Milwaukee is the largest city in the state of Wisconsin and 22nd-largest in the United States. The city is the county seat of Milwaukee County, located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, about 90 miles north of Chicago. Milwaukee (properly pronounced, Mill - WAU - kee) lies along the shores and bluffs of Lake Michigan at the confluence of three rivers: the Menomonee, the Kinnickinnic and the Milwaukee. Smaller rivers, such as the Root River and Lincoln Creek also run throughout the city.

The Milwaukee area was originally inhabited by the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Winnebago Indian tribes. French missionaries and traders first passed through the area in the late 1600s and 1700s. The first Europeans to pass through the area were French missionaries and traders. In 1818, Frenchman Solomon Juneau settled in the area, and in 1846 Juneau's town combined with two neighboring towns to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee, with Juneau as its first mayor. Large numbers of German and other immigrants helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and the following decades.

There are several theories regarding the city's name, but the commonly accepted explanation is that "Milwaukee" is derived from an Indian word meaning "gathering place by the water." Early explorers called the Milwaukee River and surrounding lands various names: Melleorki, Milwacky, Mahn-a-waukie, Milwarck, and Milwaucki. For many years, printed records gave the name as "Milwaukie." A Short History of Milwaukee by William George Bruce gives the story of Milwaukee's final name: "[O]ne day during the thirties of the last century a newspaper calmly changed the name to Milwaukee, and Milwaukee it has remained until this day."

Milwaukee residents enjoy four seasons with brisk, white winters giving way to green, warm springs. Hot and humid summers, both stirred and eased by its eastern border on Lake Michigan, eventually yields to colorful, pleasant autumns. Lake Michigan causes a convection current to form in mid-afternoonw, resulting in the so-called "lake effect," which causes warmer temperatures in winter and cooler evenings in the summer. Environmental organization Sustain Lane ranked Milwaukee along with Mesa, Arizona the least likely to suffer natural disasters, in a study of fifty US cities measuring the risk of a natural disaster striking the city.

Although many people associate Milwaukee with beer, today companies like Miller Brewing employ less than one percent of the city's workers. The Milwaukee area ranks number five in the nation when measuring the number of Fortune 500 companies as a share of the population. Milwaukee is headquarters to six Fortune 1000 manufacturers and six Fortune 1000 service companies. Among these are Briggs & Stratton, Harley-Davidson, Johnson Controls, Manpower Inc., Marshall & Ilsley, Northwestern Mutual Insurance, Rockwell Automation, Roundy's Supermarkets, Metavante, Kohl's, and Wisconsin Energy. Milwaukee also has a large number of financial service firms, particularly those specializing in mutual funds and transaction processing systems, and a disproportionate number of publishing and printing companies, including Quad/Graphics. Milwaukee is also the headquarters of the Koss Corporation and Master Lock Corporation.

Performing Arts abound in Milwaukee, home to the Florentine Opera, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Skylight Opera Theatre, First Stage Children's Theater and a number of other arts organizations. Additionally, Milwaukee is home to artistic performance venues such as the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Pabst Theater, The Rave/Eagles Ballroom, Riverside Theatre, and Milwaukee Theatre. The Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, a first-of-its-kind Arts-in-education facility, is a national model.

Rightly promoted as "A Great Place on a Great Lake" and "Genuine American," Milwaukee also advertises itself as the "City of Festivals," emphasizing an annual lakefront fair called Summerfest. Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest music festival in the world, Summerfest attracts around 900,000 visitors a year to its twelve stages.Wrapped around Summerfest, Milwaukee's lakefront also celebrates a variety of ethnic festivals throughout the summer. Virtually every week, residents and guests enjoy the unique meals, music and mirth of their Polish, Greek, French, Italian, German, African-American, Arab, Irish, Native American and Mexican ancestry..

Milwaukee has a vibrant history of show, stage, rock, blues, punk, ska, industrial music, goth and pop music bands. A range of musicians have called Milwaukee home, including Hildegarde, Woody Herman, Liberace, electric guitar inventor Les Paul, rock 'n roll piano legend Jerry Lee Lewis, saxophonist Warren Wiegratz, blues giant Hubert Sumlin, the BoDeans, Violent Femmes and Al Jarreau among others.

Milwaukee has a long and storied sports history, as well. Led by future Hall of Famers Henry Aaron, Eddie Matthews and Warren Spahn, the Milwaukee Braves set National League attendance records and rivaled the Dodgers and Yankees in the late 1950s, winning the World Series in 1957 and losing to the Yanks in 7 games in 1958. Today, the Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks and Marquette University lead the headlines, along with traditional part-time home team Green Bay Packers who, until recently, played a portion of their home schedule in Milwaukee each season:

Milwaukee, WI, has been home to many athletes, olympians, war medalists, politicians and celebrities, including...

• Jim Abrahams — director and screenwriter
• Marc Alaimo — "Star Trek" character actor
• Les Aspin — U.S. Secretary of Defense
• Tommy Bartlett — entertainment mogul and showman best known for creating Tommy Bartlett's Thrill Show a popular attraction in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
• Travis Beckum — NFL player for the New York Giants
• Lawrencia "Bambi" Bembenek, ex-Milwaukee police officer convicted of murdering her husband's ex-wife
• Michael Bennett — NFL player
• Peter Bonerz — actor, best known for recurring role as the dentist on the Bob Newhart Show
• Felice Bryant — songwriter; member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
• Ray "Crash" Corrigan — actor; first celebrity to be featured on a box of Wheaties
• Tom Dempsey — NFL player, holds record for longest field goal
• Michael Dhuey — electrical and computer engineer; co-inventor of the Macintosh II and the iPod
• Bernardine Dohrn — leader of the Weather Underground Organization; wife of militant Bill Ayres
• Lawrence Eagleburger — U.S. Secretary of State
• Michael Feldman — radio personality for Public Radio International
• Happy Felsch — MLB player, member of 1918 Chicago "Black Sox" team featured in film, "Eight Men Out"
• Jack Finney — science fiction and thriller writer. His novel was the basis for the movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"
• Bruce Froemming — Longest-serving MLB umpire
• Gordon Gano — lead singer and guitarist for the punk-rock group the Violent Femmes
• Chris Gardner — self-made millionaire whose bout with homelessness is portrayed in the motion picture "The Pursuit of Happyness" starring Will Smith
• Carlos Glidden — co-inventor of the first practical typewriter, with Christopher Sholes and Samuel W. Soule
• Danny Gokey — popular American Idol contestant.
• Kevin Harlan — sports announcer
• Mildred Harnack — German resistance fighter during World War II, executed under orders from Adolf Hitler
• Devin Harris — professional basketball player
• Kenny Harrison — world champion track and field athlete; Olympic gold medalist; Goodwill Games medalist
• Woody Herman — jazz singer, instrumentalist, and big band leader
• Caroline Ingalls - (1839–1924) born in Brookfield, mother of famed author Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Dan Jansen — word champion speed skater; Olympic gold medalist; member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame; NHL assistant coach
• Al Jarreau — award-winning jazz singer
• Salome Jens — actress, best known for portraying the Female Shapeshifter on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Jane Kaczmarek — actress; best known as Lois in Malcolm in the Middle, married to West Wing actor (and Madison native) Bradley Whitford.
• Brian "Kato" Kaelin — actor and former house guest of O.J. Simpson during the double murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman
• Bob Kames — musician; popularized novelty song, "The Chicken Dance"
• Ken Keltner — MLB player, ended Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hit streak with field gem
• Donald Knuth — computer scientist and author of The Art of Computer Programming
• Alvin Kraenzlein — Olympic Gold medalist, member of the National Track & Field Hall of Fame and United States Olympic Hall of Fame
• Tony Kubek — MLB player and announcer
• Marcus Landry — NBA player
• Tom Laughlin — actor, "Billy Jack" series
• David Lenz — Narada new age pianist
• DeAndre Levy — NFL player
• Liberace — pianist and entertainer (West Allis)
• Alfred Lunt — Tony Award- and Emmy Award-winning Broadway actor, who appeared in over 24 plays with his wife Lynn Fontanne
• Lester Maitland — U.S. Army Air Service General and pilot who served as aide to General Billy Mitchell during the 1920s. In 1927 Maitland and Lt. Albert Hegenberger completed the first trans-Pacific flight from California to Hawaii
• John Matuszak — actor and NFL player
• Ed McCully — Christian missionary killed during Operation Auca featured in film, "End of the Spear"
• Candice Michelle — former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Diva, Model & Actress, best known for television ads for Go Daddy
• Fred Miller — member of the College Football Hall of Fame, President of the Miller Brewing Company
• Newton N. Minow, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
• Pat O'Brien - actor with over 100-screen credits
• Frank Parker — International Tennis Hall of Fame member; one of the few Americans to win both the French and U.S. Championships
• Les Paul- jazz guitarist, inventor, pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar (Waukesha)
• Amy Pietz — actress, known for her role as Annie Spadaro in the sitcom "Caroline in the City"
• Paul Poberezny — founder of the Experimental Aircraft Association and member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame
• Terry Porter — former NBA player and former head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks
• Charlotte Rae (Lubotsky), TV/stage actress and singer; best known as Mrs. Edna Garrett on sitcoms "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life"
• William Rehnquist - former Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
• Bud Selig — Major League Baseball commissioner and former owner of the Milwaukee Brewers
• Al Simmons — Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player
• Tom Snyder — talk show host of The Tomorrow Show and The Late Late Show
• Samuel W. Soule — co-inventor of the first practical typewriter, with Christopher Sholes and Carlos Glidden.
• Christian Steinmetz — member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
• Daryl Stuermer— lead guitarist for Phil Collins, guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows
• Spencer Tracy — film actor who appeared in 74 films from 1930 through the 1960s
• Bob Uecker — Major League Baseball (MLB) player, actor, and Hall of Fame sportscaster; long-time announcer of Milwaukee Brewers' games
• Bill Weir - journalist and national co-anchor of Good Morning America Weekend Edition on ABC
• Gary George Wetzel — Medal of Honor recipient
• Gene Wilder — actor known for his collaborations with writer, producer, director Mel Brooks, married Gilda Radner
• Elmer Winter (1912–2009), founder of Manpower Inc.
• Frank P. Zeidler— ex-mayor of Milwaukee, Socialist Party USA leader
• David Zucker — film director known for his collaborations with brother Jerry Zucker on the movies Airplane! and Top Secret!
• Jerry Zucker — film director known for his collaborations with brother David Zucker on the movies "Airplane!" and "Top Secret!"
• Jack Carson — actor
• Colleen Dewhurst — Canadian-born actress raised in Milwaukee; wife of George C. Scott; best known for her role as Marilla Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables productions
• Evelyn Frechette — love and accomplice of John Dillinger
• Jeffrey Hunter — actor; portrayed Jesus in 1960s film, "King of Kings"
• Jim Lovell — former NASA astronaut and commander of the Apollo 13 mission; North/South 7th Street through the downtown area was named James Lovell Street in his honor
• Arthur MacArthur, Jr. — Medal of Honor recipient, military governor of the Philippines
• Golda Meir — a founder of the State of Israel; served as Minister of Labor, Foreign Minister, and Prime Minister; graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
• Billy Mitchell — general, regarded as the father of the United States Air Force
• Martin P. Robinson - creator and puppeteer for the Jim Henson Company; puppeteer for Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus and Slimey who have performed on Sesame Street since 1980.
• Gena Rowlands — actress
• Christopher Latham Sholes inventor of the typewriter, invented in Milwaukee in 1867
• Oprah Winfrey — talk show host and media mogul
• Walter Annenberg — billionaire publisher, philanthropist, and creator of the Annenberg Foundation
• Richard Nelson Bolles — author, "What Color is Your Parachute?"
• Jeffrey Dahmer — serial killer born in Milwaukee and raised in Ohio. He moved back to Milwaukee where he committed necrophilia and cannibalism on his victims.
• Deidre Hall — actress on the NBC Soap opera Days of our Lives
• Dennis Hall — world champion wrestler; Olympic medalist; Pan American Games gold medalist
• Pee Wee King — songwriter, recording artist, and television entertainer; inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
• Steve Miller — musician, Steve Miller Band
• Bart Stupak — U.S. Representative from Michigan
• Hank Aaron — Major League Baseball Hall of Fame; most career home runs; spent most of his MLB career in Milwaukee
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — NBA Hall of Fame member and first ever draft choice of the Milwaukee Bucks
• Ray Allen — National Basketball Association Milwaukee Bucks player from 1996 to 2003
• John Anderson — NFL player
• Mathilde Franziska Anneke — noted feminist
• Ernest Borgnine — Academy Award-winning actor
• James Cameron — noted civil rights activist
• Raymond Joseph Cannon — U.S. Representative, attorney for the accused players during the Black Sox Scandal
• Al Capone — Chicago gangster had a "home" in Brookfield during Prohibition
• Dustin Diamond, "Screech" from Saved by the Bell TV sitcom; resides in Port Washington
• Timothy Dolan — Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
• Chris Farley — born in Madison, Wisconsin, graduated from Marquette University; comedian and actor; cast member on Saturday Night Live
• Jack Kilby — Nobel laureate and co-inventor of the integrated circuit (IC)
• Increase A. Lapham — scientist, credited as the "Father of the U.S. Weather Service"
• Alfred Lawson — credited as the inventor of the airliner
• Judith Light — lead actress on Who's the Boss; spent her early years acting in Milwaukee theater at "the Rep"
• Reginald Lisowski — professional wrestler better known as "The Crusher"
• Douglas MacArthur — U.S. Army General; U.S. Army Chief of Staff; Medal of Honor recipient[173]
• Hattie McDaniel —the first African American to win an Academy Award for her portrayal of "Mamie" in "Gone With the Wind"
• Al McGuire — college basketball coach and network sports commentator
• Paul Molitor — member of baseball Hall of Fame; long-time player for the Milwaukee Brewers
• Jane and Lloyd Pettit — philanthropists of Bradley family fortune, who gifted the Bradley Center and Pettit National Ice Center
• Michael Redd — National Basketball Association Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard, holds the Bucks' franchise record for points in a single game with 57
• Paul Robeson — pro football player, actor, singer and social activist
• Doug Russell — nationally syndicated sports-talk radio host; currently heard on Sporting News Radio, formerly of WTMJ-AM
• Carl Sandburg author, reporter, poet; worked as an organizer for the Wisconsin Social Democratic party at political party headquarters in Milwaukee. Joseph Schlitz — brewing magnate of the now defunct Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company
• Christopher Sholes — printer, politician, and newspaper editor; best known for inventing the modern day typewriter with its QWERTY key layout, while living in Milwaukee
• Dwyane Wade — professional basketball player for the NBA's Miami Heat who played collegiately at Marquette University
• Mae West — actress; screenwriter; playwright; named the 15th Greatest Female Film Star of All-Time by the American Film Institute
• Sheila Young — world champion speed skater and cyclist; Olympic gold medalist; member of the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame, International Women's Sports Hall of Fame, and the National Speedskating Hall of Fame
• Robin Yount — Major League Baseball Hall of Fame member; former player and bench coach of the Milwaukee Brewers
• Elmo Zumwalt — Chief of Naval Operations

(Click for a more complete list.

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