The Bowdoin Prizes are prestigious awards given annually to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

undergraduate and graduate students. From the income of the bequest of Governor

James Bowdoin James Bowdoin II (; August 7, 1726 – November 6, 1790) was an American political and intellectual leader from Boston, Massachusetts, during the American Revolution and the following decade. He initially gained fame and influence as a wealthy ...

, AB 1745, prizes are offered to students at the University in graduate and undergraduate categories for work in the English Language, in the Natural Sciences, in Greek, and in Latin. Each winner of a Bowdoin Prize receives, in addition to a sum of money, a medal, a certificate, and his or her name printed in the Commencement Program. The award was established in 1791, and past winners include (with year of award and professional highlights): * Jared Sparks, 1815, historian and president of Harvard *

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

, 1820 and 1821, essayist and poet * Charles Sumner, 1830 and 1832, politician and US Senator *

Jones Very Jones Very (August 28, 1813 – May 8, 1880) was an American poet, essayist, clergyman, and mystic associated with the American Transcendentalism movement. He was known as a scholar of William Shakespeare, and many of his poems were Shakespea ...

, 1835 and 1836, Transcendentalist essayist and poet *

Richard Henry Dana, Jr. Richard Henry Dana Jr. (August 1, 1815 – January 6, 1882) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, a descendant of a colonial family, who gained renown as the author of the classic American memoir ''Two Years Before the Mast''. ...

, 1837, lawyer and politician * Edward Everett Hale, 1838 and 1839, author and historian *

Charles L. Flint Charles Louis Flint (May 8, 1824 – February 26, 1889) was a lawyer, cofounder and first secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, a lecturer in cattle and dairy farming, the first secretary of the Massachusetts Agricultural College ...

, 1849, lawyer, horticulturalist, president of what is now University of Massachusetts Amherst *

Horatio Alger, Jr. Horatio Alger Jr. (; January 13, 1832 – July 18, 1899) was an American author who wrote young adult novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of middle-class security and comfort through good works. His wri ...

, 1851, prolific author of "rags to riches" novels *

Henry Adams Henry Brooks Adams (February 16, 1838 – March 27, 1918) was an American historian and a member of the Adams political family, descended from two U.S. Presidents. As a young Harvard graduate, he served as secretary to his father, Charles Fra ...

, 1858, historian and author *

Richard Theodore Greener Richard Theodore Greener (1844–1922) was a pioneering African-American scholar, excelling in elocution, philosophy, law and classics in the Reconstruction era. He broke ground as Harvard College's first Black graduate in 1870. Within three ye ...

, 1870, statesman and dean of

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldes ...

George Lyman Kittredge George Lyman Kittredge (February 28, 1860 – July 23, 1941) was a professor of English literature at Harvard University. His scholarly edition of the works of William Shakespeare was influential in the early 20th century. He was also involved i ...

, 1881 and 1882, educator and scholar in English literature *

Alain LeRoy Locke Alain LeRoy Locke (September 13, 1885 – June 9, 1954) was an American writer, philosopher, educator, and patron of the arts. Distinguished in 1907 as the first African-American Rhodes Scholar, Locke became known as the philosophical architect ...

, 1907, first African-American Rhodes Scholar, academic, writer, and "Father of the Harlem Renaissance" *

R. Nathaniel Dett Robert Nathaniel Dett (October 11, 1882 – October 2, 1943), often known as R. Nathaniel Dett and Nathaniel Dett, was a Black Canadian-American composer, organist, pianist, choral director, and music professor. Born and raised in Canada until ...

, 1920, composer * George Frazier, 1933, journalist *

Nathan Pusey Nathan Marsh Pusey (; April 4, 1907 – November 14, 2001) was an American academic. Originally from Council Bluffs, Iowa, Pusey won a scholarship to Harvard University out of high school and went on to earn bachelor's, master's, and doctora ...

, 1934, president of Harvard *

Daniel J. Boorstin Daniel Joseph Boorstin (October 1, 1914 – February 28, 2004) was an American historian at the University of Chicago who wrote on many topics in American and world history. He was appointed the twelfth Librarian of the United States Congress in ...

, 1934, Rhodes Scholar, historian, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize * Howard Nemerov, 1940, poet and winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award *

I. Bernard Cohen I. Bernard Cohen (1 March 1914 – 20 June 2003) was the Victor S. Thomas Professor of the history of science at Harvard University and the author of many books on the history of science and, in particular, Isaac Newton and Benjamin Franklin. C ...

, 1941, historian of science *

Robert Galambos Robert Carl Galambos (April 20, 1914 – June 18, 2010) was an American neuroscientist whose pioneering research demonstrated how bats use echolocation for navigation purposes, as well as studies on how sound is processed in the brain. Biogra ...

, 1941, neuroscientist * Arthur Kinoy, 1941, attorney and civil rights leader * Constantine Cavarnos, 1947, teacher, author, monk *Henri Dorra, 1949, art historian * Christopher Lasch, 1954, professor, author, historian, and social critic *

John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth ...

, 1954, writer *

Allen G. Debus Allen George Debus (August 16, 1926 – March 6, 2009) was an American historian of science, known primarily for his work on the history of chemistry and alchemy. In 1991 he was honored at the University of Chicago with an academic conference he ...

, 1957 and 1958, historian of science *

Larry Siedentop Sir Larry Alan Siedentop (born 24 May 1936) is an American-born British political philosopher with a special interest in 19th-century French liberalism. He is the author of ''Democracy in Europe'' and an occasional contributor to several major Br ...

, 1959, Marshall Scholar, political philosopher * Edward Said, 1960, Palestinian essayist and academic *

James Samuel Gordon James Samuel Gordon is an American author and psychiatrist known for mind-body medicine. In 1991, he founded and is the director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization. At the Georgetown Medica ...

, 1961 and 1962, author, psychiatrist, and mind-body medicine expert *

Patrick T. Riley Patrick Thomas Riley (October 27, 1941 – March 10, 2015) was Michael Oakeshott Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is notable for his translations of the political writings of Gottfried Leibniz and his resea ...

, 1966 and 1967, political science professor *

Robert Kirshner Robert P. Kirshner (born August 15, 1949) is an American astronomer, Chief Program Officer for Science for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Clownes Research Professor of Science at Harvard University. Kirshner has worked in several ...

, 1970, astrophysicist *

Paul Starr Paul Elliot Starr (born May 12, 1949) is a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University. He is also the co-editor (with Robert Kuttner) and co-founder (with Kuttner and Robert Reich) of ''The American Prospect'', a notable li ...

, 1974, professor of sociology and public affairs *Ralph Jay Hexter, 1974, professor of classics and comparative literature and provost of UC Davis *

James D. Weinrich James Donald "Jim" Weinrich (born 1950) is an American sex researcher and psychobiologist. Much of his work examines the relationship of biology and sexual orientation. He won the Outstanding Contributions to Sexual Science Award at the 2011 Society ...

, 1975, sex researcher and psychobiologist *

Robert W. Brooks Robert Wolfe Brooks (Washington, D.C., September 16, 1952 – Montreal, September 5, 2002) was a mathematician known for his work in spectral geometry, Riemann surfaces, circle packings, and differential geometry. He received his Ph.D. from H ...

, 1975, mathematician * John Glover Roberts, Jr., 1976, Chief Justice of the United States *

Paul Alan Cox Paul Alan Cox is an American ethnobotanist whose scientific research focuses on discovering new medicines by studying patterns of wellness and illness among indigenous peoples. Cox was born in Salt Lake City in 1953. Education After receiving h ...

, 1978 and 1981, ethnobotanist *

Richard H. Ebright Richard High Ebright is an American molecular biologist. He is the Board of Governors Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University and Laboratory Director at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology. Early life and education Eb ...

, 1979, molecular and microbiologist *

Mark W. Moffett Mark Moffett (born 7 January 1958) is a tropical biologist who studies the ecology of tropical forest canopies and the social behavior of animals (especially ants) and humans. He is also the author of several popular science books and is noted ...

, 1986, entomologist *

Jonathan Veitch Jonathan Veitch (born 1959) is an American college administrator, author and former professor. He was the 15th President of Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. He became president in July 2009, succeeding interim president Robert Skoth ...

, 1988, historian and president of Occidental College * Nicholas A. Christakis, 1988, physician and sociologist *

Cyrus Patell Cyrus R. K. Patell (born October 9, 1961) is a literary and cultural critic who writes and teaches on World literature with a focus on US literature. He is currently Professor of English at New York University (NYU) and Global Network Professor o ...

, 1991, literary and cultural critic * Faith Salie, 1992, Rhodes Scholar, actress, and media personality *David S. Jones, 1993, historian and professor of the culture of medicine *Elaine Goldenberg, 1993, lawyer *

William Pannapacker William Pannapacker is a professor emeritus of English and a higher education journalist, consultant, administrator, and fundraiser. He is the author of ''Revised Lives: Walt Whitman and Nineteenth-Century Authorship'', and numerous articles on li ...

, 1995 and 1999, academic and journalist *

Mark Greif Mark Greif (born 1975) is an author, educator and cultural critic. His most recent book is ''Against Everything''. One of the co-founders of ''n+1'', he is a frequent contributor to the magazine and writes for numerous other publications. Greif curr ...

, 1997, Marshall Scholar, academic and literary critic * Joe Roman, 2000, author and conservation biologist * Vivek Ramaswamy, 2007, entrepreneur in the healthcare and technology sectors, political commentator, and a ''New York Times'' bestselling author

References

{{Reflist Awards by university and college in the United States Harvard University

See also

References