List of people from Emporia, Kansas

This article is a list of notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Emporia, Kansas.

Academia

 * Frank A. Beach (1911–1988), ethologist
 * Richard Grant Hiskey (1929–2016), chemist
 * Vernon Lyman Kellogg (1867–1937), entomologist, evolutionary biologist
 * Samuel Martin (1924–2009), linguist
 * Carl Salser (1921–2006), author, businessman, educator
 * Arthur Samuel (1901–1990), computer scientist

Film, television, and theatre

 * Harry Cheshire (1891–1968), actor
 * R. Lee Ermey (1944–2018), former U.S. Marine drill instructor, television host, and actor
 * Thelma Hill (1906–1938), silent-film comedian
 * James Still (1959– ), playwright

Journalism

 * William Allen White (1868–1944), author and newspaper editor
 * William Lindsay White (1900–1973), author, newspaper editor, CBS war correspondent, Reader's Digest roving editor

Literature

 * Jacob M. Appel (1973– ), novelist (Einstein's Beach House)
 * Don Coldsmith (1926–2009), novelist
 * Denise Low (1949– ), poet
 * Keith Waldrop (1932–2023), poet, translator

Music

 * Marvin Ash (1914–1974), jazz pianist
 * Roy Burns (1935–2018), drummer
 * Melora Creager (1966– ), cellist, singer-songwriter
 * Kelley Hunt, blues pianist, singer-songwriter
 * Cady Groves (1989–2020)
 * Brian Leeds (1991–), electronic musician

Other visual arts

 * Wendell Castle (1932– 2018), furniture artist
 * Evan Lindquist (1936–2023), artist, printmaker, Arkansas artist laureate
 * Albert Murray (1906–1992), portrait painter
 * Wilber Moore Stilwell (1908–1974), cartoonist, illustrator, painter

Business

 * David Green (1941– ), founder of Hobby Lobby
 * George Webb Slaughter (1811–1895), cattle breeder and drover, Baptist minister

Crime and law enforcement

 * Mark Essex (1949–1973), mass murderer

Military

 * William F. Cloud (1825–1905), U.S. Army Colonel
 * Grant F. Timmerman (1919–1944), U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient

National

 * William Ripley Brown (1840–1916), U.S. Representative from Kansas
 * Rose Conway, personal secretary to President Harry S. Truman
 * Elmer O. Leatherwood (1872–1929), U.S. Representative from Utah
 * Preston B. Plumb (1837–1891), U.S. Senator from Kansas, co-founder of Emporia
 * Edward Herbert Rees (1886–1969), U.S. Representative from Kansas

State

 * Jim Barnett (1955– ), Kansas state legislator
 * Samuel J. Crawford (1835–1913), 3rd Governor of Kansas
 * Don Hill (1944– ), Kansas state legislator
 * Jeff Longbine (1962– ), Kansas state legislator
 * Peggy Mast (1948– ), Kansas state legislator
 * Richard Proehl (1944– ), Kansas state legislator
 * Roy Wilford Riegle (1896–1988), Kansas state legislator

Religion

 * Warren Parrish (1803–1877), early Mormon leader, Baptist minister

Sports

 * Clint Bowyer (1979– ), NASCAR driver
 * Jim Everett (1963– ), quarterback
 * Daniel Gallemore (1985– ), mixed martial artist
 * J. L. Lewis (1960–2019), professional golfer
 * John Lohmeyer (1951– ), defensive lineman
 * Ray Pierce (1897–1963), baseball pitcher
 * Paul Samson (1905–1982), U.S. Olympic swimmer, water polo player
 * Dean Smith (1931–2015), former North Carolina basketball coach, member of College Basketball Hall of Fame