Cross & Crescent

In the January 2008 issue of the Cross & Crescent, we began a multi-part series honoring 100 years of outstanding alumni. Our initial installment featured famous and successful athletes, both intercollegiately and professionally.

In my research of our history, I continue to marvel at how Warren A. Cole’s (Boston 1912) dream attracted so many top-flight students without a base of established alumni, almost from the beginning.

Our great Fraternity is blessed with a challenge: How do we single out a handful of our brothers to represent so many who have achieved success? Frequently this has been accomplished for us by the awarding of the Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize, or the highest award presented in their chosen occupation.

In this article, we have identified a few of our brothers in the fields of science, engineering, and the literary arts. Enjoy and be proud!

Science

Lambda Chi Alpha is represented well by members who have made significant contributions to the various fields of science. Below are a few of the notable brothers:

Dr. B.F. Skinner (Hamilton 1926) was one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century. He developed what is now called “operant conditioning” and articulated the now widely accepted term “reinforcement” as a scientific principle of behavior. He received the following awards: National Medal of Science in 1968; Gold Medal of the American Psychological Foundation in 1971; Humanist of the Year in 1972; and, in 1990, Skinner received a citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology.

Dr. Samuel K. Allison (Chicago 1921) was a physicist best known for his work on the Manhattan Project, and he was a member of the National Academy of Science. The Manhattan Project’s main goal was the development of an atomic bomb and Allison was the person in charge of the “countdown” of the test explosion on July 16, 1945, which occurred on the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Following World War II, he served as the director of the Enrico Fermi Institute of Nuclear Studies from 1946 to 1957, and again from 1963 to 1965.

Dr. J. Michael Bishop (Gettysburg 1958) is an immunologist and microbiologist who won the Nobel Prize in 1989 for physiology or medicine. Bishop, and others, clarified the origins of cancer. Bishop was a researcher with the National Institute of Health and then worked at his present location, the University of California-San Francisco. For his Nobel Prize, he found that healthy body cells contain dormant viral oncogenes, which when triggered cause cancer.

Dr. Donald J. Cram (Rollins 1941) was awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize in chemistry for synthesizing three-dimensional molecules that could mimic the functioning of natural molecules. Cram was a professor at the University of California-Los Angeles and also received the National Academy of Science Award in chemical science.

Charles G. King (Washington State 1918) was a nutritionist who co-discovered vitamin C. Although he began his college work at Washington State University, he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh following his service in World War I. He was an active researcher for 40 years, working to establish the functional role of vitamin B and working in the areas of fats and enzymes. He authored 200 articles on good nutritional practices and the positive effects of vitamins. Beginning in 1942, he was the scientific director of the Nutrition Foundation and in his later years assisted in establishing the Recommended Dietary Allowances of food products.

Ralph B. Lightfoot (Rhode Island 1935) was able to prove that a baseball curve really does exist, using wind tunnels and high speed photography. He was also a top engineer with Sikorsky Helicopters.

Dr. Donald F. Othmer (Nebraska 1924) was an acclaimed chemical engineer. He helped develop the explosive RDX used in World War II. He obtained more than 150 patents, including the Othmer Still. He co-authored the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, which is a multi-volume reference work. The Othmer Gold Medal is awarded annually by the Chemical Heritage Foundation to honor individuals who made multifaceted contributions to our chemical and scientific heritage. Othmer and his wife left estates valued at $800 million to charity.

Blair Benson (Worcester Polytechnic Inst 1941) was a co-developer of a videotape machine using rotating heads for use in the television industry. This invention led to his winning an Emmy for engineering in 1956. He was a fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

Frederick A. Farrar (Worcester Polytechnic Inst 1931) developed the first dimmer for car headlights.

Arts and Literature

In the field of arts and literature, members of Lambda Chi Alpha have been recognized for their achievements and honored with accolades and awards.

Edwin Markham (Rollins 1928) was a poet most famous for his poem, “The Man with The Hoe,” written in 1898. Markham’s inspiration for the poem was a French painting of the same name by Jean Francois Millet. In 1908, he was honored by his election to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. On the occasion of his 80th birthday in 1932, he was honored with a party in Carnegie Hall attended by President Herbert Hoover, who honored him for lifetime accomplishments and named him one of the most important artists of his age. He frequently visited Lambda Chi Alpha chapters in his travels and penned the poem, “Brotherhood,” which appeared in the March 1940 issue of the Cross & Crescent.

William Manchester (Massachusetts 1946) was a historian and biographer. He was a best-selling author who wrote 18 books that were translated into 20 languages. Some of his better known works were: “Portrait of a President,” “Death of a President,” “American Caesar: Douglas McArthur,” and “The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill.” He served in World War II and was wounded twice. Manchester worked for the Baltimore Evening Sun and later for Wesleyan University.

Dr. John Alexander Carroll (Texas Christian 1950) shared the Pulitzer Prize in 1958 for the book, “George Washington: First in Peace.” Carroll was a professor at Del Mar College, Texas Christian University and the University of Arizona, where his students regarded him as a high energy, highly-entertaining and demanding professor. He was also described by his penchant for dressing in an Old West style. He was one of the founders of the Western History Association in 1961. He also shares a unique distinction of having been awarded the Purple Heart while serving in the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Robin Lee Hood (Tennessee-Chattanooga 1965) received the Pulitzer Prize for photography in 1977 for a photo of a Vietnam veteran holding a small child while watching Chattanooga’s 1976 rain-soaked Armed Forces Day parade. The picture appeared in the Chattanooga News-Free Press.

Edward D. Keukes (Baldwin-Wallace) was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for his political cartoon “Aftermath,” which also received numerous awards and honors including Freedoms Foundation. His collection is housed at Syracuse University.

Chester Gould (Oklahoma State 1921) was a cartoonist who was best known as the creator of the comic strip, “Dick Tracy,” which he produced from 1931 to 1977. He has been honored with the Reuben Award in 1959 and 1977 by the National Cartoonists Society. This award is presented annually to the cartoonist of the year.

Frank Reynolds (Wabash 1946) was a reporter and anchorman. He served as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War II and received the Purple Heart. He is best remembered for his work as an anchorman on ABC News which earned him a Peabody Award in 1969 for excellence in broadcast journalism. He was featured on the cover of Time Magazine on November 21st of that year. On May 23, 1985, President Ronald Reagan presented posthumously a Medal of Freedom to recognize Reynolds for his “fair-minded reporting and devotion to his profession, to family, and to country.”

When some of the estimated 22 million daily listeners hear the familiar expressions, “Page Two,” or “And now you know the rest of the story,” they know they are listening to Paul Harvey (Culver Stockton 1939). His show is carried on 1,200 radio stations, 400 U.S. Armed Forces Network stations, and appears in 300 newspapers. In 1993, Harvey received a Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting, and in 2005, President George W. Bush recognized Harvey by presenting him with the Medal of Freedom “for his extraordinary career in broadcasting and for his contributions to the intellectual and political life of our Nation.”