List of Princeton University Notable Alumni

With a base of 100,000+ alumni base, Princeton University boasts of its popularity across decades. Getting admission at Princeton and passing out from Princeton are of great pride. Some of the most popular world leaders have passed out from Princeton. To know more, check out the Princeton University alumni and also check out some of the most famous ones. 

Founded in 1746 and located in New Jersey, USA, Princeton University is a private institution with its campuses in Plainsboro and South Brunswick. Spread across 500 acres of land the campuses are some of the most beautiful places in New Jersey and are located close to restaurants, gyms, medical stores, and shops that provide all the basic necessities to students. While admissions at Princeton are tough yet, various pass-outs have made a mark in history. 

Princeton University is an Ivy League school and is very popular across generations. Princeton University offers courses to its students across a wide range so that they have a huge scope to choose from according to their field of interest. A few of the subjects are Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Engineering, Doctoral, History, Psychology, and Business. The faculty provides undergraduate as well as post-graduate programs. 

Who are Famous Princeton University Alumni?

Some of the most popular and famous Princeton University alumni are as follows:

A brief about some of the top Princeton University alumni includes the names below and how they make it to the list of famous Princeton alumni base. 

List of 10 Famous Princeton University Alumni

Here is a list of notable Princeton Alumni who have excelled in their respective fields. 

John F. Kennedy

JFK was the 35th President of US. He was associated with US House of Representatives and US Senate before he became president in 1961. Despite several challenges he implemented the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Alliance for Progress. The US airport is named after this president.

John Forbes Nash Jr.

Critically acclaimed movie, 'A Beautiful Mind' is based on Professor John Nash. He was an American mathematician who was awarded the 1994 Nobel Prize. He was awarded for contributions to Economics and work on mathematics of game theory which first began in 1950s. He is a Princeton University alumni also famous for works on Game Theory, partial differential equations and algebraic geometry. 

Michelle Obama

A lawyer, writer and First Lady of US from 2009 to 2017, Michelle Obama is the wife of Barack Obama. She is a Princeton alumni known for her work on poverty, healthy living and education. As a writer she wrote her autobiography Becoming in 2018 which talks about tlhe experiences that shaped her, from her childhood in Chicago to her years living in the White House. Before entering the White House Michelle was a lawyer, Chicago city administrator and community worker.

Richard Feynman

Richard was an American physicist who got a Nobel Prize in Physics. His works were in quantum mechanics and electrodynamics. He graduated from MIT and got his PhD from Princeton. Feynman won Nobel Prize for research on quantum electrodynamics.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

A renowned American short story writer and novelist Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald or more commonly known as F. Scott Fitzgerald was considered one of the pre-eminent authors in the history of American literature due almost entirely to the enormous posthumous success of his book, The Great Gatsby. Also made into a movie with the same name, The Great Gatsby has become required reading for virtually every American high school student. Towards the abrupt end of his career, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood and became a scriptwriter. His final novel is only half complete, as he died of a heart attack in 1940 at the young age of 44.

Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of US who led America in first World War. At that time he played a crucial role in concluding Treaty of Versailles. Wilson was in office and also witnessed formation of League of Nations. For this he was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. He is a renowned Princeton alumni who supported women related causes and was very popular.

Jeff Bezos

Founder and CEO of the world's biggest online retailer - Amazon, Jeff Bezos is also the owner of The Washington Post and founder of Blue Origin which is space related. Born in New Mexico in 1964, Bezos had an early love for computers and studied computer science and electrical engineering at Princeton. His successful business ventures have made him a regular on the Forbes list of the richest people in the world. After a short stint on Wall Street, Bezos started Amazon.com in 1994 which went on to become the Internet's biggest success story. In 2013, Bezos purchased The Washington Post, and in 2017 Amazon acquired Whole Foods..

Alan Turing

Father of Theoretical Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, Turing's works and life were popularized by the Academy Award-winning movie, ‘The Imitation Game,’ released in 2014. A famous British mathematician, Computers would probably have been non existent if he wasn't there. 

Brooke Shields

Born on May 31, 1965, in New York City, Brooke Shields began as a child artist at the tender age of 12. Apart from being a very successful model, she has acted in movies including The Blue Lagoon, Pretty Baby, Endless Love, Sahara, and I Can Make You Love Me among many others. She is also a proud graduate of Princeton University.  Over the years, she has also penned her book titled, "Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression", which takes a hard, honest look at what she and many other women experience after childbirth.

Oliver Ellsworth

Oliver Ellsworth was a Founding Father of US. By profession he was an attorney, jurist, politician, and diplomat. He played a pivotal role in shaping US Constitution. He later became the third Chief Justice of USA. After this he played a major role in shaping the legal framework of the new nation during its formative years.

Planning to be a part of Princeton's alumni? Check out: How to get into Princeton University from India?

Also, Read