List of St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) people

The following is a list of notable individuals associated with St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland and/or Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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.

Faculty

• Douglas Allanbrook, tutor, musician and composer ^[1]
• Wye Jamison Allanbrook, tutor, musicologist
• Eva Brann, tutor, dean; 2005 recipient of the National Humanities Medal ^[2]
• James M. Cain, novelist; professor of journalism 1923–24 ^{[3] [4]}
• Elliott Carter, composer; tutor, 1939–1941
• William Hersey Hopkins academic, first president of Goucher College, former acting president of St. John's College ^[5]
• Leon Kass, tutor at the college (1972–76); chair of the President's Council on Bioethics (2002–06)
• Jacob Klein, tutor, dean; author of Greek Mathematical Thought and the Origin of Algebra and Commentary on Plato's Meno; leading 20th-century Platonist
• Sara Larkin, artist; creator of Spacescapes
• Thomas Parran, sixth surgeon general of USA
• Leo Strauss (1899–1973), political philosopher; lectured at St. John's and was the Scott Buchanan Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the Annapolis campus
• Victor Zuckerkandl, tutor, music theorist

Students and Alumni

This includes graduates of both the Undergraduate and Graduate programs.

Academics

• Rogers Albritton, philosopher; served as the chairman of both Harvard and UCLA's philosophy departments
• Amber E. Boydstun, political scientist and data scientist ^[6]
• Joseph J. Himmel, Jesuit missionary and president of Georgetown University ^[7]
• Thomas J.J. Altizer, theologian, author of The Gospel of Christian Atheism
• John Bremer, educator, philosopher, author; after graduating from Oxford University, he came to St. John's College in 1951 on a Fulbright Fellowship
• Graham Harman, philosopher ^[8]
• Mark D. Jordan, alumnus; Andrew Mellon Professor, Harvard Divinity School; scholar of gender studies, sexual ethics, and theology
• Wilfred M. McClay, intellectual historian
• Ange Mlinko, poet and critic. Guggenheim Fellow 2014–15, Poetry Editor of the Nation, associate professor at the University of Florida ^[9]
• Tom G. Palmer, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute
• Ben Sasse, president, University of Florida
• Pamela Sklar (1959–2017), psychiatrist and neuroscientist
• O. Carter Snead, legal scholar and bioethicist
• Louis Leo Snyder (1907–1993), German scholar and historian

Writers, critics, and journalists

• Michael Anton, writer; former Deputy Assistant to the President for Strategic Communications.
• Ken Baumann, writer, publisher, and former actor
• Seth Cropsey, Director of the Center for American Seapower at the Hudson Institute; regular contributor to the National Review
• Robert A. George, journalist and news columnist
• Danny Hakim, investigative journalist at The New York Times
• William Kowalski, author, Eddie's Bastard, Somewhere South of Here, The Adventures of Flash Jackson, The Good Neighbor
• Andrew Krivak, author, National Book Award nominee for The Sojourn
• Kenneth Kronberg, printing company owner, former LaRouche movement member ^[10]
• Tony Lagouranis, activist and author of Fear Up Harsh: An Army Interrogator's Dark Journey through Iraq
• Lydia Polgreen, Editor-in-Chief for The Huffington Post , ^[11] 2006 winner of the George Polk Award ^[12]
• James Portnow writer, game designer, co-founder of the Extra Credits YouTube channel. ^[13]
• Salvatore Scibona, alumnus and author, 2008 National Book Award finalist for his first novel The End; his fiction has appeared in many literary journals; named one of "20 under 40" notable authors by The New Yorker in 2010 and published an essay about his experience at the college in the June 13, 2011 issue ^[14]
• Lisa Simeone, National Public Radio host ^[15]
• Charles Van Doren, garnered notoriety for his involvement in the rigged game show Twenty-One ^[16]
• Cecelia Watson, alumna and author of Semicolon: The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood Mark
• Jennifer Wright, alumnus and author ^[17]
• John C. Wright, alumnus and author ^[18]

Military personnel

• Lewis J. Fields (1909–1988), United States Marine Corps Lieutenant general ^[19]
• William H. Harrison (1896–1955), brigadier general in the Marine Corps during World War II
• Erik S. Kristensen (1972–2005), U.S. Navy Seal, attended Graduate Institute in Annapolis, killed in action in Afghanistan
• James B. Lockwood (1852–1884), American army officer and arctic explorer. ^[20]
• Robert Houston Noble, U.S. Army brigadier general, honorary Master of Arts, 1894 ^[21]
• Reginald H. Ridgely Jr. (1902–1979), U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general, POW during World War II

Politicians

• Michael Anton, essayist, speechwriter and former private-equity executive who was previously a senior national security official
• Joshua J. Cohen, Mayor of Annapolis, Maryland
• Clement Dorsey, Congressman for Maryland's 1st congressional district, 1825–31 ^[22]
• Alexander Contee Hanson, Congressman for Maryland's 3rd District, 1813–1816 ^[23]
• Emerson Harrington, Governor of Maryland
• J. T. C. Hopkins (1843–1922), Maryland state delegate ^[24]
• Reverdy Johnson, statesman and Jurist, defense attorney of Sandford in the Dred Scott Case ^{[25] [20]}
• Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš, Prime Minister of Latvia, 2019-2023 ^[26]
• John Leeds Kerr, U.S. Representative, Maryland's 7th District ^[27]
• Francis Scott Key, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia; lyricist of the United States national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner” ^{[28] [20]}
• Daniel Martin, Governor of Maryland, 1829–1830, 1831
• Keith Neville, 18th Governor of Nebraska, 1917–1919 ^[29]
• Thomas Parran Jr., sixth Surgeon General of the United States
• William Pinkney (1764–1822), 7th Attorney General of the United States
• Frederick Stone, U.S. Representative from Maryland's 5th congressional district (1867–71), defense counsel for Samuel Mudd
• Lucy Tamlyn, U.S. Ambassador to Benin
• Francis Thomas, Governor of Maryland, 1842–44; member of House of Representatives, 1861–69 ^[30]
• Tobias Watkins (1780-1855), 4th Auditor of the United States Treasury, writer, editor, and physician ^[31]
• Osborne I. Yellott (1871–1922), state delegate and lawyer ^[32]

Filmmakers and musicians

• Betsy Arakawa, classical pianist ^[33]
• Dimitri Devyatkin, Emmy-nominated video artist and filmmaker
• Ahmet Ertegün, founded Atlantic Records in 1947 ^[34]
• Jac Holzman, founded Elektra Records in 1950 while a student at St. John's ^[35]
• Eilen Jewell, blues and Americana singer/songwriter with five albums (as of 2011)
• Jonathan D. Krane, film producer, Look Who's Talking , Face/Off
• Jeremy Leven, author, screenwriter and director whose works include Don Juan DeMarco
• Lhasa de Sela, singer-songwriter ^[36]
• Glenn Yarbrough, original lead tenor of The Limeliters ^[37]
• Lee David Zlotoff, creator of MacGyver ; ^[38] director of The Spitfire Grill (1996), which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival

Businesspeople

• James H. Frame, computer programming pioneer at IBM, and former vice president of software at ITT; founded James Frame Enterprises (JFE), a software development consulting company
• Eugene V. Thaw, American art dealer and collector ^[39]
• Warren Winiarski, founder of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
• John Seward Johnson III, co-founder of Buzzfeed, founded Eyebeam, philanthropist, filmmaker (Without a Trace, Ratchet) and entrepreneur

Chefs

• Daniel Rose (chef) Chef with restaurants in Paris (Spring, La Bourse et la Vie) and New York City (Le Coucou) ^[40]
• Miyoko Schinner, American chef, cookbook author, animal sanctuary founder and owner of cheese brand Miyoko's Creamery

Scientists

• Cynthia Keppel, physicist
• Aron Wall 2019 Breakthrough New Horizons in Physics Prize for fundamental insights about quantum information, quantum field theory and gravity. ^[41]

Board Members

• Austin Ligon, co-founder/CEO (retired), CarMax, Inc.
• James T. Woodward, banker and owner of a major Thoroughbred horse dynasty and member of St. John's board of visitors, recipient of the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1909; ^{[42] [43]} namesake of Woodward Hall ^[43]

References

1. "Local Singers Elect Mrs. Beall". The Capital (Annapolis, Maryland). October 11, 1954.
2. Harty, Rosemary (November 15, 2005). "Bush Awards National Humanities Medal to St. John's College Tutor". CollegeNews.org. Archived from the original on November 24, 2005. Retrieved December 8, 2006.
3. "Notable Names Database" . Retrieved October 30, 2011.
4. Leonard, John (October 29, 1977). "James M. Cain, 85, the Author of 'Postman Always Rings Twice'". The New York Times.
5. "St. John's College Presidents". The Capital (Annapolis, Maryland). May 19, 1949.
6. Boydstun, Amber Ellen (2022). "Boydstun CV" (PDF). University of California, Davis. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
7. Woodstock College (February 1, 1925). "Obituary: Father Joseph J. Himmel". Woodstock Letters. 54 (1): 89. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018– via Jesuit Online Library.
8. "Graham Harman - SCI-Arc". www.sciarc.edu. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
9. "Ange Mlinko | Poetry Foundation". February 20, 2022.
10. "Kenneth L. Kronberg Sterling Businessman", The Washington Post, May 1, 2007.
11. "Lydia Polgreen Named Editor-In-Chief Of The Huffington Post". The Huffington Post. December 6, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
12. "St. John's College: Driving positive graduate outcomes". Study International. January 22, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
13. "The Many Roles of James Portnow". DigiPen. June 26, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
14. Profile of Scibona in The New Yorker, June 13, 2011
15. "Lisa Simeone, NPR Biography". National Public Radio. January 9, 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
16. "College Spawns College". Time Magazine. December 26, 1960.
17. "Jennifer Wright". Harpers Bazaar. April 18, 2024.
18. of science fiction and fantasy novels; a Nebula Award finalist for his fantasy novel, Orphans of Chaos. SF Site "An Interview with John C. Wright"; accessed November 3, 2007
19. "GEN. Lewis J. Fields DIES". washingtonpost.com. The Washington Posts Websites. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
20. "Francis Scott Key's Alma Mater" (PDF). The New York Times. June 21, 1866. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
21. Downs, Winfield Scott, ed. (1941). Encyclopedia of American Biography. Vol. 12. New York, NY: American Historical Company. p. 372 – via HathiTrust.
22. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on October 27, 2007.
23. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on October 27, 2007
24. "J. T. C. Hopkins". The Midland Journal . September 22, 1922. p. 1. Retrieved March 12, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
25. Holt, Michael. "Reverdy Johnson (1849–1850): Attorney General". American President: An Online Reference Resource. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
26. "Award of Merit Recipients—Alumni Association". St. John's College. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
27. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on October 28, 2007.
28. "Maryland Historical Society Library". Archived from the original on April 13, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
29. "Nebraska Governor Keith M. Neville". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
30. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress; retrieved on October 27, 2007.
31. Sheads, Nancy (June 2, 2018). "Tobias Watkins". Medicine in Maryland, 1752-1920. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
32. "Osborne I. Yellott Killed in Auto Crash". The Baltimore Sun . March 19, 1922. p. 1. Retrieved March 27, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
33. Wolfe, Jonathan (February 27, 2025). "Betsy Arakawa, a Classical Musician and the Wife of Gene Hackman, Dies at 65". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
34. Weiner, Tim (December 15, 2006). "Ahmet Ertegun, Music Executive, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
35. Holzman, Jac (2000). Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records in the Great Years of American Pop Culture. Jawbone Press. ISBN   0-9661221-0-0.
36. Profile of de Sela in Billboard, April 12, 1997
37. "Glenn Yarbrough biography". Folk Era Records. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
38. "MacGyver Meets the Johnnies". "The College", St. John's College. Winter 2005. Archived from the original on September 12, 2006. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
39. Cotter, Holland (January 5, 2018). "Eugene V. Thaw, Influential Art Collector and Dealer, Is Dead at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
40. "Daniel Rose, An American in Paris, Comes Home to Cook". The New York Times. April 20, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
41. "Breakthrough Prize – Fundamental Physics Breakthrough Prize Laureates – Aron Wall". Fundamental Physics Breakthrough Prize. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
42. "James T. Woodward, The Banker, Is Dead" (PDF). The New York Times . April 11, 1910. p. 1.
43. Baltz, Shirley Vlasak (2005). Belair From the Beginning. Bowie, Maryland: City of Bowie Museums. pp. 70–74.