History of MIT
William Barton Rogers founded the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) after years of working with the Massachusetts government to get funding and political support for the creation of a university. The state of Massachusetts chartered MIT in 1861, and the institute enrolled its inaugural class of students in 1865. Rogers also served as MIT's first president.
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William Barton Rogers
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William Barton Rogers was a distinguished scientist. Beginning in 1928, he served as a professor of chemistry at the College of William and Mary, and was later named geologist of the commonwealth of Virginia. By the 1940s, Rogers was teaching at the University of Virginia and developed aspirations of founding his own school. After traveling to New England, he decided to open his school in Boston, where he believed the people valued academics and hard work.
The Founding of MIT
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Rogers took his vision for a polytechnic school to the Massachusetts government. He served as the chairman of a committee petitioning to get land in Boston zoned for educational institutions. The governor of Massachusetts took interest in the petition and asked Rogers to speak before the state board of education on behalf of his committee's proposal. The board was initially skeptical, but Rogers won them over. In 1861, the state approved the Act of Incorporation for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Location of MIT
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The Act of Incorporation designated that a square plot of land in Back Bay, Boston, was to be reserved for the development of the MIT campus. Though the Civil War delayed the opening of the university, the first classes finally commenced in 1865 in the now-historic Mercantile Building. Nearby, construction began on another MIT building, which was later named for Rogers. The institute moved to its current location of Cambridge, Mass., in 1916.
Scope and Plan for MIT
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As his vision for MIT became a reality, Rogers developed an outline for the curriculum of the school, which he titled the "Scope and Plan of the School of Industrial Science." The plan set forth five degrees that would initially be offered at MIT: mechanical construction and engineer; civil and topographical engineer; builder and architect; industrial chemist; and geologist and mining engineer. It also explained Rogers' pragmatic philosophy regarding education. He believed the curriculum at MIT should focus on real-world problems, and MIT students should gain practical technical experience before graduating.
MIT Today
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MIT's current mission signals that the institute still strives for the same ideals Rogers outlined in his plan. Today, more than 10,000 students study at MIT each year, including undergraduate and graduate students. Fifteen MIT presidents have succeeded Rogers. In fact, the institute currently boasts its first female president, Susan Hockfield.
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References
- MIT Institute Archives & Special Collections: The Founding of MIT, 1861
- MIT Libraries: William Barton Rogers--MIT's Visionary Founder
- MIT Libraries: Acts and Resolves of the General Court Relating to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 2010 MIT Facts--Mission and Origins
- Photo Credit boston sunset image by Alessandro Lai from Fotolia.com
