The History of Dartmouth College Part 34

"Article IV. The Senior department shall comprise the branches of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, the Invention and Manufacture of Machinery, Carpentry, Masonry, Architecture and Drawing; the Investigation of the Properties and Uses of the Materials employed in the Arts, the Modern Languages and English Literature, together with Book-keeping and such other branches of knowledge as may best qualify young persons for the duties and employments of active life, according to the will and injunction of the Founder.

"Article VII. The term of study in the Junior department shall be one year, and in the Senior department two years.

"Article VIII. All students who shall have been admitted to the Senior department and sustained a satisfactory examination at the end of the course before a committee of gentlemen from abroad appointed by the Faculty, shall be ent.i.tled to the degree of Bachelor of Science."

Hon. John Kelley and Samuel Fletcher, Esq., having been appointed a committee to consider the question of opening the school, made the following report:

"The Chandler Fund appears to be safely invested and productive. It is therefore recommended, the school shall be opened for instruction at the commencement of the next College Term, and more fully organized as soon as a sufficient number of students shall offer themselves for admission. But as an experiment is to be made, it is not expedient to appoint professors and other teachers, until experience shall prove what teachers shall be required. In the mean time it is recommended that examination of students presenting themselves for admission to the school be made by some member, or members of the Faculty, by the direction of the President, and that the Faculty be a committee to make suitable provision for rooms and instruction until further orders of this Board."

The following resolution was then pa.s.sed:

"_Resolved_, That the Chandler School be opened at the commencement of the next College Term."

We give the following extracts from the By-laws which were drawn up by Hon. Joel Parker, and Rev. Silas Aiken, D.D., of Rutland, Vt.:

"Vacations.--In the Senior department the terms and vacations shall be coincident with the terms and vacations in the academical department of the college. In the Junior department there shall be four vacations, one of four weeks, from Commencement, one of two weeks in the winter, and one in the spring and autumn of one week each.

"Tuition.--Every student in the Senior department shall be charged ten dollars each term, or thirty dollars for the year, including all necessary incidentals. In the Junior department the tuition shall be twenty dollars for the year, or five dollars for each term. The bill of every term shall be paid in advance, and no student shall be permitted to go on with his cla.s.s without an exact compliance with this statute.

"Government.--In other respects the government of the Chandler School shall be administered according to the By-laws of the college, as now established, so far as those laws may be applicable; and until the wants of the School may be more definitely ascertained, the regulation thereof in things not otherwise provided for is submitted to the discretion of the College Faculty."

In the autumn of 1852, the school was organized, and seventeen students admitted, two to the Senior and fifteen to the Junior cla.s.s.

James W. Patterson, who was a student in the theological school at New Haven, was elected tutor, and the new inst.i.tution placed in his charge. In July, 1854, Mr. Patterson was elected Chandler Professor of Mathematics, and during the college years 1852-53, and 1853-54, in addition to the general management, gave nearly all the instruction in the Chandler School, at the same time discharged the duties of a tutor of Latin in the college proper. In 1854, the first cla.s.s, consisting of four members, was graduated.

On the death of Professor Stephen Chase, in 1851, John S. Woodman had succeeded to the chair of Mathematics. In 1855, Professor Woodman resigned, to enter on the practice of law in Boston, and Mr. Patterson was elected in his place. During the next year he continued at the head of the Chandler School, and gave the instruction in Mathematics, and allied branches, in addition to his duties as professor of Mathematics in the Academic Department.

In 1856, Professor Woodman was appointed professor of Civil Engineering, and succeeded Professor Patterson in the care of the Chandler School, in which from its opening he had given some instruction. This position he held until 1870, when he was forced to resign on account of failing health, and was succeeded by Professor Edward R. Ruggles, who had occupied the chair of Modern Languages and English Literature since 1866. At the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees in 1857, it was voted that, "The regular course of study in the Chandler School of Science and the Arts, from the present time, shall comprise a term of four years."

In 1862 the name Chandler School of Science and the Art was changed to Chandler Scientific Department of Dartmouth College.

The character and usefulness of the Scientific Department from its foundation to the present time, may best be learned by studying the career of its graduates in successive cla.s.ses. It will be observed, that the first cla.s.s of this school graduated less than twenty-five years since, and yet in that brief period, its sons have made for it an honorable record; a record which should bring to it patronage and impart to its students a spirit of scholarly pride and emulation. It might not be deemed proper to go into a detailed account of the labors and successes of individuals among its living graduates but it is only fair to this comparatively youthful department of the college, to say that as lawyers, teachers, scientists, engineers, architects, and in other spheres of practical science, its sons have made for themselves a wide and enviable reputation. The age demands that its inst.i.tutions of learning shall impart a scholarship that will bring the forces of nature under the control of man, and render the student more efficient in all the industries and business enterprises of the time.

Experience has shown that the Scientific Department of Dartmouth is organized to meet this demand, and is in full and intelligent sympathy with the wants of modern society. From the first its teachers have been able and untiring in their devotion to its permanent prosperity and welfare, and its success has justified their efforts and zeal.

AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.

The New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts was established by an act of the State Legislature in 1866. We give the act as recorded in the Revised Statutes.

"Section 1. A college is established and made a body politic and corporate, by the name of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, whose leading object is, without excluding other scientific and cla.s.sical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in conformity to an act of Congress ent.i.tled 'An act donating land to the several States and Territories, which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts, approved July 2, 1862;' and by that name may sue and be sued, prosecute and defend to final judgment and execution, and is vested with all the powers and privileges, and subject to all the liabilities, incident to corporations of a similar nature.

"Sect. 2. The general government of the college is vested in nine Trustees, five of whom shall be appointed, one from each councillor district, and commissioned by the Governor, with advice of the council, and four-by the Trustees of Dartmouth College, so cla.s.sified and commissioned that the offices of three shall become vacant annually; any vacancy occurring shall be filled by the authority which made the original appointment.

"Sect. 3. The Trustees shall appoint a secretary, who shall be sworn, and keep a fair and full record of their proceedings; and a treasurer, who shall give bond for the faithful discharge of his duties, in such sum as the Trustees may require, and shall receive such compensation for his services as they may deem reasonable. They shall also appoint a Faculty of instruction, prescribe their duties, and invest them with such powers for the immediate government and management of the inst.i.tution as they may deem most conducive to its best interests.

"Sect. 4. No Trustee shall receive any compensation for his services; but expenses reasonably incurred by him shall be paid by the college.

"Sect. 5. The Trustees shall, on or before the twentieth day of May, annually, make report to the legislature of the financial condition, operations, and progress of the college, recording such improvements and experiments made, with their cost and results, including State, industrial, and economical statistics, as may be supposed useful one copy of which shall be transmitted to each college endowed under the provisions of the aforesaid act of Congress, and one copy to the Secretary of the Interior.

"Sect. 6. The Trustees are authorized and empowered to locate and establish the college at Hanover, in connection with Dartmouth College, and, with that Corporation, to make all necessary contracts relative to the terms of connection, subject to be terminated upon a notice of one year, given at any time after fourteen years, and in relation to its furnishing to the college the free use of an experimental farm, all requisite buildings, the libraries, laboratories, apparatus, and museums of said Dartmouth College, and for supplying such instruction, in addition to that furnished by its professors and teachers, as the best interests of its students may require; and also as to any legacy said Dartmouth College may receive from the estate of David Culver. Said Trustees are also directed to furnish, so far as may be practicable, free tuition to indigent students, and to make provision for the delivery of free lectures in different parts of the State upon subjects pertaining to agriculture and the mechanic arts.

"Sect. 7. All funds derived from the sale of land scrip issued to the State by the United States, in pursuance of the act of Congress aforesaid, shall be invested in registered bonds of the State or of the United States, which shall be delivered to the State treasurer, who shall have the custody of the same, and pay over the income thereof, as it may accrue, to the treasurer of the college."

The great work of securing the requisite funds, and laying foundations for this by no means unimportant Department, was committed to the late Professor Ezekiel W. Dimond. His early experience in affairs gave him peculiar fitness for this service. Whether occupied in interviewing legislators and capitalists, or in the planning and erection of edifices, he labored in season and out of season for the accomplishment of his task, and with large success. When the Department went into operation he was one of its princ.i.p.al teachers, and in this sphere he left upon his pupils the impress of a well-read chemist and a devotee to his profession. To his efforts, probably more than to those of any other single individual, is New Hampshire indebted for whatever of success has been attained in this department.

Indeed, should the Agricultural College leave its stamp upon the "steep and sterile hillsides," or the more prolific valleys of the Granite State, as it is devoutly to be hoped that in process of time it may, no name probably will be so familiarly a.s.sociated with the history of its early struggles for existence as that of Dimond.

Nor were Professor Dimond's services to science limited to this department of the College.

In the Academical and Scientific departments his name appears in the list of zealous, painstaking teachers.

Professor Dimond's death in 1876, while yet apparently upon the threshold of a work to which he gave _his life_, was a public loss.

Of Professor Thomas R. Crosby, Professor Quimby says:

"Entering college in 1839, in the Soph.o.m.ore cla.s.s, he bestowed faithful labor on the whole course, while at the same time he did not forget his favorite studies of Medicine and Natural History. Pursuing these in his leisure hours, he was fitted to take the degrees of A. B.

and M.D. at the same time, in 1841. With this preparation he entered at once upon the practice of medicine as his life-work, first at Campton, afterward at Hartford, Vt., Meriden, and Manchester. He was one of the active men in originating the Hillsborough Agricultural Society. He had a hand in organizing the State Society, and in preparing the first volume of the Society's Transactions. Nearly at the same time the above society was originated, the publication of the "Granite Farmer" was commenced, and Dr. Crosby was employed to edit it, in which position he did well. He was for a time city physician of Manchester, and came near being elected its mayor. His health having failed in some measure, he removed to Norwich, Vt., the home of his wife's family. For ten years he lived in Norwich and Hanover, engaged in such teaching and practice and study as his health would permit.

When our country called for aid in the war of the rebellion he believed it his duty to consecrate his knowledge of Medicine and skill in Surgery to her, and to the n.o.ble men who exposed themselves to sickness and wounds in her cause. Upon entering the service he was immediately put in charge of the Columbian College Hospital, in Washington. He a.s.sumed the responsibilities of the position with the determination that the men who came under his charge 'should have their rights,' and faithfully did he carry into execution his purpose.

He remained in charge of this Hospital until after the close of the war and the sick and wounded were able to be transferred to their homes. The next year he was appointed professor of General and Military Surgery and Hygiene in the National Medical College, it being the Medical Department of Columbian College, which position he filled until 1870. On the opening of the State Agricultural College here, an inst.i.tution in which he was particularly interested, he was appointed professor of Animal and Vegetable Physiology, in which, and in Natural History in the Academic Department, he taught almost literally till the day of his decease. When unable to meet his cla.s.ses in their recitation-room he received them in his own study, and there heard their recitations, the last less than forty-eight hours before his death. Thus he fell 'with the harness on.'"

THAYER SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING.

Of this department Professor Fletcher says:

"Between the years 1867 and 1871, General Sylva.n.u.s Thayer, of Braintree, Ma.s.sachusetts, by donations amounting in the aggregate to seventy thousand dollars, made provision for establishing in connection with the college a special course of instruction in Civil Engineering. 'The venerable donor, himself a distinguished officer of the U. S. Corps of Engineers, was moved to this munificence, not only by a regard for his Alma Mater, but also by a desire to provide for young men possessing requisite ability a thorough and exclusively professional training.'

"The school was organized during the winter and spring of 1871, by Professor Robert Fletcher, under the immediate direction of General Thayer. The general character and aim of the course are indicated by the following quotation from the Instrument of Gift: 'The requisites for admission to the school shall be of a high order, embracing such studies, at least, as are specified in a paper to be hereto appended, called 'Programme A,' bearing my signature, which programme shall be regarded as an absolute minimum, and which may, in the discretion of the Board of Overseers, created by the 5th article of this Instrument, be extended, but not diminished or contracted in the least degree.'

"'2. The course of study shall extend through at least two years, and the duration of the course may be further extended so as to include another half year, should three or more members of the Board of Overseers judge, after a fair trial of the two years' course, such further extension to be expedient. The studies and instruction of each year shall extend continuously from September first to July first following.'"

"Instruction was begun to a regular cla.s.s of the engineering course, September, 1871. During the preceding months of the year preparatory instruction had been given. From 1871 to 1873, a preparatory course of two years was contemplated, and during the year 1872-3 was maintained in connection with the higher course. Meanwhile the detailed statement of requisites for admission, styled 'Programme A,' was prepared by Professor Fletcher, under supervision of General Thayer, and with the aid of several professors eminent in the various subjects which it includes. These requirements embrace all the branches of a common school education, a full course of pure Mathematics and a thorough course in Physics, including theoretical Chemistry and Astronomy. The high standard thus established justified the following announcement in the College 'Catalogue.' 'The department is to be essentially, though not formally, post-graduate. The course of study is to be of the highest order, pa.s.sing beyond what is possible in inst.i.tutions for general culture, and is designed to prepare the capable and faithful student for responsible positions and difficult service.' It was intended that the Preparatory Department should provide instruction in the subjects embraced in 'Programme A.'

"The decease of General Thayer in October, 1872, deprived the School of his personal supervision. The general direction of its affairs then devolved on the Board of Overseers const.i.tuted by his Instrument of Gift and appointed by himself. At that time the Board consisted of Rev. A. D. Smith, D.D., LL. D., president of Dartmouth College, Prof.

O. P. Hubbard of New Haven, formerly at Dartmouth College, Prof.

George L. Andrews, of the U. S. Military Academy, Gen. John C.

Palfrey, C. E., of Lowell, Ma.s.sachusetts, and Prof. P. S. Michie, of the U. S. Military Academy. The last three gentlemen had been officers in the U. S. Corps of Engineers.

"At its first meeting in May, 1873, the Board decided that it would not be expedient for some time to come to maintain such an auxiliary as a Preparatory Department. It was found that the limited means provided by the founder would allow the attainment of his high ideal only by working within comparatively narrow limits. Without attempting to cover too broad a field, a high standard and thorough work were to be essential features of the course.

"The Board of Overseers holds a meeting at Dartmouth College annually, when it examines carefully into the working of the school, its financial condition, etc., and adopts any measures promising to effect improvement and secure greater efficiency, according to the powers conferred upon it by the Instrument of Gift. The Board also examines the students and recommends such members of the first cla.s.s as it finds to be qualified, to the Trustees of Dartmouth College for the degree of Civil Engineer.

"The first cla.s.s which completed the two years' course graduated in 1873. The cla.s.s of 1877 was the fifth sent out by the school. At that time the whole number of graduates was thirteen. There had been, besides, two who left for professional engagements after the first year of study. The graduates have nearly all obtained honorable positions in the line of the profession soon after graduation, with fair prospects for distinction.

"The nature of the course is such that a large corps of instructors is not required. Careful training and drill in essential and fundamental branches is the aim. Considerable time is devoted to out-door practice but without attempt to make experts in any direction. Accordingly, temporary employment in a professional line is allowed at proper times, such as will conduce to the student's improvement and be more or less remunerative. Thus it is expected that the student will be fitted to advance rapidly and successfully in any 'specialty' to which he may subsequently devote his efforts.

"The school is now hardly in full operation, as some features about the course are still experimental. It has its history yet to make."