The New International Encyclopædia/Yale University

YALE UNIVERSITY. One of the leading institutions of learning in the United States, situated in New Haven, Conn. The plans of the first settlers of New Haven in 1638 included the establishment of a college, but Massachusetts objected, because there was at that time not enough population in the colonies to support the college already founded at Cambridge, and for sixty years the people of Connecticut sent their sons to Harvard. In 1700-1701 ten of the principal ministers of the colony, all but one of whom were graduates of Harvard, at a meeting at Branford, formally founded a collegiate institution by a gift of books for a library, and on October 9, 1701, the Colonial Assembly granted a charter making the ten ministers and their successors trustees of the Collegiate School of Connecticut. The trustees elected one of their own number, Abraham Pierson, of Killingworth, rector of the school, and, in order to secure the support of the towns on the Connecticut River, voted to establish it at Saybrook, “as the most convenient town for the present.” Until the death of Rector Pierson, however, the students and the one tutor lived at Killingworth, probably in the house of the rector. Under the second rector, Samuel Andrew (1707-19), the senior classes were instructed by him at Milford, the other classes by two tutors at Saybrook. In 1716, in the face of much dissatisfaction, the school was removed to New Haven and permanently located there. A wooden building was erected where Osborn Hall now stands, and was formally opened at commencement in 1718, when the name of Yale College was adopted in honor of Elihu Yale (q.v.), who had made large gifts to the school. This building, besides chambers for students and a library, contained a kitchen and dining hall, and for more than 120 years from this time students were required to board together in commons. Timothy Cutler (q.v.) was rector from 1719 to 1722, when, on account of a change in his religious views, he was removed by the trustees. Elisha Williams served from 1726 to 1739, and was succeeded by Thomas Clap (q.v.), who had greater business qualifications than any of his predecessors. He drew up and published in Latin the first code of laws, catalogued the library, and drafted a new charter which was approved by the General Assembly in 1745. By this act the former trustees were incorporated under the name of ‘the President and Fellows of Yale College in New Haven.’ Clap erected Connecticut Hall (South Middle), then ‘the best building in the colony,’ and a chapel ( the Athenæum ). President Clap also successfully defended the college against attempted interference in its management by the Legislature. Naphtali Daggett, professor of divinity, served as president from 1766 to 1777, when he was succeeded by Ezra Stiles (q.v.). President Stiles succeeded in overcoming the opposition to the college which had long existed in the Legislature, and in 1792, by joint action of the Legislature and corporation, certain State funds, valued at $30,000, were applied to the improvement of the college, and the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and six senior Senators became members of the corporation.

The administration of Timothy Dwight (q.v.) from 1795 to 1817, begins a new era in the history of the institution. At his accession there were about 100 students, and the instructors consisted of the president, one professor, and three tutors, each of the lower classes being instructed in all branches by one tutor. President Dwight established permanent professorships and filled them with recent graduates of unusual ability and promise. Among the young men appointed at this time were three who served the college together for more than half a century and brought it great honor—Jeremiah Day (q.v.), in mathematics; Benjamin Silliman (q.v.), in chemistry; and James L. Kingsley (q.v.), in language. President Dwight, anticipating the growth of the college, extended the college square, by purchase, so as to include the whole front of the present campus, and continued the brick row to Berkeley Hall (North Middle). He also planned the organization of professional schools under distinct faculties, but the medical school only was established before his death. Jeremiah Day, who became president in 1817, had been selected by Dr. Dwight as his successor, and continued to carry out his plans. The divinity and law schools were organized, and the brick row completed. Under President Day the responsibility for the government of the students was placed upon the faculty, and out of the stricter discipline now enforced grew two unsuccessful revolts known as the ‘Conic Sections Rebellion’ and the ‘Bread and Butter Rebellion.’ In 1831 a fund of $100,000 was raised to meet the general expenses of the college, the total productive funds before this time having been less than $20,000. When President Day resigned in 1846 the college had 587 students, of whom about one-fifth were from the Southern States. Under President Theodore D. Woolsey (q.v.), 1840-71, the corps of instructors was greatly enlarged, and the standard of scholarship raised; the Scientific School was established, and the foundation laid for the School of Graduate Instruction; the professional schools were reorganized and the School of Fine Arts was founded. During President Woolsey's twenty-five years of service the nundjcr of students increased to 809. Dr. Woolsey proposed the plan, which became effective in 1872, by which six graduates of the college took the place of the State Senators in the corporation. The administration of Noah Porter (q.v.), 1871-86, was one of great material prosperity. At this time a most important change was made in the course of instruction and the modern system of elective studies was adopted. On the resignation of Dr. Porter the student body numbered 1079. He was succeeded in 1886 by Timothy Dwight (q.v.), grandson of the elder President Dwight, under whose administration (1886-99) the growth of the institution was unprecedented. In five years the number of students increased more than 50 per cent., and at the end of President Dwight's term they numbered over 2500. The title of Yale University was authorized by the Legislature in 1887. Under the last three presidents the productive funds were greatly augmented, and more than twenty buildings were erected at a cost of above $2,000,000. Upon the retirement of President Dwight, Professor Arthur Twining Hadley (q.v.) was made president and inaugurated on October 18, 1899. The corporation as now constituted is composed of the president and eighteen fellows, viz. ten Congregational clergymen, the successors of the original ten founders, the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor of Connecticut, who were made members ex-officio in 1792, and six representatives elected by the graduates from their own number, one every year for a term of six years. The corporation alone has power to confer degrees.

The courses of study offered in the university are comprehended in four departments, each department being under the administration of a distinct faculty of instruction: Philosophy and the arts, theology, medicine, and law. Under the first-named department are included two separately organized sections in which instruction for undergraduates is provided, viz. the academical department and the Sheffield Scientific School; also, the School of Fine Arts, the Department of Music, and the Forest School, each with a special organization, and the Graduate School, under the combined faculty of the department. The library, the Peabody Museum of Natural History, and the observatory are organized independently of the special departments, and are designed to contribute in their special spheres to the instruction and advancement of the whole institution. A candidate for the degree of B.A. must complete courses aggregating sixty hours per week through a year. A student is enrolled in the freshman class until he has completed at least twelve hours of work. The sophomore class completes twenty-six hours, the junior forty-one, and the senior sixty. The course is largely elective, and is being freed from the traditional requirements. In the spring of 1903 the college took the important step of abandoning the entrance examination and the required course in Greek. There are several scholarships and fellowships, yielding from $115 to $800, given to undergraduates and graduates of the academical department.

The college campus borders on the New Haven green and occupies half of one of the original nine squares in which the city was laid out. It is bounded by College, Chapel, High, and Elm streets. The modern buildings are arranged to form a quadrangle 850 feet long and 400 wide. At the north corner of the campus is Alumni Hall (1853), used for meetings of the graduates and for examinations; at the west, the Art School (1866); at the east, Battell Chapel (1875, enlarged 1893); and at the south, Osborn Hall (1889), containing recitation and lecture rooms. On the High Street side are the old library (1844); Dwight Hall (1886), devoted to the use of the Yale Y. M. C. A.; and the Chittenden Library (1890). The space on Elm and College streets is filled by the dormitories Durfee (1871), Farnam (1870), Lawrence (1886), the Lampson Lyceum (1904), and Welch (1892) halls. Between the last two is Phelps Hall (1896), mainly devoted to the classical department, with a gateway forming an effective entrance to the campus. Vanderbilt Hall (1894) stands between Osborn Hall and the Art School. In the immediate neighborhood of the campus are the Sloane Physical Laboratory (1883), the Kent Chemical Laboratory (1887), the dormitories Pierson (1896), White, Berkeley (1894), and Fayerweather (1901) halls, and the theological seminary. Further north are the Sheffield Scientific School, the group of bicentennial buildings, and the administration building, Woodbridge Hall.

The Sheffield Scientific School is devoted to instruction in the mathematical, physical, and natural sciences, and furnishes both graduate and undergraduate courses. It was established in 1847 as a school of applied chemistry. The degree of Bachelor of Philosophy was first given in 1852. In 1860 Joseph E. Sheffield, of New Haven, whose gifts to the school have amounted to not less than $1,000,000, provided it with a building and a permanent fund, and the next year the school was reorganized and called by its present name. In 1863 it received from the Legislature $135,000, being the proceeds of the Congressional land grant of 1862, and thus became the College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts of Connecticut; but in 1892 this act was revoked and the special relation of the school to the State ceased. The course occupies three years. The graduate instruction of the school, including about 370 courses, leads to the degrees of Bachelor of Philosophy, Civil and Mechanical Engineer, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy.

The graduate school, organized in 1847, is under the direction of the philosophical faculty. The degrees of Ph.D. and C.E. were first offered in 1860, M.E. in 1873, M.A. (previously given without evidence of study) in 1874, and M.S. in 1897. In almost all of these departments voluntary associations of instructors and students meet periodically for purposes of research. Nine fellowships of $400 are open to graduates of all colleges; one of $300 to a graduate of one of the California universities; and fifteen to graduates only of Yale College. There are besides 30 scholarships of $100.

The Art School was established in 1864. It is open to students of both sexes, and provides instruction in drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, and copper-plate etchings. Its collections include the Jarvis gallery of Italian art, the Alden Belgian wood-carvings of the sixteenth century, and the Trumbull gallery of historical paintings, besides many casts, marbles, porcelains, bronzes, and modern paintings and reproductions. The regular course covers three years. The holder of the Winchester Fellowship is entitled to two years' residence and study abroad.

The earliest professional school organized at Yale was the Medical School. Four professors in medicine were appointed in 1813, and degrees were given the following year. The school was aided in the beginning by a grant of $30,000 from the State, and for seventy years was under the joint control of the college and the State Medical Society, until in 1881 the college authorities assumed full control of the school. The course was extended in 1896 to four years. The school occupies three buildings—Medical Hall, the Laboratory Building, and the University Clinic. Abundant clinical instruction is furnished by the New Haven Hospital, the New Haven Dispensary, and the State Hospital for the Insane at Middletown.

The Divinity School was organized in 1822, but instruction in theology had been given at Yale since its foundation and the first professor in the college was a professor of divinity in 1755. This school is Congregational in doctrine, but students of nearly every denomination avail themselves of its advantages. It possesses a very full reference library, an almost complete historical library of foreign missions, and a valuable library of church music, which formerly belonged to Dr. Lowell Mason. The courses are partially elective and with the graduate class, cover four years, leading to the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. The school offers two graduate fellowships, a number of general scholarships and prizes, and has a loan fund for the benefit of needy students.

The Law School became a part of the college in 1824, though no degrees were conferred until 1843. Its course of instruction, covering three years, is designed to fit the student for the practice of law in any State, and leads to the degree of LL.B. The graduate course can be completed in one or two years, leading to the degree of Master of Laws or Doctor of Civil Law. The special law library, of about 20,000 volumes, is supported by a permanent endowment established by the Honorable James E. English in 1873.

The Department of Music, founded in 1890, aims to provide adequate instruction for those who intend to become professional musicians, either as teachers or composers.

The Forest School was founded in 1900 by a gift of $150,000 from Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Pinchot and their sons. It provides for instruction and research in forestry at the university and for a summer school of forestry at Milford, Pa. Marsh Hall, the house of the late Professor O. C. Marsh, is used as the school building. Graduates receive the degree of Master of Forestry.

The Peabody Museum of Natural History was founded in 1866 by a gift of $150,000 from George Peabody, the London banker, and the first wing of the museum was completed in 1876. It contains the collections in mineralogy, geology, paleontology, and zoölogy, with several laboratories and work rooms. The buildings of the observatory stand on Prospect Street, about a mile from the college. The principal astronomical instruments now in use are a six-inch heliometer by Repsold of Hamburg, an eiglit-inch equatorial by Grubb of Dublin, and an equatorially mounted set of cameras for photographing meteors. The late Professor Elias Loomis (q.v.) bequeathed to the observatory a fund of more than $300,000, the income of which is to be used for the promotion of astronomical observations and investigations.

The gymnasium, completed in 1891 at a cost of $200,000, is under expert supervision. The athletic grounds of the university, known as Yale Field, are open to the students of all departments. The grounds, consisting of some 30 acres about a mile from the campus, were purchased in 1882, and when turned over to the corporation in 1902 represented an original outlay of $53,000 secured by subscriptions, to which for maintenance and improvements a sum of nearly $100,000 has been added, the greater part of which has come from the athletic associations in gate receipts. The Bureau of Self Help, under the management of a member of the faculty, is a valuable assistance to students and graduates seeking work, and has charge of the assignment of beneficiary aid to needy students.

In addition to the regular university courses, a public lecture course under the auspices of the university and a large number of lecture courses under the auspices of the various university departments and organizations are carried on. Among the latter are the Lyman Beeeher Lectures, the Silliman Memorial Lectures, the Dodge Lectures, and others. The whole number of volumes in the several libraries of the university is (1904) about 371,000. The university library proper, containing about 290,000 volumes and many thousands of unbound pamphlets, shows an annual increase of more than 10,000 volumes.

On October 20-23, 1901, the university celebrated the two hundredth anniversary of the founding of Yale College. The celebration, for which plans had been in preparation for several years, included the publication of a series of volumes by members of the various faculties; addresses by distinguished alumni and others; exhibitions of educational and other material; the dedication of the new university hall; and the completion of a bicentennial fund of $1,500,000, contributed chiefly by the alumni, which has been devoted to the erection of new buildings. These include the Administration Building (Woodbridge Hall), University Hall, Memorial Hall, and Woolsey Hall, in the auditorium of which university functions are conducted. Among other recent buildings are Byers Hall, to serve the social and religious purposes of the Sheffield Scientific School; Kirkland Hall, a laboratory for geology and kindred sciences; a dormitory given to the scientific school by Frederick W. Vanderbilt; and the Lampson Lyceum, containing lecture halls and administration offices for the academic department.

The total student enrollment in 1903-04 was 2963, distributed as follows: Graduate, 333; college, 1250; Sheffield Scientific School, 837; fine arts, 35; music, 82; Forest School, 64; divinity, 97; medicine, 141; law, 259. The faculty consisted of 329 instructors.