Politics and Government: Resources
Bowdoin Alumni in the Federal Government
This list details Bowdoin alumni who served in the federal government. Included are Members of Congress, Supreme Court Justices, and executive branch elected and appointed officials. Entries are organized by government branch (Executive; Legislative; and Judicial), then by Bowdoin College class year.
EXECUTIVE
| Class | Name of Graduate | Office Held | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1823 | William Pitt Fessenden | U.S. Secretary of Treasury | 1864-1865 |
| 1824 | Franklin Pierce | U.S. President | 1853-1857 |
| 1825 | Nathaniel Hawthorne | U.S. Consul, Liverpool, England | 1853-1857 |
| 1827 | John Parker Hale | U.S. Minister to Spain | 1865-1869 |
| 1834 | John Appleton | U.S. Minister to Bolivia | 1848-1849 |
| Asst. U.S. Secretary of State | 1857-1860 | ||
| U.S. Minister to Russia | 1860-1861 | ||
| 1834 | Samuel Clement Fessenden | U.S. Patent Examiner | 1865-1879 |
| U.S. Consul, St. John, New Brunswick | 1879-1881 | ||
| 1834 | Charles Horace Upton | U.S. Consul, Switzerland | 1863-1877 |
| 1860 | William Widgery Thomas, Jr. | U.S. Consul, Gothenberg, Sweden | 1863-1865 |
| 1917 | Edward Carleton Moran, Jr. | Asst. U.S. Secretary of Labor | 1945 |
| 1925 | Horace A. Hildreth | U.S. Ambassador, Pakistan | 1953-1957 |
| 1953 | Thomas Pickering | U.S. Ambassador, Jordan | 1974-1978 |
| U.S. Ambassador, Nigeria | 1981-1983 | ||
| U.S. Ambassador, El Salvador | 1983-1985 | ||
| U.S. Ambassador, Israel | 1985-1988 | ||
| U.S. Ambassador, United Nations | 1989-1992 | ||
| U.S. Ambassador, India | 1992 | ||
| U.S. Ambassador, Russia | 1993-1996 | ||
| 1954 | George J. Mitchell | Special Advisor to the President and the Secretary of State for Economic Initiatives in Ireland | 1995-2000 |
| Chairman, Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee | 2000-2001 | ||
| Special Envoy for Palestinian-Israeli Affairs | 2009-2011 | ||
| 1962 | William S. Cohen | U.S. Secretary of Defense | 1997-2001 |
| 1967 | Laurence E. Pope | U.S. Ambassador to Chad | 1993-1996 |
| Charge d'affaires in Libya | 2112-2013 | ||
| 1974 | Christopher Hill | U.S. Ambassador, Poland | 2000-2004 |
| U.S. Ambassador, Korea | 2004-2005 | ||
| Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs | 2005-2009 | ||
| U.S. Ambassador, Iraq | 2009- | ||
| 1975 | Lawrence E. Butler | U.S. Ambassador, Republic of Macedonia | 2002-2005 |
LEGISLATIVE
| Class | Name of Graduate | Office Held | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1809 | Benjamin Randall | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1839-1843 |
| 1809 | Bellamy Storer | U.S. Representative (OH) | 1835-1837 |
| 1813 | John Anderson | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1825-1833 |
| 1815 | Robert Pinckney Dunlap | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1843-1847 |
| 1815 | George Evans | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1829-1841 |
| U.S. Senator (ME) | 1841-1847 | ||
| 1822 | James Bell | U.S. Senator (NH) | 1855-1857 |
| 1823 | William Pitt Fessenden | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1841-1843 |
| U.S. Senator (ME) | 1854-1864; 1865-1869 | ||
| 1823 | John Otis | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1849-1851 |
| 1824 | Franklin Pierce | U.S. Representative (NH) | 1833-1837 |
| U.S. Senator (NH) | 1837-1842 | ||
| 1825 | Samuel Page Benson | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1853-1857 |
| 1825 | James Ware Bradbury | U.S. Senator (ME) | 1847-1853 |
| 1825 | Jonathan Cilley | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1837-1838 |
| 1825 | Cullen Sawtelle | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1845-1847; 1849-1851 |
| 1826 | Seargent Smith Prentiss | U.S. Representative (MS) | 1838-1839 |
| 1827 | Alpheus Felch | U.S. Senator (MI) | 1847-1853 |
| 1827 | John Parker Hale | U.S. Representative (NH) | 1843-1845 |
| U.S. Senator (NH) | 1847-1853; 1855-1865 | ||
| 1834 | Owen Lovejoy | U.S. Representative (IL) | 1857-1864 |
| 1834 | John Appleton | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1851-1853 |
| 1834 | Samuel Clement Fessenden | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1861-1863 |
| 1834 | Charles Horace Upton | U.S. Representative (VA) | 1861-1862 |
| 1836 | Ephraim Wilder Farley | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1853-1855 |
| 1837 | Frederick Augustus Pike | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1861-1869 |
| 1837 | Lorenzo DeMedici Sweat | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1863-1865 |
| 1843 | Samuel Royal Thurston | U.S. Representative (OR) | 1849-1851 |
| 1845 | Thomas A. Deblois Fessenden | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1862-1863 |
| n1846 | Lafayette Grover | U.S. Representative (OR) | 1859 |
| U.S. Senator (OR) | 1877-1883 | ||
| 1846 | William Whitney Rice | U.S. Representative (MA) | 1877-1887 |
| 1850 | William Pierce Frye | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1871-1881 |
| U.S. Senator (ME) | 1881-1911 | ||
| m1851 | Isaac Newton Evans | U.S. Representative (PA) | 1877-1879; 1883-1887 |
| 1851 | Paris Gibson | U.S. Senator (MT) | 1901-1905 |
| 1854 | William Drew Washburn | U.S. Representative (MN) | 1879-1885 |
| U.S. Senator (MN) | 1889-1895 | ||
| 1860 | Amos Lawrence Allen | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1899-1911 |
| 1860 | Thomas Brackett Reed | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1877-1899 |
| 1870 | DeAlva Stanwood Alexander | U.S. Representative (NY) | 1897-1911 |
| 1881 | Daniel John McGuillicuddy | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1911-1917 |
| 1881 | Frederick Clement Stevens | U.S. Representative (MN) | 1897-1915 |
| 1885 | John Andrew Peters | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1913-1922 |
| 1900 | Simon Moulton Hamlin | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1935-1937 |
| 1901 | Donald Francis Snow | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1929-1933 |
| 1909 | Ralph Owen Brewster | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1935-1941 |
| U.S. Senator (ME) | 1941-1952 | ||
| 1909 | Harold Hitz Burton | U.S. Senator (OH) | 1941-1945 |
| 1910 | Robert Hale | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1943-1959 |
| 1913 | Paul Howard Douglas | U.S. Senator (IL) | 1949-1967 |
| 1917 | Edward Carelton Moran, Jr. | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1933-1937 |
| 1945 | Peter Adams Garland | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1961-1963 |
| 1954 | George J. Mitchell | U.S. Senator (ME) | 1980-1995 |
| 1962 | William S. Cohen | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1972-1978 |
| U.S. Senator (ME) | 1978-1997 | ||
| 1967 | Thomas Allen | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1996-2008 |
| 1975 | Thomas H. Andrews | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1991-1995 |
JUDICIAL
| Class | Name of Graduate | Office Held | Dates |
| 1824 | Franklin Pierce | U.S. Attorney General | 1846 |
| 1853 | Melville Weston Fuller | U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice | 1888-1910 |
| 1870 | DeAlva Stanwood Alexander | U.S. Attorney, Northern New York State | 1889-1893 |
| 1885 | John Andrew Peters | U.S. District Court Judge, Maine | 1922-1947 |
| 1909 | Harold Hitz Burton | U.S. Supreme Court Justice | 1945-1958 |
| 1954 | George J. Mitchell | U.S. Attorney, Maine | 1977-1979 |
| U.S. District Court Judge, Maine | 1979-1980 | ||
| 1937 | Edward G. Hudon | Asst. U.S. District Attorney, Maine | 1966-1970 |
| U.S. Supreme Court, Librarian | 1972-1976 |
| Name of Graduate | Class | Office Held | Dates |
| Alexander, DeAlva Stanwood | 1870 | U.S. Attorney, Northern New York State | 1889-1893 |
| U.S. Representative (NY) | 1897-1911 | ||
| Allen, Amos Lawrence | 1860 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1899-1911 |
| Allen, Thomas | 1967 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1996- |
| Anderson, John | 1813 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1825-1833 |
| Andrews, Thomas H. | 1975 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1991-1995 |
| Appleton, John | 1834 | U.S. Minister to Bolivia | 1848-1849 |
| U.S. Representative (ME) | 1851-1853 | ||
| Asst. U.S. Secretary of State | 1857-1860 | ||
| U.S. Minister to Russia | 1860-1861 | ||
| Bell, James | 1822 | U.S. Senator (NH) | 1855-1857 |
| Benson, Samuel Page | 1825 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1853-1857 |
| Bradbury, James Ware | 1825 | U.S. Senator (ME) | 1847-1853 |
| Brewster, Ralph Owen | 1909 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1935-1941 |
| U.S. Senator (ME) | 1941-1952 | ||
| Burton, Harold Hitz | 1909 | U.S. Senator (OH) | 1941-1945 |
| U.S. Supreme Court Justice | 1945-1958 | ||
| Butler, Lawrence E. | 1975 | U.S. Ambassador, Republic of Macedonia | 2002-2005 |
| Cilley, Jonathan | 1825 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1837-1838 |
| Cohen, William S. | 1962 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1972-1978 |
| U.S. Senator (ME) | 1978-1997 | ||
| U.S. Secretary of Defense | 1997-2001 | ||
| Douglas, Paul Howard | 1913 | U.S. Senator (IL) | 1949-1967 |
| Dunlap, Robert Pinckney | 1815 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1843-1847 |
| Evans, George | 1815 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1829-1841 |
| U.S. Senator (ME) | 1841-1847 | ||
| Evans, Isaac Newton | m1851 | U.S. Representative (PA) | 1877-1879; 1883-1887 |
| Farley, Ephraim Wilder | 1836 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1853-1855 |
| Felch, Alpheus | 1827 | U.S. Senator (MI) | 1847-1853 |
| Fessenden, Samuel Clement | 1834 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1861-1863 |
| U.S. Patent Examiner | 1865-1879 | ||
| U.S. Consul, St. John, New Brunswick | 1879-1881 | ||
| Fessenden, Thomas A. Deblois | 1845 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1862-1863 |
| Fessenden, William Pitt | 1823 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1833-1837 |
| U.S. Senator (ME) | 1854-1864; 1865-1869 | ||
| U.S. Secretary of the Treasury | 1864-1865 | ||
| Frye, William Pierce | 1850 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1871-1881 |
| U.S. Senator (ME) | 1881-1911 | ||
| Fuller, Melville Weston | 1853 | U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice | 1888-1910 |
| Garland, Peter Adams | 1945 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1961-1963 |
| Gibson, Paris | 1851 | U.S. Senator (MT) | 1901-1905 |
| Grover, Lafayette | n1846 | U.S. Representative (OR) | 1859 |
| U.S. Senator (OR) | 1877-1883 | ||
| Hale, John Parker | 1827 | U.S. Representative (NH) | 1843-1845 |
| U.S. Senator (NH) | 1847-1853; 1855-1865 | ||
| U.S. Minister to Spain | 1865-1869 | ||
| Hale, Robert | 1910 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1943-1959 |
| Hamlin, Simon Moulton | 1900 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1935-1937 |
| Hawthorne, Nathaniel | 1825 | U.S. Consul, Liverpool, England | 1853-1857 |
| Hildreth, Horace A. | 1925 | U.S. Ambassador, Pakistan | 1953-1957 |
| Hudon, Edward G. | 1937 | Asst. U.S. District Attorney, Maine | 1966-1970 |
| U.S. Supreme Court, Librarian | 1972-1976 | ||
| Lovejoy, Owen | 1834 | U.S. Representative (IL) | 1857-1864 |
| McGuillicuddy, Daniel John | 1881 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1911-1917 |
| Mitchell, George J. | 1954 | U.S. Attorney, Maine | 1977-1979 |
| U.S. District Court Judge, Maine | 1979-1980 | ||
| U.S. Senator (ME) | 1980-1995 | ||
| Moran, Jr., Edward Carleton | 1917 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1933-1937 |
| Asst. U.S. Secretary of Labor | 1945 | ||
| Otis, John | 1823 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1849-1851 |
| Peters, John Andrew | 1885 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1913-1922 |
| U.S. District Court Judge, Maine | 1922-1947 | ||
| Pickering, Thomas | 1953 | U.S. Ambassador, Jordan | 1974-1978 |
| U.S. Ambassador, Nigeria | 1981-1983 | ||
| U.S. Ambassador, El Salvador | 1983-1985 | ||
| U.S. Ambassador, Israel | 1985-1988 | ||
| U.S. Ambassador, United Nations | 1989-1992 | ||
| U.S. Ambassador, India | 1992 | ||
| U.S. Ambassador, Russia | 1993-1996 | ||
| Pierce, Franklin | 1824 | U.S. Representative (NH) | 1833-1837 |
| U.S. Senator (NH) | 1837-1842 | ||
| U.S. Attorney General | 1846 | ||
| U.S. President | 1853-1857 | ||
| Pike, Frederick Augustus | 1837 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1861-1869 |
| Prentiss, Seargent Smith | 1826 | U.S. Representative (MS) | 1838-1839 |
| Randall, Benjamin | 1809 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1839-1843 |
| Reed, Thomas Brackett | 1860 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1877-1899 |
| Rice, William Whitney | 1846 | U.S. Representative (MA) | 1877-1887 |
| Sawtelle, Cullen | 1825 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1845-1847; 1849-1851 |
| Snow, Donald Francis | 1901 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1929-1933 |
| Stevens, Frederick Clement | 1881 | U.S. Representative (MN) | 1897-1915 |
| Storer, Bellamy | 1809 | U.S. Representative (OH) | 1835-1837 |
| Sweat, Lorenzo DeMedici | 1837 | U.S. Representative (ME) | 1863-1865 |
| Thomas, Jr., William Widgery | 1860 | U.S. Consul, Gothenberg, Sweden | 1863-1865 |
| Thurston, Samuel Royal | 1843 | U.S. Representative (OR) | 1849-1851 |
| Upton, Charles Horace | 1834 | U.S. Representative (VA) | 1861-1862 |
| U.S. Consul, Switzerland | 1863-1877 | ||
| Washburn, William Drew | 1854 | U.S. Representative (MN) | 1879-1885 |
| U.S. Senator (MN) | 1889-1895 |