U.S. Colleges and Universities

The schools are arranged by date of founding, together with USMA connections. On the first line, the date of founding, the name of the school and the state are given. This is in bold if there is a USMA connection. Those connections are listed below the name of the school.
 

1636     Harvard University (MA)
                       Lawrence School of Engineering founded 1846.
                William A. Barron taught at Harvard 1793-1800 & USMA 1802-1807.

1693     College of William and Mary (VA)
                  Benjamin Stoddert Ewell, President 1854-1858 & 1866-1868;
                                President Emeritus 1888-1894.
                   Lawrence Coy Leonard, C#6839, Lecturer in mathematics, 1955-1968.

1696    St. John's College (MD). [ St. John's College (Santa Fe, NM) opened in 1964]
                   Thomas E. Sudler, Prof. Math, Civil Eng, and Military Tactics, 1826-1840.

1701    Yale University (CT)
                  Jared A. Mansfield graduated in 1777.
                  David B. Douglass graduated in 1813.
                  William P. Trowbridge received an honorary degree in 1870.

1740    University of Pennsylvania
                   Edward H. Courtenay, Prof. Math., 1834-1836.

1742    Moravian College (PA)
1743    University of Delaware
1746    Princeton University (NJ)

1749    Washington and Lee University (VA)
               Benjamin Stoddert Ewell, Prof Math, 1839-1842.
               Daniel H. Hill, Prof Math, 1849-1854. 
               Robert E. Lee, President, 1865-1870/

1754     Columbia University (NY)  [Was Columbia College until ??]
                  Charles Davies, USMA 1815, taught 1857-1865
                  William G. Peck, USMA 1844, Prof. Math, 1857-1865

1764    Brown University (RI)
1766    Rutgers–New Brunswick (NJ)

1769     Dartmouth College  (NH)
                 Chandler School founded 1851.
                 Thayer School of Engineering, founded 1867.
                 Arthur S. Hardy, USMA 1869, Civil Eng 1873-78 and Math 1878-93.

1770    College of Charleston

1772    Salem College (NC)

1773    Dickinson College (PA)
                   Thomas E. Sudler, Prof. Math, Mechanics, and Astronomy, 1840-1851.

1776    Hampden-Sidney College, VA
                    Francis H. Smith, Prof. Math., 1837-39.

1780    Transylvania University (KY)
                    Benjamin Stoddert Ewell, Elected Prof. of Math but declined, 1839.
                    Robert T. P. Allen, Professor of Mathematics, 1841-1845.
                    Woolley, x1819, taught mathematics as a cadet and law at TU.

1781    Washington and Jefferson College (PA)
1782    Washington College (MD)
1785    University of Georgia
1787    Castleton State College (VT)
1787    Franklin and Marshall College (PA)
1787    University of Pittsburgh
1787    York College of Pennsylvania

The above list comes from http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/find/cooldest.htm.
These are supposed to be the 26 oldest schools in the country. What follows is NOT a complete list.



1789    Georgetown
              James Clark, USMA 1829,

1791    University of Vermont

1793     University of Tennessee

1794     Bowdoin College

1795     Union College
                      Ferdinand R. Hassler taught at USMA 1807-1809 then Union 1810-1813.

1800     Middlebury College

[In 1800 there were 22 colleges and universities in the US. Dupuy, 1958, p.10. This number is clearly wrong; I wonder where he got his information.]

1801     University of Georgia

1802     United States Military Academy

1809     Miami University of Ohio
                    [Seventh oldest state-assisted university in the nation]
                    Albert T. Bledsoe, USMA 1830, Prof. Math 1835-1836

1809     Wurtemburg Academy. Became Giles College in 1848.
                    Charles G. Rogers

1815    Allegheny College
                    Robert T. P. Allen, Professor of Mathematics and Civil Engineering, 1838-1841.

1817     University of  Virginia
                  [Monroe asked Thayer for advice. Dupuy, 1958, p. 16]
                Edward Henry Courtenay, Prof. of Math., 1842-1853.
                Albert T. Bledsoe, USMA 1830, Prof. Math., 1854-1861.
                Brooke Payne, Instructor of Mathematics, 1921-1922.

1820     Norwich University
                    Founded by Alden Partridge, USMA 1806.

1822     Hobart and William Smith College (originally Geneva College)
              Horace Webster, Prof Math & Nat Phil 1825-48
              David B. Douglass taught there 1848

1823     Lafayette College
                

1823    Trinity College, Hartford, CT.
              Charles Davies, USMA 1815, taught 1839-1841

Mount Airy College, Germantown, PA.
                Augustus L. Roumfort, USMA 1817, Professor of Mathematics, 1824-1826.

1824      Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
                    Department of Engineering and Technology founded 1835.

1826     Kenyon College (OH)
                Catharinus Putnam Buckingham, 1833-36.
                Albert T. Bledsoe, USMA 1830, Math and French, 1833-1834
                Robert Percy Smith, Prof. of Math., 1836-1839.
                David Bates Douglass was President 1841-1845
                        [Should be 1840-1844: http://www.kenyon.edu/depts/library/services/presiden/kenpres.htm
                        Web site includes a picture of Douglass]
                Edward C. Ross, 1840-1848.
                William G. Peck, USMA 1844, 1844. Declined position in 1855.

1826 Mississippi College

College of Louisiana
              Henry Gird,  Professor of Mathematics, 1829-1843, President, 1831-1842.
              Charles Geddings Rogers, 1829-1843.

1830    Randolph-Macon College, in VA
                  Martin P. Parks, USMA 1826, 1832-1836

1830    U. S. Naval Observatory 
                    Edward S. Holden, USMA 1870, 1873-1881.

[In 1830 there were 56 colleges and universities in the US. Dupuy, 1958, p. 11]

1831    New York University
                  Charles Davies, USMA 1815, taught 1848-1849

1831    University of Alabama
                  Nathaniel Rives Chambliss

1831    LaGrange College, Georgia's oldest independent school. 

1832    Pennsylvania College, Gettysburg, PA. Now Gettysburg College.
                    Herman Haupt, Professor of Mathematics, 1844-1847.

1834    Cincinnati College. College burned in 1844 and was not rebuilt.
                   Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, Prof of Mathematics, Philosophy, and Astronomy, 1834-1844. 

Bacon College, Georgetown, KY
                  Jacob Ammen, Professor of Mathematics, 1837-1839.

Jefferson College, Washington MS
                  Jacob Ammen, Professor of Mathematics, 1839-1840 and 1843-1848.

Jefferson College, LA.
                    William Fenn Hopkins, elected Asst Prof Math 1837 but declined.

1839     Virginia Military Institute
                    T. J. "Stonewall" Jackson
                    Francis H. Smith, USMA 1833, Prof. Math & Sup, 1839-61 and 1865-71.

1842     University of Michigan
                    Engineering Department founded 1852.
                   William G. Peck, USMA 1844, Prof. Physics and Civil Engineering, 1855-1857.
                   William P. Trowbridge, USMA 1848, Prof. Math, 1856-57.
                    David Bates Douglass papers are in the Clements Library.

1842    Cumberland University
                    Alexander Peter Stewart, USMA 1842, Prof Math 1850-54, 1855-61, 1866-69.

1842    University of Notre Dame

1842    The Citadel

1843     Holy Cross
                    James Clark, USMA 1829.
                    Thomas Jefferson Curd, USMA 1844, 1847-1849. 

1844    University of Mississsippi
                    Albert T. Bledsoe, USMA 1830, Prof. Math. and Astronomy, 1848-1851
   
                 Claudius W. Sears, Professor of Mathematics,1865-1884
                    Francis A. Shoup,

1845     U. S. Naval Academy
                    Joseph Strong, USMA 1818, Inst. Math in Navy 1840-46.
                    William Fenn Hopkins, USMA 1825, Prof. Nat and Exp Phil, 1850-1859.
                    Richard S. Smith, USMA 1834, Prof. Math, 1870-73 and Prof. Drawing, 1873-77.
                    Henry Lockwood, USMA 1836, Prof. Math & Eng, 1841(?)-1876. [Info from Hoskin, p. 33]

1845    Baylor University, Waco, TX (Oldest institution of higher learning in Texas)
                    Ray Cannon, VP at USMA, 1999-2000. 

1845    Kentucky Military Institute, founded 1845, chartered 20 January 1847. Closed 1971.
                    R. T. P. Allen, USMA 1834, Founder.
                    Meriwether Lewis Clark, USMA 1830, Commandant and Professor of Higher Mathematics.

1846     College of the City of New York
                  [Until 1866 this was the New York Free Academy]
                  Horace Webster, President from its origin in 1848 to 1869
                  David B. Douglass, former USMA dept head, taught CCNY 1832-1833
                  Edward C. Ross  [Smith and Ginsburg, p, 78]

Mount St. Mary's College, Emmetsburg, MD.
            Daniel M. Beltzhoover, Prof. Math, 1855-1861.

South Carolina College
            Thomas S. Twiss, 1829-1847.
            Matthew Jouett Williams, 1846-1854.

Masonic University of Tennessee, Clarksville, TN
            William Fenn Hopkins, President and Prof. Math., 1849.

Bastrop Military Institute, Texas, founded 1851.
            Robert P. T. Allen, Superintendent 1857-1861.

1854     Brooklyn Polytechnical Institute
                Richard H. Smith, USMA 1834, Math. Eng. & Drawing, 1855-59.
                Joshua W. Sill, USMA 1853, Prof. Math & Civil Eng., 1861.
                Joshua Woodrow, USMA 1854, Prof. Math & Civil Eng., 1860. 

1854    Lincoln College, Oxford Pennsylvania, the oldest Negro liberal arts college.

St Mary's College of Pennsylvania
                Daniel M. Belzhoover, 1855-1861.

1856    Seton Hall College, South Orange, NJ
                E. Parker Scammon, Prof. Math., 1875-1885.

1856     St. Lawrence University, Canton NY.
                Frank H. Peck

1857    University of the South, Sewanee TN.
                James Postell Jervey, 1926-1945.     

La Grange College, Alabama
                James D. Cobb, President, 1857. 

Mount St. Mary's College, Cincinnati, OH
                E. Parker Scammon, Prof. Math., 1858-59.

[In 1860 there were 203 colleges and universities in the US. Dupuy, 1958, p. 11]

1861    Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY.

1864    Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa.
                Arthus S. Hardy, USMA 1864, Prof Math, 1871-1873.

1865    Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
                Henry Coppee, USMA 1845, President, 1866-75.
                Edwin W. Morgan

                Hiero B. Herr, Professor of Engineering, Mathematics, and Astronomy.

1865     Massachussetts Institute of Technology

1867    Howard University
              Oliver Otis Howard was one of the founders and third president.

1868    University of California (Berkeley)
   
             Frank Soule, Professor of Mathematics, 1870-1872.
                Hiero B. Herr, in charge of the Department of Civil Engineering, 1883-1884.
                W. T. Welcker, Professor of Mathematics, 1869-1881.
                Samuel Robert Jones,

[In 1870 there were only 22 institutions doing any kind of college work. Barnard, Analysis of Some Statistics of College Education, NY, 1870; Smith and Ginsburg, p. 67]

1870     Stevens Institute

1876     Johns Hopkins University

1885    Georgia Institute of Technology
                Ted Hill. Collector of  Early American Math Books.

1887     Catholic University of America

 

Cooper Institute

University of California

Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute

Other individuals who taught elsewhere (include in list above and then erase):

 

Alkexander Bache
Jacob Ammen
Francis Smith
Richard Smith

Henry Eustis
Alexander Peter Stewart
Benjamin Ewell



 

 

Web pages of Colleges and Universities in alphabetical order.