List of burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery

West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a rural cemetery established in 1869 in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 and contains the burials of many notable persons.

A

• Timothee Adamowski (1858–1943), composer, violinist and first conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra
• Green Adams (1812–1884), U.S. Congressman
• Randolph Greenfield Adams (1892–1951), librarian and historian
• David Hayes Agnew (1818–1892), surgeon
• Raymond Pace Alexander (1897–1974), American civil rights leader, lawyer, politician, and first African American judge appointed to the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas
• Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (1898–1989), first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in the United States.
• Harrison Allen (1841–1897), professor of comparative anatomy and medical zoölogy at the University of Pennsylvania
• Sarah A. Anderson (1901–1992), first Black woman to preside over Pennsylvania House of Representatives general assembly
• Robert Arthur Jr. (1909–1969), writer of speculative fiction, winner of three Edgar Awards
• Samuel Howell Ashbridge (1848–1906), "Stars and Stripes Sam", Philadelphia mayor 1899–1903

B

• Hobey Baker (1892–1918), amateur athlete, namesake of Hobey Baker Award and Hobey Baker Memorial Rink at Princeton University
• Russell Ball (1891–1942), Hollywood glamor photographer, husband of gossip columnist Gladys Hall
• Samuel L. M. Barlow II (1892–1982), composer, pianist and art critic
• Joseph Beam (1954–1988), African American gay rights activist, writer and poet
• Cecilia Beaux (1855–1942), painter
• Joe Berry (1894–1976), professional baseball player
• Edward Julius Berwind (1848–1936), founder of Berwind-White Coal Mining Company, owner of The Elms in Newport, Rhode Island, Edward J. Berwind House in New York City
• Julia Berwind, (1865–1961), socialite, social welfare activist, owner of The Elms in Newport, Rhode Island
• Frank Bettger (1888–1981), professional baseball player
• Charles M. Betts (1838–1905), Medal of Honor recipient
• Richard Binder (1839–1912), Medal of Honor recipient
• Oliver Bosbyshell (1839–1921), Civil War veteran, superintendent United States Mint (1889-1894)
• Catherine Drinker Bowen (1897–1973), writer best known for biographies, winner 1958 National Book Award for Nonfiction
• Caroline G. Boughton (1854–1905), educator and philanthropist.
• Benjamin Markley Boyer (1823–1887), represented Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district from 1865 to 1869.
• Anna Robeson Brown (1873–1941), writer
• Edward G. Budd (1870–1946), founder of the Budd Company
• William M. Bunn (1842–1923), American newspaperman, Governor of Idaho Territory from 1884 to 1885
• Jervis Burdick, (1889–1962), track and field athlete, competed in 1912 Summer Olympics
• Edward Bushnell (1876–1951), distance runner, competed in 1900 Summer Olympics

C

• Alexander Milne Calder (1846–1923), sculptor
• Alexander Stirling Calder (1870–1945), sculptor
• James Emmot Caldwell (1813–1881), American jeweler who founded J.E. Caldwell & Co. in 1839
• Alan Calvert (1875–1944), weightlifter, bodybuilder, founder Milo Bar-bell Company
• John Carbutt (1832–1905) photography and radiology pioneer
• Arthur Beecher Carles (1882–1952), Modernist painter
• William E. Carter (1875–1940), American millionaire, polo player, and survivor of the RMS Titanic
• Emma C. Chappell (1941–2021), first African-American woman to form a commercial bank in the United States
• Clarence Clark (1859–1937), financier, American tennis promoter and player, member of Tennis Hall of Fame
• Constance Clayton (1933–2023), educator, civic leader, Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia from 1982 to 1993
• William Clothier (1881–1962), Men's Singles Winner, 1906 U.S. National Championships (tennis), member of Tennis Hall of Fame
• Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton (1889–1971), artist, co-founder Museum of Northern Arizona with her husband Harold Sellers Colton (1881–1970); member Philadelphia Ten
• Colin Campbell Cooper (1856–1937), Impressionist painter
• Joseph K. Corson (1836–1913), Medal of Honor recipient
• Peter E. Costello (1854–1935), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania 1915–1921
• Cyrus Curtis (1850–1933), founder of Curtis Publishing Company, publisher of Ladies' Home Journal and Saturday Evening Post

D

• Frank Miles Day (1861–1918), architect
• John Blair Deaver (1855–1931), aggressive surgeon at German Hospital known as "The Great Slasher"
• Joseph H. Diss Debar (1820–1905), French-born American artist and government official
• Giuseppe Del Puente (1841–1900), Italian opera baritone
• Francis Xavier Dercum (1856–1931), neurologist, consultant for Woodrow Wilson after his stroke
• Harry Diddlebock (1854–1900) sportswriter, manager St. Louis Browns
• John Thompson Dorrance (1873–1930), president of the Campbell Soup Company
• Cecil Kent Drinker (1887–1956) physician, founder of Harvard School of Public Health
• Henry Sandwith Drinker (1880–1965) lawyer and amateur musicologist
• Henry Sturgis Drinker (1850–1937) mechanical engineer, lawyer, author, and fifth president of Lehigh University
• Katherine Rotan Drinker (1889–1956) physician, researcher of Radium Girls with husband Cecil
• Sophie Drinker (1888–1967) author, musician, musicologist; founder of women's musicological and gender studies
• H. Louis Duhring Jr. (1874–1953) architect, rebuilt Powel House in the Society Hill section of Philadelphia
• Clarissa F. Dye (1832–1921) Army nurse during the American Civil War, president of National Association of Army Nurses of the Civil War

E

• George W. Edmonds (1864-1939), Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, 1913–1925, 1933-1935
• Loren Eiseley (1907–1977), anthropologist, poet, philosopher, best-selling author
• George Emerick Essig (1838–1925), painter, watercolorist, and etcher who specialized in marine scenes

F

• Beatrice Fenton (1887–1983), sculptor and artist
• Larry Ferrari (1932–1997), American organist who hosted The Larry Ferrari Show from 1954 to 1997 on WPVI-TV
• Thomas Fitz-Hugh, Jr, MD (1894–1963), physician, University of Pennsylvania, namesake for Fitz-Hugh–Curtis syndrome
• Frank H. Fleer (1857–1921), inventor of bubble gum and pioneer of the baseball card
• John Weiss Forney (1817–1881) politician, journalist, Secretary of the United States Senate 1861–1868
• Tillie May Forney (1862–1922), daughter of John Weiss Forney, writer, journalist
• Robert Foster (1856–1921), professional baseball player
• Daniel M. Fox (1819–1890), mayor of Philadelphia 1869-1871

G

• Dave Garroway (1913–1982) American television personality, founding host and anchor of NBC's "Today" from 1952 to 1961
• Arrah Lee Gaul (1888–1980) artist, member Philadelphia Ten
• Jacob Augustus Geissenhainer (1839–1917), represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district from 1889 to 1895.
• Clarence H. Geist (1866–1938), financier who played an important role in the early history of Boca Raton, Florida
• Alfred Godwin (1850–1934), English-born stained glass artist for The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, et al.
• Nelson Z. Graves (1849–1930), businessman
• Nelson Z. Graves Jr. (1880–1918), cricket player
• John Trout Greble (1834–1861), U.S. Army and Union Army officer; first graduate of the United States Military Academy to be killed in the war
• John Gribbel (1858–1936), businessman, philanthropist, donated the Glenriddell Manuscripts to the National Library of Scotland
• Robert Cooper Grier (1794–1870), Associate Justice of The United States Supreme Court (1846–1870).

H

• Gladys Hall (1891–1977), film journalist, gossip columnist, wife of glamor photographer Russell Ball
• Alfred C. Harmer (1825–1900), represented Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district from 1871 to 1875, and from 1877 until his death in 1900.
• Abram W. Harris (1858–1935), 8th president of Northwestern University, first President of the University of Maine
• Marvin Haskin (1930–2009), Professor and Chairman of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at Hahnemann University
• Herman Haupt (1817–1905), Union Army General and engineer
• Lewis M. Haupt (1844–1937), United States civil engineer whose career emphasized work on waterways
• James M. Hazlett (1864–1941), Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
• Howard Head (1914–1991), aeronautical engineer who is credited with the invention of the first commercially successful aluminum laminate skis and the oversized tennis racket
• Jocko Henderson (1918–2000), radio disc jockey, businessman, and hip hop music pioneer
• Constantine Hering (1800–1880), early pioneer of homeopathy in the United States
• Rudolph Hering (1847–1923), helped in reversal of Chicago River, namesake for Rudolph Hering Medal awarded by American Society of Civil Engineers
• Catherine Elizabeth "Kitty" Sweeney Hershey (1871–1915), wife of chocolatier and philanthropist Milton Hershey; she died at the The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel and spent four years in the receiving vault of Laurel Hill West
• George Herzog (1851–1920), interior designer and decorative painter
• Brenda J. Payton Hill (1945–1992), as Brenda Payton, lead singer of doo-wop group Brenda & The Tabulations
• John Hofford (1863–1915), professional baseball pitcher for Pittsburgh Alleghenys 1885–1886
• Vera Huckel (1908–1999), one of the first female "computers" at NACA, now NASA
• Edie Huggins (1935–2008), long-time television personality in Philadelphia
• Hannah Clothier Hull (1872–1958), clubwoman, feminist, pacifist
• Joseph Miller Huston (1866–1940), designed the third (and current) Pennsylvania State Capitol

J

• Chevalier Jackson (1865–1958), physician, teacher, and father of endoscopy
• Roy Jackson (1876–1944), early professional football player for Duquesne Country and Athletic Club
• Bushrod Washington James (1806–1903), surgeon, homeopathist, writer, and philanthropist; namesake of Bushrod, Oakland, California
• Anna Jarvis (1864–1948), originator of Mother's Day
• Eldridge R. Johnson (1867–1945), founder of Victor Talking Machine Company
• Emory Richard Johnson (1864–1950), economist who specialized in transportation issues, dean of Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania from 1919 to 1933
• Wallace W. Johnson (1842–1911), Medal of Honor recipient
• Jack Jones (1950–1991), first African-American news anchor in Philadelphia market

K

• John Ernst Worrell Keely (1837–1898), fraudulent inventor who claimed to have discovered a new mode of power
• Roland Grubb Kent (1877–1952), educator and founder of the Linguistic Society of America
• Martha Kimball (1839–1894), philanthropist associated with founding of Memorial Day
• William J. Kirkpatrick (1838–1921), musician, composer of Away in a Manger
• Charles Klauder (1872–1938), architect
• Harold Knerr (1882–1949), illustrator, cartoonist, did comic strip The Katzenjammer Kids for 35 years
• Daniel S. Koltun (1933–2014), theoretical physicist who specialized in nuclear physics
• Irena Koprowska (1917–2012), cytopathology pioneer, co-developer of the Pap smear
• Hilary Koprowski (1916–2013), virology expert, developer of first oral polio vaccine, developer of first H.D.C.V. rabies vaccine
• Robert Lowe Kunzig (1918-1982), judge of the United States Court of Claims

L

• John A. Lafore Jr. (1905–1993), Republican member of U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, 1957–1961
• Robert Eneas Lamberton (1886–1941), 114th mayor of Philadelphia from 1940 to 1941
• John Lawrence LeConte (1825–1883), 19th century American naturalist and entomologist
• Donald Lippincott, (1893–1962), world class sprinter, medal winner at 1912 Summer Olympics
• Sarah Lee Lippincott, (1920–2019), professor of astronomy at Swarthmore College, director of the college's Sproul Observatory
• D. Herbert Lipson (1929–2017), publisher Philadelphia magazine
• Walter R. Livingston Jr. (1922–2011), architect
• Hy Lit (Hyman Aaron Lit) (1934–2007), Philadelphia radio & TV broadcaster
• William H. Luden (1859–1949), developer of the menthol throat lozenge
• Harry Lyons (1866–1912), professional baseball player

M

• Harry Arista Mackey (1869–1938), football player and coach, lawyer, and politician who served as the mayor of Philadelphia 1928–1932
• Franklin J. Maloney (1899–1958), Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 1947–1949
• Frederick Maxson (1862–1934) German-born American composer and organist
• Frank M. Mayo (1839–1896), stage actor
• Katharine Elizabeth McBride (1904–1976) neuropsychology researcher, President Bryn Mawr College 1942–1970
• Robert M. McBride (1879–1970) publisher and defendant in the obscenity prosecution of novelist James Branch Cabell
• Samuel K. McConnell Jr. (1901–1985), represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives 1944–1957.
• James McCrea (1848–1913), president of the Pennsylvania Railroad from 1907 to 1913
• Henry Plumer McIlhenny, (1910–1986), connoisseur of art and antiques, world traveler, socialite, philanthropist, curator and chair of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
• Robert L. McNeil Jr. (1915–2010), chemist and pharmaceutical industry executive, responsible for commercial development, naming, and introduction of the pain reliever Tylenol
• William Morris Meredith Jr. (1919–2007), educator, poet, won Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1988
• Reuben Moon (1847–1919), U.S. Congressman
• Robert Charles Moon (1844–1914), ophthalmologist
• J. Hampton Moore (1864–1950), 108th (1920–1924) and 111th (1932–1936) Mayor of Philadelphia, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania (1906–1920)
• Walter Moser (1881–1946), professional baseball player

N

• Nellie Neilson (1873–1947), first female president of American Historical Society
• Waldo Nelson (1898–1997), pediatrician, author of "Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics" and longtime editor of The Journal of Pediatrics.
• Wedgwood Nowell (1878–1957), stage and film actor and director

O

• Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer (1868–1938), biographer and historical writer
• Sara Louisa Oberholtzer (1841–1930), poet, anti-smoking and anti-drinking activist, and economist
• Tinius Olsen (1845–1932), Norwegian-born American engineer and inventor
• Charles O'Neill (1821–1893), Republican member of U.S. House of Representatives (1863–1871) & (1873–1893), member of Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1850–1852) & (1860–1861), member of Pennsylvania State Senate (1853–1854)

P

• Daniel Pabst (1826–1910), cabinetmaker, worked closely with Frank Furness
• Robert E. Pattison (1850–1904), Governor of Pennsylvania 1883–1887 and 1891–1895
• Billy Paul (1934–2016), born Paul Williams, singer "Me and Mrs. Jones", "Am I Black Enough for You?"
• George Franklin Pawling (1879–1954), President of Amateur Athletic Union in 1910s, builder of the Philadelphia Arena in 1920s
• Teddy Pendergrass (1950–2010), soul and R&B singer
• J. Howard Pew (1882–1971), American philanthropist, president of Sunoco (Sun Oil Company)
• Joseph Newton Pew (1848–1912), founder of Sun Oil Company (now Sunoco) and philanthropist
• Joseph N. Pew Jr. (1886–1963), American industrialist, influential member of Republican Party
• Theodore Presser (1848–1925), founder of Music Teachers National Association, publisher of The Etude magazine, founder of Theodore Presser Company

R

• Nate Ramsey (1941–2019), professional football player
• Harry C. Ransley (1863–1941), Republican member of United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 1921–1937
• Al Reach (1840–1928), professional baseball player, sporting good manufacturer
• Ira De Augustine Reid (1901–1968) sociologist and author who wrote extensively on the lives of Black immigrants and communities in the United States
• John Reilly (1836–1904), represented Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district from 1875 to 1877.
• Francis Richter (1854–1926), editor Sporting Life newspaper 1883–1917, refused presidency of the National League
• Ralph J. Roberts (1920–2015), co-founder Comcast
• Lawson Robertson (1883–1951), medal winner at 1904 Summer Olympics, renowned track and field coach
• Mario Romañach (1917–1984), Cuban-born modernist architect, planner, and university professor
• Jack Rose (1971–2009), musician, played American primitive guitar

S

• L. Lewis Sagendorph (1842–1909), inventor and pioneer in sheet metal production
• Dennis Sandole (1913–2000), jazz guitarist, composer and music educator; mentor to John Coltrane
• William I. Schaffer (1867–1953), Pennsylvania State Supreme Court Justice
• Fritz Scheel (1852–1907), first conductor and musical director of the Philadelphia Orchestra
• Henry Walter "Slick" Schlichter (1866–1944) sports executive, co-founder and owner Philadelphia Giants Negro league baseball team, sportswriter for Philadelphia Item, referee in Thomas Eakin's 1898 painting Taking the Count
• Arthur Hoyt Scott (1875–1927) inventor of paper towel, namesake for Scott Arboretum
• John Roger Kirkpatrick Scott (1873–1945), member Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1899, 1909, 1911, and 1913
• Edgar Viguers Seeler (1867–1929), architect
• Coleman Sellers II (1827–1907), prominent engineer and inventor
• Orator Shafer (1851–1922), Major League Baseball player
• Taylor Shafer (1866–1945), Major League Baseball player
• John O. Sheatz (1856–1922), Pennsylvania state representative, state senator, and state treasurer
• Ben Shibe (1838–1922), sportsman, sporting goods salesman, namesake of Shibe Park at 21st & Lehigh
• Hannah Shipley, Elizabeth Shipley, and Katharine Shipley founders of Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
• Rachel H. Shoemaker (1838–1915), founder of the National School of Elocution and Oratory in Philadelphia.
• Matthew Simpson (1811–1884), notable Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, delivered eulogy at funeral of Abraham Lincoln
• Charles Emory Smith (1842–1908), U.S. Minister to Russia 1890–1891, U.S. Postmaster General 1898-1902
• David Smyrl (1935–2016), actor and writer, known for his role of Mr. Handford (Hooper's Store) on Sesame Street
• Albert Henry Smyth (1863–1907), editor of the Writings of Benjamin Franklin
• Ed Snider (1933–2016) Chair of Comcast Spectacor, owner Philadelphia Flyers, former owner Philadelphia 76ers, part-owner of Philadelphia Eagles
• Edward Taylor Snow (1844–1913) landscape artist, collector
• Pearl Pinkerton McClelland Snowden (1875–1943), woman for whom the Rhode Island mansion High Watch (now owned by Taylor Swift) was built
• Alice Barber Stephens (1858–1932), engraver and magazine illustrator
• John Batterson Stetson (1830–1906), American hat manufacturer and founder of the John B. Stetson Company
• George H. Stockman (1833–1912), Medal of Honor recipient
• Marion Stokes (1929–2012), access television producer, civil rights activist, librarian, and archivist who videotaped more than 70,000 tapes of television news over 35 years
• John Streaker, aka Cub Stricker (1859–1937), professional baseball player
• Edwin Sydney Stuart (1853–1937), Mayor of Philadelphia 1891–1895, Governor of Pennsylvania 1907–1911.

T

• Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856–1915), mechanical and industrial engineer, management consultant, and "father of scientific management".
• Charles W. Thomas (politician) (1860–1907), member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Pennsylvania Senate
• Dorothy Burr Thompson (1900–2001), aka "DBT," classical archaeologist and art historian at Bryn Mawr College
• Homer Thompson (1906-2000), Canadian classical archaeologist, specializing in ancient Greece
• Joseph Earlston Thropp (1847–1927), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 1898–1900
• John Cresson Trautwine (1810–1883), civil engineer, architect, and engineering writer
• Horace Trumbauer (1868–1938), architect
• C. Delores Tucker (1927–2005), civil rights and anti-rap activist
• Ellwood J. Turner (1886–1948), Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1925–1948), Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1939–1941)
• Thomas Lovatt Turner, aka Tink Turner (1890–1962), professional baseball player

V

• Flora M. Vare (1874–1962), Pennsylvania State Senator 1925–1928, wife of Edwin H. Vare
• Glenna Collett-Vare (1903–1989), American amateur golfer, member World Golf Hall of Fame, "The Female Bobby Jones"
• William Scott Vare (1867–1934), U.S. Senator-elect, U.S. Congressman, Pennsylvania State Senator, Republican political boss
• Moses Veale (1832–1917), Medal of Honor recipient

W

• William Wagner (1796–1885), founder of the Wagner Free Institute of Science
• Charles F. Warwick (1852–1913), author, lawyer, and Republican politician who served as mayor of Philadelphia 1895–1899
• Grover Washington Jr. (1943–1999), American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist
• George Austin Welsh (1878–1970), represented Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district from 1923 to 1932.
• Donald H. White (1921–2016), composer, educator at Depauw University
• Peter Arrell Browne Widener II (1895–1948), racehorse owner/breeder
• Elwood N. Williams (1842–1921), Medal of Honor recipient
• Henry Williams (1834–1917), peacetime recipient of the Medal of Honor
• Hugh Irvine Wilson (1879–1925), golf course designer
• James H. Windrim (1840–1919), architect
• John T. Windrim (1866–1934), architect
• Margaret F. Winner (1866–1937) illustrator, portrait painter, and miniaturist
• Septimus Winner (1827–1905), songwriter - Ten Little Indians, Listen to the Mockingbird, et al.
• David Duffield Wood (1838–1910), blind composer, educator, musician, organist and choir master at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church for 46 years
• Milton Work (1864–1934), world expert on whist, bridge whist, auction and contract bridge
• Harry Wright (1835–1895), pioneer of professional baseball, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame

Y

• Charlotte Yhlen (1839–1920), first Swedish woman to graduate as a physician from a university

Z

• Ilya Zhitomirskiy (1989–2011), social media pioneer, cofounder Diaspora

References