The Eastman Business College was a

business school A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, school of business administration, o ...

located in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

, United States. It operated from 1859 until it closed in 1931. At the height of its success, the school was one of the largest commercial colleges in the United States.

History

Eastman Business College was founded by Harvey G. Eastman in

in 1859. Rather than merely being a theoretical school, students gained practical experience in the business arts by actually performing the tasks that would be expected of them in their working careers, a novel approach at the time. In 1897, Eastman Business College had a Business Department which offered hands-on practice in a mock bank and mock railway and express office, and also taught bookkeeping. The college also included a School of Shorthand which trained students in shorthand, typing, duplicating, and filing. In addition, there was a School of Penmanship, which prepared students to teach writing and pen art. Eastman's School of Telegraphy trained students as telegraph operators. The 1898 catalogs of the Eastman Business College and its affiliated school, the New York Business Institute stated "These schools do not receive students of the Negro Race". In 1905 S. V. Daniels, a 17-year-old from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands withdrew from the main college and transferred to the Harlem branch following the petition of 160 southern students alleging that he was partially of African descent. During its most successful period in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Eastman was one of the largest commercial schools in the United States. The college closed on June 10, 1931.

Notable alumni

* Martin F. Allen,

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politician * Dwight L. Burgess,

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politician *

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* Edmund Elisha Case, painter *

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* Porter Dale,

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* Henry T. DeBardeleben, coal magnate * Henry S. De Forest,

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businessman and

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, Canadian politician *

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, rancher *

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drummer boy * Mark C. Honeywell, US electronics industrialist; founder, President and CEO of

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* John L. Jolley,

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, pharmaceutical executive * Joseph B. Keeler,

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faculty member * S. S. Kresge, retail businessman * Monroe Henry Kulp,

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* John Hamilton Morgan,

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official * John M. Parker,

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from 1920 to 1924 *

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* John Reber,

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pioneer * James E. Towner,

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, Maryland politician * Frank B. Weeks,

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* Homer W. Wheeler, U.S. Army officer and author * Timothy Woodruff,

and

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, industrialist

References

External links

{{Authority control Defunct private universities and colleges in New York (state) Educational institutions established in 1859 Educational institutions disestablished in 1931 1859 establishments in New York (state) 1931 disestablishments in New York (state) Education in Poughkeepsie, New York

History

Notable alumni

References

Further reading

External links