# List of Boston Latin School alumni

Boston Latin School is a public exam school located in Boston, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1635. It is the first public school and the oldest existing school in the United States.
The school's first class included nine students; the school now has 2,400 pupils drawn from all parts of Boston. Its graduates have included four Harvard presidents, eight Massachusetts state governors, and five signers of the United States Declaration of Independence, as well as several preeminent architects, a leading art historian, a notable naturalist and the conductors of the New York Philharmonic and Boston Pops orchestras. There are also several notable non-graduate alumni, including Louis Farrakhan, a leader of the Nation of Islam. Boston Latin admitted only male students at its founding in 1635. The school's first female student was admitted in the nineteenth century. In 1972, Boston Latin admitted its first co-educational class.
Admission is determined by a combination of a student's score on the independent school Entrance Examination and recent grades, and is limited to residents of the city of Boston. Although Boston Latin runs from the 7th through the 12th grade, it admits students only into the 7th and 9th grades. In 2007, the school was named one of the top twenty high schools in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.

## Alumni
### Graduate alumni

| Image | Name | Class year | Notability |
| — | Edwin Hale Abbot | 1854 | Lawyer, railroad executive |
| Charles Francis Adams Sr. | Charles Francis Adams Sr. | 1819 | U.S. Congressman, Ambassador to Great Britain |
| Charles Francis Adams Jr. | Charles Francis Adams Jr. | — | Union Army General |
| Samuel Adams | Samuel Adams | 1729 | Governor of Massachusetts, Boston Tea Party organizer |
| Ed Ames | Ed Ames | — | Popular singer, actor |
| James Barnes | James Barnes | — | Union Army general |
| John L. Bates | John L. Bates | 1819 | Governor of Massachusetts |
| Henry Ward Beecher | Henry Ward Beecher | 1826 | Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, speaker |
| Jonathan Belcher | Jonathan Belcher | 1689 | Colonial governor of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey |
| Bernard Berenson | Bernard Berenson | — | Art historian |
| — | Thomas Bernard | 1763 | Colonial governor of Maryland |
| Leonard Bernstein | Leonard Bernstein | 1935 | Conductor, composer, author, music lecturer, pianist |
| George Tyler Bigelow | George Tyler Bigelow | 1824 | chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court |
| Edwin Blashfield | Edwin Blashfield | 1861 | Artist |
| James Bowdoin | James Bowdoin | 1734 | Governor of Massachusetts |
| Thomas Mayo Brewer | Thomas Mayo Brewer | 1826 | Naturalist |
| Phillips Brooks | Phillips Brooks | 1846 | Bishop of Massachusetts in the Episcopal Church |
| — | Robert A. Brooks | 1949 | Telecommunications pioneer |
| Raymond Bartlett Stevens | Raymond Bartlett Stevens | — | U.S. Congressman from New Hampshire |
| Charles Bulfinch | Charles Bulfinch | 1770 | Architect of the U.S. Capitol |
| Thomas Bulfinch | Thomas Bulfinch | — | Mythologist, banker |
| Andrea Campbell | Andrea Campbell | | Lawyer and politician (Massachusetts attorney general and former Boston City Council member) |
| Francis James Child | Francis James Child | 1840 | Scholar, educationist, folklorist |
| James Freeman Clarke | James Freeman Clarke | 1821 | Unitarian Clergyman, author |
| Richard A. Clarke | Richard A. Clarke | 1968 | Chief counter-terrorism adviser on the U.S. National Security Council |
| — | Marshall Cogan | 1955 | Investor, banker, entrepreneur; founder of United Automotive Group and investment banking firm Cogan, Berlind, Weill & Levitt |
| — | Cid Corman | — | Poet, translator, editor |
| Joseph W. Cullen | Joseph W. Cullen | 1954 | Cancer researcher and scientist |
| Thomas Cushing | Thomas Cushing | 1740 | Acting Governor of Massachusetts |
| Timothy Cutler | Timothy Cutler | 1690 | Episcopal clergyman and rector of Yale College |
| Francis Dana | Francis Dana | 1751 | Lawyer, jurist, statesman, delegate to the Continental Congress |
| Charles Henry Davis | Charles Henry Davis | 1815 | Rear Admiral in the United States Navy |
| Charles Devens | Charles Devens | 1829 | Lawyer, jurist, statesman, Union Army general |
| — | Paul A. Dever | 1918 | Governor of Massachusetts |
| — | Edward Payson Dutton | 1844 | Book publisher |
| — | Ayo Edebiri | 2013 | Comedian, writer, producer, and actress |
| Charles William Eliot | Charles William Eliot | 1844 | President of Harvard University |
| Samuel Atkins Eliot | Samuel Atkins Eliot | 1809 | U.S. Congressman, Mayor of Boston |
| Christine Elise McCarthy | Christine Elise McCarthy | 1983 | Film and television actress |
| Ralph Waldo Emerson | Ralph Waldo Emerson | 1817 | Essayist, philosopher, poet, orator, leader of the Transcendentalist movement, Unitarian clergyman |
| William Eustis | William Eustis | 1761 | Governor of Massachusetts, United States Secretary of War |
| William Maxwell Evarts | William Maxwell Evarts | 1828 | United States Attorney General, Secretary of State |
| Edward Everett | Edward Everett | 1805 | Governor of Massachusetts, U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Senator |
| William Everett | William Everett | 1852 | U.S. Congressman |
| — | Aaron Feuerstein | 1943 | Owner and CEO of Malden Mills |
| — | Arthur Fiedler | 1907 | Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra |
| — | Thomas Finneran | 1967 | Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives |
| John F. Fitzgerald | John F. Fitzgerald | 1880 | Mayor of Boston, U.S. Congressman |
| — | Tom Fitzgerald | 1929 | The Boston Globe sports journalist and recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy and the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award |
| — | John Bernard Fitzpatrick | 1826 | Roman Catholic Bishop of Boston |
| James Freeman | James Freeman | 1766 | Unitarian clergyman and writer |
| James A. Gallivan | James A. Gallivan | 1884 | U.S. Congressman |
| — | Dave Gettleman | 1968 | General manager of the New York Giants |
| Christopher Gore | Christopher Gore | 1765 | Governor of Massachusetts, U.S. Senator |
| Nathaniel Gorham | Nathaniel Gorham | 1746 | President of the Continental Congress, signer of the United States Constitution |
| — | Mike Gorman | 1965 | Television play-by-play commentator for the Boston Celtics |
| Benjamin A. Gould | Benjamin A. Gould | 1835 | Astronomer |
| Robert Grant | Robert Grant | — | Novelist, probate court judge |
| John Chipman Gray | John Chipman Gray | — | Harvard Law School professor |
| — | Adolphus W. Green | 1859 | Attorney, businessman, founder of Nabisco |
| — | Richard Saltonstall Greenough | 1829 | Sculptor |
| Edward Everett Hale | Edward Everett Hale | 1831 | Author, Unitarian clergyman |
| Franklin Elmer Ellsworth Hamilton | Franklin Elmer Ellsworth Hamilton | 1883 | Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church |
| John Hancock | John Hancock | 1745 | Merchant, President of the Second Continental Congress, first Governor of Massachusetts |
| — | Nat Hentoff | 1941 | Historian, novelist, jazz critic, columnist, civil libertarian |
| Henry Lee Higginson | Henry Lee Higginson | 1846 | Businessman, philanthropist, founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra |
| William Hooper | William Hooper | 1749 | Member of the Continental Congress, signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence |
| Samuel Gridley Howe | Samuel Gridley Howe | — | Physician, abolitionist, advocate of education for the blind |
| — | John Hull | 1637 | Merchant, military officer, and politician in the Massachusetts Bay Colony |
| — | Leavitt Hunt | 1839 | Attorney, photography pioneer, brother of Richard Morris Hunt |
| Richard Morris Hunt | Richard Morris Hunt | 1843 | Architect, founder of the American Institute of Architects and the Municipal Art Society |
| Thomas Hutchinson | Thomas Hutchinson | 1716 | Colonial Governor of Massachusetts |
| — | Charles Jackson | 1784 | Jurist, judge of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court |
| Joseph Kennedy | Joseph Kennedy | 1908 | Businessman, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, first Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission |
| John King | John King | 1981 | Journalist, reporter |
| Henry Knox | Henry Knox | 1758 | Bookseller, chief artillery officer of the Continental Army, first U.S. Secretary of War |
| — | Yehuda Krinsky | — | Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic rabbi |
| Samuel Pierpoint Langley | Samuel Pierpoint Langley | 1845 | Astronomer, physicist, inventor of the bolometer, pioneer of aviation |
| — | Philip J. Landrigan | 1959 | Epidemiologist, pediatrician |
| — | Samuel Langdon | 1734 | US Congregational clergyman, President of Harvard University |
| — | William L. Langer | 1912 | chairman of the history department at Harvard University, head of the Research and Analysis branch of the Office of Strategic Services |
| — | Norman B. Leventhal | 1933 | Developer and manager of office buildings, housing, and hotels |
| — | Joseph R. Levenson | 1937 | University of California, Berkeley Historian of China |
| John Leverett the Younger | John Leverett the Younger | 1669 | President of Harvard College |
| — | Howard Lindsay | 1907 | Broadway producer, playwright, librettist, director, actor |
| James Lloyd | James Lloyd | 1776 | U.S. Senator |
| Edward Lawrence Logan | Edward Lawrence Logan | 1894 | Militia officer, jurist; namesake of Logan International Airport |
| Ruthzee Louijeune | Ruthzee Louijeune | 2004 | At-large Boston City Council member |
| — | James Lovell | 1744 | Educator, delegate to the Continental Congress |
| Augustus Lowell | Augustus Lowell | — | Businessman, philanthropist |
| — | Burton Malkiel | 1949 | Economist, author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street |
| — | Charles F. Manski | 1966 | Econometrician |
| Jonathan Mason | Jonathan Mason | 1774 | U.S. Senator |
| Cotton Mather | Cotton Mather | 1669 | New England Puritan minister, author, pamphleteer |
| Wade McCree Jr. | Wade McCree Jr. | 1937 | First African American judge appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit; second African American solicitor general |
| Robert F. McDermott | Robert F. McDermott | 1955 | Brigadier General; first permanent Dean of the Faculty at the United States Air Force Academy; Chairman and CEO of USAA |
| James F. McNulty Jr. | James F. McNulty Jr. | 1943 | U.S. Congressman from Arizona |
| Martin Milmore | Martin Milmore | 1859 | Sculptor |
| Alfred Moore | Alfred Moore | 1763 | Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court |
| Perez Morton | Perez Morton | 1760 | Lawyer; Patriot during the Revolution |
| — | Hosea Ballou Morse | 1866 | Sinologist, Chinese Maritime Customs Service |
| John Lothrop Motley | John Lothrop Motley | 1824 | Historian |
| Barry Newman | Barry Newman | 1948 | Actor |
| — | Jack O'Callahan | 1975 | Professional ice hockey player and member of the 1980 Winter Olympics United States national team |
| — | David Ochterlony | 1766 | British general |
| Harrison Gray Otis | Harrison Gray Otis | 1773 | Federalist party leader, U.S. Senator, Mayor of Boston |
| Andrew Oliver | Andrew Oliver | 1713 | Merchant, public official |
| — | Isaac Parker | 1777 | U.S. Congressman |
| — | William Parmenter | 1800 | U.S. Congressman |
| Robert Treat Paine | Robert Treat Paine | 1738 | Signer of the Declaration of Independence, speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives |
| — | William Dandridge Peck | 1771 | America's first native entomologist, professor at Harvard College |
| Wendell Phillips | Wendell Phillips | 1822 | Abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, orator |
| Edward Charles Pickering | Edward Charles Pickering | 1857 | Astronomer, physicist |
| William Dummer Powell | William Dummer Powell | 1762 | Lawyer, judge, political figure in Upper Canada |
| — | J. Pickering Putnam | 1860 | Architect and designer |
| Josiah Quincy II | Josiah Quincy II | 1754 | Lawyer |
| — | Sumner Redstone | 1940 | Majority owner and Chairman of the Board of National Amusements; majority owner of CBS Corporation, Viacom, MTV Networks, BET, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks |
| Vivian Rich | Vivian Rich | 1911 | Silent film actress |
| — | George T. Richardson | 188? | journalist, playwright, theatre critic |
| Marie Mercury Roth | Marie Mercury Roth | | synthetic organic chemist |
| — | Stan Salett | 1955 | National Education Policy Advisor (an architect of Upward Bound, Head Start); Civil Rights Organizer; Author |
| — | George Sanderson | | Pennsylvania State Senator and 10th mayor of Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
| George Santayana | George Santayana | 1878 | Philosopher, essayist, poet, novelist |
| Winthrop Sargent | Winthrop Sargent | — | Secretary of Northwest Territory, Governor of Mississippi Territory |
| — | Benjamin I. Schwartz | 1934 | Harvard University historian of China |
| Roger Hale Sheaffe | Roger Hale Sheaffe | 1770 | American-born General in the British Army |
| Nathaniel B. Shurtleff | Nathaniel B. Shurtleff | 1822 | Twentieth mayor of Boston |
| Samuel Francis Smith | Samuel Francis Smith | 1828 | Baptist minister, journalist, author, wrote lyrics of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" |
| — | Guy L. Steele Jr. | 1972 | Computer scientist |
| — | Julian Steele | 1925 | Social worker and activist, Massachusetts' first African American town moderator, state agency head |
| Moorfield Storey | Moorfield Storey | — | Lawyer, publicist, and civil rights leader |
| William Stoughton | William Stoughton | — | Judge during Salem Witch Trials; Acting Colonial Governor of Massachusetts |
| Charles Sumner | Charles Sumner | 1821 | U.S. Senator, leader of the Radical Republicans |
| — | Joseph Henry Thayer | 1842 | Biblical scholar |
| Edward Tuckerman | Edward Tuckerman | 1827 | Botanist, professor |
| Frederic Tudor | Frederic Tudor | 1793 | Founder of the Tudor Ice Company |
| Edward D. Townsend | Edward D. Townsend | — | Adjutant General of the United States Army, 1869–1880 |
| — | William Tudor | 1758 | Lawyer |
| — | Isadore Twersky | — | Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at Harvard University |
| Royall Tyler | Royall Tyler | 1765 | Jurist, playwright |
| — | Henry Van Brunt | 1844 | Architect, architectural writer |
| — | Andrew Viterbi | 1952 | Electrical engineer, philanthropist |
| John Collins Warren | John Collins Warren | 1786 | Surgeon, pioneer of ether anesthesia |
| — | Clifton R. Wharton Jr. | 1943 | Economist, first African-American university president and chairman of a Fortune 100 corporation, United States Deputy Secretary of State |
| Helen Magill White | Helen Magill White | — | First woman in the United States to earn a PhD |
| — | Theodore White | 1932 | Political journalist, historian, novelist |
| Robert Charles Winthrop | Robert Charles Winthrop | 1821 | Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator |
| — | John Joseph Wright | 1927 | Prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy |
| — | Daniel Yankelovich | 1942 | Public opinion analyst, social scientist |
a $^1$ $^2$ $^3$ $^4$ $^5$ $^6$ $^7$ $^8$ "—" indicates the year of graduation is unknown.

### Non-graduate alumni

| Image | Name | Class year | Notability |
| — | Walter A. Brown | — | Original owner of the Boston Celtics |
| Louis Farrakhan | Louis Farrakhan | — | National Representative of the Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammad |
| Torin Francis | Torin Francis | — | Professional basketball player |
| Benjamin Franklin | Benjamin Franklin | — | Founding Father of the United States of America, polymath, author, printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, diplomat |
| Mike Sherman | Mike Sherman | — | Head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies football team |