This is a list of notable people associated with Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Itincludes alumni, faculty, and honorary degree recipients.
Presidents of Bowdoin
Joseph McKeen (1802–07) Jesse Appleton (1807–19) William Allen (1820–39) Leonard Woods (1839–66) Samuel Harris (1867–71) Joshua Chamberlain (1871–83) William DeWitt Hyde (1885–1917) Kenneth C.M. Sills (1918–52) James S. Coles (1952–67) Roger Howell, Jr. (1969–78) Willard F. Enteman (1978–80) A. LeRoy Greason (1981–90) Robert Hazard Edwards (1990–2001) Barry Mills (2001–2015) Clayton Rose (2015–2023) Safa Zaki (2023–present)
Distinguished graduates
Arts and letters Note: individuals who belong in multiple sections appear in the most relevant section.
Literature and poetry Seba Smith 1818, humorist, creator of the fictional character Major Jack Downing Jacob Abbott 1820, academic and author of 180 books, primarily children's books Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1825, world-renowned poet; professor at Bowdoin (1829–31) and Harvard University (1831–54); memorialized in the Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey; namesake, along with Hawthorne, of Bowdoin's main library Nathaniel Hawthorne 1825, acclaimed author of classic novels The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of the Seven Gables (1851); namesake, along with Longfellow, of Bowdoin's main library Charles Asbury Stephens 1869, prolific author of children's stories for The Youth's Companion Arlo Bates 1876, novelist, poet, and professor at MIT Robert P. T. Coffin 1915, Rhodes Scholar, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1936), and Bowdoin professor (1934–55) Artine Artinian 1931, French literature scholar John Gould 1931, novelist, humorist, and columnist James Bassett 1934, journalist and author of the best-selling novel In Harm's Way (1962) Lawrence Sargent Hall 1936, novelist, short-story writer, and Bowdoin professor who won the O. Henry Award (1960) Richard Hooker 1945, doctor and author of the novel M*A*S*H (1968) Willis Barnstone 1948, four-time Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet Paul Batista 1970, trial lawyer, television personality, and author Rinker Buck, 1972, author Robin McKinley 1975, fantasy author of the Newbery Medal-winning The Hero and the Crown (1985) Douglas Kennedy 1976, novelist Charlotte Agell 1981, author Walter H. Hunt 1981, science fiction author Taylor Mali 1987, slam poet and teaching activist Martha McPhee 1987, novelist, nominated for the National Book Award (2002) Meredith Hall 1993, best-selling author of Without a Map (2007) Anthony Doerr 1995, novelist; author of All the Light We Cannot See (2014), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2015) and was nominated for the National Book Award; writer-in-residence of the state of Idaho (2007–2010) Claudia La Rocco 2000, poet Jay Caspian Kang 2002, writer Kelly Kerney 2002, author
Journalism and nonfiction writing John Stevens Cabot Abbott 1825, biographer of Napoleon Bonaparte (1855) John Brown Russwurm 1826, third black college graduate in the United States;Charles C. Calhoun, A Small College in Maine: 200 Years of Bowdoin. pullihed by the College in 1993, founder of Freedom's Journal, America's first black newspaper (1827); governor of the Republic of Maryland (later part of Liberia) (1836–41) Charles Beecher 1834, author, minister, and abolitionist; brother of the author Harriet Beecher Stowe, the minister Henry Ward Beecher, and educator Catharine Beecher Edward Stanwood 1861 Edward Page Mitchell 1871, editor-in-chief of The New York Sun (1903–26) Hodding Carter 1927, progressive journalist and winner of the Pulitzer Prize (1946) Francis Russell 1933, historian, best known for his work on Warren Harding Arthur Stratton 1935, author and historian John Rich 1939, NBC News war correspondent Marcus Merriman 1962, historian, best known for his work on Mary, Queen of Scots Tom Cassidy 1972, CNN anchor (1981–89) and founder of the weekend news program Pinnacle Geoffrey Canada 1974, author and activist; president and CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone Alvin Hall 1974, financial advisor, author, and BBC television presenter Cynthia McFadden 1978, ABC News anchor of Primetime (2004–14) and Nightline (2005–14); NBC News senior legal & investigative correspondent (2014–present) Andrew Serwer 1981, Fortune Magazine Managing Editor (2006–present) Judy Fortin 1983, CNN Headline News anchor (1990–2006); medical correspondent (2006–present) Brian Farnham 1993, editor-in-chief of Time Out New York (2006–08) Thomas Kohnstamm 1998, author and travel writer New York Times Justice Department reporter Katie Benner (1999) Evan Gershkovich 2014, journalist
Film and television Phillips Lord 1925, radio personality, writer and actor Albert Dekker 1927, actor Gary Merrill 1937, actor William H. Brown Jr. 1939, television director and producer"Obituaries: William H. Brown Jr.". Evening Express. June 10, 1982. p. 35. Retrieved February 1, 2025."Bowdoin Degrees for 129 Students". Lewiston Sun-Journal. June 17, 1939. p. 6. Retrieved February 1, 2025. Burt Kwouk OBE 1953, British actor Ned Dowd 1972, actor and film producer John Davis 1975, film producer Douglas Kennedy 1976, film producer Kary Antholis 1984, Academy Award-winning filmmaker and executive at HBO FilmsWilson, David McKay. "Making Masterpieces", Bowdoin Magazine, Spring 2004. Retrieved August 27, 2008. Marcus Giamatti 1984, actor Brad Anderson 1986, filmmaker Angus Wall 1988, two-time Academy Award-winning editor Paul Adelstein 1991, actor Hayes MacArthur 1999, actor and comedian; husband of actress Ali Larter Hari Kondabolu 2004, stand-up comedian; featured several times on Comedy Central and on late night network television; writer/correspondent on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell (2012–13)
Music Paul "DJ Spooky" Miller 1992, trip-hop musician, turntablist and producer Michael J. Merenda, Jr. 1998, singer-songwriter with the alternative folk band The Mammals
Art and photography Jere Abbott 1920, art museum director who helped establish the Museum of Modern Art Harley Schwadron 1964, cartoonist Stephen Hannock 1974, landscape painter Kevin Bubriski 1975, documentary photographer Todd Siler 1975, visual artist and researcher of creativity Abelardo Morell 1977, photographer
Government Note: individuals who belong in multiple sections appear in the most relevant section.
Presidents Franklin Pierce 1824, congressman (1833–37) and senator (1837–42) from New Hampshire; 14th President of the United States (1853–57); namesake of Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire
U.S. cabinet secretaries William Fessenden 1823, congressman (1841–43) and senator (1854–64, 1865–69) from New Hampshire; Secretary of the Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln (1864–65) Hugh McCulloch 1827, Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Abraham Lincoln (1865), Andrew Johnson (1865–69) and Chester A. Arthur (1884–85) Bill Cohen 1962, congressman (1972–78) and senator (1978–97) from Maine; Secretary of Defense under President Clinton (1997–2001)
U.S. governors Robert P. Dunlap 1815, governor of Maine (1834–38) and congressman from Maine (1843–47) Richard H. Vose 1822, governor of Maine (1841) and president of the Maine state senate William G. Crosby 1823, governor of Maine (1853–55) John Fairfield 1826, congressman (1835–38) and senator (1843–47) from Maine; governor of Maine (1839–43) Alonzo Garcelon 1836, Civil War general, Maine governor (1879–80) John Andrew 1837, governor of Massachusetts (1861–66) responsible for the formation of the 54th Massachusetts during the Civil War Frederick Robie 1841, governor of Maine (1883–87) La Fayette Grover 1846, governor of Oregon (1871–77); congressman (1859) and senator (1877–83) from Oregon Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain 1852, Bowdoin College professor (1855–62), Civil War hero, Medal of Honor recipient (for valor on Little Round Top on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg), Maine governor (1867–71), and president of Bowdoin College (1871–83); a statue of Chamberlain now stands at the entrance to the college Wilmot Brookings 1855, first provisional governor of the Dakota Territory; namesake of the city and county of Brookings, both in South Dakota Henry B. Quinby 1869, governor of New Hampshire 1909–1911; physician William T. Cobb 1877, governor of Maine (1905–09) John Fremont Hill 1877, governor of Maine (1901–05) Percival Proctor Baxter 1898, governor of Maine (1921–24) and namesake of Baxter State Park James L. McConaughy 1911 (M.A.), governor of Connecticut (1947–48) and poet Horrace Hildreth 1925, governor of Maine (1944–48), US Ambassador to Pakistan (1953–57), and president of Bucknell University (1957–67) James B. Longley 1947, governor of Maine (1975–79)
U.S. senators George Evans 1815, congressman (1829–41) and senator (1841–47) from Maine James Bell 1822, senator from New Hampshire (1855–57) James Ware Bradbury 1825, senator from Maine (1847–53) Alpheus Felch 1827, Michigan governor (1846–47), senator from Michigan (1847–1853), professor of law at the University of Michigan, and namesake of Felch Township in Michigan John Hale 1827, congressman (1843–45) and senator (1847–53) from New Hampshire; ran against Franklin Pierce 1824 as the Free Soil Party candidate for president (1852) William Frye 1850, congressman (1871–81) and senator (1881–1911) from Maine; played a role in the founding of Bates College (1855) Paris Gibson 1851, senator from Montana (1901–05) William D. Washburn 1854, congressman (1879–85) and senator (1889–95) from Minnesota Charles Fletcher Johnson 1879, senator from Maine (1911–1917) Wallace White 1899, congressman (1916–31) and senator (1931–49) from Maine; Senate Minority Leader (1944–47); Senate Majority Leader (1947–49) Ralph Owen Brewster 1909, Maine governor (1925–29); congressman (1935–41) and senator (1941–53) from Maine Harold Hitz Burton 1909, senator from Ohio (1941–45); associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1945–1958) Paul Douglas 1913, professor of economics at the University of Chicago (1920–42) and senator from Illinois (1949–67) George Mitchell 1954, senator from Maine (1982–95); Senate Majority Leader (1989–95); chairman of the Walt Disney Company (2004–06); winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1999); Chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast
U.S. representatives Benjamin Randall 1809, congressman from Maine (1839–43) Bellamy Storer 1809, congressman from Ohio (1835–37) and law professor John Anderson 1813, congressman from Maine (1825–33) and mayor of Portland (1833–36,1842) John D. McCrate 1819, congressman from Maine (1845–47) John Otis 1823, congressman from Maine (1849–51) Samuel P. Benson 1825, congressman from Maine (1853–57) and Maine Secretary of State Jonathan Cilley 1825, congressman from Maine (1837–38) whose death in an 1838 duel with a Kentucky congressman prompted outrage and a congressional ban on the practice Cullen Sawtelle 1825, congressman from Maine (1845–47, 1849–51) Seargent Smith Prentiss 1826, congressman from Mississippi (1838–39) Owen Lovejoy 1832, congressman from Maine (1857–64); abolitionist participant in the Underground Railroad John Appleton 1834, US minister to Bolivia (1848–49), congressman from Maine (1851–53), assistant US secretary of state (1857–60), and US ambassador to Russia (1860–61) Timothy R. Young 1835, congressman from Illinois (1849–51) Samuel Fessenden 1834, congressman from Maine (1861–63) Charles H. Upton 1834, congressman from Virginia (1861–62) E. Wilder Farley 1836, congressman from Maine (1853–55) Frederick A. Pike 1837, congressman from Maine (1861–69) Lorenzo De Medici Sweat 1837, congressman from Maine (1863–65) Samuel Thurston 1843, first congressman from Oregon (1849–51) T.A.D. Fessenden 1845, congressman from Maine (1862–63) William W. Rice 1846, congressman from Massachusetts (1877–87) Isaac Newton Evans 1851, doctor and congressman from Pennsylvania (1877–79, 1883–87) John A. Peters 1885, United States representative from Maine (1913–22)