One of, if not the best higher institutions in the world is Harvard university. It cannot be denied that there are so many notable alumni of Harvard university whose greatness has lighted up the society one way or another, following the fact that the school is not doing anywhere near mediocrity when it comes to academic excellence and scholarships.
Notably enough, this greatly popular university is a private Ivy League research higher institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1636 as Harvard College in honor of the name of its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard.
The school is no doubt the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and one of the most prestigious and highly ranked universities in the world. And that is why we are going to discuss its greatness through the many names of its notable alumni.
Notable Alumni of Harvard University
In this list of the notable alumni of Harvard University, we shall be highlighting the doctors, researchers, scientists, the numerous heads of state, Nobel laureates, Fields Medalists, members of Congress, MacArthur Fellows, Rhodes Scholars, Marshall Scholars, and Fulbright Scholars who have, throughout its existence, made the school popular.
Harvard ranks at the top, or near the top, of all universities in the world in its alumni in each of these categories.
Some of its alumni include eight U.S. presidents and 188 living billionaires, the most of any university. Fourteen Turing Award laureates have been Harvard affiliates. Students and alumni have won 10 Academy Awards, 48 Pulitzer Prizes, and 110 Olympic medals (46 gold), and they have founded many notable companies. Below are the notable alumni of Harvard university:
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician and served as the 44th president of the United States of America from 2009-2017. He is the member of the Democratic party, USA and was the first African-American president of the United States of America. He graduated from the Harvard Law School where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman was born in Israel and is an American actress. She has had a long and successful career in movies, starring in both blockbusters and indie films and winning multiple honors, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Golden Globe Awards.
After graduating from high school, the actress enrolled at Harvard University in 1999 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology, which she completed four years later. She received her first Oscar nomination for Close a year after graduating.
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood was born in Canada and is a poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. She is the author of The Handmaid’s Tale, a popular book that has been adapted into a television series. With a Woodrow Wilson grant, she graduated from Harvard University’s Radcliffe College.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English (honors) with majors in philosophy and French in 1961. In 1961, Atwood began graduate studies at Radcliffe College of Harvard University, with a Woodrow Wilson fellowship. She is indeed one of the notable alumni of Harvard university.
John F. Kennedy
JFK, or John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from 1961 until his assassination towards the conclusion of his third year in office. He went to study at Harvard University and he majored in government and international relations.
Matt Damon
Matt Damon is also an notable alumni of Harvard university. He is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is one of the highest-paid actors of all time, with films in which he has starred grossing more than $3.88 billion in North America, making him one of Forbes’ most bankable celebrities.
At age 18, he landed a small part in Mystic Pizza (1988) and also enrolled in Harvard University as an English major.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson is a renowned American astronomer, planetary scientist, author, and science communicator. Among other schools, Tyson attended Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University.
He worked as a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University from 1991 to 1994. Tyson graduated from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1980.
Conan O’Brien
Conan Christopher O’Brien is an American comedian, writer, podcaster, and producer. With a degree in History and Literature from Harvard University, he went on to work on the sets of The Simpsons and host his own American talk show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien. O’Brien earned a bachelor’s degree in American history from Harvard University.
He was twice elected president of The Harvard Lampoon, a venerable parody publication (the only other person to hold that distinction was humorist Robert Benchley in 1912).
Tommy Lee Jones
As a notable alumni of Harvard university, Tommy Lee Jones is a famous American actor and film director. In 1993, he won Best Supporting Actor for his work as US Marshal Samuel Gerard in the thriller The Fugitive, for which he was nominated for four Academy Awards.
Jones earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with honors in 1969, and his final thesis focused on “the mechanics of Catholicism” in Flannery O’Connor’s works. He studied dramatist Robert Chapman at Harvard.
Michael Bloomberg
Michael “Mike” Rubens Bloomberg is an American novelist, politician, and philanthropist. Bloomberg L.P., of which he is the major owner and co-founder, is his company. From 2002 to 2013, he served as the mayor of New York City, and in 2020, he ran for President of the United States as a Democrat.
He earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School in 1966.
W. E. B. Du Bois
Born in the United States, William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a sociologist, socialist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, writer, and editor. Du Bois enrolled as a junior at Harvard College and graduated with his second bachelor’s degree in 1890.
In 1895, he graduated from Harvard University with a Ph.D., making him the first African American to do so.
