List of Centre College people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Here follows a list of notable people associated with Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.
Law
- John Christian Bullitt, 1849: attorney in Philadelphia, drafted the city's charter and founded the law firm of Drinker, Biddle & Reath
- John Marshall Harlan, 1850: Supreme Court associate justice (1877–1911), cast the lone dissenting vote in Plessy v. Ferguson
- Pierce Lively, 1943: federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (1972–2016)
- Andrew Phelps McCormick, 1854: federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (1892–1916)
- Fred M. Vinson, 1909, Law 1911: chief justice of the United States (1946–53), secretary of the treasury (1945–46), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from KY–08 and KY–09 (1933–43)
Government
- George Madison Adams: member of the U.S. House of Representatives from KY–08 and KY–09 (1867–75), secretary of state of Kentucky (1887–91)
- Joshua Fry Bell, 1828: member of the U.S. House of Representatives from KY–04 (1845–47; first Centre alumnus to serve in Congress), secretary of state of Kentucky (1849–50)
- John C. Breckinridge, 1838: U.S. vice president (1857–61); Confederate secretary of war (1865); U.S. senator from Kentucky (1861)
- John Y. Brown, Sr., 1921: member of the U.S. House of Representatives from KY–AL (1933–35)
- Jacqueline Coleman, 2004: lieutenant governor of Kentucky (2019–present)
- John Sherman Cooper, 1922: U.S. ambassador to East Germany (1974–76), U.S. senator from Kentucky (1946–49, 1952–55, 1956–73), U.S. ambassador to India (1955–56)
- Emma Curtis: Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council member (2025–present); first openly transgender city official in Kentucky
- Joseph Holt, 1824: U.S. postmaster general, U.S. secretary of war and Judge Advocate General of the United States Army; leading judge in the trials of the Abraham Lincoln assassination
- Michael W. Jackson, 1985: Alabama district attorney (2005–present)
- Crit Luallen, 1974: lieutenant governor of Kentucky (2014–2015), Kentucky state auditor (2004–2012)
- Claude Matthews, 1867: governor of Indiana (1893–97), secretary of state of Indiana (1891–93)
- Austin Peay, 1895: governor of Tennessee (1923–27)
- Augustus Stanley, 1889: U.S. senator from Kentucky (1919–25), governor of Kentucky (1915–19), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from KY–02 (1903–15)
- Adlai Stevenson I, 1859: U.S. vice president (1893–97), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from IL–13 (1875–77, 1879–81)
- John T. Stuart, 1826: member of the U.S. House of Representatives from IL–03 (1839–43) and IL–08 (1863–65), lawyer, law partner of Abraham Lincoln
- Thomas H. Taylor: Confederate general (1861–65), Louisville chief of police (1881–92)
- George Graham Vest: U.S. senator from Missouri (1879–1903), Confederate senator from Missouri (1865), member of the Confederate House of Representatives from MO–05; best known for supposedly coining the phrases "man's best friend" and "history is written by the victors"
- Yi Kuu, Prince Imperial Hoeun, 1952: prince imperial of Korea, grandson of Emperor Gojong
Arts
- Tony Crunk, 1978: winner, Yale Younger Poets prize
- George Ella Lyon, 1971:[1] former Kentucky Poet Laureate
- Stephen Rolfe Powell, 1974: internationally acclaimed glass blower and art professor
- Tiffany Reisz, 2000: RITA award-winning novelist
Athletics
- Gene Bedford: second baseman for the Cleveland Indians and defensive end for the Rochester Jeffersons
- Herb Covington, 1924: played football, basketball, and baseball for Centre, named to the all-time Centre football team in 1935
- E.A. Diddle, 1920: legendary basketball coach of Western Kentucky University, member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
- Jordan Gay, 2013: punter and kickoff specialist for the Buffalo Bills
- 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
- Sully Montgomery, 1920: tackle for the Chicago Cardinals; boxer
- Tom Moran: blocking back for the New York Giants
- Homer Rice: football coach
- Red Roberts, 1922: NFL player; head football coach of Waynesburg University
- Lou Smyth, 1919: three-time NFL champion with the Canton Bulldogs
- John Tanner, 1921: NFL wingback with the Toledo Maroons, Cleveland Indians, and Cleveland Bulldogs
- Ken Willis, 1986 (transferred after one year): kicker for the Dallas Cowboys
Academia
- Raymond Burse, 1973: Rhodes Scholar; general counsel for General Electric; former president of Kentucky State University; first African-American to compete in the Oxford v. Cambridge rugby match
Business
- Isaac Tigrett, 1970: founder of the Hard Rock Cafe and the House of Blues
Other
- Rev. Samuel D. Burchard, 1837: clergyman whose "Rum, Romanism and rebellion" speech may have cost James G. Blaine the 1884 presidential election
- 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 Rocketer"[2][3]
- George W. Harkins: attorney and chief of the Choctaw tribe during Indian removal
- Lewis Craig Humphrey, 1896: editor of the Centre College newspaper The Cento; chief editor of the Louisville Evening Post and Louisville Herald
Faculty and staff
- J. Proctor Knott: law professor at Centre; 29th governor of Kentucky
- Sara W. Mahan: 64th secretary of state of Kentucky, served as college librarian 1920–21
- Ephraim McDowell: member of the board of trustees, namesake of the Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center
