Neil Carothers III ’41

Neil died Mar. 6, 2001. He graduated summa cum laude from Princeton in electrical engineering. He was awarded the Triede Cup in wrestling (placing second in the Eastern Intercollegiates), played soccer, and joined Cap and Gown. He roomed with Dick Bowen.

Commissioned ensign in June 1941, Neil served primarily as a test pilot throughout WWII, retiring as a lieutenant-commander.

His father was one of the first Rhodes Scholars, and in 1948, after working at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Neil became the oldest Rhodes Scholar on record, thanks to a waiver of the age limit due to his five years of military service. At Merton College, Oxford, he earned his BA and MA in philosophy, politics, and economics.

He had a distinguished career as science adviser to the State Department, then the Natl. Science Foundation, and lastly as special representative of the Intl. Union for the Preservation of Nature and Natural Resources and of the Natl. Academy of Sciences to the countries of South America.

An active Republican, Neil served on the Natl. Finance Committee and was active in several presidential campaigns.

Divorced from Mary DeLimur in 1974, he is survived by his second wife, Katryna B., two sons, Neil IV and Andre, three stepsons, Jason, Adam, and Timothy Herrick, as well as his two brothers, Hamilton '44 and Stuart '45.

The Class of 1941