List of Harvard University people
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This is a table of famous people affiliated with Harvard University, including graduates, former students, and professors. For a list of Harvard's presidents, see President of Harvard University.
Five Presidents of the United States (John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt) have graduated from Harvard College; one (Rutherford B. Hayes) graduated from Harvard Law School; and one (George W. Bush) graduated from Harvard Business School. Bill Gates, the world's wealthiest person as of 2004, attended Harvard College but did not graduate. Some fifty Nobel Prize winners have been associated with the University.
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Harvard | |
|---|---|---|---|
A | |||
| Charles Francis Adams (1866) (1866–1954) | United States Secretary of the Navy | College 1888; Law School 1892 | |
| Charles Francis Adams, Jr. (1835–1915) | president of Union Pacific Railroad | College 1856 | |
| Henry Adams (1838–1918) | historian; novelist | College 1858; professor | |
| John Adams (1735–1826) | President of the United States | College 1755 | |
| John Coolidge Adams (1947-) | composer | College 1971 | |
| John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) | President of the United States | College 1787 | |
| Samuel Adams (1722–1803) | organizer of Boston Tea Party | College 1740; M.A. 1743 | |
| Mahidol Adulyadej (1892–1929) | Prince of Thailand, father of present king Bhumibol Adulyadej | C.P.H. 1921; Medical School (M.D.) 1928 | |
| Esko Aho (1954-) | Prime Minister of Finland (1991–1995) | "Sabbatical leave" of one year to lecture at Harvard University in 2000 | |
| Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832–1899) | novelist | College 1852 | |
| Leroy Anderson (1908–1975) | composer | College; M.A. 1930 | |
| Darren Aronofsky (1969-) | film director and screenwriter | College 1987 | |
| Kenneth Arrow (1921-) | economist; Nobel Prize winner | professor (1968-??) | |
| John Ashbery (1927-) | poet | College 1949 | |
| Margaret Atwood (1929-) | novelist | Radcliffe M.A. 1962; Ph.D. 1967 | |
B | |||
| Bernard Bailyn (1922-) | historian | Ph.D. 1953; professor (1961-) | |
| Steve Ballmer (1953-) | president and CEO of Microsoft | College 1977; gave mother's maiden name to Maxwell Dworkin Hall | |
| Alfred Barr (1902–1981) | art historian; founding director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City | Ph.D. 1946 | |
| Robert Benchley (1889–1945) | comedian | College 1912 | |
| Sean Bennett (1979-) | pianist | College 2001 | |
| Bernard Berenson (1865–1959) | art historian | College 1887 | |
| Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) | composer | College 1939 | |
| David Bevington (??-) | scholar | Ph.D. 1958 | |
| Benazir Bhutto (1953-) | prime minister of Pakistan | College 1973 | |
| Harry Blackmun (1908–1999) | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | Law School 1932 | |
| Robert Bly (1926-) | poet | College 1950 | |
| John Boswell (1947–1994) | historian of homosexual history | Ph.D. 1975 | |
| L. Paul Bremer, (1941-) | ambassador | Business School 1967 | |
| Stephen Breyer (1938-) | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | Law School 1964 | |
| Dan Bricklin (1951-) | creator of VisiCalc | Business School 1979 | |
| Harold Brodkey (1930–1996) | novelist | College 1952 | |
| Charles Bulfinch (1763–1844) | architect | College 1781 | |
| Thomas Bulfinch (1796–1867) | mythologist | College 1814 | |
| William S. Burroughs (1914–1997) | writer | College 1936 | |
| George W. Bush (1946-) | President of the United States | Business School 1975 | |
C | |||
| Elliot Carter (1908-) | composer | College 1932 | |
| Doug Carlston | Co-founder of Broderbund Software, which was the publisher of computer games such as Myst and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? | College 1970, J.D. from the Law School 1975 | |
| Stockard Channing (1944-) | actress | Radcliffe 1965 | |
| William Ellery Channing (1780–1842) | Unitarian leader | College 1798 | |
| Jacques Chirac (1932-) | President of France | attended Summer School in 1953 | |
| William Christie (1944-) | conductor | College 1966 | |
| Richard Clarke (1951-) | diplomat; counterterrorism expert | faculty | |
| Stephen Cook (??-) | computer scientist | M.A. 1962; Ph.D. 1966 | |
| Don Coppersmith (??-) | computer scientist | M.S. 1975; Ph.D. 1977 | |
| Elias J. Corey (1928-) | chemist; Nobel Prize winner | professor | |
| Michael Crichton (1942-) | novelist, best known for Jurassic Park and the television series E.R. | College 1964; Medical School 1969 | |
| Hardy Cross | civil engineer | MCE 1911 | |
| E. E. Cummings (1894–1962) | poet | College 1915 | |
| Rivers Cuomo (1970-) | singer of band Weezer | Currently completing college (originally dropped out) | |
D | |||
| Matt Damon (1970-) | actor | attended College, did not graduate | |
| Donald Davidson (1917–2003) | philosopher | Ph.D. | |
| Paul de Man (1919–1983) | literary critic | Ph.D. 1960 | |
| Alan Dershowitz (1938-) | law scholar, pro-Israel activist | professor (1964-) | |
| Elizabeth Dole (1936-) | United States Senator | M.A. 1960; Law School 1965 | |
| John dos Passos (1896–1970) | novelist | College 1916 | |
| George Downing (c. 1624–1684) | English soldier-diplomat | College 1640s | |
| W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963) | civil rights leader; African American studies scholar | College 1890, Ph.D. 1894 | |
| E.B. Dreyer (1957-) | ophthalmology scientist; glaucoma scholar | medical school 1984, Ph.D. 1984 | |
E | |||
| Edward Eager (1911–1964) | writer of children's literature | College c. 1932 | |
| T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) | poet | College 1909; Ph.D. 1914 | |
| Noam Elkies (1966-) | mathematician | M.A. 1986; Ph.D. 1987; professor (1990-) | |
| Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) | writer | College 1821; gave name to Emerson Hall | |
| Edward Everett (1794–1865) | United States Secretary of State | College 1811 | |
F | |||
| John K. Fairbank (1907–1991) | East Asian scholar | College 1929 | |
| Denise Faustman | Medical doctor and pioneer in diabetes research | Assoc. Professor of Medicine | |
| Martin Feldstein (1939-) | economist | College 1961; professor | |
| Jonathan Frakes (1952-) | actor | College (Master's degree) | |
| Al Franken (1955-) | comedian | College 1973 | |
| Felix Frankfurter (1882–1965) | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | Law School | |
| Bill Frist (1952-) | United States Senator, Majority Leader | Medical School 1978 | |
| Robert Frost (1874–1963) | poet | attended College (1897–1899), did not graduate; awarded an honorary degree in 1937 | |
G | |||
| William Gaddis (1922–1998) | novelist | attended College, did not graduate | |
| Bill Gates (1955-) | co-founder of Microsoft; as of 2003, wealthiest person in the world | attended College, did not graduate | |
| Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (1950-) | African American studies scholar | professor | |
| Walter Gilbert (1932-) | molecular biologist; Nobel Prize winner | College; professor | |
| Nelson Goodman (1906–1998) | philosopher | ||
| Richard Goodwin (1931-) | speechwriter for Kennedy and Johnson administations, author | Law | |
| Al Gore (1948-) | Vice President of the United States | College 1969 | |
| Edward Gorey (1925–2000) | illustrator | College 1950 | |
| Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002) | biologist | professor | |
| Fred Grandy (1948-) | actor, politician | College 1970 | |
| Milton Green (1913–2005) | runner, former world recorder holder in hurdles | College | |
| Walter Gropius (1883–1969) | architect | professor; dean of Harvard Graduate School of Design | |
| Fred Gwynne (1926–1993) | actor | College 1951 | |
H | |||
| John Hagelin (1954-) | third-party presidential candidate | Ph.D. 1981 | |
| G. Stanley Hall (1844–1924) | First president of APA and Clark University | Ph.D. 1878 | |
| John Hancock (1737–1793) | President of the Continental Congress | College 1754 | |
| John Harbison (1938-) | composer | College 1960 | |
| Trip Hawkins (1953-) | founder of Electronic Arts and the 3DO Company | College | |
| Rutherford Hayes (1822–1893) | President of the United States | Law School 1845 | |
| William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951) | newspaper magnate | attended College, did not graduate | |
| H. John Heinz (1938–1991) | United States Senator | Business School 1963 | |
| Mark Helprin (1947-) | writer | College, Graduate School | |
| Dudley R. Herschbach (1932-) | chemist; Nobel Prize winner | professor | |
| Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894) | poet | College; Ph.D. 1836; professor | |
| Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | College 1861 | |
| Charles Hamilton Houston (1895–1950) | jurist | Law School 1922 and 1923 | |
| Samuel P. Huntington (1927-) | political scientist | Ph.D. 1951; professor | |
I | |||
J | |||
| Thomas Jaggar | geologist, founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory | College 1897 | |
| William James (1842–1910) | philosopher; psychologist | Medical School 1869; gave name to William James Hall | |
| Philip Johnson (1906-) | architect | College 1930 | |
| Tommy Lee Jones (1946-) | actor | College 1969 | |
K | |||
| Ted Kaczynski (1942-) | Unabomber terrorist | College 1962 | |
| Anthony Kennedy (1936-) | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | Law School 1961 | |
| Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg (1957-) | writer; daughter of John F. Kennedy | Radcliffe 1979 | |
| Edward Kennedy (1932-) | United States Senator | College 1956 | |
| John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) | President of the United States | College 1940; gave name to Kennedy School of Government | |
| Robert F. Kennedy (1925–1968) | United States Senator | College 1948 | |
| Alan Keyes (1950-) | U.S. presidential candidate and Senatorial candidate | College 1972; Ph.D. 1979 | |
| Karim Aga Khan IV (1936-) | spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili branch of Islam | College 1959 | |
| Henry Kissinger (1923-) | United States Secretary of State | College 1950; M.A. 1952; Ph.D. 1954 | |
| Saul Kripke (1940-) | philosopher | College; Society of Fellows | |
| Thomas Samuel Kuhn (1922–1996) | philosopher and historian of science | College 1943; M.A. 1946; Ph.D. 1949 | |
| Maxine Kumin (1925-) | poet | College 1946; M.A. 1948 | |
L | |||
| Edwin Land (1909–1991) | inventor | attended College, did not graduate | |
| George Martin Lane (1823–1897) | classicist | professor (1869–1894) | |
| Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-) | novelist | Radcliffe 1951 | |
| Tom Lehrer (1928-) | satirist; mathematician; singer | College 1947 | |
| Jack Lemmon (1925–2001) | actor | College 1947 | |
| David Lewis (1941–2001) | philosopher | Ph.D. | |
| John Lithgow (1945-) | actor | College 1967 | |
| Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) | poet | professor (1834–1954) | |
| John Loeb (1902–1996) | financier | College 1924 | |
| Alan Lomax (1915–2002) | musicologist | attended College (1932–1933), did not graduate | |
| John Lomax (1867–1948) | musicologist | visiting student (1907) | |
| James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) | poet, abolitionist | College 1838 | |
| Robert Lowell (1917–1977) | poet | attended College, did not graduate | |
| Alison Lurie (1926-) | novelist | Radcliffe 1947 | |
M | |||
| Yo-Yo Ma (1955-) | cellist | College 1976 | |
| Norman Mailer (1923-) | novelist | College 1943 | |
| N. Gregory Mankiw (1958-) | economist | professor | |
| Thom Mayne (1944-) | architect; Pritzker Prize winner | School of Design 1978 | |
| Malcolm McKesson (1909–1999) | outsider artist | College 1933 | |
| Scott McNealy (1954-) | co-founder of Sun Microsystems | College
| |
| Robert Merton (1944-) | economist; Nobel Prize winner | professor, Harvard Business School | |
| Marvin Minsky (1927-) | computer scientist | College 1950 | |
| Tom Morello (1964-) | lead guitarist of the band Audioslave | College 1986 | |
| David Mumford (1937-) | mathematician; Fields Medal winner | College 1957; Ph.D. 1961 | |
N | |||
| Ralph Nader (1934-) | public advocate | Law School 1958 | |
| Ogden Nash (1902–1971) | poet | attended College (1920–21), did not graduate | |
| Howard Nemerov (1920–1991) | poet | College 1941 | |
| Robert Nozick (1938–2002) | libertarian philosopher | professor | |
O | |||
| Conan O'Brien (1963-) | talk show host | College 1985 | |
| Frank O'Hara (1926–1966) | poet | College 1950 | |
| Bill O'Reilly (1949-) | journalist and commentator | KSG 1995 | |
| Tim O'Reilly (??-) | founder of O'Reilly Media | College 1975 | |
| J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967) | physicist, "father of the atomic bomb" | College 1922 | |
| Masako Owada (1963-) | Crown Princess of Japan | College 1985 | |
P | |||
| Theodore Parker (1810–1860) | Unitarian leader | Divinity School | |
| Francis Parkman (1823–1898) | historian | Law School | |
| George Parkman (1790–1849) | physician | Medical School | |
| Milman Parry (??-1935) | scholar of the classics and folklore | professor | |
| Benjamin Peirce (1809–1880) | mathematician | College 1829; professor | |
| Charles Peirce (1839–1914) | philosopher; mathematician | College 1859 | |
| Steven Pinker (1954-) | psychologist | Ph.D. 1979; professor (2003-)
| |
| George Plimpton (1927–2003) | journalist; actor | College 1948 | |
| Natalie Portman (1981-) | actress | College 2003 | |
| Robert Putnam (1941-) | political scientist | professor | |
Q | |||
| Daniel Quillen (1940-) | mathematician; Fields Medal winner | College 1961; Ph.D. 1964 | |
| W. V. Quine (1908–2000) | philosopher; logician | Ph.D. 1932; professor (1956–2000) | |
R | |||
| Norman Ramsey (1915-) | physicist; Nobel Prize winner | professor | |
| John Rawls (1921–2002) | philosopher; political scientist | professor | |
| Edwin O. Reischauer (1910–1990) | East Asian scholar | Ph.D. 1939; professor; gave name to Reischauer Institute | |
| William Rehnquist (1924-) | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | M.A. 1950 | |
| Adrienne Rich (1929-) | poet | Radcliffe 1951 | |
| Tom Ridge (1946-) | United States Secretary of Homeland Security | College 1967 | |
| Eden Riegel (1981-) | actress | College (1998-2000; dropped out but plans to return) | |
| Jay Rockefeller (1937-) | United States Senator | College 1961 | |
| David Rockefeller (1916-) | Banker; Philanthropist; Chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank | College 1936 | |
| Mitt Romney (1947-) | Governor of Massachusetts | Business School and Law School 1975 | |
| Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) | President of the United States | College 1904 | |
| Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) | President of the United States | College 1880 | |
| Josiah Royce (1855–1916) | philosopher | professor (1892–1914) | |
| Robert E. Rubin (1938-) | U.S. Treasury Secretary; Chairman, Citigroup | College 1960 | |
| Frederic Rzewski (1938-) | composer, pianist | College 1958 | |
S | |||
| Edward Said (1935–2003) | coined term Orientalism; Palestinian activist | M.A. ??; Ph.D. 1964 | |
| Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1948-) | president of Mexico, (1988–94) | M.P.A. 1973; Ph.D. 1978 | |
| Leverett Saltonstall (1892–1979) | United States Senator | College 1914; Law School 1917 | |
| Michael Sandel (??-) | political scientist | professor | |
| George Santayana (1863–1952) | philosopher | College 1886; Ph.D. 1889; professor | |
| Antonin Scalia (1936-) | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | Law School 1960 | |
| Phyllis Schlafly (1924-) | political activist | Graduate School 1945 | |
| Arthur M. Schlesinger (1888–1965) | historian | professor; gave name to Schlesinger Library | |
| Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1917-) | historian, advisor to John F. Kennedy | College 1938; professor | |
| Julian Schwinger (1918–1994) | physicist; Nobel Prize winner (1965) | professor | |
| Pete Seeger (1919-) | songwriter, singer, activist | attended College, did not graduate | |
| Peter Sellars (??-) | theater director | ||
| Amartya Sen (1933-) | economist; Nobel Prize winner (1998) | professor | |
| Robert Gould Shaw (1837–1863) | abolitionist, Union Army colonel | attended College (1856-1859), did not graduate. | |
| Elisabeth Shue (1963-) | actress | College 2000 | |
| Jonathan Siegel (1962-) | Professor of Law, George Washington University | College 1984 | |
| Jeffrey Skilling (1948-) | CEO of Enron | Business School | |
| Cordwainer Smith (1913–1966) | East Asian scholar; science fiction writer | faculty | |
| Robert M. Solow (1924-) | economist; Nobel Prize winner (1987) | College 1947, Ph.D. 1951 | |
| Maximo V. Soliven (1933-) | Decorated Writer; Chevalier (knight) of the National Order of Merit. | Ph.D. 1951 | |
| Mira Sorvino (1967-) | actress | College 1990 | |
| David Souter (1939-) | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | College 1961; Law School 1966 | |
| Jared Sparks (1789–1866) | historian | College 1819; professor (1838–1849) | |
| Richard Stallman (1953-) | founder of the Free Software Foundation | College 1974 | |
| Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) | poet, novelist | Radcliffe 1897 | |
| Wallace Stevens (1879–1955) | poet | Special student (1897–1900), did not graduate | |
| Surakiart Sathirathai (1958-) | Foreign Minister of Thailand | Law School; LL.M.; S.J.D. | |
| Lawrence Summers (1954-) | economist; United States Secretary of the Treasury; Chief Economist for the World Bank | Ph.D. 1982; President (2001-) | |
T | |||
| Jonathan Taylor Thomas (1981-) | actor | attended college (2001–2002), did not graduate. | |
| Grant Thompson (??-) | runner-up on second season of Dream Job, actor | College 1998 | |
| Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) | journalist, philosopher, writer | College 1837 | |
| James Toback (1944-) | film director and screenwriter | College 1966 | |
| James Tobin (1918–2002) | economist; Nobel Prize winner (1981) | College 1939 | |
| Sergio Troncoso (1961-) | novelist and writer of short stories | College 1983 | |
| Jonathan Trumbull (1710–1785) | politician | College 1727 | |
| Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. (1740–1809) | politician, Speaker of the House of Representatives | College 1759 | |
| Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989) | historian | Radcliffe 1933; faculty | |
U | |||
| Alvaro Uribe (1952-) | Colombia's President | Business School 1993 | |
| John Updike (1932-) | writer | College 1954 | |
V | |||
W | |||
| Alexander Watson | ambassador, diplomat | College 1961 | |
| James D. Watson (1928-) | molecular biologist; Nobel Prize winner | professor | |
| Cornel West (1953-) | African American studies scholar | professor (1993–2002) | |
| William Lindsay White | journalist | College 1924 | |
| George Whitesides (1939-) | chemist | professor (1982-) | |
| Richard Wilbur (1921-) | poet | M.A. 1947; professor | |
| Edward Osborne Wilson (1929-) | biologist | Ph.D.; professor | |
| Kenneth G. Wilson (1936-) | physicist; Nobel Prize winner | College 1956 | |
| John Winthrop (1714–1779) | astronomer; mathematician | College 1732; professor | |
| Henry Austryn Wolfson (1887–1974) | philosopher | Ph.D.; professor | |
| Charles W. Woodworth (1865–1940) | entomologist; Founder UCB's Entomology Department | Grad. Student, Researcher (1886–1888), (1900–1901) | |
X | |||
Y | |||
| Yamamoto Isoroku (1884–1943) | World War II Japanese admiral | visiting student (1919–1921) | |
Z | |||
Categories: Harvard University | Lists of people by university affiliation