Notable Alumni of Oberlin College

Lucy Stone 1818–1893

Abolitionist and women's suffrage advocate

Also attended: Mount Holyoke College

Child: Alice Stone Blackwell (Boston University)

Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane 1920–1969

Founder of Mozambique's FRELIMO

Also attended: Northwestern University, Harvard University

Spouse: Janet Mondlane (Northwestern University)

H. H. Kung 1881–1967

Chinese banker and government official

Also attended: Yale University

Spouse: Soong Ai-ling (Wesleyan College)

Jerry Rubin 1938–1994

Anti-war activist and 1960s counterculture icon

Also attended: University of Cincinnati-Main Campus

John Langalibalele Dube 1871–1946

Founding president of the South African Native National Congress

Mary Church Terrell 1863–1954

Civil rights activist and suffragist

Edwin O. Reischauer 1910–1990

Diplomat, Harvard professor and Japan scholar

Also attended: Harvard University

Father: August Karl Reischauer (McCormick Theological Seminary)

Blanche Bruce 1841–1898

Mississippi senator, first African American to serve a full term

Attended until 1869

Child: Roscoe Conkling Bruce (Harvard University)

Doris Stevens 1888–1963

Suffragist and women's rights advocate

Yvette Clarke 1964–

US Representative from New York

Attended until 1986

Also attended: CUNY Medgar Evers College

Adrian Fenty 1970–

Former mayor of the District of Columbia

Also attended: Howard University

Jacob Dolson Cox 1828–1900

Ohio governor and Union Army general

Tsiang Tingfu 1895–1965

Historian and diplomat

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Richard N. Haass 1951–

Former president of the Council on Foreign Relations

Anthony Akoto Osei 1953–2023

Ghanaian banker and acting finance minister

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: American University, Howard University

Raymond Moley 1886–1975

Political economist and presidential advisor

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Myron Timothy Herrick 1854–1929

Ohio governor and two-time Ambassador to France

Also attended: Ohio Wesleyan University

Harrison A. Williams 1919–2001

U.S. senator from New Jersey

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Wayne Wheeler 1869–1927

Attorney and leader of the Anti-Saloon League

Also attended: Case Western Reserve University

Kathleen Neal Cleaver 1945–

Black Panther Party figure and law professor

Also attended: Yale University, Barnard College

Theodore E. Burton 1851–1929

Ohio Republican politician and U.S. Senator

Also attended: Grinnell College

Ozora P. Stearns 1831–1896

U.S. senator from Minnesota

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

John Mercer Langston 1829–1897

Abolitionist, founding dean of Howard University law school

Charles W. Sawyer 1887–1979

US Secretary of Commerce under Truman

Also attended: University of Cincinnati-Main Campus

George K. Nash 1842–1904

41st Governor of Ohio

Delazon Smith 1816–1860

Former US senator from Oregon

Martin L. Davey 1884–1946

53rd governor of Ohio

Lee Fisher 1951–

64th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

Andrew Maguire 1939–

Former U.S. Representative from New Jersey

Also attended: Harvard University

James Monroe 1821–1898

Five-term US representative from Ohio

John S. Service 1909–1999

Diplomat and China Hand, Dixie Mission member

Jerry Greenfield 1951–

Co-founder of Ben & Jerry's

Robert Andrews Millikan 1868–1953

Physicist and 1923 Nobel Prize winner

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

Child: Clark Blanchard Millikan (California Institute of Technology, Yale University)

Child: Glenn Allan Millikan (Harvard University)

Henrietta Swan Leavitt 1868–1921

Astronomer who found how to measure cosmic distances

Attended until 1888

Also attended: Harvard University

Willard Van Orman Quine 1908–2000

Logician and philosopher, Harvard professor

Attended until 1930

Also attended: Harvard University

Stanley Cohen 1922–2020

Biochemist, 1986 Nobel Prize winner

Master of Arts · Zoology

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, CUNY Brooklyn College

Roger Sperry 1913–1994

Neuroscientist, 1981 Nobel Prize winner

Also attended: University of Chicago

George Herbert Mead 1863–1931

Philosopher, sociologist and psychologist, a key pragmatist

Also attended: Harvard University

Joshua Angrist 1960–

MIT economist, 2021 Nobel laureate in Economics

Also attended: Princeton University

Rollo May 1909–1994

Existential psychologist, author of Love and Will

Also attended: Michigan State University, Columbia University in the City of New York, Teachers College at Columbia University

John Wesley Powell 1834–1902

Explorer who led the 1869 Colorado River expedition

Also attended: Illinois College, Wheaton College (IL)

Sibling: William B. Powell (Wheaton College (IL))

Sibling: Ellen Powell Thompson (Wheaton College (IL))

Scott S. Sheppard 1977–

Astronomer, discoverer of numerous moons and minor planets

Kenneth Waltz 1924–2013

Political scientist and international relations theorist

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Elisha Gray 1835–1901

Electrical engineer, co-founder of Western Electric

Charles Martin Hall 1863–1914

Chemist who invented cheap aluminium production in 1886

Sibling: Julia Brainerd Hall (Oberlin College)

Joan Feynman 1927–2020

Astrophysicist and space physicist

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

Sibling: Richard Feynman (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University)

Ira S. Bowen 1898–1973

Physicist and astronomer who explained nebulium

Also attended: California Institute of Technology, Houghton University

Joanne Chory 1955–2024

Plant biologist and Salk Institute professor

Bachelor of Science · Biology

Also attended: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Harvard University

Christopher Browning 1944–

Holocaust historian and UNC professor emeritus

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden 1829–1887

Geologist who pioneered surveys of the Rocky Mountains

Also attended: Albany Medical College

Anne Osborn Krueger 1934–

Economist, former World Bank Chief Economist

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Frances Theresa Densmore 1867–1957

Anthropologist who studied Native American music

Margaret Eliza Maltby 1860–1944

Physicist, first woman to earn an MIT bachelor's degree

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Donald A. Henderson 1928–2016

Epidemiologist who led global smallpox eradication

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

J. Hillis Miller 1928–2021

Literary critic and deconstruction theorist

Also attended: Harvard University

Judith Roitman 1945–

Mathematician, retired University of Kansas professor

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Sarah Lawrence College

Spouse: Stanley Lombardo (Loyola University New Orleans, Tulane University of Louisiana)

Jeffrey I. Gordon 1947–

Microbiologist and professor at Washington University

Richard Lenski 1956–

Evolutionary biologist at Michigan State University

Also attended: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Father: Gerhard Lenski (Yale University)

Anita Roberts 1942–2006

Molecular biologist who pioneered TGF-β research

Attended until 1964

Also attended: Harvard University, University of Wisconsin-Madison

John Edward Mack 1929–2004

Psychiatrist, head of Harvard Medical School psychiatry

Also attended: Harvard University

Robert Maynard Hutchins 1899–1977

Educational philosopher, former University of Chicago president

Also attended: Yale University

Spouse: Maude Hutchins (Yale University)

Alfred Harrison Joy 1882–1973

Astronomer, namesake of Joy's law

Luther Halsey Gulick 1892–1993

Public administration expert and Columbia University professor

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Father: Sidney Gulick (Oberlin College)

Robert Jervis 1940–2021

Political scientist, Columbia University professor

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Henry Chandler Cowles 1869–1939

Botanist and ecology pioneer, University of Chicago professor

Also attended: University of Chicago

Walter Heller 1915–1987

Economist, Kennedy's Council of Economic Advisers chair

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison

William Sims Bainbridge 1940–

Sociologist, co-director of Cyber-Human Systems at the NSF

Also attended: Yale University, Boston University, Harvard University

Felisa Wolfe-Simon 2000–

Geobiologist who led the GFAJ-1 bacterium study

Thomas Ebbesen 1954–

Chemist and 2014 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience winner

Charles Joseph Chamberlain 1863–1943

Botanist specializing in cycads

Also attended: University of Chicago

Mark Robert Showalter 1957–

Astronomer who discovered six moons and three planetary rings

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1979

Also attended: Cornell University

David A. Evans 1941–2022

Harvard chemistry professor and organic chemist

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

Ella Cara Deloria 1889–1971

Yankton Dakota anthropologist, linguist and novelist

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, Teachers College at Columbia University

Janet Taylor Spence 1923–2015

Psychologist of anxiety and gender studies

Also attended: University of Iowa

Spouse: Kenneth Spence (Yale University)

Douglas T. Ross 1929–2007

Computer scientist who originated the term CAD

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

William H. Poteat 1919–2000

Philosopher and Duke University professor

Also attended: Yale University

Jian Youwen 1896–1978

Historian known for writings on the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

Also attended: University of Chicago

Mei Tsu-lin 1933–2023

Chinese-American linguist

Also attended: Yale University, Harvard University

Sinclair Lewis 1885–1951

Novelist, first American Nobel Literature laureate

Also attended: Yale University

Spouse: Dorothy Thompson (Illinois Institute of Technology, Syracuse University)

Thornton Wilder 1897–1975

Playwright and novelist, three-time Pulitzer winner

Also attended: Yale University, Princeton University

Sibling: Amos Wilder (Yale University, Oberlin College)

Sibling: Charlotte Wilder (Harvard University, Mount Holyoke College)

Bill Irwin 1950–

Actor, clown and comedian

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, California Institute of the Arts

Lena Dunham 1986–

Creator and star of HBO series Girls

Creative writing · Attended until 2008

Also attended: The New School

Father: Carroll Dunham (Trinity College)

Mother: Laurie Simmons (Temple University)

Bobby McFerrin 1950–

Jazz vocalist, composer and conductor

Also attended: California State University-Sacramento, Cerritos College, University of Illinois Springfield

Father: Robert McFerrin (Roosevelt University, Fisk University)

John Cazale 1935–1978

Actor who appeared in five films

Also attended: Boston University

William Goldman 1931–2018

Novelist and Oscar-winning screenwriter

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Corey Stoll 1976–

Actor known for House of Cards

Also attended: New York University

Ed Helms 1974–

Actor and comedian, former Daily Show correspondent

Attended until 1996

Also attended: New York University

Eric Bogosian 1953–

Actor, playwright, monologuist and novelist

Alison Bechdel 1960–

Cartoonist, author of Fun Home

Also attended: Simon's Rock at Bard College

Edmonia Lewis 1844–1907

African American sculptor

Tracy Chevalier 1962–

Novelist, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring

Licentiate · Class of 1984

Paolo Bacigalupi 1972–

Science fiction and fantasy writer, Hugo Award winner

Anna Louise Strong 1885–1970

Journalist who reported on Soviet and Chinese communism

Also attended: University of Chicago, Bryn Mawr College

Avery Brooks 1948–

Actor, Captain Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Julie Taymor 1952–

Director of The Lion King stage musical

Also attended: California Institute of the Arts

Spouse: Elliot Goldenthal (Manhattan School of Music)

Anna J. Cooper 1858–1964

African American author, educator and activist

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1884

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, Saint Augustine's University

Tony Musante 1936–2013

Actor known for the TV series Toma

Also attended: Northwestern University, Ohio University-Main Campus

Mark Boal 1973–

Journalist, screenwriter and film producer

Edward Everett Horton 1886–1970

Character actor and comedian

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

James Burrows 1940–2026

Television director with 11 Primetime Emmy Awards

Bachelor of Arts

Also attended: Yale University

Father: Abe Burrows (New York University)

Karen O 1978–

Singer and songwriter

Also attended: New York University

Liz Phair 1967–

Singer-songwriter and musician

David Miller 1973–

Tenor of the group Il Divo

John Kander 1927–

Composer of the musicals Cabaret and Chicago

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Will Chase 1970–

Broadway actor and singer, Nashville star

Lynn Shelton 1965–2020

Filmmaker known for Humpday and Your Sister's Sister

Also attended: University of Washington-Seattle Campus

Ishmael Beah 1980–

Sierra Leonean author and human rights activist

Steven Isserlis 1958–

British cellist and writer

Josh Ritter 1976–

Singer-songwriter and author

Gary Shteyngart 1972–

Soviet-born novelist, author of Absurdistan

Also attended: CUNY Hunter College

Jason Molina 1973–2013

Singer-songwriter of Songs: Ohia

Marc Cohn 1959–

Singer-songwriter known for Walking in Memphis

Spouse: Elizabeth Vargas (University of Missouri-Columbia)

Michelle Malkin 1970–

Conservative political commentator and author

Bachelor's degree · English studies · Class of 1992

William Grant Still 1895–1978

Composer of symphonies, ballets and operas

Also attended: Wilberforce University

James McBride 1957–

Writer, 2013 National Book Award for Fiction winner

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

David Zinman 1936–

American conductor and violinist

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Paul Horn 1930–2014

Flautist and new age music pioneer

Also attended: Manhattan School of Music

Rex Lee 1969–

Actor known for HBO series Entourage

Emmanuel Dongala 1941–

Congolese chemist and novelist

Al Haig 1922–1982

Jazz pianist, bebop pioneer

Megan Marie Hart 1983–

American operatic soprano

Master of Music, Bachelor of Music · Class of 2006

Also attended: Manhattan School of Music

Budd Hopkins 1931–2011

Artist and prominent alien abduction researcher

Fred Steiner 1923–2011

Composer of Perry Mason theme music

Vijay Seshadri 1954–

Poet, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Carla Kihlstedt 1971–

Violinist, singer and composer

Also attended: San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Johns Hopkins University

Sibling: Rya Kihlstedt (Skidmore College)

Shirley Graham Du Bois 1896–1977

Writer, playwright, composer and activist

Master's degree, Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1935

Also attended: Yale University, Howard University, The Juilliard School

Spouse: W. E. B. Du Bois (Harvard University, Fisk University)

Kelly AuCoin 1967–

Actor in Billions and The Americans

Father: Les AuCoin (Pacific University)

Marc Prensky 1946–2025

Education writer who coined "digital native"

Also attended: Yale University, Harvard University

Maria Elise Turner Lauder 1833–1922

Canadian teacher and travel writer

Georgia Douglas Johnson 1880–1966

Harlem Renaissance poet and playwright

Spouse: Henry Lincoln Johnson Sr. (Clark Atlanta University, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor)

Michael Esper 1976–

Actor best known for stage work

Charles A. Reich 1928–2019

Lawyer and academic, author of The Greening of America

Also attended: Yale University

Jack Schaefer 1907–1991

Western writer, author of the novel Shane

Will Marion Cook 1869–1944

Composer and violinist

Attended until 1888

Child: Mercer Cook (Amherst College)

Carl Rowan 1925–2000

Journalist, columnist and government official

Also attended: Washburn University, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Tennessee State University

Jim Fixx 1932–1984

Author of The Complete Book of Running

Father: Calvin Fixx (University of Washington-Seattle Campus)

May Wilson Preston 1873–1949

Illustrator and impressionist painter

Also attended: The New School

Spouse: James Moore Preston (Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts)

Alexander Perls 1976–

Record producer and electronic musician

Attended until 1998

Brian Chase 1978–

Drummer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Steve Silberman 1957–2024

Writer and editor for Wired magazine

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Judy Kuhn 1958–

Musical theatre actress, sang title role in Pocahontas

Su Friedrich 1954–

Avant-garde filmmaker and Queer Cinema figure

Father: Paul Friedrich (Yale University, Harvard University)

Lora Aborn 1907–2005

Composer and pianist

Cathy Park Hong 1976–

Korean American poet, writer and professor

Diona Reasonover 1992–

American actress

Also attended: California Institute of the Arts

Jennifer Koh 1976–

Violinist

Also attended: Curtis Institute of Music

Dalton Baldwin 1931–2019

Collaborative pianist who recorded with leading singers

Also attended: The Juilliard School

Nancy Priddy 1941–

Actress and singer-songwriter

John McEntire 1970–

Drummer and producer, member of Tortoise

Du Yun 1977–

Chinese-born composer, 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music winner

Also attended: Harvard University

Fan Lei 1965–

Chinese-American clarinetist and teacher

Also attended: Yale University

Dan Kinsey 1902–1970

Hurdler and physical education scholar

Also attended: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Antoinette Brown Blackwell 1825–1921

First woman ordained a mainstream Protestant minister in the US

Lorenzo Snow 1814–1901

Fifth president of the LDS Church

Martha Root 1872–1939

Traveling teacher of the Baháʼí Faith

Attended until 1894

Also attended: University of Chicago

Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu 1949–

American Buddhist monk and author