READ Famous Amherst College Alumni

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List Rules People on this list must have gone to Amherst College and be of some renown.

1

Teller Painter, Comedian, Television producer Teller is an American magician, illusionist, actor, comedian, writer, director and usually silent half of the comedy magic duo Penn & Teller, along with Penn Jillette. Teller is an atheist, ...more

2

Larry Miller Podcaster, Journalist, Comedian Lawrence J. "Larry" Miller is an American actor, voice artist, comedian, podcaster, and columnist.

3

Joseph Stiglitz Professor, Scientist, Author Joseph Eugene Stiglitz, ForMemRS, FBA is an American economist and a professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and the John Bates Clark ...more

4

Calvin Coolidge Politician, Lawyer John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was the 30th President of the United States. A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming ...more

5

Drew Pinsky Television producer, Radio personality, Physician David Drew Pinsky, best known as Dr. Drew, is an American board-certified internist, addiction medicine specialist, and media personality. He has hosted the nationally syndicated radio talk show ...more

6

Charles R. Drew Researcher, Physician, Surgeon Charles Richard Drew was an American physician, surgeon, and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied ...more

7

Charles Hamilton Houston Lawyer Charles Hamilton Houston was a prominent African-American lawyer, Dean of Howard University Law School, and NAACP Litigation Director who played a significant role in dismantling the Jim Crow ...more

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Harlan F. Stone Lawyer Harlan Fiske Stone was an American lawyer and jurist. A native of New Hampshire, he served as the dean of Columbia Law School, his alma mater, in the early 20th century. As a member of the ...more

9

Clarence Birdseye Inventor, Scientist, Engineer Clarence Frank Birdseye II was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist, and is considered to be the founder of the modern frozen food industry.

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Preston Bassett Inventor, Aerospace Engineer, Engineer Preston Rogers Bassett was an inventor, engineer, and pioneer in instruments for aviation.

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Emily Dickinson Poet, Writer Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she ...more

12

L. Hamilton McCormick Inventor, Scientist, Writer Leander Hamilton McCormick was an American author, inventor, art collector and sculptor.

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Steve Baer Mathematician, Inventor, Architect Steve Baer is an American inventor and solar and residential designer. Baer has served on the board of directors of the U.S. Section of the International Solar Energy Society, and on the board ...more

14

Jared French Jared French was an American painter who specialized in the medium of egg tempera. He was one of the artists attributed to the style of art known as magic realism. Other artists of this movement ...more

15

Burgess Meredith Soldier, Film Producer, Screenwriter Oliver Burgess Meredith, known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor and director in theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called ...more

16

Robert Lansing Politician, Lawyer Robert Lansing was an American lawyer and politician who served as Legal Advisor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I, and then as United States Secretary of State under ...more

17

Stephen Collins Musician, Actor, Writer Stephen Weaver Collins is an American actor, writer, director, and musician, perhaps best known for playing Eric Camden on the long-running television series 7th Heaven. He is also known for the ...more

18

William H. Hastie Judge, Lawyer William Henry Hastie, Jr. was an American, lawyer, judge, educator, public official, and advocate for the civil rights of African Americans. He was the first African American to serve as ...more

19

David Suzuki Geneticist, Television Show Host, Environmentalist David Takayoshi Suzuki, CC OBC is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a Ph.D in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor ...more

20

Scott Turow Novelist, Author, Writer Scott Frederick Turow is an American author and lawyer. Turow has written nine fiction and two nonfiction books, which have been translated into over 40 languages and sold over 30 million ...more

21

Thomas Eagleton Politician, Negotiator, Soldier Thomas Francis Eagleton was a United States Senator from Missouri, serving from 1968 to 1987. He is best remembered for briefly being the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George ...more

22

Albert II, Prince of Monaco Albert II is the reigning monarch of the Principality of Monaco, and head of the Princely House of Grimaldi. He is the son of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly. ...more

23

Patrick Fitzgerald Lawyer Patrick J. Fitzgerald is a lawyer in Chicago, Illinois. He joined, as partner, the Chicago office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as of October 29, 2012. For more than a decade, ...more

24

David O. Russell Television producer, Film Producer, Screenwriter David Owen Russell is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His early directing career includes Spanking the Monkey, Flirting with Disaster, Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees. ...more

25

David Eisenhower Soldier, Historian, Author Dwight David Eisenhower II is an American author, public policy fellow, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and eponym of the U.S. Presidential retreat, Camp David. He is the only ...more

26

David Foster Wallace Professor, Novelist, Essayist David Foster Wallace was an American author of novels, short stories and essays, as well as a professor of English and creative writing. Wallace is widely known for his 1996 novel Infinite Jest, ...more

27

Herbert L. Pratt Businessperson Herbert Lee Pratt was an American businessman and a leading figure in the United States oil industry; from 1923 he was head of Standard Oil - his father Charles Pratt was a founder of Astral Oil ...more

28

James F. Powers Psychologist James F. Powers was a Democratic member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing the Rockingham 16th District starting in 2004. He left office in 2008 for personal reasons, ...more

29

Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor, Father of Photojournalism, was the first full-time Editor of National Geographic Magazine. Grosvenor is credited with having built the magazine into the iconic ...more

30

Thomas Flanagan Professor, Novelist Thomas Flanagan was an American professor of English literature who specialized in Irish literature. He was also a successful novelist. Flanagan, who was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, ...more

31

Alan F. Segal Professor Alan F. Segal was a professor of religion and Ingeborg Rennert Professor of Jewish Studies at Barnard College. Segal was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. He attended Amherst College, Brandeis ...more

32

Matt Besser Television director, Comedian, Television producer Matthew Gregory "Matt" Besser is an American actor and comedian best known as one of the four founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, who had their own ...more

33

Amos Hostetter, Jr. Amos Barr Hostetter, Jr. is an American businessman, who was the founder, chairman, and CEO of Continental Cablevision. With an estimated current net worth of around $2.6 billion, he is ranked ...more

34

John P. Howe III

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Robert Brustein Theatrical producer, Critic, Playwright Robert Sanford Brustein is an American theatrical critic, producer, playwright, writer and educator. He founded both Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut and the American Repertory ...more

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Juanita Kennedy Osborn Analyst, Homemaker

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George Papandreou Sociologist, Politician, Professor Georgios Andreas Papandreou, commonly anglicised to George and shortened to Γιώργος in Greek, is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2009 to 2011. Belonging to a ...more

38

David Truman Political scientist David Bicknell Truman was an American academic who served as the 15th president of Mount Holyoke College from 1969-1978. He is also known for his role as a Columbia University administrator ...more

39

Talcott Parsons Sociologist Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973. Parsons developed a general theory for the study of society called action theory, ...more

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John M. Deutch Politician, Chemist, Civil servant John Deutch has served in significant government and academic posts throughout his career.

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Kingman Brewster, Jr. Diplomat, Educator Kingman Brewster, Jr., was an educator, president of Yale University, and American diplomat.

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Henry Thomas Rainey Lawyer Henry Thomas Rainey was a prominent U.S. politician during the first third of the 20th century. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1903 to 1921 and from 1923 to his ...more

43

Frederick H. Gillett Lawyer Frederick Huntington Gillett was an American politician who served in the Massachusetts state government and both houses of the U.S. Congress between 1879 and 1931, including six years as ...more

44

Debby Applegate Biographer, Historian, Professor Debby Applegate is an American historian and biographer. She is the author of The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher, for which she won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for ...more

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Melvil Dewey Librarian Melville Louis Kossuth Dewey was an American librarian and educator, inventor of the Dewey Decimal system of library classification, and a founder of the Lake Placid Club.

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Thomas M. Davis Politician, Lawyer Thomas Milburn "Tom" Davis III is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Virginia's 11th congressional district in Northern Virginia, ...more

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Galusha A. Grow Businessperson, Lawyer Galusha Aaron Grow was a prominent U.S. politician, lawyer, writer and businessman, and was a Pennsylvania representative and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1861 to 1863. He was ...more

48

William James Rolfe Editor, Educator, Shakespearian Scholar William James Rolfe, Litt.D. was an American Shakespearean scholar and educator, born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on December 10, 1827. He attended Amherst from 1845 through 1848, but left ...more

49

Jeffrey Wright Actor Jeffrey Wright is an American film, television and stage actor. He is known for such roles as Belize in the HBO miniseries Angels in America, Muddy Waters in Cadillac Records, Jean-Michel ...more

50

Carl Woese Molecular Biologist, Scientist Carl Richard Woese was an American microbiologist and biophysicist. Woese is famous for defining the Archaea in 1977 by phylogenetic taxonomy of 16S ribosomal RNA, a technique pioneered by Woese ...more