William Emerson (October 16, 1873 – May 4, 1957) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and the first dean of the MIT School of Architecture from 1932 to 1939. He was instrumental in establishing a city planning department at MIT.

Biography

Emerson was born in New York City. His parents, of English and Dutch descent, were Susan Tompkins and John Haven Emerson, a medical doctor. His father's family included poet and essayist

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

, the young Emerson's great uncle. Emerson graduated from

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 ...

in 1895, where he was a

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than ...

editor and

Hasty Pudding Club The Hasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as the Pudding, is a social club at Harvard University, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770. The club's motto, ''Concordia Discors'' (discordant h ...

comedian. He completed architectural training at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

in Paris. He began his practice in 1899 in New York, focusing on social housing and bank buildings. At the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Emerson returned to Paris for two years as director of the Bureau of Construction of the American Red Cross. In 1919, Emerson returned to the United States and took a faculty appointment at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. In 1932 he became the dean of the newly formed School of Architecture. In his first year, he oversaw the creation of a Department of City Planning, commissioning planner Thomas Adams to create its curriculum. In conjunction with the planning program, Emerson's seven-year deanship shifted the school from pure design practice to a broader focus on public policy and social issues. At MIT, his students included Robert Van Nice and

I.M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

. Emerson served as the chair of the

Unitarian Service Committee The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) is a non-profit, nonsectarian associate member organization of the Unitarian Universalist Association that works to provide disaster relief and promote human rights and social justice around the w ...

in the 1940s and as Vice President of the Byzantine Institute of America. He died on May 4, 1957, in Cambridge. Emerson married Frances White, and they resided at her grandfather's house on Brattle Street. She died shortly before him on March 10, 1957. They are buried in

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York, is the final resting place of numerous famous figures, including Washington Irving, whose 1820 short story " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in the adjacent burying ground at the Old Dutch ...

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confl ...

References

MIT School of Architecture and Planning faculty Harvard College alumni 1873 births 1957 deaths Architects from New York City Architects from Cambridge, Massachusetts Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni The Harvard Crimson people American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts {{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, William