The following is a list of notable alumni of Taft School. The Taft School is a private, coeducational prep school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. The school was founded by Horace Dutton Taft, the brother of President William Howard Taft, in 1890.
Academics
T. H. Breen '60, Guggenheim fellow, history professor Stevan Dedijer '30, founder of the Research Policy Institute, pioneer of business intelligence Alfred G. Gilman '58, Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine Mason Gross '29, president of Rutgers University Thomas Kuhn '40, philosopher of science, author Samuel T. Orton 1897, pioneer in the study of dyslexia Rollin G. Osterweis '26, professor of history at Yale University
Arts and entertainment
Trey Anastasio '83, Phish lead guitarist Jeff Baxter '67, musician (Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers) Henry Beard '63, co-founder of National Lampoon, co-author of Bored of the Rings Peter Berg '80, actor/director of Friday Night Lights, Lone Survivor Jason Blum '87, producer of Get Out and Paranormal Activity, founder of Blumhouse Productions Mia Borders, '05, singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter '76, five-time Grammy Award winnerSchoemer, Karen. "No Hair Spray, No Spangles", The New York Times, August 1, 1993. Accessed December 3, 2007 Spencer Treat Clark '05, actor in Gladiator, Mystic River, Unbreakable, and The Last House on the Left Barnaby Conrad '40, author, artist, bullfighter Barnaby Conrad III '71, author and artist Dominique Dunne, actress Adam Duritz '82, lead singer of Counting Crows James Franciscus '53, actor in The Naked City, Longstreet Grant Goodeve, actor in Eight is Enough Geoffrey T. Hellman '24, longtime New Yorker columnist Deane G. Keller '17, painter and educatorGuide to the Deane Keller Papers : Finding Aid Alan Klingenstein '72, film producer Ralph Lee '53, Guggenheim fellow and Obie Award winner Lorenzo Mariani '73, international opera director Steve Sandvoss '98, actor Tom Santopietro '72, author and Broadway theater manager Fred Small '70, singer-songwriter Dudley Taft '84, member of Sweet Water guitars, vocals Karen L. Thorson '78, producer of The Wire, The Unusuals
Business
Henry Becton, chairman of Becton Dickinson and Company Thomas Ludlow Chrystie II '51, investment banker, first CFO of Merrill and inventor of the Cash Management Account Peter S. Kaufman '71, investment banker, president of the Gordian Group LLC Joseph Irwin Miller '27, industrialist, Cummins Engine Company John M. Schiff '21, investment banker, philanthropist, honorary chairman of Lehman BrothersJohn Schiff, A Philanthropist And Investment Banker, Dies - New York Times John G. Taft '68, financier and writer James B. Taylor '40, business jet marketing pioneer George Weyerhaeuser '44, chairman and CEO, Weyerhaeuser CompanyObituaries | Dilettante Oliver Hills Whitney, Dies At 75 | Seattle Times
Government officials
William D. Brewer, U.S. ambassador Nathaniel Neiman Craley, Jr. '46, U.S. congressman from PennsylvaniaCRALEY, Nathaniel Neiman, Jr. - Biographical Information Richard Funkhouser, U.S. ambassador to Gabon Robert C. Hill '38, U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Spain and Argentina William S. Mailliard '35, U.S. congressman, CaliforniaMAILLIARD, William Somers - Biographical Information Manuel Rocha '69, U.S. ambassador to Bolivia 2000–02 Earl E. T. Smith '22, U.S. ambassador to Cuba (1958–59) Michael P. W. Stone '42, U.S. secretary of the Army Bob Taft '59, governor of Ohio Robert Taft, Jr. '35, Republican congressman 1963–65, 1967–71, senator 1971–76 Robert A. Taft 1906, U.S. senator from Ohio 1939–53, majority leader William Howard Taft III '33, U.S. ambassador to Ireland Robert F. Wagner Jr. '29, mayor of New York John S. Wold '34, U.S. congressman, Wyoming
Legal and judiciary
Flemming L. Norcott, Jr. '61, associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme CourtJustice Flemming L. Norcott, Jr Robert W. Sweet '40, federal judge who heard New York Times v. Gonzales concerning the Judith Miller controversy Wesley S. Williams Jr. '59, first African-American to serve both as legal counsel to the United States Senate and president of the Harvard Law School Association Ralph K. Winter Jr. '53, federal judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, nominated to the court in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan
Sports
Skyler Bell '21, professional football player Amanda Boulier '11, professional hockey player of Professional Women's Hockey League the Montreal Victoire Darren Bragg '87, professional baseball player James Driscoll '96, professional golferCategory Patrick Kerney '95, professional football player Allison Mleczko '93, gold medalist in first women's Olympic ice hockey game at Nagano; silver medalist in 2002Harvard University Gazette Max Pacioretty '07, professional hockey player for the Carolina Hurricanes Barbara Potter '79, Hall of Fame professional tennis player James Stillman Rockefeller 1920, Olympic gold medalist, 8-man rowing (Paris, France) Ryan Shannon '01, professional hockey player Tammy Lee Shewchuk '96, Olympic gold medalist in women's ice hockey, Salt Lake City Jaime Sifers '02, professional ice hockey player Katey Stone '84, head coach of 2014 Olympic women's ice hockey team, coach of Harvard Crimson women's ice hockey team John Welchli '46, Olympic silver medalist, Melbourne, 1956
Writing, journalism, and publishing
Laurence Bergreen '67, historian and biographer Nelson Denis '72, journalist, screenwriter, former New York State assemblyman Steven J. Erlanger ’70, London bureau chief (formerly Paris and Jerusalem bureau chief) for The New York Times Philip K. Howard '66, founder of Common Good, author of The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating AmericaCommon Good: Founder & Chair Thomas Kuhn '40, author of Structure of Scientific Revolutions, coined the phrase "paradigm shift" John Merrow ’59, Peabody Award-winning journalist and producer Sumner Chilton Powell '42, Pulitzer Prize winner in history for Puritan Village: The Formation of a New England Town Josh Quittner '75, author, editor of Business 2.0 David Kenyon Webster '40, soldier, journalist, and author
References