Notable Alumni of Washington & Jefferson College

James G. Blaine 1830–1893

Former U.S. Secretary of State and House Speaker

Child: Walker Blaine (Yale University, Columbia University in the City of New York)

John Murtha 1932–2010

Pennsylvania congressman and Marine Corps officer

Also attended: Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus

Israel Pickens 1780–1827

Third Governor of Alabama

Henry A. Wise 1806–1876

33rd Governor of Virginia

Child: Richard Alsop Wise (College of William and Mary)

Child: John Sergeant Wise (Virginia Military Institute)

Milton Latham 1827–1882

6th governor of California

John W. Geary 1819–1873

Union general and 16th governor of Pennsylvania

Benjamin Helm Bristow 1832–1896

30th U.S. Treasury Secretary

William Thomas Hamilton 1820–1888

38th Governor of Maryland and US senator

Tom Rooney 1970–

Former US Representative from Florida

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1993

Also attended: University of Florida, University of Miami, Syracuse University

Sibling: Patrick Rooney, Jr. (Clemson University)

Martin R. Delany 1812–1885

Abolitionist, journalist, physician and writer

Also attended: Harvard University

Matthew Quay 1833–1904

U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania

Clement Vallandigham 1820–1871

Copperhead Democrat leader and former Ohio congressman

Henry Stanbery 1803–1881

Former US Attorney General from Ohio

Thomas McKean Thompson McKennan 1794–1852

US Secretary of the Interior under Fillmore

James Cooper 1810–1863

Pennsylvania lawyer, soldier and congressman

Ephraim King Wilson II 1821–1891

US representative and senator from Maryland

John Hemphill 1803–1862

Texas U.S. senator and chief justice

Samuel Baldwin Marks Young 1840–1924

US Army general, 1st Chief of Staff of the Army

Thomas W. Bartley 1812–1885

17th Governor of Ohio

Albert G. Jenkins 1830–1864

Congressman and Confederate Army officer

Also attended: Harvard University, Marshall University

Isaac Murphy 1799–1882

Governor of Arkansas

Harvey Weir Cook 1892–1943

World War I flying ace and aviation pioneer

Also attended: DePauw University

Samuel S. Brown 1842–1905

Businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder

Stephan Loewentheil 1950–

Antiquarian and rare book and photograph collector

Also attended: Cornell University

Alberto Vilar 1940–2021

Investment manager and opera patron

John Leighton Stewart 1876–1940

Businessman and newspaper publisher

Also attended: Harvard University

Joseph Albert Walker 1921–1966

X-15 test pilot and NASA astronaut

Jesse William Lazear 1866–1900

Physician who tested mosquito transmission of yellow fever on himself

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Henry Christopher McCook 1837–1911

Presbyterian clergyman, naturalist and author

Dennis Slamon 1948–

UCLA oncologist known for HER2 research

Also attended: University of Chicago

Raymond Yong 1929–

Canadian environmental engineer

Francis Julius LeMoyne 1798–1879

Physician and philanthropist; built first US crematory

Also attended: Thomas Jefferson University

Matthew Brown Riddle 1836–1916

Theologian

Samuel McCormick 1858–1928

Ninth Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh

Stephen Foster 1826–1864

Composer known as the father of American music

John Astin 1930–

Actor, played Gomez in The Addams Family

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

Father: Allen V. Astin (New York University, University of Utah)

William Holmes McGuffey 1800–1873

Educator who wrote the McGuffey Readers

Robert Baird 1798–1863

Clergyman and author

Also attended: Princeton Theological Seminary

Child: Henry Martyn Baird (Princeton Theological Seminary, New York University)

Samuel Mosheim Schmucker 1823–1863

Historical writer and popular biographer

Francis Chapin 1899–1965

Painter of landscapes and portraits

Also attended: School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Nicholas P. Dallis 1911–1991

Psychiatrist and comic strip writer, created Rex Morgan, M.D

John Livingston Lowes 1867–1945

English literature scholar and critic

Also attended: Harvard University

Will McMillan 1944–2015

Actor, producer and director

Also attended: Boston College, Boston University

Roger Goodell 1959–

Commissioner of the National Football League

Spouse: Jane Skinner (Northwestern University)

Father: Charles Goodell (Yale University, Williams College)

Buddy Jeannette 1917–1998

Professional basketball player and coach

Hal Tidrick 1915–1974

Professional basketball player in the BAA

Paul T. Hogan 1898–1976

Early NFL player

Also attended: University of Detroit Mercy

Harry Zeller 1918–2004

Basketball player and doctor

Joe Philbin 1961–

American football coach

Charles Fremont West 1899–1979

Track athlete, football coach and physician

Also attended: Howard University

Jim Aiken 1899–1961

Football and basketball coach, Oregon head football coach

Bird Carroll 1896–1982

Early NFL player with the Canton Bulldogs

Huck Hartman 1921–1946

Professional basketball player

Also attended: Duquesne University

Bill Steen 1887–1979

Major League Baseball pitcher

Ralph Churchfield 1918–1995

Professional basketball player for Pittsburgh Raiders

David C. Morrow 1882–1953

American football player and coach

Also attended: Ohio University-Main Campus

Joseph Ruggles Wilson 1822–1903

Presbyterian theologian, father of Woodrow Wilson

Also attended: Princeton Theological Seminary

Child: Woodrow Wilson (Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University)

Hunter Corbett 1835–1920

Pioneer American missionary in Yantai, Shandong

Benjamin Kurtz 1795–1865

Lutheran pastor, founder of Susquehanna University

Also attended: Wittenberg University

William Alfred Passavant 1821–1894

Lutheran minister who brought the deaconess movement to the U.S