Notable Alumni of United States Military Academy

Dwight D. Eisenhower 1890–1969

34th President of the United States

Attended until 1915

Child: John Eisenhower (Columbia University in the City of New York, The United States Military Academy at West Point)

Sibling: Milton Stover Eisenhower (Kansas State University)

Ulysses S. Grant 1822–1885

18th President of the United States

Father: Jesse Root Grant (Princeton University)

Child: Frederick Dent Grant (The United States Military Academy at West Point)

Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964

U.S. Army general, Supreme Commander in occupied Japan

Child: Arthur McArthur IV (Columbia University in the City of New York)

Sibling: Arthur MacArthur III (United States Naval Academy)

Robert E. Lee 1807–1870

Confederate general in the American Civil War

Attended until 1829

Father: Henry Lee III (Princeton University)

Child: William Henry Fitzhugh Lee (Harvard University)

Jefferson Davis 1808–1889

Only president of the Confederate States

Bachelor of Science · Class of 1828

Also attended: Transylvania University

George S. Patton 1885–1945

U.S. Army general in World War II

Also attended: Virginia Military Institute

Father: George S. Patton (Virginia Military Institute)

Child: George Patton IV (The United States Military Academy at West Point)

Mike Pompeo 1963–

Former US Secretary of State and CIA director

Bachelor of Science · Class of 1986

Also attended: Harvard University

William Tecumseh Sherman 1820–1891

Union Army general in the American Civil War

Child: Thomas Ewing Sherman (Yale University, Georgetown University)

Sibling: Charles Taylor Sherman (Ohio University-Main Campus)

Fidel Ramos 1928–2022

12th President of the Philippines

Also attended: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Sibling: Leticia Ramos-Shahani (Wellesley College, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Stonewall Jackson 1824–1863

Confederate general in the American Civil War

George Armstrong Custer 1839–1876

US Army cavalry commander

Omar Bradley 1893–1981

General of the Army, first Joint Chiefs chairman

John J. Pershing 1860–1948

Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I

Also attended: Truman State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Lloyd J. Austin III 1953–

28th US Secretary of Defense

Also attended: Auburn University, Webster University

David Petraeus 1952–

Retired Army general and fourth CIA director

Also attended: Georgetown University, Princeton University

Spouse: Holly Petraeus (Dickinson College)

Anastasio Somoza Debayle 1925–1980

Former president of Nicaragua, last Somoza ruler

Attended until 1946

Spouse: Hope Portocarrero (Barnard College)

Father: Anastasio Somoza García (Peirce College)

Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. 1934–2012

United States Army general

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: University of Southern California

Father: Norman Schwarzkopf (The United States Military Academy at West Point)

George Brinton McClellan 1826–1885

Union Army commander and governor of New Jersey

Father: George McClellan (Yale University, University of Pennsylvania)

Child: George B. McClellan Jr. (Princeton University)

Alexander Haig 1924–2010

Former US Secretary of State and Army general

Also attended: Georgetown University, University of Notre Dame, Columbia University in the City of New York

Child: Brian Haig (Georgetown University, Harvard University)

Sibling: Frank Haig (Catholic University of America)

Philip Sheridan 1831–1888

Union general in the American Civil War

Hun Manet 1977–

Prime Minister of Cambodia

Also attended: New York University

William Westmoreland 1914–2005

US Army general who commanded US forces in Vietnam

Also attended: Harvard University

George Meade 1815–1872

Union general who won the Battle of Gettysburg

Wesley Clark 1944–

Retired US Army officer and 2004 presidential candidate

Attended until 1966

Leslie Groves 1896–1970

US Army Corps of Engineers officer

Attended until 1918

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Washington-Seattle Campus

Mark W. Clark 1896–1984

US Army four-star general in World War II

Henry H. Arnold 1886–1950

US General of the Army and General of the Air Force

Mark T. Esper 1964–

27th US Secretary of Defense

Also attended: George Washington University, Harvard University

James Longstreet 1821–1904

Confederate general in the American Civil War

Spouse: Helen Dortch Longstreet (Brenau University, Notre Dame of Maryland University)

P. G. T. Beauregard 1818–1893

Confederate general

Attended until 1838

Joseph E. Johnston 1807–1891

Senior Confederate general in the Civil War

Jack Reed 1949–

US senator from Rhode Island

Bachelor of Science · Engineering · Class of 1971

Also attended: Harvard University

Ambrose Burnside 1824–1881

Union general and Rhode Island governor

J. E. B. Stuart 1833–1864

Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War

Creighton Abrams 1914–1974

US Army general who commanded Vietnam War operations

Muse saed 1948–

Former president of Somaliland

Maxwell D. Taylor 1901–1987

Fifth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Joseph Stilwell 1883–1946

US Army general in China-Burma-India theater

Attended until 1904

Child: Joseph Warren Stilwell, Jr. (The United States Military Academy at West Point)

Braxton Bragg 1817–1876

Confederate general in the American Civil War

Sibling: Thomas Bragg (Norwich University)

Henry Halleck 1815–1872

Union Army general in the Civil War

Also attended: Union College

Joseph Hooker 1814–1879

Union general in the American Civil War

Brent Scowcroft 1925–2020

Two-time United States National Security Advisor

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Daniel Harvey Hill 1821–1889

Confederate general in the American Civil War

Richard Mayo 1902–1996

U.S. Army general and modern pentathlete

Attended until 1926

Also attended: University of Florida

Thomas L. Rosser 1836–1910

Confederate major general and railroad engineer

Nathan George Evans 1824–1868

Confederate Army general

Child: John Gary Evans (Union College)

Nadja West 1961–

44th US Army Surgeon General, retired lieutenant general

Also attended: George Washington University

John Stevens Bowen 1830–1863

Confederate Army general in the Civil War

Dan Choi 1981–

Former Army officer and LGBT rights activist

Also attended: Harvard University

Alexander P. Stewart 1821–1908

Confederate general and college professor

Earle Wheeler 1908–1975

Army general, sixth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Millard Harmon 1888–1945

US Army Air Forces lieutenant general

John Williams Gunnison 1812–1853

Military officer and explorer

Henry Martyn Robert 1837–1923

Army general; author of Robert's Rules of Order

Sylvanus Thayer 1785–1872

Fifth West Point superintendent, Father of the Military Academy

Attended until 1808

Also attended: Dartmouth College

Thomas Jordan 1819–1895

Confederate general and spy network operative

José María Figueres Olsen 1954–

Former President of Costa Rica

Also attended: Harvard University

Father: José Figueres Ferrer (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Mother: Karen Olsen Beck (Columbia University in the City of New York, University of Mary Washington)

Martin Dempsey 1952–

18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: Duke University

Winfield Scott Hancock 1824–1886

Union general and 1880 Democratic presidential nominee

Veljko Kadijević 1925–2014

Yugoslav defence minister and general

Albert Sidney Johnston 1803–1862

Confederate States Army general

Also attended: Transylvania University

Child: William Preston Johnston (Yale University, Centre College)

Ambrose Powell Hill 1825–1865

Confederate general in the American Civil War

Joseph Lawton Collins 1896–1987

Senior US Army general in World War II

Also attended: Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

John Bel Edwards 1966–

56th Governor of Louisiana

Also attended: Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

Stanley A. McChrystal 1954–

Retired US Army general, former Afghanistan commander

Father: Herbert J. McChrystal (Georgetown University, Florida Institute of Technology)

Matthew Ridgway 1895–1993

US Army general, 19th Army Chief of Staff

Jubal Early 1816–1894

Confederate general and lawyer in the Civil War

Attended until 1837

Irvin McDowell 1818–1885

Civil War general defeated at First Bull Run

Attended until 1838

Eric Ken Shinseki 1942–

Retired general, 7th Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Also attended: Duke University

Hal Moore 1922–2017

US Army lieutenant general and author

Attended until 1945

Also attended: George Washington University, Harvard University

James M. Gavin 1907–1990

US Army lieutenant general, 82nd Airborne commander

Bachelor of Science

H. R. McMaster 1962–

Former US National Security Advisor, retired Army lieutenant general

Also attended: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Richard S. Ewell 1817–1872

Confederate general in the American Civil War

Carl Andrew Spaatz 1891–1974

American World War II air force general

Attended until 1914

Lucius D. Clay 1897–1978

US Army general who administered occupied Germany

Father: Alexander S. Clay (Hiwassee College)

Child: Lucius D. Clay, Jr. (The United States Military Academy at West Point)

John Pope 1822–1892

Union general in the American Civil War

Father: Nathaniel Pope (Transylvania University)

Dave Heineman 1948–

39th governor of Nebraska

Robert Anderson 1805–1871

Union commander at Fort Sumter in the Civil War

Sibling: Charles Anderson (Miami University-Oxford)

Edmund Kirby Smith 1824–1893

Confederate States Army general

Also attended: The University of the South

George Pickett 1825–1875

Confederate major general in the Civil War

John Sedgwick 1813–1864

Union Army major general in the Civil War

George Henry Thomas 1816–1870

Union Army general in the American Civil War

Jacob L. Devers 1887–1979

Army general who commanded 6th Army Group in WWII

Nathaniel Lyon 1818–1861

First Union general killed in the Civil War

Oliver Otis Howard 1830–1909

Union Army general and Medal of Honor recipient

Also attended: Bowdoin College

Simon Bolivar Buckner 1823–1914

Confederate Army general and politician

Child: Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. (The United States Military Academy at West Point)

John Bell Hood 1831–1879

Confederate general in the American Civil War

John Abizaid 1951–

Retired US Army general and ambassador to Saudi Arabia

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: Harvard University

Child: Christine Abizaid (University of California-San Diego, Stanford University)

William Rosecrans 1819–1898

Union general in the American Civil War

John Eisenhower 1922–2013

Army general, military historian, son of Eisenhower

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Father: Dwight D. Eisenhower (The United States Military Academy at West Point)

Child: David Eisenhower (George Washington University, Amherst College)

William R. Richardson 1929–2023

Four-star Army general, former TRADOC commander

Also attended: George Washington University

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. 1912–2002

US Air Force general, Tuskegee Airmen commander

Attended until 1936

Also attended: University of Chicago, Case Western Reserve University

Father: Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr. (Howard University)

Yinka Faleti 1976–

Nigerian-American politician and Army veteran

Also attended: Washington University in St Louis

Vincent Viola 1956–

Billionaire high-frequency trader and Army veteran

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: New York Law School, New York University

Alex Gorsky 1960–

Former chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Joseph Reid Anderson 1813–1892

Civil engineer, industrialist and Confederate general

Attended until 1836

Buzz Aldrin 1930–

Astronaut, second person to walk on the Moon

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Father: Edwin Eugene Aldrin Sr. (Clark University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Michael Collins 1930–2021

Apollo 11 command module pilot and astronaut

Also attended: Harvard University

Father: James Lawton Collins (The United States Military Academy at West Point)

Child: Kate Collins (Northwestern University)

Frank Borman 1928–2023

Apollo 8 commander and NASA astronaut

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: California Institute of Technology, Harvard University

Ed White 1930–1967

NASA astronaut on Gemini 4 and Apollo 1

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

David Scott 1932–

Apollo 15 commander, seventh person to walk on the Moon

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

John Mearsheimer 1947–

Political scientist, offensive realism theorist

Also attended: University of Southern California, Cornell University

Alfred Worden 1932–2020

Apollo 15 command module pilot and NASA astronaut

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Timothy Kopra 1963–

Retired NASA astronaut and former Army colonel

Also attended: Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus, Columbia University in the City of New York

Anne McClain 1979–

US Army colonel and NASA astronaut

Bachelor of Science · Mechanical engineering

Jeffrey Williams 1958–

Retired Army officer and NASA astronaut

Also attended: Naval Postgraduate School

Shane Kimbrough 1967–

Former NASA astronaut and retired Army officer

Bachelor of Science · Aerospace engineering

Also attended: Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

Douglas H. Wheelock 1960–

NASA astronaut and engineer

Also attended: Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

Patrick Forrester 1957–

NASA astronaut and retired Army colonel

Also attended: University of Virginia-Main Campus

Edward S. Holden 1846–1914

Astronomer and fifth president of University of California

Attended until 1870

Also attended: Washington University in St Louis

Sherwood C. Spring 1944–

Former NASA astronaut and retired Army colonel

Also attended: University of Arizona

Andrew R. Morgan 1976–

NASA astronaut and military physician

Bachelor of Science · Environmental engineering

Isaac Newton Lewis 1858–1931

Army officer and inventor of the Lewis gun

Frederick Schwatka 1849–1892

Army lieutenant and explorer of northern Canada and Alaska

Attended until 1871

Also attended: New York University, Willamette University

Andrew Bacevich 1947–

Historian of American foreign policy and military history

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: Princeton University

Alexander Dallas Bache 1806–1867

Physicist and Superintendent of US Coast Survey

Father: Richard Bache (University of Pennsylvania)

Jacob Whitman Bailey 1811–1857

Naturalist and pioneer of American microscopy

Attended until 1832

Jeff Sutherland 1941–

Co-creator of Scrum

Also attended: Stanford University

George Washington Whistler 1800–1849

Civil engineer who built railroads and locomotives

Child: William McNeill Whistler (University of Pennsylvania)

Child: James McNeill Whistler (The United States Military Academy at West Point)

Rocco Petrone 1926–2006

NASA official and Apollo program director

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Edward A. Murphy, Jr. 1918–1990

Aerospace engineer who coined Murphy's law

James C. Adamson 1946–

Former NASA astronaut and retired Army colonel

Also attended: Princeton University

Donald H. Peterson 1933–2018

U.S. Air Force officer and NASA astronaut

William S. McArthur 1951–

Retired US Army colonel and NASA astronaut

Also attended: Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

Mike Mullane 1945–

Former NASA astronaut and retired USAF officer

Timothy Leary 1920–1996

Psychologist and advocate of psychedelic drugs

Also attended: The University of Alabama, University of California-Berkeley, College of the Holy Cross

Edgar Allan Poe 1809–1849

Writer, poet and literary critic

Also attended: University of Virginia-Main Campus

James McNeill Whistler 1834–1903

Painter and printmaker, proponent of art for art's sake

Father: George Washington Whistler (The United States Military Academy at West Point)

Sibling: William McNeill Whistler (University of Pennsylvania)

Janine Turner 1962–

Actress known for Northern Exposure

Also attended: Pepperdine University

Mark Valley 1964–

Actor in Boston Legal and Fringe

Joseph Mascolo 1929–2016

Actor and musician

Also attended: University of Miami

Greg Plitt 1977–2015

Fitness model and actor

Rod Lurie 1962–

Israeli-American director, screenwriter and former film critic

Paula Broadwell 1972–

Writer, academic and former military officer

Also attended: University of Denver, Harvard University

William Holabird 1854–1923

Architect

Child: John Augur Holabird (The United States Military Academy at West Point)

Brian Haig 1953–

Thriller author and Fox News military analyst

Also attended: Georgetown University, Harvard University

Father: Alexander Haig (Georgetown University, University of Notre Dame)

James Salter 1925–2015

Novelist, short-story writer and former Air Force pilot

Mike Krzyzewski 1947–

Longtime Duke basketball head coach, Coach K

Attended until 1969

Frank Henry 1909–1989

Equestrian, three medals at 1948 Olympics

Tatanka 1961–

Retired professional wrestler signed to WWE

Adam Vinatieri 1972–

NFL placekicker and all-time leading scorer

Also attended: South Dakota State University

Joseph Amlong 1936–2019

Rower and Olympic gold medalist in the eights

Charles Anderson 1914–1993

Equestrian, 1948 Olympic eventing gold medallist

John Montgomery 1881–1948

Equestrian who competed in the 1912 Olympics

Attended until 1903

Mike Silliman 1944–2000

Professional basketball player

Robert Sears 1884–1979

Fencer, 1920 Olympic team foil bronze medalist

Edwin Argo 1895–1962

Equestrian who competed in the 1932 Olympics

Sloan Doak 1886–1965

Equestrian, 1924 Olympic eventing bronze medallist

Gustave Marinius Heiss 1904–1982

Fencer, 1932 Olympic team épée bronze medallist

Also attended: Tulane University of Louisiana

Lawrence Palmer 1938–

Ice hockey goaltender on the 1960 U.S. Olympic team

Glenn Davis 1924–2005

Army halfback who won the 1946 Heisman Trophy

Also attended: California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

Dan Hinote 1977–

Ice hockey player, Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach

Dave Cummings 1940–2019

Pornographic actor and political activist

Leroy Lansing Janes 1838–1909

Educator and missionary hired by Kumamoto Domain in Japan