Notable Alumni of Colby College

Margaret Chase Smith 1897–1995

U.S. Senator and Representative from Maine

Benjamin Franklin Butler 1818–1893

Union Army major general and Massachusetts politician

Jestina Mukoko 2000–

Zimbabwean human rights activist

Also attended: Stanford University

Lot M. Morrill 1813–1883

Maine governor, senator and U.S. Treasury Secretary

Pete Rouse 1946–

Interim White House Chief of Staff under Obama

Also attended: Harvard University

Edward Gurney 1914–1996

U.S. Senator from Florida

Also attended: Harvard University, Duke University

Daniel T. Jewett 1807–1906

US Senator from Missouri and lawyer

Also attended: Harvard University, Columbia University in the City of New York

James Brooks 1809–1873

U.S. representative from New York, lawyer and educator

Sibling: Erastus Brooks (Brown University)

Nelson Dingley 1832–1899

Journalist and politician from Maine

Also attended: Bates College, Dartmouth College

Wyman B. S. Moor 1811–1869

Maine politician and lawyer, state Attorney General

Harris M. Plaisted 1828–1898

Maine governor, lawyer and Union Army officer

Also attended: Albany Law School

Llewellyn Powers 1836–1908

44th governor of Maine, former U.S. representative

Also attended: Albany Law School

Charles P. Nelson 1907–1962

US representative from Maine

Attended until 1928

Also attended: Harvard University

John E. Nelson 1874–1955

U.S. representative from Maine, lawyer

Also attended: University of Maine

Christopher Mellon 1957–

Former Pentagon and Senate staffer, UFO transparency advocate

Also attended: Yale University

Sibling: Matthew Mellon (University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus)

Asher Hinds 1863–1919

U.S. representative from Maine

Mark H. Dunnell 1823–1904

Minnesota congressman and Union Army officer

Forrest Goodwin 1862–1913

US representative from Maine

Also attended: Boston University

Herbert Mayhew Lord 1859–1930

Director of the US Bureau of the Budget

Benjamin White Norris 1819–1873

Republican U.S. Representative from Alabama

Howard Hart 1940–2017

CIA officer and former Islamabad station chief

Also attended: University of Arizona, Colgate University, Cornell University

Marcellus Stearns 1839–1891

11th governor of Florida and Union Army veteran

Stephen Coburn 1817–1882

Republican US Representative from Maine

Also attended: Harvard University

Mira Murati 1988–

Co-founder and CEO of Thinking Machines Lab

Also attended: Dartmouth College

Eric S. Rosengren 1957–

Former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Marston Morse 1892–1977

Mathematician known for Morse theory

Attended until 1914

Also attended: Harvard University

David M. Raup 1933–2015

Paleontologist at the University of Chicago

Also attended: University of Chicago, Harvard University

Alan Taylor 1955–

Historian of early America, University of Virginia professor

Attended until 1977

Also attended: Brandeis University

Gordon Enoch Gates 1897–1987

Zoologist and world authority on Oligochaeta

Also attended: Harvard University

Eleanor Duckworth 1935–

Teacher educator and psychologist

David G. Bromley 1941–

Sociologist of religion and new religious movements

Also attended: Duke University

Riki Ott 1954–

Marine toxicologist and activist in Cordova, Alaska

Also attended: University of South Carolina-Columbia, University of Washington-Seattle Campus

Charles Branch Wilson 1861–1941

Marine biologist known for copepod research

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

Robert N. Anthony 1916–2006

Harvard Business School professor of management control

Also attended: Harvard University

Shailer Mathews 1863–1941

Liberal theologian in the Social Gospel movement

Annie Proulx 1935–

Novelist and short story writer

Also attended: University of Vermont

Robert B. Parker 1932–2010

Crime writer, author of the Spenser novels

Also attended: Boston University

Cecily von Ziegesar 1970–

Author of the Gossip Girl novel series

Also attended: University of Arizona

Doris Kearns Goodwin 1943–

Historian and biographer of U.S. presidents

Also attended: Harvard University

Spouse: Richard N. Goodwin (Harvard University, Tufts University)

Billy Bush 1971–

Radio and television host

Father: Jonathan Bush (Yale University)

Jack Levine 1915–2010

Social Realist painter and printmaker

Also attended: Harvard University

Elijah Parish Lovejoy 1802–1837

Presbyterian minister, journalist and abolitionist

Also attended: Princeton Theological Seminary

George Horace Lorimer 1867–1937

Longtime editor of The Saturday Evening Post

Also attended: Yale University

Thomas Savage 1915–2003

Novelist known for Western novels

English studies · Attended until 1940

Also attended: The University of Montana

Spouse: Elizabeth Savage (Colby College)

Amy Walter 1969–

Political analyst, editor of The Cook Political Report

Robert Parry 1949–2018

Investigative journalist who covered the Iran–Contra affair

Lincoln Peirce 1963–

Cartoonist and creator of Big Nate

Blair Braverman 1988–

Writer and dogsled racer, 2019 Iditarod finisher

Bachelor of Arts · Environmental law

Also attended: University of Iowa

Stéphane Cornicard 1964–

French actor and director

Attended until 1988

Andrea Nix Fine 2000–

Oscar and Emmy winning documentary director

Spouse: Sean Fine (Connecticut College)

Alvin Schwartz 1927–1992

Author of over fifty books on folklore and word play

Also attended: Northwestern University

Sarah Langan 1974–

Horror author, three-time Bram Stoker Award winner

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Bern Porter 1911–2004

Artist, writer, publisher and physicist

Also attended: Brown University

Frank R. Wallace 1932–2006

Writer and originator of Neo-Tech philosophy

Also attended: University of Iowa

Elbridge Ross 1909–1980

Ice hockey player at the 1936 Winter Olympics

Peter Dean 1951–

Sailor and design educator

Courtney Kennedy 1979–

Ice hockey player and Olympic medalist

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Jack Coombs 1882–1957

Major League Baseball pitcher and coach

Greg Cronin 1963–

Ice hockey coach, assistant with the St. Louis Blues

Savas (Zembillas) of Pittsburgh 1957–

Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Pittsburgh

Also attended: Hellenic College-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology