From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The people listed alphabetically below studied at Oberlin College. Most are listed with a year of graduation. Those without years studied but did not graduate.
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- Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.
- Benjamin Bagby (1974), vocalist, harpist, scholar, and founder of early music ensemble Sequentia
- Peter Baker (1988), Washington Post journalist and author
- Ishmael Beah (2004), author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.
- Alison Bechdel (1981), cartoonist (Dykes To Watch Out For) and graphic novelist (Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic).
- Robin Behn (1979), poet (Horizon Note).
- Suzette Marie Bishop (1984), author (She Took off Her Wings and Shoes).
- Richard Blanchard (1943), English teacher in New Hampshire
- Joani Blank (1959), founder of Good Vibrations.
- Richard Bliwas (1981), pianist and singer/songwriter.
- Geoffrey Blodgett (1953), historian and author of Cass Gilbert: The Early Years.
- Alex Blumberg (1989) producer, "This American Life."
- Eric Bogosian (1976), novelist, playwright (Talk Radio, SubUrbia) and actor (Law and Order: Criminal Intent).
- Wendy Brenner (1987), author of Phone Calls From the Dead.
- Chris Brokaw (1986), rock drummer for Codeine, Come, Consonant.
- Avery Brooks (1970 and an additional honorary degree in 1996), actor in Uncle Tom's Cabin, American History X, Spenser: For Hire, best known for "Benjamin Sisko" in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
- Antoinette Brown (1847), the first ordained female minister in the U.S.
- Gabriel Brownstein (1988), novelist and author of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Apt. 3W and The Man from Beyond.
- Blanche K Bruce, second African-American Senator from Mississippi serving 1874-1881.
- Peter Buchman (1989), screenwriter for Jurassic Park III.
- Alice Rowe Burks (1942), author of Who Invented the Computer?: The Legal Battle that Changed Computing History.
- James Burrows (1962), producer and creator of Cheers and director of Will & Grace, Wings, News Radio, among other series.
- Michael Byers (1991), novelist and author of The Coast of Good Intentions and Long for This World.
- Marc Canter (1980), co-founder of MacroMind (later Macromedia).
- John Cazale (1954), actor in The Godfather and The Deer Hunter.
- Brian Chase (2000), drummer for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
- Tracy Chevalier (1984), novelist and author of Girl with a Pearl Earring , Falling Angels, and The Lady and the Unicorn.
- Kevin Clarke (1991), renowned political methodologist, and currently Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Rochester.
- Yvette Clarke (transferred to Medgar Evers College, did not earn degree), Democratic representative for the 11th U.S. Congressional District in New York, 2007-present.
- Rachel Cline (1979), author of What to Keep.
- Henry Roe Cloud, Native American political leader.
- Stanley Cohen (1945), Nobel Physiology and Medicine laureate in 1986.
- Marc Cohn (1981), Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter.
- Johnnetta B. Cole (1957), first female African-American president of Spelman College, president of Bennett College 2002-07.
- Fanny Jackson Coppin (1865), influential African-American educator and missionary.
- Richard Cowan, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II.
- Jacob Dolson Cox, politician and author.
- Charles D'Ambrosio (1982), essayist, short story writer
- Stephen Davenport (1953), author of Saving Miss Oliver's
- Carl Dennis, Pulitzer prize-winning poet of Practical Gods.
- Robert Devereaux (1969), novelist and author of Santa Steps Out: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups.
- Michael Dirda (1970), Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reviewer, author
- John Langalibalele Dube, first President of the African National Congress
- Kelly Dwyer (1986), novelist, author of Self-Portrait with Ghosts.
- Michael Duffy (1980), Assistant Managing Editor of Time.
- David Kellogg Lewis well known philosopher arguing for Possible Worlds
- George Fairchild (1862), third President of Kansas State University.
- Adrian Fenty (1992), Mayor of Washington, D.C..
- Lee Fisher (1973), Lieutenant Governor and former Attorney General of Ohio.
- Jim Fixx (1957), author of The Complete Book of Running.
- Peter Tyrrell Flawn (1947), geologist and former President of the University of Texas at Austin.
- Kate Fodor (1993), playwright (Hannah and Martin).
- Kim France (1987), editor of Lucky magazine.
- Darcy Frey (1983), non-fiction writer.
- Su Friedrich (1975), experimental filmmaker.
- Sara Hoskinson Frommer (1958), novelist and author of Witness in Bishop Hill: A Joan Spencer Mystery.
- Alan Furst (1962), novelist, author of Blood of Victory.
- John Gofman (1939), a scientist involved in the Manhattan Project and an activist concerning issues with nuclear power and radiation danger.
- Myla Goldberg (1993), novelist (Bee Season, Wickett's Remedy).
- William Goldman (1952), novelist (The Princess Bride) and Academy Award-winning screenwriter (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men).
- Jason Myles Goss (2003), singer-songwriter.
- Elisha Gray, an inventor of the telephone.
- Denyce Graves, an accomplished American opera singer, sang the American Anthem during the 55th Presidential Inauguration for President George W. Bush.
- Melissa Fay Greene (1975), author (Last Man Out: The Story of the Springhill Mine Disaster).
- Jerry Greenfield (1973), co-creator of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
- Linda Gregerson (1971), award-winning poet (Waterborne, Magnetic North).
- Dr. Jamie Grifo (1978), director of New York University Medical Center's division of reproductive endocrinology.
- Erwin Griswold (1925), lawyer, late Solicitor General of the United States and dean of Harvard Law School.
- Gary Grubb (1975), co-creator of Norplant.
- Richard N. Haass (1973), president of the Council on Foreign Relations and former Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. Department of State.
- Al Haig, jazz pianist.
- Charles Martin Hall (1885), co-discoverer of the electrolytic process of producing aluminium (and contributor to the American spelling of "aluminum").
- David Halperin (1973), author (One Hundred Years of Homosexuality).
- Jon Hamilton (1983), NPR science correspondent.
- Philip Hanawalt (1954), scientist, co-discoverer of DNA excision repair.
- Philip C. Hayes (1860), American Civil War general.
- Edward Haskell (1929), scientist and educator who dedicated his life to the unification of human knowledge into a single discipline.
- Janet Ruth Heller (1971), author (How the Moon Regained Her Shape)
- Ed Helms (1996), actor (The Office (US TV series)), comedian, correspondent on The Daily Show.
- Joe Hickerson (1957), American folklorist.
- Jonathan Holden (1963), poet (Knowing: New and Selected Poems).
- Michael Hollinger (1984), playwright (Red Herring)
- Keith Holzman (1957), author (The Complete Guide to Starting a Record Company).
- Cathy Park Hong (1998), poet (Translating Mo'um).
- David Hoose (1969), Music Director of the Cantata Singers & Ensemble in Boston since 1982.
- Paul Horn (1952), jazz flutist.
- Teresa Heinz Housel (1994), communication professor, cultural critic, and journalist.
- Edward Everett Horton, actor (The Front Page, Top Hat, Holiday), voice actor (Rocky & Bullwinkle). {Left his junior year}
- Ralf Hotchkiss (1969), co-founder and current (2006) Whirlwind Chief Engineer of Whirlwind Wheelchair International, 1989 MacArthur Foundation Fellow.
- Noelle Howey (1994), author (Dress Codes: Of Three Girlhoods––My Mother's, My Father's, and Mine).
- Tim Hurson (1967), speaker, writer, creativity theorist, author of Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking
- Robert Hutchins, educational philosopher, president (1929-1945) and chancellor (1945-1951) of the University of Chicago
- Charlene Drew Jarvis (1962), president of Southeastern University.
- Lisa Jervis (1993), creator and editor of Bitch magazine.
- Robert Jervis (1962), International Relations scholar and Columbia University professor.
- Barbara Johnson (1969), literary critic, professor at Harvard University.
- Chris Johnson (1990), filmmaker, photographer, PBS - "Voyage of the Odyssey" / earthOCEAN.tv
- Vernon Johns (1919), African-American preacher, PhD University of Chicago, predecessor of Martin Luther King Jr. at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, widely hailed as the father of the civil rights movement.
- Fred Kaplan (1976), journalist and Slate columnist.
- John Kander (1951), of the musical theater team Kander and Ebb (Cabaret and Chicago, among others).
- Daniel Kinsey (1935), Olympic champion (110 m hurdles).
- Alex Klein (1987), Grammy-winning oboist.
- Robert Knopf (1983), author of "The Theater and Cinema of Buster Keaton", and theater director.
- Jennifer Koh (1997), violinist (1994 International Tchaikovsky Competition winner).
- Anne O. Krueger (1953), award-winning economist, Deputy Director of the International Monetary Fund, and Oberlin trustee (1987-95).
- Robert Krulwich (1969), television and radio journalist.
- H. H. Kung (1906), Chinese banker and Premier of the Republic of China (1938-39).
- Robert Kuttner (1965), co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect, and one of five co-founders of the Economic Policy Institute.
- John Mercer Langston (1849), early civil rights activist.
- Rex Lee (1990), actor, best known for his role on Entourage.
- Richard Lenski (1977), biologist and 1996 MacArthur Fellow.
- Edmonia Lewis, sculptor.
- Romulus Linney (1953, honorary degree 1994), playwright.
- Dan London (1995), actor, Minority Report, Old Joy, Patch Adams].
- Tom Lopez (1989), computer/new media composer.
- John Edward Mack (1951), psychologist, author (A Prince of Our Disorder).
- David Maine (1985), novelist (The Preservationist).
- Michelle Malkin (1992), columnist (Los Angeles Daily News, The Seattle Times), author (In Defense of Internment), political commentator.
- Rollo May (1930), psychologist, author.
- James McBride (1979), journalist (Boston Globe, The Washington Post), author (The Color of Water), musician.
- John McEntire (1991), drummer (Tortoise).
- Josh MacPhee (1996), political artist.
- George Herbert Mead (1883), philosopher, leading figure of American Pragmatism; his theories became the foundation of the symbolic interactionist school of sociology and social psychology.
- J. Hillis Miller (1948), literary critic (The Ethics of Reading, On Literature).
- Robert Millikan (1891), Nobel laureate (Physics, 1923) for measuring the charge of the electron.
- Jason Molina (1996), singer/songwriter with Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co.
- Eduardo Mondlane (1953), Mozambican political leader.
- Roger Montgomery (1949), Dean of Architecture, City Planning, and Landscape Architecture, University of California, Berkeley.
- Donn F. Morgan (1965), author (The Making of Sages: Biblical Wisdom and Contemporary Culture).
- Gregory Mosher (1971), Tony Award-winning director.
- Adam Moss (1979), editor of New York magazine.
- Thylias Moss (1981), poet, playwright, and 1996 MacArthur Fellow.
- Karen O singer, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
- Peggy Orenstein (1983), author (Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Kids, Love, and Life in a Half-Changed World).
- Rich Orloff (1973), playwright (Big Boys).
- Dzvinia Orlowsky (1975), poet (Except for One Obscene Brush Stroke).
- Jena Osman (1985), poet (The Character).
- Marni Raab (1996), singer/actress (Most notably Christine in the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and the National Tour)
- Daniel Radosh (1991), journalist and blogger.
- David Rees (1994), cartoonist (My New Fighting Technique is Unstoppable, Get Your War On).
- Tim Riley (1983), author (Tell Me Why: The Beatles: Album by Album, Song by Song, the Sixties and After), NPR critic.
- Josh Ritter (1999), singer/songwriter.
- Anita Roberts (1964), molecular biologist (made pioneering observations of TGF beta).
- Elisabeth Robinson (1983), novelist (The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters).
- Dick Rodstein (1971), award-winning narrator and voice actor.
- Martha Root (1890s), Hand of the Cause in the Bahá'í Faith.
- Carl T. Rowan (1947), journalist.
- S. J. Rozan (1972), novelist (Reflecting the Sky).
- John C. Russell (1985), playwright (Stupid Kids).
- Paul Russell (1978), novelist (The Coming Storm).
- Oren Rudavsky (1979), filmmaker (Hiding and Seeking, And Baby Makes Two, The Treatment).
- Seth Rudetsky (1988), Broadway actor, pianist, writer, radio host
- Greg Saunier, drummer of San Francisco-based band, Deerhoof.
- Alex Scally (2004), guitarist in Beach House.
- William Sanders Scarborough (1875), classical scholar.
- Kathy Lou Schultz (1990), poet (Some Vague Wife).
- William F. Schultz (1971), former Executive Director of Amnesty International USA.
- Julie Schumacher (1981), novelist (Grass Angel).
- Elizabeth Searle (1983), novelist (Celebrities in Disguise).
- Stephen W. Sears (1954), author (Gettysburg).
- Vijay Seshadri (1974), poet (The Long Meadow).
- Tanya Shaffer (1988), author (Somebody's Heart is Burning: A Woman Wanderer in Africa).
- Sonia Shah (1993), investigative journalist.
- Matthew Sharpe (1984), novelist (Nothing is Terrible, The Sleeping Father, Jamestown).
- Gary Shteyngart (1995), novelist (The Russian Debutante's Handbook, Absurdistan : A Novel).
- Lorenzo Snow, Mormon prophet, fifth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Donald J. Sobol (1948), author of Encyclopedia Brown series.
- Robert Spano (1983), music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
- Roger Wolcott Sperry (1935 and 1937), neurobiologist and Nobel laureate (Medicine, 1981).
- Larry R. Squire (1963), Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at University of California, San Diego, a world expert in the field of memory, Past President of the Society for Neuroscience.
- Matthew Stadler (1981), novelist (Allan Stein).
- Sue Standing (1974), poet (False Horizon).
- Durham Stevens (1871), assassinated diplomat to Japan.
- Brooke Stevens (1980), author (Tattoo Girl).
- Anthony Stevenson (1988), mortician.
- William Grant Still, composer.
- Lucy Stone (1847), feminist and abolitionist.
- Anna Louise Strong (1905), activist and author.
- Larry Sweeney (2003), professional wrestler.
- Peter Ullian (1988), playwright (The Flight of the Lawnchair Man).
- George Walker (1941, honorary degree 1983), composer, Pulitzer Prize for Music 1996.
- Moses Fleetwood Walker (1881), first African-American player in baseball's major leagues.
- Geoffrey Ward (1962), author (The West: An Illustrated History and The War: An Intimate History, 1941-1945).
- Bruce Weigl (1973), poet (Archeology of the Circle: New and Selected Poems).
- Paul Wennberg (1985), chemist and 2002 MacArthur Fellow.
- William Drake Westervelt (1871 and 1874; honorary degree 1926), Hawaiian historical writer.
- C. Martin Wilbur (1931), historian, Sinologist.
- Thornton Wilder, novelist (The Bridge of San Luis Rey), playwright (Our Town).
- Harrison A. Williams (1941), U.S. senator and congressman from New Jersey.
- Warren Wilson, namesake of Warren Wilson College in North Carolina.
- Jonah Winter (1984), poet (Amnesia).
- Christopher Robin "Kit" Woolsey (1964), bridge internationalist and writer (Matchpoints) and backgammon expert.
- John Wray (1993), novelist (The Right Hand of Sleep).
- Franz Wright (1977), Pulitzer prize winning poet (Ill Lit: Selected & New Poems, Walking to Martha's Vineyard).
- Katharine Wright, sister of Orville and Wilbur Wright.
- Michelle Wright (1990), author (Becoming Black: Creating Identity in the African Diaspora).
- Willard Warch (1931), Oberlin professor of music and theory.
