The cemeteries where the famous rest in peace

They are politicians, business people, athletes and performers. There’s a vice president, an architect, a pilot, a critic. They founded major chains and ran machine politics, blazed civil rights trails, designed skyscrapers and sang the blues. They are famous and infamous.

And this represents only a small fraction of the notable people who are laid to rest here, a small glimpse at the pioneers and leaders who helped influence Chicago and the world.

[ ‘Dead people always seem to get in the way of the living.’ Facing death with Chicago’s ‘Cemetery Lady’ Helen Sclair. ]

This tour of the dead will take you from Des Plaines to Alsip, Lake Forest to Homewood to the spots where some of Chicago’s best known people are buried.

Local burials organized by topic:

More than just the namesake for a street that wraps around O’Hare International Airport, she was a contemporary of Amelia Earhart, whom Coleman beat in becoming the first American woman to gain an international pilot’s license. She was also the world’s first licensed black pilot.

[ Notable people buried in Lincoln Cemetery ]

The first African-American to win a Pulitzer, for “Annie Allen” in 1950, the former poet laureate of Illinois was rooted in the black community of Chicago’s South Side.

[ Rick Kogan: Reciting the praises — and words — of Chicago poet Gwendolyn Brooks ]

Famed department store owner famous for emphasizing customer service, allowing customers to return items and introducing the department store restaurant for shoppers. The Field Museum of Natural History is named in his honor.

[ Oct. 12, 1868: Marshall Field opens first store on State Street ]

She and her cow were implicated for causing the Great Chicago Fire on Oct. 8, 1871, but were cleared by the city from any wrongdoing in 1997 — nearly 126 years later.

[ Great Chicago Fire of 1871: Surviving kin of Chicago’s famous O’Leary family ready for new chapter following harrowing past. ‘I think it’s time for closure.’ ]

Fourteen-year-old Chicago youth murdered for reportedly whistling at a white woman in a store while visiting his family in Money, Miss. After he was beaten and shot, the boy’s body was found three days later in the Tallahatchie River. His alleged killers were later acquitted by an all-white jury.

[ 67 years after Emmett Till’s Chicago funeral, his best friend remembers him ]

World-renowned architect who was the last director of Germany’s Bauhaus design school. After moving to Chicago in 1937, he pioneered development of the city’s “glass house” apartment buildings.

[ Flashback: Mies van der Rohe profoundly reshaped Chicago’s skyline with his structurally austere vision ]

Chicago’s Prohibition-era mobster was the head of a crime syndicate that gave the city a reputation of lawlessness in the roaring 1920s. This is his actual burial site. His name is also on a family gravestone within Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery in Chicago.

[ Al Capone’s final days, death in Florida and burial in Chicago — why we remember it more than 75 years later ]

Chicago’s Prohibition-era mobster was the figurehead chosen to illustrate the breakdown of law and order that followed the effort to legislate alcoholic beverages out of America. He is not buried here, but his name is on the family gravestone.

[ Growing up Capone: An interview with a granddaughter of the legendary Chicago Outfit boss ]

Onetime chief of the Chicago crime syndicate was found shot to death on the kitchen floor of his Oak Park home; had testified the previous year before a grand jury with immunity from prosecution.

[ Sam Giancana: Chicago mob boss had Sinatra singing ]

Born in Humboldt Park and mostly raised in the western suburbs, Belushi was the first in what would be a very long lineage of Chicagoans to join the cast of “Saturday Night Live.” On Martha’s Vineyard, off Cape Cod in Massachusetts, where Belushi had a home, there are two grave sites, a small stone that reads “Belushi” (where he is said to be buried) and a newer, less solemn stone with a questionable epitaph: “I may be gone but rock and roll lives on.” At the Elmwood Cemetery, where Belushi’s parents are buried, the scene is far classier: An honorary tombstone to their son reads, “He Made Us Laugh.”

[ March 5, 1982: John Belushi, ‘Second City’ and ‘Saturday Night Live’ alum, found dead in Los Angeles ]

Writer, director, producer of movies with topics of teen angst — “Sixteen Candles,” The Breakfast Club,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Weird Science” to name a few — that often were set in the Chicago suburbs.

[ ‘Don’t you forget about me’ quiz: In which John Hughes movie did this Chicago-area building star? ]

Best know for his role as Mike in “The Brady Bunch,” the actor was born in Highland Park, raised in Des Plaines and buried in Skokie.

The Tribune’s movie critic and columnist for nearly three decades. He was paired for 24 years on television with the Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert, and together they transformed the way America watched movies.

[ Take a look back at Gene Siskel’s memorable movie reviews for the Chicago Tribune ]

Actress whose husky voice and brassy demeanor dominated world stages for more than 60 years, and whose career included Emmy-winning roles in television shows “30 Rock” and “Law & Order.”

[ Michael Phillips: Elaine Stritch starred in show of her life ]

Chicago singer-songwriter whose love of the Cubs led to him creating the “Go Cubs Go” anthem; also famous for penning “City of New Orleans” for Arlo Guthrie and Willie Nelson. His ashes were reportedly spread in the bleachers at Wrigley Field just before opening day 1988.

[ Rick Kogan: John Prine and Steve Goodman used to share small Chicago stages. Wish you could have been there. ]

Chicago’s “queen of the blues,” whose fame rose from South Side clubs to the world stage; the most revered female blues vocalist of her time, with signature hits including “Wang Dang Doodle,” “I’m a Woman” and “Hey Bartender.”

[ Greg Kot: Koko Taylor dies at 80; singer was Chicago blues icon ]

Born McKinley Morganfield, this singer/guitarist’s electrified blues became known as the “Chicago sound” and inspired young rock musicians including the Rolling Stones, who derived their name from his song, “Rollin’ Stone.”

[ Blues legend Muddy Waters’ South Side home nears landmark status ]

Chicago’s first female mayor remembered for launching Taste of Chicago, inspiring the redevelopment of Navy Pier and encouraging moviemaking in the city by luring production of box-office hits including “The Blues Brothers.”

[ Jane Byrne, Chicago’s only female mayor, dies at 81 ]

Legendary mayor of Chicago who is the first person to achieve six terms — 21 years — in the position.

[ Photo gallery: Chicago’s Mayor Richard J. Daley ]

Banker and politician who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his World War I reparations plan. Served as vice president of the United States under President Calvin Coolidge from 1925-29.

[ Charles Gates Dawes and Evanston were born at approximately the same time but not in the same place. ]

Labor and American Communist party activist for more than 50 years; became chairman of the party in 1961.

[ Flashback: Chicago’s place at the forefront of labor history ]

Chicago’s first black mayor, who after five years in office was on the verge of running city government his way.

[ Harold Washington’s 100th birthday: Key things to know about Chicago’s first Black mayor ]

Educator, reformer and founder of the World Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Known for her excellent speaking and lobbying skills, she was a leader of the national Prohibition Party.

[ In 1893, Frances Willard took up the bicycle. Women`s lives have never been the same since. ]

Led the Chicago Archdiocese for 14 years — after becoming the nation’s youngest archbishop in 1972 — and is remembered for bridging gaps among clergy over the reforms of Vatican II.

[ Timeline: The life of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, 25 years after his death ]

The first Chicago native to serve as head of the nation’s third-largest archdiocese; shepherded the Chicago church through school closings and the priest sexual abuse scandal during his 17-year tenure.

[ Timeline: Cardinal George’s life of service ]

Born Robert Poole, the son of a Baptist preacher and sharecropper, he became the co-founder of the controversial all-black National of Islam with a philosophy of black self-determination. His organization was blamed for the assassination of his former protege, Malcolm X.

[ Don Terry: Up until Elijah Muhammad’s last breath at 8:10 a.m. on Feb. 25, 1975, many believed The Messenger would live forever. ]

Known worldwide as “Mr. Cub,” Banks became the Cubs’ first African-American player on Sept. 17, 1953, and went on to become an 11-time All-Star and two-time National League Most Valuable Player (1958-59). His boundless enthusiasm and optimism personified what it meant to be a Cubs fan.

[ Ernie Banks: 14 memorable moments for No. 14 ]

Though he broadcast games for several local teams in virtually every major sport, the Peoria native became synonymous as the voice of the Cubs after calling Cubs games from 1941-81.

[ Phil Rosenthal: Jack Brickhouse, the overlooked voice of Cubs optimism ]

Baseball play-by-play man for 53 years — including 11 with the White Sox and 16 with the Cubs — who took the tired baseball custom of the seventh-inning stretch and tranformed it into a memorable, albeit off-key Chicago ritual.

[ Photo gallery: Harry Caray through the years ]

President and owner of the Chicago White Sox; sole owner of the club from the day of its inception. The only man of his day who rose from the player ranks to club ownership.

[ In 1890, disgruntled baseball players — including Charles Comiskey — formed a separate league. ]

Owner of the Chicago Bears for nearly six decades, legendary coach and founding father of the National Football League.

[ Ranking the 100 best Bears players ever: No. 25, George Halas ]

The first black man to become heavyweight boxing champion of the world. His 29-year boxing career included 109 major fights — including at least one where he was paid to lose.

[ The short, sad story of Cafe de Champion — Jack Johnson’s mixed-race nightclub on Chicago’s South Side ]

The coach, face of DePaul University basketball for 42 seasons, including a 1945 National Invitation Tournament championship and a staggering 724-354 record.

[ Mike Downey: Ray Meyer was the face of Chicago basketball. He was old school in every best sense of the phrase. ]

U.S. Olympic track sprinter who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, shattering Adolf Hitler’s theories of Aryan superiority.

[ Jesse Owens: Giant on the track, but just dad to his daughters ]

Sources: Chicago Tribune reporting and archives; FindAGrave.com; cemetery icon by Curve from the Noun Project