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William Rainey Harper, first president of the University of Chicago

William Rainey Harper (July 26, 1856 - January 10, 1906) was a noted academic who helped to organize the University of Chicago, and served as its first President.

Born on July 26, 1856 in New Concord, Ohio¹, William Rainey Harper established himself as one of America's leading academics of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

Very early in life, Harper displayed skills years ahead of other children his age and was labeled a prodigy. By the age of eight, Harper began preparing for college level courses; at the age of ten he enrolled in Muskingum College in his native New Concord, Ohio; and at the age of fourteen he graduated from Muskingum. In 1872, Harper enrolled in Yale University to begin his post graduate studies, which he completed in 1876. Throughout his academic life, Harper wrote numerous texts. A strong supporter of life long learning, Harper was also involved with the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY, and its programming.

Harper Library at the University of Chicago

In 1891 at the age of thirty-five, John D. Rockefeller selected Harper to assist in the organization of the University of Chicago, and shortly thereafter, Harper was named its first President. In staffing the University and selecting students, Harper set the standards very high. Harper elevated the compensation of academic professions above that of school teacher, and by doing so attracted the best and the brightest to the University. While his critics called this policy imprudent, Rockefeller called the move one of his best investments.

In addition to encouraging the establishment for the first department of Sociology in the United States, Harper ensured the establishment of the University of Chicago Press. Harper also instituted the first Extension Service in America designed to bring classes to those who could not attend regular classes because of work or other conflicts. One of Harper's ideas, that students should be able to study the first two years of college in their own communities to be better prepared for the rigors of college, helped lead to the creation of the community college system in the United States. Harper College, a two-year college in Palatine, Illinois, is named after him.

Harper died on January 10, 1906 of cancer at the age of forty-nine. There is also an elementary school in Cleveland, Ohio named after him.

Note 1:The original log cabin that was William Rainey Harper’s birthplace is located in New Concord, Ohio across from the main gate of Muskingum College. The building has been preserved and currently houses an antique store.

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• William Rainey Harper at the Yerkes Observatory web site
• Biography of William Rainey Harper at the William Rainey Harper College web site
• Flyer from the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago regarding the establishment of the William Rainey Harper Memorial Fund. Chcago, March 1, 1906 from the American Memory collection at the Library of Congress