List of Amherst College people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of notable people affiliated with Amherst College.
[edit] Notable alumni
[edit] College founders and presidents
- William S. Clark 1848, second president of the Massachusetts Agricultural College
- Reverend Daniel Bliss 1852, founder of American University of Beirut
- Henry Martin Tupper 1859, founder of Shaw University
- Francis Amasa Walker 1860, third president of MIT
- Joseph Hardy Neesima 1870, founder of Doshisha University in Japan
- Richard Glenn Gettell 1933, president of Mount Holyoke College
- Paul L. Ward 1933, president of Sarah Lawrence College
- David Truman 1935, president of Mount Holyoke College
- Paul Bragdon 1950, president of Reed College and Oregon Graduate Institute
- Charles H. Trout 1953, president of Harcum College
- Colin Diver 1965, current president of Reed College
- Richard L. McCormick 1969, current president of Rutgers University
- William S. Pfeiffer 1969, current president of Warren Wilson College
[edit] Academics
- Historian Herbert Baxter Adams 1872
- Librarian Melvil Dewey 1874, of the Dewey Decimal System
- Astronomer Raymond Smith Dugan 1899
- Mathematician Stephen Cole Kleene 1930
- Political Scientist David Truman 1935
- Neuroscientist James Olds 1947
- Scientist David Suzuki 1958
- Historian John W. Dower 1959
- Computer Scientist David S. Johnson 1967
[edit] Athletes
- John F. Dunleavy ex 1904, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals, 1903-1905
- Howard Groskloss 1930, infielder, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1930-1932
- Doug Swift 1970, Linebacker, Miami Dolphins, 1970-1975
- Jean Fugett 1972, Tight End, Dallas Cowboys 1972-1975, and Washington Redskins, 1976-1979
- Freddie Scott 1974, Wide Receiver, Baltimore Colts, 1974-77, and Detroit Lions 1978-1983
- Richard N. Thompson 1980, pitcher, Cleveland Indians, 1985, and Montreal Expos, 1989-1990
- John J. Cerutti 1982, pitcher, Toronto Blue Jays, 1985-1990, and Detroit Tigers, 1991
[edit] Clergy and Biblical scholars
- Biblical scholar Horatio Balch Hackett 1830
- Preacher Henry Ward Beecher 1834
- Roswell D. Hitchcock 1836, president of Union Theological Seminary (1880-87)
[edit] Politicians
- Nathan Belcher 1832, was a United States Representative from Connecticut.
- Speaker of the House Galusha A. Grow 1844 (24th Speaker)
- Representative Julius H. Seelye 1849 (also president of Amherst College from 1877 - 1890)
- Representative John B. Robinson
- Representative Charles H. Allen 1869
- Speaker of the House Frederick H. Gillett 1874 (37th Speaker)
- Speaker of the House Henry T. Rainey 1883 (40th Speaker)
- Robert Lansing 1886, Secretary of State 1915-1920
- William Estabrook Chancellor 1889, nemesis of Warren G. Harding
- President Calvin Coolidge 1895
- Senator Dwight Morrow 1895 (also Ambassador to Mexico, Secretary of the Navy, Partner at J. P. Morgan and Company)
- John J. McCloy 1919, Military Governor of Germany (1949-1952), Assistant Secretary of War (1941-1945)
- Senator Thomas F. Eagleton 1950, one-time running mate of George McGovern
- Richard W. DeKorte 1957 New Jersey Energy Czar and assemblyman
- Representative Thomas M. Davis III 1971
- Massachusetts Secretary for Finance and Administration Eric Kriss 1971
- Peter Franchot 1973, Maryland Comptroller
- David D. Freudenthal 1973, Governor of Wyoming
- Giorgios A. Papandreou 1975, former Foreign Minister of Greece
- Albert II of Monaco 1981
- Francisco G. Flores 1981, former president of El Salvador
- Uhuru Kenyatta 1985, opposition leader in Kenya
[edit] Lawyers and judges
- William Henry Lewis 1892, first African-American to hold a sub-cabinet position in the United States.
- Charles Hamilton Houston 1915
- Harlan Fiske Stone 1894, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
- William Henry Hastie 1925, first African-American Federal District judge, first African-American Federal appellate judge (Third Circuit), first African-American Governor of U.S. Virgin Islands, dean of Howard University Law School
- Donald G. Murray 1934, plaintiff in Pearson v. Murray
- Joseph H. Hartzler 1972, lead U.S. attorney for the Oklahoma City bombing trial
- Paul M. Smith 1976, winning attorney of Lawrence v. Texas
- Patrick Fitzgerald 1982, investigator of the Valerie Plame scandal, prosecutor of former Illinois governor George Ryan
[edit] Businesspeople
- Daniel Collamore Heath 1868, publisher, founder of D.C. Heath and Company, now part of Houghton Mifflin
- Washington Irving Putnam ex 1872, one of G. P. Putnam's Sons
- Henry Clay Folger 1879, former Standard Oil president, Folger Shakespeare Library founder
- Charles Millard Pratt 1879, company secretary of Standard Oil.
- Charles E. Merrill ex 1908, the founder of Merrill Lynch & Co.
- Clarence Birdseye ex 1910, food preservationist and founder of Birds Eye Foods
- John J. McCloy 1919, chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank (1953-1960), second President of the World Bank
- Amos B. Hostetter, Jr. 1958, former chief executive officer of MediaOne
- John Abele 1959, founder and director of Boston Scientific
- Hugh B. Price 1963, former president of the National Urban League
- Daniel J. Sullivan 1969, founder of Roadway Package System (now FedEx Ground)
- Glen Lewy 1971, Council on Foreign Relations member and National Chair elect of the Anti-Defamation League.
- Daniel F. Duquette 1980, former General Manager of the Red Sox
- Sung Joo Kim 1981, director, Sung Joo International
- Benjamin P. Cherington 1996, vice president of player personnel for the Boston Red Sox
[edit] CIA Directors
- Stansfield Turner ex 1945 (1977-81)
- William H. Webster 1947 (1987-91)
- John M. Deutch 1960 (1995-96)
[edit] Nobel Prize winners
- Henry W. Kendall 1950 (1990, Physics)
- Edmund Phelps 1955 (2006, Economics)
- Harold E. Varmus 1961 (1989, Medicine)
- Joseph E. Stiglitz 1964 (2001, Economics), former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank
[edit] Astronauts
- Robert A. R. Parker 1958
- Jeffrey A. Hoffman 1966
[edit] Physicians
- Dr. Walter Wyman 1870, Surgeon General of the United States from 1891-1911
- Dr. Charles R. Drew 1926, blood bank pioneer
- Dr. John P. Howe, III 1965, President & CEO, Project HOPE (USA)
- Talk show host D. Drew Pinsky 1980
- Dr. David Kessler head of the Food and Drug Administration 1990-1997
[edit] Entertainers
- Actor Emery B. Pottle 1899
- Actor Fred Everett Glass 1914
- Actor Burgess Meredith 1931
- Actor Kenneth Howard, 1966
- Actor Stephen Collins 1969
- Magician Raymond J. Teller 1969, of Penn and Teller
- Composer James R. Steinman 1969
- Writer Robert Stuart Nathan 1970, creator of "Law & Order" series
- Writer and director Henry Bromell 1971
- Actor Garrett M. Brown 1971 of Sisters etc.
- Comedian and actor Lawrence J. Miller 1975
- Director David O. Russell 1981E
- John Cerutti 1982, major-league baseball pitcher and broadcaster
- Writer and director Victor Levin of Mad About You 1983
- Susannah R. Grant 1984, screenwriter of Pocahontas, Ever After, Erin Brockovich, etc.
- Actor John Michael Higgins 1985
- Musician Jonatha Brooke Mallet 1985
- Writer David Foster Wallace 1985
- Musician Jennifer Kimball 1986
- Actor Jeffrey C. Wright 1987
- Actor John Cariani 1991, on Law & Order
- Writer Alan Dybner 1993, of That '70s Show
- Actress Sarah Goldberg 1996, actress on 7th Heaven and Judging Amy
- Writer Frank Pines 1996, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Everybody Loves Raymond
- Actor Hamish Linklater 1998, actor on The New Adventures of Old Christine and American Dreams
- Actor Rob Brown 2006, of Coach Carter and Finding Forrester
[edit] Authors and artists
- Architect William Mead 1867, of McKim, Mead, and White
- Sculptor Edward C. Potter ex 1882, of the New York Public Library lions
- Trumbull White ex 1890, first editor of Red Book Magazine
- Children's author Philip D. Eastman 1933
- Poet Richard P. Wilbur 1942
- Poet James I. Merrill 1947
- Sports columnist Thomas Boswell 1969
- Novelist Scott F. Turow 1970
- Photographer David Sanger 1970
- Novelist Michael A. Kahn 1974
- Cullen Murphy 1974, editor of the Atlantic Monthly and writer, "Prince Valiant" comic strip
- Novelist J. G. Sandom 1978
- Journalist Blair Kamin 1979
- Novelist Rand Richards Cooper 1980
- Journalist Richard Read 1980
- Writer Philip Simmons 1980
- Novelist Chris Bohjalian 1982
- Author and journalist Ted Conover, 1983
- FoxTrot cartoonist William J. C. Amend III 1984
- Novelist Harlan F. Coben 1984
- Novelist Mark Costello 1984
- Novelist David Foster Wallace 1985
- Novelist Dan Brown 1986, author of The Da Vinci Code
- Poet Rafael Campo 1987
- Poet Dan Chiasson 1993
- Novelist Calvin Baker 1994
- Get Fuzzy cartoonist Darby N. Conley 1994
[edit] Other notables
- Phrenologist Orson Squire Fowler 1834
- Amiel Weeks Whipple ex 1840, surveyor of the First Transcontinental Railroad
- Joseph B. Eastman 1904, Interstate Commerce Commissioner
- Leland Olds 1912, Chairman of the Federal Power Commission under FDR
- Alexandra Schmidt 2010, a participant in the 2004 ABC special entitled "Fat Like Me" in which she donned a fat suit in order to investigate what it is like for those struggling with obesity, currently attends the college. Her story inspired the 2006 Lifetime original movie To Be Fat Like Me, starring Kaley Cuoco and Caroline Rhea.
[edit] Fictional characters
- Jordan McDeere, a character played by Amanda Peet on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, is a fictional alumna of the college who majored in American Studies
[edit] Notable faculty
- Hadley Arkes, Prof. of Political Science since 1966
- Henry Steele Commager, Prof. of History, 1956-1992
- Robert Frost, Prof. of English, 1916-1938, winner of four Pulitzer Prizes
- Anthony Lake, Prof. of International Relations, 1981-1984
- Archibald MacLeish, Prof. of English, 1963-1967, winner of three Pulitzer Prizes
- Hermann J. Muller, Prof. of Biology, 1940-1945, winner of the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Austin Sarat, Prof. of Political Science and Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought since 1974
- Lewis Spratlan, Prof. of Music, 1970-2006, winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in music
- Ilan Stavans, Prof. of Spanish since 1993
- William Taubman, Prof. of Political Science, winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in biography
- Stark Young, Prof. of English, 1915-1921
