Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 09.djvu/169

 ROGER?

ROGERS

ical school of the University of Pennsylvania, 1802 ; practised in Philadelphia and Baltimore, and was professor of natural philosophy and chemistry in William and Mary college, "Virginia, 1819-38. William Barton Rogers removed with his parents to Balti- more, Md., in 1812, where he attended the common schools and was temporarily employed in a mer- cantile house ; was graduated from Wil- liam and Mary, 1832, delivering an oration at the third "Vir- giniad," Jamestown, Va., in May, 1833; continued at the col- lege as acting profes- sor of mathematics and as a post-graduate student of the classics until October, 1835, and in the fall of 1836 opened a school at Windsor, Md., with his brother James. He delivered two courses of lectures before the Maryland institute at Balti- more, 1837, and in October, 1838, succeeded to his father's professorship at William and Mary, hold- ing the position until 1835, when he was elected to the chair of natural philosophy in the Univer- sity of Virginia, and also chairman of the faculty in 1844. In the latter capacity, he prepared a memorial to the legislature of Virginia in the defence of the university and its annual appro- priation, and also the " Report "of the committee of the house of delegates on schools and colleges (Document No. 41, Session of 1844-45), a report of the greatest interest and importance in the history of American education. His admin- istration included the arduous period of " riot- ing " among the students, which was eventually suppressed by the intervention of civil authority. He served as state geologist, 1835-43. He was married, June 30, 1849, to Emma, daughter of James Savage (q.v.) and Elizabeth (Stillman) Lincoln Savage of Boston, Mass. ; visited England and Scotland, June-October, 1849 ; delivered a course of lectures on " phases of the atmosphere,*' before the Smithsonian Institution, 1853 ; re- signed from the University of Virginia in 1853, and removed to his wife's former home at "Sunny Hill," Lunenburg, Mass. He delivered a course of lectures on the elementary laws of physics before the Lowell Institute, 1856-57, and also devoted much time to geological investiga- tions. As early as 1846 he had conceived a def- inite idea for a polytechnic school in Boston, and in September, 1860, he submitted to the Com- mittee of Associated Institutions of Science and

Art, of which he was chairman, the plan which later became the basis of the Massachusetts In- stitute of Technology. The organization was in- corporated, April 10, 1861, on condition that $100,000 be secured as a guarantee fund at the expiration of one j^ear. Professor Rogers served as chairman of the " committee of twenty "' appointed to frame a constitution and bj'-laws for the Institute, Jan. 11, 1861-April 8, 1862, and on April 19 was elected the first president of the Institute. Meanwhile he served also as state inspector of gas meters and gas, 1861-G4, and delivered a second course of lectures before the Lowell Institute in 1863. In tlie year 1864 he visited Europe for the purpose of collecting necessary machinery and apparatus for the school which was opened for the preliminary course, Feb. 20, 1865, and for regular courses, Oct. 3, 1865, with about seventy students and a faculty of ten members. In the same year the free evening lectures of the Lowell Institute were established in connection with the Institute of Technology. In addition to his duties as pres- ident Professor Rogers also held the cliair of physics and geology until June 10, 1868. In December, 1868, he was granted leave of absence for one year on account of failing health, and re- moved to Philadelphia, Pa. His improvement not being assured, he resigned from the presi- dency of the Institute, May 3, 1870, and was succeeded by acting-president John D. Runkle (q.v.). In 1874, after residence in various places.

ROCERS

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he returned to Boston. Mass., and in 1878, upon the resignation of Dr. Runkle, again assumed the presidency of the Institute until Gen. Francis A. Walker (q.v.) was appointed his successor. May 20, 1881. The honorary degree of LL.D. was con- ferred upon him by Hampden Sidney college in 1848, by William and Mary, 1857, and by Har- vard in 1866. He was chairman of the Associa- tion of American Geologists and Naturalists in 1847 and in 1848 chairman and joint president, with W. C. Redfield, of its successor, the Ameri- can Association for the Advancement of Science, serving a second time as president in 1876 ; cor- responding secretary of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1863-69 ; founder and first