William J. Vaughn on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
William J. Vaughn (February 15, 1834 – December 1, 1912) was an American university professor, school principal, librarian and book collector. He was one of the earliest professors at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
The University of Alabama: University Libraries
ancestry.com His father was James Pulliam Vaughn and his mother, Susan Rebecca Richards. Vaughn received an A.B. in 1857 and an A.M. in 1860 from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.Suzanne R. Wolfe, ''The University of Alabama: A Pictorial History'', Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1983, p. 3
/ref>
/ref> He then received a Legum Doctor from the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.
/ref> Shortly after the war, from 1865 to 1866, Vaughn served as Principal of the Tuscaloosa Female College, a defunct women's college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He then served as Principal of
/ref> He was recruited by his former professor and now Vanderbilt University Chancellor, Landon Garland (1810–1895). He lived at the Vaughn House on the Vanderbilt University campus, now home to the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities. He was Professor of Mathematics from 1882 to 1896, and Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy from 1896 to his death in 1912. One of his students was Edward Emerson Barnard (1857–1923). He also served as the main librarian (a precursor to Dean of Libraries) at Vanderbilt University from 1886 to his death. He also founded the Vanderbilt chapter of the
Early life and education
William James Vaughn was born on February 15, 1834, atBlack Bluff
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...
, a settlement along the Alabama River
The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery, near the town of Wetumpka.
The river flows west to Selma, then southwest until, about from Mobile, it un ...
in Wilcox County, Alabama.Portrait Portrait of a student: William J. VaughnThe University of Alabama: University Libraries
ancestry.com His father was James Pulliam Vaughn and his mother, Susan Rebecca Richards. Vaughn received an A.B. in 1857 and an A.M. in 1860 from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.Suzanne R. Wolfe, ''The University of Alabama: A Pictorial History'', Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1983, p. 3
/ref>
Landon Garland
Landon Cabell Garland (1810–1895), an American, was professor of physics and history and university president three times at different Southern Universities (Randolph Macon, Alabama, Vanderbilt) while living in the Southern United States for hi ...
(1810–1895) was one of his professors.William Sheehan, ''The Immortal Fire Within: The Life and Work of Edward Emerson Barnard'', Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995, p. 6/ref> He then received a Legum Doctor from the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.
Career
Vaughn started his career at his alma mater, the University of Alabama, where he tutored Mathematics from 1857 to 1860. He continued to teach at Alabama during the American Civil War: as an Instructor of Latin and Greek from 1860 to 1863, and as a Professor of Mathematics from 1863 to 1865.James Benson Sellers, ''History of the University of Alabama: Volume One, 1818-1902'', Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 2014, p. 37/ref> Shortly after the war, from 1865 to 1866, Vaughn served as Principal of the Tuscaloosa Female College, a defunct women's college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He then served as Principal of
Centenary Institute
The Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology, commonly referred to as the Centenary Institute or Centenary, is an Australian medical research institute located at the campus of the University of Sydney, in Sydney, New South Wale ...
, a defunct boarding school in Summerfield, Alabama
Summerfield, also known as Valley Creek, is an unincorporated community in Dallas County, Alabama. Summerfield has one historic district included on the National Register of Historic Places, the Summerfield District. Most of the community was a ...
, from 1867 to 1871. He returned to the University of Alabama to teach Physics and Astronomy from 1871 to 1873. He went on to serve as the President of the defunct Tennessee Female College
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
in Franklin, Tennessee, from 1873 to 1878. Shortly after, he returned again to the University of Alabama, where he served as Professor of Mathematics again from 1878 to 1882. He also founded its Department of Engineering in 1881-1882.
Vaughn spent the rest of his career at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, a newly established college thanks to a gift from railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt.Vanderbilt University: The Vaughn Home/ref> He was recruited by his former professor and now Vanderbilt University Chancellor, Landon Garland (1810–1895). He lived at the Vaughn House on the Vanderbilt University campus, now home to the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities. He was Professor of Mathematics from 1882 to 1896, and Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy from 1896 to his death in 1912. One of his students was Edward Emerson Barnard (1857–1923). He also served as the main librarian (a precursor to Dean of Libraries) at Vanderbilt University from 1886 to his death. He also founded the Vanderbilt chapter of the
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ar ...
, an honor society.
Additionally, Vaughn was a renowned book collector and an avid reader. He read more than ten foreign languages, including Sanskrit and Russian. He owned about 6,000 books, five hundred of which were about the French Emperor Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
(1769-1821); they were all donated to the Vanderbilt University library after his death.
Personal life
On August 17, 1865, shortly after the Civil War, Vaughn married Abbie Maria Scott (1841-1923) inMarion, Alabama
Marion is a city in, and the county seat of, Perry County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 3,686, up 4.8% over 2000. First known as Muckle Ridge, the city was renamed for a hero of the American Revolut ...
. He was thirty-one and she was twenty-four. They had three children:
*William Massey Vaughn (August 6, 1866 – November 26, 1949).
*Eugene Houghton Vaughn (October 25, 1868 – March 6, 1920). He married Margaret Musgrave.
*Harry Scott Vaughn (January 4, 1870 – February 14, 1958). He married Florence Sloan.
Death and legacy
Vaughn died on December 1, 1912, in Nashville, Tennessee. His portrait, taken circa 1850, can be seen in the William Stanley Hoole Special Collections Library at the University of Alabama. His grandson, William S. Vaughn (1903–1996), was a prominent businessman who served on the Board of Trust of Vanderbilt University from 1952 to 1995.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughn, William J. 1834 births 1912 deaths People from Wilcox County, Alabama People from Tuscaloosa, Alabama Educators from Nashville, Tennessee University of Alabama alumni University of Mississippi alumni University of Alabama faculty Vanderbilt University faculty 19th-century American businesspeople