List of United States Military Academy alumni (academics)

The United States Military Academy (USMA) is an undergraduate college in West Point, New York that educates and commissions officers for the United States Army. The Academy was founded in 1802 and graduated its first class in October of the same year. It is the oldest of the five American service academies. Most media refer to the Academy as "Army" and the students as "Cadets", and this naming has become officially endorsed.[1] A small number of graduates each year choose the option of entering the United States Air Force, United States Navy, or United States Marine Corps. Before the founding of the United States Air Force Academy in 1955, the Academy was a major source of officers for the Air Force and its predecessors. Most cadets are admitted through the congressional appointment system.[2][3] The curriculum emphasizes various fields in sciences and engineering.[4][5]

This list is drawn from alumni of the Academy who became university educators or administrators, such as Dennis Hart Mahan (class of 1824), George Washington Custis Lee (class of 1854), Dwight D. Eisenhower (class of 1915), and Wesley Posvar (class of 1946).

Other notable graduates include 2 Presidents of the United States, 18 astronauts, 4 heads of state, 74 Medal of Honor recipients,[6] 70 Rhodes Scholars, and 3 Heisman Trophy winners.[7] Among American universities, the Academy is fourth on the list of total winners for Rhodes Scholarships, seventh for Marshall Scholarships and fourth for Hertz Fellowships.[8]

Contents

Academics

Note: "Class year" refers to the alumni's class year, which usually is the same year they graduated. However, in times of war, classes often graduate early.
Name Class year Notability References
Webster, HoraceHorace Webster 1818 Lieutenant; mathematics professor at the Academy (1818–1825); professor of mathematics, professor of intellectual philosophy, and president at Geneva College (1828–1830, 1835–1836); president Free Academy of New York (1848–1869) [9]
Mahan, Dennis HartDennis Hart Mahan 1824 Lieutenant; military theorist, educator, author, and engineer; founding member of National Academy of Sciences; father of American naval historian and theorist Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan; of his other four children, son Frederick August Mahan graduated from the Academy in 1867 [10]
Bache, Alexander DallasAlexander Dallas Bache 1825 Lieutenant; founding president of the National Academy of Sciences; member of the Scientific Lazzaroni and the Royal Society; professor of natural philosophy and chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania (1828–1843) [11]
Polk, LeonidasLeonidas Polk 1827 Second Lieutenant USA, Lieutenant General in Confederate States Army; resigned his commission soon after graduating from the Academy to enter Virginia Theological Seminary; founder of University of the South; killed in combat during the Battle of Marietta; Fort Polk named in his honor [12]
Humphreys, Andrew A.Andrew A. Humphreys 1831 Major General; American Civil War; topographical and hydrological surveyor of the Mississippi River Delta; Chief of Engineers (1866–1875); an incorporator of the United States National Academy of Sciences [13]
Norton, William AugustusWilliam Augustus Norton 1831 Lieutenant; Black Hawk War; professor of natural philosophy and civil engineering (1831–1883); member of the United States National Academy of Sciences [14]
Ewell, Benjamin StoddertBenjamin Stoddert Ewell 1832 Colonel in Confederate States Army; professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Hampden-Sydney College (1839–1846); president of The College of William & Mary (1854–1888); brother Richard S. Ewell, class of 1840, was a Lieutenant General in Confederate States Army [15]
Smith, Francis HenneyFrancis Henney Smith 1833 Major General in Confederate States Army; first and longest-serving superintendent of Virginia Military Institute (1839–1889) [16]
Meigs, Montgomery C.Montgomery C. Meigs 1836 Major General; Quartermaster General during American Civil War; river and civil engineer; early member of National Academy of Sciences; General Montgomery Meigs, class of 1967, is his descendant [17]
Gilham, WilliamWilliam Gilham 1840 Colonel in Confederate States Army; Seminole War and Mexican–American War; professor at Virginia Military Institute; author of Manual of Instruction for the Volunteers and Militia of the United States, which was in use for over 145 years [18]
Johnson, BushrodBushrod Johnson 1840 Major General in Confederate States Army; Seminole War and Mexican–American War; served with distinction in many key battles such as the Battle of Chickamauga and Siege of Petersburg; professor of philosophy, chemistry, and engineering; co-chancellor of the University of Nashville (1870–1875) [19]
Gorgas, JosiahJosiah Gorgas 1841 Captain USA, Brigadier General in Confederate States Army; Mexican–American War; chief of ordnance for the Confederacy; president of University of Alabama (1878-1883); son William C. Gorgas became Surgeon General of the United States Army b[›][20]
Eustis, Henry L.Henry L. Eustis 1842 Brigadier General; American Civil War; founded the Lawrence Scientific School, later the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences [21]
Hill, Daniel HarveyDaniel Harvey Hill 1842 Lieutenant General in Confederate States Army; professor at Washington and Lee University and Davidson College; later the first president of the University of Arkansas (1877–1884) [22]
Smith, Edmund KirbyEdmund Kirby Smith 1845 Major USA, General CSA; Mexican–American War; Confederate commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department; president of University of Nashville (1870-1875); professor of mathematics at Sewanee: The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee (1875-1893) b[›][23][24]
Jackson, StonewallStonewall Jackson 1846 Major in United States Army, Lieutenant General in Confederate States Army; Mexican–American War; professor of natural and experimental philosophy and artillery at Virginia Military Institute (1851–1861); excelled in several battles during the American Civil War, including the First Battle of Bull Run where he received his nickname; accidentally shot by his own troops at the Battle of Chancellorsville and died of complications from pneumonia eight days later [25]
Howard, Oliver OtisOliver Otis Howard 1854 Major General; recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions leading an attack at the Battle of Seven Pines despite wound which resulted in the loss of his right arm; led the campaign against Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe; founder of Howard University; Superintendent of the Academy (1881–1882) b[›][26][27]
Lee, George Washington CustisGeorge Washington Custis Lee 1854 First Lieutenant US Army, Major General CSA; graduated first in his class at the Academy; father Robert E. Lee, class of 1829, graduated second in his class; President, Washington and Lee University (1871–1897) a[›][28]
Lee, Stephen D.Stephen D. Lee 1854 First Lieutenant USA, Lieutenant General CSA; Seminole Wars, American Indian Wars; youngest Lieutenant General in the Confederate States Army; first president of Agricultural and Mechanical College of Mississippi (1880-1899) b[›][29][30]
Webb, Alexander S.Alexander S. Webb 1855 Major General; recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Gettysburg for personal bravery and leadership repulsing Pickett's Charge; president of the City College of New York (1869–1902) [31][32]
Chaplin, Winfield ScottWinfield Scott Chaplin 1870 Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis (1891-1907); Dean of the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard University; Faculty member at Maine State College, Imperial University in Tokyo, and Union College [33]
Ruckman, John WilsonJohn Wilson Ruckman 1883 Major General; a founder of the Journal of the United States Artillery; invented several artillery devices used during World War I; instructor at School of Submarine Defense [34]
Eisenhower, Dwight D.Dwight D. Eisenhower 1915 General of the Army; trained tank crews in Pennsylvania during World War I; World War II; commander of European Theater of Operations and Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (1942–1945); 1st Military Governor of American Occupation Zone in Germany (1945); President of Columbia University (1948–1950, 1952–1953); 1st Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1951–1952); 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) [35]
McDermott, Robert F.Robert F. McDermott 1943 Brigadier General; World War II fighter pilot; executive of United Services Automobile Association (USAA); first Dean of Faculty at the United States Air Force Academy [36]
Posvar, WesleyWesley Posvar 1946 Brigadier General in the Air Force; first US Air Force officer to be granted a Rhodes Scholarship; 15th chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh (1967–1991), where Posvar Hall is named in his honor [37]
Allen, James R.James R. Allen 1948 General in the Air Force; fighter pilot in Korean War and Vietnam War; superintendent of United States Air Force Academy (1974–1977) [38]
Hamm, Charles R.Charles R. Hamm 1956 Lieutenant General in the Air Force; fighter pilot in Vietnam War; member of the Air Force air demonstration squadron, the Thunderbirds (1964–1966); superintendent of United States Air Force Academy (1987–1991) [39]
Ivany, RobertRobert Ivany 1970 Major General; Vietnam War and Gulf War veteran; former president of the U.S. Army War College (2001–2004); president of University of Saint Thomas (2004–present) [40]
Mearsheimer, JohnJohn Mearsheimer 1970 Served five years as an Air Force officer; political science professor at University of Chicago (1982–present), where he is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and the co-director of the Program on International Security Policy; proponent of offensive realism [41]

References

General

^ a:  Special Collections: Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy. West Point, NY: United States Military Academy Library. 1950. 

Inline citations
  1. ^ "Quick Facts". United States Military Academy (USMA). http://www.goarmysports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=11100&KEY=&ATCLID=323967. Retrieved 2009-03-04. 
  2. ^ "FAQ: Who Attends the US Military Academy". USMA Office of Admissions. http://admissions.usma.edu/FAQs/faqs_wp.cfm. Retrieved 2009-03-21. 
  3. ^ "Overview of the Academy". USMA Office of Admissions. http://admissions.usma.edu/overview.cfm. Retrieved 2009-03-21. 
  4. ^ "College Navigator - United States Military Academy". National Center for Education Statistics, United States Department of Education. http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=united+states+military+academy&s=all&id=197036. Retrieved 2009-03-21. 
  5. ^ "Academic Catalog: "The Redbook"". USMA Office of the Dean. 2008-09-10. http://www.dean.usma.edu/sebpublic/curriccat/static/index.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-21. 
  6. ^ "Medal of Honor Citations". Army Center of Military History. http://www.history.army.mil/moh.html. Retrieved 2010-01-27. 
  7. ^ "Notable USMA Graduates". USMA. http://www.usma.edu/bicentennial/history/NotableGrads.asp. Retrieved 2009-03-21. 
  8. ^ "Scholarship Winners". USMA Office of the Dean. http://www.dean.usma.edu/Scholarships/. Retrieved 2008-12-19. 
  9. ^ "Prof. Horace Webster" (PDF). The New York Times. 1871-07-14. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9807E6D7103EEE34BC4C52DFB166838A669FDE. Retrieved 2009-06-06. 
  10. ^ "Dennis Hart Mahan". Smithsonian Institution. http://americanhistory.si.edu/westpoint/history_1a2.html. Retrieved 2009-06-13. 
  11. ^ C., J. (1868). "Obituary: Alexander Dallas Bache". Monthly Notices of the RAS (MNRAS) (Royal Astronomical Society) 28 (1): 72–75. http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/MNRAS/0028//0000072.000.html. Retrieved 2008-03-05. 
  12. ^ Dupuy, Trevor N.; Johnson, Curt, and Bongard, David L. (1992). Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography (1 ed.). Castle Books. p. 601. ISBN 0785804374. 
  13. ^ "Commanders of the Corps of Engineers". United States Army Corps of Engineers. http://www.usace.army.mil/History/Pages/Commanders.aspx. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  14. ^ Trowbridge, W. P. (2005). Memoir of William A. Norton 1810–1883. National Academies Press. pp. 191–199. 
  15. ^ "Benjamin Stoddert Ewell". The New York TImes. 1894-06-21. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D05E4D61630E033A25752C2A9609C94659ED7CF. Retrieved 2009-06-13. 
  16. ^ "West Point Fifty Years Ago". University of Chicago. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Army/USMA/SMIFIF*.html. Retrieved 2009-06-06. 
  17. ^ "Brigadier General Montgomery C. Meigs". Army Quartermaster Corps. http://www.qmfound.com/BG_Montgomery_Meigs.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-14. 
  18. ^ Wise, Jennings Cropper (1915). The Military History of the Virginia Military Institute from 1839 to 1865. Lynchburg, VA: J. P. Bell Company, Inc. pp. 55–56. http://books.google.com/?id=INmKsEB4LWAC&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=William+Gilham++vmi. Retrieved 2009-06-13. 
  19. ^ "Bushrod Johnson". National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/pete/historyculture/bushrod-johnson.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-14. 
  20. ^ "Josiah Gorgas (1818-1883)". Smithsonian Institution. http://americanhistory.si.edu/westpoint/history_3b1.html. Retrieved 2009-09-28. 
  21. ^ "About Us". Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. http://www.seas.harvard.edu/aboutus/history/index.html. Retrieved 2009-06-14. 
  22. ^ "Daniel Harvey Hill". Civil War Home. http://www.civilwarhome.com/dhhill.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-06. 
  23. ^ Eicher, John H.; Eicher, David J. (2001). Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press. pp. 493–494. ISBN 0804736413. 
  24. ^ Nofi, Albert A. (1995). A Civil War Treasury: Being a Miscellany of Arms and Artillery, Facts and Figures, Legends and Lore, Muses and Minstrels, Personalities and People. Da Capo Press. pp. 347–348. ISBN 0306806223. 
  25. ^ Eicher, John H.; Eicher, David J. (2001). Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press. pp. 316, 517. ISBN 0804736413. 
  26. ^ "Medal of Honor Recipients, Civil War (A–L)". Army Center of Military History. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwaral.html. Retrieved 2009-04-04. 
  27. ^ "Civil War Medal of Honor Citations Last names starting with "H" and "I"". American Civil War. http://americancivilwar.com/medal_of_honor4.html. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
  28. ^ Gordon, William (1914). Major-General George Washington Custis Lee. Richmond, VA: Virginia Historical Society. p. 8. http://books.google.com/?id=ufEsAAAAYAAJ&dq=geroge+washington+custis+lee&printsec=frontcover. Retrieved 2009-04-19. 
  29. ^ Wakelyn, Jon L. (1977). Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 282. ISBN 083716124X. 
  30. ^ Warner, Ezra J. (1959). Baton Rouge, LA. ed. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Louisiana State University Press. pp. 183–184, 345. ISBN 0807108235. 
  31. ^ "Medal of Honor Recipients Civil War (M–Z)". Army Center of Military History. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html. Retrieved 2009-04-02. 
  32. ^ Tagg, Larry (1998). The Generals of Gettysburg. New York City: Savas Publishing: Da Capo Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN 1882810309. http://www.rocemabra.com/~roger/tagg/generals/. Retrieved 2009-04-11. 
  33. ^ "Prof. Chaplin's New Post; He will be Chancellor of the Washington University", New York Times, August 30, 1891.
  34. ^ "John Wilson Ruckman". University of Illinois Alumni Association at Urbana. http://www.uiaa.org/urbana/veterans/display_veteran.asp?veteranID=79. Retrieved 2009-06-15. 
  35. ^ "Biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower". whitehouse.gov. The White House. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/dwightdeisenhower/. Retrieved 2008-09-06. 
  36. ^ Bernstein, Adam (2006-08-29). "Robert McDermott; Air Force Academy Dean". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/28/AR2006082801348.html. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 
  37. ^ "Schenly Plaza, Schenley Park & Environs" (PDF). University of Pittsburgh. http://www.haa.pitt.edu/resources/documents/SchenleyPark.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
  38. ^ "General James R. Allen". United States Air Force. 1983. http://www.af.mil/information/bios/bio.asp?bioID=4505. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
  39. ^ "Lieutenant General Charles R. Hamm". United States Air Force. http://www.af.mil/information/bios/bio.asp?bioID=5686. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
  40. ^ Roch, Jessica (2005-09-01). "ST president speaks candidly". Cauldron Online (University of St. Thomas). http://media.www.ustcauldron.org/media/storage/paper444/news/2005/09/01/OtherNews/Ust-President.Speaks.Candidly-974452.shtml. Retrieved 2009-06-23. 
  41. ^ "John Mearsheimer". The Globalist. http://www.theglobalist.com/AuthorBiography.aspx?AuthorId=508. Retrieved 2009-06-23. 
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