This list of notable people associated with Princeton University includes faculty, staff, graduates and former students in the undergraduate program and all graduate programs, and others affiliated with the University. Individuals are sorted by category and alphabetized within each category.
Contents |
Boldface indicates a sitting official as of 2011.
Name | Known for | Affiliation |
---|---|---|
Fakhruddin Ahmed | Chief Advisor of the caretaker government (interim prime minister) of Bangladesh, 2007–09.[1][2] Governor of Bangladesh Bank, 2001-05.[3] | Ph.D. in Economics,[3] 1975.[4] |
Abram Andrew | U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 1921-36.[5] | A.B., 1893. Trustee, 1932-36.[5] |
Walter Gresham Andrews | U.S. Representative from New York, 1931-49.[6] | A.B., 1913. Football coach, 1913-15.[6] |
John Armstrong, Jr. | U.S. Senator from New York, 1800–02, 1804. Minister to France, 1804-10. Minister to Spain, 1806. Secretary of War, 1813-14.[7] | Dropped out to join the Continental Army.[7] |
James Baker | White House Chief of Staff, 1981–85, 1992-93. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, 1985-88. Secretary of State, 1989-92.[8] | A.B., 1952.[8] |
Dewey F. Bartlett | Governor of Oklahoma, 1967-71. U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, 1973-79.[9] | A.B., 1942.[9] |
Walden Bello | Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, 2007-.[10] | Ph.D. in Sociology, 1975.[11] |
Ben Bernanke | Chairman of the Federal Reserve, 2006-. Member of the Federal Reserve Board, 2002-05. Chair of the U.S. President's Council of Economic Advisors, 2005-06.[12] | Faculty, 1985-2002.[12] |
John M. Berrien | U.S. Senator from Georgia, 1825–29, 1841–45, 1845-52. Attorney General, 1829-31.[13] | A.B., 1781.[13] |
Nicholas Biddle | President of the Second Bank of the United States, 1822-39.[14] | A.B., 1801.[14] |
Joseph Bloomfield | Governor of New Jersey, 1801-12.[15] | Trustee, 1793-1801.[15] |
W. Michael Blumenthal | U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, 1977-79.[16] | M.P.A., A.M., Ph.D. in Economics. Faculty, 1954-57. Trustee.[16] |
Joshua Bolten | Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 2003-06. White House Chief of Staff, 2006-09.[17] | A.B., 1976. Faculty, 2009-.[17][18] |
Kit Bond | Governor of Missouri, 1973–77, 1981–85.[19] U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1987-2011.[20] | A.B., 1960.[20] |
Elias Boudinot | U.S. Representative from New Jersey, 1789-1795. Director of the U.S. Mint, 1794-1805.[21] | Trustee, 1772-1821. |
Matthew Boxer | First New Jersey State Comptroller, 2008-.[22] | A.B., 1992.[22] |
Bill Bradley | U.S. Senator from New Jersey, 1979-97.[23] | A.B., 1965. |
John C. Breckinridge | 14th Vice President of the United States, under President James Buchanan. Confederate States Secretary of War, 1865.[24] | Attended; graduated from Centre College.[24] |
John Brown | U.S. Senator from Virginia, 1789–92 and from Kentucky, 1792–1805;[25] President pro tempore, 1803, 1804.[26] | Attended; graduated from William & Mary.[25] |
Aaron Burr | Third Vice President of the United States, under President Thomas Jefferson.[27] | A.B., 1772.[27] |
Manuel Camacho Solís | Secretary of Urban Development and Ecology of Mexico, 1986-88. Mayor of Mexico City, 1988-93.[28] | M.P.A., 1972.[29] |
J. Donald Cameron | U.S. Secretary of War, 1876-77. U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, 1877-97. Chairman of the Republican National Committee, 1880.[30] | A.B., 1852. |
Grover Cleveland | 22nd and 24th President of the United States. | Faculty, 1899-1908. Trustee, 1901-08.[31] |
Alfred Colquitt | Governor of Georgia, 1876-80. U.S. Senator from Georgia, 1883-94.[32] | A.B., 1844. |
Lewis Condict | U.S. Representative from New Jersey, 1811–17, 1821-33.[33] | Trustee, 1827-61. |
Ryan Crocker | U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, 1990; Kuwait, 1994–97; Syria, 1998–2001; Pakistan, 2004–07; Iraq, 2007–09; Afghanistan, 2011-.[34] | Mid-Career Fellow, 1985.[29] |
John Danforth | U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1976-95. Ambassador to the United Nations, 2004-05.[35] | A.B., 1958. |
Mitch Daniels | Governor of Indiana, 2005-.[36] | A.B., 1971. |
George M. Dallas | 11th Vice President of the United States, under President James K. Polk.[37] | A.B., 1810.[37] |
Jonathan Dayton | U.S. House Speaker, 1795-99. U.S. Senator from New Jersey, 1799-1805.[38] | A.B., 1776.[38] |
William Dayton | U.S. Senator from New Jersey, 1842-51. Republican Party nominee for Vice President, 1856. Minister to France, 1861-64.[39] | A.B., 1825. |
Mahlon Dickerson | Governor of New Jersey, 1815-17. U.S. Senator from New Jersey, 1817-33. Secretary of the Navy, 1834-38.[40] | A.B., 1789.[40] |
David Dodge | Governor of the Bank of Canada, 2001-08.[41] | Ph.D. in Economics, 1972.[41] |
James H. Duff | Governor of Pennsylvania, 1947-51. U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, 1951-57.[42] | A.B., 1904. |
Allen Dulles | U.S. Director of Central Intelligence, 1953-61.[43] | A.B., 1914. A.M., 1916.[43] |
John Foster Dulles | U.S. Senator from New York, 1949. Secretary of State, 1953-59.[44] | A.B., 1908.[44] |
Pierre S. du Pont IV | Governor of Delaware, 1977-85.[45] | A.B., 1956. |
Henry W. Edwards | U.S. Senator from Connecticut, 1823-27. Governor of Connecticut, 1833–34, 1835-38.[46] | A.B., 1797 |
Bob Ehrlich | Governor of Maryland, 2003-07.[47] | A.B., 1979. |
Oliver Ellsworth | U.S. Senator from Connecticut, 1789-96. Chief Justice of the United States, 1796-1800. Minister to France, 1799-1800.[48] | A.B., 1766.[48] |
Michael Feighan | U.S. Representative from Ohio, 1943-71.[49] | A.B., 1927. |
Peter Frelinghuysen | U.S. Representative from New Jersey, 1953-75.[50] | A.B., 1938. |
Bill Frist | U.S. Senator from Tennessee, 1995–2007; Senate Majority Leader, 2003-07.[51] | A.B., 1974.[51] Trustee, 1974–1978, 1991-2001.[52] Faculty, 2007-08.[53][54] |
John Forsyth | U.S. Senator from Georgia, 1818–19, 1829-34. Governor of Georgia, 1827-29. Secretary of State, 1834-41.[55] | A.B., 1799. |
James Forrestal | U.S. Secretary of the Navy, 1944-47. First Secretary of Defense, 1947-49.[56] | A.B. Class of 1915; did not graduate.[56] |
George Gray | U.S. Senator from Delaware, 1885-99.[57] | A.B., 1859.[57] |
Ralph Gamble | U.S. Representative from New York, 1937-57.[58] | A.B., 1909. |
John Marshall Harlan II | Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,, 1955-71.[59] | A.B., 1920.[59] |
Rush Holt | U.S. Representative from New Jersey, 1999-.[60] | PPPL assistant director, 1989-97.[60] |
William Hudnut | U.S. Representative from Indiana, 1973-75. Mayor of Indianapolis, 1976-91.[61] | A.B., 1954.[61] |
Lisa P. Jackson | Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2009-.[62] | M.S.E., 1986. |
Elena Kagan | Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,, 2010-. Dean of Harvard Law School, 2003-09. Solicitor General of the United States, 2009-10.[63] | A.B., 1981.[63] |
Josephat Karanja | Vice-President of Kenya, 1988-89.[64] | Ph.D. in History, 1962.[29] |
David S. Kaufman | Republic of Texas: House of Representatives, 1839–43; Speaker, 1839-41. Senate, 1843-45. Chargé d'affaires to the United States, 1845.[65] United States: inaugural Representative from Texas, 1846-51.[66] | A.B., 1830[65] or 1833.[66] |
Thomas Kean | Governor of New Jersey, 1982-1990. Chair of the 9/11 Commission.[67] | A.B., 1957. |
John F. Kennedy | 35th President of the United States. | A.B. Class of 1939; transferred to Harvard College.[68] |
George F. Kennan | Cold War diplomat and architect of the United States's "containment" strategy.[69] | A.B., 1925.[69] |
Alan Krueger | Chair of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers, 2011–.[70] | Faculty, 1987–.[71] |
Leonard Lance | U.S. Representative from New Jersey, 2009-.[72] | M.P.A., 1982.[72] |
Jim Leach | U.S. Representative from Iowa, 1977-2007.[73] Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, 2009-.[74] | A.B., 1964.[73] Faculty, 2007–09.[74] |
Henry "Lighthorse Harry" Lee III | American Revolutionary War cavalry officer. Governor of Virginia, 1792-95.[75] | A.B., 1773. A.M., 1776. |
Clarence Long | U.S. Representative from Maryland, 1963-85.[76] | A.M., 1935. Ph.D., 1938.[76] |
Nathaniel Macon | U.S. Senator from North Carolina, 1815–28;[77] President pro tem,[26] 1826-27. U.S. Representative from North Carolina, 1791–1815; Speaker, 1801-07.[77] | A.B., 1777.[78] |
James Madison | Fourth President of the United States. | A.B., 1771.[79] Princeton's first graduate student.[80] |
Imee Marcos | Governor of Ilocos Norte, Philippines, 2010-.[81] | Attended but did not graduate.[82] |
Alexander Martin | Acting Governor of North Carolina, 1781-82. Governor of North Carolina, 1782–84, 1789-92. U.S. Senator from North Carolina, 1793-99.[83] | A.B., 1756. |
James G. Martin | Governor of North Carolina, 1985-93.[84] | Ph.D. in Chemistry, 1960. |
Charles F. Mercer | U.S. Representative from Virginia, 1817-39.[85] | A.B., 1797.[85] |
Jeff Merkley | U.S. Senator from Oregon, 2009-.[86] | M.P.A., 1982.[86] |
Robert Mueller | Director of the F.B.I., 2001-.[87] | A.B., 1966.[87] |
Ralph Nader | U.S. presidential candidate, consumer advocate, political activist.[88] | A.B., 1955.[88] |
Queen Noor of Jordan | Queen consort of Jordan, 1978-99. Queen dowager of Jordan, 1999-. | A.B., 1974.[89] |
Michelle Obama | First Lady of the United States, 2009-. | A.B., 1985.[90] |
William Paterson | U.S. Senator from New Jersey, 1789-90. Governor of New Jersey, 1791-93. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1793-1806.[91] | A.B., 1763.[91] |
James Pearce | U.S. Senator from Maryland, 1843-62.[92] | A.B., 1822. |
Claiborne Pell | U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, 1961-97.[93] | A.B., 1940. |
William Pennington | Governor of New Jersey, 1837-43. U.S. House Speaker, 1859-61.[94] | A.B., 1813.[94] |
David Petraeus | Head of U.S. forces in Iraq, 2007-08. Commander of USCENTCOM, 2008-10.[95] Commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, 2010-11. Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 2011-.[96] | M.P.A., 1985. Ph.D. from the Woodrow Wilson School, 1987.[97] |
Otis Pike | U.S. Representative from New York, 1961-79.[98] | A.B., 1946.[98] |
Jared Polis | U.S. Representative from Colorado, 2009-.[99] | A.B., 1996.[99] |
David A. Reed | U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, 1922-35.[100] | A.B., 1900. |
John Rhea | U.S. Representative from Tennessee, 1803–15, 1817-23.[101] | A.B., 1780.[101] |
Syngman Rhee | First President of South Korea. | Ph.D. in Politics, 1910.[102] |
Richard Riordan | Mayor of Los Angeles, 1993-2001.[103] | A.B., 1952.[103] |
Donald Rumsfeld | U.S. Ambassador to NATO, 1973-74. White House Chief of Staff, 1974-75. Secretary of Defense, 1975–77, 2001-06.[104] | A.B., 1954.[104] |
Richard Rush | U.S. Attorney General, 1814-17. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, 1817-25. Secretary of the Treasury, 1825–29. Ambassador to France, 1847-49.[105] | A.B., 1797.[106] |
John Sarbanes | U.S. Representative from Maryland, 2007-.[107] | A.B., 1984.[107] |
Paul Sarbanes | U.S. Senator from Maryland, 1977-2007.[108] | A.B., 1954. Trustee, 2002–06.[109] |
Saud bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz | Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, 1975-.[110] | A.B., 1964. |
George Shultz | U.S. Secretary of Labor, 1969-70. Office of Management and Budget director, 1970-72. Secretary of the Treasury, 1972-74. Secretary of State, 1982-89.[111] | A.B., 1942.>[111] |
Anne-Marie Slaughter | Director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State[112] | A.B., 1980 |
Howard Alexander Smith | U.S. Senator from New Jersey, 1944-59.[113] | A.B., 1901. Faculty, 1927-30.[113] |
Sonia Sotomayor | Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,, 2009-.[114] | A.B., 1976. Trustee, 2007-11.[115][116] |
Samuel Lewis Southard | U.S. Senator from New Jersey, 1821–23, 1833-42. Secretary of the Navy, 1823-29. Interim Secretary of the Treasury, 1825. Interim Secretary of War, 1828. Governor of New Jersey, 1832-33.[117] | A.B., 1804.[117] |
Adlai Stevenson II | Governor of Illinois, 1949-53. Democratic candidate for President of the United States, 1952, 1956, 1960. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, 1961-65.[118] | A.B., 1922. |
Bob Taft | Governor of Ohio, 1999-2007.[119] | M.P.A., 1967.[29] |
Norman Thomas | American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate.[120] | A.B., 1905.[120] |
Smith Thompson | U.S. Secretary of the Navy, 1818-23. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1823-43.[121] | A.B., 1788.[121] |
Isaac Tichenor | U.S. Senator from Vermont, 1796–97, 1815-21. Governor of Vermont, 1797–1807, 1808-09.[122] | A.B., 1775. |
Paul Volcker | Chairman of the Federal Reserve, 1979-87. Vice Chairman, 1975-79.[123] | A.B., 1949. Faculty, 1974-75.[123] |
James Moore Wayne | Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1835-67.[124] | A.B., 1808.[124] |
G. Mennen Williams | Governor of Michigan, 1949-60.[125] | A.B., 1933. |
Woodrow Wilson | 28th President of the United States. | A.B., 1879. President of Princeton University, 1902-10.[126] |
John Gilbert Winant | Governor of New Hampshire, 1925–27, 1931-35.[127] First chairman of the Social Security Board, 1935-37.[128] U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, 1941-46.[127] | A.B. Class of 1913;[129] did not graduate.[127] A.M., 1925.[130] |
Paul van Zeeland | Prime minister of Belgium, 1936-37.[29] | Ph.D., Economics and Social Institutions, 1921.[29] |
This section includes lists of notable academics who graduated from Princeton and notable Princeton faculty members. Boldface indicates a current professor at Princeton.
Faculty with only short visiting appointments are excluded from this list. Albert Einstein was one of many scholars at the independent Institute for Advanced Study not formally associated with the University but nevertheless closely linked to it.
Here are listed alumni who made notable contributions to science and technology outside academia.
Name | Affiliation | Notes | Refs |
---|---|---|---|
John Peale Bishop | A.B.1917 | American poet. | |
Frederick Buechner | A.B. 1947 | Pulitzer Prize-nominated author | |
Nina Berberova | Faculty | Writer, professor of Russian literature (1963–1971) | |
Ian Caldwell | A.B. 1998 | Co-authored the recent book The Rule of Four, set on the Princeton campus. | |
José Donoso | A.B. 1951 | Chilean author | |
Timothy Ferriss | A.B 1978 | Author of The 4-Hour Workweek and holder of the world record in tango | |
Stona Fitch | A.B. 1983 | Author of Senseless on which the movie Senseless is based and Give and Take, founder of Concord Free Press | |
F. Scott Fitzgerald | Class of 1917 (did not graduate) | Author of The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise | |
Jonathan Safran Foer | A.B. 1999 | Author of Everything Is Illuminated | |
Rivka Galchen | A.B. 1998 | Author of Atmospheric Disturbances | |
Richard Halliburton | A.B. 1922 | Author, adventurer, lecturer | |
Mohsin Hamid | A.B. 1993 | Author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist | |
Peter Hessler | A.B. 1992 | Author of River Town and Oracle Bones | |
Walter Kirn | A.B. (English) 1983 | Author of Up in the Air and other novels, literary critic, essayist | |
A. Walton Litz | A.B 1951 | Literary critic | |
John McPhee | A.B. 1953 | Pulizer Prize-winning writer and Ferris Professor of Journalism since 1974 | |
Emily Moore | B.A. 1999, M.A. 2001 | Poet, Musician, Teacher | |
George Frederick Morgan | Poet | ||
Toni Morrison | Faculty | Winner of Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes, Novelist and Professor of Creative Writing 1989–2006 | |
Paul Muldoon | Faculty | Irish Poet laureate | |
John Norman | Ph.D 1963 | Sci-Fi author and philosopher | |
Joyce Carol Oates | Faculty | Professor in Creative Writing Program | |
Jodi Picoult | A.B. 1987 | Bestselling novelist | |
William H. Quillian | B.A. 1965, M.A.,Ph.D. 1975 | Author, Professor of English on the Emma B. Kennedy Foundation at Mount Holyoke College | |
David Remnick | A.B. 1981 | Editor of The New Yorker | |
Lawrence Riley | playwright and screenwriter, author of Personal Appearance, Return Engagement and Kin Hubbard. | ||
Eric Schlosser | A.B. 1982 | Journalist, Fast Food Nation | |
Charles Scribner I | Founder of Scribner's publishing house, his descendants include several Princeton alumni. | ||
Jennifer Weiner | A.B. 1991 | Novelist, Good in Bed, In Her Shoes Little Earthquakes, and Goodnight Nobody | |
Edmund Wilson | A.B. 1916 | Literary critic | |
Chris Welles (1937–2010) | Business journalist and author. | [284] | |
Mario Vargas Llosa | Faculty | Nobel prize winner, Novelist and Visiting Lecturer in Creative Writing in the Lewis Center for the Arts 2010–11 |
Name | Affiliation | Notes | Refs |
---|---|---|---|
John Peale Bishop | A.B.1917 | American poet. | |
Sara Baiyu Chen | A.B. 2008 | Singer-songwriter and actress | |
Erik Barnouw | Writer, critic, documentary filmmaker, Columbia University professor | ||
Roger Berlind | A.B. 1954 | Produced (or co-produced) produced or co-produced over 40 plays and musicals on Broadway and many off-Broadway and regional productions as well. The Broadway production have won over 60 Tony Awards, including 12 for best production. | |
Stephen Bogardus | A.B. 1976 | Actor | |
Brooks Bowman | A.B. 1936 | Jazz composer and writer of the song "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)." | |
Dean Cain | A.B. 1988 | Actor, played Superman in the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. | |
Ethan Coen | A.B. 1979 | Academy Award-winning filmmaker of No Country for Old Men, O Brother, Where Art Thou?',' and Fargo, among others | |
Kwanza Jones | Billboard (magazine) charting singer, songwriter and actress | ||
Connor Diemand-Yauman | contestant on The Amazing Race 17 | ||
David Duchovny | A.B. 1982 | Actor best known for his role in The X-Files. Won Golden Globe Awards for this and Californication | |
Molly Ephraim | A.B. 2008 | Stage, film, and television actress | |
José Ferrer | A.B. 1933 | Academy Award and Tony Award-winning actor | |
Mark Feuerstein | A.B. 1993 | Film and television actor (Royal Pains) | |
Ruth Gerson | A.B. 1992 | Singer, songwriter | |
Bo Goldman | A.B. 1953 | Co-winner of the 1976 Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted From Other Material (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest); winner of the 1981 Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Melvin and Howard); nominated for the 1993 Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Scent of a Woman) | |
Nicholas Hammond | Actor best known for his roles in The Sound of Music and The Amazing Spider-Man | ||
Charles Horn | Ph.D. | Writer Robot Chicken | |
Andrew Jarecki | Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker, Capturing the Friedmans | ||
Eugene Jarecki | Documentary filmmaker, Why We Fight (2005 film) | ||
Robert L. Johnson | A.M. 1972 | Founded Black Entertainment Television in 1980; member of the board for US Airways, General Mills, and Hilton Hotels. | |
Stanley Jordan | A.B. 1981 | Jazz guitarist | |
Larissa Kelly | A.B. 2002 | Fifth-ranked all-time Jeopardy! winner. | |
Ellie Kemper | A.B. 2002 | Actress who plays Erin Hannon on The Office | |
Joshua Logan | A.B. 1931 | Winner (or co-winner) of seven Tony Awards, co-winner of a Pulitzer Prize, nominated three times for the Academy Award, directed the film versions of Camelot and South Pacific | |
Craig Mazin | A.B. 1992 | Screenwriter of Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4 | |
Myron McCormick | A.B. 1933 | Actor, winner of a Tony Award in 1950 | |
Douglas McGrath | A.B. 1980 | Actor, director, and screenwriter (including Bullets Over Broadway) | |
Wentworth Miller | A.B. 1995 | Film and television actor best known for his role as Michael Scofield on the Fox Network's series Prison Break | |
Jeff Moss | A.B. 1963 | Lyricist, composer, poet. Co-creator of Sesame Street (former member of Princeton Triangle Club), winner of fifteen Emmy Awards | |
Rose Catherine Pinkney | Television executive with Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox. | ||
Jane Randall | 3rd place contestant on America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15. She is currently signed to modelling agency IMG Models. | ||
Wayne Rogers | A.B. 1955 | Actor best known for his role as Trapper John McIntyre on TV series M*A*S*H | |
Marc Rosen | Film and television producer, best known for his work on the Harry Potter film franchise and the TV series Threshold | ||
Jonathan Schwartz | Contestant on The Amazing Race 17 | ||
Brooke Shields | A.B. 1987 | Model/actress, from The Blue Lagoon and the TV series Suddenly Susan and Lipstick Jungle (former member of Princeton Triangle Club) | |
Brett Simon | A.B. 1997 | Director of Assassination of a High School President | |
Jimmy Stewart | B.S. 1932 | Academy Award-winning actor (former member of Princeton Triangle Club), aviator, Brigadier General in the United States Air Force. Honorary degree in 1947. | |
Robert Taber | Actor | ||
Bretaigne Windust | A.B. 1929 | Film director, producer |
See also: Princeton University: In fiction
(in alphabetical order by title name)
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