University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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In 1871, in the full bloom of manhood, came to the helm of our University the man who during all these years has so wisely and successfully guided her onward course. President Angell is the last man to claim for himself even the credit that is his due , and the first always to put the emphasis upon the counsels of wise Regents and the devotion of his colleagues in the faculties, whenever he speaks of the rapid growth and increasing strength of the University. This is not the place to enlarge upon the remarkable development of the University during the thirty years of his administration. That this development has become possible only through the generous support of the State of Michigan is perfectly clear; and that this support has largely been gained by the influence of the President upon the people of the State, who have been made to feel a just pride in their University and in its work and renown, cannot be questioned. No man could have been more tactful and discreet in the perplexing management of the affairs of a great institution of learning than our President has been. It is his tact and wisdom as an administrator no less than his reputation as a student of international law that has repeatedly turned the attention of the national government to his fitness t o discharge difficult and delicate negotiations. Four times he has been called into public service; first as Embassador to China, then as Commissioner on the Canadian Fisheries, then as Chairman of the Commission of Deep Water Ways to the At- lantic, and last as Minister to the Sublime Porte. In all these positions he has displayed that same diplomatic skill, quickness of insight, fertility of resources that have charac- terized his career as the President of the University. As a lecturer and public speaker Dr. Angell has few equals. His public addresses are models of chaste diction and simple eloquence, while his lectures on International Law and the History of Treaties are noted equally for their charm of style and for their lucid expo- sition. No one who knows Dr. Angell even casually can fail to be charmed with his personality. No man is more unconventional and democratic, and yet no one knows better than he how to observe the proprieties and amenities of life characteristic of the true gentleman. If it is the characteristic of a real gentleman never needlessly to give pain to any one, as some one has said, then Dr. Angell deserves pre-eminently that name. His cheerful temper, wide charity and gracious manner impress all who come in touch with him. His high ideals of life, his wholesome and genuine Christian character, his unostenta- tious but positive example of noble living are benign forces that have moulded the life of many generations of students who have come only indirectly under his personal influence. Dr. Angell is the most approachable of men, and though he comes in personal contact with comparatively few of the large body of students, every one soon learns to recognize his familiar form as he passes along in a jaunty way on his daily walks. Few would guess that he is carrying the burden of more than three score and ten years, not to speak of the many other and greater burdens that must be borne by the head of a great University. Dr. Angell has been honored with the degree of LL.D. by five Universities, most recentlv by Johns Hopkins on her twenty-fifth Anniversary. But I am sure that the honor he holds dearest is the esteem of the students and alumni of the U. of M., for whom he always has a personal regard and a hearty welcome. Were we to speak all his praise we might be suspected of pronouncing his eulogy and we beg his pardon for seeming to anticipate it. For eulogies and epitaphs may the time be still far distant, as we hope and pray, Sero in ccelum redeat. 5

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James Burrill Angell. BY MARTIN L. D OOGE. INCE the facts of the life of President Angell can easily be found in any biographical dictionary, I shall not attempt to give a detailed and chronological account of his career, but rather try to sketch the character and indicate the honors that crown the life of our much esteemed President. From a sturdy New England ancestry Dr. Angell inherited those qualities of mind and heart that make the foundation of a complete and noble manhood. From his Alma Mater, Brown University, he received an all-around outfit for the work of his life. As so often happens, the Brown-bred boy had little idea what path of life he should walk in after graduation. But he received that old-fashioned broad training that would stand him in good stead whatever was to be his vocation, for the day had fortunately not yet dawned when it was thought more important to turn out incipient doctors, lawyers or engineers, than well trained and cultivated men. Had it been otherwise, it is probable that his education would have been simply a preparation for the calling of a civil engineer, a calling which was supposed to be favorable to a young man of somewhat frail constitution, and which he entered for a little while, chiefly as a means of recuperating his health. An opportunity to go abroad was eagerly seized by the young graduate, especially for the purpose of pursuing studies in the modern languages for which he had special liking, and for the pursuit of which very slender facilities were afforded by the best colleges of that day. This turn of affairs became the starting point of his Academic career, for he returned to his Alma Mater to occupy the chair of modern languages, a position he held for seven years. In this period he became well versed in the internal affairs of Brown University and showed aptness for administration. During this time he published a Manual of French Literature for college use. But his acquaintance with Senator Anthony of Rhode Island, who was for many years the publisher of The Providence Journal, turned his life into a new channel. The Senator had discovered in the young Professor unusual gifts as a writer and as an observer of men and affairs. The Civil War had broken out. During this crisis there was need of some skilled hand to write the editorials of this journal, then one of the most influential in New England. The Senator induced Mr. Angell to take the editor ' s chair. To this work Mr. Angell bent all his energies. The young Professor became the skillful advocate, the graceful writer, the fluent speaker, the judicious manager, and the man of broad and generous outlook. But with the passing of the crisis departed the chief motive for remaining in the Editorial Chair, and so when the University of Vermont was searching for a vigorous and wise administrator of its affairs and found the right man, the Editor of the Providence Journal was quite ready to enter again into educational work. By some good stroke of fortune, the University of Michigan was led to Vermont for her President. 4

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Bomcr Joy Parhcr, Robert Keith Knight, Claude Carl Cornwcll, Margaret Mcfarlane Manning, park Hlexandcr, Hlbert O. [Klein, Hgnes Claire luglia.