Buzz
While Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are well-known for their achievements after leaving Harvard, many others have also found success without completing their degrees. Here are nine additional Harvard dropouts who went on to make their mark.
1. Robert Frost
Born in San Francisco, Frost initially left Dartmouth after just two months before being admitted to Harvard in 1897. He pursued liberal arts but left two years later to care for his family. Despite not graduating, Frost became one of America's most celebrated poets, earning four Pulitzer Prizes and an honorary degree from Harvard in 1937.
2. Matt Damon
3. William Randolph Hearst
Hearst, born to wealthy mining engineer George Hearst, joined Harvard in 1885 and became the inaugural business manager of the Harvard Lampoon, the university's humor magazine. Known for his mischievous antics, including keeping a pet alligator named Champagne Charlie, Hearst once famously brought a donkey into a professor's room with a note reading, 'Now there are two of you.' His pranks eventually led to his expulsion after he gifted professors chamber pots bearing their names. Post-Harvard, Hearst built a media empire by taking over his father's newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner.
4. Edwin H. Land
5. James B. Connolly
Connolly, admitted to Harvard in 1895 without a high school diploma, left the university a year later to compete in the inaugural modern Olympic Games. Despite requesting a leave of absence, his low academic standing led to its denial. Harvard required him to reapply after the Olympics, but Connolly chose to compete anyway, winning the triple jump and becoming the first modern Olympic champion. He never completed his degree but received an honorary Harvard sweater in 1948.
6. Pete Seeger
Seeger, the folk singer and activist, lost his financial aid after his sophomore year due to his focus on left-wing politics and declining grades. Though he would have graduated in 1940, Seeger found fame as a member of The Weavers, whose version of Leadbelly's 'Goodnight, Irene' dominated the charts for 13 weeks in 1950. Seeger held no resentment toward Harvard, noting in his alumni yearbook that he valued his time there but recognized its limitations in teaching certain life lessons.
7. R. Buckminster Fuller
Fuller, an inventor and futurist, was the fifth in his family to attend Harvard but the first not to graduate. Excluded from Harvard's social clubs, he spent his time elsewhere, often skipping classes to attend Broadway shows. On one occasion, he spent his entire tuition on a lavish dinner for actress Marilyn Miller and her chorus, leading to his dismissal. After working in a Quebec factory and being readmitted, Fuller excelled academically but eventually left for good. Following naval service and several failed ventures, he achieved fame with the invention of the geodesic dome in 1947 and later returned to Harvard as the Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry in 1961.
8. Bonnie Raitt
9. Elisabeth Shue
Among Harvard dropouts, Shue stands out for returning to complete her education. After transferring from Wellesley College, she left Harvard in 1985, just one semester shy of earning her political science degree, to focus on acting. In 2000, she went back to Cambridge to finish her studies, citing a desire to engage her mind and feel more connected to the world. Shue, acclaimed for her Oscar-nominated performance in Leaving Las Vegas, has also starred in roles such as Sheriff Julie Forester in Piranha 3D.
