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Charles Kendall Adams (January 24, 1835 – July 26, 1902) was an American educator and historian. He served as the second president of
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
from 1885 until 1892, and as president of the
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
from 1892 until 1901. At Cornell he established a new law school, built a library, and appointed eminent research professors for the Ivy League school. At Wisconsin, he negotiated ever-increasing appropriations from the state legislature, especially for new buildings such as the library. He was the editor-in-chief of
Johnson's Universal Cyclopaedia The 12-volume ''Universal Cyclopaedia'' was edited by Charles Kendall Adams, and was published by D. Appleton & Company in 1900. The name was changed to ''Universal Cyclopaedia and Atlas'' in 1902, with editor . History This was the culmination ...
(1892–1895), and of the successor
Universal Cyclopaedia The 12-volume ''Universal Cyclopaedia'' was edited by Charles Kendall Adams, and was published by D. Appleton & Company in 1900. The name was changed to ''Universal Cyclopaedia and Atlas'' in 1902, with editor . History This was the culmination ...
(1900), sometimes referred to as
Appleton's Universal Cyclopaedia The 12-volume ''Universal Cyclopaedia'' was edited by Charles Kendall Adams, and was published by D. Appleton & Company in 1900. The name was changed to ''Universal Cyclopaedia and Atlas'' in 1902, with editor . History This was the culmination ...
.


Biography

He was born on January 24, 1835, in
Derby, Vermont Derby is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,579 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous community in Orleans County. The town contains four unincorporated villages: Beebe Plain, Clyde Pond, Lake Sa ...
, and he attended the common schools in that place till 1855, when, with his parents, he emigrated to Denmark, Iowa, where he entered an academy and commenced the study of Latin and Greek with the purpose of entering college. In the summer of 1857 he began the classical course at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, where he studied with
Andrew Dickson White Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who cofounded Cornell University and served as its first president for nearly two decades. He was known for expanding the scope of college curricu ...
, Cornell's first president, and from where he graduated in 1861. Taking a post-graduate course of study, he was employed to teach one of the classes in history, and at the end of the year was appointed instructor of history and Latin. In 1863 Adams became assistant professor of Latin and history at Michigan, a position which he held till 1867, when he became full professor of history until 1885. In 1867 and 1868, was spent in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
having studied in the universities of
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
,
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
,
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, and
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, where his object was to observe the methods of advanced instruction; about four months were passed in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, chiefly in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
and
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. In 1869 and 1870 established an historical seminary which proved of great value in promoting the study of history and political science. In 1881 he was made non-resident professor of history at Cornell, and in 1885 succeeded White as president of Cornell. He was forced to resign at Cornell due to conflicts with the faculty over
honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
s and control of faculty appointments. Also in 1881, he was simultaneously invited to the presidency of the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
and the
University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
, both of which positions were declined. He received the honorary degree of
LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...
from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in 1874, and from
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1886. In 1887 Adams was elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
. In 1890 he was president of the
American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...
. He resigned his professorship in May, 1892, and in July of the same year he was elected president of the
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, where he remained until October 11, 1901. He died on July 26, 1902, in Redlands,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, where he had moved in hopes of improving his health.


Works

* ''Democracy and Monarchy in France'' (1871)
''Manual of Historical Literature''
(1882) * ''Representative British Orations'' (1884) * ''Christopher Columbus, His Life and Work'' (1892)


References


Further reading

* Ely, Richard T. "Charles Kendall Adams." ''Wisconsin Alumnus'' (1941): 303–312.


External links

* *
Cornell Presidency: Charles Kendall Adams
*
Cornell University Library The Cornell University Library is the library system of Cornell University. As of 2014, it holds over 8 million printed volumes and over a million ebooks. More than 90 percent of its current 120,000 Periodical literature, periodical titles are ...
Presidents Exhibition: Charles Kendall Adams
PresidencyInauguration
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Charles Kendall 1835 births 1902 deaths 19th-century American historians 19th-century American male writers Cornell University Department of History faculty Educators from Iowa Educators from Michigan Educators from Vermont Educators from Wisconsin Founders of schools in the United States Leaders of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Members of the American Antiquarian Society People from Derby, Vermont People from Lee County, Iowa Presidents of Cornell University Presidents of the American Historical Association University of Michigan alumni University of Michigan faculty 19th-century philanthropists American male non-fiction writers Historians from Iowa