Honorary Degrees
A tradition at colleges has been the awarding of honorary degrees to distinguish visitors. Colonel Hyatt launched an ambitious program of using this academic tradition to make PMC known nationally.
Honorary degrees were awarded to many well-known individuals, including Warren G. Harding (1920), John Philip Sousa (1920), General John J. Pershing (1921), General Douglas MacArthur (1928), Richard E. Byrd (1928), Cecil B. DeMille ’98 (1931), J. Edgar Hoover (1936), David Sarnoff (1952), Walter H. Annenberg (1954) and many others. During the Commencement of 1920, Franklin D. Roosevelt was awarded Doctor of Laws. In accepting the degree, he said in part:
“This.is a historic moment for me – the getting of this degree in an institution so essential1y American. The great need of our country today is broad Americanism and a leadership of vision. This institution stands for that sort of thing, and this is why its graduates have made enviable records in all lands.”
For many, receiving an honorary degree from PMC was a tribute. In 1933, Colonel Hyatt was invited to visit President Roosevelt in the White House. The President told Hyatt that:
Since I received my degree (1920), I have taken as much interest in PMC as if I were in reality a graduate. I have faithfully followed PMC sports in the newspapers and have been particularly fascinated by your fine polo teams. PMC is truly expressive of the American spirit and lays the foundation for the sort of Americanism needed to perpetuate the worthwhile institutions of our country.
In 1924, PMC conferred the degree of Bachelor of Military Science upon 64 alumni. Judge George T. Cann, ’85 explained that the degree was designed to honor graduates of the College who had served in any branch of the military in time of actual warfare. For the several more years, this degree was awarded to 202 more alumni.
| Year | Name | Position/Title |
| 1874 | Leonard H. Boole | Superintendent, John Roach & Co. |
| 1875 | George Patten | Professor of Engineering, P.M.C. |
| 1877 | Edward Brooks Rev. James E. McDougall | Principal, Pennsylvania State Normal School President, York Collegiate Institute |
| 1878 | Rev. John Wilson | Wesleyan Female College |
| 1882 | Henry D. Sellers | Pennsylvania National Guard |
| 1883 | John R. Sweeney | Music Director, P.M.C. |
| 1889 | Benjamin F. Morley ’78 | Professor of Chemistry, P.M.C. |
| 1892 | Edwin A. McHenry | Northern Pacific Railroad |
| 1896 | James F. Powers | |
| 1897 | David McMurtrie Gregg | Union General and Auditor General of Pennsylvania |
| 1901 | Captain Beverly W. Dunn Frank S. Krug, ’84 | Ordnance Department |
| 1911 | Henry Denny Thomason, ’79 John W. Loveland, ’87 William Wood Russell, ’87 Edwin Alberti Howell, ’90 | Chester Attorney |
| 1912 | Major General Leonard Wood William G. Randle Rukard Hurd, ’78 Frank Sutton, ’79 Joseph W. Shirley, ’91 Albert F. Huntt, ’91 | Chief of Staff, U.S.A. Superintendent, N.Y. Shipbuilding Co. Secretary, Minnesota Tax Commission Geographer, U.S. Geological Survey Chief Engineer, Topographical Survey Commission Architect |
| 1913 | Charles E. Hyatt James D. Hurd | President, P.M.C. Mining Engineer |
| 1914 | Major Evan M. Johnson, Jr. George Whitelock, ’72 Brigadier General Carroll A. Devol, ’78 Merritt H. Smith, ’80 George H. Webb, ’80 | United States Army Baltimore Attorney Quartermaster Corps Engineer, N.Y.C. Board of Water Supply Engineer, Michigan Central Railroad |
| 1916 | General Hugh Scott James Campbell Thomas C. Hatton Guion Moore Gest | Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Engineer, El Paso and South Western Railway Engineer, Sewerage Commission Wisconsin Engineer, Expert in Distribution of Electrical Energy |
| 1919 | William C. Sproul Josephus Daniels Brigadier General William Rose (ret) Samuel M. Felton | Governor of Pennsylvania Secretary of the Navy Corps of Engineers, U.S.A. President, Chicago and Great Western Railway |
| 1920 | Warren G. Harding John Philip Sousa Franklin D. Roosevelt Lt. General William G. Price, Jr. William Backes Lewis T. Byrant, ’81 William I. Schaffer | Senator from Ohio Composer Assistant Secretary of the Navy National Guard New Haven & Hartford Railway N.J. Commission of Labor Attorney General, Pennsylvania |
| 1921 | General John J. Pershing Honorable Robert von Moschzisker Honorable Alexander Simpson, Jr. William Burk Sylvanus Griswold Morley, ’04 | U.S. Army Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Justice, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Washington Memorial, Valley Forge PA Associate, Carnegie Institution |
| 1922 | John Weeks George Wharton Pepper Emiliano Chamorro | Secretary of War Senator Pennsylvania Minister from Nicaragua |
| 1923 | Andrew W. Mellon Gifford Pincot General Robert S. Bullard | Secretary of the Treasury Governor of Pennsylvania Commander Second Corps |
| 1924 | Charles B. McMichael William G. Clyde Smedley D. Butler | President Judge, Philadelphia Common Pleas V.P. Carnegie Steel Company Brigadier General USMC |
| 1925 | General Tasker H. Bliss James J. Davis | in absentia Secretary of Labor |
| 1926 | Morris L. Clothier William C.L. Eglin Harry Taylor | Merchant President, Franklin Institute General, Chief of Engineers |
| 1927 | Curtis D. Wilbur Ralph Modjeski Charles P. Summerall | Secretary of the Navy Chief Engineer, Delaware River Bridge Major General, Chief of Staff |
| 1928 | Major General Douglas MacArthur Richard E. Byrd William L. Mellon Daniel Willard Charles Evans Hughes | U.S. Army Commander, U.S. Navy Financier President, B&O Railroad Former Secretary of State |
| 1929 | John Stuchell Fisher James E. Fechet James Meschter Anders | Governor of Pennsylvania Major General, U.S. Army Air Corps Philadelphia Physician |
| 1930 | Nicholas Longworth Patrick J. Hurley | Speaker of the House Secretary of War |
| 1931 | Cecil B. DeMille Hanson E. Ely Honorable Owen J. Roberts | Playwright and Motion Picture Producer Major General, Commander Second Corps Area Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court |
| 1932 | Charles F. Adams William W. Atterbury | Secretary of the Navy President, Pennsylvania Railroad |
| 1933 | George H. Dern David A. Reed Leon Levy | Secretary of War Senator from Pennsylvania President, WCAU |
| 1934 | Harold L. Ickes General Peyton C. March John G. Pew | Secretary of the Interior Former Chief of Staff, U.S. Army President, Sun Shipbuilding |
| 1935 | Cordell Hull George T. Cann Davel L. Powers | Secretary of State Attorney U.S. Congressmen NJ |
| 1936 | J. Edgar Hoover Norman E. McClure Major General Leon B. Kromer | Attorney, Justice Department President, Ursinus College Chief of Cavalry, U.S. Army |
| 1937 | Dr. Chevalier Jackson Major John W. Loveland, 1887 Louis Allis | Physician and Surgeon Attorney President, Allis Motors Company |
| 1938 | Homer Cummings Chester H. Rhodes Edward V. Rickenbacker | Attorney General of U.S. Judge, Superior Court PA President, Eastern Airlines |
| 1939 | Arthur H. James Dr. James R. Angell Major General James G. Harboard Dr. Herbert J. Tily | Governor of Pennsylvania President Emeritus, Yale University Chairman of the Board, RCA President, Strawbridge & Clothier |
| 1940 | General George C. Marshall William L. Phelps Edwin A. Howell | Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Professor Emeritus, Yale University Attorney |
| 1943 | Robert P. Patterson Major General Harold George Major General Wilhelm Delp Styer Major General Lorenzo D. Gasser Colonel William M. Conner | Under Secretary of War Commander, AAF Air Transport Chief of Staff, Army Service Forces President, War Department Manpower Professor of Law, USMA |
| 1945 | Lt. General Barney M. Giles Vice Admiral Ben Moreell Charles Edson Adams | Commander, Army Air Force Pacific Commander, Seabees Chief Engineer, PA Railroad |
| 1946 | General Carl Spaatz | Commander, Strategic Air Forces |
| 1947 | James Henderson Duff Joseph William Martin, Jr. Vice Admiral James L. Kauffman | Governor of Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Commander, Fourth Naval District |
| 1948 | Kenneth Royall General Hoyt S. Vandenberg Dr. Luther H. Evans | Secretary of the Army Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force Library of Congress |
| 1949 | Lt. General Walter Bedell Smith Lt. General Leonard T. Gerow | Commander, U.S. First Army Commander, U.S. Second Army |
| 1950 | Alfred E. Driscoll Louis A. Johnson William Stern Dr. Edward L. Bortz | Governor of New Jersey Secretary of Defense Sportscaster, NBC Former President, AMA |
| 1951 | General Mark Clark Senator Robert A. Taft Leslie R. Groves | Chief of the Army Field Forces Ohio Senator V-P, Remington Rand |
| 1952 | Lt. General Edward H. Brooks Major General Elbert L. Ford David Sarnoff | Commander, Second Army Chief of Ordnance, U.S. Army Chairman, RCA |
| 1953 | General John Hull Howard J. Pew Honorable Horace Stern | Vice Chief of Staff Sun Oil Company Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court |
| 1954 | Hugh M. Milton, II Walter H. Annenberg | Assistant Secretary of the Army Publisher, Philadelphia Inquirer |
| 1955 | Lt. General Hubert R. Harmon Thomas S. Gates, Jr. | Superintendent, U.S. Air Force Academy Investment Banker |
| 1956 | Dr. Milton S. Eisenhower General Maxwell Taylor | President, Penn State Chief of Staff, U.S. Army |
| 1957 | Dr. Hollington K. Tong Admiral Louis E. Denfeld Dr. James Creese John J. McClure | Chinese Ambassador to U.S. Chief of Naval Operations President of Drexel Former State Senator |
| 1958 | Robert W. Sarnoff Richard L. Burke Wilfred D. Gillen General John B. Medaris | President, NBC Sun Ship President President of Bell Telephone Commander, U.S. Army Ordnance Missile Command |
| 1959 | Dr. Wernher von Braun Lt. General Edwin A. Pollock Robert G. Dunlop Major General Edward MacMorland Francis S. Friel | Space Scientist Commander, Fleet Marine Force (Atlantic) President, Sun Oil Company President, P.M.C. President, American Society of Civil Engineers |
| 1960 | Vice Admiral Robert B. Pirie W. Beverley Murphy | Deputy Chief, Naval Operations President, Campbell Soup |
| 1961 | General George H. Decker J. Newton Pew | Army Chief of Staff President, Delaware County National Bank |
| 1962 | Leonard P. Pool Lt. General Arthur G. Trudeau Frank Wolfgram Dr. Lee A. DuBridge | Founder, Air Products and Chemicals Director of Army Research and Development President, California Institute of Technology |
| 1963 | Dr. Harian H. Hatcher Lt. General Albert Watson, II Virgil Kaufman 5/31/1963 General Dwight D. Eisenmhower reviews the Corps |
President, University of Michigan commander Third U.S. Army Aero Service Corp |
| 1964 | Lt. General James H. Doolittle | aviation pioneer |
| 1965 | Bob Hope Dr. Detley Bronk | Comedian President, Rockefeller Insitute |
| 1966 | General Bernard A. Schriever | Commander, U.S. Air Force Systems Command |
| 1967 | Raymond P. Shafer William K. Whiteford | Governor of Pennsylvania Gulf Oil Corporation |
| 1968 | Lt. General Milton Baker Jacob Blaustein General Harold Johnson | Superintendent, Valley Forge Military Academy Co-founder American Oil Company Chief of Staff, U.S. Army |
| 1969 | Zenon C.R. Hansen Dr. Franklin H. Littell | President, Mnack Trucks President, Iowa Wesleyan College |
| 1970 | Ronald Wells James Quinn James Cass Rev. Fred C. Reinert, S.J. | President, Crozer Theological Seminary Headmasater, Episcopal Academy Editor, Saturday Review President, St. Louis University |
| 1971 | John H. Ware, 3rd Virginia Knauer Archbishop Iakovos | Trustee Presidential Assistant, Consumer Affairs Greek Orthodox Church |