Charles Seymour
Encyclopedia
Charles Seymour was an American
academic, historian
and President of Yale University
from 1937 to 1951.
, the son of Thomas Day Seymour
, who taught classics at Yale. His paternal grandfather, Nathan Perkins Seymour, was the great-great grandson of Thomas Clap
, who was President of Yale in the 1740s. His paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Day, was the grandniece of Jeremiah Day
, who was Yale's president from 1817 through 1846. An ancestor of his mother, the former Sarah Hitchcock, was awarded an honorary degree at Yale's first graduation ceremonies in 1702.
Seymour was awarded a Bachelor of Arts
at King's College, Cambridge
in 1904; and he earned a second B.A. from Yale in 1908. He went on to earn a Ph.D.
from Yale in 1911. In 1908, he was also tapped as a member of the Skull and Bones
Society and in 1919 he was founding member of The Council on Foreign Relations
.
of History (1922–1927). He taught history at Yale from 1911 though 1937, when he became president of the university.
Seymour served for ten years as the university's provost
(1927–1937). During this period, Yale College was re-organized into a system of ten residential college
s, instituted in 1933 with the help of a grant by Yale graduate Edward S. Harkness, who admired the college systems at Oxford
and Cambridge
. Seymour became the first Master of Berkeley College
.
At age 52, Seymour succeeded James Rowland Angell
as the university's 15th president in October 1937. After his retirement in July 1950, he would be succeeded by Alfred Whitney Griswold
.
Seymour served as the chief of the Austro-Hungarian
Division of the American Commission to Negotiate Peace
in 1919. He was also the U.S. delegate on the Romania
n, Yugoslavia
n, and Czechoslovakia
n Territorial Commissions in 1919.
After his retirement as president, Seymour continued his involvement with the university as curator of the papers of Edward M. House
at the Yale University Library.
He died in Chatham, Massachusetts
in 1963 after a long illness. His son, Charles Seymour, Jr., was a professor of art history
at Yale.
Quote: "We seek the truth and will endure the consequences."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
academic, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and President of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
from 1937 to 1951.
Early life
Seymour was born in New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, the son of Thomas Day Seymour
Thomas Day Seymour
Thomas Day Seymour was an American classical scholar.-Life:Born in Hudson, Ohio, Seymour graduated in 1870 at Western Reserve College, where his father, Nathan Perkins Seymour, was Long Professor of Greek and Latin....
, who taught classics at Yale. His paternal grandfather, Nathan Perkins Seymour, was the great-great grandson of Thomas Clap
Thomas Clap
Thomas Clap, also spelled Thomas Clapp , was an American academic and educator, a Congregational Minister, and college administrator. He was both the fifth rector and the earliest to be called "president" of Yale College .He was born in Scituate, Massachusetts, and studied with Rev...
, who was President of Yale in the 1740s. His paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Day, was the grandniece of Jeremiah Day
Jeremiah Day
Jeremiah Day was an American academic, a Congregational minister and President of Yale College .-Early life:Day was the son of Rev...
, who was Yale's president from 1817 through 1846. An ancestor of his mother, the former Sarah Hitchcock, was awarded an honorary degree at Yale's first graduation ceremonies in 1702.
Seymour was awarded a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
at King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
in 1904; and he earned a second B.A. from Yale in 1908. He went on to earn a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Yale in 1911. In 1908, he was also tapped as a member of the Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
Society and in 1919 he was founding member of The Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
.
Career
Seymour's teaching experience began at Yale in 1911 when he was made an instructor in history. He was made a full professor in 1918; and when he eventually left teaching, he had risen amongst the faculty to become Sterling ProfessorSterling Professor
A Sterling Professorship is the highest academic rank at Yale University, awarded to a tenured faculty member considered one of the best in his or her field...
of History (1922–1927). He taught history at Yale from 1911 though 1937, when he became president of the university.
Seymour served for ten years as the university's provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
(1927–1937). During this period, Yale College was re-organized into a system of ten residential college
Residential college
A residential college is an organisational pattern for a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship with the overall...
s, instituted in 1933 with the help of a grant by Yale graduate Edward S. Harkness, who admired the college systems at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. Seymour became the first Master of Berkeley College
Berkeley College
Berkeley College is a proprietary higher education institution founded in 1931, specializing in business and professional studies.-Academic programs:...
.
At age 52, Seymour succeeded James Rowland Angell
James Rowland Angell
James Rowland Angell was an American psychologist and educator. He served as the president of Yale University between 1921 and 1937...
as the university's 15th president in October 1937. After his retirement in July 1950, he would be succeeded by Alfred Whitney Griswold
Alfred Whitney Griswold
Alfred Whitney Griswold was an American historian and educator, and President of Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.-Biography:...
.
Seymour served as the chief of the Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
Division of the American Commission to Negotiate Peace
American Commission to Negotiate Peace
The American Commission to Negotiate Peace, successor to The Inquiry, participated in the peace negotiations at the Treaty of Versailles, January 18 — December 9, 1919. Frank Lyon Polk headed the commission in 1919...
in 1919. He was also the U.S. delegate on the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
n, and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
n Territorial Commissions in 1919.
After his retirement as president, Seymour continued his involvement with the university as curator of the papers of Edward M. House
Edward M. House
Edward Mandell House was an American diplomat, politician, and presidential advisor. Commonly known by the title of Colonel House, although he had no military experience, he had enormous personal influence with U.S...
at the Yale University Library.
He died in Chatham, Massachusetts
Chatham, Massachusetts
Chatham is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 6,625 at the 2000 census...
in 1963 after a long illness. His son, Charles Seymour, Jr., was a professor of art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
at Yale.
Quote: "We seek the truth and will endure the consequences."
Selected works
- 1915 -- Electoral Reform in England and Wales: The Development and Operation of the Parliamentary Franchise, 1832-1885. New Haven: Yale University PressYale University PressYale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
. - 1916 -- The Diplomatic Background of the War, 1870-1914. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- 1918 -- How the World Votes: The Story of Democratic Development in Elections with Donald Paige FraryDonald Paige FraryDonald Paige Frary was a noted American professor and author.Frary was born in Charlemont, Massachusetts on 9 August 1893 to Edward Sanderson and Caroline Louisa Frary. Frary was a graduate of Yale University and would serve as a professor there, specializing in International Affairs...
. Springfield, Massachusetts: C. A. Nichols. OCLC 557198 - 1921 -- Woodrow Wilson and the World War. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- 1926 -- The Intimate Papers of Colonel House. New York: Houghton MifflinHoughton MifflinHoughton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
. OCLC 476286 - 1934 -- American Diplomacy During the World War. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. [reprinted by Greenwood Press, Westport Connecticut, 1975: 10-ISBN 0-837-17746-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-837-17746-5
- 1935 -- American Neutrality, 1914-17: Essays on the Causes of American Intervention in the World War. OCLC 257742593
- 1921 -- What Really Happened in Paris: the story of the Peace Conference, 1918-1919 with Edward House. New York: Charles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
.
- 1963 -- Letters from the Paris Peace Conference. New Haven