The Original Hall of Fame
Many of my readers know of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, or the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, or the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in Cleveland. But how many know of the original Hall of Fame situated on the old New York University campus in the Bronx? I know because I grew up on Loring Place two blocks north of the now Bronx Community College.
So, I went back to visit the old campus where I ran around the track to get in shape for football. I indulged my OCD tendency and took a photo of each and everyone one of the nearly100 bust displayed in the hall. I will not torture you with all of them. I am not including the very well know celebrates like Lincoln, Grant, Alexander Graham Bell, Edison, Sherman, or Hamilton.
Instead, I will be focusing on the lesser known Hall of Famers, including the women that are usually forgotten about.
So, here is my First Flight of six “Famers.”
Louis Agassiz
Who is this proud bust? He’s a Swiss biologist and geologist who studied with Alexander Von Humboldt. He also taught at Harvard and founded the Museum of Comparative Zoology. He was an early specialist in ichthyology, focusing on the megalodon
It all started when…
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Also, he founded the study of glaciology – as an ice age theorist, he examined the last ice age on north America focusing on the structure and movement of ice.
Something that tarnished his reputation was his belief in creationism. He believed that “nature had order because God created it directly.” Also, he never accepted the theory of natural selection.
One aspect that I respect him for was that he supposedly was a tough teacher. He would lock up a student in a closet with lobster shells or oyster shells or some other type of shell and wouldn’t let them out until the pupil could discern the truth which the objects contained. Try to get away with that today!
Missing his statue – Sorry, I somehow missed this one. Please forgive me. You will just have to image what his bust looks like from this Photo.
Luther Burbank
1849-1926
Botanist, horticulturist, plant breeder
Developed the Burbank potato at age 17, He Sold the rights to it for $150. This potato with its resistance to “late blight” was used to replace the blight-stricken potato that caused the Irish Potato famine.
Future modifications to this potato, now called the russet Burbank potato elevated its status to the number one potato used in food processing. If you ever eaten McDonald’s French fries, you have tasted it.
He is also credited with the creation of the Delicious apple and the Shasta daisy. In fact, he is credited with the creation of 800 new plants ranging from flowers, grains, grasses, vegetables, cacti, and fruits.
One observation of him by scientists of his day, that causes me to like him more that I thought I would, is their disdain for his research protocols. These ivory tower types tsk-tsked him for being more concerned with results than research. They looked down their noses at him for wanting to spend more time in his garden experimenting than in his office writing down each trial and error. He produced products for the market, they produced monograms for a conference. I’m going to enjoy my next bite of a Mickey D’s French fry even more now.
Next Bust on the wall - George Washington Carver
1860’s to 1943
The Peanut man was born into slavery. After the civil war he struggled to get a high school degree from Minneapolis High School in Minneapolis. Then he was encouraged to go to college to study plan management and biology. He was the first black student at Iowa State University where he received a bachelor’s degree as well as a master’s degree. He later became a professor at Tuskegee Institute where he served for 47 years.
His major contribution was to educate cotton farmers about how to improve their soil that had been depleted of nitrogen by repeated plantings of cotton. His solution was to recommend crop rotation with sweet potatoes or legumes especially peanuts and soybeans. On unintended consequence of this plant rotation was a surplus of peanuts
GW Carver set out to promote peanuts and identified 300 products made from the peanut. His expertise was so recognized that the peanut industry had him be their spokesperson in front of Congress’s Ways and Means Committee to support a tariff on peanuts. The southern representatives at first mocked him; but when he finished his testimony, he received a standing ovation.
GW Carver has been honored with a stamp, a 1943 liberty Ship named for him, as well as a state park, a bridge, a botanical garden and several schools.
Our third honoree is Peter Cooper
1791 – 1883
At one time he was the richest man in NYC. Where did his riches come from? Well, for a start he invented the Tom Thumb locomotive.
This coal burning engine replaced the horse drawn trains at the time.
An inventor, he also patented gelatin. He sold the patent to Pearle B. Wait who transformed it into a commercial product –
Jello!
Mr. Cooper was also responsible for laying the first transatlantic telegraph cable.
In addition, he founded Cooper Union for the advancement of Science and the Arts
Foundation Building 1853 New Academic Building 2009
He definitely deserves his place on the Hall of Fame Terrace.
Now let’s honor a woman for a change
Charlotte Cushman
1816- 1876
Actress
Charlotte started out at an early age singing opera to help her family get out of debt. The demands of singing soprano strained her vocal cords so that she was advised to take up acting. She played both male and female roles. Here is a poster advertising her upcoming performance of Hamlet.
Her rendition of Lady Macbeth was enjoyed by President Lincoln. It was generally agreed that she was the greatest living tragic actress.
It’s amazing what stage make up can do to a pretty face.
Her personal life is best described as tumultuous. I will not get into the “Entertainment Tonight” details of her affairs. You can read that for yourselves.
Her last lover, Emma Stebbs, sculpted the Angel of the Waters, the angel above the fountain in Central Park Bethesda Terrace with Charlotte in mind.
Now our second woman and last “Famer” for today.
Mary Lyon
A woman living in Mary Lyon's time could:
· Vote
· Go to medical, law, or graduate school.
· Wear pants.
· Be a minister.
· Run for political office.
· Serve in the military.
· Earn wages equal to men's.
· Sue someone in her own name.
· Keep ownership of her property after marriage.
· Continue contracts made before marriage.
· Enroll at Harvard College.
· Keep her birth name without controversy.
· Go about without wearing a bonnet or cap
- NOT
I’ve paraphrased and copied passages about Mary Lyon from sources found on the internet. Here’s my findings:
There were a lot of restrictions on women in the 1800’s. The one restriction that Mary Lyon rebelled against was the lack of opportunities for women to get an education. The thought at the time was that since women were going to get married and raise a family, education was wasted on them.
This future founder of Mt Holyoke University struggled to get a rudimary education. In many towns girls could only attend school in the summer, when boys were needed to do farm work. In these towns if girls were allowed to attend at all during the winter, they would have to sit on the school steps, hoping to catch bits of the teacher’s lessons. Mary was fortunate that the school in Buckland allowed girls to attend school year round and, though she left school at the age of thirteen, she had more education than most girls, who knew little more than the basics of reading, writing, and math, if that much at all.
At seventeen she took a teaching job that paid $3.00 a month compared to a man’s teaching salary of $10 -12 a month. For twenty years she refined her teaching philosophy and classroom strategies and techniques. She also attended schools and studied with experts in different fields. Her expertise as an educator was recognized and people sought her advice on the education of women and classroom management.
Her struggle in obtaining a good education gave Mary a new idea. Mary decided to establish an affordable college for women with an advanced curriculum equal to that available to men; one that prepared women for more than homemaking and teaching. That college was Mt. Holyoke, later honored as one of the Seven Sisters’ colleges.
An educator ahead of her time, Mary required seven courses in the sciences and mathematics for graduation, a requirement unheard of at other female seminaries. She also introduced science-laboratory experiments to the women, which they performed themselves, often collecting their own specimens for lab work from field trips. She also invited distinguished scientists to lecture at the school and inspired women to pursue careers in the sciences as college teachers and researchers. Mary herself, taught chemistry, one of her favorite subjects.
I, for one, am glad that Mary Lyon has been recognized as a great American with her bust displayed in the Hall of Fame.
That ends our short trip through the colonnades of the Hall of Fame. We will be back with more unknown famous busts to contemplate.