List Of Bowdoin College People
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This list is of notable people associated with Bowdoin College in
Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin Intern ...
. This list includes alumni, faculty, and honorary degree recipients.


Presidents of Bowdoin

# Joseph McKeen (1802–07) # Jesse Appleton (1807–19) #
William Allen William Allen may refer to: Politicians United States *William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio *William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio *William ...
(1820–39) # Leonard Woods (1839–66) # Samuel Harris (1867–71) #
Joshua Chamberlain Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (born Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, September 8, 1828February 24, 1914) was an American college professor from Maine who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army. He became a highly respected and ...
(1871–83) # William DeWitt Hyde (1885–1917) # Kenneth C.M. Sills (1918–52) # James S. Coles (1952–67) # Roger Howell, Jr. (1969–78) # Willard F. Enteman (1978–80) # A. LeRoy Greason (1981–90) # Robert Hazard Edwards (1990–2001) # Barry Mills (2001–2015) #
Clayton Rose Clayton S. Rose is an American academic administrator serving as the 15th president of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Early life and education Originally from San Rafael, California, Rose graduated from the University of Chicago as an und ...
(2015–present)


Distinguished graduates


Arts and letters

:''Note: individuals who belong in multiple sections appear in the most relevant section.''


Literature and poetry

*
Seba Smith Seba Smith (September 14, 1792 – July 28, 1868) was an American humorist and writer. He was married to Elizabeth Oakes Smith, also a writer, and he was the father of Appleton Oaksmith. Biography Born in Buckfield, Maine, Smith graduated from ...
1818, humorist, creator of the fictional character Major Jack Downing *
Jacob Abbott Jacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 – October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. Early life On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine to Jacob Abbott II and Betsey Chandler. He attended the Hallowell Academy. ...
1820, academic and author of 180 books, primarily children's books *
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...
1825, world-renowned poet; professor at Bowdoin (1829–31) and
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 high ...
(1831–54); memorialized in the
Poets' Corner Poets' Corner is the name traditionally given to a section of the South Transept of Westminster Abbey in the City of Westminster, London because of the high number of poets, playwrights, and writers buried and commemorated there. The first poe ...
at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
; namesake, along with Hawthorne, of Bowdoin's main library *
Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...
1825, acclaimed author of classic novels ''
The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, ...
'' (1850) and ''
The House of the Seven Gables ''The House of the Seven Gables: A Romance'' is a Gothic novel written beginning in mid-1850 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in April 1851 by Ticknor and Fields of Boston. The novel follows a New England family and their anc ...
'' (1851); namesake, along with Longfellow, of Bowdoin's main library * Charles Asbury Stephens 1869, prolific author of children's stories for ''
The Youth's Companion ''The Youth's Companion'' (1827–1929), known in later years as simply ''The Companion—For All the Family'', was an American children's magazine that existed for over one hundred years until it finally merged with '' The American Boy'' in 1929 ...
'' *
Arlo Bates Arlo Bates (December 16, 1850 – August 25, 1918) was an American author, educator and newspaperman. Biography Arlo Bates was born at East Machias, Maine. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1876. In 1880 Bates became the editor of the Bosto ...
1876, novelist, poet, and professor at
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
* Robert P. T. Coffin 1915, Rhodes Scholar, winner of the
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first presented in 1922, and is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, published ...
(1936), and Bowdoin professor (1934–55) *
Artine Artinian Artine Artinian (December 8, 1907 – November 19, 2005) was a distinguished French literature scholar of Armenian descent, notable for his valuable collection of French literary manuscripts and artwork. He was immortalized as a fictional characte ...
1931, French literature scholar *
John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...
1931, novelist, humorist, and columnist * James Bassett 1934, journalist and author of the best-selling novel ''
In Harm's Way ''In Harm's Way'' is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Patricia Neal, with a supporting cast featuring Henry Fonda in a lengthy cameo, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanle ...
'' (1962) * Lawrence Sargent Hall 1936, novelist, short-story writer, and Bowdoin professor who won the
O. Henry Award The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best ...
(1960) *
Richard Hooker Richard Hooker (25 March 1554 – 2 November 1600) was an English priest in the Church of England and an influential theologian.The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church by F. L. Cross (Editor), E. A. Livingstone (Editor) Oxford University ...
1945, doctor and author of the novel ''
M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...
'' (1968) *
Willis Barnstone Willis Barnstone (born November 13, 1927) is an American poet, religious scholar, and translator. He was born in Lewiston, Maine and lives in Oakland, California. He has translated works by Jorge Luis Borges, Antonio Machado, Rainer Maria Rilke, ...
1948, four-time Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet * Paul Batista 1970, trial lawyer, television personality, and author * Rinker Buck, 1972, author *
Robin McKinley Robin McKinley (born November 16, 1952) is an American author best known for her fantasy novels and fairy tale retellings. Her 1984 novel ''The Hero and the Crown'' won the Newbery Medal as the year's best new American children's book. In 2022 ...
1975, fantasy author of the
Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...
-winning '' The Hero and the Crown'' (1985) * Douglas Kennedy 1976, novelist *
Charlotte Agell Charlotte Agell (born September 7, 1959) is a Swedish-born American author for young adults and children who currently lives in Maine. Her second novel, ''Shift,'' was featured on the front cover of the Brunswick '' Times Record'' in October 200 ...
1981, author * Walter H. Hunt 1981, science fiction author * Taylor Mali 1987, slam poet and teaching activist * Martha McPhee 1987, novelist, nominated for the
National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...
(2002) *
Meredith Hall Meredith Hall (born March 25, 1949) is a writer and professor emeritus at the University of New Hampshire. She is the author of the memoir ''Without a Map'' and the novel ''Beneficence''. Background At 44, Hall graduated from Bowdoin College an ...
1993, best-selling author of ''Without a Map'' (2007) *
Anthony Doerr Anthony Doerr (born October 27, 1973) is an American author of novels and short stories. He gained widespread recognition for his 2014 novel ''All the Light We Cannot See'', which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Early life and education Rais ...
1995, novelist; author of ''
All the Light We Cannot See ''All the Light We Cannot See'' is a 2014 war novel that was written by American author Anthony Doerr. The novel is set during World War II and centers around the characters Marie-Laure Leblanc, a blind French girl who takes refuge in her uncl ...
'' (2014), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2015) and was nominated for the
National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...
; writer-in-residence of the state of Idaho (2007–2010) * Claudia La Rocco 2000, poet *
Jay Caspian Kang Jay Caspian Kang is an American writer, editor, television journalist and podcast host. He is a staff writer at the ''New York Times Magazine'' and the opinion section of ''The New York Times''. Previously he was an editor of ''Grantland'', then ...
2002, writer * Kelly Kerney 2002, author


Journalism and nonfiction writing

*
John Stevens Cabot Abbott John Stevens Cabot Abbott (September 19, 1805 – June 17, 1877), an American historian, pastor, and pedagogical writer, was born in Brunswick, Maine to Jacob and Betsey Abbott. Early life He was a brother of Jacob Abbott, and was associated ...
1825, biographer of
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
(1855) *
John Brown Russwurm John Brown Russwurm (October 1, 1799 – June 9, 1851) was an abolitionist, newspaper publisher, and colonizer of Liberia, where he moved from the United States. He was born in Jamaica to an English father and enslaved mother. As a child he t ...
1826, third black college graduate in the United States; founder of ''
Freedom's Journal ''Freedom's Journal'' was the first African-American owned and operated newspaper published in the United States. Founded by Rev. John Wilk and other free Black men in New York City, it was published weekly starting with the 16 March 1827 issue. ...
,'' America's first black newspaper (1827); governor of the
Republic of Maryland The Republic of Maryland (also known variously as the Independent State of Maryland, Maryland-in-Africa, and Maryland in Liberia) was a country in West Africa that existed from 1834 to 1857, when it was merged into what is now Liberia. The area ...
(later part of Liberia) (1836–41) * Charles Beecher 1834, author, minister, and abolitionist; brother of the author Harriet Beecher Stowe, the minister
Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His r ...
, and educator
Catharine Beecher Catharine Esther Beecher (September 6, 1800 – May 12, 1878) was an American educator known for her forthright opinions on female education as well as her vehement support of the many benefits of the incorporation of kindergarten into children's ...
* ''New York Times'' Justice Department reporter Katie Benner (1999) *
Edward Page Mitchell Edward Page Mitchell (1852–1927) was an American editorial and short story writer for '' The Sun'', a daily newspaper in New York City. He became that newspaper's editor in 1897, succeeding Charles Anderson Dana. Mitchell was recognized as a ...
1871, editor-in-chief of ''
The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New Yor ...
'' (1903–26) * Hodding Carter 1927, progressive journalist and winner of the Pulitzer Prize (1946) * Francis Russell 1933, historian, best known for his work on
Warren Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...
*
Arthur Stratton Arthur Mills Perce Stratton (1911 – 3 September 1975) was an American author and traveller. He was a playwright, a novelist, an OSS agent, a teacher in Turkey, and an assistant college professor in the US, before working for the CIA for about ...
1935, author and historian * John Rich 1939,
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
war correspondent *
Marcus Merriman Marcus Homer Merriman (1940–2006) was an historian and academic researching Anglo-Scottish relations in the 16th century and their European context. Background Merriman was born in Baltimore on 3 May 1940. Educated at Bowdoin College, Maine ...
1962, historian, best known for his work on
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...
* Tom Cassidy 1972,
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
anchor (1981–89) and founder of the weekend news program '' Pinnacle'' *
Geoffrey Canada Geoffrey Canada (born January 13, 1952) is an American educator, social activist and author. Since 1990, Canada has been president of the Harlem Children's Zone in Harlem, New York, an organization that states its goal is to increase high scho ...
1974, author and activist; president and CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone *
Alvin Hall Alvin D. Hall (born June 27, 1952) is an American financial adviser, author, and media personality. Early life Hall was born June 27, 1952, in Crawfordville, Florida, one of seven children to a family of farmers, day workers and fishermen. Inte ...
1974, financial advisor, author, and
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television presenter *
Cynthia McFadden Cynthia McFadden (born May 27, 1956) is an American television journalist who is currently the senior legal and investigative correspondent for NBC News. She was an anchor and correspondent for ABC News who co-anchored '' Nightline'', and occasio ...
1978,
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
anchor of '' Primetime'' (2004–14) and '' Nightline'' (2005–14);
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
senior legal & investigative correspondent (2014–present) * Andrew Serwer 1981, '' Fortune Magazine'' Managing Editor (2006–present) *Scott Allen 1982, investigative reporter and lead editor of the "
Spotlight Spotlight or spot light may refer to: Lighting * Spot lights, automotive auxiliary lamps * Spotlight (theatre lighting) * Spotlight, a searchlight * Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types Art, entertainment, an ...
" news team, ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' * Judy Fortin 1983,
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
'' Headline News'' anchor (1990–2006); medical correspondent (2006–present) * Brian Farnham 1993, editor-in-chief of ''
Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...
'' (2006–08) * Thomas Kohnstamm 1998, author and travel writer *Alan Baker, owner and publisher of ''
The Ellsworth American ''The Ellsworth American'' is a local weekly newspaper covering Hancock County, Maine. Overview ''The Ellsworth American'' is a locally owned and managed weekly newspaper serving Hancock County, Maine. Publication began Oct. 17, 1851,"In the Begi ...
'' (1986–present) *Rebekah Metzler 2004,
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, Senior White House Editor (2014–present)


Film and television

*
Phillips Lord Phillips Haynes Lord (July 13, 1902 – October 19, 1975) was an American radio program writer, creator, producer and narrator as well as a motion picture actor, best known for the '' Gang Busters'' radio program that was broadcast from 1935 to ...
1925, radio personality, writer and actor *
Albert Dekker Thomas Albert Ecke Van Dekker (December 20, 1905 – May 5, 1968) was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in ''Dr. Cyclops'', ''The Killers (1946 film), The Killers'' (1946), ''Kiss Me Deadly'', and ''The Wild Bun ...
1927, actor *
Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television actor whose credits included more than 50 feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances. He starr ...
1937, actor *
Burt Kwouk Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk, (; ; 18 July 1930 – 24 May 2016) was a British actor, known for his role as Cato in the ''Pink Panther'' films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Ma ...
OBE 1953, British actor * Ned Dowd 1972, actor and film producer * John Davis 1975, film producer * Douglas Kennedy 1976, film producer *
Kary Antholis Kary Antholis (born 1962) is an American publisher and editor oCrimeStory.com former executive at the television network HBO and documentary filmmaker best known for the Oscar-winning short ''One Survivor Remembers'', which was inducted into the N ...
1984,
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning filmmaker and executive at
HBO Films HBO Films (formerly called HBO Premiere Films and HBO Pictures) is an American production and distribution company, a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. The division produces fiction and non- ...
*
Marcus Giamatti Marcus Bartlett Giamatti (born October 3, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for being a regular member of the cast of the CBS drama series '' Judging Amy''. Early life Giamatti was born on October 3, 1961, in New Haven, Connecticut, an ...
1984, actor * Brad Anderson 1986, filmmaker * Angus Wall 1988, two-time
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning editor *
Paul Adelstein Paul Adelstein (born April 29, 1969) is an American actor and writer, known for the role of Agent Paul Kellerman in the Fox television series ''Prison Break'' and his role as pediatrician Cooper Freedman in the ABC medical drama '' Private Prac ...
1991, actor *
Hayes MacArthur Hayes MacArthur (born April 16, 1977) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He starred in the TBS comedy series ''Angie Tribeca''. Early life MacArthur was born in Chicago to Bruce and Shelley MacArthur. His stepfather is businessman ...
1999, actor and comedian; husband of actress
Ali Larter Alison Elizabeth Larter (born February 28, 1976) is an American actress and model. She portrayed fictional model Allegra Coleman in a 1996 ''Esquire'' magazine hoax and took on guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s. She made her ...
*
Hari Kondabolu Hari Karthikeya Kondabolu (born October 21, 1982)Beem, p. 38 is an American stand-up comic. His comedy covers subjects such as race, inequity, and Indian stereotypes. He was a writer for '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'' and the creator of ...
2004, stand-up comedian; featured several times on
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
and on late night network television; writer/correspondent on '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'' (2012–13) * Kathleen E. McAuley Film & TV Editor


Music

* Paul "DJ Spooky" Miller 1992, trip-hop musician, turntablist and producer * Michael J. Merenda, Jr. 1998, singer-songwriter with the alternative folk band The Mammals


Art and photography

* Jere Abbott 1920, art museum director who helped establish the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
* Harley Schwadron 1964, cartoonist * Stephen Hannock 1974, American landscape painter *
Kevin Bubriski Kevin Bubriski (born 1954) is an American documentary photographer. Life and career Bubriski was born in North Adams, Massachusetts. He attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, graduating in 1975. He worked as a photographer for nine years i ...
1975, documentary photographer *
Todd Siler Todd Siler (born August 23, 1953) is an American multimedia artist, author, educator, and inventor, equally well known for his art and for his work in creativity research. A graduate of Bowdoin College, he became the first visual artist to be ...
1975, visual artist and researcher of creativity *
Abelardo Morell Abelardo Morell (born 1948, Havana, Cuba) is a contemporary artist widely known for turning rooms into camera obscuras and then capturing the marriage of interior and exterior in large format photographs. He is also known for his 'tent-camera,' a ...
1977, photographer


Government

:''Note: individuals who belong in multiple sections appear in the most relevant section.''


Presidents

* Franklin Pierce 1824, congressman (1833–37) and senator (1837–42) from New Hampshire; 14th President of the United States (1853–57); namesake of
Franklin Pierce University Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampshire. It was founded as Franklin Pierce College in 1962, combining a liberal arts foundation with coursework for professional preparation. The school gained university stat ...
in New Hampshire


U.S. Cabinet Secretaries

* William Fessenden 1823, congressman (1841–43) and senator (1854–64, 1865–69) from New Hampshire;
Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
under President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
(1864–65) * Hugh McCulloch 1827,
Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
under Presidents
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
(1865), Andrew Johnson (1865–69) and
Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...
(1884–85) * Bill Cohen 1962, congressman (1972–78) and senator (1978–97) from Maine; Secretary of Defense under President Clinton (1997–2001)


U.S. Governors

* Robert P. Dunlap 1815, governor of Maine (1834–38) and congressman from Maine (1843–47) *
Richard H. Vose Richard Hampton Vose (November 8, 1803 – January 19, 1864) was an American politician and the 14th Governor of Maine for one day in 1841. This makes Vose the shortest serving state governor in American history. Early life Vose was born in N ...
1822, governor of Maine (1841) and president of the Maine state senate * William G. Crosby 1823, governor of Maine (1853–55) * John Fairfield 1826, congressman (1835–38) and senator (1843–47) from Maine; governor of Maine (1839–43) *
Alonzo Garcelon Alonzo Garcelon (May 6, 1813 – December 8, 1906) was the 36th governor of Maine, and a surgeon general of Maine during the American Civil War. Early life and education Garcelon was born in Lewiston (in modern-day Maine, then a part o ...
1836, Civil War general, Maine governor (1879–80) * John Andrew 1837, governor of Massachusetts (1861–66) responsible for the formation of the 54th Massachusetts during the Civil War * Frederick Robie 1841, governor of Maine (1883–87) *
La Fayette Grover La Fayette Grover (November 29, 1823May 10, 1911) was a Democratic politician and lawyer from the U.S. state of Oregon. He was the fourth Governor of Oregon, represented Oregon in the United States House of Representatives, and served one ter ...
1846, governor of Oregon (1871–77); congressman (1859) and senator (1877–83) from Oregon *
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (born Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, September 8, 1828February 24, 1914) was an American college professor from Maine who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army. He became a highly respected a ...
1852, Bowdoin College professor (1855–62), Civil War hero,
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
recipient (for valor on
Little Round Top Little Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—the companion to the adjacent, taller hill named Big Round Top. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left f ...
on the second day of the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
), Maine governor (1867–71), and president of Bowdoin College (1871–83); a statue of Chamberlain now stands at the entrance to the college *
Wilmot Brookings Wilmot Wood Brookings (October 23, 1830 – June 13, 1905) was an American pioneer, frontier judge, and early South Dakotan politician. He was provisional governor of the Dakota Territory, and both the cities of Wilmot and Brookings as well as ...
1855, first provisional governor of the Dakota Territory; namesake of the city and county of Brookings, both in South Dakota' * Henry B. Quinby 1869, governor of New Hampshire from 1909-1911 as well as an American Physician * William T. Cobb 1877, governor of Maine (1905–09) * John Fremont Hill 1877, governor of Maine (1901–05) * Percival Proctor Baxter 1898, governor of Maine (1921–24) and namesake of
Baxter State Park Baxter State Park is a large wilderness area permanently preserved as a state park in Northeast Piscataquis, Piscataquis County in north-central Maine, United States. It is in the North Maine Woods region and borders the Katahdin Woods and Wat ...
* James L. McConaughy 1911 (M.A.), governor of Connecticut (1947–48) and poet * Horrace Hildreth 1925, governor of Maine (1944–48), US Ambassador to Pakistan (1953–57), and president of
Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...
(1957–67) *
James B. Longley James Bernard Longley Sr. (April 22, 1924 – August 16, 1980) was an American politician. He served as the 69th Governor of Maine from 1975 to 1979, and was the first Independent to hold the office. In 1949, he married the former Helen Angela W ...
1947, governor of Maine (1975–79)


U.S. Senators

* George Evans 1815, congressman (1829–41) and senator (1841–47) from Maine * James Bell 1822, senator from New Hampshire (1855–57) * James Ware Bradbury 1825, senator from Maine (1847–53) *
Alpheus Felch Alpheus Felch (September 28, 1804June 13, 1896) was the fifth governor of Michigan and U.S. Senator from Michigan. Early life Felch was born in Limerick (in modern-day Maine, then a part of Massachusetts). He was left an orphan at the age of th ...
1827, Michigan governor (1846–47), senator from Michigan (1847–1853), professor of law at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, and namesake of Felch Township in Michigan * John Hale 1827, congressman (1843–45) and senator (1847–53) from New Hampshire; ran against Franklin Pierce 1824 as the
Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery int ...
candidate for President (1852) * William Frye 1850, congressman (1871–81) and senator (1881–1911) from Maine; played a role in the founding of
Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...
(1855) *
Paris Gibson Paris Gibson (July 1, 1830December 16, 1920) was an American entrepreneur and politician. Gibson was born in Brownfield, Maine. An 1851 graduate of Bowdoin College, he served as a member of the Montana State Senate and as a Democratic member ...
1851, senator from Montana (1901–05) * William D. Washburn 1854, congressman (1879–85) and senator (1889–95) from Minnesota *
Charles Fletcher Johnson Charles Fletcher Johnson (February 14, 1859 – February 15, 1930) was a United States senator from Maine and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Johnson was nominated by President Woodrow W ...
1879, senator from Maine (1911–1917) * Wallace White 1899, congressman (1916–31) and senator (1931–49) from Maine; Senate Minority Leader (1944–47);
Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...
(1947–49) *
Ralph Owen Brewster Ralph Owen Brewster (February 22, 1888 – December 25, 1961) was an American politician from Maine. Brewster, a Republican, served as the 54th Governor of Maine from 1925 to 1929, in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1935 to 1941 and in t ...
1909, Maine governor (1925–29); congressman (1935–41) and senator (1941–53) from Maine *
Harold Hitz Burton Harold Hitz Burton (June 22, 1888 – October 28, 1964) was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 45th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Sta ...
1909, senator from Ohio (1941–45); associate justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
(1945–1958) *
Paul Douglas Paul Howard Douglas (March 26, 1892 – September 24, 1976) was an American politician and Georgist economist. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Illinois for eighteen years, from 1949 to 1967. During his Senat ...
1913, professor of economics at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
(1920–42) and senator from Illinois (1949–67) * George Mitchell 1954, senator from Maine (1982–95); Senate Majority Leader (1989–95); chairman of the Walt Disney Corporation (2004–06); winner of the
Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
(1999); Chancellor of
Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...


U.S. Representatives

*
Benjamin Randall Benjamin Randall (February 7, 1749 – October 22, 1808) was an American Baptist minister the main organizer of the Freewill Baptists (Randall Line) in the northeastern United States. Biography Early years Benjamin Randall III was born Februa ...
1809, congressman from Maine (1839–43) * Bellamy Storer 1809, congressman from Ohio (1835–37) and law professor * John Anderson 1813, congressman from Maine (1825–33) and mayor of Portland (1833–36,1842) * John D. McCrate 1819, congressman from Maine (1845–47) * John Otis 1823, congressman from Maine (1849–51) * Samuel P. Benson 1825, congressman from Maine (1853–57) and Maine Secretary of State *
Jonathan Cilley Jonathan Cilley (July 2, 1802 – February 24, 1838) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine. He served part of one term in the 25th Congress, and died as the result of a wound sustained in a duel with another Congressman, ...
1825, congressman from Maine (1837–38) whose death in an 1838 duel with a Kentucky congressman prompted outrage and a congressional ban on the practice * Cullen Sawtelle 1825, congressman from Maine (1845–47, 1849–51) * Seargent Smith Prentiss 1826, congressman from Mississippi (1838–39) *
Owen Lovejoy Owen Lovejoy (January 6, 1811 – March 25, 1864) was an American lawyer, Congregational minister, abolitionist, and Republican congressman from Illinois. He was also a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad. After his brother Elijah Lo ...
1832, congressman from Maine (1857–64); abolitionist participant in the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...
*
John Appleton John Appleton (February 11, 1815 – August 22, 1864) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat who served as the United States' first '' chargé d'affaires'' to Bolivia, and later as special envoy to Great Britain and Russia. Born i ...
1834, US Minister to Bolivia (1848–49), congressman from Maine (1851–53), Assistant US Secretary of State (1857–60), and US Ambassador to Russia (1860–61) * Timothy R. Young 1835, congressman from Illinois (1849–51) *
Samuel Fessenden Samuel Fessenden (July 16, 1784 – March 13, 1869) was an American attorney, abolitionist, and politician. He served in both houses of the Massachusetts state legislature before Maine became a separate state. He was elected as major general i ...
1834, congressman from Maine (1861–63) * Charles H. Upton 1834, congressman from Virginia (1861–62) * E. Wilder Farley 1836, congressman from Maine (1853–55) *
Frederick A. Pike Frederick Augustus Pike (December 9, 1816 – December 2, 1886) was a U.S. Representative from Maine. Biography Born in Calais, Massachusetts (now in Maine), Pike attended the common schools and the Washington Academy, East Machias, Maine. ...
1837, congressman from Maine (1861–69) * Lorenzo De Medici Sweat 1837, congressman from Maine (1863–65) *
Samuel Thurston Samuel Royal Thurston (April 15, 1816 – April 9, 1851) was an American pioneer, lawyer and politician. He was the first delegate from the Oregon Territory to the United States Congress and was instrumental in the passage of the Donation Land Cla ...
1843, first congressman from Oregon (1849–51) * T.A.D. Fessenden 1845, congressman from Maine (1862–63) * William W. Rice 1846, congressman from Massachusetts (1877–87) * Isaac Newton Evans 1851, doctor and congressman from Pennsylvania (1877–79, 1883–87) * John A. Peters 1885,
United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from Maine (1913–22) *
Amos L. Allen Amos Lawrence Allen (March 17, 1837 – February 20, 1911) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Maine. Born in Waterboro, Maine, Allen attended the common schools, Whitestown Seminary in Whitestown, New Y ...
1860, congressman from Maine (1899–1911) *
Thomas Brackett Reed Thomas Brackett Reed (October 18, 1839 – December 7, 1902) was an American politician from the state of Maine. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives 12 times, first in 1876, and served ...
1860, congressman from Maine (1877–99);
Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
(1889–91, 1895–99) * De Alva S. Alexander 1870, congressman from New York (1896–1910) and
United States district attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
from New York (1889–93) * Daniel J. McGillicuddy 1881, congressman from Maine (1911–17) * Frederick Stevens 1881, congressman from Minnesota (1897–1915) * John A. Peters 1885, congressman from Maine (1913–22) and
United States district attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
from Maine (1922–47) * Simon M. Hamlin 1900, congressman from Maine (1935–37) * Donald F. Snow 1901, congressman from Maine (1929–33) * Robert Hale 1910, congressman from Maine (1943–59) * James C. Oliver 1917, congressman from Maine (1937–43) * Edward C. Moran, Jr. 1917, congressman from Maine (1933–37) and gubernatorial candidate (1928, 1930) * Joseph L. Fisher 1935, congressman from Virginia (1975–81) * Peter A. Garland 1945, congressman from Maine (1961–63) * Thomas H. Allen 1967, Rhodes Scholar, mayor of
Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
(1991–1992), and congressman from Maine (1997–2009) * Tom Andrews 1976, congressman from Maine (1991–1995) *
Pat Meehan Patrick Leo Meehan (born October 20, 1955) is a former American Republican Party politician and federal prosecutor from Pennsylvania who represented parts of Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Berks, and Lancaster counties in the United States Hou ...
1978, congressman from Pennsylvania (2011–2018)


Other prominent federal governmental officials

*
Horatio Bridge Horatio Bridge (April 8, 1806 – March 18, 1893) was an officer of the United States Navy who, as Chief of the Bureau of Provisions, served for many years as head of the Navy's supply organization. Appointed by his former college mate, President ...
1825, commodore in the US Navy; chief of the Naval Bureau of Provisions & Clothing (1854–69) * Sumner Increase Kimball 1855, organizer (1878) and superintendent (1878–1916) of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, precursor to the
U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...
* Ellis Spear 1858, Civil War general, U.S. Commissioner of Patents * Sumner Pike 1913, member of the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
(1940–46) and member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (1946–51) * E. Frederick Morrow 1930, first African American to hold an executive position at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
* David F. Gordon 1971,
Director of Policy Planning The Director of Policy Planning is the United States Department of State official in charge of the department's internal think tank, the Policy Planning Staff. In the department, the Director of Policy Planning has a rank equivalent to Assistant ...
at the U.S. State Department (2007–2009). * Lawrence Lindsey 1976, professor of economics at Harvard, and director of the National Economic Council under President George W. Bush. * Khurram Dastgir Khan Minister for Defence, Pakistan (2017–Present)


Ambassadors and other diplomats

* Wilhelm Haas 1953, former German Ambassador to Israel, Japan, and the Netherlands * Thomas Pickering 1953, US Ambassador to Jordan (1974–78), Nigeria (1981–83), El Salvador (1983–85), Israel (1985–88), the United Nations (1989–92), India (1992–93), and Russia (1993–96); recipient of thirteen honorary degrees * Laurence Pope 1967, US Ambassador to Chad (1993–96) * David Pearce 1972, US Ambassador to Algeria (2008–11) and Greece (2013-2016) * Christopher Hill 1974, US Ambassador to Macedonia (1996–99), Poland (2000–2004), South Korea (2004–2005), and Iraq (2009–2010); Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and chief US negotiator with North Korea (2005–2009) * Lawrence Butler 1975, US Ambassador to Macedonia (2002–2005)


Mayors

*
Samuel Merritt Dr Samuel Merritt (1822–1890) was a physician and the 13th mayor of Oakland, California, from 1867–1869. He was a founding Regent of the University of California, 1868-1874. He was also a shipmaster and a very successful businessman; he di ...
1844, M.D., 13th mayor of
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
(1867–69) and a founding
Regent of the University of California The Regents of the University of California (also referred to as the Board of Regents to distinguish the board from the corporation it governs of the same name) is the governing board of the University of California (UC), a state university sy ...
(1868-1874) *
William LeBaron Putnam William LeBaron Putnam (May 26, 1835 – February 5, 1918) was a lawyer and politician in Maine. Putnam served as mayor of Portland, Maine from 1869–70 and later served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for ...
1855, mayor of
Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
(1869–70) and gubernatorial candidate (1888) *
Edwin M. Lee Edwin Mah Lee (Chinese: 李孟賢; May 5, 1952 – December 12, 2017) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 43rd Mayor of San Francisco from 2011 until his death. He was the first Asian American to hold the office. Born in ...
1974, mayor of
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
(2011–2017); first Asian-American mayor in the city's history *Nick Pilch 1983, mayor of Albany, California (2020); candidate for Alameda County Supervisor (2020) * Stephen Laffey 1984, mayor of Cranston, R.I. (2002–07); candidate for U.S. Senate (2006) * Thomas Wilson 1985, mayor of
Tuxedo Park, New York Tuxedo Park is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. Its population was 623 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area. Its name is ...
(2011–2013); candidate for U.S. Congress (2012) *Patrick J. McManus 1976, mayor of Lynn, MA (1992-2001)


City and state officials

* Stirling Fessenden 1896, Chairman (1923-1929) and Secretary-General (1929-1939) of the
Shanghai Municipal Council The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the merger in the year 1863 of the British and American enclaves in Shanghai, in which British subjects and American citizens would enjoy extraterritoriality and consular jurisdictio ...
*
Terry Hayes Terry Hayes (born 8 October 1951) is an English-born Australian screenwriter, producer and author best known for his work with the Kennedy Miller film production house and his debut novel ''I Am Pilgrim''. Biography Born in Sussex, England, ...
1980, member of the Maine House of Representatives and
Maine State Treasurer The Maine State Treasurer is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Maine. The office is authorized by Article V, Part Third of the Maine Constitution. The Treasurer is chosen by the Maine Legislature in joint session for a two-year term; ...
* Hoddy Hildreth 1949, Member of the Maine House of Representatives and conservationist *
Peter Steinbrueck Peter Steinbrueck (born October 14, 1957) is an American architect and politician from Seattle, Washington. He is the principal and founder of Steinbrueck Urban Strategies and was a city councilmember from 1997 to 2008. He also previously served ...
1979, Seattle city councilman and activist *Nick Pilch 1983, Albany, CA City Council Member, Vice Mayor, and Mayor (2014-2020) and advocate *Deborah Foote 1983, New Hampshire House of Representatives (1992–98)


Activists

* DeRay Mckesson 2007, civil rights activist


Law

:''Note: individuals who belong in multiple sections appear in the most relevant section.''


U.S. Supreme Court Justices

* Melville Weston Fuller 1853, 8th Chief Justice of the United States (1888–1910) *
Harold Hitz Burton Harold Hitz Burton (June 22, 1888 – October 28, 1964) was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 45th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Sta ...
1909, senator from Ohio (1941–45); associate justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
(1945–1958)


Federal and state judges

* Josiah Pierce 1821, Judge of Probate for Cumberland County, Maine *
Thomas Drummond Captain Thomas Drummond (10 October 1797 – 15 April 1840), from Edinburgh was a Scottish army officer, civil engineer and senior public official. He used the Drummond light which was employed in the trigonometrical survey of Great Britain an ...
1830, Judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of ...
* Amos Morrill 1834, Judge of the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (in case citations, E.D. Tex.) is a federal court in the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to ...
*
William LeBaron Putnam William LeBaron Putnam (May 26, 1835 – February 5, 1918) was a lawyer and politician in Maine. Putnam served as mayor of Portland, Maine from 1869–70 and later served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for ...
1855, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit * Clarence Hale 1869, Judge of the
United States District Court for the District of Maine The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (in case citations, D. Me.) is the U.S. district court for the state of Maine. The District of Maine was one of the original thirteen district courts established by the Judiciary Act of 17 ...
*Frank George Farrington 1872, Associate Justice
Maine Supreme Judicial Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. From 1820 until 1839, justices served lifetime a ...
(1928–1933) *
Charles Fletcher Johnson Charles Fletcher Johnson (February 14, 1859 – February 15, 1930) was a United States senator from Maine and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Johnson was nominated by President Woodrow W ...
1879, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit * John A. Peters 1885, Judge of the
United States District Court for the District of Maine The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (in case citations, D. Me.) is the U.S. district court for the state of Maine. The District of Maine was one of the original thirteen district courts established by the Judiciary Act of 17 ...
* John David Clifford, Jr. 1910,
United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
for the
District of Maine The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780 to March 15, 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. The district was a part of the Commonwealth of Massachu ...
(1933–47) * Ronald Rene Lagueux 1953,
United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
for the District of Rhode Island (1986–present) *
George J. Mitchell George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from 19 ...
1954, Judge of the
United States District Court for the District of Maine The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (in case citations, D. Me.) is the U.S. district court for the state of Maine. The District of Maine was one of the original thirteen district courts established by the Judiciary Act of 17 ...
* Michael Anello 1965, Judge of the
United States District Court for the Southern District of California The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citations, S.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...
* Berle M. Schiller 1965,
United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Phil ...
(2000–present) * John A. Woodcock, Jr. 1972,
United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
for the
District of Maine The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780 to March 15, 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. The district was a part of the Commonwealth of Massachu ...
(2003–present)


Federal attorneys

* Amory Holbrook 1841, first
United States attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
for the Oregon territory and senatorial candidate *
Pat Meehan Patrick Leo Meehan (born October 20, 1955) is a former American Republican Party politician and federal prosecutor from Pennsylvania who represented parts of Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Berks, and Lancaster counties in the United States Hou ...
1978,
United States attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (2001–08)


Legal academics and other legal figures

*Hoyt Augustus Moore 1895, Cravath, Swaine, and Moore presiding partner *Edward G. Hudon 1937, librarian for the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
(1972–76) *
Fred Fisher Fred Fisher (born Alfred Breitenbach, September 30, 1875 – January 14, 1942) was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher. Biography Fisher was born in Cologne, Germany. His parents were Max and Theodora Breitenb ...
1942,
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
attorney and figure in the Army-McCarthy hearings * Dennis J. Hutchinson 1969, Rhodes Scholar, law clerk to US Supreme Court Justice
William O. Douglas William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views, and is often ci ...
, professor of law at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
, and biographer of Justice
Byron White Byron "Whizzer" Raymond White (June 8, 1917 April 15, 2002) was an American professional football player and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1962 until his retirement in 1993. Born and raised in Colo ...
(1998) * Christopher Wolf 1976, law professor and attorney that represented Joseph Wilson and
Valerie Plame Valerie Elise Plame (born August 13, 1963) is an American writer, spy novelist, and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. As the subject of the 2003 Plame affair, also known as the CIA leak scandal, Plame's identity as a CIA officer ...
and was in critical in the formation of internet law * Cara H. Drinan, professor of law at
The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...
's
Columbus School of Law The Columbus School of Law, also known as Catholic Law or CUA Law, is the law school of the Catholic University of America, a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. More than 400 Juris Doctor students attend Catholic La ...
*Karen Mill-Francis, retired Miami-Dade County judge and television arbitrator
Judge Karen ''Judge Karen'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show that aired in first-run syndication and ran for one season, during the 2008-09 television period. The series debuted on September 8, 2008, in 48 of the top 50 U.S. markets. F ...


Military

* John F. Appleton 1860, Union Army colonel during the Civil War *
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (born Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, September 8, 1828February 24, 1914) was an American college professor from Maine who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army. He became a highly respected a ...
1852, Bowdoin College professor (1855–62), Civil War brigadier general,
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
recipient, Maine governor (1867–71), and president of Bowdoin College (1871–83) * Michael J. Connor 1980, USN Vice Admiral, Commander, Submarine Forces (2012–2015) *
Abraham Eustis Abraham Eustis (March 26, 1786 – June 27, 1843) was a lawyer and notable U.S. Army officer, eventually rising to become a Brevet Brigadier General. He saw service in Florida and became a notable artillery specialist and the first commander ...
1806 (M.A.), officer during the War of 1812 *
Francis Fessenden Francis Fessenden (March 18, 1839 – January 2, 1906) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier from the state of Maine who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.Eicher, p. 234. He was a member of the powe ...
1858, Union Army brigadier general during the Civil War * James Deering Fessenden 1852,
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
brigadier general during the Civil War * Andrew Haldane 1941, USMC Silver Star recipient during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
*
Charles Henry Howard Charles Henry Howard (August 28, 1838 – January 27, 1908) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and a newspaper editor and publisher. He was the younger brother of Union general Oliver O. Howard. Early life Howard ...
1859, Union Army officer and newspaper publisher *
Oliver Otis Howard Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard lost his right arm while leading his men agains ...
1850, Civil War major general, commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau (1865–72), and founder and president of
Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
(1869–74) * Thomas Hamlin Hubbard 1857, Civil War colonel, lawyer, financier, philanthropist *
Thomas Hyde Thomas Hyde (29 June 163618 February 1703) was an English linguist, historian, librarian, classicist, and orientalist. His chief work was the 1700 'On the Ancient Religion of the Persians'' the first attempt to use Arab and Persian sources ...
1861,
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
recipient during the Civil War and founder of
Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest ...
(1884) * Everett P. Pope 1941, USMC
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
recipient during World War II * Ellis Spear 1858, Civil War colonel, U.S. Commissioner of Patents * Henry Clay Wood 1854, U.S. Army brigadier general who received the Medal of Honor for heroism at the
Battle of Wilson's Creek The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, Springfield, Missou ...


Science and medicine

*
William Smyth William Smyth (or Smith) ( – 2 January 1514) was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield from 1493 to 1496 and then Bishop of Lincoln until his death. He held political offices, the most important being Lord President of the Council of Wales and ...
1822, professor of mathematics and philosophy at Bowdoin; author of popular textbooks on algebra, trigonometry, geometry and calculus (1833–59) *
James Liddell Phillips James Liddell Phillips (1840–1895) was a medical and religious missionary. Born in Balasore, India, Phillips always considered himself an "Indian boy." His father, Jeremiah Phillips, was also a medical and religious missionary whose work inspired ...
1860, D.D.(Hon.) 1878, medical missionary to India. Christian Missionary founder of the Bible School at Midnapore. *
Augustus Stinchfield Augustus W. Stinchfield (December 21, 1842 – March 15, 1917) was an American physician and one of the co-founders—along with Drs. Charles Horace Mayo, William James Mayo, Christopher Graham, E. Starr Judd, Henry Stanley Plummer, Melvin ...
1868, co-founder of the Mayo Clinic * George Edwin Lord 1869, doctor killed at the
Battle of Little Big Horn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...
in 1876 *
Francis Robbins Upton Francis Robbins Upton (1852 in Peabody, Massachusetts – March 10, 1921 in Orange, New Jersey) was an American physicist and mathematician. Upton worked alongside Thomas Edison in the development of incandescent light bulbs, electric generators, ...
1875, mathematician and inventor; long-time associate of
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...
; first student ever to receive a graduate degree from
Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
(1877) *
Edwin Hall Edwin Herbert Hall (November 7, 1855 – November 20, 1938) was an American physicist, who discovered the eponymous Hall effect. Hall conducted thermoelectric research and also wrote numerous physics textbooks and laboratory manuals. Biograp ...
1875, physicist, discoverer of the
Hall effect The Hall effect is the production of a voltage difference (the Hall voltage) across an electrical conductor that is transverse to an electric current in the conductor and to an applied magnetic field perpendicular to the current. It was dis ...
, used worldwide in sensors and has led more recently to the
quantum Hall effect The quantum Hall effect (or integer quantum Hall effect) is a quantized version of the Hall effect which is observed in two-dimensional electron systems subjected to low temperatures and strong magnetic fields, in which the Hall resistance exh ...
, the international standard defining the
ohm Ohm (symbol Ω) is a unit of electrical resistance named after Georg Ohm. Ohm or OHM may also refer to: People * Georg Ohm (1789–1854), German physicist and namesake of the term ''ohm'' * Germán Ohm (born 1936), Mexican boxer * Jörg Ohm (b ...
in electrical resistance * Robert Peary 1877, Naval officer and leader of the first expedition to reach the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
(1909) * Donald MacMillan 1898, member of the Peary expedition and pioneering Arctic explorer * Philip Hunter Timberlake 1908, prolific entomologist and writer of scientific essays * Malford W. Thewlis 1911, pioneer of gerontology and founder of the
American Geriatrics Society The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a non-profit professional society founded on June 11, 1942, for health care professionals practicing geriatric medicine. Among the founding physicians were Dr. Ignatz Leo Nascher, who coined the term "ge ...
*
Alfred Kinsey Alfred Charles Kinsey (; June 23, 1894 – August 25, 1956) was an American sexologist, biologist, and professor of entomology and zoology who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Insti ...
1916, sex researcher, author of the controversial Kinsey Reports (1948, 1953), professor at
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...
(1920–56), and founder of the Institute for Sex Research (1947) *
Myron Avery Myron Haliburton Avery (1899–1952) was an American lawyer, hiker and explorer. Born in Lubec, Maine, Avery was a protégé of Judge Arthur Perkins and a collaborator and sometimes rival of Benton MacKaye. He was president of the Potomac A ...
1920, environmentalist instrumental in the creation of the
Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...
* Cornelius P. Rhoads 1920, pathologist and oncologist; winner of awards for his contributions to the field of oncology; the American Association for Cancer research named an award after him, which was later renamed following a scandal * John Ripley Forbes 1938, conservationist and philanthropist of nature museums *J. Ward Kennedy 1955, cardiologist who made novel studies concerning the heart's pumping power * Auden Schendler 1992, corporate environmentalist prominently featured in issues of ''
Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...
'' and ''
Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
''


Athletics

*
Whitey Witt Lawton Walter "Whitey" Witt (born ''Ladislaw Waldemar Wittkowski'', September 28, 1895 – July 14, 1988) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Philadelphia A ...
, starting center fielder for the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
-winning 1923
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
team * Fred Tootell 1923, Olympic gold medalist in the hammer throw (1924) * George Mitchell 1954, Senate Majority Leader (1989–95); in 2007 released the Mitchell Report concerning steroid abuses in Major League Baseball * Fred Ahern 1974, NHL hockey player *
Dale Arnold Dale Everett Arnold (born March 27, 1956) is a New England sportscaster. He hosts Boston Bruins broadcasts on NESN and co-hosted talk radio shows on WEEI until his retirement from radio on March 12, 2021, announced the day before. He was the ...
1979, two-time Emmy Award-winning sportcaster *
Joan Benoit Samuelson Joan Benoit Samuelson (born May 16, 1957) is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American woma ...
1979, world record holder and winner of the Boston (1979, 1983), Olympic (1984) and Chicago (1985) marathons * Rick Boyages 1985, head coach for
William & Mary Tribe men's basketball The William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team represents the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia in NCAA Division I competition. The school's team competes in the Colonial Athletic Association and play their home games in Kaplan ...
(2000–2003) *
Joe Beninati Joseph Edward Beninati (born November 14, 1965) is an American sportscaster who serves as the television play-by-play announcer for the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals. Along with Capitals television color analyst Craig Laughlin a ...
1987, television play-by-play announcer for the
Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...
(1994–present) and Major League Lacrosse (2001–present) * Tom Ryan 1993, professional lacrosse player and coach * Jared Porter 2003, general manager of the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
(2020–2021) * Sean Starke 2003, professional ice hockey player * Will Hanley 2012, professional basketball player in the Liga ACB in Spain *
Ben Brewster Benjamin Brewster is an American retired soccer forward who earned one caps, scoring a single goal, as a member of the U.S. national team in 1973. He played three seasons in the North American Soccer League and at least two in the American So ...
2014, professional soccer player (2013-2017) and NCAA D1 collegiate coach (2017-present)


Business

* Henry Varnum Poor 1835, founder of Standard & Poor's * Jonathan Eveleth 1847, founder of first U.S. oil company *
Thomas Hyde Thomas Hyde (29 June 163618 February 1703) was an English linguist, historian, librarian, classicist, and orientalist. His chief work was the 1700 'On the Ancient Religion of the Persians'' the first attempt to use Arab and Persian sources ...
1861,
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
recipient and founder of
Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest ...
(1884) * Charles W. Morse 1877, American ice, shipping and banking magnate; ruined the career of New York mayor Robert Van Wyck and helped spark the Panic of 1907 *
Freelan Oscar Stanley Freelan Oscar Stanley (June 1, 1849 – October 2, 1940) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, hotelier, and architect. He made his fortune in the manufacture of photographic plates but is best remembered as the co-founder, with his brother Fra ...
1877, co-inventor of the
Stanley Steamer The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was an American manufacturer of steam cars; it operated from 1902 to 1924. The cars made by the company were colloquially called Stanley Steamers, although several different models were produced. Early history ...
, and builder of the Stanley Hotel * L. Brooks Leavitt 1899, investment banker, partner, Paine, Webber & Co., Overseer, Bowdoin College, donor to college library *
Harvey Dow Gibson Harvey Dow Gibson (March 12, 1882 – September 11, 1950) was an American businessman. Early life Harvey Dow Gibson was born on March 12, 1882, at North Conway in Carroll County, New Hampshire. He was the son of James Lewis Gibson (1855–1933) ...
1902,
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...
commissioner and president of the Manufacturers Trust Co; served on the board of the 1939 New York World's Fair * Everett P. Pope 1941,
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
recipient, bank president, and longtime member (1977–87) and chairman of the college's Board of Trustees (1985–87) * Charles Ireland, Jr. 1942, president of
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
(1971–72) *
Bernard Osher Bernard Osher (born 1927) is an American businessman, best known for his work as a philanthropist. Life and career Osher was born to a Jewish family and raised in Biddeford, Maine. In 1948, he graduated with a B.A. from Bowdoin College. He ...
1948, billionaire auctioneer of
Butterfield & Butterfield Bonhams and Butterfield was a large American auction house, founded in 1865 by William Butterfield in San Francisco. It was purchased in 1999 from Bernard Osher by online auctioneer eBay for $260 million. In 2002, it was acquired from eBay by B ...
and philanthropist * Raymond S. Troubh 1950, independent financial consultant, general partner at
Lazard Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's la ...
(1961–74), and interim chairman at
Enron Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional compani ...
(2002–2004) *
Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his ca ...
1952, billionaire co-founder of the Subway sandwich chain (1965) and physicist * George Mitchell 1954, chairman of the Walt Disney Corporation (2004–06) *
Leon Gorman Leon Arthur Gorman (December 20, 1934 – September 3, 2015) was an American businessman and the president and chairman of the board for the clothing and outdoor recreation equipment company L.L. Bean. Career Gorman was born in Nashua, New Ha ...
1956, president (1967–2001) and chairman (2001–present) of
L. L. Bean L.L.Bean is an American privately-held retail company that was founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean. The company, headquartered in the place in which it was founded, in Freeport, Maine, specializes in clothing and outdoor recreation equipment. ...
* Donald M. Zuckert 1956, chairman and CEO of Ted Bates Worldwide, Inc. * David A. Olsen 1959, CEO of Johnson & Higgins (1990–97); vice chairman of
Marsh & McLennan Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., doing business as Marsh McLennan, is a global professional services firm, headquartered in New York City with businesses in insurance brokerage, risk management, reinsurance services, talent management, investme ...
(1997) and then board member (1997–present) *
Kenneth Chenault Kenneth Irvine Chenault (born June 2, 1951) is an American business executive. He was the CEO and Chairman of American Express from 2001 until 2018. He is the third African American CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Early life and education Chen ...
1973, president (1997–2001) and CEO (2001–present) of American Express; the first African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 company *Sheldon M. Stone 1974,
Oaktree Capital Management Oaktree Capital Management is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of March 31, 2022, the company managed $164 billion for its clientele. The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a group that ...
founder and partner * Stanley Druckenmiller 1975, billionaire financier and philanthropist; former business associate of
George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
* Robert F. White 1977, founding member of
Bain Capital Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...
* John Studzinski 1978, American-British investment banker and philanthropist and
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
* James "Jes" Staley 1979, former head of investment banking at
JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...
*
Reed Hastings Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. (born October 8, 1960) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder, chairman, and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Netflix, and sits on a number of boards and non-profit organizations. A former member ...
1983, founder (1997) and CEO (1997–present) of
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...


Charity and nonprofit

*
Geoffrey Canada Geoffrey Canada (born January 13, 1952) is an American educator, social activist and author. Since 1990, Canada has been president of the Harlem Children's Zone in Harlem, New York, an organization that states its goal is to increase high scho ...
1974, author and activist; president and CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone * John J. Studzinski 1978, investment banker and champion of the homeless and the arts; founder of the Genesis Foundation *Josiah Spaulding Jr. 1974, president and CEO of the Citi Performing Arts Center (Wang Theatre) in Boston, MA


Academia

:''Note: individuals who belong in multiple sections appear in the most relevant section.''


College founders and Presidents

* Nathan Lord 1809, president of
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
(1828–63) * Alpheus Packard, Sr. 1819, professor (1824–65) and acting president (1882–84) of Bowdoin College * William C. Larrabee 1828, president of
DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...
(1848–1849) *
William Henry Allen Master Commandant William Henry Allen (October 21, 1784 – August 18, 1813) was an American naval officer during the War of 1812. Early life Allen was born in Providence, Rhode Island and was appointed a midshipman in the United States Navy on ...
1833, president of Dickinson College (1847–48) and Pennsylvania State University (1864–68) * Samuel Harris 1833, president of Bowdoin College (1867–71) and Dwight Professor of Systematic Theology at
Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...
(1871–95) *
Cyrus Hamlin Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyru ...
1834, co-founder of Robert College in
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
(1860); president of Middlebury College (1880–85) *
Alonzo Garcelon Alonzo Garcelon (May 6, 1813 – December 8, 1906) was the 36th governor of Maine, and a surgeon general of Maine during the American Civil War. Early life and education Garcelon was born in Lewiston (in modern-day Maine, then a part o ...
1836, donor of
Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...
(1855), Civil War general, Maine governor (1879–80) * Laurie G. Lachance 1983, president,
Thomas College Thomas College is a private college in Waterville, Maine. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of Fall 2019 Thomas College currently enrolled 1,949 students; 1,819 w ...
(2012– ) *
George Frederick Magoun George Frederick Magoun (1821 – January 30, 1896"Obituaries", ''The New York Times''. January 31, 1896. Available fro/ref>), a member of the Iowa Band of Congregationalist ministers, was the first president of Iowa College (now Grinnell College) ...
1841, first president of Iowa College, now
Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...
(1865–1885) *
Oliver Otis Howard Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard lost his right arm while leading his men agains ...
1850, Civil War general, commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau (1865–72), and founder and president of
Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
(1869–74) * Kenneth Sills 1901, president of Bowdoin College (1918–52) * Asa S. Knowles 1930, president of the
University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of ...
and Northeastern University, and namesake of the building which houses the Northeastern School of Law * Lawrence Lee Pelletier 1936, president of
Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...
, and namesake of the school's library * Robert W. Morse 1943, first president of Case Western Reserve University (1966–71) * George Mitchell 1954, Chancellor of
Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...
* Roger Howell, Jr. 1958, Rhodes Scholar, Professor of History, and president of Bowdoin College (1969–78) * Barry Mills 1972, president of Bowdoin College (2001–2015) *
Meredith Jung-En Woo Meredith Jung-En Woo is an American academic and author. She is the 13th and current President of Sweet Briar College, and is the former director of the International Higher Education Support Program at the Open Society Foundation in London. S ...
1980, professor at
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
(1989–2000) and the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
(2001–present); Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
(2008–2015); president of Sweet Briar College (2017–present); expert on Korean politics * Paul A. Chadbourne professor 1858, President of University of Wisconsin, Williams College, and University of Massachusetts * Adam S. Weinberg 1987, president of
Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...
(2013–present) * Herman Dreer, president of Douglass University in St. Louis, educational reformer and activist


Professors and scholars

*
Calvin Ellis Stowe Calvin Ellis Stowe (April 6, 1802 – August 22, 1886) was an American Biblical scholar who helped spread public education in the United States. Over his career, he was a professor of languages and Biblical and sacred literature at Andover Theolo ...
1824, professor of religion at the
Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambridge. ...
,
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
and Bowdoin College; husband and literary agent of Harriet Beecher Stowe * Henry Boynton Smith 1834, theologian and professor at Amherst College (1847–50) and the Union Theological Seminary (1850–74) * Ezra Abbot 1840, influential biblical scholar and professor at the
Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
(1872–84) * Charles Carroll Everett 1850, theologian and philosopher; professor at (1869–78), and dean of (1878–1900), the
Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
* William Alfred Packard 1851, classical scholar and professor at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
*
Jonathan Stanton Jonathan Stanton (1834–1918) was an ornithologist and longtime professor of Greek and Latin at Bates College, a librarian and a supporter of the debate program. Career A native of Lebanon, Maine, USA, and an 1856 graduate of Bowdoin College, ...
1856, ornithologist and professor at
Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...
(1863–1906) *
Oliver Patterson Watts Oliver Patterson Watts (July 16, 1865 – February 6, 1953) was a professor of chemical engineering and applied electrochemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Born in Thomaston, Maine Thomaston (formerly known as Fort St. Georg ...
1889, professor of chemistry at
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
* Boyd Bartlett 1917, military officer and physics professor at the
United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
* Robert Albion 1918, author and professor at Princeton University (1922–47) and at
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 high ...
(1948–65) *Douglas Chalmers 1953, Chair of
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
's Political Science Department (1978-1986); Acting Dean of Columbia University's
School of International and Public Affairs The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. ...
(1996-1997); Director of Columbia University's Institute for Latin American and Iberian Studies ( ? - present) * Richard E. Morgan 1959, distinguished professor of Government at Bowdoin College (1969–2014) * Peter Hayes 1968, Holocaust historian * Bruce E. Cain 1970, Rhodes Scholar and Charles Louis Ducommun Professor at Stanford University (2012–present) *Ralph G. Steinhardt 1976, Arthur Selwyn Miller Research Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School (1985–present) * Lyman Page 1978, astronomer, physicist, and professor at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
* Thomas Glave 1993,
O. Henry Award The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best ...
-winning short story writer, essayist and English professor at Binghamton University


Religion

* Rev.
Joshua Young Joshua Young (September 23, 1823 – February 7, 1904) was an abolitionist Congregational Unitarian minister who crossed paths with many famous people of the mid-19th century. He received national publicity, and lost his pulpit (job) for presidi ...
, Unitarian minister who presided over the funeral of John Brown.


Fictional Alumni

*
Hawkeye Pierce This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' and its sequels, the 1970 film adaptation of the novel, and the televisio ...
, the protagonist of
Richard Hooker Richard Hooker (25 March 1554 – 2 November 1600) was an English priest in the Church of England and an influential theologian.The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church by F. L. Cross (Editor), E. A. Livingstone (Editor) Oxford University ...
's novel, ''
M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...
'' (1968), attended a school based on Bowdoin; played by
Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...
in the
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning
film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
(1970) and by
Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war come ...
in the long-running TV series (1972–83) *Dr. Wilbur Larch, the pro-choice doctor who raises Homer Wells, the protagonist of
John Irving John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American-Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of ''The World According to ...
's novel, ''
The Cider House Rules ''The Cider House Rules'' (1985) is a novel by American writer John Irving, a ''Bildungsroman'' that was later adapted into a 1999 film and a stage play by Peter Parnell. The story, set in the pre– and post–World War II era, tells of a youn ...
'' (1985);
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
won an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
when he portrayed him in the 1999
film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
*Homer Wells, the protagonist of
John Irving John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American-Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of ''The World According to ...
's ''
The Cider House Rules ''The Cider House Rules'' (1985) is a novel by American writer John Irving, a ''Bildungsroman'' that was later adapted into a 1999 film and a stage play by Peter Parnell. The story, set in the pre– and post–World War II era, tells of a youn ...
'' (1985), recipient of a Bowdoin degree forged by his mentor and father figure, Dr. Wilbur Larch; played by
Tobey Maguire Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the title character from Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), a role he later reprised in '' Spider-Man: No Way Hom ...
in the 1999 film version *Forney Hull, the main love interest of the lead character in
Billie Letts Billie Dean Letts (née Gipson; May 30, 1938 – August 2, 2014) was an American novelist and educator. She was a professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Biography Letts was born as Billie Dean Gipson in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter ...
' novel, '' Where the Heart Is'' (1995); played by
James Frain James Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. His best known television roles include Thomas Cromwell in the Showtime/ CBC historical drama ''The Tudors'' (2007–2009), Franklin Mott in the HBO drama ''True Blood'' (2010), Warwi ...
in the 2000
film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
*
Derek Shepherd Derek Christopher Shepherd, M.D., F.A.C.S., also referred to as "McDreamy", is a fictional surgeon from the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actor Patrick Dempsey. He made his first appearance in the pilot episode, " A Hard D ...
("McDreamy"), a lead character played by
Patrick Dempsey Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and race car driver. He is best known for his role as neurosurgeon Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in ''Grey's Anatomy''. He had early success as an actor, starring in a number of fi ...
in the popular TV series ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...
'' (2005–2015) *Gilbert, a character in Paul Harding's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel ''
Tinkers Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural group ...
'' (2009), a semi-legendary literary figured who graduated from Bowdoin and is rumored to have been one of
Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...
's classmates *Horace Guilder, the villain in Justin Cronin's 2012 novel '' The Twelve'', mentions having running cross-country at Bowdoin.


Honorary degree recipients

* John Neal M.A. 1836, American poet, novelist, journalist, critic, editor, lecturer, athlete, and activist * Jefferson Davis L.L.D. 1859, senator from Mississippi (1847–53, 1857–61), Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce (1853–1857), and president of the
Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
(1861–65) *
Joshua Young Joshua Young (September 23, 1823 – February 7, 1904) was an abolitionist Congregational Unitarian minister who crossed paths with many famous people of the mid-19th century. He received national publicity, and lost his pulpit (job) for presidi ...
, D.D., 1890,
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
, minister of several congregations in Vermont and Massachusetts * Ashley Day Leavitt D.D. 1918, Pastor, State Street Congregational Church, Portland, Maine * Robert Frost Litt.D. 1926, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and professor at Amherst College (1916–38) *
Leverett Saltonstall Leverett A. Saltonstall (September 1, 1892June 17, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served three two-year terms as the 55th Governor of Massachusetts, and for more than twenty years as a United States senator ...
L.L.D. 1940,
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and
United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
from
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
* Sturgis Elleno Leavitt Litt.D. 1943, scholar of Spanish language and literature,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
*
Harlan Fiske Stone Harlan is a given name and a surname which may refer to: Surname * Bob Harlan (born 1936 Robert E. Harlan), American football executive *Bruce Harlan (1926–1959), American Olympic diver *Byron B. Harlan (1886–1949), American politician * Byron ...
L.L.D. 1944, Attorney General under President Calvin Coolidge (1924–25); Associate (1925–41) and Chief (1941–46) Justice of the Supreme Court * N.C. Wyeth A.M. 1945, American artist and illustrator *
Margaret Chase Smith Margaret Madeline Smith (née Chase; December 14, 1897 – May 29, 1995) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, she served as a U.S. representative (1940–1949) and a U.S. senator (1949–1973) from Maine. She was the firs ...
L.L.D. 1952, representative (1940–49) and senator (1949–73) from Maine * Sir Roger Makins LL.D. 1955,
British Ambassador to the United States The British Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the British Embassy, Washington, D.C., the United Kingdom's diplomatic mission to the United States. The official title is His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States of America. T ...
* Edmund Muskie L.L.D. 1957, Maine governor (1954–58); senator from Maine (1958–1980); Secretary of State under President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
(1980–81) *
David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, ...
L.L.D. 1958, banker and philanthropist *
Roswell Gilpatric Roswell Leavitt Gilpatric (November 4, 1906 – March 15, 1996) was a New York City corporate attorney and government official who served as Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1961–64, when he played a pivotal role in the high-stake strategie ...
L.L.D. 1963, attorney,
United States Deputy Secretary of Defense The deputy secretary of defense (acronym: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the sec ...
*
Edward Brooke Edward William Brooke III (October 26, 1919 – January 3, 2015) was an American politician of the Republican Party, who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1967 until 1979. Prior to serving in the Senate, he served as th ...
LL.D. 1969, senator from Massachusetts (1967–79) *
Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century. In his ...
D.F.A. 1970, American artist * E. Frederic Morrow L.L.D. 1970, first black US presidential aide; former Bowdoin undergraduate (1926–30) *
Olympia Snowe Olympia Jean Snowe (; born February 21, 1947) is an American businesswoman and politician who was a United States Senator from Maine from 1995 to 2013. Snowe, a member of the Republican Party, became known for her ability to influence the outcom ...
L.L.D. 1983, representative (1979–94) and senator (1994–present) from Maine * Berenice Abbott D.F.A. 1982, photographer * George H. W. Bush L.L.D. 1982, 43rd Vice President (1981–89) and 41st President of the United States (1989–1993) * Maya Angelou, Litt.D. 1987, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author * Ken Burns L.H.D. 1991, director of documentaries on the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
(1990),
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
(1994) and
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
(2001) *
Cornel West Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, political activist, social critic, actor, and public intellectual. The grandson of a Baptist minister, West focuses on the role of race, gender, and class in American society an ...
L.H.D. 1999, celebrity professor at
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
, Harvard and
Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
* Paul Simon L.L.D. 2001, congressman (1975–85) and senator (1985–97) from Illinois *
Grace Paley Grace Paley (December 11, 1922 – August 22, 2007) was an American short story author, poet, teacher, and political activist. Paley wrote three critically acclaimed collections of short stories, which were compiled in the Pulitzer Prize and Na ...
Litt. D. 2003, essayist and short story writer *
Shulamit Ran Shulamit Ran ( he, שולמית רן; born October 21, 1949, in Tel Aviv, Israel) is an Israeli-American composer. She moved from Israel to New York City at 14, as a scholarship student at the Mannes College of Music. Her Symphony (1990) won her th ...
Mus.D. 2004, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer * Torsten N. Wiesel S.D. 2004,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winner in medicine *
Frederick Wiseman Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is "devoted primarily to exploring American institutions". He has been called "one of the most important and original filmmakers wor ...
D.F.A. 2005, documentary filmmaker *
Roger Angell Roger Angell (September 19, 1920 – May 20, 2022) was an American essayist known for his writing on sports, especially baseball. The only writer ever elected into both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Baseball Writers' Associa ...
L.H.D. 2006, senior editor of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' *
Drew Gilpin Faust Catharine Drew Gilpin Faust (born September 18, 1947) is an American historian and was the 28th president of Harvard University, the first woman to serve in that role. She was Harvard's first president since 1672 without an undergraduate or gradu ...
L.H.D. 2007, president of
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 high ...
*
Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (born November 9, 1938) is an American rock climber, environmentalist, philanthropist and outdoor industry businessman. His company, Patagonia, is known for its commitment to protecting the environment. Chouinard is also a surf ...
L.H.D. 2008, businessman, climber, founder of Patagonia Inc. * Gina Kolata Litt.D. 2008,
science journalist Science journalism conveys reporting about science to the public. The field typically involves interactions between scientists, journalists, and the public. Origins Modern science journalism dates back to '' Digdarshan'' (means showing the d ...
for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' *
Kenneth Roth Kenneth Roth (born September 23, 1955) is an American attorney, human rights activist, writer. He was the executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from 1993 to 2022. Early life Kenneth Roth was born on September 23, 1955 in Elmhurst, Illino ...
L.L.D. 2009, executive director of
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
* Edward Albee L.H.D. 2009, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright *
John E. Baldacci John Elias Baldacci (born January 30, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 73rd Governor of Maine from 2003 to 2011. A Democrat, he also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. During h ...
L.L.D. 2011, governor of Maine (2003-11) *
Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spher ...
D.F.A 2011,
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-nominated Indian filmmaker *
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...
L.L.D 2013, first female
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
*
Patrick Dempsey Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and race car driver. He is best known for his role as neurosurgeon Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in ''Grey's Anatomy''. He had early success as an actor, starring in a number of fi ...
L.H.D. 2013, actor and philanthropist * Susan Rice L.L.D. 2018, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (2009–13), U.S. National Security Advisor (2013–17), and U.S. Domestic Policy Council Director (2021–present)


Notable faculty members and trustees (non-graduates)

*
John Chandler John Chandler (February 1, 1762September 25, 1841) was an American politician and soldier of Maine. The political career of Chandler, a Democratic-Republican, was interspersed with his involvement in the state militia during both the American R ...
(1762–1841), congressman and senator from Maine, trustee * William King (1768–1862), Maine governor, trustee * Jesse Appleton (1772–1819), president of Bowdoin and father of first lady
Jane Pierce Jane Means Pierce (née Appleton; March 12, 1806 – December 2, 1863) was the wife of Franklin Pierce and the first lady of the United States from 1853 to 1857. She married Franklin Pierce, then a Congressman, in 1834 despite her family's misgiv ...
*
Parker Cleaveland Parker Cleaveland (January 1, 1780 – August 15, 1858) was an American geologist and mineralogist, born in Rowley, Massachusetts. He was identified with the early progress of the natural sciences. After having attending the Dummer Academy in B ...
(1780–1858), professor (50 years plus), scientist, "Father of American Mineralogy" *
Andrews Norton Andrews Norton (December 31, 1786 – September 18, 1853) was an American preacher and theologian. Along with William Ellery Channing, he was the leader of mainstream Unitarianism of the early and middle 19th century, and was known as the "Unitari ...
(1786–1853), theologian, visiting faculty member *
Amos Nourse Amos Nourse (December 17, 1794April 7, 1877) was a medical doctor who became a U.S. Senator from the state of Maine for a very short term. Born in Bolton, Massachusetts, he graduated from Harvard College in 1812 and from Harvard Medical School i ...
(1794–1877), senator from Maine, professor of obstetrics * James Bradbury (1802–1901), senator from Maine, trustee * Roswell Dwight Hitchcock (1817–1887), professor of natural and revealed religion * Charles Abiathar White (1826–1910), professor of natural history *
George Trumbull Ladd George Trumbull Ladd (; January 19, 1842 – August 8, 1921) was an American philosopher, educator and psychologist. Biography Early life and ancestors Ladd was born in Painesville, Ohio, on January 19, 1842, the son of Silas Trumbull Ladd and ...
(1842–1921), professor of philosophy * Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, professor of English * Roy Ridley (1890–1969), writer and poet, visiting faculty member * Adam Walsh (1901–1985), NFL Coach of the Year for the
Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 19 ...
*
Rex Warner Rex Warner (9 March 1905 – 24 June 1986) was an English classicist, writer, and translator. He is now probably best remembered for ''The Aerodrome'' (1941).Chris Hopkins, ''English Fiction in the 1930s: Language, Genre, History'' Continuum Inte ...
(1905–1986), English classicist, visiting faculty member * Louis Coxe (1918–1993), poet and author, longtime professor of English * Thomas Cornell (1937-2012), professor of art *
Elliott Schwartz Elliott Shelling Schwartz (January 19, 1936 – December 7, 2016) was an American composer. A graduate of Columbia University, he was Beckwith Professor Emeritus of music at Bowdoin College joining the faculty in 1964. In 2006, the Library of ...
(1936–2016), composer and Robert K. Beckwith Professor of Music Emeritus *
Brian Lukacher Brian Lukacher is an American art historian and educator. Lukacher is currently Professor of Art History at Vassar College. Career A native of York, Pennsylvania, York, Lukacher received three degrees in Art History: a Bachelor of Arts from the ...
, art historian * Angus King (1944–present), Maine governor, US Senator, adjunct faculty member *
Richard Ford Richard Ford (born February 16, 1944) is an American novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel ''The Sportswriter'' and its sequels, ''Independence Day'', ''The Lay of the Land'' and ''Let Me Be Frank With You'', and the ...
(1944–present), Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist of '' Independence Day'' (1995) * Paul Franco (1956–present), professor of political philosophy * Michael Crow (1956–present), president of Arizona State University, trustee * Anthony Walton (1960–present), poet and writer-in-residence *
Scott Sehon Scott Robert Sehon (born 1963) is an American philosopher and a professor of philosophy at Bowdoin College. His primary work is in the fields of philosophy of mind, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of action, and the free will debate. He is ...
(1963–present), professor of philosophy * John Bisbee (1965–present), sculptor and professor of art *
Kristen R. Ghodsee Kristen Rogheh Ghodsee (born April 26, 1970) is an American ethnographer and Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is primarily known for her ethnographic work on post-Communist Bulgaria as well as ...
, ethnographer, professor of gender and women's studies *
Eddie Glaude Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (born September 4, 1968) is an American academic. He is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, where he is also the Chair of the Center for African Amer ...
, professor of religion *
Charles Beitz Charles R. Beitz (born 1949) is an American political theorist. He is Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Politics at Princeton University, where he has been director of the University Center for Human Values and director of the Program in Political ...
, professor of politics, former Dean of Academic Affairs * Richard E. Morgan, professor of politics, conservative writer * Susan Faludi, Pulitzer Prize-winning feminist scholar, professor of gender and women's studies * Bob Griffin (born 1980),
American-Israeli , native_name_lang = , image = , caption = , population = 110,000–150,000 , popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...
basketball player, and English Literature professor * Matthew Stuart (-present), professor of philosophy


See also

* List of Bates College people * List of Colby College people * List of Dartmouth College people


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowdoin College Bowdoin College people Bowdoin College