This is a list of people who either were born in Ithaca, New York or who lived there other than when attending Cornell University or Ithaca College. The county in which Ithaca resides, Tompkins County, New York, is ranked eighth in all 3,144 U.S. counties for the highest density of culturally notable baby boomers.[1][2][3]
David Altshuler, native, endocrinologist, and geneticist
A.R. Ammons, resident, poet, professor at Cornell University, and National Book Award winner[4]
Benedict Anderson, resident, political scientist, historian, and author known for his 1983 book Imagined Communities, which explored the origins of nationalism
Amasa Dana, resident, lawyer, and politician who served two non-consecutive terms as a U.S. congressman from New York from 1839 to 1841 and from 1843 to 1845[19]
Alex Haley, native, author known for his 1965 book The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and his 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, which ABC adapted into a TV miniseries of the same name in 1977[35]
Brian Hall, resident, writer, and author
Casey Harris, native, musician, and founding member of X Ambassadors
Sam Harris, native, musician, and founding member of X Ambassadors
Steven Strogatz, resident, mathematician, and professor at Cornell University[101][102][103]
Steven Stucky, resident, classical composer, professor at Cornell University, and Pulitzer Prize winner[104][105][106]
William H. Thomas, resident, geriatrician, author, and Heinz Award winner for the Human Condition[107][108]
Henry S. Walbridge, resident, lawyer, and politician who was a U.S. Congressman from 1851 to 1853[109]
David Foster Wallace, native, author known for his 1996 novel Infinite Jest, which Time cited as one of the 100 best novels[110][111][112]
Alfred Wells, resident, lawyer, and politician; co-owner of the Ithaca Journal and Advertiser, district attorney of Tompkins County from 1845 to 1847, and U.S. Congressman from 1859 to 1861[113]
^"Stanley Cup comes to Ithaca, home of LA Kings' captain Dustin Brown". Syracuse.com. 2014-07-05. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
^MCGREGOR, Nick (9 Feb 2013). "The Burns Sisters carry on family tradition of political activism and impassioned Americana music". St. Augustine Record. Retrieved 19 July 2018. we all joined forces as The Burns Sisters after moving to Ithaca
^"Congressional Directory, Issue 46". United States. Congress, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1879. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1879. 2015-01-05. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
^"Carter, Stephen L. 1954–". Encyclopedia.com. 2012-09-26. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
^"Why not exempt Alex Compton?". Philstar.com. 2002-11-06. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
^"Timeline: Ezra Cornell: a Nineteenth-Century Life". Cornell.edu. 2000-08-16. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
^Legare, Andrew (2024-08-10). "Kyle Dake storms back in final minute to earn bronze medal at Paris Olympics". The Ithaca Journal. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
^"Alice Fulton". W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.com. 2015. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"ABC's Bachelor, a Roberts grad, apologizes for comments on gays". Democrat And Chronicle.com. 2014-01-19. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"'The Bachelor': Juan Pablo, Ithaca native, makes hearts swoon on season premiere". Syracuse.com. 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"1878-1882, John H. Gear". Iowa Heritage.org (Iowa Heritage Digital Collections). 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"John Henry Gear". NGA.org (National Governors Association). 2015-12-31. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Punk rock paleontologist: Greg Graffin pursues music and science". Ithaca Times Magazine.com. 2011-04-20. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^Birnie, Upton Jr. (October 1956). "Obituary, Walter S. Grant". Assembly. West Point, NY: Association of Graduates, United States Military Academy. p. 63 – via West Point Digital Library.
^'Wisconsin Blue Book 1873,' Biographical Sketch of Richard Walter Hubbell, pg. 499-500
^"Pulitzer-Prize Winning Composer Karel Husa Will Be Honored During Ithaca College Wind Ensemble Concert". Ithaca College.edu. 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"ENCOUNTERS by George Sturm: Karel Husa". Music Associates of America.com. 2005-12-31. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^Singer, Mark. "Secrets of the Magus". New Yorker. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
^Haine, Peggy. "He's musician and builder, but don't call him sculptor". Ithaca Journal. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
^Githler, Charlie. "Sui Generis". Ithaca Times. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
^"Jon Jones house Ithaca, NY pictures and facts". Celebrity Detective.com. 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"A Few Days in Ithaca with Jon Jones". Cage Potato.com. 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^ ab"The Nobel Prize in Physics 1996 David M. Lee, Douglas D. Osheroff, Robert C. Richardson, Press Release". Nobel Prize.org. 1996-10-09. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"David M. Lee American physicist". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.com. 2016-04-29. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"poet: David Lehman". Poets.org. 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^Forrester, George (1892). "Historical and Biographical Album of the Chippewa Valley, Wisconsin: Including Ancestral Records, Biographies, and Portraits. page 438. Author, Editor: George Forrester. Unknown Binding. Publisher: A. Warner (1892). Original from University of Chicago. 950 pages". Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Marjorie Remembers" (PDF). 2016-03-03. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
^"Cornell University Faculty Memorial Statement: Norman Malcolm June 11, 1911 — August 4, 1990" (PDF). Cornell.edu. 1990-09-06. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Mary McDonnell Biography". IMDB.com (The Internet Movie Database). 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Mary McDonnell: Exclusive Interview". Women of Upstate New York Magazine.com. 2014-06-02. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"1970: Ithaca High School Yearbook". Mostly Mary.com (The Complete Mary McDonnell Archive). 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Benzion Netanyahu, historian, Israeli Prime Minister's father, dies at 102". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.org. 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"It's the cat's meow: Not language, strictly speaking, but close enough to skillfully manage humans, communication study shows". Cornell Chronicle.edu. 2002-05-20. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Trapped to Butchery: Former Ithacan Nicholas Nicastro". Ithaca Times Magazine.com. 2016-05-27. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^Whitman, Arthur (21 Jan 2020). "Self-Made: Local shows display Yen Ospina's digital work". Ithaca.com. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
^"For Singer Songwriter Lonnie Park It's Always Showtime". Making Music Magazine.com. 2015-05-14. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"The Five Coolest People Born In Ithaca New York". The Odyssey Online.com. 2015-09-22. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Legacy Lives On: Park, Triad foundations continue the work of Roy Park Sr". Ithaca Times Magazine.com. 2012-08-12. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^Harry Partch: A Biography. page 136. Author: Bob Gilmore. Publisher: Yale University Press, 1998. ISBN 0300065213, 9780300065213. Length 468 pages.
^"Famous Ithacans". Ithaca Times Magazine.com. 2015-08-19. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Bre Pettis". CNBC.com (Consumer News and Business Channel). 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Bre Pettis, innovator, artist and advanced manufacturing pioneer, to receive honorary degree; speak at SUNY New Paltz Undergraduate Commencement". State University of New York at New Paltz.edu. 2015-03-23. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Bre Pettis Steps Down As MakerBot CEO". 3D Printer World.com. 2014-09-05. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Stephen Poleskie: Welcome". Stephen Poleskie.com. 2016-07-23. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Stephen Poleskie: Bio". Stephen Poleskie.com. 2016-07-23. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Search Collections: Steve Poleskie". Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.edu. 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"The Nobel Prize in Physics 1996: David M. Lee, Douglas D. Osheroff, Robert C. Richardson: Robert C. Richardson - Biographical". Nobel Prize.org. 1996-10-09. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
^"Steven Stucky, Composer Who Won a Pulitzer, Dies at 66". The New York Times.com. 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
^"About the Author: William H. Thomas, M.D." VanderWyk and Burnham Publisher.com. 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
^"Dr. Bill Thomas' Transformative 'Green House' Featured on the Newshour". the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.edu. 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
^"Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York". Tompkins County NYGenWeb Site.org. 2002-03-12. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
^"Robert R. Wilson". American Institute of Physics.org. 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
^"Robert R. Wilson: Remembered as "Father of Proton Therapy" and Achievements in Physics and Medicine". The National Association for Proton Therapy.org. 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
^"Wittgenstein's Visit to Ithaca in 1949 - Cornell University" (PDF). Cornell.edu. 2012-12-13. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
^"Ludwig Wittgenstein". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Archive. 2018-05-02. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
^Paul D. Wolfowitz: Visionary Intellectual, Policymaker, and Strategist By Lewis D. Solomon. page 10. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. 209 pages
^"Paul Wolfowitz, Come Home". Ithaca Times Magazine.com. 2005-02-02. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
^"How much? Tompkins County real estate transactions". Ithaca Journal.com. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
^"Alexi Zentner". Alexi Zentner. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
^Corrigan, Maureen (9 July 2019). "Smart And Propulsive 'Copperhead' Asks: Can You Outrun Your Family's Sins?". NPR. Retrieved 21 July 2019. an upstate New York town that sounds a lot like Ithaca