LeBaron Russell Briggs (December 11, 1855 – April 24, 1934)
was an American educator. He was appointed the first dean of men at
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
, and subsequently served as dean of the faculty until he retired. He was concurrently president of
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...
and the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
.
Early life
Briggs was born in
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
on December 11, 1855. He was the son of Unitarian minister George Ware Briggs and Lucia Jane (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Russell) Briggs.
Among his siblings was brother George Russell Briggs.
He received A.B. (in 1875) and A.M. degrees (in 1882) from
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 ...
.
Career
After graduating from Harvard, he began teaching there; he began as a Greek tutor before moving to English, eventually becoming the
Boylston Professor of Rhetoric from 1904 until 1925.
Briggs was appointed dean of Harvard College in 1891 (to 1902) and dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1902 until his retirement in 1925. His appointment as dean of men was the first "student personnel" appointment, which later became the catalyst for the
Student Affairs
Student affairs, student support, or student services is the department or division of services and support for student success at institutions of higher education to enhance student growth and development. People who work in this field are know ...
field in
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
. Briggs was responsible for advising students
academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
ally, and on personal issues. "His fairness in dealing with the Faculty and students alike, his patience in dealing with erring undergraduates, and his always kindly humor endeared him to everyone," wrote
George Henry Chase.
Radcliffe College
In 1903, Briggs succeeded co-founder
Elizabeth Cary Agassiz as the second president of Radcliffe College, which had been founded as the Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women in 1882 before becoming Radcliffe College in 1894.
During his presidency (which was then a part-time position), the college purchased the Greenleaf estate and built five new dormitories. Also during his tenure, the student body grew from less than 500 in 1903 to more than 700 in 1923. The geographical diversity of students also increased, with the number of students matriculating from outside of Massachusetts rising from 19 percent in 1903 to 33 percent in 1923.
He served as president for twenty years until 1923,
when he was succeeded by
Ada Louise Comstock who also served as president for twenty years from 1923 to 1943.
Before Briggs left office, the administration of Radcliffe requested that Radcliffe become a college for women within Harvard, but were again refused. In his last presidential report, Briggs wrote: “I believe that ultimately Radcliffe will become a women’s college in Harvard, but that neither institution is as yet prepared for such a union.”
After his retirement from Radcliffe, he wrote the novel, ''Men, Women And Colleges'', which was published in 1925 by the
Houghton Mifflin Company
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Financ ...
.
Personal life
In 1883, Briggs was married to Mary Frances De Quedville (b. 1862) of Cambridge. Together, they were the parents of three children:
* John DeQuedville Briggs (1885–1965), who married Marjorie Scott Winslow (1900–1994), daughter of William Herman Winslow, in 1925.
*
Lucia Russell Briggs Lucia may refer to:
Arts and culture
* ''Lucía'', a 1968 Cuban film by Humberto Solás
* ''Lucia'' (film), a 2013 Kannada-language film
* '' Lucia & The Best Boys'', a Scottish indie rock band formerly known as ''LUCIA''
* "Lucia", a Swedish c ...
(1887–1960), who served as president of
Milwaukee-Downer College
Milwaukee-Downer College was a women's college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in operation from 1895 to 1964.
History
Milwaukee-Downer College was established in 1895 with the merger of two institutions: Milwaukee College and Downer College of Fox Lak ...
for thirty years.
* LeBaron Russell Briggs Jr. (1895–1972), who married Elizabeth Mason.
Briggs died on April 24, 1934, in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
, at the home of his daughter Lucia.
He was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in
Plymouth, Massachusetts
Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as ...
,
where he had a summer home.
Legacy
Briggs was also a trustee of
Middlesex School
Middlesex School is a coeducational, non-sectarian, day and boarding independent secondary school for grades 9-12 located in Concord, Massachusetts. It was founded as an all-boys school in 1901 by a Roxbury Latin School alumnus, Frederick Winsor, ...
, where the LeBaron Briggs House dormitory is named for him, as well as Briggs Hall at Harvard's
Cabot House
Cabot House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. Cabot House derives from the merger in 1970 of Radcliffe College's South and East House, which took the name South House (also known as "SoHo"), until the name ...
. He received honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale,
Western Reserve University
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
Lafayette University.
His nautical namesake, the
liberty ship
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...
''
LeBaron Russell Briggs
LeBaron Russell Briggs (December 11, 1855 – April 24, 1934) was an American educator. He was appointed the first dean of men at Harvard College, and subsequently served as dean of the faculty until he retired. He was concurrently president o ...
'', was scuttled with its cargo of
nerve gas
Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that ...
on August 18, 1970, as the last installment of a project in which the United States
disposed of much of its stockpile by dumping it at sea.
["Cut Holes and Sink 'Em", ''Time'', Aug. 24, 1970]
"A Generation of Indiscriminate Dumping"
Notes
References
External links
*
Records of the President of Radcliffe College, 1903-1925.Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
Bronze Sculpture of Briggs
by Frederick Warren Allen
Frederick Warren Allen (1888–1961) was an American sculptor of the Boston School. One of the most prominent sculptors in Boston during the early 20th century and a master teacher at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Allen had a career in ...
, at the Harvard Art Museum
The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, LeBaron Russell
1855 births
1934 deaths
Harvard University faculty
Presidents of Radcliffe College
Harvard University alumni