DePauw University - Mirage Yearbook (Greencastle, IN)

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Department of Mathematics Wilbur V. Brown, Ph. D. The dc-pzwtincnt of l'll2l't'llO11l2l,'UlCS wus orgzuiizcd at the time of the founding o the University. The first president, Bishop Simpson, wus the iii-st head ot' that dcp:u'i'n1ent. Since then nine diH'c1'- ent professors have filled the chair. At present 1'-he emphztsis in the work oi' the dcpnrtnncnt is put upon the applied hrftnches of llllllhllfilllZl1f'l0S-Dlillill0111211102-1 hcing l'0gZl,l'ClGCl not so much :ts :Ln ond in itself, hut l'n1'her :Ls nn, engine of investi- gut'-ion. Mr. Rvichzlrd Biddle left 214000111 he used in the huilding up ol' at liln,'zn'y oi' ixlzltliolnuticznl works. The liln'zu'y consists of two pnirtsg one in Biddle Ilnll of uhout 400 volunu-s, tho other in Mcliiln ClbS0l'V1l.l?0l'-Y of about 300 volumes. Tn 1885, Mr. liohcrt Mcliiin, of Mztdison, Qlfnd., presented to the Uniivorsity, :mt the cost of :Lhout rB11,000,tho completed building and equipment of the Mellini A.Sl7I'0l101T11C2Tl ObscrvzLto1'y. lt is provided with znppzlmtlls, which, though inoderztte in size, is of the best class. The work of the course is outlined, thc first your including plzum und spherical trigonoinctry' :md general astronomyg the second yezL1 s work consists of znlalytic geometry und calculus 3 the third your mechanics and prztcticztl ustronolny. Dr. .Brown gruduzmted ut Stevens Instituto of Technology in 1880. He acted as assistant in Hurvzwd College Observatory from 1880 until 1883. From 1883 until 1885 he taught inzmthemzttics in Indizmnapolis High- Scllool. Dr. Brown became connected with De Pauw University in 1885, and has had charge of the mathematical department since 1895. t.

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Department of German Henry B. Longden, A. M. Professor Longdcn is an alumnus of De Pauw '81, taking the degree A. M. in 1884. During the years 1890-1891, he pursued post-graduate work in the Uni- versities ol' Giittingen and Leipsic. In 1.897 he was in Munich. Miss Kern, under whose instruction the first yezuds work of this department is done, was graduated from Hillsdale Collegein 1888. During the years 189,l.-il.S923, she studied in Hanover. From 1893 to 1895 she held a position in the high-school at Rockford, Illinois, and in the fall of 1895 she came to De Pauw. The years 1,897-1898 she spent in France, and on her return took charge of the French classes in addition to her German work. With the second year, the student begins his work under Professor Longden. The first two terms are given up to the study of Schiller, and then some modern German romance is read. In the third year, Lessing is studied from a literary standpoint. Faust I is read the third term, and Faust ll the first term of the following year. Here, in place of the usual collateral work, criticisms are read in connection with the class work, and a German thesis of five thousand words is written by each student. 'llhe remainder of the year is taken up with the study of Ger- man literature from Klopstock to Goethe's death. A fifty year course consists in Middle High German and collateral reading. Once a week throughout the year is olfered a course in the modern German drama. This course is similar to Faust II, and is open only to Senior students. Most of the advance work of the department is done in the scminarium.

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Department of Chemistry P. S. Baker, A. M., M. D. To those whose olfactory organs are not so abnormally developed that an occa- sional scent of HZS becomes unbearable to them, the department of cliemistry is one of the most inviting in the university. Chemistry in itself is an attractive and interesting subject, on account of its utility and the close relation it bears to every-day li fe. flt is here we get a knowl- edge of the Very food We eat a11d the water j we drink. Though not usually so con- sidered, chemistry is a subject that deals with real life. Our debt to the science of chemistry is no small one. But our interest in the subject here at De Pauw is greatly enhanced by the congeniality with which Doctor Baker presents his work. To be in his classes a yearis to love the subject. Those contemplating a medical course find it greatly to their advantage to have taken this work while in college. While here we have more time in which to do the required. work, and the laboratory equip- ment and other facilities for work being much better than in most medical schools, the results are consequently ,much more satisfactory. In the first year the ground work is laid'and the principles of cllem- istry learned as a basis for future work. The iirst two terms' work con- sists ot general chemistry, a study of the primary elements, their properties and most important compounds. The third termis work is continuous with that of the first and second, and consists principally of qualitative analysis in which the student learns the simple methods of recognizing substances. Throughout this year's work lectures are given three times a week, and laboratory work by students carried on simultaneously. The lecture and laboratory method is continued through the second and third year.