If we had to pick just one, all-time highlight visitor to Marietta College it would probably have to be the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on March 2, 1967. But you could make an argument for William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the U.S., Writer and Activist Betty Friedan or former President Bill Clinton. If it’s sports you like you may pick Olympic Gold Medalist Jim Thorpe, NBA great Bill Russell or Ohio State basketball coach Fred Taylor. Or maybe you remember some of the great concerts — The Police, The Ramones and Three Doors Down — at the old Ban Johnson Fieldhouse.
Here are some of the high profile visitors to step foot on Marietta College’s campus over the past 180-plus years.
Lewis Cass (1842)
1848 Democratic Party Nominee for President
William Irwin (1876)
Governor of California
Charles Warren Fairbanks (1906)
26th U.S. Vice President
Frank Wakely Gunsaulus (1910)
Preacher, Educator, Pastor, Author and Humanitarian
William Howard Taft (June 15, 1910)
27th President of the U.S.
James Guthrie Harbord (1927)
Lt. Gen. In the U.S. Army, President and Chairman of the Board of Radio Corporation of America
David Sarnoff (1935)
President of Radio Corporation of America
Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (1939)
Actor, Director
Jim Thorpe (1940)
Olympic Gold Medalist and Professional Athlete
Roy E. Larsen (June 2, 1946)
President and Director of Time, Inc.
George White (Oct. 10, 1946)
Former Ohio Governor
Louis Untermeyer (Dec. 7, 1946)
Editor, Poet
Alexander Kerensky (March 9, 1948)
Russian Leader who helped in the downfall of the Czar
Lamar Dodd (May 10, 1948)
American Artist
C. William O'Neill (May 18, 1948)
Future Ohio Governor
Jesse Hilton Stuart (Feb. 14, 1949)
Poet and Author
Robert Taft (1949)
U.S. Senator
Charles Laughton (Oct. 30, 1950)
Actor
Lowell Thomas (Feb. 14, 1953)
Commentator, Author, Newsman
Col. Dean Hess (Feb. 14, 1956)
Korean War hero
Howard Simpson (June 1956)
President of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Rock Hudson (Feb. 14, 1957)
Actor
Cecil Underwood (Feb. 14, 1957)
West Virginia Governor
Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. (Nov. 4, 1960)
Son of Former President
Randell Jarrell (March 5, 1961)
Poet, Novelist, Literary Critic
Paul Engle (Oct. 10, 1961)
Author
Frank Lausche (1962)
U.S. Senator, Five-time Ohio Governor
Leon Volkov (Sept. 25, 1962)
Soviet Union Affairs Analyst
Ogden Nash (April 29, 1963)
Poet, Humorist
Fred Taylor (May 7, 1963)
Ohio State Basketball Coach
Lloyd L. Harrold (Dec. 5, 1963)
Superintendent of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil and Water Conservation
Hanson Baldwin (April 28, 1964)
Military Editor of the New York Times, Leading Military Analyst
Irving Howe (Nov. 14, 1964)
Author
Harry Golden (Dec. 11, 1965)
Author, Humorist
Richard P. Wilbur (March 29, 1966)
Pulitzer Prize Winner
William J. Brennan Jr. (Oct. 25, 1966)
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Martin Luther King Jr. (March 2, 1967)
Civil Rights Leader
Barry Goldwater (May 4, 1967)
U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate
F. Lee Bailey (Oct. 13, 1967)
Attorney, Author
Arthur C. Clarke (Nov. 2, 1967)
Author, Inventor
Harrison Salisbury (Nov. 5, 1967)
Editor, New York Times
Michael Harrington (Dec. 7, 1967)
Author of "The Other America"
Ralph Nader (Feb. 9, 1968)
Consumer Advocate
James Miller Symes (Feb. 14, 1968)
President of Pennsylvania Railroad
Dr. Gabriel Cohen (April 11, 1968)
Member of Israeli Parliament
Arthur C. Clarke (April 16, 1968)
Author of "2001: Space Odyssey"
David Brinkley (Oct. 12, 1968)
Television News Anchor
Ed Field (Nov. 19, 1968)
Poet
Dr. Josiah Thompson (Nov. 20, 1968)
Author of "Six Seconds in Dallas"
Al Capp (Feb. 6, 1969)
Creator of the "Li’l Abner" Comic Strip
Ann Sexton (Feb. 27, 1969)
Poet, Experimental Dramatist
William F. Buckley Jr. (Oct. 3, 1969)
Journalist, Conservative Spokesman
Richard Eberhart (Oct. 15, 1969)
Pulitzer Prize winner
James Reiss (Nov. 15, 1969)
Poet, Humorist
Diane Wakowski (Dec. 5, 1969)
Avant-Garde Poet
Lillian Gish (Feb. 2, 1970)
Actress, Author
John Glenn (March 31, 1970)
Astronaut, U.S. Senate Candidate
Roy Innes (April 19, 1970)
Head of Congress of Racial Equality
David Schoenbrun (Sept. 17, 1970)
Television Commentator, Author
William Kuntsler (1971)
Attorney for the "Chicago Seven"
Bill Russell (April 20, 1971)
NBA Player, Black Spokesman
Robert Bly (Oct. 15, 1971)
One of the First U.S. Writers to Challenge Government Involvement in Vietnam
Linus Pauling (April 12-15, 1972)
Chemist and Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Ronald V. Dellums (Sept. 29, 1972)
California Congressman
Galway Kinnell (Oct. 17, 1972)
Poet
Michael Novak (Nov. 16, 1972)
Author, Philosopher
Joseph Heller (April 4, 1973)
Author of "Catch-22"
Van Rensselaer Potter (April 18, 1973)
Biologist, Author
Kenneth Boulding (Nov. 1, 1973)
Economist, Educator, Poet, Interdisciplinary philosopher
Dick Gregory (Jan. 27, 1974)
Comedian, Civil Rights Activist
Ed Emberley (April 23, 1974)
Children’s Author, Illustrator
Michael Harper (April 5, 1976)
Poet
Williams Proxmire (April 10, 1976)
Wisconsin Senator
Jeff and Annette Carter (Oct. 4, 1976)
Son and Daughter-in-law of the 39th President, Jimmy Carter
Alvin Toffler (Oct. 29, 1976)
Author
Story Musgrave (Nov. 30, 1976)
Astronaut
Nikki Giovanni (Jan. 29, 1977)
Award-winning Poet
R. Buckminster Fuller (Feb. 21, 1977)
Architect, Philosopher, Author
Joyce Peseroff (March 21-25, 1977)
Poet
Jane Fonda (Nov. 3, 1977)
Actress, Writer, Political Activist
Ozark Mountain Daredevils (March 1, 1978)
Country Rock Band
Marty Brenneman/Joe Nuxhall (Feb. 14, 1979)
Cincinnati Reds Broadcasters
Harold Hoopman (May 13, 1979)
President of Marathon Oil Co.
The Police (Oct. 17, 1979)
Rock Concert
The Ramones (Oct. 17, 1979)
Rock Concert
Gwendolyn Brooks (Oct. 28, 1979)
First American Black Writer to Win a Pulitzer Prize
Betty Friedan (Feb. 4-8, 1980)
Writer, Activist and Feminist
Maggie Kuhn (Feb. 6, 1980)
Founder of Gray Panthers, Activist
Nicholas von Hoffman (Sept. 26, 1980)
Author, Columnist
Ronald Reagan (Nov. 2, 1980)
Republican Presidential nominee who became the 40th President of the U.S.
Bob Welch (Feb. 17, 1981)
Professional Baseball Player
Allman Brothers (December 1981)
Rock Concert
Peter James (Dec. 2, 1981)
Former CIA informer
Richard Celeste (Feb. 23, 1984)
Ohio Governor
Hon. Keith Best (Sept. 19, 1984)
Member of English Parliament
Norman Vincent Peale (Oct. 24, 1985)
Protestant Preacher, Author
William Swales (May 11, 1986)
President of Marathon Oil Co.
Leonard Silk (March 19, 1987)
New York Times Columnist
Frank Mosier (May 10, 1987)
President and COO of Standard Oil of Ohio
Thomas Cronin (Feb. 18, 1988)
Political Scientist, Educator
Gary Kott (Sept. 8, 1988)
Television Writer, Producer
Dan Quayle (Oct. 20, 1988)
Republican Vice Presidential nominee who became the 44th U.S. Vice President
Andrea Dworkin (March 4, 1989)
Radical Feminist, Writer
Ted Turner (1990)
Media Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
Judy Goldsmith (March 29, 1990)
President of National Organization of Women
Vanilla Ice (March 29, 1991)
Rap Concert
George Voinovich (Sept. 25, 1991)
Ohio Governor
C&C Music Factory (Oct. 9, 1991)
Hip Hop Concert
Perry Smith (Feb. 14, 1992)
Military Analyst CNN
Rich Galen (Oct. 3, 1992)
Former Press Secretary, Dan Quayle
Hillary Clinton (Nov. 12, 1993)
First Lady of the U.S.
Al Gore (April 12, 1994)
45th Vice President of the U.S.
Li Zhaoxing (Oct. 23, 1994)
Chinese Ambassador
Randall Robinson (Feb. 23, 1995)
Founder of TransAfrica, Activist
Benjamin Hooks (April 16, 1995)
Former Director of NAACP
Gin Blossoms (April 14, 1996)
Rock Concert
Leslie H. Wexner (May 12, 1996)
Founder and Chair of the Limited, Inc.
Tipper Gore (Oct. 31, 1996)
Wife of Vice President Al Gore
Maya Angelou (Jan. 30, 1997)
Poet, Author
Norman Mailer (Feb. 5, 1997)
Novelist, Journalist, Poet, Playwright, Screenwriter and Film Director
Billy Taylor Trio (Feb. 13, 1997)
Jazz Pianist, Composer, Educator
Alex Trotman (Sept. 3, 1997)
CEO Ford Motor Companies
Bob Greene (Sept. 25, 1997)
Nationally Syndicated Newspaper Columnist
Deborah Mathis (Nov. 13, 1997)
Syndicated Columnist
Daniel Schorr (Dec. 4, 1997)
TV, Radio Commentator
Doris Kearns Goodwin (Fall 1998)
Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and historian
Chai Ling (Oct. 21, 1999)
Chinese Human Rights Activist
Dave Pallone (Jan. 27, 2000)
Former Major League Umpire, Author of "Behind the Mask"
Third Eye Blind (March 23, 2000)
Rock Concert
Gloria Steinem (May 6-7, 2000)
Feminist icon, Journalist, Activist
Joyce Carol Oates (Sept. 15, 2000)
Author
John Updike (Sept. 21, 2000)
Novelist, Poet, Art Critic and Literary Critic
Three Doors Down with Fuel and Oleander (March 19, 2001)
Rock Concert
Jonathan Kozol (May 5, 2001)
Non-fiction Writer, Educator, Activist
Chuck Mangione (Feb. 21, 2002)
Flugelhorn Player, Composer
Judy Collins (Sept. 27, 2002)
Folk and Standards Singer and Songwriter
Mark Russell (March 7, 2003)
Comedian
Phyllis Schlafly (Sept. 30, 2003)
Pro-Family Movement Leader
Jerry Springer (Feb. 4, 2004)
Talk-Show Host, Former Cincinnati Mayor
OAR (April 22, 2004)
Rock Concert
William Kristol (March 31, 2005)
Conservative Commentator
Dinesh D’Souza (Feb. 7, 2006)
Conservative Commentator
Richard Gid Powers (March 21, 2006)
Author
Jeffery Taubenberger (April 10, 2006)
Avian Flu Expert
David Horowitz (April 18, 2006)
Conservative Leader
Juan Williams (April 5, 2007)
Political Journalist
Ted Strickland (May 18, 2007)
Ohio Governor
Victor Davis Hanson (Nov. 1, 2007)
Conservative Commentator
Taylor Swift (Nov. 12, 2007)
Country Music Concert
Gen. Barry McCaffrey (Nov. 15, 2007)
Army General, NBC Analyst
Bill Clinton (Feb. 19, 2008)
42nd U.S. President
John Lewis (May 17, 2008)
U.S. Congressman, Civil Rights Activist
Sarah Palin (Nov. 2, 2008)
Alaska Governor, Republican Vice Presidential nominee
Julianne Hough (June 1, 2009)
Country Music Concert
Paul Ryan (Nov. 3, 2012)
U.S. Congressman
Eugene Robinson (Feb. 21, 2013)
Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist
Carl Bernstein (May 12, 2013)
Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist
Peter Yarrow (Sept. 17, 2015)
Member of 1960s folk band Peter, Paul & Mary
Jeff Greenfield (Oct. 10-12, 2018)
Veteran political, media and culture reporter