Edward Tompkins (1815–1872) was an American lawyer. He is best known for endowing a chair at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

where he had been elected to the board of regents.

Background

Tompkins was born in 1815 in rural Paris Hill, New York. Tompkins enrolled in

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 1831 and joined

Sigma Phi The Sigma Phi Society () was founded on the Fourth of March in the year 1827, on the campus of Union College as a part of the Union Triad in Schenectady, New York. It is the second Greek fraternal organization founded in the United States.

. Tompkins graduated, earned a law degree at

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

, and practiced law in Binghamton, New York as a partner to Daniel S. Dickinson. Tompkins married a Quaker woman, Mary Cook, from Bridgeport, Connecticut. She died several years later. Tompkins moved to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

in 1859 where he continued as a lawyer. In 1861 Tompkins married a sister of

Henry Huntly Haight Henry Huntly Haight (May 20, 1825 – September 2, 1878) was an American lawyer and politician. He was elected the tenth governor of California from December 5, 1867, to December 8, 1871. Early life Childhood and education Haight was of Eng ...

named Sarah, a woman 20 years Tompkins's junior. They established residence on the shores of

Lake Merritt Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon in the center of Oakland, California, just east of Downtown. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. It is historically significant as the United States' first official wildlife refuge, designate ...

in Oakland. Tompkins was elected in 1869 to represent

Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alam ...

in the California State Senate. In 1870 Tompkins, a self-described Constitutional Democrat, spoke in favor of ratification of the 15th Amendment and voted against a California Senate resolution opposing California's proposed ratification. As a state senator Tompkins argued for the creation of the

as recommended by the previous governor,

Frederick Low Frederick Ferdinand Low (June 30, 1828July 21, 1894) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 9th Governor of California and a member of the United States House of Representatives. Early life and education Born in Frankfort ...

. The charter creating the university (then only an agricultural school) passed on March 23, 1868 and Tompkins was elected to a four-year term on the Board of Regents of the University of California later that same year. Upon Tompkins's death in 1872, his position on the board of regents was filled by his brother-in-law, former Governor Haight. Some of Tompkins's letters are archived with papers of his relatives at Bancroft Library.

Louis Agassiz Chair

Tompkins endowed the school's chair of Oriental Languages and Literature named for Louis Agassiz on September 18, 1872 only months before Tompkins died. His initial gift of , which sold for , was evaluated on June 30, 2008 at more than . Tompkins's interest in Oriental studies grew out of his anticipation of expanded trans-Pacific commerce. Tompkins said that he felt "deeply the humiliation" of seeing Asian students go to the East Coast "in search of that intellectual hospitality that we are not yet enlightened enough to extend to them."

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tompkins, Edward 1815 births 1872 deaths Union College (New York) alumni Hamilton College (New York) alumni People from Paris, New York University of California regents Democratic Party California state senators 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers