The borough of West Chester, Pennsylvania, was established in 1762 and incorporated in 1799. The population in the 2010 census was 18,461. [1] Notable residents or those who were born in West Chester are listed below.
Academics, science, and literature
- Ellen Starr Brinton (1886–1954), Quaker peace activist, civil rights activist, and feminist
- Howard Brinton (1884–1973), director of Pendle Hill Quaker Center for Study and Contemplation
- Gilbert Cope (1840–1928), historian and genealogist
- James David Corrothers (1869–1917), African American poet and minister
- Benjamin Matlack Everhart (1818–1904), mycologist
- Joseph Hergesheimer (1880–1954), novelist [2]
- Josiah Hoopes (1832–1904), botanist and nurseryman
- William W. Jefferis (1820–1906), mineralogist and banker
- Charles Glen King (1896–1988), biochemist, pioneer in nutrition research
- Bruce Larkin (born 1957), children's book autho
- Charlton Thomas Lewis (1834–1904), lawyer and classical lexicographer
- Joseph J. Lewis (1801–1883), U.S. tax commissioner and biographer of Abraham Lincoln
- Clara Marshall (1847–1931), physician, educator, and dean of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania
- Henry McBride (1867–1962), art critic and author
- Thomas Harrison Montgomery Jr. (1873–1912), zoologist and cell biologist
- George Foot Moore (1851–1931), scholar of the Bible, Judaism, and comparative religions
- G. Raymond Rettew (1903–1973), chemist who pioneered the mass production of penicillin
- Joseph Rothrock (1839–1922), botanist and environmentalist
- George Escol Sellers (1808–1899), inventor; attended private school in West Chester as a child
- Bayard Taylor (1825–1878), poet, novelist, and travel writer
- David Townsend (1787–1858), botanist and banker
- Mary Schäffer Warren (1861–1939), American-Canadian explorer and botanical illustrator
- William H. Whyte (1917–1999), sociologist
Art
- Tom Bostelle (1925–2005), painter and sculptor
- George Cope (1855–1929), painter [3]
- Philip Jamison (1925–2021), watercolor artist [4]
- Horace Pippin (1888–1946), painter
- Barclay Rubincam (1920–1978), painter
Entertainment
- Aquaria (b. 1996), drag queen, winner of RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 10
- Samuel Barber (1910–1981), musical composer [5]
- CKY, rock band
- CKY crew, group of skateboarders and stuntmen
- Tony D'Antonio, reality television personality
- Brandon DiCamillo, reality television personality
- Ryan Dunn, reality television personality
- Kyle Gallner, actor
- John Lilley (b. 1954), guitarist for The Hooters
- April Margera, reality television personality
- Bam Margera, professional skateboarder and television personality
- Jess Margera, drummer
- Phil Margera, reality television personality
- Vincent Margera, "Don Vito", reality television personality
- Matisyahu, rapper and singer
- Charlie McDermott, actor [6]
- Matthew McGrory, actor
- Chris Raab, reality television personality
- Graham Rogers, actor
- Kerr Smith, actor
- Amy Steel, actress
- Morgan Turner, actress
- Noel Jan Tyl, opera singer and astrologer
- Rake Yohn, reality television personality
- Zeeko Zaki, actor
- Richard Zobel, actor
Politics, government, military, and law
- Isaac D. Barnard (1791–1834), U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State Senator
- Harry W. Bass (1866–1917), first African American member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- Thomas S. Bell (1800–1861), Pennsylvania State Senator and justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
- Thomas S. Bell Jr. (1838–1862), Union Army lieutenant colonel killed in action at the Battle of Antietam
- Smedley Butler (1881–1940), U.S. Marine Corps, two-time Medal of Honor recipient and anti-war activist
- Henry Conner (1837–1918), Union Army officer and member of the Wisconsin State Senate
- Robert Cornwell (1835–1927), Union Army captain and law partner of William Darlington
- Isabel Darlington (1865–1950), lawyer and the first woman to practice law in Chester County
- William Darlington (1782–1863), botanist and United States House of Representatives member [7]
- Columbus Evans (1824–1854), newspaper editor, soldier, and mayor of Wilmington, Delaware [8]
- James Bowen Everhart (1821–1888), U.S. House of Representatives member, Pennsylvania state senator
- William Everhart (1785–1868), U.S. House of Representatives member
- J. Smith Futhey (1820–1888), Pennsylvania state judge and historian
- Henry Ruhl Guss (1825–1907), Union Army brevet Major General
- John Hannum III (1744–1799), militia colonel in the American Revolutionary War
- Joseph Hemphill (1770–1842), U.S. Congressman, practiced law in West Chester [9]
- Moses Hepburn (1832–1897), first African American town councilor of West Chester
- John Hickman (1810–1875), U.S. Congressman
- Wilmer W. MacElree (1859–1960), lawyer, Chester County district attorney, author of Along the Western Brandywine
- Mott Hooton (1838–1920), U.S. Army brigadier general; veteran of the Civil War and Spanish–American War
- Herman Hutt (1872–1952), Pennsylvania state representative and chief burgess of West Chester
- Francis James (1799–1886), U.S. Congressman and chief burgess of West Chester
- William Levis James (1833–1903), Union Army brevet Brigadier General
- Walter T. Kerwin Jr. (1917–2008), United States Army four-star general
- Charles Edwin King (1849–1862), youngest confirmed soldier to die during the American Civil War
- Dewitt Clinton Lewis (1822–1899), Union Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient
- Henry McIntire (1835–1863), Union Army lieutenant colonel
- Charles R. Miller (1857–1927), 54th governor of Delaware
- Jonathan Lee Riches (born 1976), lawyer and fraudster
- David M. Rodriguez (born 1954), U.S. Army four-star general
- George Fairlamb Smith (1840–1877), Union Army colonel, state representative, and district attorney
- Wolfe Tone (1763–1798), Irish Republican who lived briefly in West Chester in the 1790s
- Washington Townsend (1813–1894), U.S. House of Representatives member [10]
- Nicholas Trist (1800–1874), diplomat who negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
- Cristin McCarthy Vahey, member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
- Wilmer Worthington (1804–1873), physician and Speaker of the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1869
Sports
- Eric Bernotas (b. 1981), skeleton athlete, coach and double Winter Olympian [11]
- Norman Braman (b. 1932), former owner of NFL's Philadelphia Eagles
- Al Bruno (1927–2014), football player and coach
- Stephen Dennis (b. 1987), basketball player for Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Jim Furyk, professional golfer, 2003 U.S. Open champion
- Phil Gosselin, Major League baseball player
- Brandon Guyer, Major League Baseball player
- Jeff Larentowicz, professional soccer player [12]
- Jim Liberman, auto racing driver
- Jon Matlack, Major League Baseball pitcher
- Chas McCormick (born 1995), baseball player
- Aiden McFadden (born 1998), soccer player
- Muffet McGraw, women's basketball coach, 2001 NCAA champion, member of Basketball Hall of Fame
- Chris McMahon (born 1999), Major League Baseball pitcher
- Bridget Namiotka (born 1990), pair skater
- Carl Nassib, defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders
- Ryan Nassib, National Football League quarterback
- Brandon Novak, professional skateboarder
- Sean O'Hair, professional golfer
- Kevin Orie, Major League Baseball player
- Glen Osbourne, professional wrestler
- Matt Schaub, National Football League quarterback [13]
- Bud Sharpe, Major League Baseball player
- Lawrence Shields, runner, Olympic bronze medalist
- Dereck Lively II, NBA player
Other
- Nick Berg (1978–2004), repairman beheaded in Iraq
- Ralph E. Brock (1881–1959), forester and gardener
- William B. Gibbs Jr. (1905–1984), educator
- Emma Hunter (1831–1904), telegraph operator
- Anna Jarvis (1864–1948), founder of Mother's Day holiday in the United States
- Uriah Hunt Painter (1837–1900), journalist and lobbyist
- Bayard Rustin (1912–1987), civil rights activist
- Philip M. Sharples (1857–1944), inventor and industrialist
- Mary Ingram Stille (1854–1935), historian, journalist, and temperance reformer
- Geralyn Wolf (born 1947), Episcopal bishop
- Edwin D. Woolley (1807–1881), Mormon pioneer and businessman
References
- ^ "American FactFinder – Results". factfinder2.census.gov. Retrieved November 24, 2017.[ dead link]
- ^ Larrabee, Kevin. "Hergesheimer, Joseph". pabook.libraries.psu.edu. Penn State University. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
- ^ "About This Artwork". Collections. Art Institute Chicago. December 8, 1887. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
- ^ "Capturing Nature in Watercolor" pgs 5
- ^ Broder, Nathan. Samuel Barber, p. 9-10. New York: G. Schirmer, 1954. Reprinted, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985. ISBN 0-313-24984-9.
- ^ "Charlie McDermott...Bio". website. Charlie McDermott. Archived from the original on December 23, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ "DARLINGTON, William, (1782–1863)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- ^ Futhey, John Smith; Cope, Gilbert (1881). History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Genealogical and Biographical Sketches. Philadelphia: L. H. Everts. p. 541.
- ^ "HEMPHILL, Joseph, (1770–1842)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
- ^ "TOWNSEND, Washington, (1813–1894)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- ^ "Eric Bernotas". Eurosport. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
- ^ "Jeff Larentowicz Major League Soccer". MLS Player Profile. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- ^ "Matt's Bio". Matt Schaub. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2013.