Page:Historic towns of the middle states (IA historictownsofm02powe).pdf/334

 *break of the Civil War it enjoyed almost unbroken prosperity under four presidents, Samuel Stanhope Smith, Ashbel Green, James Carnahan and John Maclean. The first care of its friends was to provide for thorough training in science, so that it has the honor of having had the first American professor of chemistry. For a time it likewise had a professor of theology; but the founding of the Theological Seminary in 1812 and its permanent location in Princeton the following year committed that branch of learning to an institution which has since become one of the most important in the country. From time to time new buildings were added to both College and Seminary as necessity required. How stern the college discipline was is shown by the fact that at intervals, fortunately rare, students were sent to their homes in numbers scarcely credible in this quieter age; on one occasion a hundred and twenty-five out of something over two hundred. In 1824 Lafayette graciously accepted the degree of Bachelor of Laws from the authorities while passing from New York to Washington. In 1832 Joseph Henry was made professor of natural philosophy, a chair he held with the highest distinction, for it was