The 250 Greatest Columbia Alumni

In celebration of the University's 250th anniversary, Spectator is ranking the 250 greatest Columbians through the ages, from number 250 to number 1. The project will culminate with the selection of the single most influential alum in May.

110 Ellen Futter, BC 1971

When Futter was named the president of Barnard in 1981, she was the youngest person to become the president of a major American college. As president, she was instrumental in forming an agreement with then-University President Michael Sovern to allow cross-registration for Columbia and Barnard students as well as cross-participation on athletic teams. Futter later became the director of the American Museum of Natural History, where she instituted controversial exhibits on subjects like HIV and AIDS along with the ethics of gene research.

109 Louis Nizer, CC 1922

Known for his spellbinding oratorical skills, Nizer had a distinguished career as a lawyer and worked on a number of high-profile cases. He represented celebrities including Charlie Chaplin, Mae West, and Johnny Carson, and he defended many individuals who were blacklisted in the 1950s. His book The Implosion Conspiracy examines the trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Nizer was also an expert on contracts, copyright, and plagiarism law. His autobiography, My Life in Court, was a bestseller.

108 John Northrop, CC 1912

A direct descendant of Frederick Havemeyer, whose family presented Columbia with its chemical laboratory, Northrop used that very lab to launch his career as a groundbreaking chemist. During World War II, he worked for the National Defense Research Committee, where he developed ways to detect and analyze war gases. In 1946, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for preparing enzymes and virus proteins in a pure form.

107 Edward Kendall, CC 1908

Another chemistry major and Nobel laureate, Kendall won the prize in medicine for his analysis of the hormones of the adrenal cortex. His research led to the discovery of the anti-inflammatory effects of the compound cortisone, which he used to relieve rheumatoid arthritis and many other inflammatory diseases. Kendall is also known for isolating thyroxin, the active principle of the thyroid gland.

106 Robert A. M. Stern, CC 1960

Stern is a world-renowned architect and the founder of the celebrated firm Robert A. M. Stern Architects. A prolific author and the dean of the Yale School of Architecture, Stern is famous for his designs of elegant residences, as well as public and commercial buildings, including the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts. At Columbia, he designed Broadway Residence Hall, which opened in 2000.

105 Charles Gordon Curtis, School of Mines 1881

Curtis was an inventor and a colleague of Thomas Edison. In 1896, he patented the Curtis steam turbine, which is widely used in electric power plants and large naval vessels. The turbine was smaller and less expensive than the machine it replaced, and it became the most powerful steam generator in the world. Curtis also devised the first U.S. gas turbine, improved diesel-engine technology, and developed propulsion mechanisms for naval torpedoes.

104 Meyer Schapiro, CC 1924

Schapiro was a legendary art historian and a University Professor at Columbia. His work is considered to be revolutionary in the fields of art history and criticism. His field of expertise was broad, encompassing early Christian, Byzantine, and modern art as well as studies in fields like anthropology and psychology. He is honored by two Columbia professorships, the Meyer Schapiro professorship of art history and the Meyer Schapiro professorship of modern art and theory.

103 Norman Ramsey, CC 1935

Ramsey entered Columbia as an engineering student, but switched to mathematics to gain a deeper understanding of nature. He went on to an extensive career as an experimental physicist. In World War II, he worked as a radar consultant to the secretary of war and also worked on the Manhattan Project. Later, Ramsey's experiments in molecular beam magnetic resonance led to his invention of the separated oscillatory field method used in atomic clocks. For this achievement, he won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1989.

102 Lawrence Grossman, CC 1952

Grossman's long career in print and electronic communications has included serving as the president of PBS from 1976 to 1984 and the president of NBC News from 1984 to 1988. He is currently the co-director of the Digital Promise Project, a public service organization which uses digital telecommunications technologies for educational purposes. He has written on the media, politics, and culture for numerous publications, including as a columnist for the Columbia Journalism Review.

101 Virginia Gildersleeve, BC 1899

Gildersleeve began her career as a crusader for global women's rights and human rights at Barnard College, where, as the dean of Barnard for over 30 years, she fought for Barnard students to receive equal access to all areas of Columbia University. Gildersleeve was the only female American delegate to the San Francisco conference that drafted the Charter of the United Nations. Additionally, The Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund, which benefits women in developing countries, is named after her.