This list was formerly my Delicious bookmarks, but since Delicious seems to be on-again, off-again, it seems useful to collect these all here. I know there are many, many more and I’ll add them if I get a chance. If you know of any ‘obvious’ ones I’m missing, please drop me a line!
Daniel Levin (Author of The Last Ember; BA in Greek and Roman Civ from UMichigan)
C.S. Lewis
- C. S. Lewis (Wikipedia)
Thomas Cahill (Author of assorted history tomes)
Norman Clyde (mountaineer; studied Classics at Geneva College)
- Norman Clyde (Wikipedia)
John Layfield (WWE wrestler; his degree from Abilene Christian University is in Ancient History)
- John Layfield (Wikipedia)
Pat Meehan (US Congressman/former NHL official; majored in Classics at Bowdoin)
- Pat Meehan (Wikipedia)
Susan Greenfield/Baroness Greenfield (read Classics at Oxford prior to her neurosurgery career)
- Susan Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield (Wikipedia)
Lynn Sherr (ABC Journalist; Degree in Greek from Wellesley)
- Lynn Sherr (Wikipedia)
Porter Goss (former head of the CIA; degree in Ancient Greek from Yale)
- Porter Goss (Wikipedia)
Martha Lane Fox (daughter of Robin Lane Fox; dotcom millionaire type; studied Ancient History)
- Martha Lane Fox (Wikipedia)
P.G. Wodehouse (comic author; degree in Classics from Oxford) [degree not achieved; see comments]
- P. G. Wodehouse (Wikipedia)
Peter Weller (Robocop; MA in Roman and Renaissance Art from Syracuse)
- Peter Weller (Wikipedia)
J.K. Rowling (author of some famous series about a boy wizard; not sure if she completed a degree but did study Classics at Exeter)
- J. K. Rowling (Wikipedia)
Ruth Padel (British author/poet; studied Classics at Lady Margaret Hall Oxford)
- Ruth Padel (Wikipedia)
Nick Owen (BBC Broadcaster; Classics degree from Leeds)
- Nick Owen (Wikipedia)
Chris Martin (Lead singer of Coldplay; degree in Greek and Latin from UCL)
- Chris Martin (Wikipedia)
Anthony James Leggett (Nobel Prize winner for Physics; initial degree was in Classics from Balliol/Oxford)
- Anthony James Leggett (Wikipedia)
Martha Kearney (BBC Radio presenter; studied Classics at St Anne’s College, Oxford)
- Martha Kearney (Wikipedia)
Charles Geschke (co-founder of Adobe systems; BA in Classics from Xavier)
William Cohen (former US Secretary of Defense; BA in Latin from Bowdoin)
- William Cohen (Wikipedia)
- William Cohen On Power Ambition Glory
Jerry Brown (Governor of California; BA in Classics from UCal Berkeley)
- Jerry Brown (Wikipedia)
James Baker (former US Secretary of State: BA in Classics from Princeton)
- James Baker (Wikipedia)
John Buchan (Scottish Novelist; Canadian Governor General; studied Classics at UGlasgow and Oxford)
- John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (Wikipedia)
Boris Johnson (Mayor of London; degree in Classics from Balliol)
Gough Whitlam (former Prime Minister of Australia; degree in Classics from USydney)
- Gough Whitlam (Wikipedia)
William Weld (former governor of Massachusetts; AB in Classics from Harvard College)
- William Weld (Wikipedia)
- William Weld On Power Ambition Glory
Teller (Penn’s silent sidekick; not sure if he has a degree from Amherst College but he did teach Latin at the high school level)
- Teller (Wikipedia)
- Teller On Power Ambition Glory
Robert Greene (not sure about this one)
A.E. Stallings (author/poet; AB in Classics from UGeorgia)
Nathaniel Fick (director of the Center for a New American Security; degree in Classics from Dartmouth)
Lian Dolan (American broadcaster; BA in Classics from Williamette)
Tim O’Reilly (computer manual (etc.) guru; BA in Classics from Harvard College)
Dale Kildee (soon to be former US Congressman from Michigan; not sure what his BA is in, but he went on to teach Latin)
- Dale Kildee (Wikipedia)
- Dale Kildee On Power Ambition Glory
*** folks wondering about the Power, Ambition, Glory references might want to check out the special feature that was in Forbes Magazine once upon a time:
Other such lists (which overlap and will possibly be assimilated one day when they’re checked):
- Famous Classicists (The Campus)
- Famous Classicists (The Labyrinth)
Many well-known philosophers (Berkeley, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche) had Classics degrees as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classics#Famous_classicists
Tom Hiddleston (aka Loki) has one from Cambridge where (according to IMDb) he earned a double first in Classics.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1089991/bio
Just pointing out that P.G. Woodhouse did NOT study
classics at Oxford, or elsewhere. From the wikipedia entry cited
above: “Wodehouse’s elder brother, Armine, had won a classics
scholarship to Oxford University (where he gained a first class
degree) and Pelham was widely expected to follow in his brother’s
footsteps, but a fall in the value of the Indian rupee (in which
currency his father’s pension was expressed) forced him to abandon
such plans.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P.G._Wodehouse
oxford gave him an honorary degree … anyone know what it was in?
It was an honorary Doctor of Letters (D Litt). Sadly, I don’t think that can count as Classics.
“On June 21 1939, Oxford University granted P G Wodehouse an honorary
Doctorate, a D Litt. The Public Orator, Dr Cyril Bailey, gave an address at
the Encaenia in the Sheldonian Theatre in Latin, in which he successfully
captured much of the spirit of Wodehouse’s world, managing amongst other
references to speak of Augustus Fink-Nottle and the love life of his newts.
It was the last time Plum was to visit England. ” – by Tony Ring, Editor, Wooster Sauce (the Journal of The PG Wodehouse Society), cited at http://wodehouse.ru/bioring.htm
I ‘ll update when i get a chance … thanks
Governor Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island (USA) has a BA in Classics from Brown U.
Right after Brown, he shod horses for a living.
A great list!! Thanks!!
Why do I always see classics grads, as dilligently working for the Emperor? Something clean about it, to be sure.
Tim Rice-Oxley, the songwriter and pianist of the band Keane, studied Greek & Latin at University College London at the same time as Chris Martin; although I think the latter studied Ancient History.
Media mogul Ted Turner, Brown; here is the famous letter from his father about how he “almost puked” to learn that his son was going to major in Classics: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/07/this-is-my-son-he-speaks-greek.html
Robert Millikan, the physicist who discovered the quantization of the electron’s charge, had a bachelor’s degree in Classics from Oberlin College.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Andrews_Millikan#Education