MIT’s first president, William Barton Rogers, founded the Institute in 1861. He came up with the concept for it many years before, which he expressed in a letter he sent to his brother in 1861, where he described his idea for a “new polytechnic institute.”
William Barton Rogers was born and grew up at William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia. His father was an Irish immigrant and a professor of chemistry and physics. Although he never got a degree, he studied at the college where his father lectured. However, when he was 24 years old, he took over his father’s chair after the latter died. He became known as a good lecturer and speaker. Rogers began with a focus on basic physics problems like the production of dew and the way current obtained from voltaic cells behaved, but he quickly moved on to geological issues, which earned him a certain amount of fame. He served as a professor of natural philosophy from 1828 to 1835, when he was chosen as the University of Virginia’s chair of natural philosophy. He added geology and mineralogy to the school curriculum, conducting his own original research in chemistry and geology. In the same period, he was assigned to oversee Virginia's first geological survey. In his new position, Rogers, along with his brother Henry, a Pennsylvania state geologist, collaborated on extensive studies of the Appalachian area from 1835 to 1842 while still teaching. They conducted a comprehensive survey where they examined water as a solvent and its specific geological effects, as well as its influence on plant development. In 1853, Rogers resigned from his post at the University of Virginia and relocated to Boston. His purpose was to increase his participation in the scientific community and solicit help to establish a technical education institute. He was a long-time supporter of technical education, and had well-developed plans to build an institution in the state as a southerner. However, the southern students were distracted and more focused on the politics surrounding the Southern States’ impending departure from the Union. Roger’s wife, Emma Savage, was New England-born, and this fact pushed him to consider locating the institution he wanted so much near Boston. Furthermore, a militant student had recently assassinated a friend of Rogers, who was pro-Union. Rogers, a calm man, heeded his wife’s advice and located the school in Boston. He lectured at the Lowell Institute to raise awareness about MIT and raise funds. The fundraising was successful, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was formed by a charter thanks to his efforts. He served two terms as the president of MIT - one from 1862 to 1870 and another from 1879 to 1881. Rogers suggested that the Institute should stay in the city indefinitely, avoiding Cambridge because Harvard students were known to be rowdy and unruly. That reputation was one he didn’t want to be associated with his new school. Rogers was in his mid-70s when he assumed office at the academy. He was often unwell, and he had to step away from his duties on multiple occasions. He died unexpectedly in 1882 while delivering diplomas at a graduation ceremony in Boston.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|