We were recently joined former TV anchor extraordinaire Chad Douglas to help us rank our Top 5 most famous Quincians. To find out the ranking order and who picked who, you’ll have to listen to the podcast here. The following is a list in no specific order of all Famous Quincians we spoke about for some additional context.

D.A. Weibring

Famous Golfer born in Quincy, Illinois. Weibring won five PGA Tour events, the first being in 1979 in the Quad Cities. His last tour victory was at the Canon Greater Hartford Open in 1996. Weibring was inducted into the Illinois PGA Hall of Fame in 2001. Learn more about D.A. Weibring here.

Jonathan Van Ness

Jonathan Van Ness is an American hairdresser, podcast host, activist, actor, author and television personality. Best known as the grooming expert on Queer Eye, Jonathan also acquired a large following from parody series Gay of Thrones, as well as for hosting the Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness podcast. Learn more about Jonathan Van Ness here.

Mary Astor

Mary Astor was an American actress. She got her start the silent movies of the early 1920s. The transition from silent movies to “talkies” proved difficult for Astor, as her voice has initially considered to deep and masculine, she was later to rebound from this initial challenge and returned to prominence, best known for her performance as Brigid O’Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcom in 1941. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of concert pianist Sandra Kovak in The Great Lie in 1941. Learn more about Mary Astor here.

Michael Swango

Though born in Tacoma, Washington… Swango was raised in Quincy, Illinois. Swango is a former physician and an admitted serial killer. Swango is estimated to have been involved in as many as 60 fatal poisonings of patients and colleagues, though has only admitted to causing four deaths. Swango was sentenced in 2000 to three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, and is serving at the ADX Florence supertax prison near Florence, Colorado. Learn more about Michael Swango here.

Father Augustine Tolton

Father Augustine Tolton was the first Roman Catholic priest in the United States publicity identifying as black when he was ordained in 1886. Born into slavery, Tolton was baptized and raised Catholic. Tolton studied in Rome and was ordained there on Easter Sunday of 1886. Tolton ministered to multiple parishes in Quincy, later moving to Chicago. Tolton is currently being considered for sainthood undergoing the canonization process.. Learn more about Augustine Tolton here.

Avenue Beat

*Image courtesy of soundslikenashville.com*

Avenue Beat is an American girl group from Quincy. Avenue Beat is Sami Bearden, Savana Santos and Sam Backoff. The trio first began performing as a result of meeting at a theater camp in high school, soon traveling back and forth to Nashville, they’re current home base. They are signed to The Valory Music Co. and Tape Room Records. Learn more about Avenue Beat here.

Caren Kemner

Caren Kemner is a Quincy, Illinois native and American volleyball player. An olympic medal winner from the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Kemner was also inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in October 2013. Kemner currently serves as coach for both the men’s and women’s volleyball teams at Culver-Stockton College.

Nicole Kramer

Nicole Kramer is an American former competitive swimmer who represented the United States as a 14-year-old at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec. Learn more about Nicole Kramer here.

James Earl Ray

James Earl Ray was an American fugitive and felon convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr in 1968. Born in Alton, IL, Ray was raised near Quincy in Ewing, Missouri. Often spending time in Quincy, allegedly no stranger to the mob activities throughout Quincy’s wilder days. Learn more about James Earl Ray here.

Paul Tibbets

Born in Quincy, Illinois, Paul Tibbets was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force. He is best known for his role in Wold War II as the pilot who flew the B-29 Superfortress known as the Enola Gay when it dropped “Little Boy”, the first of two atomic bombs used in warfare, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Learn more about Paul Tibbets here.

John W. Henry

Born in Quincy, Illinois, John W. Henry is an American businessman and investor. He is principal owner of Liverpool Football Club, the Boston Red Sox, The Boston Globe, and co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing. Learn more about John W. Henry here.

Famous Quincians