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List of University of Pennsylvania people

This is a working list of notable faculty, alumni and scholars of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, United States.

Faculty

Academia

Penn alumni are the current or past presidents of over one hundred universities and colleges including Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, Cornell University, University of California system, University of Texas system, Carnegie Mellon University, Northwestern University, Tulane University, Bowdoin College, and Williams College; and eight medical schools including New York University Medical School, and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Architecture

Arts and entertainment

Athletics

College football Hall of Famers

Head coaches (all sports)

NFL champions

Olympic medalists

The university currently holds the record for most medals (21) won by its alumni at any single Olympic Games (1900 Summer Olympic Games), and at least 43 alumni have earned Olympic medals, as detailed below.

Professional basketball players

Professional football players

Professional baseball players

Fencing

  • Cliff Bayer: foil fencer, two-time Olympian, four-time US champion, NCAA champion, Pan Am silver medalist
  • Maxine Esteban: Ivorian Olympic fencer
  • Paul Friedberg: Olympic fencer, three-time NCAA champion, Maccabiah Games champion
  • Shaul Gordon (born 1994) (College class of 2016): Canadian-Israeli Olympic sabre fencer for Canada
  • Brooke Makler (1951–2010): Olympic fencer, NCAA champion, two-time Pan American Games champion
  • Paul Makler Jr. (born 1946): Olympic fencer, NCAA champion
  • Paul Makler Sr. (1920–2022): Penn Med class of 1964 and Penn undergraduate class of 1944: fenced for the University of Pennsylvania Quakers, competed in the individual and team épée events at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, won a silver medal in the team foil event at the 1955 Pan American Games, won an Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) national team épée title in 1956, and was president of the American Fencing Association in 1962
  • David Micahnik (born 1938), Penn College class of 1960 and Penn Law class of 1964: fenced for Penn, where he was a first-team All-Ivy selection in épée as a senior, the 1960 US National Champion and competed in the individual and team épée events at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics
  • Chris O'Loughlin (born 1967): Olympic fencer, NCAA champion, Maccabiah Games silver medalist, Pan American Games bronze medalist

Rowing/crew

Other sports

Sports executives and owners

Business

For a more comprehensive list of notable alumni in the business world, see Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. (Note: Not all of the following individuals attended the Wharton School, but may be alumni of other schools within the University of Pennsylvania.)

Company founders

Other entrepreneurs and business leaders

Exploration

Government, politics, and law

Colonial American leaders

Members of the Continental Congress

  • Andrew Allen (College class of 1759): Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, 1775–1776
  • William Bingham (College class of 1768): Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, 1786–1788
  • Elias Boudinot (attended the Academy, but did not earn a college degree): New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress, 1778 and 1781–1783, and president of the Continental Congress in 1782–1783
  • Lambert Cadwalader (College class of 1760, but did not graduate): New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress, 1784–1787
  • Tench Coxe (attended in 1770s but did not graduate): Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, 1788–1789 (and author of many contributions to The Federalist Papers advocating for the ratification of United States Constitution)
  • Philemon Dickinson (College class of 1759): Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress, 1782–1783
  • Jonathan Elmer (Medical School class of 1769 (bachelor's) and class of 1771 (doctor's degree)): New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress, 1777–1778, 1781–1783, 1787–1788
  • Robert Goldsborough (College class of 1760): Maryland delegate to the Continental Congress, 1774–1776
  • William Grayson (College class of 1760, but did not graduate): Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress, 1785–1787
  • Whitmell Hill (College class of 1760): North Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress, 1778–1780 accessed November 4, 2021
  • William Hindman (College class of 1761, but did not graduate): Maryland delegate to the Continental Congress, 1785–1786
  • Francis Hopkinson (College class of 1757 with bachelor's and class of 1760 with master's degree): New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress, 1776, who signed Declaration of Independence
  • David Jackson (Medical School class of 1768): Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, 1785
  • Henry Latimer (College class of 1770): Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress, 1784
  • Thomas Mifflin (College class of 1760, trustee 1773–1791, and treasurer 1773–1775): Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, 1774–1775 and 1782–1784, and president of the Continental Congress, 1783–1784
  • Samuel Cadwalader Morris (College class of 1760): Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, 1783–1784
  • Richard Peters (College class of 1761): Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, 1782–1783
  • David Ramsay (Medical School class of 1773 and honorary doctorate class of 1780): South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress, 1782–1783 and 1785–1786, and acting president of the Continental Congress in 1785–1786
  • Joshua Seney (College class of 1773): Maryland delegate to the Continental Congress, 1778
  • Jonathan Sergeant (College class of 1763): New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress, 1776–1777
  • James Tilton (Medical School class of 1768 (bachelor's) and 1771 (doctor's degree)): Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress, 1783–1784

Signers of the US Constitution and/or Declaration of Independence

Sources: University of Pennsylvania Archives

  • George Clymer, Penn trustee 1779–1813: elected member of the Continental Congress who was one of only six people who signed Declaration of Independence and signed (for Pennsylvania) US Constitution
  • Thomas FitzSimons, Penn trustee 1789–1811: signed (for Pennsylvania) US Constitution
  • Benjamin Franklin, Penn founder and trustee 1749–1790: one of only six people who signed Declaration of Independence and signed (for Pennsylvania) US Constitution
  • Francis Hopkinson, Penn degrees A.B. 1757; A.M. 1760; LL.D. 1790; Penn trustee 1787–1791: signed Declaration of Independence
  • Jared Ingersoll, Penn trustee 1778–1791: signed US Constitution
  • Robert Morris, Penn trustee 1778–1791: one of only six people who signed Declaration of Independence and signed (for Pennsylvania) US Constitution
  • Thomas McKean, Penn degrees: A.M. (hon.) 1763 and LL.D. 1785; Penn trustee 1779–1817; president of Penn Board of Trustees: signed Declaration of Independence
  • Thomas Mifflin, Penn degree: A.B. 1760; Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress and president of the Continental Congress; 1st governor of Pennsylvania; signed US Constitution
  • William Paca, Penn degrees: A.B. 1759 and A.M. 1762; Penn trustee; Maryland delegate to the Continental Congress, 1774–79; signed Declaration of Independence; chief justice of Maryland (1788–1790)
  • Benjamin Rush, Penn Med class of 1766; Penn Med professor 1769–1813: signed Declaration of Independence
  • Hugh Williamson, Penn degrees: A.B. 1757, A.M. 1760, and LL.D. (hon.) 1787; tutor 1755–1758; Penn professor of mathematics 1761–1763: North Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress, signed US Constitution; representative to US Congress
  • James Wilson, Penn degrees A.M. (hon.) 1766 and LL.D. 1790; Penn trustee; delegate to Continental Congress; signed Declaration of Independence and signed (for Pennsylvania) US Constitution, the first draft of which he wrote; US Supreme Court justice

United States government

Presidents of the United States

Members of the United States Cabinet (or top-level executive branch)

United States senators

, 31 Penn alumni have served as senators of 16 states:

Members of the United States House of Representatives

As of December 2024, at least 163 representatives from 22 states have been affiliated with Penn as detailed below:

  • Ephraim Leister Acker M.D., 1852 LL.B., 1886: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1871–1873
  • Robert Adams Jr. (class of 1869; member of St. Anthony Hall fraternity): Republican member of the US House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district 1893–1906 (also Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Brazil 1889–1890; member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 6th district 1883–1885)
  • Wilbur L. Adams: Delaware representative to the US Congress, 1933–1935
  • John Archer: Maryland representative to the US Congress, 1801–1807
  • James Armstrong: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1793–1795
  • L. Heisler Ball: Delaware representative to the US Congress, 1901–1903
  • Ephraim Bateman: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1826–1829
  • John Milton Bernhisel: Utah delegate to the US Congress, 1851–1859, 1861–1863
  • George A. Bicknell: Indiana representative to the US Congress, 1877–1881
  • Richard Biddle, class of 1811: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1837–1840
  • Andrew Biemiller: Wisconsin representative to the US Congress, 1945–1947 (attended the Graduate School but did not earn a degree)
  • Elias Boudinot: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1789–1795; New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress, 1778; attended Academy of Philadelphia but did not graduate
  • Benjamin Markley Boyer: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1865–1869
  • Samuel Carey Bradshaw: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1855–1857
  • Charles Browne (1875–1947; Penn Med class of 1900): represented , 1923–1925
  • George Franklin Brumm: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1923–1927, 1929–1934
  • Hiram R. Burton: Delaware representative to the US Congress, 1905–1909
  • John Cadwalader: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1855–1857
  • Lambert Cadwalader: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1789–1791, 1793–1795; Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, 1784–1787; entered College of Philadelphia in 1757 but did not earn a degree
  • Greene Washington Caldwell: North Carolina representative to the US Congress, 1841–1843
  • Joseph Maull Carey: Wyoming representative after statehood and delegate (before statehood) to the US Congress, 1885–1890
  • Matt Cartwright: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 2013–
  • E. Wallace Chadwick: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1947–1949
  • Earl Chudoff: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress 1949–1958
  • George Bosworth Churchill: Massachusetts representative to the US Congress, 1925; attended graduate school 1892–1894, but did not earn a degree
  • John Claiborne: Virginia representative to the US Congress, 1805–1808
  • John Daniel Clardy: Kentucky representative to the US Congress, 1895–1899
  • Isaiah Dunn Clawson: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1855–1859
  • John Clopton: Virginia representative to the US Congress, 1795–1799, 1801–1816
  • Bill Cobey: North Carolina representative to the US Congress, 1985–1987
  • Lewis Condict: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1811–1817
  • Joel Cook: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress 1907–1911
  • Thomas Buchecker Cooper: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1861–1862
  • James Harry Covington: Maryland representative to the US Congress, 1909–1914
  • William Radford Coyle: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1925–1927, 1929–1933; attended law school but did not earn a degree
  • George William Crump (Penn Med class of 1812, did not graduate): member of the United States House of Representatives in the 19th United States Congress (1826–1827) and the US Ambassador to Chile; also world's first recorded streaker
  • Willard S. Curtin (1905–1996; Penn Law School class of 1932): Pennsylvania representative to US Congress, 1957–1967
  • J. Burrwood Daly: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1935–1939; attended law school but did not earn a degree
  • William Darlington: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1815–1817 and 1819–1823
  • Philemon Dickerson: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1833–1836 and 1839–1841
  • Charles Djou: Hawaii representative to the US Congress, 2010
  • Frank Joseph Gerard Dorsey: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1935–1939
  • Charles F. Dougherty: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1979–1983
  • George Eckert: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1847–1849
  • Norman Eddy: Indiana representative to the US Congress, 1853–1855
  • Joshua Eilberg (Wharton Undergrad class of 1941, BS in Econ): Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1967–1979
  • Lucius Elmer: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1843–1845
  • Phillip Sheridan English: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1995–2009
  • Thomas Dunn English: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1891–1895
  • Chaka Fattah: US congressman representing 2nd Congressional district of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia region)
  • Clare G. Fenerty: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1935–1937
  • John Floyd: Virginia representative to the US Congress, 1817–29,
  • Harold Ford Jr.: US representative from Tennessee, candidate for House minority leader, 2002, candidate for United States Senate from Tennessee
  • Vito Fossella: New York representative to the US Congress, 1997–2009
  • Oliver W. Frey: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1933–1939
  • Benjamin Gilman: New York representative to the US Congress, 1973–2003
  • Benjamin Golder: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1925–1933
  • Josh Gottheimer: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 2017–
  • George Scott Graham: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1913–1931
  • John Hahn: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1815–1817
  • William Henry Harrison: Ohio representative to the US Congress, 1816–1819
  • Charles Eaton Haynes: Georgia representative to the US Congress, 1825–1831 and 1835–1839
  • James C. Healey: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1956–1965
  • William Hindman: Maryland representative to the US Congress, 1793–1799
  • George Holcombe: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1821–1828
  • Trey Hollingsworth: Indiana representative to the US Congress, 2017–
  • Joseph Hopkinson, class of 1786: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1815–1819
  • Charles R. Howell, attended in 1936 and 1937, did not graduate: represented in the United States House of Representatives, 1949–1955
  • John William Jones: Georgia representative to the US Congress, 1847–1849
  • Owen Jones: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1857–1859
  • Albert Walter Johnson: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1947–1963
  • Joseph Jorgensen: Virginia representative to the US Congress, 1877–1883
  • James Kelly: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1805–1809
  • William Kennedy: North Carolina representative to the US Congress, 1803–1805, 1809–1811, 1813–1815
  • Everett Kent: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1923–1925 and 1927–1929
  • Karl C. King: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1951–1957
  • William Huntington Kirkpatrick: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1921–1923
  • Thomas Kittera: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1826–27
  • John A. Lafore Jr.: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1957–1961
  • Conor Lamb: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 2018–2023
  • Henry Latimer: Delaware representative to the US Congress, 1794–95
  • Caleb Layton: Delaware representative to the US Congress, 1919–1923
  • James Leech: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1927–1932
  • William Eckart Lehman: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1861–1863
  • George Leiper: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1829–1831
  • John Thomas Lenahan: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1907–1909
  • Samuel Lilly: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1853–1855
  • Lloyd Lowndes Jr.: Maryland representative to the US Congress, 1873–1875
  • James McDevitt Magee: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1923–1927
  • Levi Maish: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1875–1879 and 1887–1891
  • Francis Mallory: Virginia representative to the US Congress, 1837–1843
  • John Hartwell Marable: Tennessee representative to the US Congress, 1825–1829
  • Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (College for Women class of 1963): representative of Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district to the US Congress, 1993–1995
  • Robert Marion: South Carolina representative to the US Congress, 1805–1810
  • Alexander Keith Marshall: Kentucky representative to the US Congress, 1855–1857
  • James Murray Mason: Virginia representative to the US Congress, 1837–1839
  • Samuel K. McConnell Jr.: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1944–1957
  • George Deardorff McCreary: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1903–1913
  • Joseph McDade: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1963–1999
  • Robert C. McEwen: New York representative to the US Congress, 1965–1981
  • John Miller: New York representative to the US Congress, 1825–1827
  • James Milnor: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1811–1813
  • Dave Min: Wharton Undergrad class of 1999, BSE, and Penn College BA, class of 1999: elected representative to the US Congress for California, 2025
  • George Mitchell: Maryland representative to the US Congress, 1823–1827 and 1829–1832
  • John Moffet: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1869
  • Samuel Moore: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1818–1822
  • Edward Joy Morris: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1843–1845 and 1857–1861
  • Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1947–1949, architect, founder of Muhlenberg Greene Architects
  • Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg (trustee 1779–1786): Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, 1789–1791, 1793–1795; Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, 1779–1780; Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1789–1797
  • Edward de Veaux Morrell: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1900–1907
  • John Murphy: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1943–1946
  • Leonard Myers: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1863–1875
  • William Augustus Newell, class of 1839: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1847–1851, 1865–1867
  • Robert N.C. Nix Sr.: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1958–79
  • Edson Olds: Ohio representative to the US Congress, 1849–1855
  • Archibald Olpp: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1921–1923
  • Cyrus Maffet Palmer: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1927–1929
  • John Patton: Virginia representative to the US Congress, 1830–1838
  • Levi Pawling: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1817–1819
  • John H. Pugh: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1877–1879
  • Robert R. Reed: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1849–1851
  • Jacob Richards: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1803–1809
  • Lewis Riggs: New York representative to the US Congress, 1841–1843
  • Caesar Augustus Rodney: Delaware representative to the US Congress, 1803–1805
  • Albert Rutherford: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1937–1941
  • Leon Sacks: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1937–1941
  • Benjamin Say: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1808–1809
  • Mary Gay Scanlon: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 2018–
  • Pius Schwert: Wharton School class of 1914, B.S. econ.: professional baseball catcher; New York representative in US Congress, 1939–1941
  • David Scott: Georgia representative to the US Congress, 2003–
  • Hardie Scott: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1947–1953
  • John Roger Kirkpatrick Scott: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1915–1919
  • Joshua Seney: Maryland representative to the US Congress, 1789–1792
  • John Sergeant: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1815–1823, 1827–1829 and 1837–1841
  • Adam Seybert: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1809–15 and 1817–19
  • Henry Marchmore Shaw: North Carolina representative to the US Congress, 1853–1855 and 1857–1859
  • William B. Shepard: North Carolina representative to the US Congress, 1829–1837
  • John E. Sheridan: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1939–1947
  • William Simonton: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1839–1843
  • Edward J. Stack: Florida representative to the US Congress, 1979–1981
  • James Strawbridge: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1873–1875
  • Joel Barlow Sutherland: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1827–1837
  • John Swope: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1884–1887
  • William Terrell: Georgia representative to the US Congress, 1817–1821
  • Martin Thayer: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1863–1865
  • John Chew Thomas: Maryland representative to the US Congress, 1799–1801
  • John Parnell Thomas: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1937–1950
  • Hedge Thompson: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1827–1828
  • Philip A. Traynor: Delaware representative to the US Congress, 1941–1943 and 1945–1947
  • William Troutman: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1943–1945
  • Charles Turpin: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1929–1937
  • Jonathan Updegraff: Ohio representative to the US Congress, 1879–1882
  • Joseph Vigorito: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1965–1977
  • Percy Walker, MD (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine class of 1835): Alabama representative to the US Congress, 1855–1857
  • George Wallhauser: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1959–1965
  • John H. Ware, III: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1970–1975
  • John Goddard Watmough: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1831–1835
  • Anthony Wayne: Georgia representative to the US Congress, 1791–1792
  • James D. Weaver: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1963–1965
  • William H. Wilson: Pennsylvania representative to the US Congress, 1935–1937
  • Charles A. Wolverton: New Jersey representative to the US Congress, 1927–1959

United States ambassadors

, Penn alumni have served as United States ambassadors to at least 51 different countries.

Other federal government officials

State government

Governors

As of May 2020, 48 Penn alumni or trustees have served as governors of 24 different states, Puerto Rico and American Samoa as detailed below:

State legislators

At least 60 Penn alumni and/or trustees have served in state legislatures in at least 19 states (at least five of whom have served as speaker of their respective houses of representatives [in Maine, New Jersey, Oregon, and Pennsylvania] and one of whom served as President of New Jersey Senate) as detailed below:

Mayors

At least 50 Penn alumni or trustees have served as Mayors of cities in at least 23 states, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (including following large cities: Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas, Nashville, New Orleans, Philadelphia (10), Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, Saint Paul, Salt Lake City, San Antonio (2), San Francisco (2))

State supreme court justices

As of July 23, 2023, 31 Penn alumni have served as justices of supreme courts of 11 states and the District of Columbia, and 12 have served as chief justices of a state supreme court, as detailed below:

US federal judges

As of February 2024 there are at least 84 Penn alumni and/or faculty who have been appointed judges in United States federal court system (3 of whom have served on the Supreme Court, at least 23 of whom have served on Courts of Appeals, and at least 50 of whom have served on District Courts)

United States Supreme Court justices

United States courts of appeals judges

At least 23 judges who served in nine different circuit courts of appeal are alumni of Penn.

Other United States court judges (district courts, and other federal courts)

State attorneys general

As of January 2023 there are at least 20 Penn alumni who have been attorneys general in five states and the District of Columbia.

Other state, or local executive or judicial branch officials

Foreign governments

Heads of state and government

Penn alumni have served as heads of state of 11 different countries (in addition to the United States).

Mayors in cities not part of US

Legislators, members of parliaments not part of the United States

Foreign judiciary

Foreign ambassadors

Foreign government finance officials

Other foreign officials

Lawyers, advisors, and civil rights leaders

Journalism

Medicine

As detailed below, Penn Med has 4 alumni and 2 faculty members who were awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Military

Medal of Honor recipients

Air Force

Army

Coast Guard

Marine Corps

Merchant Marine

Navy

Philosophy, theology, and religion

Science and technology

Other

Notorious

Honorary

Fictional alumni

  • Ethan Hunt: Impossible Mission Force field agent and protagonist of the played by Tom Cruise. As revealed in ', Hunt double majored in Electrical Engineering from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and in International Relations from the College of Arts and Sciences at Penn.
  • Chuck McGill: attorney in Better Call Saul (who led Penn's debate team to national championship three years running and won the Larkin Prize) played by Michael McKean

Nobel laureates

Physics

  • George E. Smith: 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit—the CCD sensor"
  • Raymond Davis: 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics for "pioneering contributions to astrophysics, in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinos"
  • John Robert Schrieffer: 1972 Nobel Prize in Physics (first Penn faculty member to win) for the "theory of superconductivity, usually called the BCS-theory"
  • Robert Hofstadter: 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his pioneering studies of electron scattering in atomic nuclei and for his thereby achieved discoveries concerning the structure of the nucleons"

Chemistry

  • Ei-ichi Negishi: 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (earned Ph.D. at Penn School of Arts and Sciences due to having won a Fulbright Scholarship awarded in 1963) for "palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis"
  • Irwin Rose: 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation"
  • Alan MacDiarmid: 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the discovery and development of conductive polymers"
  • Hideki Shirakawa: 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the discovery and development of conductive polymers"
  • Alan J. Heeger: 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the discovery and development of conductive polymers"
  • Ahmed H. Zewail: 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his studies of the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy"
  • Christian B. Anfinsen: 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his work on ribonuclease, especially concerning the connection between the amino acid sequence and the biologically active conformation"
  • Vincent du Vigneaud: 1955 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his work on biochemically important sulphur compounds, especially for the first synthesis of a polypeptide hormone"

Medicine

  • Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman: 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19"
  • Gregg Semenza: 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability"
  • Harald zur Hausen: 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discovery of human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer"
  • Stanley B. Prusiner: 1997 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discovery of Prions: a new biological principle of infection"
  • Michael S. Brown: 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery "concerning the regulation of cholesterol metabolism"
  • Baruch Samuel Blumberg: 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning new mechanisms for the origin and dissemination of infectious diseases"
  • Gerald Edelman: 1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery "concerning the chemical structure of antibodies"
  • Haldan Keffer Hartline: 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery "concerning the primary physiological and chemical visual processes in the eye"
  • Ragnar Granit: 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for describing the different types of light-sensitive cells in the eye and how light interacts with them"
  • Richard Kuhn: 1938 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his work on carotenoids and vitamins"
  • Otto Fritz Meyerhof: 1922 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discovery of the fixed relationship between the consumption of oxygen and the metabolism of lactic acid in the muscle"

Economics

  • Claudia Goldin: 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics "for having advanced our understanding of women's labor market outcomes”
  • Robert Shiller: 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics "for their empirical analysis of asset prices"
  • Thomas J. Sargent: 2011 Nobel Prize in Economics "for their empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy"
  • Oliver E. Williamson: 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics "for his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm"
  • Edmund S. Phelps: 2006 Nobel Prize in Economics "for his analysis of intertemporal tradeoffs in macroeconomic policy"
  • Edward C. Prescott: 2004 Nobel Prize in Economics "for his part in contributing to dynamic macroeconomics: the time consistency of economic policy and the driving forces behind business cycles"
  • Lawrence Robert Klein: 1980 Nobel Prize in Economics "for the creation of economic models and their application to the analysis of economic fluctuations and economic policies"
  • Simon Smith Kuznets: 1971 Nobel Prize in Economics "for his empirically founded interpretation of economic growth which has led to new and deepened insight into the economic and social structure and process of development"

See also

References

Bibliography