It All Started Here
50 Innovations, Discoveries & Inventions Hamilton Has Given the World
If you’ve ever binged a favorite show on Netflix, sunk your teeth into a Manwich sloppy joe, or marveled at a photo captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, you can thank a member of the College Hill community.
In this edition of Hamilton Extra, we present a few examples of Hamiltonesque ingenuity and creativity that resulted in some impressive “firsts” you may have heard of — and possibly some you haven’t.
Disclosure: We know this list is not complete and welcome your feedback. Please share additional examples of innovations, discoveries, and inventions by Hamilton and Kirkland alumni/ae.
1. America’s First
Chinese College Student
Zeng Laishun (a.k.a. Chan Lai-sun) became the first person from China to attend an American college or university when he arrived at Hamilton in 1846 on a scholarship provided by the women of the First Presbyterian Church in Utica. After two years his funding expired and he left New York for Hong Kong before graduating. Read more about Zeng Laishun in this piece by Crystal Lin ’22.
2. Netflix
On March 10, 1998, a DVD of the movie Beetlejuice was shipped to a home address marking the beginning of Netflix, which today has grown into the most-subscribed video-on-demand streaming media service. And behind it all is Marc Randolph ’81, the company’s co-founder and first CEO.
3. Same-Sex Marriage
As senior director of civil rights and legal strategies with GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders), Mary Bonauto ’83 has had a hand in several historic firsts. In 2004, she was lead counsel in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, which made Massachusetts the first state where same-sex couples could legally marry. Eleven years later she argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, which established the freedom to marry for same-sex couples nationwide. On Jan. 2, she received a Presidential Citizens Medal at the White House.
4. Water Works
Ellie Sangree ’24 and Jesse Wexler ’24 co-founded Eutrobac, a company that provides consulting and nature-based solutions to ensure regulatory compliance and improve water quality. Their flagship technology, the patent-pending NutriFilter™, was invented by Sangree to help farmers filter nitrogen pollution out of water by amplifying nitrifying and denitrifying microbes.
5. “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24”
A staple on holiday playlists thanks to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and co-creator/keyboardist Robert Kinkel ’79.6. Panama Canal Treaty
In 1977, Sol Linowitz ’35, a career diplomat, lawyer, and one time chairman of Xerox, co-negotiated the return of the Panama Canal to Panama under the direction of President Jimmy Carter.
13. Breaking the Color Barrier in Medicine
As a resident in obstetrics and gynecology, Maurice Clifford ’41 became the first African American on the staff at Philadelphia General Hospital. But his groundbreaking career in medicine didn’t stop there. Clifford later joined the Medical College of Pennsylvania’s clinical teaching team and in 1980 was installed as its president, becoming the first Black person to head a predominantly white medical school. He was recruited seven years later to serve as Philadelphia’s commissioner of public health, once again breaking the color barrier.
14. Annie’s Ally
Sandra Faison K’72 originated the role of Grace Farrell, secretary to Daddy Warbucks, in the hit Broadway musical Annie. The book for the 1977 show was written by Tom Meehan ’51.
15. Tower of Voices
Planners of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., commissioned Sam Pellman, the late Hamilton professor of music, to prepare the sound design for Tower of Voices, a 93-foot-tall musical instrument that holds 40 wind-activated chimes, each tuned to a unique pitch representing the 40 passengers and crew members who died there on 9/11.
16. Keeping Kids in the Know
Tori Campbell Nelson ’86, formerly co-anchor of the number-one morning newscast in the San Francisco Bay Area, is the cofounder of KidNuz, a daily 6-7 minute podcast for kids featuring timely, unbiased, and age-appropriate stories from politics, entertainment, science, health, and sports.17. Brainstorming
Alex Osborn, Class of 1909, was the “O” in BBDO, the New York-based advertising agency Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. When employees struggled to come up with creative ideas individually for ad campaigns, he started hosting group-thinking sessions that almost instantly led to improved quality and quantity of ideas. He first called the process “organized ideation,” but by 1940, a new name — “brainstorming” — stuck.
18. Social Media Master
Eric Kuhn ’09 began his career as a media executive, creating the first social media platforms for CNN and CBS News. He’s also responsible for launching the NBA’s Twitter account and served as the first head of social media at United Talent Agency where he was dubbed “Hollywood’s first social media agent.” In 2018, he shifted his career to theater and has since earned three Tony Awards as a producer.
22. A First Among Medical Editors
Christine Laine ’83 majored in biology and writing at Hamilton — a combination that served her well. In 2009, she became the youngest and first solo-female editor of the Annals of Internal Medicine, the flagship journal of the American College of Physicians. As professor of medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.23. Finding Rare Gems
From an 18th-century Chippendale card table to a forgotten portrait by renowned painter John Singleton Copley, Leigh Keno ’79 is known for uncovering valuable and historically significant items. The antiques expert and appraiser has appeared on Antiques Roadshow and Find! alongside his twin brother, Leslie Keno.24. The First Mighty Duck
Goalie Guy Hebert ’89 was the first player drafted by the NHL’s Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1993 expansion draft. He stood in net with the organization from its inaugural season until midway through 2000–01, when he briefly joined the New York Rangers before retiring. Hebert was selected to the 1997 NHL All-Star Game and represented the U.S. at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
25. Going Undercover
Donald Connell ’40 enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1941 and was selected for counter-intelligence training. While posing as an NBC reporter, he became the first American overseas undercover agent during World War II. His adventures included helping to locate and seize German radio stations directing submarine activities in the North Atlantic and trailing a German agent to the U.S. and apprehending him.
26. Advancing Equity Through Math
Robert Moses ’56 was a civil rights activist and educator who played a key role in the Civil Rights Movement and in 1982 founded the Algebra Project, an initiative aimed at improving math education for historically underserved communities. He believed that access to quality math education was a modern civil rights issue, essential for empowering marginalized groups.Founding Fathers
27. B.F. Skinner
Class of 1926
Pioneer of Modern Behaviorism
Psychologist B.F. Skinner, Class of 1926, proposed the theory of operant conditioning, which maintains that one’s behavior is shaped by reinforcement/reward and punishment.
28. Ezra Pound
Class of 1905
Architect of Literary Modernism
Poet and critic Ezra Pound, Class of 1905, was a leading figure in the modernist movement known for his innovative use of language and advocacy for imagism. Despite his literary achievements, his controversial political views and support for fascism during World War II overshadowed much of his legacy.
29. William Masters
Class of 1938
Pioneer in Human Sexuality Research
William Masters, Class of 1938, was an American gynecologist and sexologist who, alongside Virginia Johnson, pioneered research on human sexual response and dysfunction.
30. Edward Robinson
Class of 1816
The Father of Biblical Archaeology
Scholar Edward Robinson, Class of 1816, is recognized as the “father of biblical archaeology” for his groundbreaking work in identifying ancient sites in the Holy Land. Among his achievements is the discovery (for Western scholars) of a 2,700-year-old water tunnel dug in the region of Hezekiah.
31. Crowdfunding Leader
In 2010, Alon Hillel-Tuch ’07 cofounded RocketHub, at one time one of America’s largest online crowdfunding platforms used to help philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and others grow their business ideas.
32. A Leader in Workforce Management
Aron Ain ’79 helped establish Kronos Inc., now part of Ultimate Kronos Group, which specializes in software and services for timekeeping, scheduling, payroll, and workforce analytics. As former CEO, Ain has been recognized as a visionary leader in the HR technology industry.
33. Bringing Life to Life
For her humorous yet honest depictions of everyday life, Roz Chast K’75 has been called the first truly subversive New Yorker cartoonist. Since 1978, more than 1,000 of her whimsical illustrations exploring themes of family, anxiety, loneliness, and the absurdity of modern living have appeared in The New Yorker.34. Rollable Concrete
Curren Krasnoff ’16 is founder of Cortex Composites, Inc., a geosynthetics tech company that developed a rollable concrete known as Cortex. Instead of poured like traditional concrete, the product is unrolled at a construction site and then hydrated to harden in place. Cortex can be used in everything from shoreline protection to pit lining for oil, gas, and mining. Cortex Composites, Inc. has been awarded more than 35 patents globally.35. Early Photography
Charles Avery, Class of 1820 and a Hamilton professor of chemistry, was a pioneer of the daguerreotype. He learned the craft from Samuel Morse (of Morse Code fame), who brought photography to the U.S. from France in 1839. Avery is said to be the first person to take a daguerreotype west of the Hudson River, but his passion was not without consequences. In 1844, he was working in Rome, N.Y., where his “studio” was also his lodging room. The vapors of bromine made the air so toxic that just one night of sleep resulted in a serious and protracted illness from which he thankfully recovered.
42. A Master of Old English
While conducting research in Munich, philologist Herbert Meritt, Class of 1925, found that monks had left translations of certain Latin words in a manuscript by impressing them into the margins with a stylus. Amazingly, many of the glosses were still visible. From these scrawlings he clarified the meanings of hundreds of Old English words and corrected many errors long contained in standard dictionaries.43. An Acerbic Wit
Alexander Woollcott, Class of 1909, was a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table, a group of New York City writers, critics, and actors who contributed significantly to the cultural and literary scene of the early 20th century. Much of the critic, essayist, and radio personality’s work appeared in The New Yorker, where he was an early contributor.
44. Sailing Around Greenland
Amanda Ridgely Lake ’91, a sailor and sailing instructor, was a member of the first crew to circumnavigate Greenland by sailboat. On the 50'-cutter Brendan’s Isle, she also circumnavigated Newfoundland and Labrador, explored the navigable waters of the Arctic Circle, and sailed from Annapolis, Md., to Iceland.45. A Fuze for the Allies
An electrical engineer at Johns Hopkins’ Applied Physics Laboratory during World War II, John Howland Kuck ’37 designed a radio proximity fuze able to detonate explosives as they reached a target. Defense officials, including Army Gen. George S. Patton, credited the fuze with neutralizing German V-1 bomb attacks over London, with defending against low-flying Japanese suicide bombers in the Pacific, and in land warfare during the Battle of the Bulge.Medical Breakthroughs
46. Edward Taylor
Class of 1946
Edward Taylor ’46 was a chemist who designed and synthesized Alimta (pemetrexed), a groundbreaking chemotherapy drug used to treat mesothelioma and certain types of lung cancer.
47. Martin Hirsch
Class of 1960
As director of HIV/AIDS research at Massachusetts General Hospital beginning in 1981, Martin Hirsch ’60 led groundbreaking efforts in demonstrating that combination therapy could help control HIV replication and save lives.
48. Susan Kinder Haake
Kirkland College Class of 1976
Susan Kinder Haake K’76, a faculty member at UCLA’s School of Dentistry, discovered a family of plasmids that she developed into the first molecular tools for genetically manipulating the bacterium F. nucleatum. Her work provides insight into ways to prevent and treat periodontitis, the leading cause of tooth loss.
49. Richard Edelson
Class of 1966
Richard Edelson ’66, a dermatologist and immunologist, devised extracorporeal photochemotherapy, which became the first FDA-approved immunotherapy for any cancer.
50. Rebecca Heald
Class of 1985
Rebecca Heald ’85, a cell biologist, discovered key mechanisms regulating spindle assembly and size during cell division. Her research has applications in cancer treatment, as understanding these processes can lead to the development of targeted therapies that disrupt uncontrolled cell proliferation.
Feedback: We know this list is not complete and welcome your feedback. Please share additional examples of innovations, discoveries, and inventions by Hamilton and Kirkland alumni/ae.
