical historian and biographer; born in Alton
* [[Frank Ballard]], puppeteer, professor at the [[University of Connecticut]], and founder of the first puppetry bachelor of fine arts program in the United States
* [[Amos E. Benbow]], Illinois state legislator
* [[Alexander Botkin]], Wisconsin state senator
* [[George T. Brown]], newspaper editor, mayor of Alton 1846–47, U.S. Senate sergeant-of-arms 1861–69
* [[Joseph Brown (Missouri politician)|Joseph Brown]], miller, steamboat captain, mayor of Alton 1856–57, mayor of St. Louis 1871–75
* [[Samuel A. Buckmaster]], prison warden, and state legislator
* [[Jonathan Russell Bullock]], Rhode Island state legislator and [[United States federal judge|US federal judge]]; served on the Alton city council
* [[Dick Burwell]], pitcher for the [[Chicago Cubs]]
* [[March F. Chase]], head of explosives division, War Industries Board<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-louis-globe-democrat-frederick-m-ch/169106756/ |title=Frederick M. Chase, Engineer, Succumbs |date=1935-05-01 |newspaper=[[St. Louis Globe-Democrat]] |page=28 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2025-03-29}}{{Open access}}</ref>
* [[John W. Coppinger]], lawyer, Illinois state legislator, mayor of Alton
* [[Anthony W. Daly]], Illinois state representative, judge, and lawyer
* [[Levi Davis (politician)|Levi Davis]], Illinois State Auditor and lawyer
* [[Miles Davis]], jazz musician
* [[Steve Davis (Illinois politician)|Steve Davis]], Illinois state legislator
* [[AnnMaria De Mars]], technology executive, author and judoka
* [[Ezekiel Elliott]], NFL running back
* [[Herbert G. Giberson]], Illinois state senator and businessman
* [[David Goins]], first African-American mayor of Alton
* [[Lloyd Nelson Hand]], [[Chief of Protocol of the United States]] (1965–66) and assistant to U.S. Senate Majority Leader [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] (1957–61)
* [[Craig Hentrich]], NFL football player
* [[Charles A. Herb]], merchant, mayor of Alton, Illinois State Senator
* [[Michael Ann Holly]], art historian and mother of actress [[Lauren Holly]]
* [[Mary Beth Hughes]], actress
* [[Donald Juel]], Lutheran educator and scholar
* [[Don Lenhardt]], outfielder, first baseman, third baseman, scout and coach with several [[MLB]] teams
* [[Lawrence Leritz]], Broadway, Film, TV, Dance and Recording 
* [[Stephen Harriman Long]], U.S. army explorer, topographical engineer, and railway engineer, retired and died in Alton
* [[Elijah Lovejoy]], abolitionist
* [[Bill Lyons]], infielder for the [[St. Louis Cardinals]]
* [[Ricochet (wrestler)|Trevor Mann, a.k.a. Ricochet]], professional wrestler in [[All Elite Wrestling|AEW]]
* [[Barrelhouse Buck McFarland]], [[blues]] and [[boogie-woogie]] pianist and singer
* [[Jumbo McGinnis]], pitcher for the [[St. Louis Brown Stockings]]
* [[Salim Nourallah]], musician and producer
* [[Edward O'Hare]], Medal of Honor recipient; O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in his honor; graduate of [[Western Military Academy]] in Alton
* [[John M. Olin]], inventor, industrialist, philanthropist
* [[William S. Paley]], founder and chairman of the board of directors of CBS Corp.; graduate of [[Western Military Academy]] in Alton
* [[James Earl Ray]], convicted for the [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]]
* [[Arch Reilly]], infielder for the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]]
* [[Red Rhodes]], musician and steel guitarist
* [[Christina Romer]], 25th Chair of the [[Council of Economic Advisors]]
* [[Rosey Rowswell]], baseball broadcaster for [[Pittsburgh Pirates]]
* [[Andrew Schlafly]], son of Phyllis Schlafly, attorney, homeschool teacher, Christian conservative activist, and founder of [[Conservapedia]]
* [[Phyllis Schlafly]], conservative author, constitutional lawyer, and activist, known for her role in defeating the [[Equal Rights Amendment]] in the late 1970s and early 1980s
* [[Thomas N. Scortia]], authored novel adapted into film ''[[The Towering Inferno]]''
* [[William Sears (physician)|William Sears]], doctor and author of several popular books on pregnancy and parenting
* [[Dale Swann]], character actor
* [[Richard Thatcher]], Union Civil War soldier and first president of Territorial Normal School, now the [[University of Central Oklahoma]]
* [[Paul Tibbets Jr.]], pilot of the ''Enola Gay''; graduated from [[Western Military Academy]] in Alton
* [[Lyman Trumbull]], United States Senator from Illinois and coauthor of the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]]
* [[Louis Unser]], auto racer; [[Unser family]] patriarch, and nine-time [[Pikes Peak Hill Climb]] winner
* [[Robert Wadlow]], at 8 feet and 11.1 inches, the [[List of tallest people|tallest known person in recorded history]]
* [[Minor Watson]], stage and screen actor
* [[Jesse White (politician)|Jesse White]], 37th [[Secretary of State of Illinois]]
* [[Beals Wright]], [[International Tennis Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] tennis player, died in Alton
* [[Rick Yager]], cartoonist