Distinguished alumni
Harvard's reach stretches far beyond the traditional classroom. Harvard faculty, students, and staff hold global leadership roles in a wide variety of disciplines, with some garnering national and international recognition. Faculty of Harvard’s Schools have won a wide selection of prizes. Below you can find the Nobel laureates and Pulitzer prizes, and a selective list of heads of state
Nobel laureates
Established in 1895 by the Swedish chemist and inventor of dynamite Alfred Bernhard Nobel, the Nobel Prize is an annual award acknowledging outstanding contributions to physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. Several Harvard faculty and alumni have been honored with this prestigious award.
Recipient Year prize awarded category
2016 |
Economics |
|
2013 |
Chemistry |
|
2012 |
Economics |
|
2009 |
Physiology and medicine |
|
2007 |
Nobel Peace Prize |
|
Eric S. Maskin |
2007 |
Economics |
Thomas C. Schelling |
2005 |
Economics |
2005 |
Physics |
|
Linda B. Buck |
2004 |
Physiology or Medicine |
Riccardo Giacconi |
2002 |
Physics |
A. Michael Spence, Ph.D. ’72 |
2001 |
Economics |
Amartya Sen |
1998 |
Economics |
Robert C. Merton |
1997 |
Economics |
Seamus Heaney |
1995 |
Literature |
Elias J. Corey |
1990 |
Chemistry |
Joseph E. Murray |
1990 |
Medicine |
Norman Ramsey |
1989 |
Physics |
Dudley R. Herschbach |
1986 |
Chemistry |
Carlo Rubbia |
1984 |
Physics |
Nicolaas Bloembergen |
1981 |
Physics |
Torsten Wiesel |
1981 |
Medicine |
David Hubel |
1981 |
Medicine |
Walter Gilbert |
1980 |
Chemistry |
Baruj Benacerraf |
1980 |
Medicine or Physiology |
Steven Weinberg |
1979 |
Physics |
Sheldon L. Glashow |
1979 |
Physics |
John H. Van Vleck |
1977 |
Physics |
William N. Lipscomb |
1976 |
Chemistry |
Wassily W. Leontief |
1973 |
Economics |
Kenneth J. Arrow |
1972 |
Economics |
Simon S. Kuznets |
1971 |
Economics |
George Wald |
1967 |
Medicine or Physiology |
Robert Burns Woodward |
1965 |
Chemistry |
Julian S. Schwinger |
1965 |
Physics |
Konrad E. Bloch |
1964 |
Medicine or Physiology |
James D. Watson |
1962 |
Medicine or Physiology |
Georg von Bekesy |
1961 |
Medicine or Physiology |
Thomas H. Weller |
1954 |
Medicine or Physiology |
Frederick C. Robbins |
1954 |
Medicine or Physiology |
John F. Enders |
1954 |
Medicine or Physiology |
Fritz A. Lipmann |
1953 |
Medicine or Physiology |
Edward M. Purcell |
1952 |
Physics |
Ralph J. Bunche |
1950 |
Peace |
Henry J. Cadbury |
1947 |
Physics |
William P. Murphy |
1934 |
Medicine or Physiology |
George Minot |
1934 |
Medicine or Physiology |
T.W. Richards |
1914 |
Chemistry |
Pullitzer Prize Winners
The Pulitzer Prizes are awarded annually for outstanding contributions to American journalism, letters, and music. Since 1919, Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded numerous times to Harvard faculty members — and some professors have won multiple times.
Recipient Year prize awarded category
Matthew Desmond |
2017 |
Nonfiction |
Stephen Greenblatt |
2012 |
Nonfiction |
Caroline Elkins |
2006 |
Nonfiction |
Geraldine Brooks |
2006 |
Fiction |
Samantha Power |
2003 |
Nonfiction |
Jorie Graham* |
1996 |
Poetry |
Bert Hölldobler |
1991 |
Nonfiction |
Edward O. Wilson |
1991 |
Nonfiction |
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich* |
1991 |
History |
David Donald |
1988 |
Biography |
Bernard Bailyn |
1987 |
History |
Thomas K. McCraw |
1985 |
History |
Bernard Rands* |
1984 |
Music |
Paul E. Starr |
1984 |
Nonfiction |
Edward O. Wilson |
1979 |
Nonfiction |
Walter Jackson Bate |
1978 |
Biography |
Alfred Chandler Jr. |
1978 |
History |
John E. Mack |
1977 |
Biography |
Donald Martino* |
1974 |
Music |
Robert Coles |
1973 |
Nonfiction |
Mario Davidosky* |
1971 |
Music |
Bernard Bailyn |
1968 |
History |
George F. Kennan |
1968 |
Biography |
Leon Kirchner |
1967 |
Music |
Bernard Malamud |
1967 |
Fiction |
Perry Miller*** |
1966 |
History |
Howard Mumford Jones |
1965 |
Nonfiction |
Walter Jackson Bate |
1964 |
Biography |
David Donald* |
1961 |
Biography |
Walter Piston |
1961 |
Music |
Samuel Eliot Morison** |
1960 |
Biography |
Archibald MacLeish |
1959 |
Drama |
Archibald MacLeish |
1953 |
Poetry |
Oscar Handlin |
1952 |
History |
Walter Piston |
1948 |
Music |
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. |
1946 |
History |
Robert Frost |
1943 |
Poetry |
Samuel Eliot Morison |
1943 |
Biography |
Paul Herman Buck |
1938 |
History |
Ralph Barton Perry |
1936 |
Biography |
Robert Hillyer |
1934 |
Poetry |
Archibald MacLeish* |
1933 |
Poetry |
Frederick J. Turner |
1933 |
History |
Edward Channing |
1926 |
History |
Harvey Cushing |
1926 |
Biography |
Mark A. DeWolfe Howe |
1925 |
Biography |
Charles McIlwain |
1924 |
History |
Henry Adams |
1919 |
Biography |
* Prize awarded before appointment to the faculty.
**Prize awarded after retirement from the faculty.
***Prize awarded posthumously.
Heads of State
This is a selection of heads of state holding Harvard degrees:
Alumnus/a Year degree granted Title
Tshering Tobgay |
2004 |
Prime Minister of Bhutan |
Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj |
2002 |
President of Mongolia |
Felipe Calderón Hinojosa |
2000 |
President of Mexico |
Barack Obama |
1991 |
President of the United States |
José María Figueres Olsen |
1991 |
President of Costa Rica |
Jamil Mahuad |
1989 |
President of Ecuador |
Eduardo Rodriguez |
1988 |
President of Bolivia |
Masako Owada |
1985 |
Crown Princess of Japan |
Ban Ki-Moon |
1984 |
Secretary-General of the United Nations |
Sir Donald Tsang |
1982 |
Chief Executive & President, Executive Council, Hong Kong |
Ma Ying-jeou |
1981 |
President of Taiwan |
Juan Manuel Santos |
1981 |
President of Colombia |
Lee Hsien Loong |
1980 |
Prime Minister, Singapore |
Annette Lu |
1978 |
Vice President of the Republic of China |
Sebastian Pinera |
1976 |
President of Chile |
John Roberts |
1976; 1979 |
Chief Justice of the United States |
George W. Bush, Jr. |
1975 |
President of the United States |
Benazir Bhutto |
1973 |
Prime Minister of Pakistan |
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf |
1971 |
President of Liberia |
Al Gore |
1969 |
Vice President of the United States |
Miguel de la Madrid |
1965 |
President of Mexico |
William Rehnquist |
1950 |
Chief Justice of the United States |
Pierre Trudeau |
1945 |
Prime Minister of Canada |
Andreas Papandreou |
1943 |
Prime Minister of Greece |
John F. Kennedy |
1940 |
President of the United States |
Fan S. Noli |
1912 |
Prime Minister of Albania |
Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
1904 |
President of the United States |
William Lyon Mackenzie King |
1898 |
Prime Minister of Canada |
Theodore Roosevelt |
1880 |
President of the United States |
Rutherford B. Hayes |
1845 |
President of the United States |
John Quincy Adams |
1787 |
President of the United States |
John Adams |
1755 |
President of the United States |