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60 notable alumni U.S. News #3

Notable Alumni of Bowdoin College

Notable alumni of Bowdoin College include Franklin Pierce (14th President of the United States), Nathaniel Hawthorne (Novelist and short story writer) and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Poet and educator, author of The Song of Hiawatha).

College data and admissions

Alumni list

Politics and law

Business

Science and academia

  • Alfred Kinsey 1894–1956

    Sexologist, founder of the Kinsey Institute

    Also attended: Harvard University

  • Edwin Hall 1855–1938

    Physicist who discovered the Hall effect

    Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

  • Charles Otis Whitman 1842–1910

    Zoologist and founding director of the Marine Biological Laboratory

    Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

  • Francis Robbins Upton 1852–1921

    Physicist who worked alongside Thomas Edison

    Attended until 1875

  • Ezra Abbot 1819–1884

    Biblical scholar and librarian

    Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts · Class of 1843

  • Alpheus Spring Packard 1839–1905

    Entomologist and palaeontologist

    Also attended: Harvard University

    Father: Alpheus Spring Packard, Sr. (Bowdoin College)

  • Lyman Page 1957–

    Princeton professor of physics

  • Edward J. McCluskey 1929–2016

    Stanford professor and electrical engineering pioneer

    Bachelor's degree · Class of 1953

    Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Edward Lewis Sturtevant 1842–1898

    Agronomist and botanist, author of Edible Plants of the World

    Also attended: Harvard University

  • Charles W. Curtis 1926–2026

    Mathematician and University of Oregon professor

    Master of Arts, Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1948

    Also attended: Yale University

  • Matilda White Riley 1911–2004

    Gerontologist and sociologist, Rutgers professor

    Doctor of Science · Class of 1972

    Also attended: Harvard University

  • Donald Baxter MacMillan 1874–1970

    Explorer who made over 30 Arctic expeditions

Arts and media

  • Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804–1864

    Novelist and short story writer

    Attended until 1825

    Child: Mother Mary Alphonsa (University of Maine)

    Child: Julian Hawthorne (Harvard University)

  • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807–1882

    Poet and educator, author of The Song of Hiawatha

    Father: Stephen Longfellow (Harvard University)

    Child: Ernest Wadsworth Longfellow (Harvard University)

  • Anthony Doerr 1973–

    Author of All the Light We Cannot See

    Also attended: Bowling Green State University-Main Campus

  • Paul Adelstein 1969–

    Actor in Prison Break and Private Practice

  • Gary Merrill 1915–1990

    Actor who starred in All About Eve

  • Albert Dekker 1905–1968

    Actor and politician, Broadway performer

  • Burt Kwouk 1930–2016

    British actor who played Cato in Pink Panther films

  • Brad Anderson 1964–

    Film director of The Machinist

  • Evan Gershkovich 1991–

    Wall Street Journal reporter covering Russia

    Attended until 2014

  • Jacob Abbott 1803–1879

    Writer of children's books and biographies

    Attended until 1820

    Also attended: Andover Newton Theological School

    Child: Austin Abbott (New York University)

    Child: Benjamin Vaughan Abbott (Harvard University, New York University)

  • John Stevens Cabot Abbott 1805–1877

    Historian, pastor and author

    Sibling: Gorham Dummer Abbott (Bowdoin College)

    Sibling: Jacob Abbott (Bowdoin College, Andover Newton Theological School)

  • Douglas Kennedy 1955–

    Novelist, author of The Big Picture

  • Hayes MacArthur 1977–

    Actor and stand-up comedian

  • Angus Wall 1967–

    Film editor, two-time Oscar winner for editing

  • Robin McKinley 1952–

    Fantasy author and Newbery Medal winner

  • John Davis 1954–

    Film producer and founder of Davis Entertainment

    Also attended: Amherst College, Harvard University

    Father: Marvin Davis (New York University)

    Mother: Barbara Davis (Adelphi University)

  • Edward Page Mitchell 1852–1927

    Editor of The Sun and short story writer

  • Marcus Giamatti 1961–

    Actor, regular on Judging Amy

    Also attended: Yale University

    Father: A. Bartlett Giamatti (Yale University)

    Sibling: Paul Giamatti (Yale University)

  • Phillips Lord 1902–1975

    Radio writer and producer, created Gang Busters

  • Charles Hawes 1889–1923

    Writer of sea stories and historical novels

  • Phil Austin 1941–2015

    Comedian and writer, member of Firesign Theatre

  • DJ Spooky 1970–

    American DJ, music producer and author

  • Charlotte Agell 1959–

    Swedish-born author of children's and young adult books

    Also attended: University of Southern Maine, Harvard University

Sports

  • Joan Benoit Samuelson 1957–

    First women's Olympic marathon champion, 1984

    Also attended: North Carolina State University at Raleigh

  • Fred Tootell 1902–1964

    1924 Olympic hammer throw gold medalist

  • Jake Adicoff 1995–

    Para cross-country skier and biathlete

Other fields

  • Robert Peary 1856–1920

    Arctic explorer and U.S. Navy officer

  • Cyrus Hamlin 1811–1900

    Missionary and co-founder of Robert College

    Child: Alfred Dwight Foster Hamlin (Amherst College)

From Wikidata “educated at” records (including people who attended without graduating), ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions. Degrees and years follow Wikidata and are left out where it has none.

Alumni network

Colleges that share the most alumni with Bowdoin College (people who attended both).