List of people from Burlington, Vermont

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Burlington, Vermont.



Academics and educators

 * Ralph Abraham, mathematician
 * Murray Bookchin, ecologist and anarchist/Communalist philosopher
 * Davis Rich Dewey, economist and statistician
 * John Dewey, philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer
 * Fred Householder, linguist
 * Jacqueline Noonan, cardiologist and professor
 * Henry Farnham Perkins, zoologist, professor and eugenicist
 * Timothy Steele, poet and academic

Actors and theater figures

 * Alessandro Nivola, actor & producer
 * Ben Bagley, musical theater producer and innovator
 * Field Cate, actor, musician
 * Kevin McKenzie, artistic director, American Ballet Theatre
 * Luis Guzmán, actor
 * Orson Bean, film, television and stage actor
 * Will Lyman, actor

Artists and illustrators

 * Alison Bechdel, cartoonist known for comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For
 * James Kochalka, cartoonist, singer/songwriter
 * Joseph Mozier, sculptor
 * Marc Awodey, artist and writer
 * Shane Lavalette, photographer, publisher and editor of Lavalette, director of Light Work
 * Truman Seymour, watercolorist, military figure

Athletes and athletics personnel

 * Billy Kidd, world champion and Olympic skier
 * Birdie Tebbetts, Major League Baseball player and manager
 * Doc Hazelton, professional baseball player and college coach
 * Harry Blanchard, Formula One driver, raced for Porsche team
 * Jeanne Ashworth, skater
 * Jeremy Kimball, Mixed Martial Artist
 * Jimmy Cochran, former Olympic and World Cup alpine ski racer and member of the Skiing Cochrans
 * Joe Kirkwood Sr., golfer
 * Kelly Clark, snowboarder
 * Len Whitehouse, baseball player and assistant coach of Burlington High School's varsity baseball team
 * LJ Strenio, Professional freestyle skier
 * Patrick Sharp, National Hockey League player, attended University of Vermont
 * Paul Hackett, football coach
 * Robby Kelley, World Cup alpine ski racer and member of the Skiing Cochrans
 * Ross Miner (born 1991), skating coach and retired competitive figure skater
 * Ross Powers, snowboarder, Olympic gold medalist
 * Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Olympic and World Cup Alpine ski racer and member of the Skiing Cochrans
 * Tim Kelley, former World Cup alpine ski racer and member of the Skiing Cochrans

Business figures

 * Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's
 * Greg Noonan, early American brew master
 * Gustavus Blin Wright, roadbuilder and entrepreneur
 * Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's
 * William Hepburn Russell, founder of Pony Express

Lawyers and jurists

 * Albert Wheeler Coffrin, judge
 * George Gale, judge
 * Seneca Haselton, Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, mayor of Burlington, U.S. Minister to Venezuela
 * John A. Lovely, Minnesota Supreme Court justice
 * Joseph A. McNamara, U.S. Attorney for Vermont
 * Sherman R. Moulton, Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
 * Jerome O'Neill, U.S. Attorney for Vermont
 * Daniel Roberts, attorney
 * John C. Thompson, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court

Military figures

 * George Grenville Benedict, Civil War recipient of the Medal of Honor and delegate to the Republican National Convention
 * Francis William Billado, United States Army Major General and Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard
 * Reginald M. Cram, United States Air Force Major General and Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard
 * George Dewey, Admiral; hero of the Manilla Bay Campaign of the Spanish American War
 * Charles Doolittle, brevet major general and regimental commander in the Union Army during the American Civil War
 * Oliver O. Howard, major general, Civil War veteran, United States Military Academy commandant, Medal of Honor recipient
 * Henry T. Mayo, United States Navy admiral, Atlantic Fleet commander in World War I
 * Theodore S. Peck, Civil War recipient of the Medal of Honor and Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard
 * Truman Seymour, Mexican–American War and Civil War veteran who attained the rank of major general
 * William Wells, Civil War recipient of the Medal of Honor and adjutant general of the Vermont National Guard

Musicians

 * Morton Estrin, pianist
 * Tristan Honsinger, musician
 * Eugene Hütz, actor and lead singer of Gogol Bordello
 * Peter McPoland, singer-songwriter
 * Nothing, Nowhere, musician
 * Morgan Page, electronic dance music artist
 * Members of the rock band Phish:
 * Trey Anastasio, guitarist
 * Jon Fishman, drummer
 * Mike Gordon, bassist
 * Page McConnell, keyboardist
 * Peter Pisarczyk, musician

Politicians

 * Ebenezer Allen, soldier, pioneer, and member of the Vermont General Assembly
 * Harold J. Arthur, 68th governor of Vermont
 * Warren Austin, senator from Vermont and ambassador to the United Nations
 * Walter J. Bigelow, mayor of Burlington
 * Calvin H. Blodgett, mayor of Burlington
 * Rufus E. Brown, Vermont Attorney General, member of Vermont State Senate
 * Vernon A. Bullard, United States Attorney for the District of Vermont
 * John J. Burns, mayor of Burlington
 * Peter Clavelle, mayor of Burlington
 * Grace Coolidge, first lady, wife of Calvin Coolidge
 * William A. Crombie, mayor of Burlington, Vermont
 * Frank H. Davis, Vermont State Treasurer
 * Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic Party, former presidential candidate in 2004, and 79th governor of Vermont
 * Judith Steinberg Dean, physician and First Lady of Vermont
 * Luther C. Dodge, mayor of Burlington
 * Johannah Leddy Donovan, Vermont state representative
 * Louis F. Dow, mayor of Burlington from 1935 to 1939
 * Albert S. Drew, mayor of Burlington
 * David J. Foster, congressman
 * Aaron H. Grout, son of Governor Josiah Grout and Vermont Secretary of State
 * Isaac R. Harrington, mayor of Buffalo, New York
 * Joseph D. Hatch, Vermont state legislator and mayor of Burlington, Vermont
 * Donly C. Hawley, mayor of Burlington, Vermont
 * Henry Hitchcock, first attorney general of Alabama
 * Philip H. Hoff, 73rd governor of Vermont
 * Bob Kiss, mayor
 * Madeleine M. Kunin, diplomat and 77th governor of Vermont
 * Patrick Leahy, Vermont’s senior US Senator
 * James P. Leddy, politician
 * Jason Lorber, politician
 * Heman Lowry, U.S. Marshal for Vermont
 * Earle B. McLaughlin, U.S. Marshal for Vermont
 * George H. Morse, mayor of Burlington
 * Jason Niles, congressman
 * Hamilton S. Peck, mayor of Burlington, state legislator, city court judge
 * Doug Racine, member of the Vermont Senate and lieutenant governor
 * Robert Roberts, mayor of Burlington
 * Bernie Sanders, former Mayor of Burlington (1981–1989), U.S. Senator from Vermont since 2007, and 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate
 * Charles Plympton Smith, banker and politician
 * Thomas W. Sorrell, U.S. Marshal for Vermont
 * William Sorrell, attorney general of Vermont
 * Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor
 * Elliot M. Sutton, mayor of Burlington
 * Cornelius P. Van Ness, 10th governor of Vermont
 * Martin Joseph Wade, congressman and judge
 * Urban A. Woodbury, businessman and 45th governor of Vermont

Writers

 * Dan Chiasson, poet
 * Jack Du Brul, author
 * John C. Farrar, editor, writer and publisher
 * Theodora Agnes Peck, novelist and poet
 * Suzi Wizowaty, author and politician

Others

 * Ted Bundy, serial killer, born at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers
 * Truman C. Everts, Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition
 * Mary Fletcher, philanthropist and founder of the future University of Vermont Medical Center
 * Horatio Nelson Jackson, first person to drive an automobile across the U.S.
 * Brianna Maitland, missing girl