Henry Jackson Morton (December 11, 1836 – May 9, 1902) was a United States scientist and the first president of the
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...
.
Education and early career
He was the son of Rev. Henry Morton (1807–1890), a clergyman who was rector of St. James's church in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
for many years and a trustee of the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
. Henry J. Morton graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1857, and became professor of
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
and
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
at the
Episcopal Academy of Philadelphia in 1860.
[Coleman Sellers and Albert R. Leeds, ''Biographical Notice of President Henry Morton, Ph.D. of the Stevens Institute of Technology'' New York: The Engineering Press, 1892, p.11] In 1863, he delivered a series of lectures on chemistry at the
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...
. A year later, he was appointed resident secretary at
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...
, where he continued his lectures. His lectures on light attracted attention throughout the United States and Europe by reason of his brilliant and unique experiments. He continued as resident secretary until 1870.
He was one of the founders of the
Philadelphia Dental College in 1863 and its first professor of chemistry. From 1867 to 1868, during the absence of John F. Frazer, he was invited to fill the chair of professor of physics and chemistry at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
. In 1869, the chair was divided, and Morton received the chemistry professorship. In 1867, he became editor of the Franklin Institute ''Journal''. That same year, he was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.
He conducted the photographic branch of the United States
eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...
expedition to Iowa in 1869, under the auspices of the ''
U. S. Nautical Almanac'' office. In addition to securing several excellent photographs of the eclipse, he proved that the bright line of the sun's disc adjacent to the moon is due to a chemical action in the process of developing the plate and not to diffraction as had hitherto been proposed by Sir
George B. Airy.Also he was a member of the private expedition that was organized by
Henry Draper
Henry Draper (March 7, 1837 – November 20, 1882) was an American doctor and amateur astronomer. He is best known today as a pioneer of astrophotography.
Life and work
Henry Draper's father, John William Draper, was an accomplished doctor, ch ...
to observe the total solar eclipse of 29 July 1878 at
Rawlins, Wyoming
Rawlins is a city in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,221 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Carbon County. It was named for Union General John Aaron Rawlins, who camped in the locality in 1867.
Demographics ...
.
The degree of
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
was conferred on him by
Dickinson College
, mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts college
, endowment = $645.5 million (2022)
, president = J ...
in 1869, and by
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 ...
in 1871. He was a member of scientific societies, and in 1874 was elected to membership in the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
, on whose commissions he has occasionally served. Besides writing numerous papers on electricity and fluorescence, he assisted in the preparation of ''The Student's Practical Chemistry'' (1868). In 1859 he made the lithographic drawings for a publication of a translation of the trilingual hieroglyphic inscription of the
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle te ...
.
[Coleman Sellers and Albert R. Leeds, ''Biographical Notice of President Henry Morton, Ph.D. of the Stevens Institute of Technology'' New York: The Engineering Press, 1892, p.13]
In 1873 he conducted a series of researches on the "Fluorescent and Absorption Spectra of the Uranium Salts", and also on the like spectra of
pyrene
Pyrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) consisting of four fused benzene rings, resulting in a flat aromatic system. The chemical formula is . This yellow solid is the smallest peri-fused PAH (one where the rings are fused through mor ...
, and of a new material found by him in some petroleum residues to which he gave the name of thallene, from its brilliant green fluorescence.
His reputation as a scientist became worldwide and his services as a chemical expert were eagerly sought in litigation.
In 1878, he succeeded to the vacancy on the
United States Lighthouse Board
The United States Lighthouse Board was the second agency of the U.S. federal government, under the Department of Treasury, responsible for the construction and maintenance of all lighthouses and navigation aids in the United States, between 1852 ...
that was caused by the death of
Joseph Henry
Joseph Henry (December 17, 1797– May 13, 1878) was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was the secretary for the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smith ...
, which appointment he held until 1885, conducting meanwhile investigations on fog signals, electric lighting, fire extinguishers, illuminating buoys, and like subjects, which appear in the annual reports of the Board.
Stevens Institute of Technology
![Morton Memorial Building, Chemistry Laboratory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Morton_Memorial_Building%2C_Chemistry_Laboratory.jpg)
In 1870, he was chosen president of the newly founded
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...
, and under his direction the faculty was selected and the course of instruction formed. His management of the institute made it one of the leading technological schools of the country. He gave it the benefit not only of his great learning, but also several gifts in the establishment and endowment of various necessary departments: In 1880, he presented to the trustees a workshop that he had caused to be built and equipped with
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
s and tools at a cost of $10,000; again, in 1883, he gave $2,500 for the purchase of electrical apparatus.
[Geoffrey Clark, ''History of Stevens Institute of Technology'' New Jersey: Jensen/Daniels, 2000, p. 117]
Per aspera ad astra
Morton frequently dabbled in poetry; he delivered the Valedictory speech for his University class of 1857 in verse. Throughout his life he would compose lengthy poems related to events in his life.
[Alice E. Browne, ''Reflections of the early years of Henry Morton'' New Jersey: Browne, 1902, p. 4] In celebration of the Twenty-fifth Anniversary Celebration of Stevens Institute of Technology, Morton prepared a poem based on the
Stevens Family motto "Per Aspera ad Astra".
[Geoffrey Clark, ''History of Stevens Institute of Technology'' New Jersey: Jensen/Daniels, 2000, p. 37]
Notes
References
*
* This article is nominally for his father, but Henry Morton is the subject of most of it.
*
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Henry
1836 births
1902 deaths
University of Pennsylvania alumni
University of Pennsylvania faculty
Presidents of Stevens Institute of Technology
American chemists
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences