Famous English Majors

Inspiration Spotlight: RA Dickey

The New York Mets All-Star pitcher earned his B.A. in English Literature from Tennessee University. Robert Allen (R.A.) was an Academic All-American in college and averaged a 3.4 GPA. Playing professional baseball since 1996 Dickey did not succeed at first. It was when he perfected his knuckle-ball pitch (2007) that the wins started rolling in. 2012 was Dickey’s break-out season in which he won 20 games, was voted to his first All-Star Game and won the National League Cy Young Award. At the age of 38 it seems his career is just getting started.

Inspiration Spotlight: Stephen King

This mega-author has published 50 novels, over 200 short stories and 5 non-fictions books. His literary works (Misery, The Tommyknockers, Desperation) have sold over 350 million copies world-wide to a fan base mainly of the horror/fantasy genre. Many of King’s novels have also been turned in to feature films, including: Carrie, The Green Mile, The Shinning, Pet Sematary and It. He has received awards like the Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Society Awards along the way. Not to mention King graduated with a B.A. in English from the University of Maine.

Inspiration Spotlight: Theodor Geisel

Although not really a doctor, Seuss graduated from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in 1925 with his B.A. in English. While attending college Seuss was caught drinking and forced to resign from his writing spot on the college humor magazine. Rather than stop writing, Geisel started using the pen name “Dr. Seuss.” He went on to write 46 classic children’s stories using the same name, including Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Seuss’s work has been adapted into musicals, movies, cartoons and T.V. specials.

Inspiration Spotlight: Diane Sawyer

In 1967 Sawyer earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from Wellesley University in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She then attended one semester of law school before leaving to pursue a career in journalism. Sawyer served in President Nixon’s administration before joining the CBS News team in 1978. Her work on Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, 20/20 and other similar news broadcasts led Forbes magazine to rank her the 62nd most powerful woman in the world in 2007.

Inspiration Spotlight: Conan OBrien

This T.V. funny-man got his education at Harvard, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1985 (his concentration was English and History). O’Brien put his talents to work writing for both Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons cartoon in his early years. O'Brien has since become the only person to permanently host both of NBC’s late night talk shows, The Tonight Show and Late Night. After an ugly feud with Jay Leno, O’Brien now hosts his new late night show, Conan, on TBS.

Inspiration Spotlight: Barbara Walters

Walters graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York in 1951 with her B.A. in English. Walter's career began as a writer and researcher for NBC’s Today Show. She eventually worked her way onto the camera and in 1974 was assigned NBC’s first permanent female co-host position. Walters has gone on to host many different television news programs including: Today, The View, 20/20 and ABC’s Evening and World News.

Inspiration Spotlight: Tom Clancy

This author of military and espionage thrillers such as The Hunt for Red October, The Sum of All Fears and Rainbow Six earned his English degree from Loyola College in Baltimore, MD. Many of Clancy’s novels have been turned into both movies and video games. Clancy’s success in the literary world had led him to other opportunities, like becoming part owner of his hometown Baltimore Orioles MLB team in 1998.