You might be surprised to learn how many notable figures in politics, entertainment, business, and even professional sports majored in History. Below, you'll find some familiar faces you might not have known were history majors.
Penn History Majors enter a remarkably diverse array of fields. Some, like law and education, are unsurprising. Yet History Majors also pursue careers in medicine, real estate, finance, journalism and nonprofits. They work on Capitol Hill, Wall Street, in elementary school classrooms and Silicon Valley.
Click here to read more about 5 Penn History alumni who recently shared their experiences with current History Majors. To watch their discussion click HERE with a Pennkey
To learn more about Majoring in History at Penn, visit our History Major page or speak to the History Advisor.
In sports, entertainment, and journalism:
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Wolf Blitzer
- Sacha Baron Cohen
- Steve Carell
- Julia Child
- Larry David
- W.E.B. DuBois
- Jackie Joyner-Kersee
- John Lithgow
- Conan O'Brien
- Ayn Rand
- Martha Stewart
In business:
- Carly Fiorina (former CEO, Hewlett-Packard)
- Chris Hughes (Co-founder of Facebook)
- Robert Johnson (Founder of Black Entertainment Television)
In law and politics:
- Joseph Biden, Jr.
- Corey Booker
- George W. Bush
- Winston Churchill
- Dwight Eisenhower
- Elena Kagan
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- John F. Kennedy
- Henry Kissinger
- Newt Gingrich
- Eric Holder
- Richard Nixon
- Susan Rice
- John Roberts
- Franklin Roosevelt
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Antonin Scalia
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Woodrow Wilson