Notable Alumni of Delta Phi

Edmund Hamilton Sears, Α 1832 – Noted Unitarian clergyman who wrote many famous hymns including “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear,” one of the most beloved Christmas carols of all time. 

William Gaston, B 1838 – Mayor of Boston from 1871 to 1872 and Governor of Massachusetts from 1875 to 1876. 

Howard Crosby, Γ 1841 – American Presbyterian clergyman and author; American founder, Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA); Chancellor of New York University (1871-1883). Father of Ernest Howard Crosby, Γ 1872. 

George Henry Sharpe, Ε 1845 – Civil War general and war hero, lawyer and politician. Coordinated the Union’s Civil War intelligence effort. First person to use aerial surveillance (by hot air balloon). Largely responsible for reconnaissance that led to the victory at Gettysburg. Present at Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Sent abroad to apprehend those involved in the Lincoln assassination conspiracy. Reformer U.S. Marshal in New York who clashed with the Boss Tweed ring. Speaker of the New York State House of Representatives. 

James Petigru Boyce, Β 1846 – Founder of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, now one of the world’s largest seminaries and perhaps the most influential in the United States. 

John Wesley Harper, Δ 1848 and Joseph Abner Harper, Δ 1849 – Noted New York publishers; President of Harper & Brothers (later Harper & Row, which then became the present HarperCollins). 

Alexander Cook Durbin, Η 1849 – Manufacturer who built the iron plating for the U.S.S. Monitor, the first ironclad warship, and other Civil War gunships. 

George Craig Ludlow, E 1947 – Governor of New Jersey from 1881 to 1884.

Allen Wright, Α 1850 – Noted Clergyman and full-blooded member of the Choctaw tribe. Twice Governor of Choctaw Indian Nation, Commissioner for the United States and Choctaw Nation Peace Treaty (1866). Chose the Name “Oklahoma” for the territory and the state. Translated the Bible into the Choctaw language. 

Sullivan A. Ballou, B 1848 – Attorney and Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. Major in the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry during the Civil War. Penned a famous letter to his wife one week before dying at the First Battle of Bull Run, which is considered one of the finest expressions of why Northern soldiers fought to preserve the Union.

John Bogart, Ε 1853 – Famous hydroelectric engineer. Helped bring hydroelectricity to Niagara Falls, the Tennessee River and other places. Prepared the plans for the first subway in New York City and for tunnels under the Hudson River. 

Philip Sidney Post, Α 1854 – U.S. Representative from Illinois (1887-1895), received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Nashville in 1864. 

Henry Yates Satterlee, Δ 1860 – First Episcopal Bishop of Washington D.C., Conceived, planned, and began construction of the Washington National Cathedral. 

Garret Augustus Hobart, Ε 1863 – Vice President of the United States (1897–1899). The only Delt elected to national office; died in office shortly before the assassination of President McKinley. Vice-Chairman of the Republican National Committee. 

Edgar Fawcett, Δ 1865 – Famed author and poet of his day with many of his works being satirical critiques of New York’s high society. 

John Joseph Albright, Λ 1866 – Coal and steel industrialist. Founded the Ontario Power Company to harness the energy of Niagara Falls for electrical power and the paving of many city streets including Washington, D.C. Helped organize the World’s Fair in Buffalo and was instrumental in the founding of the Federal Reserve. 

William Henry Nichols, Γ 1869 – Renowned chemist who donated the Nichols Chemistry Building at NYU’s old University Heights campus and served as acting chancellor in 1928. 

William Pitt Mason, Λ 1870 – Professor of chemistry for 50 years at Rensselaer Polytechnic and a pioneer in water sanitation and hygiene. President of the American Water Works Association. 

Haley Fiske, Ε 1870 – Social reformer and business executive. Created unemployment insurance and started private mortgage insurance in the U.S. President of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), at the time the largest life insurance company in the world and the first company to ever exceed $2 billion in assets. 

Ernest Howard Crosby, Γ 1872 – Author and activist. Proponent of non-violence and noted author; reform colleague of Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy and Dan Beard. Penned the famous poem about the nature of brotherhood, “No one could tell me where my soul might be; I searched for God, but He eluded me; I sought my brother out and found all three.” Son of Rev. Dr. Howard Crosby, Γ 1841.

Charles Scribner, Θ 1874 – Publisher. President of Charles Scribner’s Sons Publishing Company, started Scribner’s Magazine (1887). 

John Jacob Astor IV, Ζ 1885 – Financier. Built Astoria Hotel, which joined with Waldorf Hotel, (Waldorf-Astoria), St. Regis Hotel and other notable properties. Passenger on the R.M.S. Titanic, declined when offered a lifeboat and died honorably as she sank in the North Atlantic. At the time of his death, he was the wealthiest man in the world. 

John Whitridge Williams, Ξ 1885 – Famed obstetrician and Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Published the Williams Obstetrics textbook in 1903. Founder of the Xi chapter.

John Joseph Blandin, Ξ 1886 – Highest ranking officer killed as a result of the explosion of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor, February 15, 1898. The incident ignited the Spanish-American War. 

William Henry Steele Demarest, E 1886 – Served as the eleventh President of Rutgers University (then Rutgers College) from 1906 to 1924.

John Pierpont Morgan Jr., Ζ 1886 – Known as the greatest financier of his day. President of J.P. Morgan & Company, Director of numerous important corporations and philanthropic and cultural organizations. Floated large loans in the U.S. during World War I to keep Allied governments solvent. 

Walter Tracey Scudder, Ε 1888 – Changed football forever when he used his hands to center and “snap” the ball back between his legs to start a play rather than kicking it, which had been the custom. 

George Santayana, Ζ 1890 – Poet, philosopher, cultural critic, and best-selling novelist. Considered one of the greatest American philosophers during the halcyon days of American philosophy. Many of his writings are being examined in light of modern conditions. His Life of Reason (1905) minted the now famous aphorism, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” 

John Boswell Whitehead, Ξ 1892 – First Dean of the School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins. Received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Edison Medal in 1941.

Albert Cabell Ritchie, Ξ 1893 – Attorney General of Maryland from 1915 to 1919. Served as Governor of Maryland for four terms from 1920 to 1935. 

Harvey Nathaniel Davis, B 1897 – Third President of the Stevens Institute of Technology. President of American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 

John Lowry Jr., Γ 1902 – CEO of Lowry Construction, which built Radio City Music Hall, the RKO Building, Museum of Modern Art, and IBM building (among others). 

James Hamilton Owens, Ξ 1906 – Journalist. Longtime editor of the Baltimore Evening Sun. Won two Pulitzer prizes. 

Stanley Forman Reed, Ρ 1908 – Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1939-1952). Solicitor General of the United States who tried many of the most important cases arising from FDR’s New Deal legislation. Braved withering public criticism in his native South for voting in favor of ending segregation in public schools in Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

Thomas Woodnutt Miller, Ο 1907 – Incorporator of the American Legion, National Commander of American Legion. U.S. Representative from Delaware, Secretary of State of Delaware. Founder, chairman of the Nevada State Park System. 

Livingston Waddell Houston, Λ 1909 – President of Ludlow Valve Company from 1932 to 1941 after which he served as chairman of the board until 1960. Elected Life Trustee of Rensselaer in 1925 and President of RPI from 1944 to 1958, overseeing a period of tremendous growth at the institute following WWII. 

William Wallace Wade, Β 1913 – Member of the College Football Hall of Fame. One of football’s greatest coaches, brought Alabama, Duke, and Southern football into national prominence, an important force behind the success of the Rose Bowl. The football stadium at Duke University is named in his honor. 

Curtis Palmer Stevens, Λ 1918 – Olympic gold medallist in bobsledding (1932) and former record holder. Gained national notoriety by heating his sled blades just before his gold-medal winning run. 

Lawrence Abercromby Brown, Η 1919 – Arguably “the fastest man alive” in his time. World record holder in 1000 yards, one-mile relay, two-mile relay, 1600-meter relay , and 500 yard dash. Member of the 1924 United States Olympic team. Broke the American 800-meter record at the Olympic Trials in 1924. 

George Macready, B 1918 – American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains. Most famous for his roles in Gilda (1946) with Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, and Stanley Kubrik’s Paths of Glory (1957) with numerous guest appearances on TV shows such as Bonanza, Gunsmoke, and Perry Mason. 

Frank William Begrisch, Γ 1922 – Engineer and philanthropist. Served as a director of the Phillips Petroleum Company from 1944 to 1968 and director of the real estate investment firm Corporate Properties, Inc. from 1937 to 1950. 

Allan Nevins, Τ 1925 – Journalist with The New York Evening Post and literary editor of The New York Sun. Professor of History at Columbia University for three decades. Winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for his biographies of Grover Cleveland and Hamilton Fish. President of the American Historical Association.

Edgar Maurice Cortright Jr., Λ 1942 – Director of NASA’s Langley Research Center and Chairman of the Apollo 13 Review Board. Pioneer in early unmanned flight programs, including the first satellites, and Project Viking, resulting in the first Mars landing in 1976. Author of two best-selling books and credited with being among the first to expose the public to space photography. 

George Michael Low, Λ 1943 – President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1976–1984). Aerospace pioneer. NASA’s Chief of Manned Space Flight. Closely involved in the planning of Projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. Named Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office by President Nixon. Under his direction, eight Apollo flights were successfully flown, including Apollo 8, the first manned lunar orbital flight and Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing. As NASA Acting Administrator, negotiated space agreement with the Soviet Union, which laid the foundation for the Apollo-Soyuz flight in 1975 and other joint space projects.

Leo Paul Larkin Jr., Π 1946 – Attorney, First Amendment litigator. Handled significant portions of the legal work for the Washington Post in connection with the landmark “Pentagon Papers” case.

Russell Wayne Baker, Ξ 1946 – Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Times. Host of PBS’s “Masterpiece Theatre.” 

Edgar Miles Bronfman Sr., Υ 1947 – CEO of Seagram Wines and Spirits, contributing greatly to the company’s growth into a household name. President of the World Jewish Congress, major force behind insurance reparations to Holocaust survivors. Philanthropist, winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999, the highest civilian honor in the United States. 

Thomas Beverley Evans Jr., P 1950 – Three-term U.S. Representative from Delaware from 1977 to 1983. 

M. Arthur Gensler Jr., Π 1954 – Architect. Co-founder of Gensler, the largest architecture firm in the U.S. Designed the Shanghai Tower and personally designed the original Apple Store at Steve Jobs’ insistence. 

Raymond E. Joslin, Σ 1956 – Cable television pioneer and entrepreneur. Oversaw the Hearst Corporation’s role in the joint venture that produced popular cable networks ESPN, Lifetime, A&E, and the History Channel, among others. 

George Frederick Will, Σ 1959 – Pulitzer prize-winning commentator, leading conservative political thinker and mainstay of television news and analysis programs. Equally renowned for his passionate and insightful books on professional baseball. 

Aubrey M. Daniel III, Ρ 1960 – Attorney and Army Officer. As a 28-year-old captain in the Army, in 1970-71, he successfully prosecuted Lt. William Calley at court martial for his role in the infamous 1968 My Lai Massacre in Vietnam. 

Richard A. Tuggle, Ρ 1966 – Acclaimed screenwriter and director best known for Escape from Alcatraz (1979), Tightrope (1984), and Out of Bounds (1986). 

Christopher B. Galvin, Ρ 1973 – Chairman of the Board and CEO of American electronics giant Motorola, Inc from 1997 to 2003. Currently serves as CEO and co-founder of Harrison Street Capital, LLC. 

Francis “Finn” Xavier Wentworth Jr., Ν 1977 – Former President and CEO of the New Jersey Nets basketball team and former COO and CEO of YankeeNets, the holding company for the New York Yankees, New Jersey Nets, and New Jersey Devils. During his tenure, the Yankees won two World Series, the Devils won two Stanley Cups and the Nets won the NBA Eastern Conference finals twice. 

Marvin Pierce Bush, P 1977 – Son of President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush; youngest brother to President George W. Bush. Former director of HCC Insurance Holdings. Rev. John Crawford Bauerschmidt, Φ 1978 – Currently serves as the eleventh Bishop of the Diocese of Tennessee since 2006, as the Episcopal co-chair of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Ecumenical Dialogue in the U.S. since 2010, and a Trustee of the University of the South.

John Frederick Dickerson, P 1987 – Current anchor for “CBS News Prime Time with John Dickerson.” Previous correspondent for 60 Minutes, Face the Nation, and CBS News Election Coverage. Author of The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency.

Paolo Hidalgo Santos Montalbán, E 1991 – Actor and singer. Best known for his performance as Prince Christopher in Disney’s 1997 film adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. 

Edward “Ned” Jensen Rice, ΩA 2002 – Assistant General Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies; previously served as Director of Major League Administration for the Baltimore Orioles.

Robert Mason Hereford, P 2005 – Chef and owner of New Orleans-based restaurants, The Turkey and the Wolf, and Molly’s Rise and Shine. Cookbook author and featured on Netflix’s “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend.”

Jerrauld “Jay” Charles Corey Jones, ΩA 2008 – Attorney and member of Virginia House of Delegates from Norfolk from 2018 to 2021. Sought the Democratic nomination for Virginia Attorney General in 2021.