Notable Alumni of Lafayette College

Alexander Ramsey 1815–1903

First Minnesota Territorial governor and U.S. Senator

William E. Simon 1927–2000

63rd US Secretary of the Treasury and businessman

Arch A. Moore 1923–2015

28th and 30th governor of West Virginia

Also attended: West Virginia University

Child: Shelley Moore Capito (Duke University, University of Virginia-Main Campus)

Jay Clayton 1966–

American lawyer

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Bob Smith 1941–

Former U.S. Senator from New Hampshire

Attended until 1965

Peyton C. March 1864–1955

9th Chief of Staff of the United States Army

Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts

Also attended: The United States Military Academy at West Point

Father: Francis March (Amherst College)

John W. Griggs 1849–1927

Governor of New Jersey and 43rd US Attorney General

Ralph Becker 1952–

34th mayor of Salt Lake City

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania, University of Utah

Winston L. Prouty 1906–1971

US Senator from Vermont

Also attended: Yale University

George Decker 1902–1980

22nd Chief of Staff of the United States Army

Bachelor of Science · Economics

Bruce Castor 1961–

Lawyer and former Pennsylvania Republican politician

Robert Baumle Meyner 1908–1990

44th Governor of New Jersey

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Spouse: Helen Stevenson Meyner (Colorado College)

John D. Clarke 1873–1933

US Representative from New York

Also attended: Colorado College, Brooklyn Law School

Spouse: Marian W. Clarke (Colorado College, University of Nebraska-Lincoln)

Edward Francis Blewitt 1859–1926

Civil engineer, Pennsylvania state senator, Biden's great-grandfather

Joseph Force Crater 1889–1939

New York judge who mysteriously disappeared in 1930

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Nathaniel B. Smithers 1818–1896

U.S. representative from Delaware

Also attended: Dickinson College

Cyrus Woods 1861–1938

Diplomat, attorney and politician

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Samuel McLean 1826–1877

US Representative from Montana

William Huntington Kirkpatrick 1885–1970

Pennsylvania U.S. representative and federal district judge

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

William C. Lowe 1941–2013

IBM executive, "Father of the IBM PC"

Sarkis Acopian 1926–2007

Inventor, industrialist and philanthropist

David Cornstein 1938–2026

Businessman and former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary

Also attended: New York University

John W. Garrett 1820–1884

Banker and president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Philip Showalter Hench 1896–1965

Physician, 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine winner

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

Haldan Keffer Hartline 1903–1983

Physiologist; 1967 Nobel laureate in Medicine

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

Spouse: Elizabeth K. Hartline (Brown University)

James McKeen Cattell 1860–1944

First professor of psychology in the United States

Child: Psyche Cattell (Harvard University, Barnard College)

William Harkness 1837–1903

Astronomer and Civil War surgeon

Attended until 1856

Also attended: New York Medical College, University of Rochester

Don Lancaster 2000–2023

Author, inventor and microcomputer pioneer

Ernest Edward Williams 1914–1998

Herpetologist who coined the term ecomorph

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Barry Wellman 1942–2024

Sociologist and co-director of NetLab Network

Bachelor of Arts · Social history · Class of 1963

Also attended: Harvard University

William Frederick Durand 1859–1958

Naval officer and pioneer mechanical engineer

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

S. Donald Stookey 1915–2014

Chemist and inventor with 60 glass patents

Also attended: Coe College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Raphael E. Cuomo 1988–

Scientist and professor

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: University of California-San Diego, San Diego State University, Harvard University

Leonard Jeffries 1937–

Political scientist known for Pan-African views

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Roland W. Brown 1893–1961

Paleobotanist and geologist

Attended until 1917

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

Edwin Atlee Barber 1851–1916

American archaeologist and author

Ralph Cooper Hutchison 1898–1966

Former president of Washington & Jefferson and Lafayette Colleges

Also attended: Harvard University, Princeton Theological Seminary, University of Pennsylvania

Joel Silver 1952–

American film producer

Also attended: New York University

Dominique Lapierre 1931–2022

French author, journalist and philanthropist

Lorene Scafaria 1978–

Filmmaker who wrote and directed Hustlers

Also attended: Montclair State University

Apiorkor Seyiram Ashong-Abbey 1988–

Ghanaian poet, writer and TV host

Burr McIntosh 1862–1942

Photographer, actor and publisher

William L. Alden 1837–1908

Journalist, humorist and US diplomat in Rome

Also attended: Washington and Jefferson College

Father: Joseph Alden (Princeton Theological Seminary, Union College)

Jay Parini 1948–

Writer, poet, biographer and academic

Brian Hutchison 1975–

New York-based actor in The Gilded Age

Also attended: University of San Diego

M. K. Asante 1982–

American author, filmmaker and professor

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Father: Molefi Kete Asante (University of California-Los Angeles, Pepperdine University)

Ross Gay 1974–

Poet, essayist and Indiana University professor

Also attended: Sarah Lawrence College, Temple University

Beth Mowins 1967–

Play-by-play announcer for ESPN and CBS

Also attended: Syracuse University

Larry Fast 1951–

Synthesizer player and composer

Benjamin Appel 1907–1977

Novelist of detective and crime fiction

Also attended: New York University, University of Pennsylvania

Kameisha Jerae Hodge 1989–

Writer, poet and publisher

Also attended: Southern New Hampshire University

Scott Vincent 1922–1979

Radio and television announcer and newscaster

Also attended: Princeton University

John Sanford 1904–2003

Screenwriter and author, blacklisted in Hollywood

Also attended: Fordham University

Al LeConey 1901–1959

Gold medalist, 4×100m relay at 1924 Olympics

Joe Maddon 1954–

Former MLB manager of Rays, Cubs and Angels

Justin Jaworski 1999–

Basketball player for Casademont Zaragoza

Pete Carril 1930–2022

Princeton basketball coach known for Princeton offense

Seth Hinrichs 1993–

American-German professional basketball player for Baskets Oldenburg

William Alexander Parsons Martin 1827–1916

American Presbyterian missionary and translator in China

Also attended: Indiana University-Bloomington

Erin McKenney 1998–

Human rights activist