Notable Alumni

Please note that this is NOT our Hall of Fame list.  These are notable alumni for various reasons. Names listed that are in the Central Hall of Fame are in BOLD print.

A

B

  • James P. Bagian – astronaut, physician (228th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1992
  • Edward W. Barankin – physicist (168th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1976
  • Albert C. Barnes – art collector, founder of Barnes Foundation educational art institution (92nd Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2009 
  • James G. Barnwell (16) served as librarian of the Library Company of Philadelphia, founded by Benjamin Franklin; teacher, school principal and founder of the Mary Gaston Barnwell Foundation – inducted to Hall of Fame 2015
  • Reds Bassman – football player
  • Edward Roy Becker – Federal Judge (194th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1986
  • Bernard Bell – Former Vice President, World Bank (150th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1988
  • John C. Bell, Jr. – Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (75th Class)
  • Alvin Benedict – hotelier (176th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1979
  • Barry Bloom – infectious disease scientist, WHO (202nd Class) – inducted to Hall of Fame 2011
  • Jim Braude – talk radio host (225th Class)
  • Leo Braudy – cultural historian and film critic (211th Class)  – inducted to Hall of Fame 2015
  • Charles R. Bridges, MD, ScD (232) Physician, Professor, Cardiovascular Surgery Pioneer – inducted to Hall of Fame 2011
  • King Britt – DJ and record producer (245th Class)
  • Isadore Brodsky, MD – Medical Scholar and Inventor (189th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1995
  • William H. Brown, III – former Chairman of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (185th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 2009
  • Lou Bruce – Major League Baseball outfielder (graduated 1899)
  • Doc Bushong – Major League Baseball catcher and dentist (graduated 1876)

C

  • George Campbell, Jr. – President of Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (220th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 2009
  • Dr. Howard Carlisle – educator (162nd Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1986
  • Robert B. Carney – Admiral, USN (118th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1976
  • Philip Casnoff – actor (226th Class)
  • Cassidy – rapper (would have been the 259th class, but he did not graduate from Central High School)
  • John J. Cebra (198) established a lab in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Florida and studied immunoglobulins, being credited with discovering the important functions of IgA and its role in antibody production – inducted to Hall of Fame 2015
  • Morris I. (“Moose”) Charlap – Broadway composer (186th Class)
  • Noam Chomsky – linguist and political activist (184th Class)
  • Ben Clime – professional football player
  • Mark B. Cohen – Pennsylvania state legislator (225th Class)
  • Dr. D. Walter Cohen – dentist, educator (181st Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1976
  • Frank “Tick” Coleman – one of the first three known African-American Eagle Scouts, educator (156th Class)
  • Joel Cook – U.S. Congressman, journalist (33rd Class)
  • Tarzan Cooper – basketball player for the New York Renaissance
  • Dr. William H. Cornog – educator (146th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1973
  • Bill Cosby – comedian and entertainer (left after 10th grade – 204th Class)
  • William B. Curry, Sr. – Corresponding Secretary, AACHS (125th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1982

D

E

  • Thomas Eakins – painter (38th Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2009
  • Joshua Eilberg – U.S. Congressman
  • Ira Einhorn – Environmental activist, convicted murderer
  • Arnold Eisen – Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary (228th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 2015
  • Lee Eisenberg – Editor-in-Chief, Esquire Magazine (221st Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1988
  • Charles Joseph Epstein, MD (196) Professor of Pediatrics, Geneticist – inducted into Hall of Fame 2001
  • Edwin M. Epstein (202) Professor Emeritus UC Berkeley – inducted to Hall of Fame 2011
  • Duane Eubanks – jazz trumpeter, and brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks (245th Class)[citation needed]
  • Robin Eubanks – jazz trombonist, professor at Oberlin Conservatory, and brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks (231st Class)

F

  • Douglas J. Feith – former U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, a major architect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq (230th Class)
  • Alvan R. Feinstein, MD – Professor of Medicine, Yale University (177th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1988
  • Norman Fell – actor on Three’s Company (176th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1976
  • Samuel Simeon Fels – manufacturer, philanthropist (72nd Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2009 
  • Lee Felsenstein – personal computer pioneer and activist (219th Class)
  • Joseph M.Field (192) founder of Entercom Communications Corporation, violinist, philanthropist – inducted to Hall of Fame 2011
  • Louis Filler – historian, writer, and professor at Antioch College (151st Class, 1929)
  • Larry Fine – Larry of the Three Stooges (132nd Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2009 
  • Paul J. Fink, MD (189) Psychiatrist – inducted into Hall of Fame 1998
  • Richard J. Fox (184) real estate developer- inducted into Hall of Fame 2006
  • Robert A. Fox (188) Investor – inducted into Hall of Fame 2006
  • Phillip Frost – physician, pharmaceuticals executive, philanthropist (200th Class) – inducted to Hall of Fame 2011
  • Charles Lewis Fussell – landscape artist (34th Class, 1857)

G

  • Ellis A. Gimbel (79), businessman and philanthropist, chairman of the board of the Gimbel Brothers Department store chain – inducted to Hall of Fame 2015
  • Howard Gittis, Esq. (197) Attorney – inducted into Hall of Fame 2006
  • William Glackens – painter, co-founder of the Ashcan School art movement (92nd Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2011
  • W. Wilson Goode, Jr. – Philadelphia City Councilman at Large, son of former mayor W. Wilson Goode (241st Class)
  • Barry B. Goldberg, MD (204) Director, Ultrasound Research and Education Institute – inducted into Hall of Fame 2006
  • E. Urner Goodman – early leader of the Boy Scouts of America (114th Class)
  • Oscar Goodman – mayor of Las Vegas, mob defense lawyer (left after 10th grade)
  • Charles Goren – bridge player and author (132nd Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2011
  • Simon Gratz (18) Educator, Founder  P.A.F.A – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2011
  • Shelly Gross – theatrical producer, author (170th Class)- inducted into Hall of Fame 1986
  • Richard Grossman – jazz pianist (204th Class) – inducted to Hall of Fame 2015
  • Lee Guber – theatrical producer (170th Class)- inducted into Hall of Fame 1986
  • Daniel Guggenheim – industrialist and philanthropist (66th Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2009 
  • Simon Guggenheim – industrialist, financier, philanthropist, U.S. Senator for Colorado (87th Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2009 

H

  • Eric M. Hammel – military historian, writer and publisher (221st Class)
  • Stephen J. Harmelin, Esq. (206) Attorney – inducted into Hall of Fame 2006
  • John F. Harbeson – architect with H2L2 (111th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1976
  • Joe Harris – mathematician at Harvard University
  • Joseph Smith Harris – President of the Reading Railroad (24th Class)
  • William J. Harvey III – religious leader (156th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1992
  • Ralph Horwitz (223) senior vice president for Clinical Evaluation Sciences and senior adviser to the chairman of research &; development for GlaxoSmithKline; professor emeritus of medicine and epidemiology at Yale University – inducted to Hall of Fame 2015
  • Dr. Joseph S. Hepburn – chemist, historian (108th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1976
  • Quiara Alegría Hudes – playwright and author (254th Class) – inducted to Hall of Fame 2011

I

J

  • Major Jackson – poet and professor at University of Vermont (245th Class)

K

  • Louis Kahn – architect (134th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1973
  • Alex Karp – CEO of Palanitr Technologies Inc.
  • Sam Katz – perennial Philadelphia Republican mayoral candidate (226th class)
  • Bernard M. Kauderer – Vice Admiral, USN (192nd Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1986
  • Ted Kaufman – U.S. Senator from Delaware (206th class)
  • Charles Keinath – college basketball player and coach
  • Seymour Kety, MD – physiologist (158th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1973
  • Alexander Kendrick – broadcast journalist (149th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1976
  • Daniel Kevles – historian of science at Yale and California Institute of Technology
  • A. Eugene Kohn, FAIA, RIBA, JIA (190) Architect – inducted into Hall of Fame 2006
  • Mark Kramer – jazz pianist (220th class)
  • Joseph L. Kun – Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas judge

L

  • Monsignor William Lallou – religious leader (103rd Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1973
  • Cato T. Laurencin – surgeon, professor, chemical engineer (235th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 2009
  • Conrad C. Lautenbacher – Navy Vice Admiral (213th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1998
  • Dr. I.M. Levitt – Director Emeritus, Fels Planetarium (146th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1988
  • Thomas F. Lewis – member, U.S. House Of Representatives (1942)
  • Betty W. Liu (250) Financial Journalist, Bloomberg TV Anchor – inducted to Hall of Fame 2011
  • Alain LeRoy Locke – author, philosopher, first African-American Rhodes Scholar (107th Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2009 
  • Walter P. Lomax, Jr., MD (192) Physician, Healthcare Management – inducted to Hall of Fame 2011
  • Jerome Lowenthal – classical pianist, chair of Juilliard School Piano Department (192nd Class)
  • J. Paul Lyet – industrialist (164th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1973

M

  • John Macionis – Olympic Silver Medal Swimming (160th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1992
  • Lawrence S. Margolis – United States federal court judge – inducted into Hall of Fame 2009
  • John Marzano – Major League Baseball catcher and broadcast analyst (240th Class)
  • Gary K. Michelson – orthopedic spinal surgeon (225th Class)
  • Jeffrey Milarsky – conductor of contemporary music (243rd Class)
  • Roger M. Milgrim – intellectual property lawyer and treatise author (202nd Class)
  • Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell – founder of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity
  • Anthony P. Monaco, MD – Professor of Surgery, Harvard University (191st Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1988
  • Louis J. Mordell – mathematician at University of Cambridge (111th Class)
  • Joel Myers – founder of AccuWeather (208th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1998

N

O

P

  • Dr. Robert H. Page, PE (183) Professor Emeritus, Mechanical Engineering- inducted into Hall of Fame 2001
  • Robert E. Pattison – former Governor of Pennsylvania (55th Class)
  • Thomas May Peirce – founder of Peirce College (32nd Class)
  • David Pincus – clothing manufacturer, art collector (181st Class)  – inducted to Hall of Fame 2015
  • Edward N. Polisher, Esq. – attorney, philanthropist (132nd Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 192
  • Ramon L. Posel – founder of Ritz Theaters (186th Class)
  • Neil R. Powe (231) chief of medical services at San Francisco General Hospital and the Constance B. Wofsy distinguished professor and vice-chairman of medicine, University of California, San Francisco – inducted to Hall of Fame 2015
  • Hilary Putnam – philosopher (182nd Class)

R

  • Jed S. Rakoff – United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York (215th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 2015
  • David Raksin – composer “Grandfather of Film Music” (153rd Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1979
  • Conyers Read – historian(1899)
  • Ralph T. Reed – former CEO of American Express (114th Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2011
  • William Reed – sprinter (247th Class)
  • David L. Reich – academic anesthesiologist and professor; President & Chief Operating Officer of the Mount Sinai Hospital, and President of Mount Sinai Queens (236th Class)
  • Allen Rosenberg – attorney, lecturer, member U.S. Olympic Committee (192nd Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 2001
  • Eugene H. Rotberg – international banker (188th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1979
  • Arnold Roth – cartoonist, humorist (186th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1976
  • Solomon Kal Rudman – radio and television pioneer, publisher, philanthropist (188th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1986
  • Leo Stanton Rowe – US Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (89th Class)

S

  • Marvin Samson (211) entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded Samson Medical Technologies; chairman of the board of trustees of the  Franklin Institute – inducted to Hall of Fame 2015
  • Ralph Sanders – Professor Emeritus, National Defense University (183rd Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1988
  • Shunsuke Sato – world-renowned young violinist (261st Class)
  • Morton Livingston Schamberg – modern artist
  • Ralph Schlosstein (227) Co-founder BlackRock, Inc. – inducted into Hall of Fame 2009
  • Bernard G. Segal, Esq. – attorney (149th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1979
  • Robert Serber – physicist on Manhattan Project (146th
  • Joseph Shallit – mystery novelist (156th Class)
  • Arthur M. Shapiro – ecologist (220th Class)  – inducted to Hall of Fame 2015
  • Bree Sharp – singer and songwriter (252nd Class)
  • Lee M. Silver – professor of molecular biology, Princeton University (227th Class)
  • Richard Bruce Silverman – chemistry professor, inventor of Lyrica (221st Class) – inducted to Hall of Fame 2011
  • John French Sloan – painter (92nd Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2011
  • Joseph Smukler, Esq. (185) Attorney, Philanthropist, Humanitarian – inducted into Hall of Fame 2001
  • Richard S. Sokolov, Esq. (226) International Real Estate Developer – inducted into Hall of Fame 2006
  • Bernard Spain (198) Entrepreneur, Philanthropist – inducted into Hall of Fame 2009
  • Ben Stahl – labor and civil rights activist
  • Julie Stevens – actress, film director and producer (246th Class)
  • Frank R. Stockton – writer and humorist (19th Class)
  • Charles Stone III – film and ad director (243rd Class)

T

  • John Baxter Taylor, Jr. – track and field athlete, first African-American Olympic gold medalist (107th Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2009 
  • Teller (Raymond Joseph) – entertainer, Penn & Teller (224th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 2001
  • Dr. Howard Temin – geneticist, Nobel Laureate (196th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1976
  • Elihu Thomson – inventor, one of the founders of the General Electric Company (55th Class)
  • Richard B. Teitelman – judge (223rd Class)
  • Dylan Tichenor – film editor (245th Class)
  • Arthur Tracy – vaudeville performer, singer, actor, “The Street Singer” (130th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1986

V

  • William Scott Vare – U.S. Congressman (1912-1927), Pennsylvania State Senator (1922-1923), U.S. Senator Elect (1927-1929), Republican political boss in Philadelphia

W

  • Bernard M. Wagner, MD (182) Pioneer in Toxicologic Pathology – inducted into Hall of Fame 2006
  • Phil Walker – Guard on the 1977-1978 NBA champion Washington Bullets (231st class)
  • John Wallowitch – composer, songwriter and cabaret performer (181st Class)
  • Louis J. Weichmann – one of the chief witnesses for the prosecution in the conspiracy trial of the Abraham Lincoln assassination
  • Andrew Weil, MD – physician, author, proponent of integrative medicine (212th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 2000
  • Edward Weinberger – TV producer and writer (204th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1976
  • Judge Leo Weinrott – Jurist (121st Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1979
  • Judge Charles R. Weiner – Jurist (174th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1976
  • Stephen William White – translator of Jules Verne and secretary of the Northern Central Railway (31st class)
  • R. Seth Williams – District Attorney of Philadelphia (244th Class)
  • Alan Wolfe – political scientist and sociologist (213th Class) – inducted to Hall of Fame 2011
  • Bernard Wolfman, Esq. – legal scholar (176th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1976
  • Alexander Woollcott – drama critic for The New Yorker (110th Class)
  • Jeremiah Wright – former Senior Pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago (211th Class)
  • Richard J. Wurtman, MD – Physician and Researcher (199th Class) – inducted into Hall of Fame 1995
  • Ed Wynn (until age 15) – entertainer, actor, comedian, producer (110th Class) – inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame 2009 

Y

Z

  • Melvin B. Zisfein – Deputy Director, National Air & Space Museum – inducted in Hall of Fame 1979

 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_alumni_of_Central_High_School_(Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania)