Robertson Howard (1847–1899) was a doctor and attorney who is best known as one of the six co-founders of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

Early life

Howard was born December 11, 1847 to Flodoardo R. Howard and Lydia Maria (Robertson) Howard, in

Brookeville, Maryland Brookeville is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located north of Washington, D.C., and north of Olney. Brookeville was settled by Quakers late in the 18th century and was formally incorporated as a town in 1808. Historic ...

. His mother was a descendant of Quakers, and his father's family had ancestral ties to the Howard family of England, including the likes of

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the se ...

. When Howard was three his father moved the family to

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, where he purchased a plot of land directly across from

Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater bo ...

and established a medical office. Today the site is occupied by Washington's largest department store. Although his father was tied to the Howard family of England, his relations with the mainland quickly deteriorated. As a child he attended Brookeville Academy, an institution founded in 1808 by his ancestors.

Professional life

Medicine

During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Robertson, being a Quaker, refused to join either side. He graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, founded by his father, with his doctorate of medicine in 1865. However, being only eighteen years old, he was considered too young to begin his practice. Therefore, Howard was sent to 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 ...

, where one of his uncles was currently employed, to obtain a post-graduate degree in chemistry. While there he shared Room 47, West Range with James Benjamin Sclater Jr., with whom he and four other men founded Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity on March 1, 1868. This would become one of the first fraternities in the United States. Howard would remain close friends with these men for the rest of his life- it is said that Howard kept autographed photographs of his fellow co-Founders in his possession throughout his lifetime. After completing his post-graduate work at the University of Virginia, Howard was for two years a member of the medical faculty of Georgetown University, where he received an honorary Master of Arts. After leaving Georgetown, he worked for some time in the medical department of the National Museum, now the Arts and Industries Building of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Law

After losing interest in medicine, Howard returned to

to receive a Bachelor of Law degree in 1874. He moved to Baltimore and practiced law there for five years, during which time he married Isoline Maria Carusi on June 8, 1875. The couple would go on to have four sons and a daughter. As a lawyer he handled western land claims, one of which led him to moving his family to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1881. During a span of approximately twenty years, Howard went into business partnership with Jude Kerr and ex-governor

William Rainey Marshall Willian Rainey Marshall (October 17, 1825January 8, 1896) was an American politician. He was the fifth Governor of Minnesota from January 8, 1866 to January 9, 1870 and was a member of the Republican party. He served as an officer in the 7th M ...

He also twice held the position of editor of the

West Publishing West (also known by its original name, West Publishing) is a business owned by Thomson Reuters that publishes legal, business, and regulatory information in print, and on electronic services such as Westlaw. Since the late 19th century, West h ...

Company, a business that created law publications, a few of which he wrote himself.

Death

Howard died suddenly at age 52 on December 1, 1899. His body was taken back to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

for burial in the

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national m ...

. His grave was unmarked for years until his Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity furnished a bronze plaque in his memory.

References

External links

Pi Kappa Alpha site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Robertson 1847 births 1899 deaths Georgetown University School of Medicine alumni Burials at the Congressional Cemetery University of Virginia alumni Pi Kappa Alpha founders