Notable Alumni of Bates College

Desmond Tutu 1931–2021

South African archbishop and anti-apartheid activist

Also attended: Hamilton College

Child: Mpho Andrea Tutu (Howard University, Episcopal Divinity School)

Robert F. Kennedy 1925–1968

64th U.S. Attorney General and New York senator

Also attended: Harvard University, University of Virginia-Main Campus

Spouse: Ethel Kennedy (Manhattanville University)

Father: Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (Harvard University)

Jan Masaryk 1886–1948

Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia

Edmund Muskie 1914–1996

58th United States Secretary of State

Also attended: Cornell University

Olympia Snowe 1947–

Former U.S. Senator for Maine

Also attended: University of Maine

Spouse: John R. McKernan (University of Maine, Dartmouth College)

Leo Ryan 1925–1978

American politician, teacher and former mayor

Also attended: Creighton University

Jared Golden 1982–

US Representative from Maine and Marine veteran

Ben Cline 1972–

U.S. representative for Virginia's 6th district

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1994

Also attended: University of Richmond

William Henry Vanderbilt III 1901–1981

59th Governor of Rhode Island

Also attended: Princeton University

Father: Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt I (Yale University)

Sibling: Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt II (Yale University)

Bob Goodlatte 1952–

US representative from Virginia, 1993–2019

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1974

William P. Frye 1830–1911

Maine politician and US Senator for 30 years

Also attended: Bowdoin College

Kenneth M. Curtis 1931–

Former Maine governor and US ambassador to Canada

Also attended: University of Maine, Maine Maritime Academy

William Cameron Forbes 1870–1959

Governor-general of the Philippines, ambassador to Japan

Also attended: Harvard University

Eugene Hale 1836–1918

US Senator from Maine

Child: Frederick Hale (Harvard University, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Art Agnos 1938–

39th mayor of San Francisco

Also attended: Florida State University

William H. Gray 1941–2013

Former congressman and House Majority Whip

Doctor of Humane Letters

Also attended: Drew University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Franklin and Marshall College

Carl E. Milliken 1877–1961

51st Governor of Maine and MPAA spokesman

Also attended: Harvard University

Nelson Dingley 1832–1899

Journalist and politician from Maine

Also attended: Colby College, Dartmouth College

Sidney Perham 1819–1907

33rd Governor of Maine and U.S. representative

Lewis Millett 1920–2009

Army officer and Korean War Medal of Honor recipient

Louis Vachon 1962–

Former CEO of National Bank of Canada

Also attended: Tufts University

Buckminster Fuller 1895–1983

Architect, systems theorist, inventor and futurist

Also attended: Harvard University

Amory Lovins 1947–

Physicist and former chief scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute

Also attended: Harvard University

Spouse: Hunter Lovins (Pitzer College)

Alicia M. Soderberg 1977–2025

Astrophysicist who researched supernovae

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

George S. Hammond 1921–2005

Chemist who developed Hammond's postulate

Also attended: Harvard University

Warren H. Carroll 1932–2011

Historian and founder of Christendom College

Attended until 1953

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Mother: Gladys Hasty Carroll (Bates College)

Steven Girvin 1950–

Physicist, Sterling Professor at Yale

Also attended: Princeton University

Emily Vermeule 1928–2001

Harvard professor of classics and archaeology

Also attended: Harvard University, Bryn Mawr College

Spouse: Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule III (Harvard University)

Child: Adrian Vermeule (Harvard University)

John Irwin Hutchinson 1867–1935

Mathematician and university teacher

Also attended: University of Chicago, Clark University

Peter J. Gomes 1942–2011

Harvard Divinity professor and Memorial Church minister

Also attended: Tuskegee University, Harvard University

Seamus Heaney 1939–2013

Irish poet, 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature winner

Anna Kendrick 1985–

Actress and singer, Oscar nominee

David Hasselhoff 1952–

Actor, singer, producer and television personality

Also attended: California Institute of the Arts, Oakland University

Spouse: Pamela Bach (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College)

Spouse: Catherine Hickland (Florida Atlantic University)

Elizabeth Strout 1956–

Novelist

Also attended: Syracuse University

Spouse: James Tierney (University of Maine)

Minoru Yamasaki 1912–1986

Architect who designed the original World Trade Center

Also attended: New York University, University of Washington-Seattle Campus

Maria Bamford 1970–

Actress and stand-up comedian

Attended until 1992

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

John Shea 1949–

Actor, director and screenwriter

Also attended: Yale University

David Chokachi 1968–

Actor known for Witchblade and Baywatch

Jeffrey Lynn 1909–1995

Actor of Hollywood's Golden Age

Trisha Brown 1936–2017

Choreographer, co-founder of Judson Dance Theater

Also attended: Northeastern University Oakland

Marguerite Zorach 1887–1968

Fauvist painter and textile artist

Also attended: Stanford University

Spouse: William Zorach (Cleveland Institute of Art)

Child: Dahlov Ipcar (Oberlin College)

Sarah Caldwell 1924–2006

Opera conductor, impresario and stage director

Also attended: University of Arkansas, Hendrix College, The New England Conservatory of Music

John Ciardi 1916–1986

Poet and translator of Dante's Divine Comedy

Also attended: Tufts University, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Lisa Genova 1970–

Neuroscientist and author of Still Alice

Also attended: Harvard University

David S. Rohde 1967–

Investigative journalist and NBC News editor

Also attended: Brown University

Donald Hall 1928–2018

Poet, writer, editor and critic

Also attended: Harvard University

Spouse: Jane Kenyon (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor)

Bryant Gumbel 1948–

Television journalist, former co-host of NBC's Today

Sibling: Greg Gumbel (Loras College)

Corey Harris 1969–

Blues and reggae musician

Also attended: University of Maine

Rufat Hasanov 1987–

Azerbaijani film director and producer

Michael Brooks 1983–2020

Left-wing political commentator and talk show host

Bachelor of Arts · Political science · Class of 2009

Also attended: Bennington College

Michelle Chong 1977–

Singaporean actress, filmmaker and host

George Putnam 1914–2008

Los Angeles television news reporter and talk show host

William Worthy 1921–2014

Journalist and civil rights activist

Also attended: Harvard University

Rennie Harris 1964–

Choreographer and hip-hop dance company founder

Tyler Dennett 1883–1949

Historian, 1934 Pulitzer Prize for Biography winner

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University, Williams College

Andrew Byrnes 1983–

Canadian rower and Olympic gold medallist

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Bud Schultz 1959–

Former professional tennis player

Harlan Holden 1888–1962

Athlete at the 1912 Summer Olympics

William Stringfellow 1928–1985

Lay theologian, lawyer and social activist

Also attended: Harvard University

Benjamin Mays 1894–1984

Baptist minister, educator and civil rights leader

Also attended: University of Chicago, Dillard University, South Carolina State University