YALE UNIVERSITY YANCEY. 



791 



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YALE UNIVERSITY. This famous institution 

 of learning at New Haven, Conn., was named from 

 an early benefactor, Elihu Yale, F.R.S. (1648- 

 1721), born at New Haven, to which his father 

 Thomas had emigrated 1738. The family re- 

 turned to England 1058, and he never revisited 

 Am.Tiea, but went about 10i8 to India, where he 

 acquired wealth, married a native lady, and was 

 governor of Fort St. George, at Madras, 1687-SI2. 

 Taking home a quantity of Eastern products about 

 1700, he had them sold "at the first unction known in 

 England. Hu became governor of the East India 

 Company. But his name is preserved by his gifts of 

 books and money, amounting in all to nearly A'5iM), 

 to the nascent school at his birthplace. In 1717 

 Cotton Mather had advised these donations, and on 

 their account the collegiate house, erected in 1718, 

 received his name, which in the charter of 174.") was, 

 extended to the institution. He died in London, 

 July -2'2, 17-21. A college had been in view from 

 ttlement of Xew Haven in 1638, but Mas- 

 sachusetts urged that Harvard was enough for all 

 Xew England. Tin- project was revived by a few 

 ministers and on Oct. '.I. 17(>1, a charter was granted 

 for a "collegiate school," and the government vested 

 in a rector and ten fellows, all clerical. Say brook 

 was chosen as " the most convenient place at pre- 

 sent," and I'ierson, pastor of Killinnworth. put in 

 charge. For six months he taught a solitary stu- 

 dent at home ; in September, 17i>2. seven more came, 

 a tutor was clio-eii. and a commencement held. 

 The transfer to Xew II ivcn in 1716 was vehemently 

 opposed, and mo.-t of Hie library lost in the process. 

 For manv years the rector was assisted only by two 

 or three tutors ; t lie charter of 1745 changed his title 

 to president. A prot'es-or of divinity was added in 

 J7.Vi, and in 1771 one of mathematics, physics, and 

 astronomy, though this clviir was not permanently 

 tilled till 17114. Before the Revolution occasional 

 grants were made by the legislature; in 17!I2. the 

 Male L-ave some s:!0,000, and added to the Board 

 of Fellows the governor, lieiitcnaut-goverpor and 

 the six senior assistants in the Council. For the 

 last senators wen- substituted from 1S]S. and these 

 by request of the corporation were in 1872 displaced 

 by graduates, one to be chosen annually, to serve 

 six years. These have been the only changes in 

 the government. 



The presidents have been Abraham Pierson, 

 17'il 7: Samuel Andrew, pro tern., 1707-19 and 

 1722-5 ; Timothy Cutler, 1710-2-2 ; Elislia Williams, 

 17-'.". .'ill ; Thomas Clap, 1739-66; Xaphtali DaL'L'ctt, 

 176677; K/ra Stile.-, 1777 -95; Timothy Dwight, 

 17!0 1*17: Jeremiah Day, 1817-4*5 ; Theodora D. 

 Woolscy, 1846-71 ; Noah Porter, 1871-86 ; Timothy 

 Dwight (a grandson of his namesake ]. 1886. The 

 growth of the institution has been chiefly within 

 the present century. Under the vigorous admin- 

 istration of the first Dr. Dwight the faculty was 

 Btrcngthened in 1802 by the acceptation of Benjamin 

 Silliman (for whom see ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITAN- 

 NICA), as professor of chemistry ; in 1805 J. L. 

 Kiii'jsley was made professor of Hebrew, Greek, and 

 Latin. A department of medicine was established 

 in 1*1-2, of tt louy in 1H22, of law in 1824. As re- 

 organized in 1K71, the college has also departments 

 of philosophy and the arts. The last now includes 

 the academical department Of '"Vale College," I he 

 Shi'flield Scientific School, begun 1847 ami endowed 

 ]sv,'i. Hie < onrses tor graduates lirst arranged in 

 Is 17. ami the School of the Fine Arts, founded in 

 1861 by A. R. Street. 



Degrees were first given in law in 1843, in philo- 

 sophy in 1852, in theology in 1867. The present 

 number of graduates is about 13,000. There are 

 i some 72 professors, 50 or more tutors, instructors, 

 lecturers, etc. ; 117 students in divinity, 26 in medi- 

 cine, 94 in law, 58 in fine arts, 291 in the scientific 

 school, 6!) in the graduate courses, and 614 in the 

 college proper, making a net total of 1245. The 

 annual cost of tuition in the college and scientific 

 school is $150, and in the other departments some- 

 what less ; in that of theology it is tree. Beneficiary 

 aid is given to students needing it, and there are 

 sundry fellowships, scholarships and prizes. Changes 

 have recently been made in the direction of greater 

 freedom of study, though to a less extent than at 

 Harvard ; in 1885 four-fifths of the work of the 

 seniors, and over half that of the juniors, was made 

 elective. Over ninety elective studies are now 

 open, besides several courses of lectures. The 

 Slicflield Scientific School received in 1863 through 

 the legislature the national appropriation under the 

 law ol .Inly. 1S62. for agriculture and the mechanic 

 arts, yielding some $8(100 per annum ; it gives the 

 dcui-ee of I'll. B. and of Civil and Mechanical (or 

 Dynamie) Engineer. 



The University buildings occupy a square of some 

 ! nine acres in the midst of New Haven, adjoining 

 the public green. They are numerous and of various 

 dates ; the most recent are the Sloane Memorial 

 laboratory for physics, opened 1884 ; Lawrence and 

 Dwight ifalls, 1SH6 ; and the Kent chemical labora- 

 tory. The handsomest is that of the School of Fine 

 jAris, which cost !?175.0<H); to this the Trumbull 

 paintings were removed in 18l>8. The Pea body 

 Museum of National History was erected 1876, at 

 a similar cost, from the proceeds of a gift made in 

 ism; ; it has gt ologieal, zoological and niineralogical 

 collections, with a curator for each. The observa- 

 tory was built from a bequest of O. F. Winchester. 

 The University Library contains about 135,000 

 volumes, the Linonian and Brothers' Library 29,500, 

 and those of various departments bring the sum 

 total up to 188.1X10. The invested funds amount to 

 ! $2,000,000, and the annual income from tuition over 

 SlJ'0.000. The Annals of Yale were written to 1766 

 by President T. Clap, and to 1831 by E. Baldwin. 

 Prof.tW. L. Kingsley prepared its ififlnry (2 vols., 

 1879), and Prof. Franklin B. Dexter is engaged on 

 a still more elaborate one, of which one volume hag 

 appeared. He has also published a neat Hdiidbnuk 

 of the College. 



YANCEY, WILLIAM LOWNDES (1814-1 803 \ 

 proslavery politician, was born at Ogeechee Shoals, 

 Ga., Aug. 10, 1814. After admission to the bar and 

 a brief sojourn in South Carolina, he removed to 

 Alabama, 1837, became an editor, was sent to the 

 State Assembly and Senate, and toCongre.-s 1844-7. 

 For the next ten years he was little known to the 

 country at large, but was {fathering reputation and 

 influence in what he considered his country. His 

 whole mind and heart were given to the South and 

 to her "peculiar institution," and of that cause he 

 was the most adroit, brilliant and indefatigable 

 champion, though he long labored, conspirator-like, 

 in the dark. General attention was first drawn to 

 him by the unauthorized publication of his so-called 

 "Scarlet Letter," dated June 15, 1858, to James 

 Slaughter ; in this he assumed for the South a revo- 

 lutionary attitude, urged the formation of commit- 

 tees of safely, and organization in the Cotton Slates 

 to resist Northern aggression. Undaunted by this 

 premature exposure of bis plans, be continued his 



