Stevens Institute of Technology - Link Yearbook (Hoboken, NJ)

Page 26 text:

Csfeoens ' 3121911 J Gen fury Stevens is not solely an institution of learning, it is actually a reservoir of historical events, it is the sum of the people whose lives have gone into it. The college, placed originally, in 1870, on a city block on the southern edge of the Stevens Estate, has gradually extended its campus to include all the Castle Point area, adding, as the college grew, new room or laboratories, athletic facilities, student dormitories, an administration center, and a new library. Such is the college today. In its one hundred years of growth, Stevens has had only four presidents whose periods of influence have de- termined its history. We can not forget, however, Stev- ens' spiritual ancestors. The first of these was Colonel John Stevens 41749-18385, the compatriot of Washington during the New Jersey campaigns, the correspondent of Jefferson and Franklin, the rival and actual antecedent of Robert Fulton. His life was full of inventiveness and a true engineering spirit. It was his petition that framed the patent law of 1790, upon which our American Patent System is founded. He pioneered in experiments with propulsion by steam-constructing a steam boat which he ran on the Hudson River in 1798, making an applica- tion of steam to the screw propeller in 1804, designing a multi-tubular boiler, being granted in 1815, the first railroad charter to be granted in America, in 1826, at the age of seventy-six designing and constructing the first lo- comotive in America to run under steam on a track. In

Page 25 text:

azlrz lsr' .A YS' me zany my Of 5758 iommmm, jfe Q-Yffaciflfzy Gann 0127 yforfars, 70 Wy Ezkfenzhy Sars yfe Gannon pozzszbe

Page 27 text:

order to condense Colonel John Stevens' valuable con- tributions to society we will quote Charles King, Presi- dent of Columbia College in 1852. He said of our an- cestor: Born to affluence, his whole life was devoted to experiments, at his own cost, for the common good. He was a thoroughly excited and an unwearied experi- menter in the application of steam to locomotion on the water and subsequently on the land. The thinker was ahead of the age. Possibly the greatest of John Stevens' gifts to posteri- ty were his sons Robert and Edwin. Still a third son, John C. Stevens, was himself the first commodore of the New York Yacht Club, and conductor of the expedition of the yacht America to England in 1851, where he and the America carried off the international yachting cham- pionship. Of the two Stevens sons who were best known, Robert was the inventor, Edwin the business man who made things possible, who built foundations over so many of the Stevens dreams. It was through their efforts and hard work that we have Stevens today. Robert Livingston Stevens perfected many inventions for the public use and good. He inherited his father's in- terest in railroads and designed so many parts of our modern trains that it would take a book to list them, it was Robert Stevens who designed the hook-headed railroad spikes and the famous Stevens Rail fthe com- mon T-raill which every train in America runs on today. In 1830 the Stevens sons built the Camden and Amboy Railroad, the oldest branch of the present Pennsylvania Railroad System. But though he had engineering ability, it fell to Edwin to manage the family properties. He rapidly became the man of affairs of the Stevens family. At the age of 25, by family agreement, Edwin was made trustee of his father's estate, including the part of the Stevens land on which now stands the city of Hoboken. In 1825, at the age of thirty, he became manager of the famed Union Line, the combination of steamboats and horse coaches which at the time carried nearly all the passengers and freight between New York and Philadelphia. ln 1830 a charter was granted for the Camden and Amboy Railroad, one of the earliest recorded railroads to operate in America. Robert was made President and Engineer, and Edwin, Treasurer and Manager, it was the fruition of their father's dream. Edwin Stevens' management of the Camden and Amboy Railroad was wise and lucrative. At his death in 1868 he left suitable land of the Stevens estate and SlS650,000 to perpetuate the Stevens tradition in American engineering by the founding of Stevens Institute of Technology, the first college of Mechanical Engineering in the United States. On the third Wednesday of September, 1871, the new college was opened to students. The student body con- sisted of two juniors, three sophomores, and sixteen freshmen. From the start there was but one regular course of study, leading to the degree of Mechanical Engineer. It was determined, said the first catalog or Announcement to create a school of mechanical engineering .... to in- volve' a general and not a merely industrial training. The intention of the college was: 1st. To afford a thorough training in the elementary and advanced branches of mathematics. U 2nd. To give a thoroughly practical course of instruc- tion in phvsics. 3rd. The subiect of mechanical engineering, in ref- erence to the theory and practice of construction of machines. will form a distinct department. . 4th. The subiect of mechanical drawing . . . will like- wise form a separate department. J 5t'h. The subiects of chemistry and metallurgy will likewise be thoroughly taught ... 6th. The French and German languages will be an essential part of the course ... 7th. A department of belles-lettres will furnish the means of acquiring that cultivation of literary taste and the facility of graceful use of language, both in speaking and writing, which is as desirable in the engi- neer and man of science as in the classical student. The concept of a general engineering education set by the original plan just stated has been preserved, al- though in the last couple of years this institution has given more opportunity to the student as far as choosing technical electives. The worth of Stevens Institute of Technology has al- ways been its continuity of purpose. Unlike some institu- tions, which, in the manner of the streets of Boston, are more the result of accident than plan, Stevens has evolved from a single controlling idea of practical engi- neering for the public good. The manner in which this idea has grown and expanded can best be visualized by recounting the contributions of its four presidents. Four phases of its curriculum stand out: engineering under Dr. Henry Morton, who served as president of the college from its inception in 1870 until 19023 engi- neering plus thorough business training under Dr. Alex- ander Crombie Humphreys, who guided the college from 1902 until two months before his own death in 1927, engineering plus economics plus a new emphasis on the engineer's role in his own human world under Dr. Harvey Nathaniel Davis from 1927 to 1950. Since 1951 the Insti- tute has been under the leadership of Doctor Jess Harri- son Davis, and under him we have seen the campus be- come one of the leading technical colleges in the nation. Jess , as he is popularly called, is responsible for many revolutionary changes at the college such as the modernization of the landscape at the Point with more room for administrative offices, dormitories, and student activities. Under him we have also seen the change towards a more flexible curriculum with more choice of subjects. He changed Dr. Harvey Nathaniel Davis' be- lief that in the Stevens plan of education, specialization is to be undertaken on the job and in post-graduate study. , In the philosophy presented by our four presidents at Stevens the college aims to do more than train expert engineers for making a livelihood, it should tram them to accept and fulfill their life responsibilities. From the beginning the administration of this college has stressed the human side of the engineer's preparation by includ- ing in the curriculum a wide range of elective, courses in the humanities. The belief is that as the technical prac- tice of engineering half a century ago developed men who became the foremost production managers in the world, production management today requires industrial administrators, men with vision beyond the plant, men with a true understanding of what is going on in every corner of the world, and the ability to play their full part in the challenging era of war, turmoil, and social recon- struction. Thus in the midst of world-wide strife, the College begins its second one hundred years. With the vision of its founders, the wisdom of its guiding spirits, and the loyalty of its alumni, Stevens Institute of Technology faces the future with confidence, in the pride of a great tradition. Stevens will have many new things as time goes on. But nothing will ever, in such history as Stevens may have, be built for the purpose of gloss. When Edwin A. Stevens left the original money which established Stev- ens Institute of Technology, he directed that it be built of some substantial but economical material, as sub- stantial and economical as tap rock Stevens will always be built that way as long as it keeps pace with rapid changing times.