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Notable Lombard Alumni

From Poets to Politicians and Athletes

Even though Lombard College was in operation for less than 100 years, it produced a number of notable alumni, from poet and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Carl Sandburg to record-setting baseball player Evar Swanson.

Notable Lombard College Alumni:

Carl SandburgE.H. Conger (1843-1907)
Class of 1862
congressman, diplomat, ambassador to China at the time of the Boxer Rebellion

Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)
Attended 1899-1902
author, poet, Pulitzer Prize winner

Paul Jordan Smith (1895-1971)
Class of 1908
editor, educator, poet, journalist

Sewall Wright (1889-1988)
Class of 1911
Geneticist, one of the founders of population genetics

Evar SwansonQuincy Wright (1890-1971)
Class of 1912
educator, poet, economist, political scientist, author

Theodore Wright (1895-1970)
Class of 1915
engineer, first director of Civil Aeronautics Administration

Evar Swanson (1902-1973)
Class of 1924
professional athlete: baseball; football. Since 1929 remains the fastest player in baseball

Dorothy Tilden Spoerl (1906 - 2000)
Class of 1927
theologian, writer, educator