Notable Alumni
Early alumni of Exeter include US Senator Daniel Webster (1796); US President Franklin Pierce (1820); Abraham Lincoln's son and 35th Secretary of War Robert Lincoln (1860); Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. (1870), Richard and Francis Cleveland; "grandfather of football" Amos Alonzo Stagg (1880); and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Booth Tarkington (1889). John Knowles, author of A Separate Peace and Peace Breaks Out, was a 1945 graduate; both novels are set at the fictional Devon School, which serves as an analog for his alma mater.
Exeter alumni pursue careers in various fields. Alumni noted for their work in government include Daniel Webster, Franklin Pierce, Gifford Pinchot, Lewis Cass, Judd Gregg, Jay Rockefeller, Kent Conrad, John Negroponte, Bobby Shriver, Robert Bauer and Peter Orszag. Those choosing military careers include historian George Bancroft and Charles C. Krulak. Authors George Plimpton, John Knowles, Gore Vidal, John Irving (whose stepfather taught at Exeter), Robert Anderson, Dan Brown (whose father taught at Exeter), Peter Benchley, James Agee, Chang-Rae Lee, Debby Herbenick, Stewart Brand, Norb Vonnegut and Roland Merullo attended the academy.
Other notable alumni include businessmen Joseph Coors, David Rockefeller, Jr., Pierre S. du Pont and Mark Zuckerberg; journalists Drew Pearson, Dwight Macdonald, James F. Hoge, Jr., Paul Klebnikov, Trish Regan, Suzy Welch and Sarah Lyall; actors Michael Cerveris, Jack Gilpin, and Alessandro Nivola; film director Howard Hawks; musicians Bill Keith, Benmont Tench, China Forbes, Ketch Secor, Win Butler and William Butler; historians Robert Cowley and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.; baseball player Sam Fuld; educators Jared Sparks and Benno C. Schmidt, Jr.; composer Adam Guettel; and humorist Greg Daniels.
Read more about this topic: Abbot Hall (Phillips Exeter Academy)
Famous quotes containing the word notable:
“Every notable advance in technique or organization has to be paid for, and in most cases the debit is more or less equivalent to the credit. Except of course when it’s more than equivalent, as it has been with universal education, for example, or wireless, or these damned aeroplanes. In which case, of course, your progress is a step backwards and downwards.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)