Edgar Odell Lovett (April 14, 1871 – August 13, 1957) was an American educator and education administrator. He was the first president of Rice Institute (now

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

) in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, Texas. Lovett was recommended to the post by

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, then president of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

.Boles, p. 39.Edgar Odell Lovett
– Handbook of Texas Online. – Texas State Historical Association. – Retrieved: December 26, 2007

Biography

Early life and career

Lovett was born in

Shreve, Ohio Shreve is a village in Clinton Township, Wayne County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,514 at the 2010 census. Shreve is served by a branch of the Wayne County Public Library. History The village has the name of Thomas Shreve, the o ...

, to Zephania and Maria Elizabeth (née Spreng) Lovett. After graduating from Shreve High School, he earned his B.A. at Bethany College in

Bethany, West Virginia Bethany is a town in southern Brooke County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 756 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area. It is best known as the home of Bethany College, a private liberal ...

, in 1890. Lovett taught and studied at West Kentucky College, in Mayfield, Kentucky, and completed his first doctorate degree at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

in 1895. He completed his second doctorate in mathematics under the instruction of

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at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

.Boles, p.13. In 1897, Lovett lectured at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

, the University of Virginia, and the

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.Boles, pp.19–21. In September 1897 he became an instructor at Princeton University, and in December he married Mary Ellen Hale. Mary Ellen was the daughter of the founder and head of West Kentucky College and the two met while he was there from 1890 to 1892 (Mary Ellen graduated from West Kentucky in 1892). He worked his way from instructor to assistant professor of mathematics (1898), professor (1900), and finally the head of the Department of Mathematics and Astronomy at Princeton (1908). He was elected as a member of 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 ...

in 1904. When planning Rice Institute, the board of trustees sought recommendations for the role of president from the presidents of other universities. Lovett was chosen on the recommendation of Woodrow Wilson, then president of Princeton, and was invited to become Rice's first president in 1907. He accepted and was inaugurated in 1908. Following his inauguration, Lovett was deeply involved in the planning of the university. He oversaw the acquisition of a new site for the campus, the initial architectural planning, the development of the curriculum, and the recruitment of faculty and students. Additionally, Lovett went on a world tour to study the workings of universities and technological institutes in Europe and Japan. Lovett announced his retirement from Rice in 1941, but stayed on through World War II, finally resigning on March 1, 1946.Rogers, Karen and John Boles (lecture). �
"Lovett Family Archives Arrive at Rice, Part II: A Talk by John Boles to the Rice Historical Society"
. – ''Rice Cornerstone''. – Rice Historical Society. – Summer 2005 – Volume 10, Number 2. – (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document). – Retrieved: July 11, 2008 He was succeeded by

William Vermillion Houston William Vermillion Houston (January 19, 1900 – August 22, 1968) was an American physicist who made contributions to spectroscopy, quantum mechanics, and solid-state physics as well as being a teacher and administrator. He became the secon ...

Family

Lovett and his wife had two daughters and two sons.Rogers, Karen and John Boles (lecture). �
"Lovett Family Archives Arrive at Rice: A Talk by John Boles to the Rice Historical Society"
– Rice Cornerstone. – Rice Historical Society. – Spring 2005 – Volume 10, Number 1. – (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document). – Retrieved: July 11, 2008 Mary Ellen became homebound with severe arthritis and rarely left their residence at the Plaza Hotel in Houston from 1929 until her death in 1952. Lovett died in 1957 at Houston hospital after a two-week illness, and is buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston, Texas. Adelaide Lovett graduated from Rice Institute, then went to study at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

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. Her mother stayed in Paris with her. In 1922, Adelaide earned her diplome de la Sorbonne, and returned to Houston. Later that year she married Walter Browne "W." Baker (son of James A. Baker and brother of James A. Baker Jr.), a prominent Houston banker who was awarded the Department of the Navy's Distinguished Civilian Service for his service during World War II in managing the purchasing of equipment for the Navy. Adelaide was a co-founder and first president of the Houston Junior League in 1924.City of Houston: Procedures for Historic District Designation
. – City of Houston. – (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document). – Retrieved: July 11, 2008 Henry Malcolm Lovett graduated from Rice and then obtained a law degree 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 high ...

. After returning to Houston he joined the law firm of Baker & Botts (Baker, Botts, Parker & Garwood, now Baker Botts) in 1924 (with James A. Baker Jr., father of James Addison Baker III), and served as chairman of the Rice University board of trustees 1967 to 1973. He served on the Board of Advisors of Harvard Law School from 1965 to 1971. Henry and his wife Martha Wicks set up the Henry Malcolm Lovett Endowment Fund for the Fondren Library and the Martha and Henry Malcolm Lovett Distinguished Service Professor of Musicology at Rice University.

Legacy

*Lovett Boulevard in southwest Houston, which runs from Taft Street west to just south of Westheimer Road, was named in his honor. *The administration building was renamed Lovett Hall on December 4, 1947, to honor then-President Emeritus Lovett. * Lovett College, a residential college at Rice University, was named after him. *As part of Rice University's centennial celebrations in 2012, an 8-foot bronze sculpture of Lovett was erected . *Edgar Odell Lovett Elementary School was named for him.

References

External links

* *
Guide to the Rice Institute President Edgar Odell Lovett papers, 1907-1954
(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA)
Guide to the Edgar Odell Lovett and Mary Ellen Hale Lovett Family papers, 1849-1979
(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA)