69 Notable alumni of Thomas Jefferson University
Updated: June 23, 2026 EliteDegrees
Thomas Jefferson University is ranked #465 in the world and #145 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 69 notable alumni from Thomas Jefferson University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Thomas Jefferson University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Joseph Henderson
1791-1863 (aged 72)
politician
Joseph Henderson was a Jacksonian member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
2. Leon F. Harvey
1837-1912 (aged 75)
physician
dentist
entomologist
Leon F. Harvey was an American entomologist, physician, and dentist. He was a founding member of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, serving as its first treasurer and later as its president.
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3. John Cox Hupp
1819-1908 (aged 89)
medical writer
physician
John Cox Hupp was a noted physician of Wheeling, West Virginia. He was known for his contributions to the City of Wheeling and educational reform.
4. Andrew Jackson Barchfeld
1863-1922 (aged 59)
politician
Andrew Jackson Barchfeld was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
5. John Roberts Reading
1826-1886 (aged 60)
politician
homeopath
John Roberts Reading was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
6. Joseph Garland
1822-1902 (aged 80)
teacher
politician
surgeon
Joseph Garland was an American medical doctor and politician who served as Mayor of Gloucester, Massachusetts.
7. Ebenezer Kingsbury Hunt
1810-1889 (aged 79)
physician
Ebenezer Kingsbury Hunt was a prominent physician in Hartford, Connecticut.
8. James Ewing Mears
1838-1919 (aged 81)
surgeon
writer
James Ewing Mears, also J. Ewing Mears M.D., LL.D. was a surgeon and author. He was a pioneer in jaw and mouth surgeries. He was the first to propose the use of Gasserian ganglionectomy for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. He was the first surgeon in the United States to successfully perform a subcutaneous osteotomy for the relief of old...
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9. Robert Coltman
1862-1931 (aged 69)
surgeon
physician
Robert Coltman, Jr. was an American physician, born in Washington, to Robert Coltman and Mary Jane Clements. He received his medical training at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and in 1881 began the practice of medicine. In 1896 he was appointed professor of anatomy at the Tung Wen College, Beijing, and in 1898 professor of surgery at the Imperial University, Beijing....
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10. Frank E. Wilson
1857-1935 (aged 78)
politician
Frank Eugene Wilson was an American physician and politician who served five terms as a U.S. representative from New York between 1899 and 1915.
11. R. Beverly Cole
1829-1901 (aged 72)
physician
obstetrician
Richard Beverly Cole was an American physician and past president of the American Medical Association (AMA). He was dean of the Toland Medical College during the time that it merged with the University of California system (it was later known as University of California, San Francisco). A surgeon and obstetrician-gynecologist, Cole was among the first to perform some of the...
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12. John Flournoy Henry
1793-1873 (aged 80)
politician
John Flournoy Henry was a U.S. representative from Kentucky.
13. Orlando Plummer
1836-1913 (aged 77)
politician
Orlando Pleasant Shields Plummer was an American physician and politician in the state of Oregon. A native of Pennsylvania, he started practicing medicine in Illinois before moving to Portland, Oregon. In Oregon, he continued his medical work as well as working for several telegraph companies. A Republican, Plummer was also a member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, a medical professor,...
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14. Edmund W. Samuel
1857-1930 (aged 73)
politician
Edmund William Samuel was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
15. Charles Skelton
1806-1879 (aged 73)
politician
Charles Skelton was an American Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1851 to 1855.
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16. Zedekiah Kidwell
1814-1872 (aged 58)
lawyer
politician
Zedekiah Kidwell was a nineteenth-century politician, physician, lawyer, teacher and clerk from Virginia and West Virginia. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1853 to 1857.
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17. Peter Remondino
1846-1926 (aged 80)
lawyer
physician
Peter Charles Remondino was an Italian-American physician, pro-circumcision advocate, first president of the San Diego Board of Health, and co-founder of San Diego’s first private hospital. In the course of a medical career spanning 55 years, he served with the Union forces during the American Civil War as surgeon. He also served as a surgeon during the Franco-Prussian War, for...
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18. Benjamin Howard Rand
1827-1883 (aged 56)
physician
Benjamin Howard Rand was an American academic physician at Jefferson Medical College. He is depicted in Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand, an 1874 painting by Thomas Eakins. It is oil on canvas and depicts Rand reading a book while petting a cat.
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19. John Hill Brinton
1832-1907 (aged 75)
military physician
surgeon
John Hill Brinton was an American surgeon.
20. Ninian Pinkney
1811-1877 (aged 66)
surgeon
military officer
Ninian Pinkney, also spelled Pinckney, was a United States Navy surgeon and medical director. He graduated from St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland, in 1829, and from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1833. He spent his entire naval career helping to further develop the field of surgery and medicine. He was especially prominent—and praised—during the American Civil War.
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21. Isaac Newton Evans
1827-1901 (aged 74)
politician
banker
Isaac Newton Evans was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
22. Samuel Abbott Green
1830-1918 (aged 88)
historian
physician
military physician
politician
Samuel Abbott Green was an American physician-turned-politician from Massachusetts who served as a medical officer during the American Civil War and as mayor of Boston in 1882. He was an elected member of the American Philosophical Society.
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23. Daniel Brainard
1812-1866 (aged 54)
surgeon
Daniel Brainard was a Chicago-based surgeon and founder of Rush Medical College.
24. Austin Flint II
1836-1915 (aged 79)
physiologist
physician
Austin Flint II was an American physician. He carried out extensive experimental investigations in human physiology and made several important discoveries. He assisted in establishing the glycogenic function of the liver; showed that one of the functions of the liver is to separate the cholesterol, a product of the nervous system, from the blood. This becomes a constituent of the...
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25. Samuel Brubaker Hartman
1830-1918 (aged 88)
physician
book peddler
carpenter
farmer
Samuel Brubaker Hartman was an American physician, surgeon, and multi-millionaire quack who redefined catarrh as the source of all disease and patented the renowned miracle cure Peruna.
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26. Tom Bentley Throckmorton
1885-1961 (aged 76)
neurologist
Tom Bentley Throckmorton was an American neurologist remembered for describing Throckmorton's reflex. He is also the namesake of the Throckmorton sign used in radiology.
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27. George R. Robbins
1808-1875 (aged 67)
politician
George Robbins Robbins was an American physician and politician who represented Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties in the United States House of Representatives for two terms from 1855 to 1859. In his first term in Congress, he was a member of the northern Opposition to the Franklin Pierce administration, which coalesced into the Republican Party in his second term...
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28. Jonathan Sackner Bernstein
1961-. (aged 65)
cardiologist
physician
Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein is an American physician. He has published around 80 scientific articles, which have been cited more than 4,000 times. His research has ranged from cardiac care to the efficacy of drugs. His research led to increased scrutiny of Nesiritide, a widely marketed drug, which led to its decline in its use.
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29. Louis Livingston Seaman
1851-1932 (aged 81)
surgeon
Louis Livingston Seaman, FRGS was an American surgeon who served in the United States Arm, and a writer of many works. He was born in Newburgh, New York.
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30. George M. Gould
1848-1922 (aged 74)
ophthalmologist
linguist
lexicographer
George Milbry Gould (November 8, 1848 Auburn, Maine – August 8, 1922 Atlantic City) was an American physician and lexicographer.
31. William S. Forbes
1831-1905 (aged 74)
physician
William Smith Forbes was an American physician who served as demonstrator of anatomy at Jefferson Medical College. He is known as the "Father of the Anatomical Act" in Pennsylvania.
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32. Thomas J. Herzfeld
1945-. (aged 81)
Thomas J. Herzfeld is the founder, Chairman and President of Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors, Inc., an investment firm specializing in the field of closed-end funds. Herzfeld is also the Chairman and President of The Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund Inc., the first closed-end fund formed to invest in the Caribbean region (as well as Cuba, when permitted). Herzfeld wrote the first...
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33. Bob File
1977-. (aged 49)
baseball player
Robert Michael File is an American former professional baseball pitcher. File spent three-plus seasons as a reliever for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2001 to 2004. He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2005, retiring shortly after spring training with a back injury.
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34. Robert G. Lahita
1945-. (aged 81)
physician
Robert George Lahita is an American physician, internist and rheumatologist, best known for his research into systemic lupus erythematosus. and other autoimmune diseases. He is the author of more than 16 books and 150 scientific publications in the field of autoimmunity and immuno-endocrinology and a media consultant on health-related issues. He currently serves as Director of the Institute of Autoimmune...
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35. Charles B. Mitchel
1815-1864 (aged 49)
politician
Charles Burton Mitchel was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from March to June 1861 as well as a Confederate States senator from Arkansas from February 18, 1862 until his death in 1864. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
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36. William Goodell
1829-1894 (aged 65)
gynecologist
William Goodell was an American gynecologist from Philadelphia, best remembered for first describing what is now referred to as Goodell's sign.
37. John Glasgow Kerr
1824-1901 (aged 77)
surgeon
physician
John Glasgow Kerr was an American medical missionary and philanthropist who helped establish The Canton Hospital, also known as the Ophthalmic Hospital, in Canton, China.
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38. Malcolm Cummings Grow
1887-1960 (aged 73)
surgeon
military officer
Major General Malcolm Cummings Grow was the first Surgeon General of the United States Air Force from July 1, 1949 to November 30, 1949.
39. Gamaliel Bailey
1807-1859 (aged 52)
abolitionist
writer
journalist
Gamaliel Bailey was one of America's leading anti-slavery journalist’s whose newspaper National Era, based in the nations capital, held a prominent voice in shaping the counties abolitionist movement and it's visibility.
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40. Jacob Mendes Da Costa
1833-1900 (aged 67)
surgeon
university teacher
Jacob Mendes Da Costa, or Jacob Mendez Da Costa was an American physician.
41. Brian S. Robinson
military leader
Brian Scott Robinson is a retired United States Air Force lieutenant general who has served as commander of the Air Education and Training Command from 2022 to 2025. He previously served as the deputy commander of the Air Mobility Command.
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42. Cornelius Van Alen Van Dyck
1818-1895 (aged 77)
translator
linguist
Bible translator
physician
Cornelius Van Alen Van Dyck, M.D. was an American missionary physician, teacher and translator of the Protestant Bible into Arabic.
43. Edward A. Wild
1825-1891 (aged 66)
military officer
homeopath
Edward Augustus Wild was an American homeopathic doctor and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
44. Chevalier Jackson
1865-1958 (aged 93)
physician
Chevalier Quixote Jackson was an American pioneer in laryngology. He is sometimes known as the "father of endoscopy", although Philipp Bozzini (1773–1809) is also often given this sobriquet. Chevalier Q. Jackson extracted over 2000 swallowed foreign bodies from patients. The collection is currently on display at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia.
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45. Carl Rogers Darnall
1867-1941 (aged 74)
surgeon
chemist
Brigadier General Carl Rogers Darnall was a United States Army chemist and surgeon credited with originating the technique of liquid chlorination of drinking water. Chlorination has been an exceedingly important innovation in public health, saving innumerable lives.
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46. Bartley P. Griffith
1949-. (aged 77)
cardiac surgeon
Bartley P. Griffith is an American heart surgeon.
47. Lamartine Griffin Hardman
1856-1937 (aged 81)
politician
Lamartine Griffin Hardman was an American physician, farmer, businessman, entrepreneur, and politician who served two terms as the 65th Governor of the state of Georgia from 1927 to 1931. He believed that state government should be run like a business and was best known for his effort to make governmental processes more efficient.
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48. Herb Conaway
1963-. (aged 63)
military officer
lawyer
politician
Herbert Clark Hoover Conaway Jr. is an American politician, physician, and former Air Force officer currently serving as the U.S. representative from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1998 to 2025, where he represented the 7th legislative district.
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49. John Martyn Harlow
1819-1907 (aged 88)
physician
John Martyn Harlow was an American physician primarily remembered for his attendance on brain-injury survivor Phineas Gage, and for his published reports on Gage's accident and subsequent history.
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50. Samuel David Gross
1805-1884 (aged 79)
surgeon
Samuel David Gross was an American academic trauma surgeon. Surgeon biographer Isaac Minis Hays called Gross "The Nestor of American Surgery." He is immortalized in Thomas Eakins' The Gross Clinic (1875), a prominent American painting of the nineteenth century. A bronze statue of him was cast by Alexander Stirling Calder and erected on the National Mall, but moved in 1970...
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51. Legrand G. Capers
1834-1877 (aged 43)
physician
Legrand G. Capers was an American physician, best known for his 1874 spurious case report of bullet-mediated impregnation of a young woman.
52. Maurice Kanbar
1929-2022 (aged 93)
film producer
inventor
entrepreneur
Maurice Kanbar was an American entrepreneur and inventor who lived in San Francisco, California. He was particularly well known for his creation of SKYY vodka and was also noted for his extensive real estate investments.
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53. William Williams Keen
1837-1932 (aged 95)
medical writer
neurosurgeon
military physician
surgeon
William Williams Keen Jr. was an American physician and the first brain surgeon in the United States. During his lifetime, Keen worked with six American presidents.
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54. James P. Bagian
1952-. (aged 74)
physician
engineer
astronaut
military officer
James Philip Bagian, is an American physician, engineer, and former NASA astronaut of Armenian descent. During his career as an astronaut, he logged 337 hours of space-flight, over two missions, STS-29 (in 1989) and STS-40 (in 1991). After leaving NASA in 1995, Bagian was elected as a member of the Institute of Medicine. He was also elected as member into...
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55. John Heysham Gibbon
1903-1973 (aged 70)
physician
cardiac surgeon
surgeon
John Heysham Gibbon was an American surgeon best known for inventing the heart–lung machine and performing subsequent open-heart surgeries which revolutionized heart surgery in the twentieth century. He was the son of Dr. John Heysham Gibbon Sr., and Marjorie Young Gibbon (daughter of General Samuel Young), and came from a long line of medical doctors including his father, grandfather Robert,...
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56. Jay McCarroll
1974-. (aged 52)
fashion designer
Jay McCarroll is a fashion designer who gained fame after winning the debut season of the competitive reality show Project Runway in 2005.
57. Pat Chambers
1970-. (aged 56)
basketball player
basketball coach
Patrick Brian Chambers is an American college basketball coach and is the current head coach at Florida Gulf Coast University. He is formerly the head men's basketball coach at Penn State and Boston University.
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58. Carlos Juan Finlay
1833-1915 (aged 82)
medical researcher
physician
Carlos Juan Finlay was a Cuban epidemiologist recognized as a pioneer in the research of yellow fever, determining that it was transmitted through mosquitoes Aedes aegypti.
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59. Anson Jones
1798-1858 (aged 60)
physician
businessperson
politician
Anson Jones was an American medical doctor, businessman, member of Congress for the Republic of Texas, and the fourth and last president of the Republic of Texas.
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60. Marcella Nuñez-Smith
medical researcher
physician
Marcella Nunez-Smith is an American physician-scientist. She is C.N.H Long Professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Yale School of Medicine, where she serves as the inaugural Associate Dean for Health Equity Research and founding director of the Equity Research and Innovation Center. She also holds joint appointments at the Yale School of Public Health and the Yale School of...
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61. Ivor David Fenton
1889-1986 (aged 97)
physician
medical intern
politician
Ivor David Fenton was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
62. Marty Makary
medical writer
physician
surgeon
Martin Adel Makary is a British-American surgeon, professor, author, and medical commentator who has served as the 27th commissioner of food and drugs since 2025. He practices surgical oncology and gastrointestinal laparoscopic surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, is Mark Ravitch Chair in Gastrointestinal Surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and is the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery at Johns...
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63. Robert Battey
1828-1895 (aged 67)
surgeon
Robert Battey was an American physician who is known for pioneering a surgical procedure then called Battey's Operation and now termed radical oophorectomy (or removal of a woman's ovaries).
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64. Francis Julius LeMoyne
1798-1879 (aged 81)
physician
Francis Julius LeMoyne was a 19th-century American medical doctor and philanthropist from Washington, Pennsylvania. Responsible for creating the first crematory in the United States, he was also an abolitionist, founder of Washington's first public library (known as Citizen's Library), co-founder of the Washington Female Seminary, and an instrumental benefactor to the LeMoyne Normal and Commercial School (now LeMoyne-Owen College), to...
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65. Silas Weir Mitchell
1970-. (aged 56)
film actor
actor
television actor
Silas Weir Mitchell is an American character actor. He is known for starring as Charles "Haywire" Patoshik in the Fox television series Prison Break (2005–2007), for the recurring role of Donny Jones in My Name Is Earl (2005–2009), and as Monroe in the NBC television series Grimm (2011–2017).
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66. Robert Gallo
1937-. (aged 89)
virologist
immunologist
oncologist
university teacher
biochemist
Robert Charles Gallo is an American biomedical researcher. He is best known for his role in establishing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the infectious agent responsible for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and in the development of the HIV blood test, and he has been a major contributor to subsequent HIV research.
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67. J. Marion Sims
1813-1883 (aged 70)
physician
gynecologist
surgeon
James Marion Sims was an American physician in the field of surgery. His most famous work was the development of a surgical technique for the repair of vesicovaginal fistula, a severe complication of obstructed childbirth. He developed this technique via non-consensual and unanesthetized surgeries on enslaved black women Anarcha Westcott, Lucy and Betsey and impoverished Irish women. He is also...
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68. Bethany Hall-Long
1963-. (aged 63)
politician
Bethany A. Hall-Long is an American politician who served as the 75th governor of Delaware for two weeks in January 2025, after having served as the 26th lieutenant governor of Delaware from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Delaware Senate from 2008 to 2016 and the Delaware House of Representatives from 2002...
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69. Lidia Rudnicka
1960-. (aged 66)
university teacher
researcher
dermatologist
Lidia Rudnicka is a Polish-American dermatologist with contributions to the field of scleroderma research, hair diseases and melanoma prevention.