LeBaron Russell Briggs

LeBaron Russell Briggs
Born December 11, 1855 Edit this on Wikidata
Died 1934 Edit this on Wikidata
Alma mater
Employer

LeBaron Russell Briggs (December 11, 1855 – 1934) was an American educator. He was appointed the first Dean of Men at Harvard College, where he also served as dean of the faculty. He was also president of Radcliffe College and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, among other offices.[1]

Briggs was born in Salem, Massachusetts to Unitarian minister George Briggs and his wife Jane. After graduating with a A.B. and A.M. from Harvard, he began teaching there; he began as a Greek tutor before moving to English, eventually becoming the Boylston Professor of Rhetoric from 1904 until 1925.[2]

His appointment as Dean of Men was the first "student personnel" appointment, which later became the catalyst for the Student Affairs field in higher education. Briggs was responsible for advising students academically, and on personal issues. "His fairness in dealing with the Faculty and students alike, his patience in dealing with erring undergraduates, and his always kindly humor endeared him to everyone," wrote George Henry Chase.[lower-alpha 1] Briggs Hall at Harvard's Cabot House is named for him.

Briggs was also a trustee of Middlesex School, where the LeBaron Briggs House dormitory is named for him. His nautical namesake, the liberty ship LeBaron Russell Briggs, was scuttled with its cargo of nerve gas on August 18, 1970, as the last installment of a project in which the United States disposed of much of its stockpile by dumping it at sea.[4]

Notes

  1. ↑ [3] According to Chase a Harvard undergraduate, having knocked a Yale student unconscious late at night after a football game (see Harvard–Yale football rivalry), rushed to Briggs' home and declared, "Dean Briggs, I've killed a Yale man in the Yard". Briggs replied, "Why bother me at this time of night? Come to the office Monday morning and collect the customary bounty."

References

  1. ↑ Hollander, David N., "The LeBaron Russell Briggs Sails Its Last", The Harvard Crimson, August 18, 1970.
  2. ↑ Briggs, Le Baron Russell, 1855–1934. Records of Radcliffe College President Le Baron Russell Briggs, 1903–1925: A Finding Aid. Harvard University Library.
  3. ↑ Chase, George Henry (1947). Tales Out of School. Harvard University Press. pp. 25–26.
  4. ↑ "Cut Holes and Sink 'Em", Time, Aug. 24, 1970; "A Generation of Indiscriminate Dumping".


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