James Clarke Welling
Born(1825-07-14)July 14, 1825
Trenton, New Jersey
DiedSeptember 4, 1894(1894-09-04) (aged 69)
Hartford, Connecticut
Alma materPrinceton University, 1844
Known forPresident of Columbian University, now the George Washington University and cofounder of the National Geographic Society
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James Clarke Welling (July 14, 1825 – September 4, 1894) was the President of Columbian University, now the George Washington University, Washington, DC, from 1871 to 1894.[1] He was a cofounder of the National Geographic Society.[2]

Biography

James Clarke Welling was born in Trenton, New Jersey on July 14, 1825. He graduated from Princeton University in 1844.[3] During the Civil War, he wrote for the National Intelligencer.[4] Welling was a professor at Princeton when in 1871 he accepted the presidency of Columbian College.[5] He became the sixth president of the university.

He was one of the ten founders of the Cosmos Club in 1878.[6] In 1884, he served as president of the Philosophical Society of Washington.[7]

"The last occasion in which he appeared in public was at the laying of the new cornerstone of the Corcoran Gallery of Art."[8] Welling died at his summer residence in Hartford, Connecticut on September 4, 1894.[9]

References

  1. ^ Welling, James Clarke. At Historical Encyclopedia, George Washington University site
  2. ^ Cathy Hunter. James Clarke Welling: A Champion of Education in the Nation's Capital. Posted July 26, 2012 at Newswatch, National Geographic Society web site.
  3. ^ The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. I. James T. White & Company. 1893. pp. 505–506. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Hagner, A.B. (1894) Memorial of James Clarke Welling. Historical Society of Washington, D.C. p. 47
  5. ^ Kayser, Elmer Louis. 1970. Bricks Without Straw: The Evolution of George Washington University. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. (Online at GWU's Gelman Library)
  6. ^ Oehser, Paul H. “The Cosmos Club of Washington: A Brief History.” Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 60/62 (1960): 250–65. JSTOR 40067229.
  7. ^ "Past Presidents". PSW Science. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  8. ^ Hagner, A.B. (1894), p. 50
  9. ^ "Dr. James Clarke Welling". Hartford Courant. September 5, 1894. p. 4. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

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