RELIGION, EDUCATION, FINE ARTS. 



550 



alumni have been graduated, of whom more 

 than ten thousand are living. 



Princeton University. The first char- 

 ter was granted in 1746, and the second, mak- 

 ing the trustees a self-perpetuating body, in 

 1748. The college was opened at Elizabeth- 

 town, near New York, with Rev. Jonathan Dick- 

 inson as president, and was removed to New- 

 ark, and soon afterward, in 1753, to Princeton. 

 During the next two years Nassau Hall was 

 erected. Though this hall has twice been dam- 

 aged by fires, in 1802 and 1855, it still stands. 

 The presidents have been : Jonathan Dickin- 

 son, 1747 ; Aaron Burr, 1748-1757 ; Jonathan 

 Edwards, 1757-1758 ; Samuel Davies, 1759- 

 1761 ; Samuel Finley, 1761-1766 ; John With- 

 erspoon, 1768-1794 ; Samuel Stanhope Smith, 

 1795-1812 ; Ashbel Green, 1812-1822 ; James 

 Carnahan, 1823-1854 ; John MacLean, 1854- 

 1868 ; James McCosh, 1868-1888 ; Francis Lan- 

 dey Patton, S.T.D., LL.D., 1888, to the pres- 

 ent. The Green School of Science was added 

 in 1873, and a department of engineering in 

 1875. The sesqui centennial of the college 

 was celebrated in 1896, which marked a mate- 

 rial increase of the endowment ; the trustees 

 transformed the college into a. university, 

 changing its name frdm the College of New 

 Jersey to Princeton University. The degrees 

 conferred are: A.B., A.M., Ph.D., L.H.D., 

 Litt.D., and LL.D. 



University of Pennsylvania. Through 

 the efforts of Benjamin Franklin a fund was 

 raised in 1749 to change Penn's Charity School, 

 begun in 1720, into an academy. It was opened 

 in 1751 , and four years later received a college 

 charter. The first commencement was held in 

 1757. The school languished for several years 

 so that Provost Smith had to be sent to Eng- 

 land to raise funds. He there met the com- 

 missioner of King's College, now Columbia 

 University, and they both agreed to share the 

 proceeds of their joint efforts, some six thou- 

 sand pounds. After his return Provost Smith 

 sided with the "War Party," and was cast 

 into prison for publishing an alleged libelous 

 pamphlet against the Assembly. While in 

 jail he continued to give lectures to his classes, 

 but in 1759 was compelled to flee to England, 

 where he was received with great honor, and 

 made a doctor by Oxford University. He re- 

 turned after a peaceful settlement of his dif- 

 ferences with the Assembly with twenty 

 thousand pounds funds for the college. In 1791 

 the college was amalgamated with the new 

 school, which was the first to be called a uni- 

 versity in this country. The Medical School 

 dates from 1765. A German school was added 

 in 1785, and a law school in 1790. The col- 

 lege continued as an old fashioned classical 



college until 1868, when the elective system 

 was introduced. In 1872 the Department of 

 Arts was reorganized, and the Department of 

 Science, known as the Towne Scientific School, 

 was established. In Ib77 a department of 

 music, and in 1878 one of dentistry were 

 added. The provosts and presidents have 

 been : Benjamin Franklin, 1749-1756 ; Rich- 

 ard Peters, 1756-1764; James Hamilton, 1764; 

 John Penn, 1764-1771 ; James Hamilton, 

 1771-1773 ; Richard Penn, 1773-1774 ; John 

 Penn, 1774-1779 ; Benjamin Franklin, 1789- 

 1790 ; William White, 1790-1791 ; John 

 Ewing, 1791-1802; John McDowell, 1802- 

 1810; Dr. Andrews, 1810-1813; Frederick 

 Beaseley, 1813-1828; William H. DeLancey, 

 1828-1833 ; John Ludlow, 1833-1853 ; Henry 

 Vethake, 1853-1860; Daniel R. Goodwin, 

 1860-1868; Charles J. Stille, 1868-1880; 

 Charles C. Harrison, LL.D., the present in- 

 cumbent. 



The University buildings, twenty-two in 

 number, are situated on forty-eight acres of 

 ground in West Philadelphia. The General 

 Library, containing more than 150,000 vol- 

 umes and 50,000 pamphlets, contains a num- 

 ber of private collections. The most notable 

 of these are the Colwell collection, one of the 

 most complete finance libraries in the world, 

 and the Bechstein Library containing 15,000 

 books on German philology and literature. 

 The Museum of Archaeology and Paleontology 

 contains collections of American, Asiatic, and 

 Egyptian antiquities of great value. Its 

 Babylonia collection is declared to rank equal 

 with those of the British Museum and the 

 Louvre. Houston Hall, a clubhouse for stu- 

 dents, was finished in 1896, and has proved a 

 valuable aid to college discipline. The usual 

 academic and technical degrees are conferred. 



Cornell University was incorporated by 

 the Legislature of the State of New York, 

 April 27, 1865, and opened October 7, 1868. 

 The existence of the University is due to the 

 combined bounty of the United States, the 

 state of New York, and Ezra Cornell. Ezra 

 Cornell's wish was to found an institution 

 where any person could find instruction in an^ 

 study ; while the state stipulated that the col- 

 lege should be strictly non-sectarian, and that 

 it should annually receive from each Assem- 

 bly district of the state, one student free of 

 charge. The first gift of Ezra Cornell was 

 $500,000 with 200 acres of land. The first 

 college buildings were built by the students ; 

 women were admitted, and a large dormitory 

 known as Sage College was erected for them 

 in 1872. There are no other dormitory build- 

 ings on the campus proper, the situation of 

 which, on a plateau between two waterfalls. 



