VASSAR COLLEGE

This article appears in Volume V27, Page 947 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: VAN-VIR

VASSAR COLLEGE , a non-sectarian institution for the higher education of women, about 2 M. E. of Poughkeepsie, New 'leek, U.S.A. It was incorporated in 1861 as Vassar Female College (which was changed to Vassar College in 1867), and was named in honour of its founder,'

Matthew

Vassar, who transferred to a board of trustees of his own selection about $400,000 (increased by his will to twice that amount) and the tract of about 200 acres of land upon which the college was built. Building began in June 1861, and the institution was opened on. the loth of September 1865, with John Howard Raymond2 (18141878) as president, and Hannah W. Lyman (1816-1871) as lady principal; it had a faculty of eight professors and twenty instructors and teachers, and an enrolment of 353 pupils. The first graduating class was that of 1867, and comprised four-members, to whom were given temporary certificates stating that they were ". entitled to be admitted to the First Degree of Liberal Arts, " as the propriety of awarding the degree of " bachelor" to
'

Matthew

Vassar (17911868) was born at

East

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

1Dereliam, Teddenhamparish, Norfolk, England, on the 29th of April 1791, son of a Baptist who emigrated to the United States in 1796, settled 3 m. E. of Poughkeepsie in 1797 and in 1801 established a brewery there. The brewery was burned in 1811, and Matthew took up the business and in 1812 established an " ale and'

oyster

OYSTER

saloon " and a brewery, from which he became wealthy. He was a prominent member of the Baptist church. He got the idea of founding a college for women from his niece,

Lydia

LYDIA

Booth, a school teacher. He died on the 23rd of June 186 while reading his farewell report to the Board of Trustees, His nephew, MATTHEW VASSAR, Jun, (1809-1881), was born in Poughkeepsie, became manager of his uncle's brewery, was a member of the Board of Trustees of Vassar College, and its treasurer until his death, gave in all about $5oo,000 to the institution, and with his brother, John Guy Vassar (1811-1888), also one of the trustees and a benefactor of the college, gave to the college the Vassar Brothers' Laboratory.
S Raymond graduated at Union College in .1832; studied law and then (at Hamilton, N.Y.) theolo ; in 183949 taught rhetoric ~.ndEnglish literature at Madison (now Colgate) University, at Hamilton, N.Y.; was professor of belles-lettres at Rochester 'University in 1850-56;-and ' organized the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute in 18565.
women was questioned at that time; in 1868 these certificates, were replaced by diplomas bestowing the degree of A.B. The present equipment includes more than twenty buildings, and the campus has an area of about 400 acres. The college confers the baccalaureate degree in arts (A.B.) upon the completion of the regular course of four years, and a second degree in arts (A.M.) upon Bachelors of Arts of Vassar or any approved college who have completed (by examination and thesis) a course of advanced non-professional study. In 1909-10 there were about ninety professors and instructors and ro4o students. The college had in 1909 total productive funds of about $1,360,000, yielding an income of about $600,000. James Monroe Taylor (b. 1848), a graduate of the university of Rochester and of Rochester Theological Seminary, became president of the college in 1886.
See Benson J. Lossing's Vassar College and its Founder (New

York

YORK
YORK (
HOUSE
- HOUSE
- HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
  Gothic
  - GOTHIC
  it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)
OF)
YORK, EDMUND OF
LANGLEY
- LANGLEY, SAMUEL PIERPONT (1834-1906)
, DUKE OF (1341-1402)
YORK, EDWARD
YORK, FREDERICK
AUGUSTUS
- AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)
, DUKE OF (1763-1827)
YORK, RICHARD, DUKE

, 1867) and Frances A.

Wood

's Earliest Years at Vassar (Poughkeepsie, N.Y., 1909).

End of Article: VASSAR COLLEGE

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/VAN_VIR/VASSAR_COLLEGE.html">
VASSAR COLLEGE
</a>

(Previous)
VASSAL (Fr. vassal, vassaut, vassault, &c,)

(Next)
VASTO (anc. Histonium)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email