Centre College - Alumni

Alumni

Centre alumni include two U.S. Vice Presidents, one Chief Justice of the United States, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, 13 U.S. Senators, 43 U.S. Representatives, 10 moderators of the General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church, and 11 governors. Referring to Centre, President Woodrow Wilson gave an annual speech to Princeton alumni in which he stated: "There is a little college down in Kentucky which in sixty years has graduated more men who have acquired prominence and fame than has Princeton in her 150 years." Some of the most notable Centre alumni include:

• Joshua Fry Bell, 1828: The first Centre alumnus to serve in Congress.
• John Y. Brown, Sr., U.S. Congressman for Kentucky; lawyer; first sponsor of sales tax and civil rights legislation in the Kentucky House of Representatives; and father of John Young Brown, Jr.
• John Christian Bullitt, 1849: Powerful attorney in Philadelphia; drafted the city's charter and founded the law firm of Drinker, Biddle & Reath
• Rev. Samuel D. Burchard, 1837: Clergyman whose "Rum, Romanism and rebellion" speech may have cost James G. Blaine the 1884 presidential election
• Raymond Burse, 1973: Rhodes Scholar; General Counsel for General Electric; former President of Kentucky State University;and the first African-American to compete in the Oxford v. Cambridge rugby match.
• Charles Carpenter (Lt. Col.): highly decorated Second World War artillery observation pilot nicknamed Bazooka Charlie; destroyed several German armored vehicles in his bazooka-equipped L-4 Grasshopper light observation aircraft, christened Rosie the Rocketeer.
• E.A. Diddle, 1920: legendary basketball coach of Western Kentucky University, member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
• General Joseph Holt, 1824: United States Commissioner of Patents, United States Postmaster General, United States Secretary of War and Judge Advocate General of the United States Army. Leading judge in the trials of the Abraham Lincoln assassination.
• Cawood Ledford, 1949: Voice of the University of Kentucky Wildcats for 30 years
• Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin, 1922: Three time All-American quarterback; member of the College Football Hall of Fame; head football coach of Indiana University, Detroit Lions, and Philadelphia Eagles
• Pierce Lively, 1943: United States federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 1972 to 2007
• Stephen Rolfe Powell, 1974: Internationally acclaimed glass blower and art professor
• Augustus Stanley, 1889; 38th Governor of Kentucky; Grandfather of famous LSD chemist Owsley Stanley
• John T. Stuart, 1826: U.S. Congressman; lawyer; and law partner of Abraham Lincoln
• Isaac Tigrett, 1970: Founder of the Hard Rock Cafe and the House of Blues
• Gu, Prince Imperial Hoeun, 1952: Prince Imperial of Korea, grandson of Emperor Gojong