List of Lafayette College people

This is a list of notable people affiliated with Lafayette College.

Notable alumni, faculty, and trustees

William C. Cattell, President of Lafayette College from 1863 to 1883.

Ralph Cooper Hutchison, President of Lafayette College from 1945 to 1958.

William E. Simon, class of 1952, served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1974–1977.

Fred Morgan Kirby, trustee from 1916–1940, provided funds to establish a Professorship of Civil Rights.

Academics and education

• Thomas Craig, class of 1875, early professor of mathematics at Johns Hopkins University.
• James Cameron Mackenzie, class of 1878, educator.
• James McKeen Cattell, class of 1880, the first professor of psychology in the United States.
• Earl Gregg Swem, class of 1893, historian, bibliographer and librarian.
• Joseph S. Illick, class of 1907, Dean of the New York State College of Forestry, 1944–51.
• Ralph Cooper Hutchison, class of 1918, President of Washington & Jefferson College 1931–1945 and Lafayette College 1945–1957.
• Frank Reed Horton, class of 1926, founder of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity.
• Arthur J. Rothkopf, class of 1955, President of Lafayette College 1993–2006.
• Frank Franz, class of 1959, provost at West Virginia University and fourth president of The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
• Leonard Jeffries, class of 1959, Professor of Black Studies at the City College of New York (City).
• Martin Jezer, class of 1961, progressive activist in New York and Vermont; leader of stutterers' self-help movement.
• Richard Alkire, class of 1963, Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• Gerald Gill, class of 1970, associate professor of history at Tufts University.
• Darlyne Bailey, class of 1974, first African American dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota.
• Peter A. Alces, class of 1977, Rollins Professor of Law, The College of William & Mary School of Law.
• John Anderson Fry, class of 1982, former president of Franklin & Marshall College and current president of Drexel University.

Business

• James Gayley, class of 1876, Managing Director Carnegie Steel Company and first Vice President U.S. Steel 1901-09.
• Charles Bergstresser, class of 1881, one of the three founders of Dow Jones & Company.
• Harrison Woodhull Crosby, commercialized the canned tomato.
• Leslie Freeman Gates, class of 1897, President Chicago Board of Trade 1919–1920.
• T. Frank Soles, class of 1904, Chairman of the Board of Talon, Inc. - producers of the then patented zipper. Also a trustee and donor of Soles Hall.
• Fred Morgan Kirby, trustee from 1916–1940, helped found the Woolworth's five and dime store chain.
• Thomas J. Watson, Trustee & donor, First Chairman & CEO of IBM 1914–56. Computing pioneer, namesake of the Watson Computer.
• Edward Jesser, class of 1939, former chairman and CEO of Summit Bancorp.
• Walter E. Hanson, class of 1949, Chairman of KPMG.^[1]
• Michael H. Moskow, class of 1959, CEO and President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
• Thomas J Neff, class of 1959, Chairman Spencer Stuart and Former Lafayette College Trustee.
• William F. Buechler, class of 1961, Vice Chairman Xerox 1999–2001.
• Carl G. Anderson Jr., class of 1967, CEO of Arrow International.
• Charles Golden, class of 1968, CFO of Eli Lilly and Company 1996–2006.
• Jonathan D. Green, class of 1968, CEO of Rockefeller Group.
• Alfred A. Piergallini, class of 1968, former CEO Gerber Products and Novartis.
• Michael F. Weinstein, class of 1970, CEO of Snapple 1997–2000.
• Stephen D. Pryor, class of 1971, President of ExxonMobil Chemical Company.
• Roger Newton, class of 1972, Senior Vice President & Director, Esperion Therapeutics, Pfizer Global Research and Development; co-discovered of Lipitor.
• Neil Levin, class of 1976, former Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, vice president of Goldman Sachs.
• James H. Kaplan, class of 1977, CEO of Tai Ping Carpets International.
• John Donleavy, class of 1978, CEO of Vermont Electric Power Company Inc. (VELCO).
• Douglas Burcin, class of 1980, Global CEO Havas Health.
• Angel L. Mendez, class of 1982, Senior Vice President of Customer Value Chain Management at Cisco Systems.
• James N. Grace, class of 1986, Founder and CEO, InsureMyTrip.com
• Alan Hoffman, class of 1988, Senior Vice President, Global Public Policy and Government Affairs at PepsiCo. Former Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States Joe Biden and Deputy Assistant to the President.^[2]
• Ian Murray, class of 1997, co-founder of the Vineyard Vines clothing company.

Engineering

• William Edgar Baker, class of 1877, engineer and pioneer of reliable third rail system for urban transportation as demonstrated at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.
• William Ashburner Cattell, class of 1884, civil engineer and railroad company president.
• James Madison Porter III, class of 1886, professor of civil engineering and designer of Northampton Street Bridge.
• William F. Durand, class of 1888, mechanical engineer and first civilian chair of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.
• Edgar Jadwin, class of 1888, General, Chief of Engineers.
• Don Lancaster, class of 1961, author, inventor, and microcomputer pioneer.

Entertainment

• Glenn Orsher, class of 1973, executive at S2BN Entertainment, Executive Producer – Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark; Director/Producer "Yo Gabba Gabba Live!"
• Chris McCumber, class of 1989, President of USA Network.
• Joel Silver, head of Hollywood's Silver Pictures and producer of films including the Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and The Matrix series.
• Lorene Scafaria, an American screenwriter, playwright, actress and singer best known for her work on the 2008 film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

Government

• Isaiah D. Clawson, class of 1833, represented New Jersey's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1855 to 1859.^[3]
• James Morrison Harris, class of 1833, U.S. Representative from Maryland 1855–1861, Lafayette College trustee 1865–1872.
• Alexander Ramsey, class of 1836 (Honorary), Governor of Minnesota, US Senator, Congressman, Secretary of War.
• Nathaniel B. Smithers, class of 1836, U.S. Representative from Delaware 1863–1865.
• William Augustus Porter, class of 1838, District Attorney of Philadelphia 1843, Judge of Supreme Court of Pennsylvania 1858.
• Philip Johnson (congressman), class of 1844, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 1861–1863, 1863–1867.
• Henry Martyn Hoyt, attended 1845–48, honorary law degree conferred in 1882, Governor of Pennsylvania 1879–1883.
• William Henry Woodring, class of 1852, Pennsylvania State Representative 1892–97.
• Horatio Gates Fisher, class of 1855, US Representative from Pennsylvania 1879–1883.
• Samuel McLean (congressman), non-graduate later received honorary degree in 1857. Member first Montana State Legislature 1865–67.
• Benjamin Franklin Junkin, entered 1837, A.M. in 1865, US Representative from Pennsylvania, 1859–1861.
• Mahlon Yardley, class of 1843, Pennsylvania State Senator 1858–61.
• Oliver Horatio Meyers, class of 1847, Pennsylvania State Representative 1866–67.
• Robert Porter Allen, class of 1855, Pennsylvania State Senator 1875–78.
• Allen Craig, class of 1855, Pennsylvania State Representative and Senator 1865–67; 1879–82.
• John W. Griggs, class of 1868, Governor of New Jersey 1896–1898, US Attorney General 1898–1901.
• Silas W. DeWitt, class of 1869, New Jersey State Representative 1877–79.
• Frank J. Washabaugh, class of 1870, South Dakota jurist and legislator.
• Laird Howard Barber, class of 1871, US Representative from Pennsylvania 1899–1901, lawyer.
• William Sebring Kirkpatrick, classes of 1862 (A.B.) & 1872 (A.M.), Attorney General of the State of Pennsylvania 1888–91, member U.S. House of Representatives 1897–99.
• Arthur Granville Dewalt, class of 1874, US Representative from Pennsylvania 1915–1921.
• Isaac Barber, class of 1876, New Jersey State Senator 1896–99, 1902-05.
• William Thomas Fee, class of 1876, U.S. Consul-general at Guatemala City, Bremen, Bombay, and Cienfuegos.
• Russell Benjamin Harrison, class of 1877, Indiana legislator, consul to Portugal and Mexico, son of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison.
• George Howell, class of 1880, US Representative from Pennsylvania 1903–1904.
• John T. Morrison, class of 1880, Governor of Idaho from 1903–1905.
• Frederic James Grant, class of 1883, Washington State Speaker of the House 1888–89. Envoy to Bolivia 1893. Editor-in-chief Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
• Grant Stanley Herring, class of 1883, Pennsylvania State Senator 1890–94.
• John R. Farr, class of 1885, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 1911–1919, 1921.
• John Edgar Fox, class of 1885, Pennsylvania State Senator 1900–1912.
• Cyrus E. Woods, class of 1886, President pro tempore Pennsylvania State Senate 1901-07. U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Japan 1921–24.
• Frederick Theodore Dumont, class of 1889, U.S. Consul at Guadeloupe, Madrid, Florence, and others 1903–15.
• Frederic Antes Godcharles, class of 1893, Pennsylvania State Representative and Senator 1900–1908.
• Isaac Clinton Kline, class of 1893, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 1921–1923, lawyer.
• John D. Clarke, class of 1898, U.S. Congressperson from New York.
• Joseph F. Crater, class of 1910, Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court.
• Wesley Lance, class of 1928, member of both the New Jersey General Assembly and the New Jersey Senate, who was one of the drafters of the current, 1947 New Jersey State Constitution.^[4]
• Robert B. Meyner, class of 1930, Governor of New Jersey, 1954–1962, competed against John F. Kennedy in the 1960 Democratic Party primary.
• Winston L. Prouty, class of 1930, United States Representative and Senator from Vermont.
• William H. Woodin, Trustee, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury 1933.
• Wayne Dumont, class of 1935, former Acting Governor of New Jersey.
• Arch A. Moore, Jr., attended in 1943, twice Governor of West Virginia.
• D. Bennett Mazur (c. 1925–1994), member of the New Jersey General Assembly.^[5]
• Fred Ashton, class of 1952, Mayor of Easton from 1967–1975.^[6]
• Dennis Kux, class of 1952, U.S. Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, 1986–1989.
• William E. Simon, class of 1952, 63rd Secretary of the Treasury, President of the United States Olympic Committee.
• Bob Smith, class of 1952, former Senator of New Hampshire.
• Garrett E. Brown, Jr., class of 1965, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
• Brent Glass, class of 1969, director of Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
• Robert Pastor, class of 1969, former member of the United States National Security Council.
• Thomas LaConte, class of 1970, superior court judge to the New Jersey Civil Court.
• Joel A. Pisano, class of 1971, Federal Judge for District Court of New Jersey.
• Marcia Bernicat, class of 1975, U.S. Ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau
• Robin L. Wiessmann, class of 1975, former Pennsylvania State Treasurer.
• Col. Howie Cohen, class of 1979, Commander of the White House Communications Agency until 2006.
• Bruce L. Castor, Jr., class of 1983, former district attorney and current county commissioner in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania; lawyer.
• Robert Spagnoletti, class of 1984, former Attorney General of the District of Columbia.
• William Bull, class of 1985, Peace Corps Director, Madagascar.
• Frank Gaziano, class of 1986, Associate Justice of Massachusetts Superior Court.
• Paula A. Roscioli, class of 1987, Judge of Northampton County Court of Common Pleas.
• Henry Green, class of 1846, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1900

Humanities

• Frederick Starr, class of 1882, world renowned anthropologist.
• Barry Wellman, class of 1963, captain undefeated College Bowl team, sociologist, founder of International Network for Social Network Analysis.

Literature and poetry

• John Martin Crawford, class of 1871, translated the Finnish epic Kalevala into English. Consul-general of the United States to Russia under President Benjamin Harrison.
• Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage, attended for one semester before leaving to focus exclusively on his writing.
• Dominique Lapierre, class of 1952, author.
• Martin Jezer, class of 1961, activist and author.
• Jay Parini, class of 1970, poet and Middlebury College professor.
• Ross Gay, class of 1996, poet.
• M. K. Asante, Jr., class of 2004, professor, author, and filmmaker.

Medicine

• Philip S. Hench, class of 1916, winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1950.
• Haldan K. Hartline, class of 1923, winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1967.
• Orvan Hess, class of 1927, physician noted for his early use of penicillin and development of the fetal heart monitor.

Military

• Charles A. Wikoff, class of 1855, most senior ranking United States Army officer killed in the Spanish-American War.
• Richard Roberts, class of 1875, personal assistant to General George Armstrong Custer.
• Peyton C. March, class of 1884, Army Chief of Staff during World War I.
• Samuel Grant Shartle, class of 1891, U.S. Military attaché to Berlin 1901–1915.
• General George H. Decker, class of 1924, Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1960 to 1962.

Religion and theology

• William Henry Green, class of 1840, President of The College of New Jersey, professor of Biblical and Oriental Literature in Princeton Theological Seminary.
• John Douglas Bemo (Husti-Coluc-Chee, later Tal-a-Mas-Mico), non-graduate 1843–46, nephew of Osceola Chief of the Seminoles. Responsible for baptizing over 5,000 Native Americans in the Oklahoma Territory.
• W.A.P. Martin, class of 1860, Presbyterian missionary and translator.
• James Isaac Good, class of 1872, clergyman.

Sciences

• Rev. Thomas Conrad Porter, class of 1840, discoverer and namesake of several species of plants, among them Desmatodon Porteri, discovered on College Hill.
• James H. Coffin, Lafayette College Vice President and Treasurer 1846–73, pioneer in meteorology.
• William Harkness, attended 1854–56, astronomer.
• Richard William Dickinson Bryan – class of 1869, astronomer and chaplain on the Polaris Expeditions' attempt to reach the North Pole in 1871.
• William McMurtrie, class of 1871 & first Ph.D. in chemistry awarded at Lafayette (1875), Chief Chemist for the United States Department of Agriculture from 1873–78. President of American Chemical Society in 1900.
• William Porter Shimer, classes of 1878,1899, discoverer Titanium Carbide.
• Eugene C. Bingham, Chemistry Professor 1916–39, pioneer in rheology. Namesake of Bingham plastic, fluid, stress as well as the Bingham Medal.
• S. Donald Stookey, class of 1938, inventor of Corningware earned his master's degree in chemistry in the 1930s;^[7]
• John J. Marchalonis, class of 1962, immunologist discoverer of T-cell receptors.

Sports

• George Barclay, class of 1898, inventor of the football helmet, outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Beaneaters.
• Charles Rinehart, class of 1898, College Football Hall of Fame member.
• Dick Wright, catcher for the Brooklyn Tip-Tops.
• Fritz Scheeren, class of 1914, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Ty Helfrich, class of 1915, second baseman for the Brooklyn Tip-Tops.
• Al Bedner, class of 1921, NFL player.
• George Seasholtz, class of 1922, NFL player for the Milwaukee Badgers and the Kenosha Maroons.
• Frank Schwab, class of 1923, College Football Hall of Fame member.
• Al LeConey, class of 1923, 1924 Summer Olympics gold medalist in the 4x100 meter relay, later featured on a U.S. Postal stamp.
• Charlie Berry, Jr., class of 1924, College Football Hall of Fame member, only man to officiate World Series, NFL Championship, and College All-Star game in same year,^[8] catcher for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, NFL leading scorer in 1925 for the Pottsville Maroons.
• Matt Brennan, class of 1925, NFL player.
• George Wilson, class of 1929, College Football Hall of Fame member and previous NCAA scoring record holder.
• Adam J. Cirillo, class of 1933, head football coach of Brooklyn Technical High School, won 10 New York City Public School Athletic League championships.^[9]
• Frank Hiller, class of 1942, pitcher for the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds.
• Pete Carril, class of 1951, former Princeton University men's basketball head coach and Sacramento Kings assistant coach.
• Alexander K. 'Whip' Buck, class of 1952, co-owner of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1981 until his death in 2010^[10]
• Tracy Tripucka, class of 1972, three-time men's basketball All-American, New York Knicks draft selection, collegiate assistant coach^[11]
• Howard Benedict, class of 1973, legendary "founding father of Connecticut lacrosse", head coach of New Cannan High School.
• Peter Simon, class of 1975, co-owner of the NHL's New Jersey Devils, name inscribed on the Stanley Cup.^[12]
• Joe Maddon, class of 1976, current manager of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, formerly Tampa Bay Rays leading the team to the 2008 World Series.
• George Tiger, class of 1981, midfielder for Pittsburgh Spirit, 1984–1985.
• Jeff Mutis, class of 1988, first-round draft pick in the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft by the Cleveland Indians; played for the Florida Marlins, pitcher.
• Beth Mowins, class of 1989, ESPN announcer and one of the first women color analysts on the network.
• Frank Baur, class of 1990, college football All-American, quarterback, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on the College football preview issue on September 4, 1989^[13]
• Nate Delong, class of 2004, former Lafayette Swimming & Diving Team Captain, current Marathoner and ESPN affiliate writer.^[14]
• Blake Costanzo, class of 2006, linebacker and special teams specialist for the NFL's Chicago Bears and formerly the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and Buffalo Bills.

Notable faculty

• Guy Consolmagno, assistant professor, physics and astronomy.
• Tom Davis, college men's basketball coach 1971–1977.
• Clement Eaton, Chair of History Department from 1931–1942.
• Gladstone Hutchinson, professor of economics and business, Director-General of Jamaica's Planning Institute, 2010–2012, awarded Prime Minister's Medal of Appreciation for Service to Jamaica, 2013.
• Terry Jonathan Hart, visiting lecturer of engineering.
• George Junkin, first president of Lafayette College.
• Butch van Breda Kolff, college men's basketball coach 1952–1956.
• Francis March, first professor of English Literature at any American college or university.
• Herb McCracken, head football coach.
• Edward Mylin, head football coach.
• Bruce Allen Murphy, Supreme Court Scholar.
• Theodore Roethke, poet, served on faculty prior to his publication and fame.
• Steve Spagnuolo, football coach, defensive line/special teams 1984–86.
• Jock Sutherland, head football coach 1919–1923
• Lee Upton, poet, writer in residence, professor of English.
• Hal Wissel, college men's basketball coach 1967–1971.
• Tim Lenahan, Men's Soccer Coach 1998–2001
• Gary Williams, Men's Head Soccer Coach and Assistant Basketball Coach, 1972–1977

Presidents of Lafayette College

• George Junkin, 1832–1840, 1848–1849.
• John William Yeomans, 1840–1848.
• Charles William Nassau, 1849–1850.
• Daniel V. McLean, 1850–1854.
• George Wilson McPhail, 1854–1861.
• William Cassady Cattell, 1863–1883.
• James Hall Mason Knox, 1883–1890.
• Ethelbert Dudley Warfield, 1891–1914.
• John Henry MacCracken, (son of Henry Mitchell MacCracken), 1915–1926.
• William Mather Lewis, 1926–1945.
• Ralph Cooper Hutchison, 1945–1957, class of 1918.
• Guy Everett Snavely, 1957–58 (Interim).
• K. Roald Bergethon, 1958–1978.
• David Ellis, 1978–1990.
• Robert I. Rotberg, 1990–1993.
• Arthur J. Rothkopf, 1993–2006, class of 1955.
• Daniel Weiss, 2006–2013
• Allison Byerly 2013–present

References