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60 notable alumni U.S. News #62

Notable Alumni of Virginia Military Institute

Notable alumni of Virginia Military Institute include Zachary Taylor (12th President of the United States), George Marshall (General of the Army and U.S. diplomat) and George S. Patton (U.S. Army general in World War II).

College data and admissions

Alumni list

Politics and law

  • Zachary Taylor 1784–1850

    12th President of the United States

    Child: Richard Taylor (Yale University, Harvard University)

  • George Marshall 1880–1959

    General of the Army and U.S. diplomat

  • George S. Patton 1885–1945

    U.S. Army general in World War II

    Also attended: The United States Military Academy at West Point

    Father: George S. Patton (Virginia Military Institute)

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

  • Dan Caine 1968–

    Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force general

    Bachelor of Arts · Economics

    Also attended: American Public University System

  • Ralph Northam 1959–

    73rd Governor of Virginia, pediatric neurologist

    Also attended: Eastern Virginia Medical School

  • Mike Waltz 1974–

    U.S. Ambassador to the UN, former national security advisor

    Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1996

  • Harry F. Byrd Jr. 1914–2013

    Newspaper publisher and politician

    Also attended: University of Virginia-Main Campus

  • Chesty Puller 1898–1971

    Marine Corps general in World War II and Korean War

    Child: Lewis Burwell Puller, Jr. (College of William and Mary)

  • Sun Li-jen 1900–1990

    National Revolutionary Army general in the Second Sino-Japanese War

    Also attended: Purdue University-Main Campus

  • William Mahone 1826–1895

    Confederate general, railroad executive and politician

  • Archibald Vincent Arnold 1889–1973

    US Army major general, commanded 7th Infantry Division

    Also attended: The United States Military Academy at West Point

  • Leonard T. Gerow 1888–1972

    United States Army general

  • Thomas G. Jones 1844–1914

    28th governor of Alabama

    Child: Walter Burgwyn Jones (The University of Alabama, Auburn University)

  • Chris Beck 1966–

    Retired Navy SEAL and LGBTQ rights activist

  • Edward Almond 1892–1979

    US Army general, X Corps commander in Korean War

  • Douglas Macgregor 1947–

    Retired U.S. Army colonel and political commentator

    Also attended: The United States Military Academy at West Point

  • Robert E. Rodes 1829–1864

    Confederate general in the American Civil War

  • Ryan McCarthy 1973–

    24th United States Secretary of the Army

    Also attended: University System of Maryland

  • John R. Jones 1827–1901

    Confederate brigadier general and Virginia educator

  • Joseph Short 1904–1952

    White House press secretary under Truman

  • Jonathan Daniels 1939–1965

    Episcopal seminarian and civil rights activist

    Also attended: Harvard University

  • W. Patrick Lang 1940–

    Retired Army officer, intelligence analyst and Middle East commentator

  • Carter L. Burgess 1914–2002

    Soldier, business executive and diplomat

  • Robert J. Dalessandro 1958–

    Military historian, acting secretary of ABMC

Business

Science and academia

Arts and media

Sports

  • Reggie Williams 1986–

    Former NBA player; VMI all-time leading scorer

    Also attended: Copiah-Lincoln Community College

  • Stan Okoye 1991–

    American-Nigerian professional basketball player

  • Ron Carter 1956–

    Former NBA player for two seasons

    Child: Paul Carter (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities)

  • Cory Spangenberg 1991–

    Former MLB infielder

    Also attended: Indian River State College

  • Bobby Thomason 1928–2013

    NFL quarterback, three-time Pro Bowler

  • Jason Conley 1981–

    Former pro basketball player

    Also attended: University of Missouri-Columbia

  • Bill Blair 1942–

    Former basketball coach and player

  • Q. J. Peterson 1994–

    Professional basketball player

  • Ryan Glynn 1974–

    Former MLB pitcher

  • Joe Fortunato 1930–2017

    NFL linebacker for the Chicago Bears

  • D. J. Covington 1991–

    Former professional basketball player

  • Reed Garrett 1993–

    Pitcher for the New York Mets

  • Dan Lyle 1970–

    Former US rugby union captain and number eight

  • Mark Stock 1966–

    Former NFL wide receiver

  • George Stallings 1867–1929

    Major League Baseball catcher and manager

  • Travis Holmes 1986–

    Former professional basketball player

Other fields

From Wikidata “educated at” records (including people who attended without graduating), ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions. Degrees and years follow Wikidata and are left out where it has none.

Alumni network

Colleges that share the most alumni with Virginia Military Institute (people who attended both).