A.J. Liebling 1924

Mode of exit: An agnostic Jew, was kicked out for skipping compulsory Chapel 23 times

Career: Journalist, essayist

Most notable achievement: Pioneered press criticism, New Journalism

Quote: "Freedom of the press belongs to those who own one,"

The son of a furrier, Liebling entered Dartmouth at age 16. In a letter home to his parents, he described Football Rush as "the greatest night of my life." Though professors admired his ability, he was rarely seen in class. But it was his lack of religious zeal that got him bounced out in the middle of his freshman year. He returned the following fall, only to be kicked out a second time for continuing to cut Chapel.

Liebling went on to become a legend among journalists. He earned fame for his "Wayward Press" columns in The New Yorker and as the author of several books, including NormandyRevisited, The Telphone Booth Indian, and Between Meals, a celebration of eating. Budding writers knew him best for his drollery, as seen in this obituary: "Inconsiderate to the last, Josef Stalin, a man who never had to meet a deadline, had the bad taste to die in installments."