Charles Phelps Norton (March 15, 1858 – July 11, 1923) was chancellor of the

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

from 1909 to 1920; and a founder of the

University of Buffalo Law School The University at Buffalo School of Law (also known as State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, or SUNY Buffalo Law School) is a graduate professional school at the University at Buffalo. Founded in 1887 and affiliate with Niagara Univ ...

, now known as the

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

Biography

Norton was born in Buffalo, New York in 1858 and was the son of Charles Davis Norton and Jeannette Phelps; whose grandmother Elizabeth "Betsy" Law ( Sherman) Phelps was the granddaughter of American founding father

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Cont ...

. His brother, Porter Norton, wa a lawyer who married Jennie H. Watson (daughter of Stephen Van Rensselaer Watson). He went to

Harvard University 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 ...

, where he was a classmate and friend of former President Theodore Roosevelt, in the class of 1880. Norton studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1885.

Death and legacy

Norton died July 11, 1923, at

Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 mo ...

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. He left his entire estate to the university, on the condition that within three years of the probate of the will, all principal and interest would be applied to the erection of a building known as Norton Hall to be used as a meeting place for student activities. He also endowed the Norton Medal, University at Buffalo's highest honor."Campus Life at UB Owes Much to Charles Norton.," ''Buffalo Courier-Express'' - December 4, 1955.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Charles Phelps 1858 births 1923 deaths American academic administrators American founders Harvard University alumni