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

Oliver Hart

2016

Economics

Martin Karplus

2013

Chemistry

Alvin Roth

2012

Economics

Jack Szostak

2009

Physiology and medicine

Al Gore

2007

Nobel Peace Prize

Eric S. Maskin

2007

Economics

Thomas C. Schelling

2005

Economics

Roy J. Glauber

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