James M. Milne was the first principal of the

State University of New York at Oneonta The State University of New York College at Oneonta, also known as SUNY Oneonta, is a public college in Oneonta, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneon ...

. The library at SUNY Oneonta is named in his honor. James Mollison Milne was born in Scotland on September 29, 1850. He was the older son of William D. Milne and Mary A. Milne. James M. Milne received his early education in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

before his family moved to America. Milne attended the Brockport Normal School (today SUNY Brockport) then graduated from the State Normal School at Geneseo (today

SUNY Geneseo The State University of New York College at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo State College or, colloquially, "Geneseo") is a public liberal arts college in Geneseo, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The colle ...

) and went on to attend the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

where he earned a master's degree. He received his Ph.D. from Colgate University in

Hamilton, NY Hamilton is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,690 at the 2010 census. The town is named after American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The Town of Hamilton contains a village also named Hamilton, th ...

. He was a longtime resident of

Cortland, New York Cortland is a city and the county seat of Cortland County, New York. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 17,556. The city of Cortland, near the county's western bo ...

, where he was principal from 1873 to 1876 then became chair of Latin and Greek studies from 1877 to 1889 of the Cortland Normal School (today

SUNY Cortland The State University of New York College at Cortland (SUNY Cortland or Cortland State College) is a public college in Cortland, New York. It was founded in 1868 and is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History The State Un ...

). In 1871 James M. Milne became a founding father of the Delphic Society while a student at the Geneseo Normal School. Milne is considered the "Founding Father of the Delphic Fraternity" because, while principal of the Oneonta Normal School, he help found the Beta chapter of the Delphic Society in 1889 thus creating the

Delphic Fraternity The Delphic Fraternity, Inc., also known as Delphic of Gamma Sigma Tau (), is a historic multicultural fraternity originally founded in New York State in 1871 and re-established in 1987. The fraternity can trace its origin back to the ''Delphic ...

. On June 1, 1881 Milne was married to Susan M., elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Schermerhorn of Cortland, NY. Milne was president of the New York State Teachers Association and a member of the law firm Fallows, Duffey and Milne in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 1889, Dr. James M.Milne was elected to become the first principal of the Oneonta Normal School. He stayed for nine years before he was forced to resign in 1898 due to a controversy with the board. He went on to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1901. On November 5, 1903, Milne was at a

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

group meeting in

Waterville, New York Waterville (called ''Ska-na-wis'', "''long swamp''" by the Haudenosaunee) is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. According to the 2010 census, its population was 1,583. History Long the traditional territory of the Iroquoian-s ...

where he gave a speech. Soon after finishing his address, he collapsed and died. He was buried in Cortland, NY.James M. Milne Papers, New York Heritage "digital collections" website: http://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ZBM/id/107

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milne, James 1850 births 1903 deaths University of Rochester alumni Colgate University alumni State University of New York at Brockport alumni Presidents of campuses of the State University of New York Place of birth missing Scottish emigrants to the United States State University of New York at Cortland faculty