List of Harvard University non-graduate alumni

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This is a list of some notable people who attended Harvard University, but did not graduate or have yet to graduate. See List of Harvard University people for a more comprehensive list of people affiliated with Harvard.

NameLifeKnown forRelationship to Harvard
Bülent Ecevit 1925–2006Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist, who served as the Prime Minister of Turkey Attended Harvard University with a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship Scholarship in 1957, studying social psychology and Middle East history for eight months. He attended lectures on anti-communism with Olof Palme and Bertrand Russell and attended Henry Kissinger's Harvard International Seminar. [1]
John Adams II 1803–1834aide to his father President John Quincy Adams Attended College; expelled prior to 1823 graduation; later among those designated as "Bachelor of Arts as of 1823" and admitted to Roll of Graduates
Vincent Astor 1891–1959businessman and philanthropistAttended College
F. Lee Bailey 1933–2021lawyerAttended College
William J. A. Bailey 18841949 Radithor scandalAttended College
Andrew Beyer born 1943horse racing expertAttended College
James Blake born 1979tennis playerAttended College in 1997–1999
Rick Brewer born 1956president of Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana; former administrator at Charleston Southern University in North Charleston, South CarolinaPost-graduate study at Harvard
William Starling Burgess 1878–1947aviator, yacht designer, automotive innovator, poetAttended Harvard College 1897–1900
Frederik X of Denmark born 1968King of Denmark since 2024Spent the 1992–1993 academic year at Harvard, studied political science under the name Frederik Henriksen
Frank Carlucci 1930–2018 United States Secretary of Defense Attended Business School
Alistair Cooke 1908–2004journalist, broadcasterVisiting graduate student
Hamilton Coolidge 1895–1918soldierAttended College 1916 but dropped out to fight in World War I (killed in action); posthumously awarded an A.B. (War Degree), Harvard Class of 1919
Broderick Crawford 1911–1986actorAttended college after high school graduation but dropped out after three weeks
Vincent Cronin 1924–2011historian, writerAttended College
Matt Damon born 1970actorAttended College
Eli Dershwitz born 19952023 World Saber Champion, 2015 Under-20 World Saber Champion, and US Olympic saber fencerAttending College
Paul Douglas 1892–1976 United States Senator Attended Graduate School
Edmund Fanning 1739–1818British Colonial Officer and GovernorGiven A.M. Degree in 1764
John F. Fitzgerald 1863–1950mayor of Boston, MassachusettsAttended Harvard Medical School but dropped out in 1885 after father died
John Gould Fletcher 1886–1950poet and philosopherCollege (attended 1903–1907, but did not finish)
Benjamin Franklin 1706–1790scientistNever attended College; awarded an honorary degree in 1753 as Class of 1724
Robert Frost 1874–1963poetAttended College (1897–1899); awarded an honorary degree in 1937
Buckminster Fuller 1895–1983designer, architectAttended College
William Gaddis 1922–1998novelistAttended College
Bill Gates born 1955co-founder and chairman of Microsoft, entrepreneur, and philanthropistAttended College (1973–1975); awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws in 2007
Frank Gehry born 1929architectAttended Design School
Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1933–2020Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Attended Law School, later transferred to Columbia
James Halperin born 1952co-founder and chairman of Heritage Auctions, entrepreneur, and authorAttended College (1970–1972)
S. Herbert Hare 1888-1960 landscape architect, co-founder of Hare & Hare Attended Design School
William Randolph Hearst 1863–1951newspaper magnateAttended College
Bruce Henderson 1915–1992founder of the Boston Consulting Group Attended the Business School
Joel Iacoomes 1644–1665Native American student (Wampanoag)Attended Harvard's Indian College; died in shipwreck at Nantucket before receiving his degree as Class of 1665; awarded a posthumous degree A.B. in 2011 [2] [3]
Henry James 1843–1916novelistAttended Law School
Philip Kaufman born 1936film director, screenwriterAttended Law School
John Key born 1961Prime Minister of New ZealandAttended professional courses at the Business School
Dan Kiley 1912–2004 landscape architect, architectAttended Design School
Edwin Land 1909–1991inventorAttended College; awarded honorary doctorate in 1957
William Harrington Leahy 1904-1986 rear admiral in the United States Navy, son of fleet admiral William D. Leahy Attended Business School [4]
Fred A. Leuchter born 1943inventor and execution equipment designerAttended for post-graduate studies
Alan Lomax 1915–2002 musicologist Attended College (1932–1933)
John Lomax 1867–1948musicologistVisiting student (1907)
Amory Lovins born 1947environmentalistAttended College (1964–66)
Robert Lowell 1917–1977poetAttended College
James MacArthur 1937–2010actorAttended Harvard; dropped out in second year to become actor
Rosario Marin born 1958 Treasurer of the United States Attended KSG Program for State and Local Government Executives
Tshilidzi Marwala born 1971academic, community leader, and businessmanAttended Harvard Business School
Dustin Moskovitz born 1984co-founder of Facebook, Inc. Attended College
Ogden Nash 1902–1971poetAttended College (1920–21)
Benjamin Netanyahu born 1949Prime Minister of IsraelAttended College; studied political science
Gabe Newell born 1962co-founder of Valve Attended College [5]
Eugene O'Neill 1888–1953playwrightAttended College
James Park born 1976co-founder and CEO of Fitbit Attended College
Gram Parsons 1946–1973father of country rock Attended College
James Peck 1914–1993civil rights and anti-war activistAttended College
Ion Perdicaris 1840–1925businessman and philanthropistAttended College but left in second year
Mary Peters born 1948 United States Secretary of Transportation Attended KSG Program for State and Local Government Executives
Albert Pike 1809–1891Confederate GeneralAttended but then chose not to attend college because of fees
Cole Porter 1891–1964composerAttended Law and Graduate Schools
David Endicott Putnam 1898–1918SoldierAttended College 1917 but dropped out to fight in World War I {killed in action}; posthumously awarded an S.B. {War Degree} Harvard Class of 1920}
Bonnie Raitt born 1949singer, songwriterAttended Radcliffe
Richard Read born 1957two-time Pulitzer Prize winnerNieman fellow (1996–97)
Eden Riegel born 1981actressAttended College (1998–2000)
Laurance Spelman Rockefeller 1910–2004businessman and philanthropistAttended College but dropped out when he decided not to be a lawyer
Quentin Roosevelt 1897–1918soldierAttended College 1916 but dropped out to fight in World War I (killed in action); posthumously awarded an A.B. (War Degree), Harvard Class of 1919
Pete Seeger 1919–2014songwriter, singer, activistAttended College
Birendra Bir Bikram Shah 1945–2001 late King of Nepal Attended for one year (1967–1968)
Robert Gould Shaw 1837–1863 abolitionist, Union Army colonel Attended College (1856–1859); killed in American Civil War
Harry Shearer born 1943actor, writerAttended Graduate School
Wallace Stevens 1879–1955poetSpecial student (1897–1900)
Adlai Stevenson 1900–19651952 and 1956 Democratic U.S. presidential nominee, Governor of Illinois Attended Law School
Jonathan Taylor Thomas born 1981actorAttended College (2001–2002)
Daniel Cosío Villegas 1898–1976economist, historianStudent
David Foster Wallace 1962–2008writerAttended graduate school
David Kenyon Webster 1922–1961soldier, journalist, and author; was profiled in Band of Brothers Attended College one semester; dropped out to fight in WWII
John Wentworth 1815–1888Mayor of ChicagoAttended Law School in 1841
Marjorie Williams 1958–2005writerDropped out after junior year [6]
Charles W. Woodworth 1865–1940 entomologist Studied under Hermann August Hagen 1886 to 1888, 1900–1901
Isoroku Yamamoto 1884–1943 World War II Naval Marshal General, Imperial Japanese Navy Visiting student (1919–1921)
Mark Zuckerberg born 1984founder & CEO of Facebook Left College in his second year

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  5. Murphy Barret, Victoria (December 12, 2005). "It's A Mod, Mod Underworld". Forbes.com.
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