JOHN WINTHROP. 45 



his views of the nature of heat were greatly in advance of 

 the science of his day. His scholarship, moreover, was not 

 limited to his specialty. He wrote Latin with purity and ele- 

 gance, studied the Scriptures critically in their original lan- 

 guages, and was well versed in the tongues of modern Europe. 

 " He is, perhaps," says Quincy, " better entitled to the char- 

 acter of a universal scholar than any individual of his time in 

 this country." Rev. Charles Chauncy, D. D., in A Sketch of 

 Eminent Men in New England, written in 1768, says: "Mr. 

 Winthrop, Hollisian professor, I have been very free and inti- 

 mate with. He is by far the greatest man at the college in 

 Cambridge. Had he been of a pushing genius and a disposi- 

 tion to make a figure in the world, he might have done it to 

 his own honour, as well as the honour of the college." * 



The office of a professor in Harvard College during the last 

 century was not a lucrative one. The salaries obtained were 

 fluctuating and always small. From about the middle of the 

 century the Professor of Mathematics and Physics received 

 ;8o a year. In reply to inquiries made by a committee of the 

 Provincial Legislature, Winthrop wrote a letter in which he 

 stated that his salary had been far from adequate, and that he 

 had run in debt for the support of his family. 



Prof. Winthrop married, August 22, 1746, Rebecca, daugh- 

 ter of James Townsend, of Boston, and by this marriage had 

 five sons. His wife died after seven years, and he married 

 again in 1756. His second wife was Hannah, daughter of 

 Thomas Fayerweather, and widow of Farr Tolman, of Boston. 

 She was the well-known correspondent of Mrs. John Adams. 



Four of Prof. Winthrop's sons lived to adult age. Of these 

 John became a merchant in Boston and was a member of 

 the Massachusetts Legislature. Adam was a sea captain, and 

 was lost at sea in 1774. James was Librarian of Harvard Col- 

 lege, a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and one of the 

 founders of the Massachusetts Historical Society. He was in 

 the battle of Bunker Hill and was wounded. William was an 

 active member of several learned societies. 



The first vacancy in the presidency of Harvard College that 

 occurred during Prof. Winthrop's professorship was made 

 by the death of President Holyoke in June, 1769. Winthrop 



* Massachusetts Historical Society's Collections, Series I, vol. x, p. 159. 



