Harvard's oldest living alumni

Harvard’s oldest living graduates

Lillian (Sher) Sugarman  and Robert F. Rothschild

Lillian (Sher) Sugarman and Robert F. Rothschild | Photographs by Jim Harrison

The oldest graduates of Harvard and Radcliffe present on Commencement day were Lillian (Sher) Sugarman ’37, 98, of Swampscott, Massachusetts, who was accompanied by her grandson, Peter S. Cahn ’96, RI ’09, and Robert F. Rothschild ’39, 95, of New York City, celebrating his seventy-fifth class reunion, who came with his wife, Margaret Rothschild ’65. Both were recognized during the afternoon ceremony by HAA president Catherine Gellert ’93. According to the active University alumni records, the other oldest alumni include: Edith M. Van Saun ’29, 107, of Sykesville, Maryland; Bertha O. Fineberg ’31, 105, of Gloucester, Massachusetts; Mary Anglemyer ’31, 104, of Medford, New Jersey; Erhart R. Muller ’32, 104, of Harvard, Massachusetts; Louise J. Wells ’32, 104, of Harwich, Massachusetts; Helena W. Phillips ’33, 102, of West Palm Beach; Clarence M. Agress ’33, 102, of Santa Barbara; Mary Grossman MacEwan ’33, 102, of Tucson; Anne Sharples Frantz ’33, 102, of Peterborough, New Hampshire; and William Peters Blanc ’34, 101, of Sag Harbor, New York. 

Related topics

You might also like

Harvard Law School Announces $31.4 Million Donation

The school’s largest-ever gift comes after a year of record fundraising.

Harvard Alumni Win Two 2026 Nobel Prizes

Karl Deisseroth revolutionized neuroscience. Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has adjudicated cases in international courts concerning genocide.

They Might Be (Harvard) Giants

Two tales of University greats—and an encounter with a Tiger

Most popular

Keri Russell Calls ‘The Diplomat’ a Love Letter to Public Servants

A Harvard Kennedy School event looks behind the scenes of the Netflix drama. 

To Promote Healthy Habits in Patients, Start with the Doctors

Why Harvard Medical School is training physicians to think more like coaches

How Philosophy at Harvard Saved Itself

As humanities shrink across higher education, one department is flourishing. Is its success a fluke, or a roadmap?

Explore More From Current Issue

Illuminated hanging sculptures resembling organic forms, casting warm light in a dim space.

Artists Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien turn a colonial symbol from Cambodia inside out.

Collage of book covers featuring various titles on a vibrant orange background.

These newly released novels, histories, and memoirs grapple with identity in all its forms.

Delicate green cocoa pods and small white flowers on a tree branch, surrounded by soft greenery.

Harvard researchers investigate climate’s impact on cocoa crops, innovations in nasal vaccines, and links between pain and skull marrow.