Cooper Union College - Cable Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Cooper Union were TrequenTly aTTended by PeTer Cooper. His appearance on The plaTTorm, air cushion in hand, was always The occasion OT hearTy applause. OTTen, he would add a Tew remarks aT The close OT The lecTure, iT iT so meriTed. One OT The earliesT sTudenTs aT Cooper Union was AugusTus SainT-Gaudens. He was The son OT a French cobbler on Third Avenue and his work was brOughT To The aTTenTiOn OT Abram S. HewiTT. DespiTe The TacT ThaT he was only ThirTeen years old aT The Time ll86ll SainT-Gaudens was admiTTed To The lnsTiTuTe because OT his excepTiOnal TalenT. His sTaTue OT PeTer Cooper is sTanding in TronT OT Cooper Union Today. PeTer Cooper was always disappoinTed in The lack OT supporT Trom his wealThy colleagues in his insTiTuTe. He once said TO The sTudenTs in an address, l cannoT shuT my eyes To The TacT ThaT The producTion OT wealTh is noT The work OT one man and The acquisiTiOn OT greaT TOrTunes is noT possible wiThouT The cOOperaTiOn OT mulTiTudes OT men. ThereTOre, The individuals who are worThy should never lose sighT OT The TacT ThaT They hold wealTh only by The will OT socieTy . . . ThereTore They should adminisTer wealTh as TrusTees OT socieTy. The lack OT popular supporT necessiTaTed The renTing OT The TirsT Two Tloors To commercial esTablishmenTs Tor purposes OT revenue. IT was only unTil The Turn OT The cenTury in I9OO ThaT conTribuTions Tor The supporT OT The school were no longer needed Trom The Cooper-HewiTT Tamily. However, Though Tinancial supporT was lacking, The people OT New York deeply appreciaTed The mOTives behind The Tounding OT The lnsTiTuTe and The place iT occupied in The ciTy's educaTiOnal sysTem. This senTimenT can besT be exempliTied by The Tollowing Taken Trom The Annual ReporT presenTed by The SecreTary, Abram S. HewiTT, aT The CommencemenT in The C5reaT Hall on May 27, l864. Ten years have elapsed since The cornersTOne OT This lnsTiTuTe was laid, and TonighT is compleTed The TiTTh academic year OT iTs exisTence. Founded by The liberaliTy OT a single individual Tor The express purpose OT improving The working classes, Trom whose ranks he has Torced his way To wealTh and inTluence: conveyed To six TrusTees, selecTed Trom among his relaTives and personal Triends in Order To insure harmony OT acTiOng managed by Them wiThouT appeals'TOr popular aid or applause, buT under The mOsT solemn sense OT The respOnsibiliTy OT The greaT TrusT which had been conTided To Them-The Cooper Union Tor The AdvancemenT OT Science and ArT has aT lengTh reached a pOsiTiOn in which iTs aims are perTecTly deTined, and iTs resulTs begin To be OT a magniTude TO inTeresT all classes in The communiTy. The working classes OT This ciTy cannOT be elevaTed and improved wiThouT a direcT beneTiT To all oTher classes: and iT is one OT The mosT graTiTying TeaTures OT The public recepTions and exhibiTions OT This lnsTiTuTe, ThaT here all classes meeT and mingle TogeTher On Terms OT perTecT equaliTy and wiTh muTual respecT and conTidence. The TrusTees have endeavored To culTivaTe This relaTion in all parTs OT Their Organiza- Tion, and They adverT To iT upon This Occasion, because in The name OT Union, selecTed by The Tounder OT The lnsTiTuTion as iTs cOrporaTe TiTle, iT was designed To inculcaTe The greaT social lesson OT muTual dependence and inseparable inTeresTs which bind TogeTher all classes in organized cOmmuniTies, and which should produce uniTed good will and sTeady eTTorTs Tor The general progress and welTare. 22

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EHYST LLIZATIU N November of l859 abouf 2000 pupils were enrolled in Cooper Union. Then, as now, fhe demand far exceeded fhe possible number of vacancies. The school was divided info fhe fol- lowing deparfmenfs: School of Design for Wo- men, or in fhe language of fhe founder, a school for fhe insfrucfion of respecfable females in fhe a rfs of design , lvlafhemafics, Chemisfry, Mechanical Philosophy, Archifecfural Drawing, and Vocal Music and Vocal Physiology. All in- sfrucfion, wifh fhe excepfion of fhe School of Design for Women, began af 7:30 p.m. and ended af 9 p.m. The courses were nof foo rigorous: no fesfs were given and cerfificafes denofing proficiency were awarded mainly on fhe basis of affend- ance. Af fhe close of fhe firsf year over l000 pupils remained, and Il67 enrolled af fhe beginning of fhe second year. If was nof unfil I866 fhaf insfrucfion was sysfemafized and examinafions were required. The easy-going fhree year fechnological course developed info a five year course which de- manded more of fhe sfudenfs. Early in I860, fhere appeared in fhe Greaf Hall of Cooper Union a man whose name was fasf making ifself known fo fhe people of fhe counfry, Abraham Lincoln. Presenf af fhaf Cooper Union meefing were William Cullen Bryanf, l-lorace Greeley, Pefer Cooper, and Abram S. l-lewiff. ln fhaf crowded hall Abraham Lincoln spoke fo fhe mosf disfinguished body of men as yef assembled in New York. And fhroughouf fhe Civil War, during which fhe firm of Cooper and l-lewiff acfively supplied fhe governmenf wifh maferials, fhe Greaf Hall was used for meefings and discussion purposes. The reporf of fhe U.S. Com- missioner of Educafion in l87l fo fhe Forfy-second Unifed Sfafes Congress sfafed fhaf The Greaf Hall was a gafhering place in fhe lasf greaf crisis in our hisforyf' The reporf also said of fhe school fhaf fhe insfifufion was highly popular-fhe demands always in excess of fhe resources. If was a good school of science from ifs very incepfion, according fo fhe Commissioner. The meefings af Cooper Union were nof wifhouf fheir lighfer side. ln April, l863, D. Colfon gave an exhibifion of 'ilaughing gas, which was pre- ceded by a brillianf concerf in fhe Greaf l-lall. The free Safurday evening lecfures which shorfly became a feafure of 2 I

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SENIURS