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247:, whose will had stipulated that the money be used to found a college for women. It aspired to be the first educational institution which would give young women the same academic and intellectual training that men received at other colleges. The idea of the intellectual and academic equality of women and men was popular in some progressive circles, but was by no means widespread at the time. Thus Seelye, in addition to being President, teacher, fund-raiser, and chief financial officer for the new college, also needed to spend time repeatedly defending the principles upon which the college had been founded. A measure of his success, and of the changing times, may be seen in the fact that, when he retired, the Smith College enrollment had grown from 14 to 1635, and the number of faculty had increased from 4 to 105.
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Seelye officially retired from his presidency of Smith
College on June 14, 1910, at age 73, after 37 years of service. He continued to reside in Northampton, Mass, moving out of the President's House and into a house on Round Hill. He remained active in the civic affairs of Northampton; he was on the
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On July 10, 1873, Seelye accepted the office of
President of Smith College from the Smith College board of Trustees. The college admitted its first students in 1875, and officially opened on September 9 of that year. There were 14 students (11 of whom graduated) and 4 faculty, including Seelye.
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He was active in the local
Congregational Church, serving on church committees and preaching an occasional Sunday sermon. As President Emeritus, he was active in the social and ceremonial life of Smith College, and was a fixture at the annual Commencement exercises.
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Seelye married
Henrietta Chapin, daughter of Lyman and Harriet (Sheldon) Chapin, of Albany, on November 17, 1863. They had seven children: Ralph Holland, Harriet Chapin (who would marry
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Seelye was born on
September 20, 1837, in Bethel, Connecticut, to Seth Seelye (b Feb 28, 1795; d March 26, 1869) and Abigail (Taylor) Seelye. He is the brother of
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formed a chapter in
Northampton he was its first president. He had been a director of the Holyoke Water Power Company, and in 1910 he became vice president.
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board of directors of the People's
Institute and was a trustee of the Clarke School for the Deaf, which is now The
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483:"L. Clark Seelye, Educator, Dies; First President of Smith College Found Dead in His Bed at 87 Years",
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156:(September 30, 1837 – October 12, 1924), known as L. Clark Seelye, was the first president of
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Smith
College had been chartered in 1871, with the main endowment coming from the estate of
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412:"Rhees, Rush (1905–1989), philosopher | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography"
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196:, Amherst College in 1865 had 17 faculty and 203 students. Seelye taught at
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and the
Universities of Berlin and Heidelberg. After serving as a
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231:) Abigail Taylor, Arthur, Walter Clark, Henrietta, and Bertram.
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from 1865 until his election as
President of the newly formed
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at 'Smithipedia' ("an online encyclopedia of Smith history")
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The Higher Education of Women: its perils and its benefits
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Professor of Rhetoric, Oratory and English Literature at
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160:, serving from 1873 to 1910. He graduated from
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317:The Early History of Smith College, 1871–1910
421:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
283:The Need of a Collegiate Education for Women
489:, New York, NY, p. 1, October 13, 1924
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356:Rhees, Harriet Chapin Seelye (1929).
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258:Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech
456:"President Seelye Found Dead in Bed"
726:Andover Theological Seminary alumni
534:, Smith College Special Collections
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271:Seelye died on October 12, 1924.
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721:Union College (New York) alumni
513:President Laurenus Clark Seelye
315:Seelye, Laurenus Clark (1923).
298:Seelye, Laurenus Clark (1888).
281:Seelye, Laurenus Clark (1874).
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503:Biographical Sketch of Seelye
464:. October 13, 1924. p. 1
398:– via Internet Archive.
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442:UK public library membership
174:Andover Theological Seminary
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731:Presidents of Smith College
605:Presidents of Smith College
472:– via Newspapers.com.
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381:Toomey, Daniel P. (1892).
206:Northampton, Massachusetts
172:. Seelye later studied at
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409:Phillips, D. Z. (2004).
178:Congregational Minister
170:The Kappa Alpha Society
532:Smith College Archives
427:10.1093/ref:odnb/65652
384:Massachusetts of today
339:Syford, Ethel (1910).
528:Laurenus Clark Seelye
519:Laurenus Clark Seelye
358:Laurenus Clark Seelye
341:Laurenus Clark Seelye
154:Laurenus Clark Seelye
41:1st President of
22:Laurenus Clark Seelye
637:(acting) (1939–1940)
218:Julius Hawley Seelye
565:Marion LeRoy Burton
229:Benjamin Rush Rhees
104:Bethel, Connecticut
76:Marion LeRoy Burton
486:The New York Times
164:(NY) in 1857 with
101:September 30, 1837
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440:(Subscription or
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115:(1924-10-12)
71:Succeeded by
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716:1924 deaths
711:1837 births
685:(2013–2023)
679:(2002–2013)
673:(1995–2001)
667:(1985–1995)
661:(1975–1985)
655:(1959–1975)
649:(1949–1959)
643:(1940–1949)
631:(1917–1939)
625:(1910–1917)
619:(1875–1910)
182:Springfield
61:Preceded by
705:Categories
653:Mendenhall
559:1873–1910
444:required.)
333:References
251:Retirement
204:in nearby
125:Alma mater
97:1837-09-30
683:McCartney
468:March 10,
394:March 10,
291:800458089
262:Red Cross
208:in 1873.
186:Williston
136:Signature
55:1875–1910
51:In office
691:(2023– )
349:83845006
308:32499102
671:Simmons
629:Nielson
530:at the
432:May 22,
366:1036588
325:1924097
198:Amherst
194:Stearns
677:Christ
659:Conway
647:Wright
635:Morrow
623:Burton
617:Seelye
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235:Career
212:Family
641:Davis
665:Dunn
548:None
470:2020
434:2019
396:2020
362:OCLC
345:OCLC
321:OCLC
304:OCLC
287:OCLC
110:Died
91:Born
65:None
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423:doi
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
_from_Smith_College_Class_Book_1923.png){kind=small}