Caleb Frank Gates (December 24, 1903 – December 21, 1955) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

who served as Chancellor of the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

Early life and education

Gates was born in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

(now Istanbul), and received his early education at

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary ...

in Istanbul, where his father (Caleb Frank Gates, 1857–1946) served as president. Gates came to the United States in 1919 and attended The Hill School in

Pottstown, Pennsylvania Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Pottstown was laid out in 1752–53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts. The old name was abandoned at the time of the incorporation as a borough in 1815. In 1888 ...

for three years. In 1926, he graduated with honors from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and continued his studies under a Rhodes scholarship at Balliol College in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. In 1928, while attending college, Gates married Elizabeth Farnum in England. They raised four children: Caleb Jr., Betsy Ann, Mary Ellen, and Gwynne. The couple returned to Turkey after Gates graduated from Balliol College with both B. A. and M. A. degrees. He taught history and served as headmaster of the preparatory school at Robert College from 1932 to 1933. Gates returned to Princeton for a year of graduate work in history and was eventually appointed history instructor at Princeton. He also served as assistant dean for three years until 1939, when the dean of the college became incapacitated and the full responsibility of the office rested with Gates.

Chancellor of the University of Denver

In 1941, Gates accepted the position of Chancellor at the

. At the age of 37, he was the youngest chancellor in the University's history. In 1943, Gates took a leave of absence from the University to join the army during World War II, with the rank of major. He was stationed first in England with the American Military Government and then as an attaché to the American ambassador in

Belgrade, Yugoslavia Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mil ...

. His duties included handling prisoners of war and displaced persons. Gates served two terms as Chancellor of the University of Denver, from 1941 to 1943 and 1946 to 1947. Under his leadership, enrollments rose by 57 percent compared to the pre-war enrollments of 1939, and the number of veterans on campus rose to 60 percent. He presided over the creation of the university's School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, School of Architecture and Planning, and School of Aeronautics. Gates resigned as chancellor in 1947, but remained for two years as professor of history. He joined numerous organizations including the University Club of Denver, Denver Press Club, American Alpine Club, Princeton Club, American Historical Society, Colorado Education Society, and the Foreign Policy Association. His papers at the

cover his years as Chancellor.

Personal life and death

Gates and his first wife divorced in 1954. In 1955, he married Mable Ridge and relocated to

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...

, to operate the Cedar Shake Guest Lodge. He died there of a heart attack, on December 21, 1955..

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Caleb 1903 births 1955 deaths 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers United States Army personnel of World War II American football tackles Chancellors of the University of Denver Princeton Tigers football players Princeton Tigers men's track and field athletes Princeton University faculty The Hill School alumni United States Army officers 20th-century American male writers American expatriates in the Ottoman Empire 20th-century American academics