List of people from Chester, Pennsylvania

The following is a list of notable residents, natives, and persons generally associated with the city of Chester, Pennsylvania, the first city in Pennsylvania.

A

 * Al Alberts, lead singer of The Four Aces
 * Samuel Anderson, U.S. Congressman for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district
 * William Anderson, major in the Continental Army and U.S. Congressman
 * Henry Graham Ashmead, journalist and historian of Delaware County, Pennsylvania

B

 * J. Pius Barbour, executive director of the National Baptist Association, mentor to then-college student Martin Luther King Jr.
 * Thomas N. Barnes, first African-American Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
 * Joseph F. Battle Jr., 25th Mayor of Chester and judge on Delaware County Court of Common Pleas
 * Ruth L. Bennett, social worker, first president of the Chester branch of the NAACP
 * William H. Berry, 10th Mayor of Chester and Treasurer of Pennsylvania
 * Jahlil Beats, music producer
 * Marcus Belgrave, jazz trumpeter
 * Ron Bennington, host of XM Satellite Radio program The Ron and Fez Show
 * Crosby M. Black, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County and 7th Mayor of Chester
 * Ed Blizzard, prominent pharmaceutical injury attorney
 * Louis A. Bloom, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1947-1952), Judge on Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for Delaware County
 * Barbara Bohannan-Sheppard, 27th Mayor of Chester
 * Stanley Branche, civil rights leader, founder of the Committee for Freedom Now
 * Ethel Hampson Brewster, Swarthmore College professor and philologist
 * Fran Brill, voice actress and Muppeteer
 * Anna Broomall, obstetrician, surgeon and educator
 * Wendell Butler Jr., mayor of Chester

C

 * George Campbell, soccer player for Atlanta United
 * Lamar Campbell, former NFL defensive back
 * Ted Cather, professional baseball player
 * Dorothy Chacko, social worker, medical doctor, Padma Shri award recipient
 * E. Wallace Chadwick, U.S. Congressman
 * Robert Chadwick, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County
 * Joe Chambers, jazz drummer
 * Tom Chism, Major League Baseball player
 * Thomas Clyde, founder of the Clyde Line of steamers
 * George Clymer, Founding Father of the United States, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, lived in Chester with his family during the British Army assault on Philadelphia
 * Joseph R. T. Coates, 5th mayor of Chester and officer in the Union Army during the US Civil War
 * Audrey B. Collins, United States District Judge
 * Lawrence A. Conner, Sr., Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1953-1954)
 * Ted Cottrell, NFL player and coach
 * Walter H. Craig, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1923-1925), Chester City Council member (1925-1937)
 * John Price Crozer, textile manufacturer and philanthropist
 * Helen Curry (1896-1931), stage actress

D

 * Clamma Dale, opera singer
 * Edward Darlington, U.S. Congressman
 * Ben Davis, Major League Baseball player, Philadelphia Phillies sports announcer
 * Dux and Julie DeJohn, professional singers
 * Alfred O. Deshong, industrialist, philanthropist and art collector
 * John O. Deshong, businessman and banker
 * Peter Deshong, businessman and banker
 * Elaine Diacumakos, cell biologist and head of the cytobiology laboratory at Rockefeller University
 * Franklin Archibald Dick, Missouri provost marshal general
 * Fred Diodati, lead singer of The Four Aces
 * Fred Draper, film and television actor
 * Kathrynann Durham, Pennsylvania State Representative for 160th district (1979-1996) and Judge on Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for Delaware County
 * Jill Duson, lawyer, lobbyist and politician in Maine

E

 * Samuel Edwards, U.S. Congressman
 * Carolyn J. Elmore, Maryland State Representative
 * Frederick K. Engle, rear admiral of the United States Navy
 * Theodore Enslin, poet
 * David Reese Esrey, businessman and banker
 * Tyreke Evans, professional basketball player

F

 * Bill Fleischman (1939–2019), sports journalist and professor
 * Lenora Fulani, psychologist, psychotherapist and political activist

G

 * J. R. Gach, talk radio host
 * Margaret H. George, Pennsylvania State representative
 * Fredia Gibbs, martial artist, kickboxer, boxer
 * James Henry Gorbey, United States federal judge and 25th mayor of Chester
 * Steve Gordon, screenwriter and film director
 * Darrin Govens, professional basketball player
 * Bud Grace, cartoonist
 * Ralph Greenberg, mathematician
 * John E. Gremminger, Pennsylvania State Representative
 * Frank Hastings Griffin, invented rayon manufacturing process

H

 * John K. Hagerty, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1921-1922), Chester City Council member (1907-1918)
 * Bill Haley, rock-and-roll musician
 * Robert Harland, actor
 * Hubert R. Harmon, first superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy
 * Herman Harris, professional basketball player
 * Evalena Fryer Hedley, journalist, editor, and author
 * Ron Henry, professional baseball player
 * John B. Hinkson, lawyer, businessman, 6th mayor of Chester
 * Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, professional basketball player
 * Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Toronto Raptors forward
 * John Martin Howard, U.S. Navy officer, mine disposal unit, USS John M. Howard (IX-75) named in his honor
 * Will Hunter, Minnesota Vikings safety and Syracuse University standout

J

 * E. W. Jackson, Virginia politician and Christian minister
 * Derrick Jones Jr., Dallas Mavericks forward
 * Edmund Jones, Pennsylvania State Representative
 * Kevin Jones, Detroit Lions Chicago Bears running back and former Virginia Tech football standout

K

 * Carol Kazeem, Pennsylvania State Representative
 * John Ernst Worrell Keely, con man, inventor of the Keely Motor
 * Muhammad Kenyatta, civil rights leader
 * Lisa Kereszi, photographer
 * Brian Joseph Kirkland, Pennsylvania state representative
 * Thaddeus Kirkland, Pennsylvania State Representative, 32nd Mayor of Chester
 * Joe Klecko, lineman with New York Jets and Temple University; father of Dan Klecko of New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles
 * Mignonette Kokin, vaudeville dancer, comedian
 * Lew Krausse Jr., professional baseball player
 * Bob Kuberski, football player for Green Bay Packers

L

 * Bob Lamey, radio announcer, play-by-play announcer for the Indianapolis Colts
 * John Larkin, Jr., businessman, banker and first mayor of Chester
 * Willie Mae James Leake, first African-American and female Mayor of Chester
 * John Linder, 31st Mayor of Chester
 * John Linehan, assistant basketball coach for the Saint Joseph's Hawks
 * David Lloyd, Attorney General of Pennsylvania, six-term Speaker of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court

M

 * John J. McClure, Pennsylvania State Senator and leader of Delaware County Republican political machine
 * Lee McLaughlin, film and television actor
 * Kevin Michael, soul singer
 * Nicholas K. Miller, middle guard, and defensive MVP for Ohio State Buckeyes
 * John Mobley, Denver Broncos linebacker and former Kutztown University football standout
 * Sylvanus Morley, archaeologist and Mayanist scholar
 * Charles Morris, journalist and author
 * John Morton, Founding Father of the United States, cast a key vote on the Declaration of Independence. Buried in Chester.
 * Danny Murtaugh, manager of Pittsburgh Pirates who guided team to World Series titles in 1960 and 1971

N

 * John H. Nacrelli, 24th Mayor of Chester, convicted of racketeering and bribery
 * Jameer Nelson, professional basketball player
 * Alex North, composer, 15-time Academy Award nominee
 * Edward Nothnagle, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1926-1936), Chester City Council member

O

 * Curly Ogden, professional baseball player
 * Jack Ogden, professional baseball player
 * Donnie Owens, singer, guitarist, producer and composer

P

 * John M. Paxton, Jr., United States Marine Corps general officer
 * Dominic Pileggi, Pennsylvania State Senator
 * Johnny Podgajny, professional baseball player
 * Rudy Pompilli, saxophonist with Bill Haley and the Comets
 * David Dixon Porter, leading officer and reformer in the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War
 * William D. Porter, flag officer in the U.S. Navy
 * William G. Price Jr., commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard's 28th Infantry Division
 * Joe Pyne, radio and TV talk show host
 * Caleb Pusey, early settler of Chester, friend and business partner of William Penn

R

 * William T. Ramsey, Pennsylvania State Representative and 16th mayor of Chester
 * George Raymond, president of NAACP Chester branch from 1942 to 1977
 * Ronald C. Raymond, Pennsylvania state representative
 * Bertice Reading, actress, singer, revue artiste
 * James W. Reese, U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient in World War II
 * John Roach, industrialist and shipbuilder
 * V. Gilpin Robinson, Pennsylvania State Representative
 * Stefan Roots, Mayor of Chester
 * Bo Ryan, former head coach of Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team, coached UW-Platteville to four NCAA Division III national championships
 * Matthew Ryan, singer-songwriter

S

 * William I. Schaffer, Pennsylvania Attorney General
 * Josiah Sleeper, founder of Sleeper's College
 * Jerome Smith, professional football player
 * James Ross Snowden (1809-1878), 67th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Director of the U.S. Mint
 * Dawn Sowell, professional Track and Field athlete
 * William Cameron Sproul, 27th Governor of Pennsylvania
 * Brent Staples, editorial writer for the New York Times
 * Joey Stefano, pornographic actor
 * AverySunshine, soul singer

T

 * Robin Toner, national political correspondent for the New York Times
 * David Trainer, textile manufacturer and banker
 * Anthony Tucker, also known as The Beat Bully, record producer and songwriter
 * Ellwood J. Turner, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1925-1948), 119th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1939-1941)

W

 * Horace Walker, professional basketball player
 * Young Singleton Walter, Pennsylvania State Representative and owner of the Delaware County Republican newspaper
 * William Ward, U.S. Congressman
 * William Ward Jr., Pennsylvania State Representative and two term mayor of Chester
 * Ethel Waters, Grammy-winning blues recording artist, Broadway performer, Academy Award nominee for Pinky (1949)
 * George Watkins, U.S. Congressman
 * Brandi Wells, singer-songwriter
 * Eleanor D. Wilson, Tony-nominated actress and artist
 * Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian and Eastern European musician
 * Jonathan Edwards Woodbridge, shipbuilder and naval architect
 * Thomas Worrilow, Pennsylvania State Representative
 * Robert C. Wright, Pennsylvania State Representative