From the Nobel Prize to the Super Bowl: 10 notable people from Danville

Danville is a town of about 44,000 people, yet it has turned out a Nobel laureate, an astronaut, a U.S. senator and a shelf of championship rings. We took the 50 people Wikipedia links to Danville and asked two AI models, Claude and GPT-6.1, to rank them separately. Nine names made both lists; the tenth is an NBA champion from a local high school.

1. Eugene O'Neill

In 1937, months after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, O'Neill built Tao House in the hills west of Danville. There he wrote Long Day's Journey Into Night. Tao House is now a National Historic Site you can tour by reservation. (Our full story)

2. Leroy Chiao

Chiao grew up in Danville and graduated from Monte Vista High in 1978. He was eight when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon and decided then to become an astronaut. He flew three Space Shuttle missions and later commanded the International Space Station.

3. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger

In January 2009, with both engines knocked out by birds, Sullenberger put his airliner down on the Hudson River. All 155 people aboard survived. He lived in Danville then; thousands of neighbors turned out on the Town Green to welcome him home, and the mayor gave him a key to the town.

4. Joe Morgan

The second baseman of Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" won two MVP awards and went into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He spent his later years in Danville and died at home in 2020.

5. Adam Schiff

Schiff graduated from Monte Vista High in 1978, voted by classmates "most likely to succeed." Today he is a U.S. senator.

6. Bob Myers

Born and raised in Danville, Myers ran the Golden State Warriors as general manager from 2012 to 2023, a stretch that brought four NBA titles.

7. Christy Turlington

Turlington started modeling while a student at Monte Vista High and became one of the defining supermodels of the 1990s.

8. D'Arcy Carden

Born in Danville and a 1998 graduate of San Ramon Valley High, Carden earned an Emmy nomination as Janet on The Good Place.

9. Zach Ertz

A Monte Vista graduate, the tight end won Super Bowl LII with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.

10. Mark Madsen

Nicknamed "Mad Dog" at San Ramon Valley High, Madsen won two NBA titles with the Lakers and now coaches the men's basketball team at Cal.

Five of the ten went to Monte Vista High School.

How we picked: the list of names comes from Wikipedia. Claude and GPT-6.1 each ranked it on fame, strength of the Danville tie, reader interest and variety. Living celebrities known only to live in Danville were left out for their privacy.