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

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

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
• 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.
• Robert Houston Noble, U.S. Army brigadier general, honorary Master of Arts, 1894^[20]
• 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 previously a senior national security official
• Joshua J. Cohen, Mayor of Annapolis, Maryland
• Clement Dorsey, Congressman for Maryland's 1st congressional district, 1825–31^[21]
• Alexander Contee Hanson, Congressman for Maryland's 3rd District, 1813–1816^[22]
• Emerson Harrington, Governor of Maryland
• J. T. C. Hopkins (1843–1922), Maryland state delegate^[23]
• Reverdy Johnson, statesman and Jurist, defense attorney of Sandford in the Dred Scott Case^[24]
• Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš, Prime Minister of Latvia, 2019-2023^[25]
• John Leeds Kerr, U.S. Representative, Maryland's 7th District^[26]
• Francis Scott Key, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia; lyricist of the United States national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”^{[27] [28]}
• 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

• Dimitri Devyatkin, Emmy-nominated video artist and filmmaker
• Ahmet Ertegün, founded Atlantic Records in 1947^[33]
• Jac Holzman, founded Elektra Records in 1950 while a student at St. John's^[34]
• 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^[35]
• Glenn Yarbrough, original lead tenor of The Limeliters^[36]
• Lee David Zlotoff, creator of MacGyver;^[37] 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^[38]
• Warren Winiarski, founder of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

Chefs

• Daniel Rose (chef) Chef with restaurants in Paris (Spring, La Bourse et la Vie) and New York City (Le Coucou)^[39]
• 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.^[40]

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;^{[41] [42]} namesake of Woodward Hall^[42]

Notes and References

1. News: Local Singers Elect Mrs. Beall. 11 October 1954. The Capital (Annapolis, Maryland).
2. News: Harty. Rosemary. Bush Awards National Humanities Medal to St. John's College Tutor. CollegeNews.org. November 15, 2005. 8 December 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20051124092133/http://www.collegenews.org/x5062.xml. 24 November 2005.
3. Web site: Notable Names Database. 30 October 2011.
4. News: James M. Cain, 85, the Author of 'Postman Always Rings Twice'. Leonard. John. October 29, 1977. The New York Times.
5. News: St. John's College Presidents. 19 May 1949. The Capital (Annapolis, Maryland).
6. Web site: Boydstun . Amber Ellen . 2022 . Boydstun CV . 2023-11-18 . University of California, Davis.
7. Woodstock College. Woodstock College. February 1, 1925. Obituary: Father Joseph J. Himmel. live. Woodstock Letters. 54. 1. 89. https://jesuitonlinelibrary.bc.edu/?a=d&d=wlet19250201-01.2.10&dliv=none&st=1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------. December 30, 2018. December 30, 2018. Jesuit Online Library.
8. Web site: Graham Harman - SCI-Arc. 2020-07-14. www.sciarc.edu. en.
9. Web site: Ange Mlinko Poetry Foundation. 20 February 2022.
10. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/30/AR2007043001772_pf.html "Kenneth L. Kronberg Sterling Businessman"
11. Web site: Lydia Polgreen Named Editor-In-Chief Of The Huffington Post. 2016-12-06. The Huffington Post. 2016-12-06.
12. Web site: St. John's College: Driving positive graduate outcomes. 2018-01-22. Study International. en-GB. 2020-04-14.
13. Web site: The Many Roles of James Portnow. 2018-06-26. DigiPen. en. 2020-04-14.
14. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/06/13/110613fa_fact_scibona Profile of Scibona in The New Yorker
15. News: Lisa Simeone, NPR Biography. 2007-01-09. 2007-01-09. National Public Radio.
16. News: December 26, 1960 . College Spawns College . .
17. Web site: April 18, 2024 . Jennifer Wright . Harpers Bazaar.
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. Web site: GEN. Lewis J. Fields DIES. washingtonpost.com. The Washington Posts Websites. 7 November 2017.
20. Book: Downs . Winfield Scott . 1941 . Encyclopedia of American Biography . 12 . New York, NY . American Historical Company . 372 . . .
21. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000437 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
22. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000176 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
23. News: J. T. C. Hopkins . 1922-09-22 . . 1 . . 2023-03-12.
24. Web site: Reverdy Johnson (1849–1850): Attorney General. Holt. Michael. American President: An Online Reference Resource.. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20101217094148/http://millercenter.org/president/taylor/essays/cabinet/244. 17 December 2010. 14 April 2020.
25. Web site: Award of Merit Recipients—Alumni Association . 2023-05-31 . St. John's College . en.
26. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000139 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
27. News: Maryland Historical Society Library. 2007-10-27. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070413195745/http://www.mdhs.org/library/digitalarchives/ssb/ssbaboutssb.shtml. 2007-04-13.
28. News: Francis Scott Key's Alma Mater. 1866-06-21. The New York Times. 2007-10-27.
29. Web site: Nebraska Governor Keith M. Neville. National Governors Association. September 19, 2012.
30. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000166 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
31. Web site: Tobias Watkins . Nancy . Sheads . June 2, 2018 . Medicine in Maryland, 1752-1920 . September 6, 2020.
32. News: Osborne I. Yellott Killed in Auto Crash . 1922-03-19 . . 1 . . 2023-03-27.
33. News: Weiner. Tim. Ahmet Ertegun, Music Executive, Dies at 83. December 15, 2006. The New York Times. 2007-10-27.
34. Book: Holzman, Jac. Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records in the Great Years of American Pop Culture. Jawbone Press. 2000. 0-9661221-0-0.
35. https://books.google.com/books?id=Aw4EAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22lhasa+de+sela%22+st+john%27s+college&pg=PA50 Profile of de Sela in Billboard
36. News: Glenn Yarbrough biography. 2007-10-27. Folk Era Records.
37. News: MacGyver Meets the Johnnies. Winter 2005. 2007-01-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20060912012239/http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/user/MAG_W05_article12.aspx#macgyver. 2006-09-12. "The College", St. John's College.
38. News: Cotter. Holland. Eugene V. Thaw, Influential Art Collector and Dealer, Is Dead at 90. January 5, 2018. The New York Times. October 19, 2018.
39. Web site: Daniel Rose, An American in Paris, Comes Home to Cook. 2016-04-20. The New York Times. 2017-03-28.
40. Web site: Breakthrough Prize – Fundamental Physics Breakthrough Prize Laureates – Aron Wall . Fundamental Physics Breakthrough Prize . 23 April 2022.
41. News: James T. Woodward, The Banker, Is Dead . 1 . April 11, 1910 . The New York Times.
42. Book: Baltz , Shirley Vlasak . Belair From the Beginning . City of Bowie Museums . 2005 . Bowie, Maryland . 70–74 .