What do the CEO of Netflix (Reed Hastings), co-founder of Subway (Peter Buck), and President Franklin Pierce have in common? That’s right – they’re all Bowdoin College alumni.

Well-known American authors Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow both graduated Bowdoin in 1825. They remained close friends, and Longfellow even became a professor at the college in 1829, teaching modern languages.

One quirky tradition at Bowdoin occurs during homecoming week, where the social houses host a wooden chair-building competition. A large community bonfire is constructed, and all losing chairs are thrown into the fire, and only one winning chair survives.

• Color: Black and White
• Mascot: Polar Bear. Read more