Sheffield Scientific School
Encyclopedia
Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College
in New Haven, Connecticut
for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffield, the railroad executive. The school was incorporated in 1871. The Sheffield Scientific School helped establish the model for the transition of U.S. higher education from a classical model to one which incorporated both the sciences and the liberal arts. Following World War I
, however, its curriculum gradually became completely integrated with Yale College. The Sheff ceased to function as a separate entity in 1956.
established the Lawrence Scientific School in 1846 and Dartmouth
began the Chandler Scientific School
in 1852. The stage was set at Yale for the transition in education beginning in 1846, when professorships of agricultural chemistry (John Pitkin Norton
) and practical chemistry (Benjamin Silliman Jr.
) were established. In 1847, the School of Applied Chemistry became part of a newly created Department of Philosophy and the Arts (later, the Yale Graduate School). John Norton retired in 1852 and was replaced by John Addison Porter
. Applied chemistry was followed in 1852 by a professorship of civil engineering (William Augustus Norton
) establishing a school of engineering. These programs comprised the Yale Scientific School.
In 1853 and 1854, science and engineering courses were listed in the Yale College course catalog as offered by the Yale Scientific School. Porter elicited help from his father-in-law, Joseph Earl Sheffield and in 1858, Sheffield donated funds and real property for the school. The old Yale Medical School building on the northeast corner of Grove and Prospect Streets was renovated and renamed (South) Sheffield Hall. (It was demolished in 1931 and is now the site of Sterling Tower, Sheffield Hall and Strathcona Hall (SSS).) Sheffield's building reinforced the division of Hillhouse Avenue
into an upper, residential section, and a lower section devoted to education. In 1861, the school became the Sheffield Scientific School in recognition of his generosity devoted to "the promotion of the study of the natural, physical, and mathematical sciences."
Sheffield was one of Yale's greatest benefactors and continued to support the school throughout his life, giving a total of about US$500,000. Yale also received US$591,000 from his will as well as his house, the Sheffield mansion, designed and originally owned by Ithiel Town
(demolished in 1957). The school also benefited from the Morrill Act starting in 1863 and an agricultural course was begun. Land grant status, however, was transferred to the Storrs Agricultural School
in 1893 after arguments by the state grange
that the school was not a proper "farm school".
A series of lectures, later known as the Sheffield Lectures was instituted by the school in 1866. Professor Othniel Charles Marsh
of the school led four Yale scientific expeditions in search of fossils in 1870-3.
in 1863, and the first geology Ph.D. to William North Rice
in 1867.
Unlike Yale College students at the time, Sheffield students had "no dorms, no required chapel, no disciplinary marks and no proctors". The Academical Department of Yale (Ac) and Sheffield (Sheff) became rivals. Loomis Havemeyer, alumnus and registrar at Sheffield, stated: "During the second half of the nineteenth century Yale College and Sheffield Scientific School, separated by only a few streets, were two separate countries on the same planet." The Ac students studied liberal arts and would look down on the practical Sheff students.
Sheffield had its own student secret societies (aka final clubs or senior societies, some also known by their Greek letters) including the Colony Club, 1848 (now Berzelius
), the Cloister, 1863 (now Book and Snake
), St. Anthony Hall
, 1867 (now a 3-year society, also called Delta Psi), St. Elmo
, 1889 (also a senior society), as well as Franklin Hall, 1865 (Theta Xi
), York Hall, 1877 (Chi Phi), Sachem Hall, 1890 (Phi Sigma Kappa), and Vernon Hall, 1895 (Phi Gamma Delta
). The Yale Scientific
Magazine was founded at Sheffield in 1894, the first student magazine devoted to the sciences.
, on what had been the gardens of the Town-Sheffield mansion. This was followed by Winchester Hall (1892) and Sheffield Chemical (1894-5, J. Cleaveland Cady). Of these, only the latter, Sheffield Chemical, is still standing, renovated and renamed Arthur K. Watson
Hall. Becton Laboratory (designed by Marcel Breuer
, 1970) now stands on the site of North Sheffield and Winchester Halls (demolished in 1967). Further expansion brought Kirtland Hall (1902, Kirtland Cutter
), Hammond Laboratory (1904, W. Gedney Beatty), Leet Oliver Hall (1908, Charles C. Haight
), Mason Laboratory (1911, Charles C. Haight) and Dunham Laboratory (1912, Henry Morse; addition 1958, Douglas Orr), all still standing except Hammond which was razed in 2009 to make way for two new residential colleges.
The Vanderbilt-Sheffield Dormitories and Towers were built by Charles C. Haight
from 1903 to 1906, and Haight's chapter house St. Anthony Hall
was built in 1913. Byers Hall, designed by Hiss and Weekes and built in 1903, served as a center for social and religious life. These buildings are now incorporated into Silliman College
, and St. Anthony Hall still owns its building, which completes the College and Wall Street corner of the Silliman College Quadrangle. In 2006-7, Silliman underwent a major renovation.
Also, in 1913, land in East Lyme
was purchased for a field engineering camp (now the Yale Outdoor Education Center).
, W. M. Stanley and George Wells Beadle.
The first degree of Bachelor of Science was awarded in 1922 to the graduating class of the Sheffield Scientific School. In 1932, the School of Engineering was reestablished and Sheffield Scientific School engineering classes were transferred to the new school. In 1945, the Sheffield Scientific School resumed its original function of graduate level instruction in science. Undergraduate courses for the Bachelor of Science degree were transferred to Yale College, and undergraduate courses for a Bachelor of Science in industrial administration were transferred to the School of Engineering.
This transition occurred gradually, through the influence of "aggressive, powerful alumni" (including Edwin Oviatt, editor of the Yale Alumni Weekly) who "took control out of [President Hadley
]'s hands and forced a radical reorganization of Yale". In 1956, the Sheffield Scientific School was terminated as an active school. The Board of Trustees still exists to oversee the Sheffield Scientific School property and meet legal requirements. The schools faculty is defined as teachers of science to graduate students under the Division of Science. Engineering teaching and research is now conducted within the School of Engineering & Applied Science
.
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...
in New Haven, Connecticut
New 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...
for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffield, the railroad executive. The school was incorporated in 1871. The Sheffield Scientific School helped establish the model for the transition of U.S. higher education from a classical model to one which incorporated both the sciences and the liberal arts. Following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, however, its curriculum gradually became completely integrated with Yale College. The Sheff ceased to function as a separate entity in 1956.
History
After technological developments in the early nineteenth century such as the electric telegraph, an interest was fostered in teaching applied science at universities. HarvardHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
established the Lawrence Scientific School in 1846 and Dartmouth
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
began the Chandler Scientific School
Chandler Scientific School
New Hampshire native Abiel Chandler, a Boston commission merchant, bequeathed funds to Dartmouth College to establish the Abiel Chandler School of Science and the Arts in 1852...
in 1852. The stage was set at Yale for the transition in education beginning in 1846, when professorships of agricultural chemistry (John Pitkin Norton
John Pitkin Norton
John Pitkin Norton was a noted educator, agricultural chemist, and author. He was born in Albany, New York....
) and practical chemistry (Benjamin Silliman Jr.
Benjamin Silliman Jr.
Benjamin Silliman, Jr. was a professor of chemistry at Yale University and instrumental in developing the oil industry....
) were established. In 1847, the School of Applied Chemistry became part of a newly created Department of Philosophy and the Arts (later, the Yale Graduate School). John Norton retired in 1852 and was replaced by John Addison Porter
John Addison Porter
John Addison Porter was an American Professor of Chemistry. He was born in Catskill, New York and died in New Haven, Connecticut...
. Applied chemistry was followed in 1852 by a professorship of civil engineering (William Augustus Norton
William Augustus Norton
William Augustus Norton was a noted educator, civil engineer and author. He was born in East Bloomfield, New York....
) establishing a school of engineering. These programs comprised the Yale Scientific School.
In 1853 and 1854, science and engineering courses were listed in the Yale College course catalog as offered by the Yale Scientific School. Porter elicited help from his father-in-law, Joseph Earl Sheffield and in 1858, Sheffield donated funds and real property for the school. The old Yale Medical School building on the northeast corner of Grove and Prospect Streets was renovated and renamed (South) Sheffield Hall. (It was demolished in 1931 and is now the site of Sterling Tower, Sheffield Hall and Strathcona Hall (SSS).) Sheffield's building reinforced the division of Hillhouse Avenue
Hillhouse Avenue
Hillhouse Avenue, described, according to tradition, by both Charles Dickens and Mark Twain as "the most beautiful street in America," , is in New Haven, Connecticut and is home to many nineteenth century mansions including the president's house at Yale University...
into an upper, residential section, and a lower section devoted to education. In 1861, the school became the Sheffield Scientific School in recognition of his generosity devoted to "the promotion of the study of the natural, physical, and mathematical sciences."
Sheffield was one of Yale's greatest benefactors and continued to support the school throughout his life, giving a total of about US$500,000. Yale also received US$591,000 from his will as well as his house, the Sheffield mansion, designed and originally owned by Ithiel Town
Ithiel Town
Ithiel Town was a prominent American architect and civil engineer. One of the first generation of professional architects in the United States, Town made significant contributions to American architecture in the first half of the 19th century. He was high-strung, sophisticated, generous,...
(demolished in 1957). The school also benefited from the Morrill Act starting in 1863 and an agricultural course was begun. Land grant status, however, was transferred to the Storrs Agricultural School
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
in 1893 after arguments by the state grange
Grange movement
The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, also simply styled the Grange, is a fraternal organization for American farmers that encourages farm families to band together for their common economic and political well-being...
that the school was not a proper "farm school".
A series of lectures, later known as the Sheffield Lectures was instituted by the school in 1866. Professor Othniel Charles Marsh
Othniel Charles Marsh
Othniel Charles Marsh was an American paleontologist. Marsh was one of the preeminent scientists in the field; the discovery or description of dozens of news species and theories on the origins of birds are among his legacies.Born into a modest family, Marsh was able to afford higher education...
of the school led four Yale scientific expeditions in search of fossils in 1870-3.
Education and Student Life
The Sheffield School innovated with an undergraduate course offering science and mathematics as well as economics, English, geography, history, modern languages, philology and political science. Sheffield also pioneered graduate education in the United States, granting the first Ph.D. in America in 1861 as well as the first engineering Ph.D in America to Josiah Willard GibbsJosiah Willard Gibbs
Josiah Willard Gibbs was an American theoretical physicist, chemist, and mathematician. He devised much of the theoretical foundation for chemical thermodynamics as well as physical chemistry. As a mathematician, he invented vector analysis . Yale University awarded Gibbs the first American Ph.D...
in 1863, and the first geology Ph.D. to William North Rice
William North Rice
William North Rice was an American geologist, educator, and Methodist minister and theologian concerned with reconciliation of science and religious faith.-Early life and education:...
in 1867.
Unlike Yale College students at the time, Sheffield students had "no dorms, no required chapel, no disciplinary marks and no proctors". The Academical Department of Yale (Ac) and Sheffield (Sheff) became rivals. Loomis Havemeyer, alumnus and registrar at Sheffield, stated: "During the second half of the nineteenth century Yale College and Sheffield Scientific School, separated by only a few streets, were two separate countries on the same planet." The Ac students studied liberal arts and would look down on the practical Sheff students.
Sheffield had its own student secret societies (aka final clubs or senior societies, some also known by their Greek letters) including the Colony Club, 1848 (now Berzelius
Berzelius
Berzelius is a secret society at Yale University named for the Swedish scientist Jöns Jakob Berzelius, considered one of the founding fathers of modern chemistry...
), the Cloister, 1863 (now Book and Snake
Book and Snake
The Society of Book and Snake is the fourth oldest secret society at Yale University. Book and Snake was founded at the Sheffield Scientific School in 1863 as a three-year society bearing the Greek letters Sigma Delta Chi...
), St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall, also known as Saint Anthony Hall and The Order of St. Anthony, is a national college literary society also known as the Fraternity of Delta Psi at colleges in the United States of America. St...
, 1867 (now a 3-year society, also called Delta Psi), St. Elmo
St. Elmo (secret society)
St. Elmo Society is a secret society at Yale University. It was founded in 1889 as an independent entity for seniors within the nationally chartered fraternity, Delta Phi , Omicron Chapter .-History:...
, 1889 (also a senior society), as well as Franklin Hall, 1865 (Theta Xi
Theta Xi
Theta Xi was founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York on 29 April 1864. Theta Xi Fraternity was originally founded as an engineering fraternity, the first professional fraternity...
), York Hall, 1877 (Chi Phi), Sachem Hall, 1890 (Phi Sigma Kappa), and Vernon Hall, 1895 (Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta
The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
). The Yale Scientific
Yale Scientific
Yale Scientific Magazine is published quarterly by undergraduate Yale University students since 1894. It was founded at the Sheffield Scientific School and was the first student magazine devoted to the sciences. It is currently the nation's oldest collegiate science quarterly...
Magazine was founded at Sheffield in 1894, the first student magazine devoted to the sciences.
Other Buildings
In 1872-3, Sheffield Scientific School's first new building, North Sheffield Hall was built, designed by Josiah Cleaveland CadyJ. Cleaveland Cady
J Cleaveland Cady was a New York-based architect whose most familiar surviving building is the south range of the American Museum of Natural History on New York's Upper West Side...
, on what had been the gardens of the Town-Sheffield mansion. This was followed by Winchester Hall (1892) and Sheffield Chemical (1894-5, J. Cleaveland Cady). Of these, only the latter, Sheffield Chemical, is still standing, renovated and renamed Arthur K. Watson
Arthur K. Watson
Arthur Kittredge Watson served as president of IBM World Trade Corporation and United States Ambassador to France.-Family:He was born in Summit, New Jersey. His father, Thomas J...
Hall. Becton Laboratory (designed by Marcel Breuer
Marcel Breuer
Marcel Lajos Breuer , was a Hungarian-born modernist, architect and furniture designer of Jewish descent. One of the masters of Modernism, Breuer displayed interest in modular construction and simple forms.- Life and work :Known to his friends and associates as Lajkó, Breuer studied and taught at...
, 1970) now stands on the site of North Sheffield and Winchester Halls (demolished in 1967). Further expansion brought Kirtland Hall (1902, Kirtland Cutter
Kirtland Cutter
Kirtland Kelsey Cutter was a 20th century architect in the Pacific Northwest and California. He was born in East Rockport, Ohio, as the great-grandson of Jared Potter Kirtland. He studied painting and illustration at the Art Students League of New York. At the age of 26 he moved to Spokane,...
), Hammond Laboratory (1904, W. Gedney Beatty), Leet Oliver Hall (1908, Charles C. Haight
Charles C. Haight
Charles Coolidge Haight was an American architect who practiced in New York City. A number of his buildings survive including at Yale University and Trinity College . He also designed most of the campus of the Episcopal General Theological Seminary in Chelsea Square, New York...
), Mason Laboratory (1911, Charles C. Haight) and Dunham Laboratory (1912, Henry Morse; addition 1958, Douglas Orr), all still standing except Hammond which was razed in 2009 to make way for two new residential colleges.
The Vanderbilt-Sheffield Dormitories and Towers were built by Charles C. Haight
Charles C. Haight
Charles Coolidge Haight was an American architect who practiced in New York City. A number of his buildings survive including at Yale University and Trinity College . He also designed most of the campus of the Episcopal General Theological Seminary in Chelsea Square, New York...
from 1903 to 1906, and Haight's chapter house St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall, also known as Saint Anthony Hall and The Order of St. Anthony, is a national college literary society also known as the Fraternity of Delta Psi at colleges in the United States of America. St...
was built in 1913. Byers Hall, designed by Hiss and Weekes and built in 1903, served as a center for social and religious life. These buildings are now incorporated into Silliman College
Silliman College
Silliman College is a residential college at Yale University. It opened in September 1940 as the last of the original ten residential colleges, and includes buildings that were constructed as early as 1901...
, and St. Anthony Hall still owns its building, which completes the College and Wall Street corner of the Silliman College Quadrangle. In 2006-7, Silliman underwent a major renovation.
Also, in 1913, land in East Lyme
East Lyme, Connecticut
East Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,118 at the 2000 census. The latitude of East Lyme is 41.353N...
was purchased for a field engineering camp (now the Yale Outdoor Education Center).
Reorganization
During the 1918-1919 reorganization of the educational structure of Yale University, the three years "select" course at Sheffield Scientific School was eliminated and a four year course of study for those studying "professional science" and "engineering" was approved, while graduate courses were transferred to the Graduate School, leaving only undergraduate courses taught at Sheffield Scientific School from 1919 to 1945, coexisting with Yale College's science programs. The centennial was celebrated in 1947 with the Silliman lectures given by Ernest O. Lawrence, Linus PaulingLinus Pauling
Linus Carl Pauling was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator. He was one of the most influential chemists in history and ranks among the most important scientists of the 20th century...
, W. M. Stanley and George Wells Beadle.
The first degree of Bachelor of Science was awarded in 1922 to the graduating class of the Sheffield Scientific School. In 1932, the School of Engineering was reestablished and Sheffield Scientific School engineering classes were transferred to the new school. In 1945, the Sheffield Scientific School resumed its original function of graduate level instruction in science. Undergraduate courses for the Bachelor of Science degree were transferred to Yale College, and undergraduate courses for a Bachelor of Science in industrial administration were transferred to the School of Engineering.
This transition occurred gradually, through the influence of "aggressive, powerful alumni" (including Edwin Oviatt, editor of the Yale Alumni Weekly) who "took control out of [President Hadley
Arthur Twining Hadley
Arthur Twining Hadley was an economist who served as President of Yale University from 1899 to 1921.-Biography:...
]'s hands and forced a radical reorganization of Yale". In 1956, the Sheffield Scientific School was terminated as an active school. The Board of Trustees still exists to oversee the Sheffield Scientific School property and meet legal requirements. The schools faculty is defined as teachers of science to graduate students under the Division of Science. Engineering teaching and research is now conducted within the School of Engineering & Applied Science
Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science
The Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science offers undergraduate and graduate classes and degrees in electrical engineering, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, biomedical engineering, and mechanical engineering and materials science. There are strong research programs in...
.
Directors
- George Jarvis BrushGeorge Jarvis BrushGeorge Jarvis Brush was an American mineralogist and academic administrator who spent most of his career at Yale University in the Sheffield Scientific School.-Career:...
(Professor of Mineralogy) was Director of the Sheffield Scientific School from 1872 to 1898. - Russell Henry ChittendenRussell Henry ChittendenRussell Henry Chittenden was an American physiological chemist. He conducted pioneering research in the biochemistry of digestion and nutrition....
(Professor of Physiological Chemistry) was Director of the Sheffield Scientific School from 1898 to 1922. - Charles Hyde WarrenCharles Hyde WarrenCharles Hyde Warren was an American geologist. He grew up in Watertown, Connecticut. He graduated from the Sheffield Scientific School in 1896. He was on the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1900–1922...
(Sterling Professor of Geology) was Dean of the Sheffield Scientific School from 1922 to 1945. - Edmund Ware SinnottEdmund Ware SinnottEdmund Ware Sinnott was an American botanist and prolific textbook author. He is best known for his work in plant morphology.-Life:...
(Sterling Professor of Botany) was Director of the Sheffield Scientific School from 1945 to 1956.
Notable faculty
- Charles Emerson BeecherCharles Emerson BeecherCharles Emerson Beecher was an American Paleontologist most famous for the thorough excavation, preparation and study of trilobite ventral anatomy from specimens collected at Beecher's Trilobite Bed...
, paleontologist, member of the governing board - William Henry BrewerWilliam Henry BrewerWilliam Henry Brewer was an American botanist. He worked on the first California Geological Survey and was the first Chair of Agriculture at Yale University's Sheffield Scientific School....
, botanist, first chair of agriculture, as well as a graduate from the first class of the school - August Jay DuBois (1849-1907), mechanical engineering
- Daniel Coit GilmanDaniel Coit GilmanDaniel Coit Gilman was an American educator and academician, who was instrumental in founding the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale College, and who subsequently served as one of the earliest presidents of the University of California, the first president of Johns Hopkins University, and as...
, geographer, helped plan and raise funds - Thomas LounsburyThomas LounsburyThomas Raynesford Lounsbury was an American literary historian and critic, born in Ovid, New York, January 1, 1838. He graduated at Yale in 1859 and subsequently received honorary degrees from Yale, Harvard, Lafayette, Princeton, and Aberdeen...
, American literary historian, professor of English and librarian at Sheff - Chester S. LymanChester LymanChester Smith Lyman was an American teacher, clergyman and astronomer.He was born in Manchester, Connecticut to Chester and Mary Smith Lyman. Chester is the descendant of Richard Lyman, a settler who arrived in America in 1631...
(1814-1890), industrial mechanics; inventor of surveying and astronomical instruments - Lafayette MendelLafayette MendelLafayette Benedict Mendel was an American biochemist known for his work in nutrition including the study of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, lysine and tryptophan....
, biochemist - Manfield Merriman (1848-1925), civil engineering; author of "A Treatise on Hydraulics and on the Strength of Materials", 1877
- John Pitkin NortonJohn Pitkin NortonJohn Pitkin Norton was a noted educator, agricultural chemist, and author. He was born in Albany, New York....
, chemist, founding faculty member - William Augustus NortonWilliam Augustus NortonWilliam Augustus Norton was a noted educator, civil engineer and author. He was born in East Bloomfield, New York....
, civil engineer, founding faculty member - John Addison PorterJohn Addison PorterJohn Addison Porter was an American Professor of Chemistry. He was born in Catskill, New York and died in New Haven, Connecticut...
, chemist - Charles Brinckerhoff RichardsCharles Brinckerhoff RichardsCharles Brinckerhoff Richards was an engineer who worked for Colt's Patent Fire Arms Co., where he was responsible for the development of the Colt Single Action Army revolver...
, engineer chair of Mechanical Engineering from 1884-1909 - Benjamin Silliman, Jr., chemist, founding faculty member
- William Petit Trowbridge (1828-1892), mechanical engineering; published the first cantilever bridge design; Member, National Academy of Science
- Francis Amasa WalkerFrancis Amasa WalkerFrancis Amasa Walker was an American economist, statistician, journalist, educator, academic administrator, and military officer in the Union Army. Walker was born into a prominent Boston family, the son of the economist and politician Amasa Walker, and he graduated from Amherst College at the age...
, economist - William Dwight WhitneyWilliam Dwight WhitneyWilliam Dwight Whitney was an American linguist, philologist, and lexicographer who edited The Century Dictionary.-Life:William Dwight Whitney was born in Northampton, Massachusetts on February 9, 1827. His father was Josiah Dwight Whitney of the New England Dwight family...
, organized and taught in the department of modern languages; member of the governing board
Notable alumni
- Clifford Whittingham BeersClifford Whittingham BeersClifford Whittingham Beers was the founder of the American mental hygiene movement.Beers was born in New Haven, Connecticut to Ida and Robert Beers on March 30, 1876. He was one of five children, all of whom would suffer from psychological distress and would die in mental institutions, including...
, mental health pioneer - Jules BlankfeinJules BlankfeinJules Blankfein, M.D. was a physician and founder of Physicians Hospital in Jackson Heights, Queens . He was a 1921 graduate of Yale University, and received a medical degree from New York Medical College and Flower-Fifth Avenue Hospital in 1928. He founded Physicians Hospital in 1935, and served...
, Physician & Founder: Physician's Hospital (NYC) - William Edward Boeing, aviator
- John Vernou Bouvier IIIJohn Vernou Bouvier IIIJohn Vernou "Black Jack" Bouvier III was an American socialite and Wall Street stockbroker. He was the father of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Princess Lee Radziwill...
, stockbroker and socialite - Chester BowlesChester BowlesChester Bliss Bowles was a liberal Democratic American diplomat and politician from Connecticut.-Biography:...
, American politician - J. Twing BrooksJ. Twing BrooksJoshua Twing Brooks was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.-Biography:...
, U. S. congressman - Henry Boardman ConoverHenry Boardman ConoverBoardman Conover was an American soldier and amateur ornithologist.Conover was born in Chicago and studied at the Sheffield Scientific School in Yale. He had an interest in natural history from an early age, and collected bird specimens...
, ornithologist
- Charles Benjamin DudleyCharles Benjamin DudleyCharles Benjamin Dudley was a U.S. chemist who was an early proponent of standardisation in industry.Dudley was born in Oxford, New York, and owing to family circumstances, had to wait until 1867 before he could enter Yale College, supporting himself as a night editor on the New Haven Palladium...
, chemist - Isadore DyerIsadore DyerIsadore Dyer was an American physician, born at Galveston, Tex. He graduated from Sheffield Scientific School in 1887, studied at the University of Virginia, and took his M. D. at Tulane in 1889...
, physician - Lee De ForestLee De ForestLee De Forest was an American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit. De Forest invented the Audion, a vacuum tube that takes relatively weak electrical signals and amplifies them. De Forest is one of the fathers of the "electronic age", as the Audion helped to usher in the widespread use...
, electronics inventor - Francis I. du PontFrancis I. du PontFrancis Irénée du Pont was an American chemist, and manager at the E.I. du Pont de Nemours Company. He was the great grandson of its founder, Eleuthère Irénée du Pont....
, chemist - Joseph W. FrazerJoseph W. FrazerJoseph Washington Frazer was a 20th-century American automobile company executive employed in succession by Chrysler, Willys-Overland, Graham-Paige and Kaiser-Frazer Corporation...
, automobile magnate - James Terry GardinerJames Terry GardinerJames Terry Gardiner was an American surveyor and engineer.Gardiner was born in Troy, New York, the son of Daniel Gardiner and Ann Terry Gardiner. He briefly attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Sheffield Scientific School. In 1863 he traveled on horseback to California with his...
, surveyor and engineer - Josiah Willard GibbsJosiah Willard GibbsJosiah Willard Gibbs was an American theoretical physicist, chemist, and mathematician. He devised much of the theoretical foundation for chemical thermodynamics as well as physical chemistry. As a mathematician, he invented vector analysis . Yale University awarded Gibbs the first American Ph.D...
, mathematical physicist and physical chemist - T. Keith GlennanT. Keith GlennanThomas Keith Glennan was the first Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, serving from August 19, 1958 to January 20, 1961.-Early career:...
, first NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
administrator - John Campbell GreenwayJohn Campbell GreenwayJohn Campbell Greenway was an American mining, steel and railroad executive: a man of many trades in many states...
, American mining, steel and railroad executive, soldier - Harold L. GreenHarold L. GreenHarold Leavenworth Green was the chairman and founder of the H.L. Green Company five and dime store chain. He founded the chain as a product of mergers in 1932, and at the time of his death it had more than 200 stores....
, chain store founder - Harry Frank Guggenheim, businessman, philanthropist
- Daniel Webster HeringDaniel Webster HeringDaniel Webster Hering, Ph.D. was an American physicist and university dean. He was born in Washington County, Maryland, and graduated from the Sheffield Scientific School . He occupied positions at Johns Hopkins, Western Maryland College, Western University of Pennsylvania , and NYU, where he...
, physicist - John Hays HammondJohn Hays HammondJohn Hays Hammond was a famous mining engineer, diplomat, and philanthropist. Known as the man with the midas touch, he amassed a sizable fortune before the age of 40. An early advocate of deep-level mining, Hammond was given complete charge of Cecil Rhodes' mines in South Africa and made each...
, mining engineer, philanthropist, faculty member. He endowed a program at Sheff in mining and metallurgy and accepted a professorship. Hammond Laboratory is named for him. - John Hays Hammond, Jr.John Hays Hammond, Jr.John Hays Hammond, Jr. was an American inventor known as "The Father of Radio Control" and son of mining engineer John Hays Hammond, Sr..-Biography:...
, inventor, “father of radio control’’ - Robert James Huber, Michigan politician, businessman
- Tony HulmanTony HulmanAnton "Tony" Hulman, Jr. was a businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana who rescued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945 and made the Indianapolis 500 popular....
(1924) businessman, owner of Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis Motor SpeedwayThe Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....
1945–1977 - Treat Baldwin JohnsonTreat Baldwin JohnsonTreat Baldwin Johnson was an American chemist, born at Bethany, Connecticut.-Biography:He graduated at Yale in 1898, where he also received his Ph.D. in 1901. He became an instructor of chemistry at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale and in 1908 was advanced to the assistant professorship of...
, chemist - Clarence KingClarence KingClarence R. King was an American geologist, mountaineer, and art critic. First director of the United States Geological Survey, from 1879 to 1881, King was noted for his exploration of the Sierra Nevada. He was born in Newport, Rhode Island.-Career:...
, American geologist and mountaineer - Duane LymanDuane LymanDuane Lyman was a Buffalo, New York-based architect considered the "dean of Western New York Architecture." He was born in Lockport, New York and attended Lafayette High School in Buffalo. He graduated in 1908 from Yale University 's Sheffield Scientific School where he studied architecture and...
, architect - Othniel Charles MarshOthniel Charles MarshOthniel Charles Marsh was an American paleontologist. Marsh was one of the preeminent scientists in the field; the discovery or description of dozens of news species and theories on the origins of birds are among his legacies.Born into a modest family, Marsh was able to afford higher education...
, paleontologist - Champion Mathewson, metallurgist
- Truman Handy NewberryTruman Handy NewberryTruman Handy Newberry was a U.S. businessman and political figure. He served as the Secretary of Navy between 1908 and 1909. He was a U.S. Senator from Michigan between 1919 and 1922.-Biography:...
, American businessman and politician - Thomas Wharton PhillipsThomas Wharton PhillipsThomas Wharton Phillips was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.Thomas W. Phillips was born near Mount Jackson, Pennsylvania, in that section of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, now included in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania...
, U. S. Congressman - William North RiceWilliam North RiceWilliam North Rice was an American geologist, educator, and Methodist minister and theologian concerned with reconciliation of science and religious faith.-Early life and education:...
, geologist and theologian - Stanley Pickett RockwellRockwell scaleThe Rockwell scale is a hardness scale based on the indentation hardness of a material. The Rockwell test determines the hardness by measuring the depth of penetration of an indenter under a large load compared to the penetration made by a preload. There are different scales, denoted by a single...
(1907), metallurgist and co-inventor of the Rockwell hardness test - William Thompson SedgwickWilliam Thompson SedgwickWilliam Thompson Sedgwick was a key figure in shaping public health in the United States.William T...
, bacteriologist and public health scientist - George B. Selden, lawyer and inventor
- Sidney Irving SmithSidney Irving SmithSidney Irving Smith was an American zoologist.-Private life:Sidney Smith was the son of Elliot Smith and Lavinia Barton. His brother in law was Addison Emery Verrill. Smith married Eugenia Pocahontas Barber in New Haven, Connecticut on June 29, 1882...
, zoologist - James Graham Phelps StokesJames Graham Phelps StokesJames Graham Phelps Stokes , known to his friends as "Graham," was an American millionaire socialist writer, political activist, and philanthropist. He is best remembered as a founding member and key figure in the Intercollegiate Socialist Society and as the husband of Rose Pastor Stokes, a radical...
, philanthropist, publicist, and political activist - Zhan TianyouZhan TianyouJeme Tien Yow was a distinguished Chinese railroad engineer. Educated in the United States of America, he was the chief engineer responsible for construction of the Imperial Peking-Kalgan Railway , the first railway constructed in China without foreign assistance.-Biography:Jeme was born in...
, Chinese railroad engineer, "father of China's railroad" - Edward de Villafranca, noted educator, AP and IB exam developer.
- Thomas Yawkey, owner of the Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
for 44 years
Other sources
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- Pinnell, Patrick L., Yale University: The Campus Guide, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1999.
- Shimp, Andy, Sheffield Scientific School.
- Yale Engineering through the Centuries
- Chittenden, Russell H., History of the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, 1846–1922. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1928.
- Furniss, Edgar S., The Graduate School of Yale: A Brief History. New Haven, Conn.: Purington Rollins, 1965.
- Veysey, Laurence R., The Emergence of the American University. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965.
- Warren, Charles H. The Sheffield Scientific School from 1847 to 1947. In The Centennial of the Sheffield Scientific School. Edited by George Alfred Baitsell. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1950.