The most recent Princeton Alumni Weekly has a list of the 25most influential alumni. I find the list fascinating:
1. James Madison 1771
2. Alan Turing *38
3. Woodrow Wilson 1879
4. John Rawls ’43 *50
5. John Bardeen *36
6. George Kennan ’25
7. Benjamin Rush 1760
8. F. Scott Fitzgerland ’17
9. George Shultz ’42
10. John Foster Dulles 1908
11. Gary Becker ’51
12. Jeffrey Moss ’63
13. Wendy Kopp ’89
14. Richard Feynman *42
15. Paul Volcker ’49
16. Nicholas Katzenbach ’43
17. Charles Scribner 1840
18. Laurance Rockefeller ’32
19. Robert Venturi ’47 *50
20. Jeff Bezos ’86
21. Alfred Barr ’22 *23
22. Philip Freneau 1771
23. John Bogle ’51
24. Norman Thomas 1905
25. Ralph Nader ’55
25. Donald Rumsfeld ’54 (tie)
There are several things of interest. The first is the number of engineers and scientists from the first half of the 20th century – Princeton really used to be a powerhouse there, I am realizing. Also the strength in politics and diplomacy. The tie at 25 has some humor in it as well, given how different those two are. I’m delighted to see Rummy at the very bottom, if he has to be on the list at all. Surprised not to see Meg Whitman. Love that the one woman on the list is Wendy Kopp who’s an absolute inspiration (not to mention only 40).