List of Washington University alumni

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

The following persons are well-known alumni, living and deceased, of Washington University in St. Louis.

Arts and literature

Playwright Tennessee Williams.

• Andrew Volpe: Lead singer and rhythm guitarist for rock band Ludo.
• Deanne Bell (BS 2002): host of Discovery Channel's Smash Lab and PBS's Design Squad
• Kristin Bauer: television actress on True Blood
• James von Brunn (BS): Writer, artist, Holocaust Museum shooter
• Morris Carnovsky (AB): stage and film actor
• Larry Cuba (AB 1972): animator
• Robert Culp (attended): television actor
• Anita Diamant (AB 1973): novelist
• Richard Eastham (studied prior to World War II): actor
• Jon Feltheimer (AB 1972): CEO of Lionsgate Films
• Tom Friedman (BFA 1988) : Conceptual sculptor
• Bernard Fuchs (MFA 1954): painter and illustrator
• John Gardner (AB 1955): novelist
• Dave Garroway (AB 1936): Today Show host
• Elizabeth Graver (MFA 1999): novelist
• Robert Guillaume: stage and television actor
• Henry Hampton (AB 1961): filmmaker; producer of PBS documentary Eyes on the Prize
• A. E. Hotchner (AB 1940, JD 1940): biographer and novelist (Papa Hemingway, King of the Hill)
• Fannie Hurst (AB 1909): writer and social activist
• Josephine Winslow Johnson (student 1926-1931): Pulitzer Prize-winning author
• Stan Kann (AB 1946): theater organist
• Johnny Kastl (AB, 1997): television actor (Scrubs)
• Hank Klibanoff (AB 1971): author and Pulitzer Prize winner
• Caryn Mandabach (AB 1970): Emmy award winning television and film producer of the Cosby Show among others

Actor Peter Sarsgaard.

• Edward Shepherd Mead (AB 1936): playwright ("How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying")
• David Merrick (AB 1934): Broadway producer
• Dan Nadel (AB 1998): Co-founder and editor of arts magazine The Ganzfeld and publisher PictureBox, Inc., 2005 Grammy award winner
• Oliver Nelson (student 1954-1957): jazz musician and composer
• David McCheyne Newell: naturalist, writer
• J. D. Parran (AM 1971): jazz musician
• Dan Piraro: cartoonist of "Bizarro", (attended but dropped out)
• Robert Quine (JD 1968): rock guitarist
• Harold Ramis (AB 1966): film actor, writer and director
• Eugene B. Redmond (MA 1966): poet, critic, civil-rights activist
• Carolyne Roehm (AB 1973): designer
• Irma S. Rombauer (AB): co-author of The Joy of Cooking
• Bryan Rowles (AB 1975) Creative Director, Gold Lion Winner 2008
• Allen Rucker: television writer and novelist
• Peter Sarsgaard (AB 1993): actor
• Steven Sater: Broadway lyricist, playwright, and poet
• Peter Saul (BFA 1956): Painter
• Allan Trautman (AB 1976): Actor, puppeteer
• Jeff Tremaine (AB 1990): director, producer
• Lauren Weinstein (AB 1998): cartoonist
• Luke Whisnant (MFA 1982): novelist, short story writer
• Mary Wickes (AB 1930): stage and film actress
• Tennessee Williams (student 1936-37): playwright
• Olly Wilson (AB 1959): composer

Architecture and design

• Charles Eames: designer, architect, filmmaker (Was expelled for his prediliction towards modern architecture)[citation needed]
• Hugh Ferriss (B.Arch 1911, M.Arch 1928): architect
• Alan Goldberg (1954) architect
• George Hellmuth (B.Arch 1928, M.Arch 1931): architect; cofounder of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum
• George Kassabaum (B.Arch 1947): architect; former president of American Institute of Architects; cofounder of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum
• Gyo Obata (B.Arch 1945): architect; cofounder and chairman of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum
• James F. O'Gorman (B.Arch 1956): architectural historian and author
• Jack Summerford (1965): designer; founder of Summerford Design, Inc.; writer; featured in Communication Arts, Graphis, AIGA
• C. P. Wang (M.Arch 1973): architect for Taipei 101, the world's tallest building as of 2005

Business

Adventurer and businessman Steve Fossett.

Charles Nagel founder of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

• Stan A. Askren (MBA 1987): president and CEO of HNI Corporation
• William Bay (BA): President and CEO of Mel Bay
• Randy Bean (BA 1978): managing partner and founder of NewVantage Partners LLC
• John H. Biggs (PhD): former CEO of TIAA-CREF
• Melvin F. Brown (AB 1957, JD 1961): former CEO of Deutsche Financial Services
• Andrew M. Bursky (AB 1978, BSChE 1978, MSChE 1978): CEO of Atlas Holdings LLC
• Carl M. Casale (MBA): executive vice president, North America Commercial division of Monsanto Company
• David P. Connor (BA): CEO of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation
• William H. Danforth (AB 1892): founder of Ralston Purina
• Charles H. Dolson (AB): president and CEO of Delta Air Lines (1965–1970)
• Arnold Donald (BSME 1977): founder and former CEO of Merisant
• John Dubinsky (AB 1965, MBA 1967): former CEO of Mercantile Bancorporation
• Thomas J. Feichtinger (BS 1986): Global Director for General Motors Corporation
• Steve Fossett (MBA 1968): options trader, balloonist, and adventurer
• Sam Fox (BSBA 1951): founder, chairman, CEO, and owner of Harbour Group Industries
• Steven Fradkin (BA 1984): CFO of Northern Trust
• Don Frahm (BSBA 1953): former chairman and CEO of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
• Avram Glazer (BSBA 1982): president and CEO of the Zapata Corporation and joint chairman of Manchester United
• James Hance, Jr. (MBA): chairman of Sprint Nextel and former CFO of Bank of America (1998–2004)
• Earle Harbison (AB 1948): former president and COO of Monsanto Company
• Robert Hernreich (AB 1967): Co-Owner Sacramento Kings
• Jerald Kent (BSBA 1978, MS 1979): founder and former CEO of Charter Communications
• Jeff Lebesch (BS 1979): co-founder of New Belgium Brewing Company
• Steven F. Leer (MBA 1977): chairman and CEO of Arch Coal
• Wei-Shan Lin (MBA 1976): President of Tatung Company
• Stanley Lopata (AB 1935): founder and former chairman of Carboline
• Douglas Lowenstein (AB 1973): president and CEO of Private Equity Council, founder and former president of Entertainment Software Association
• W. Patrick McGinnis (MBA 1972): president and CEO of Nestle Purina Petcare Company
• Howard J. Morgens (AB): president and CEO of Procter & Gamble
• Edward Mueller (MBA): president and CEO of Qwest Communications
• Charles Nagel (JD 1872): United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor; founder of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Dave Peacock (MBA 2000): CEO of Anheuser-Busch
• Andrew Puzder (JD 1978): CEO of CKE Restaurants
• William Shaw (MBA 1972): president and COO of Marriott International Inc.
• Louis B. Susman (JD 1962): vice chairman of Citigroup Global Markets
• Jack C. Taylor (student through 1944): founder of Enterprise Rent-A-Car; no. 14 on Forbes 400 Richest Americans in 2006
• Ann Rubenstein Tisch (AB 1976) Anchor of Today Show, member of Tisch family
• William G. Tragos (AB 1956): former chairman and CEO of TBWA Advertising, Inc.
• Arnold Zetcher (BSBA 1962): chairman, president and CEO of Talbots
• George Zimmer (AB 1970): founder of Men's Wearhouse
• Jim Weddle (AB 1977, MBA): managing partner at Edward Jones Investments
• Gary Wendlandt (BS 1972): current CIO of New York Life Investment Management and former CIO of MassMutual
• John B. Whyte (attended two years in 1950s): Developer of Fire Island Pines, New York
• Brian Willison (BFA 1995): Executive Director of Parsons Institute for Information Mapping
• Lewis Wolff (MBA 1961): hotel developer and owner of the Oakland Athletics

Education and academics

• James F. Barker (AM 1973): president of Clemson University
• Jessie Bernard (Ph.D. 1935): sociologist and noted feminist scholar
• Ewald W. Busse (M.D.) former dean of the Duke University School of Medicine
• Zhangliang Chen (PhD 1982): prominent Chinese scientist; president of China Agricultural University; member of the National People's Congress
• Ron Chew (BA 2002) Community activist, journalist, former director, Wing Luke Asian Museum
• Thomas Lamb Eliot (AB 1862, AM 1866): founding board member and president of Reed College
• Henry Ware Eliot (AB 1863): father of poet T. S. Eliot; former president of the Academy of Sciences of St. Louis
• Richard F. Giese (AM 1976): president of Mount Union College
• Ronald J. Gilson (BA 1968): Charles J. Meyers Professor of Law and Business at Stanford University
• Nathan O. Hatch (AM 1972, PhD 1974): president of Wake Forest University
• Raelynn Hillhouse (AB): novelist, political scientist
• Edward Singleton Holden (SB 1866): fifth president of the University of California; director of the Lick Observatory
• Robert C. Kolodny (MD 1969): author of numerous books on human sexuality
• Joyce Ladner (AM 1966, PhD 1968): sociologist and activist
• Dolores Baja-Lasán (PhD 1959): chancellor of the Philippine Women's University System
• Max Lerner (AM 1925): intellectual, critic, and author
• Donald Livingston (PhD 1965): renowned constitutional scholar
• Walter E. Massey (AM 1966, PhD 1966): president of Morehouse College
• Richard McKelvey (MA 1967): Political Scientist, specialized in mathematical theories of voting
• Horace Mitchell (AB 1968, MA 1969, PhD 1974): president of California State University Bakersfield
• Hiro Mukai (BS 1972): author of leading books on systems engineering
• Daniel Nathans (MD 1954): former president of Johns Hopkins University
• H. Richard Niebuhr (AM 1917): theologian
• Hitendra Patel (BSEE 1987, Ph.D. 1993): Chair of Innovation and Global Director of Action Learning Program at the Hult International Business School and Managing Director of the IXl Center
• Charles Van Ravenswaay (AB 1933, AM 1934): historian
• Abram L. Sachar (AB 1920, AM 1920): founding president of Brandeis University
• Ja Song (M.B.A. 1962, D.B.A. 1967): President of Yonsei University; Korean Minister of Education
• Barry Spizer (BS 1977): past president of the CCIM Institute of the National Association of Realtors
• Chia-Wei Woo (MA, PhD): founding president of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; first Asian American to head a major U.S. university (San Francisco State University)

Journalism and media

• Joyce Barnathan (AB 1975): President of International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)
• Ken Cooper (AB 1977): Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; former national editor of the Boston Globe
• Bill Dedman (class of 1982, no degree): Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter
• Lynne "Angel" Cooper Harvey (AB, AM): producer of Paul Harvey News; inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame
• William G. Hyland (BA): editor of Foreign Affairs (1984–1993)
• Michael Isikoff (AB 1974): author and journalist
• Hank Klibanoff (AB 1971): Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former managing editor of Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Condé Nast (LLB 1897): publisher of Vogue
• Mike Peters (BFA 1965): Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist; creator of "Mother Goose and Grimm"

Politics, law, and government

General John C. Bates.

• Carl J. Artman (JD): Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs, and head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs 2007–08.
• John C. Bates (BA 1863): served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army in 1906.
• Ben Cannon (AB 1999): State Representative to the Oregon House of Representatives, 2006–present, and Rhodes Scholar
• Henry S. Caulfield (JD 1895): Governor of Missouri, 1929–1933
• Clark M. Clifford (LLB 1928): U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1968–69; former presidential advisor
• Earl Thomas Coleman (JD 1969): U.S. congressman from Missouri, 1977–1993
• Phoebe Couzins (LLB 1871): first female U.S. Marshal; feminist; leader in the Women's Suffrage Movement
• Edward Coke Crow (LLB 1879): 23rd Attorney General of Missouri from 1897–1905, advisor to Missouri Governor Lloyd Crow Stark (1937–1941)
• Joseph Cunningham (JD 1952): former justice Supreme Court of Illinois
• Hal Daub (BS 1963): U.S. congressman from Nebraska, 1981–1989; mayor of Omaha, 1995–2001
• Dwight F. Davis (LLB): founder of Davis Cup, and 49th US Secretary of War
• Alexander Monroe Dockery (MD 1865): Governor of Missouri, 1901–1905
• Alan J. Dixon (LLB 1949): U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1981–93
• Leonidas C. Dyer (JD 1893): U.S. congressman from Missouri, 1915–1933
• Edward Cranch Eliot (AB 1878, LLB 1880, AM 1881): former president of the American Bar Association
• Sam Fox (AB 1951): former United States Ambassador to Belgium
• David R. Francis (AB 1870): mayor of St. Louis, 1885–89; Governor of Missouri, 1889–93; U.S. Secretary of Interior, 1896–97; U.S. Ambassador to Russia
• Raymond W. Gruender (JD/MBA 1987): current judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Jean Constance Hamilton (JD 1971): current judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
• Moses W. Harrison II (JD 1958): retired chief justice, Supreme Court of Illinois
• Harry B. Hawes (JD 1896): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1926–1933
• Chic Hecht (BS 1949): U.S. Senator from Nevada, 1983–89
• Andrew J. Higgens (JD 1948): retired chief justice, Supreme Court of Missouri
• Thomas C. Hennings, Jr. (JD 1926): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1951–1960
• William L. Igoe (JD 1902): U.S. congressman from Missouri, 1913–1921
• Alphonso Jackson (JD 1972): U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 2004–2008
• Chris Koster (MBA 2002): Attorney General of Missouri
• Jasna Matić (MBA 2001): Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society of Serbia
• Victor J. Miller (JD): mayor of St. Louis, 1925 to 1933
• John Francis Nangle (JD 1948): former chief judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, 1983–1990
• Roscoe C. Patterson (JD 1897): US Senator from Missouri, 1929–1935

Judge William H. Webster 6th Director of the FBI and 14th Director of the CIA.

• Catherine D. Perry (JD 1981): current judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
• Tony Ribaudo (1962): majority leader of the Missouri House of Representatives, 1977–1997
• Kenneth J. Rothman (AB, JD): Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, 1981–1985
• Steven Rothman (JD 1977): US Congressmen from New Jersey, 1997–present
• David Rubenstein (activist) (BA 1981): advocate, founding executive director Save Darfur Coalition
• Phyllis Schlafly (AB 1944, JD 1978): author,lawyer, conservative and antifeminist activist
• Philip D. Shelton (JD 1972): president and executive director of the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC)
• Mike Simpson (DDS 1977): U.S. congressman from Idaho, 1999–present
• Rodney W. Sippel (JD 1980): current judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
• Luther Ely Smith (JD 1897): founder of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
• Ralph Tyler Smith (JD 1940): U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1969–1970
• Adam Shapiro (AB 1993): co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement
• Selden P. Spencer (JD 1886): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1918–1925
• Leonor Sullivan (1923): first U.S. congressional representative from Missouri, 1953–1977
• Louis Susman (JD): current United States Ambassador to Great Britain
• Eben Swift: U.S. Army Major General
• Jim Talent (AB 1978): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 2003–2007
• Richard B. Teitelman (JD 1973): current justice, Supreme Court of Missouri
• James R. Thompson (AB 1956): Governor of Illinois, 1977–1991
• Raymond Tucker (BS 1920): mayor of St. Louis, 1953–1965
• Tarisa Watanagase (PhD): governor of the Bank of Thailand, 2006
• William H. Webster (JD 1949): 14th director of the CIA and the 6th director of the FBI
• Xenophon P. Wilfley (JD 1899): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1918
• George Howard Williams (JD 1897): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1925–1926
• Shien Biau Woo (PhD 1964): Asian American political activist; former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware
• Chen Zhangliang (PhD 1987): Vice Governor of Guangxi, People's Republic of China

Science, engineering, and medicine

• Kevin Ko (MD 1924): Doctor of Medicine, professor, well-known gynecologist in the area of St. Louis, MO, and Taipei, Taiwan. Owns the 4th largest OBGYN in the United States. Currently is a professor at Washington University in St. Louis
• J. Michael Bailey (AB 1979): psychologist, professor, well-known researcher on sexual orientation
• Geoffrey Ballard (PhD 1963): developed Fuel cells; member of Order of Canada; founder of Ballard Power Systems
• Lt. Col. Robert Behnken (BSPhy 1992, BSME 1992): NASA Astronaut
• Corinne Bott-Silverman (AB 1975): first female cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic
• Ewald W. Busse (M.D.) dean of the Duke University School of Medicine (1974–1982)
• Clyde Cowan (AM, PhD 1949): co-discoverer of the neutrino
• Elizabeth A. Craig, biochemistry professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison and member of the National Academy of Sciences.
• Arnold W. Donald (BS): President and CEO of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Admiral Ben Moreell.

• Eugene Foster (MD 1951): researcher who discovered the DNA link between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings
• Eric Green (MD PhD 1987): Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute
• Lee Harrison III (BFA 1952, BS 1959): engineer; Emmy winner for invention of computer animation
• Julian Hill (BS 1924): chemist; co-inventor of nylon
• Charlotte Jacobs (MD 1972): noted clinical oncologist, former director of the Clinical Cancer Center at Stanford University
• Edwin Krebs (MD 1943): Nobel laureate in medicine for work with protein phosphorylation as a biological regulatory mechanism
• J. C. R. Licklider (BS 1937): pioneer in computer science and artificial intelligence
• W. E. Moerner (BS 1975) : Stanford University professor; pioneer in single molecule spectroscopy and member of the National Academy of Sciences
• Ben Moreell (BS 1913): U.S. Navy admiral; founder of the Navy's Seabees construction battalions
• Daniel Nathans (MD 1954): Nobel laureate in medicine for the discovery of restriction enzymes; awarded National Medal of Science
• Michael E. Phelps (PhD 1970): developed PET scan
• Alton Ochsner (MD): surgeon and medical researcher at The Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans
• Harry Ringermacher (BS 1968, MS 1977, PhD 1980): physicist; awarded the Mensa International Copper Black Award for groundbreaking work in infrared imagery
• Joseph Edward Smadel (MD): inaugural recipient of the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research
• John C. Sommerer (BSSSM 1979, MS 1979), Director of Science and Technology at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
• Sol Spiegelman (PhD 1944): molecular biologist
• Dr. Harvey Silverman (AB 1974, DMD 1978): pioneer in cosmetic dentistry; inventor of Perfect Smile, Rapid White, and White Light tooth whiteners
• Earl Sutherland (MD 1942): Nobel laureate in medicine for elucidating the mechanisms of the actions of hormones
• Kenneth S. Wagoner (MA, 1934; PhD 1938), experimental psychologist
• Michael J. Wendl (1958) engineering in terrain following technology and energy management theory
• Walter Wyman (MD 1873): 3rd US Surgeon General

Sports

• Jimmy Conzelman (BS 1917): professional football player and coach; enshrined in Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Dal Maxvill (BS): professional baseball player, former St. Louis Cardinals general manager
• Muddy Ruel (JD): professional baseball catcher; member of 1924 World Champion Washington Senators
• Barbara Schaps Thomas (BS 1976) Senior VP and CFO of HBO Sports
• George Herbert Walker (LLB 1897): founder of Walker Cup in golf; grandfather and great-grandfather of Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, respectively
• Charley Winner: longtime coach in the National Football League
• Lewis Wolff (MBA 1961): owner of the Oakland Athletics
• Jennifer Martz, National volleyball player of the year.