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Honorary Degrees: 1900-1999

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Students walk by the Gizmo in the fall.

1900 to 1999

Commencement speakers are indicated, where known, in italics; Knox alumni in bold.

1999

  • James B. Stewart, investigative journalist and winner of the Pulitzer Prize
  • Georgie Anne Geyer, author and syndicated columnist
  • Michael Alter, philanthropist and founder of the City Year -- Chicago
  • John Lewis, United States Representative from Georgia (awarded at Founders Day Convocation)
  • More info...

1998

  • John D. Podesta, Knox graduate and former White House Chief of Staff
  • Michael J. Lawrence, Knox graduate and director of Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University
  • Willabell H. Williams, Knox graduate and retired Galesburg grade school teacher
  • More info...

1997

  • Virginia Canil & Eugene Tadie, Knox graduates and career United States diplomats
  • Mikiso Hane, Knox professor and scholar of Japanese history
  • Jumpei Okura, Knox graduate and Japanese business executive
  • Alexander Rabinowitch, Knox graduate and scholar of Russian history

1996

  • Robert J. Jamieson, Knox alumnus, trustee and ABC News corresponded
  • Keith Achepohl, Knox graduate and artist at the University of Iowa
  • Joan W. Harris, philanthropist and former Commissioner for Cultural Affairs of Chicago
  • Katharine C. Lee, director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
  • John F. Shenaut, Knox graduate and conductor emeritus of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra

1995

  • William H. Colby, Knox graduate and lawyer in landmark "right to die" cases
  • Jarvis B. Cecil, Knox graduate and trustee of the College
  •  Karen A. Bowyer, Knox graduate and president of Dyersburg State Community College
  • James E. Crowfoot, Knox graduate and president of Antioch College
  • Curtis L. McCray, Knox graduate and president of Millikin University
  • Hoke L. Smith, Knox graduate and president of Towson State University

1994

  • Robert F. Spetzler, M.D., Knox graduate and neurosurgeon noted for work in brain surgery
  • Dean Buntrock, CEO of Waste Management, Inc.

1993

  • Walter Robert Connor, president of the National Humanities Center
  • Shirley Mahaley Malcom, division head, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • William Lee Weiss, CEO of Ameritech
  • John P. McCall, president of Knox College, 1982-1993
  • R.W. "Johnny" Apple, correspondent, New York Times (awarded at Founders Day Convocation)

1992

  • Kathryn S. Fuller, president of the World Wildlife Fund
  • Houston Baker, Jr., scholar of African-American studies
  • Stephen Wolfram, professor at the University of Illinois and creator of "Mathematica"

1991

  • Robert Abernethy, NBC News correspondent
  • John H. Adams, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council
  • Luisa Valenzuela, Argentinean novelist
  • Janet D. Rowley, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago

1990

  • Paul R. Portney, director of Resources for the Future
  • Antonio I. Badia Margarit, linguist at the University of Barcelona
  • Jacqueline K. Barton, chemist at California Institute of Technology
  • Donald P. Verene, Knox graduate and philosopher at Emory University

1989

  • Rita F. Dove (pictured), poet laureate of the United States
  • Denis A. Baylor, Knox graduate and member of the National Academy of Science
  • Lewis S. Salter, physicist and former Dean of Knox College
  • Peter S. Willmott, philanthropist and former CEO of Carson Pirie Scott and Federal Express

1988

  • Ed Asner (pictured), actor and political activist
  • Dorothea Tanning, Knox alumna and noted surrealist artist
  • Karen Uhlenbeck, mathematician at University of Texas
  • Bruce Haywood, president of Monmouth College

1987

  • Rev. Peter J. Gomes, professor and Memorial Church minister at Harvard University
  • Dr. Albert E. Finholt, Knox graduate and chemist at St. Olaf College
  • Seymour M. Hersh, investigative journalist and winner of Pulitzer Prize
  • Ardis Krainik, general manager of Lyric Opera of Chicago
  • Paul Simon, U.S. Senator from Illinois (awarded at Founders Day Convocation)

1986

  • Ted Koppel (pictured), host of the ABC News program Nightline
  • Beatrice Sweeney, biologist at University of California-Santa Barbara
  • K. Joachim Weintraub, Knox trustee and historian at University of Chicago
  • John Palmer, Knox graduate and Dean of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin

1985

  • Patricia Scott Schroeder (pictured), Member of Congress from Colorado
  • Gary Stanley Becker, economist at University of Chicago and winner of Nobel Prize
  • Eleanor Harz Jorden, scholar of Japanese language at Yale University
  • Thomas E. Kurtz, co-author of BASIC computer language (awarded at Founders Day)

1984

  • John R. Block, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
  • Jonathan D. Spence, author and scholar of Japanese history
  • Rothwell C. Stephens, professor of mathematics at Knox College, 1931-1976
  • Eugenia R. Zukerman, classical flautist

1983

  • Peter H. Raven, director of the Missouri Botanical Garden
  • Robert Nozick, author and philosopher at Harvard University
  • Susan Stamberg, correspondent at National Public Radio

1982

  • Ismat Kittani, Knox graduate and president of United Nations General Assembly
  • Henry J. Abraham, scholar of judiciary and government, University of Virginia
  • E. Inman Fox, president of Knox College, 1974-1982
  • Clifford J. Geertz, anthropologist, Institute for Advanced Study
  • Tillie Olsen, author and scholar

1981

  • George F. Will (pictured), columnist and winner of Pulitzer Prize
  • Carl W. Condit, historian of urban architecture
  • Charles Fefferman, mathematician, Princeton University

1980

  • Hanna Gray, president of the University of Chicago
  • Richard Dale Stillwell, composer

1979

  • Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist
  • Max Goodsill, Knox graduate, advertising executive, former director of public relations and other administrative posts at the College

1978

  • Robert Coles, author and psychiatrist at Harvard University
  • Stephen Weinberg, physicist at the University of Texas

1977

  • Patricia Roberts Harris, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
  • Morton Webster Weir, Knox graduate and chancellor of the University of Illinois

1976

  • Studs L. Terkel, author and winner of Pulitzer Prize
  • William Karnes, Knox College trustee, chairman of Beatrice Foods

1975

  • Stewart Lee Udall, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
  • Harold Szold, Knox Class of 1915, investment banker and partner, Lehman Bros; Knox College Trustee
  • Robert Stephen Ingersoll, diplomat, CEO and Chairman of Borg Warner
  • Ismat Kittani, Knox graduate, career diplomat representing Iraq at the United Nations

1974

  • David Halberstam, journalist and winner of Pulitzer Prize
  • John Bartlow Martin, author and diplomat

1973

  • William Baumol, economist and historian of entrepreneurship
  • Arthur Bueche, engineer and executive with General Electric
  • Charles H. Percy, U.S. Senator from Illinois

1972

  • George W. Ball, U.S. Undersecretary of State and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
  • Richard Johnson '29, president of National College of Education

1971

  •  Robert Joseph Northshield, Knox Class of 1944, NBC TV News producer

1970

  • John Kenneth Galbraith, economist
  • George Rickey, former Knox faculty and noted "kinetic artist"
  • Joseph J. Sisco, Knox graduate and trustee and U.S. Undersecretary of State

1969

  • George Beadle -- Nobel Prize winner and scientist at the Institute for Biomedical Research, Education and Research Foundation of the American Medical Association
  • Milton E. Muelder -- Knox College Class of 1930. Political scientist, dean of the graduate school and vice president for research at Michigan State University
  • Walter G. Muelder -- Knox College Class of 1927. Dean and professor of social ethics, School of Theology at Boston University
  • Hermann R. Muelder -- Knox College Class of 1927. Noted historian and member of the Knox College faculty

1968

  • Merriman Smith -- White House Correspondent, United Press International
  • Everett Dirksen -- United States Senator from Illinois
  • Philip D. Sang -- Chicago ice cream manufacturer and noted collector of books and manuscripts relating to Abraham Lincoln and American history

1967

  • David Brinkley -- NBC News correspondent
  • Franklin E. Agnew

1966

  •  John D. deButts -- Executive Vice President, AT&T
  • Mark Van Doren -- Pulitzer Prize winning poet and literary critic
  • Vernon Welsh -- Knox College Class of 1913. Attorney and senior partner of Kirkland Ellis Hodson Chavetz and Masters, Chicago; Member and Chair of the Knox College Board of Trustees.

1965

  • William Hewitt -- Chairman and CEO, Deere and Co.

1964

  •  Howard Bowen -- President, Grinnell College

1963

  • Clarence Belden Randall -- Chairman of Inland Steel Company
  • James Gordon Gilkey, Jr. -- Minister at the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, New York
  • Douglas Maitland Knight -- President of Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin
  • Walter Forrest Smith -- Chairman of Kingsport Press, Kingsport, Tennessee

1962

  • John Eldred Swearingen, Jr. -- Chief Executive Officer, Standard Oil Company of Indiana
  • Ralph Geoffrey Newman -- Owner of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago; author and columnist; authority on Civil War period
  • William Blair Stewart -- Economist and educator; president of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest

1961

  • Reuben Gilbert Gustavson, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Arizona; former president of the University of Colorado, Boulder; dean of the University of Chicago; chancellor of the University of Nebraska
  • Louis Tom Linson Benezet, President of Claremont University Center; former faculty of Knox College; former president of Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado
  • Chester Verne Easum -- Knox Class of 1914, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin; Rhodes Scholar; specialist on German affairs and advisor to the State Department
  • Orrin Harold Smith -- Knox Class of 1908, Professor and chairman of the department of physics at DePauw University

1960

  • William Benton, Chairman of the Board, Encyclopedia Britannica; former Assistant Secretary, State, U.S.A., U.S. Senator from Connecticut; ex-administrator at the University of Chicago; publisher and author; expert on international economics
  • Chesser Milburn Campbell, Newspaper executive; president of the Chicago Tribune, director of WGN; executor, Robert R. McCormick Estate and Foundation
  • Nelson Dean Jay -- Knox Class of 1905, International banker; former partner-director, Morgan and Co. in Paris, France; director of J.P. Morgan and Co.; Morgan-Guaranty Trust Co., N.Y.; trustee at Knox College
  • Roy Franklin Nichols, Professor of history and vice provost, University of Pennsylvania; winner of the Pulitzer Prize in history, 1949; specializing in American History

1959

  •  Frederick Russell Kappel, President, American Telephone and Telegraph, New York City
  • David Dodds Henry, President of the University of Illinois; former teacher, author and educational administrator
  • John Roberts Mayor -- Class of 1928, Former professor and acting dean at the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin; director of educational projects at A.A.A.S., Washington D.C. Recipient of Knox College Alumni Achievement Award, 1957
  • Quincy Wright, Professor of International Law at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. Formerly at the University of Chicago; advisor to UNESCO and U.S. Department State; trustee of Knox College; instructor of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University

1958

  •  Robert Sutherland, Knox trustee and sociologist at University of Texas
  • Bruce Catton (pictured), historian and winner of Pulitzer Prize
  • Theodore Distler, executive director of the Association of American Colleges
  • William Hesseltine, Civil War historian at University of Wisconsin
  • Stefan Lorant, historian of Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt
  • Allen Nevins, Civil War historian at Columbia University
  • Alfred Newcombe, historian at Knox College
  • Ruth Randall, author of books on Lincoln
  • Paul Salzberg, Knox graduate and chemist at DuPont

1957

  •  Frederic Russell Gamble -- Knox Class of 1920, Advertising executive; advisor to the U.S. Department of Commerce
  • Roy Claire Ingersoll -- Knox Class of 1908 (pictured), Director, former president and chairman of Borg-Warner Corp., Chicago; trustee of Knox College, 1926-1937
  • James Roscoe Miller, Physician, educator, and president at Northwestern University; former professor and dean at the Medical School at Northwestern University
  • Sewall Wright, Geneticist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.; University of Chicago; and the University of Wisconsin-Madison

1956

  •  Arthur Hays Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times
  • Thomas Harper Blodgett -- Knox Class of 1899, Chairman and President of American Chicle Co., New York City; trustee of Knox College
  • Oscar Hammerstein II (pictured), Broadway lyricist
  • George Marsh Higgins -- Knox Class of 1914, Research Director of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota; former faculty of Knox College; Alumni trustee; later a professor at Baylor University Medical School
  • Lawrence A. Kimpton, Chancellor, University of Chicago.

1955

  • Orie Leon Phillips -- Lawyer, legislator, judge of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver
  • Lloyd William Daly -- Knox Class of 1932, Author and professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania

1954

  • Carlos P. Romulo -- Diplomat, Republic of the Philippines; also journalist, educator professor of English at University of the Philippines; Brigadier General in World War II; Ambassador to the U.N.; President of U.N General Assembly; Ambassador to the U.S.A.
  • Willard Leroy King -- Class of 1916, Lawyer, author, and biographer; trustee at Museum Science and Industry, Chicago
  • Ernst Henry Volwiler -- Research chemist for Abbott Laboratories, Chicago; director and president of Abbott Corp.; holder of many pharmaceutical patents

1953

  • Benjamin F. Fairless, Engineer and corporate executive, director, president and chairman of U.S. Steel Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • J. Robert Szold -- Class of 1909, Lawyer in New York City; former assistant attorney general for Puerto Rico; former assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States; leader in Zionist and Palestine relief
  • Benjamin Platt Thomas -- Author, editor, and lecturer in Springfield, Illinois; authority on Lincoln documents

1952

  •  Paul H. Douglas -- United States Senator from Illinois
  • Sarah Gibson Blanding -- President of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York; former professor of Political Science and dean of the College Home Economics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York
  • Chauncey Samuel Boucher -- Abraham Lincoln Lecturer in American Civilization, Knox College; former professor and university dean, chancellor and president

1951

  •  Carol Meteer Shanks -- Lawyer, president of Prudential Life Insurance Co., Newark, New Jersey; trustee of Johns Hopkins University and the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton University
  • Hobart Raymond Gay -- Class of 1917, Career officer for the U.S. Army; retired as Major General in Command 5th Army; later, Superintendent, New Mexico Military Academy, Roswell, New Mexico
  • Jeannette Paddock Nichols -- Class of 1913, Biographer, writer, lecturer and faculty member, University of Pennsylvania

1950

  • Lenox Riley Lohr, President of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago; engineer, author; manager of "Century of Progress" and "Railway Fair" exhibits
  • Alfred William Bays -- Class of 1901, Lawyer, Abbott Industries, Chicago; trustee of Knox College; executive of Abbott Trust Funds
  • Martha Boyden Finley -- Class of 1886, Social worker and founder of the Y.W.C.A.
  • Frank Morrill Lay -- Class of 1892, Trustee of Knox College and chairman of the board of trustees for 14 years; also trustee of Yankton College in South Dakota; director and former president of Boss Manufacturing Co., Kewanee, Illinois
  • Kellogg Day McClelland -- Class of 1905, Secretary, treasurer, business manager and trustee of Knox College for 45 years; acting president 1948-1949
  • Janet Greig Post -- Class of 1894, Trustee of Knox College for 38 years; former dean of women; Janet Greig Post Residence for women named in her honor

1949

  • Chris Lauriths Christensen -- Business executive; director of Celotex Corp., International Harvester, Armour and Co.; advisor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture; former Dean of Agricultural Experimental Station at the University Wisconsin, Madison
  • Carter Davidson -- Eleventh President of Knox, later President of Union College in Schenectady, New York; later, chancellor of Union University; author and professor of English
  • Nels Francis Nordstrom -- Class of 1932, Clergyman in Chicago; later in Wisconsin
  • John P. Wilson, Lawyer and civic leader in Chicago; philanthropist

1948

  • Franklyn Bliss Snyder, President of Northwestern University; former professor of English Literature and dean of the graduate school, Northwestern Univ.; author and editor
  • George Stuart Benson, President of Harding College, Searcy, Arkansas; former missionary and teacher in China; authority on Oriental religions and philosophy
  • Edward Eagle Brown, Lawyer and banker in Chicago; chairman of the Board of the First National Bank in Chicago; trustee for the University of Chicago

1947

  • * Herbert V. Prochnow, vice-president of First National Bank of Chicago
  • Ira D. Cardiff ('97), Botanist; manufacturer and president of Dehydrated Products Company, Yakima, Washington; former professor of Washburn College, Topeka, Kansas; retired Director at Washington Agricultural Exp. Stn., Pullman, Washington
  • Mabel Heren, Professor of mathematics at Knox College for 39 years
  • Ray Tyson Maddocks ('16), Career officer for the U.S. Army; retired as a Major General
  • Lloyd Milton Short ('19), Educator, Professor of Political Science; assistant dean graduate school and director of the Public Administration Center at the University of Minnesota; later, with the U.S. Civil Service Committee as an advisor.

1946

  • Harold Orlando McLain, President of Railways Ice Company
  • William Blakeman Lame ('07), Clergyman in St. Louis, Missouri; moderator of the General Assembly for Presbyterian Churches; Alumni trustee of Knox College (1935-1938)
  • Alice Felt Tyler ('13), Author and professor of history at the University of Minnesota
  • Elray Cloud Wampler ('16), President and chairman, Carrier Corp. in Syracuse, New York; former banker and investment counselor in Chicago
  • Nelson Wolcott Willard ('96), Trustee at Knox College for 38 years; former faculty of Knox College; assistant to the president of A.T. & Santa Fe Rail Road, Chicago; a founder of the Knox 50-year club

1945

  • * Wilson Watkins Wyatt, Lawyer, mayor of Louisville, Kentucky; later, the Governor of Kentucky; manager of Adlai Stevenson's 1952 presidential campaign
  • Palmer Daniel Edmunds ('12), Lawyer, educator, author, editor, and law lecturer in Chicago; faculty of Knox College for 15 years; professor of law at John Marshall Law College in Chicago
  • Adda Gentry George ('95), Civic leader in Evanston and Galesburg; founder of Carl Sandburg Association to preserve the Sandburg birthplace in Galesburg
  • Dwight Herbert Green, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, prosecuted organized crime; Governor of Illinois (1941-1949)
  • Frances Arnold Woods ('95), Galesburg civic leader; president of Knox Alumni Association, 1945

1944

  • Paul DeKruif, Bacteriologist, author of "The Microbe Hunters"
  • Paul Angle, Lincoln historian
  • Alice Caroline Willard ('02), Assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Toronto, Canada; former faculty of Knox College

1943

  • * John William Bricker, Governor of Ohio, 1939-1945; later, U.S. Senator; candidate for vice president of the United States, 1944
  • Harold Nathan Graves ('08), Lawyer, assistant to Secretary of the Treasury in Washington, D.C.; broadcasting executive in Seattle, Washington
  • Westbrook Pegler, newspaper columnist
  • Edward Beattie Stephenson ('03), Physicist, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.; former faculty of Knox College

1942

  • * S. DeWitt Clough, Pharmaceutical executive president, Abbott Labs, Chicago
  • Frank Wenner ('99), Physicist, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C.; Carnegie Institute of Technology; and Rubicon Co., Philadelphia

1941

  • * Walter R. MacCornack ('01), Architect, author; authority on slum clearance and low cost housing, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • Alida Elizabeth Finch ('91), Insurance underwriter for Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Henry Martin Seymour ('84), Farmer, orchardist, realtor, Payson; donor to the Henry M. Seymour Library at Knox College, 1928


1940

  • * Will Irwin, author, lecturer, columnist, war correspondent; 1930 Honnold Lecturer at Knox College
  • Harry Hayes Cleaveland ('90), Institute executive for Rock Island; president of Bituminous Casualty Co.; later, trustee of Knox college
  • Nobel Sproat Heaney ('02), Obstetrician and Gynecologist; professor at Rush Medical School in Chicago; later, staff at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, Los Angeles, California
  • Charles Leslie Rice, Trustee of Knox College

1939

  •  * Edgar Lee Hewett, archeologist and professor of archeology, University of New Mexico
  • Andrew Magee Harvey ('89), Industrial physician and surgeon, Crane Co., Chicago; authority on industrial safety
  • Harry Thomas Stock ('14), Author of religious books; secretary for the department of Student Life, Congregational Board Home Missions, Boston, Massachusetts

1938

  •  * Silas Hardy Strawn, President of the American Bar Association, partner in Winston & Strawn law firm in Chicago
  • Clarence Elmer Comstock ('88), professor of mathematics at Knox College and Bradley University
  • Edward Charles Franing ('98), Physician and Surgeon in Galesburg; Knox College Physician for 30 years
  • Ralph Fletcher Seymour, Book designer and publisher, Alderbrink Press, Chicago
  • Ralph Waldo Trine, Knox graduate and author whose work in psychology and religion was noted as recently as a 2005 conference of the Society for Neuroscience

1937

  • * Donald J. Cowling, President of Carleton College
  • Albert Britt ('98), Author, editor, and educator; Tenth president of Knox; biographer and authority on Early Americana
  • John Leonard Conger, Educator, historian, and civic leader, professor of history at Knox College for 36 years; former mayor of Galesburg
  • Lewis McOmber Evans ("Mack"), Organist and choir-master at the University of Chicago
  • Dixon Ryan Fox, President at Union College, Schenectady, N.Y.
  • William James Hamilton, Superintendent of elementary education in Oak Park, Illinois for 20 years
  • Corliss Wilkes Lay ('87), Missionary to India; former general secretary for Yankton College in Yankton, South Dakota
  • Charles LeRoy Lowman, Orthopedic surgeon in Los Angeles, California; author of medical texts on orthopedics
  • Selden Gale Lowrie ('07), Professor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati; author and economist
  • James Lukens McConaughy, Ninth President of Knox College; president of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut; later, Governor of Connecticut
  • Frederick A. Middlebush, Former faculty of Knox College; professor of history, dean and president at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
  • Floyd Eugene Thompson, Lawyer in Chicago; member of the Illinois Supreme Court; authority on Civil Law
  • Hettie Linsley Thompson ('77), Educational and civic leader in Galesburg
  • John Gilbert Winan, Governor of New Hampshire; later, Ambassador to Great Britain
  • Theodore Paul Wright, Directing Engineer, vice president of Curtis Wright Corp.; administrator of the Civil Aeronautics Administration; president of Cornell University Aeronautical Laboratory

1936

  • Clarence Addison Dykstra, City Manager for Cincinnati, Ohio; President of the University of Wisconsin, later Provost, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Frederic Carlos Ferry, President at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York
  • Albert Hatton Gilmer ('00), Educator and playwright; chairman of the speech and drama department at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania for 20 years
  • James MacConnell Weddell, Composer, Organist, educator; faculty at the Knox Conservatory (47 years); former chairman of the department of Music at Knox College

1935

  • Charles Carlton George ('85), Banker and Realtor in Omaha, Nebraska; trustee of Knox College; director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
  • Emanuel Hertz, Lawyer, lecturer, author, and philanthropist in New York; donor of Lincolniana to Knox
  • Victor Vaughn Lytle ('09), Professor of musical theory at Oberlin Conservatory of Music; author and composer
  • Donald Randall Richberg, Lawyer, general counsel for the National Recovery Administration in Washington, D.C.; authority on labor relationships. Who's Who

1934

  • Jane Addams (pictured), founder of Hull House in Chicago and winner of Nobel Peace Prize
  • Frank Homer Gaines ('84), Lawyer in Omaha, Nebraska
  • Otto Harbach, Knox graduate and Broadway lyricist
  • Howard Ansley Murphy ('14), Teacher and Music Educator at Teachers College at Columbia University in New York; composer and author of music texts
  • George Hinsdale Win ('05), Clergyman, author, missionary to North Korea from the Presbyterian Board of Missions

1933

  • Loyal Edward Davis ('16), Neurological surgeon; chairman of the surgery division of Northwestern University Medical School; author of medical textbooks; chief of neural surgery in the European sector during World War II; president of the American Coll. of Surgeons
  • Henry Horner, Governor of Illinois

1932

  •  Jesse Allen Crafton ('12), Playwright and poet; professor of speech and drama; chairman, dept., University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas
  • Rachel Louise Fitch ('02), Dean of women at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York; former educator for A.A.U.W. and Tri Delt National Mags.; publicity director, Y.W.C.A., France, 1918
  • Caroline Lulu Palmer ('92), Dean of women and professor at the Biblical Seminary in New York
  • Ella McBride Rainey ('80), Social worker in Washington, D.C.; wife of Congressman, established the Rainey Loan Fund for Knox College

1931

  •  Edward Caldwell ('86), Trustee for Knox College; publisher and editor for McGraw Hill Co., New York; founder of Finley College, Knox Library, and Friends of Knox Library; a founder of the Knox 50-years club
  • Edward O. Holyoke ('81), Clergyman in Providence, Rhode Island for 44 years; lecturer at Colgate and Newton Theological Seminaries
  • Julia Clifford Lathrop, Authority on mental care, juvenile problems, and child care; resident head of Hull House in Chicago

1930

  • Milton Joseph Foreman, Lawyer in Chicago; Colonel in World War I; later a Brigadier General, Major General and Lieutenant General, 33rd Division, Illinois National Guard; past National Commander, American Legion. Civic leader and author
  • William Mather Lewis ('00), Educator and President of Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania; formerly President of George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
  • Carl Keister McKinley ('15), Organist and Choir-master in Boston, Massachusetts; composer of organ, piano and choral music
  • Joseph Edward Oris, Banker, stock broker; chairman of the Board for Central Illinois Trust Co., Chicago
  • Chloe Owings ('10), Author and social worker; decorated by the government of France with the Medaille de la Reconnaissance Francaise for work in war-torn France
  • Frank Hayward Severence ('78), Editor, author, lecturer, and historian in Buffalo, New York
  • Silas Hardy Strawn, Lawyer, Chicago; counsel for C.M. St. P. and P.R.R. and Union Stock Yards; philanthropist; life trustee for Northwestern University, Evanston
  • Thomas Taylor ('81), Lawyer and judge for the Circuit and Appellate Courts in Chicago for 18 years. Master in Chancery, Chicago for 20 years

1929

  • Mary Margaret Bartelme, Lawyer; judge for Circuit and Juvenile courts in Chicago; public guardian for Cook County, Illinois
  • Edwin Eugene Cox ('91), Lawyer in New York; realtor in San Francisco and Los Angeles; authority on farm tenancy in the U.S.
  • Anna Frances Hoover ('89), Librarian for the Galesburg Public Library for 35 years
  • Jacob H. Hopkins ('87), Lawyer, jurist, philanthropist; judge for the Superior Court, and, later, Chief Justice, of the Criminal Court of Chicago

1928

  • Wilbur Leslie Evans ('93), investment banker in San Antonio, Texas
  • Charles Joseph Finger, Author, editor and publisher of "All's Well" Magazine; ed. at Bellows-Reeve Co., Fayetteville, Arkansas; writer of fiction and biography
  • Joseph Ralston Hayden ('10), Author, educator, and professor of political science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; authority on the Philippines
  • George Roscoe Hedge, Major, later colonel, U.S.A.; professor of Military Science and Tactics at Knox
  • Carl Sandburg, Galesburg native and author

1927

  •  Walter Franklin Boyes, Educator; superintendent of schools in Knox County for 32 years
  • Henry Seidel Canby, Educator, editor, and Professor of English at Yale University; editor of the Saturday Rev. Lit.; on the Board for the Book-of-the-Month Club; trustee for Finch Gr. College, Connecticut; author and biographer
  • William Lincoln Honnold, Mining, consulting engineer in South Africa for 15 years; active in post-war Belgian relief; consulting engineer in Los Angeles, California. Endowed Honnold Lectureship and Fellowships for Knox

1926

  • Edward Payson Heizer ('77), Educator, journalist; editor at a Hinton, Iowa newspaper
  • Henry Willard Lampe ('01), Clergyman, Missionary to Korea; author of religious articles
  • Merrit Starr, Lawyer, author specialist in Civil Service; former trustee at Oberlin College and National Kindergarten and Elementary College, Evanston, Illinois
  • Horace Kent Tenney, Lawyer and professor of law at the University of Chicago

1925

  •  Fred B. Brown ('85), Farmer, educator, and lawyer. Judge of the Superior Court in San Jose, California
  • Mary Charlotte Hurd ('80), Faculty of Knox College for 17 years, donor to the Albert Hurd Book Collection
  • Ray Freeman Jeney, Clergyman of Galesburg; trustee of Knox College; author and lecturer in pulpits in the East
  • John Charles Olsen ('90), Educator, author and chemist; prof. and chem. dept., Chemical Engineer of the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, Brooklyn, New York
  • Melville Elijah Stone, journalist and newspaper manager; co-founder of the Chicago Daily news and Chicago Record; later Bank director in New York and counselor for the Associated Press in New York City

1924

  •  Frank Taylor Fulton ('94), Physician and heart specialist in Providence, Rhode Island; author and educator; leader in New England Medical Circles
  • Harry Clay Hale, Major General in U.S.A. service in Indian wars, the Spanish American War, the Philippine Insurrection, and World War I. Commander of the 6th Corps Area (including Illinois.), Chicago
  • Francis Lilian Taylor, Educator at Galesburg Public Schools; head of the Galesburg Teachers Training School; author of "Children's Readers"
  • Harriet Elizabeth Vittum, Social worker in Chicago; resident head of Northwestern University Settlement
  • Lyman Perl Wilson ('04), Lawyer and author; professor of Law at Cornell University at Ithaca, New York
  • Charles Truman Wyckoff ('84), Professor of history and dean at Bradley University in Peoria; authority and writer on English history

1923 (Lombard College)

  • Carl Sandburg, Galesburg native and author

1923

  •  Thomas Arkle Clark, Professor of English and dean of men at the University of Illinois for 50 years; first Dean of Men in the U.S.
  • George Candee Gale ('93), Lawyer, Galesburg; expert on municipal and state taxation. Former faculty of Knox College
  • Fred Reuben Jelliff ('78), Newspaper editor, amateur geologist, Galesburg; author of histories of Galesburg, and of Knox College; former faculty of Knox College
  • Thomas James Norton, Lawyer and author, Chicago; expert on corporation and constitutional law; former attorney of the Santa Fe Railroad, Chicago

1922

  • Albert Augustus Boyden ('96), Managing editor of American Magazine and McClure's Magazine, New York City
  • George Anderson Cooke ('92), Lawyer in Chicago; legislator, Chief Justice, Illinois Supreme Court
  • Ella Park Lawrence ('78), Trustee at Park College; benefactor of Knox College; established the first loans fund for women at Knox
  • Eula Bates Lee ('87), Missionary to Turkey; secretary of the Women's Board, Home Missions, Chicago; secretary of the American Bd., Foreign Missions, Boston, Massachusetts
  • James Julius Parks ('72), Lawyer in St. Louis, Missouri; insurance executive; trustee at Westminster College, Missouri; former president of the Bd. Presbyterian Orphanage, Farmington, Missouri
  • J. Merle Stevens, Clergyman, Peoria; later at Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin

1921

  • Earnest Elmo Calkins (pictured), Knox graduate and advertising executive who wrote a widely regarded history of Galesburg, They Broke the Prairie
  • William Bailey Hague ('71), Clergyman and educator in Gorham, Maine; former instructor at Knox Academy
  • Jessie Rosette Holmes ('85), Professor Emerita. Faculty member of Knox College for 41 years
  • Charles Ethelbert McKinley, Clergyman in Galesburg; trustee of Knox College; later was acting president of Knox in 1925, and lecturer; later superintendent of the Rhode Island Congl. Conference
  • James George Needham ('91), Entomologist and textbook writer; former faculty member of Knox and professor of entomology and limnology at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
  • Francis Hinckley Sisson ('92), Banker, New York; National president of Beta Theta Pi; president of the American Bankers Association; trustee of Knox College
  • Graham Taylor, Clergyman and Professor of Social Economics at the Chicago Theological Seminary; founder and resident head of Chicago Commons Social Settlement; author, editor

1920

  • Stockton Axson, Professor of English at Rice Institute, Houston, Texas; Shakespearean scholar
  • Louise deKoven Bowen (Mrs.), Author and social worker in Chicago; President of the Juvenile Protective Association for 35 years; President of Hull House; Vice President of the Associated Charities of Chicago
  • Edward Nash Hurley, Manufacturer and financier, Chicago; developed the pneumatic tool industry in the U.S. and Europe
  • Kellogg Day McClelland ('05), Treasurer, trustee, and acting president of Knox College
  • Delia Rice Matheny ('84), Physician of Galesburg; former instructor at the Knox Academy and medical advisor to Knox women. Later a physician in California
  • William Perry Northrup, Physician in New York City; professor of pediatrics for various New York Hospitals; former instructor at Knox College
  • William Allen White, journalist

1919

  • Louis Allard, Harvard Exchange Professor 1918-1919; authority on French Literature
  • Donald John Cowling, President of Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota (36 years)
  • Frank Wells Crane ('89), Banker, civic leader, Quincy, Illinois; later, trustee, Knox
  • Oliver Hayes Dean, Lawyer, Galesburg
  • Matthew Willard Lampe ('04), Clergyman, Professor and Founder of the School of Religion at the university of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; former faculty of Knox College
  • Frank Orren Lowden, Lawyer, agriculturalist; governor of Illinois; trustee of Knox college; former faculty of Northwestern Law School; member of the 59th, 60th, and 61st Congresses from Illinois
  • Frank Owen Moulton ('74), Lawyer, civic leader, Chicago; trustee, Knox College
  • Janet Greig Post ('94), Philanthropist, Oneida and Chicago; dean of women at Knox College; later trustee and chairman of Knox Centennial and rebuilder of Old Main
  • William Edward Simonds Professor of English and dean of Knox College for 41 years; author and lecturer
  • Martha Farnham Webster ('69), Former faculty of Knox College; author of "History of Knox College," and "75 Significant Years"; co-founder, Knox County Historical Society, Galesburg

1918

  • Frederick William Hawley, President of Park College, Parkville, Missouri (23 years)
  • Everett Ward Olmsted ('91), Litt.D. Author, educator, professor and chairman of the Department of Romance Languages at the University of Minnesota
  • G. Byron Smith ('89), Sc.D. Founder and President of Iberia Junior College, Iberia, Missouri; benefactor of Knox
  • C.J. Whipple ('68), D.D. Episcopalian clergyman and author, New York City

1917

  •  Sherman Colver Kingsley ('92), LL.D. Children's social worker, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland; with the U.S. Bureau of Education, Cleveland, Ohio, and later in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1916

  •  Henry Mahan Beadsley, Lawyer, mayor, Kansas City, Missouri; president of the Kansas City Y.M.C.A. (50 years)
  • Louis Barton Crane ('91), Clergyman, educator, author, lecturer, Elizabeth, New Jersey; director, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey. Later, Moderator, National Council of Congregatinoal Churches.
  • Franklyn Elsworth Jeffrey ('87), Clergyman; missionary to India; pastor, Galesburg
  • Edgar Hersman Montgomery ('94), Clergyman, Secretary and general manager of the Ohio Presbyterian Home, Sidney, Ohio
  • James Fulton Percy, Surgeon, Staff Medical College of Medical Evangelists, Loma Linda, California. Former physician, surgery, Galesburg; Medical Advisor, Knox College; cancer specialist

1915

  •  James Barbour Ayres ('85), Clergyman; missionary to Japan
  • George Latimer Bates ('85), Naturalist, ornithologist; 25 years in Africa; Assoc. British Museum of National History, London, England
  • Blanche M. Boult, (Cons., '92), Faculty, Knox Conservatory (46 years).
  • Allen B. Dow (Cons. '92), Former faculty, Knox Conservatory Teacher, Piano and Voice, Portland, Oregon
  • John Lauderdale Kennedy ('83), Lawyer and banker, Omaha, Nebraska. Former member 59th Congress from Nebraska; federal fuel administrator, Nebraska, World War I
  • Harriet W. Webster, (Cons., '91), Former faculty, Knox Conservatory Teacher, Music, Geneva, Ohio

1914

  • William Eleazer Barton, Clergyman, author, historian, Boston and Oak Park, Illinois churches, authority on Lincoln• Frank Sargent Hoffman ('73), Clergyman, editor, author, professor of philosophy, Union College, Schenectady, New York
  • Erastus Swift Willcox ('51), Author, educator, librarian, Knox College, and librarian, Peoria Public Library

1913

  • Merritt Willis Pickney, Judge, Cook Co. Illinois circuit and juvenile courts

1912

  • Roy Berben Guild ('94), Clergyman, Topeka, Kansas. Later, associate general secretary, Fed. Council Churches of America, New York City
  • James Percival Huget, Congregational clergyman in Galesburg, and Shelter Island, N.Y.; trustee, Knox College
  • Charles Wesley Leffingwell ('62), Clergyman, editor, author; founder and rector of St. Mary's School (for girls, 1868) ad St. Alban's (for boys, 1890), Knoxville. Benefactor of Knox
  • Arthur M. Little, Clergyman, New Hampshire and Maine; Trustee, Ripon College; president of the board, Bradford Academy, Bradford, Pennsylvania, and president, Andover Theological Seminary, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • Ida M. McCall ('75), High School teacher; instructor of Latin at Knox College (23 years)
  • George Henry Perkins ('66), Educator, author, state biologist and geologist of Vermont; professor and dean, later acting president at the University of Vermont, Bennington, Vermont
  • Ellen Browning Scripps (pictured), Knox graduate, journalist and founder of the Scripps Newspaper Syndicate
  • John Van Ness Standish, Professor, dean, and president of Lombard College (41 years), Galesburg; benefactor of city and of Knox College
  • Thomas Rigney Willard ('66), Professor, dean, registrar and acting president of Knox College (46 years); later trustee of Knox (11 years)

1911

  • Frank Henry Burt ('86), President, Y.M.C.A. College, Chicago. Alumni trustee, Knox College, 1919-1922
  • Oliver Albert Harker, Jurist. Professor and dean, University of Illinois Law School; judge, Appellate Court, Second and Third Districts, Illinois
  • Thomas C. MacMillan, Historian, clerk, Northern Illinois District Court (24 years); former moderator, National Council of Congregational Churches; member, House and Senate, Illinois Legislature
  • James Matthew Maxon, M.A. Episcopalian priest; Bishop of Tennessee; later Chancellor, University of South, Sewanee, Tennessee

1909

  • William Frederick Bentley, Composer and Choir Director, Galesburg; director of the Knox Conservatory of Music for 51 years
  • John Y. Ewart ('81), Clergyman, Pittsburg, Kansas; author of religious tracts and articles
  • John Charles Richberg, Lawyer, Chicago
  • George Abeel Stout ('99), Mus.B. Faculty, Knox Conservatory; later, supervisor of Music, H.S., Spokane, Washington
  • Ida Tarbell, investigative journalist with McClure's Magazine
  • John Winter Thompson, Professor, organ, Knox Conservatory (47 years), and Conservatory director; author and composer
  • James D. Wyckoff ('56), Clergyman, author, evangelist for Illinois Home Missionary Society, Chicago

1908

  • Edgar Addison Bancroft ('78), Lawyer, author, trustee and benefactor of Knox; U.S. Ambassador to Japan
  • Clark Ezra Carr ('59), Lawyer, author, one of the first sponsors of Lincoln-for-president; trustee of Knox; U.S. Minister to Denmark; contributor to Knox Museum of Danish Artifacts
  • Alvirus Nelson Hitchcock, Clergyman, secretary for interior states of American Bd. Foreign Missions (37 years)
  • George Appleton Lawrence ('75), Lawyer, agriculturist, trustee and benefactor of Knox; also trustee of Park College, Missouri; established scholarships and prizes at Knox

1907

  • Malvina M. Bennett, Professor, Wellesley College, Massachusetts, 30 years; former instructor of public speaking at Knox College
  • William Carter, Clergyman, traveler, lecturer, New York City; later, chaplain, World War I, France
  • Charles Evans Hughes, Jurist, statesman, New York City; later candidate for President of the U.S.A. on the Republican ticket, 1916; Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court, Washington, D.C.
  • George Frederick Kunz, Mining engineer, gem expert. Vice President, Tiffany's New York City
  • S.S. McClure (pictured), founder of McClure's Magazine that pioneered the field of investigative journalism
  • Robert Mather ('82), Lawyer, general counsel, Rock Island Railroad; trustee, Knox College; later chairman of the board, Westinghouse Electric, Chicago
  • John Sanburn Phillips ('82), Editor and publisher, Crowell Pub. Company; president, Phillips Publishing Company; later, editor, American Magazine, New York City

1906

  •  Edward Payson Williams ('54) Lawyer, City Attorney, Galesburg

1905

  • J. Webster Bailey, Clergyman, Fort Wayne, Indiana
  • James Robert Smith, Clergyman, Quincy. Former Secretary, Congregational Building Society

1904

  •  Thomas Gold Frost ('86), Lawyer, author, editor, New York City; trustee, Knox College; authority on constitutional law
  • S.H. Gale, Clergyman; superintendent, Home Mission Society Florida, Jacksonville, Florida
  • Charles H. Tainter, Clergyman; field secretary, Congregational Building Society, Chicago

1903

  •  Lowell Mason McAfee, Educator, President, Park College; later Dean, Los Angeles Jr. College
  • Thomas Verner Moore, Clergyman, professor of Theology at the San Francisco Theological Seminary
  • William Lawrence Tennery, Clergyman, secretary, Western Branch, American Missionary Society, Chicago

1902

  • Duncan M. Buchanan ('86), Clergyman, Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania. Later in Baltimore, Maryland
  • Walter Alison Edwards ('83), Editor and author; president, Throop Institute, Pasadena, California; former H.S. Teacher of Latin

1901

  •  Stuart McAlpine Campbell ('88), Presbyterian Clergyman, Chicago; later in Galesburg; trustee, Knox
  • Edwin Stutely Carr ('82), Clergyman and author, Peoria
  • Hobart K. Painter, Clergyman, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Theodore Gerald Soares, Lecturer, Biblical Literature at Knox College; pastor Baptist Church, Galesburg; later professor of Theology, University of Chicago
  • John Wilson, lawyer who helped plan the Chicago Sanitary District

1900

  • Frederic Bancroft ('82), Historian; professor, Amherst; chief, U.S. Department State Library, Washington, D.C.; member literature staff, New York "Nation"
  • Milton E. Churchill ('77), Educator, Former Member Knox Faculty; Faculty, Blackburn College, Carlinville
  • Henry Lodge Estabrook, Attorney, Chicago; later in New York
  • Edward Dudley Kenna, Attorney, First Vice President and General Counsel, Santa Fe Railroad
  • Charles Emory Smith, Postmaster General, U.S.A.; former newspaper editor and U.S. Minister to Russia
  • William L. Steele, Superintendent of Schools, Galesburg, 1885-1918
  • Clarence Franklin Swift, Clergyman, Minneapolis, Minnesota; later at Fall River, Massachusetts

More Honorary Degrees: 1849-1899

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Printed on Saturday, April 20, 2024