Eliphalet Nott
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eliphalet Nott | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Eliphalet Nott | |
| President of Union College | |
| In office 1804–1866 | |
| Preceded by | Jonathan Maxcy |
| Succeeded by | Laurens Perseus Hickok |
| President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | |
| In office 1829–1845 | |
| Preceded by | John Chester |
| Succeeded by | Nathan S.S. Beman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 25, 1773 |
| Died | January 25, 1866 (aged 92) |
| Spouses | Sarah Marie Benedict
(m. 1796; died 1804)Gertrude Peebles
(m. 1807; died 1841)Urania Sheldon
(m. 1842) |
| Alma mater | Rhode Island College (now Brown University) |
| Occupation | Presbyterian minister, inventor, educator |
| Known for | Long-term president of Union College |
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
Eliphalet Nott (June 25, 1773 – January 25, 1866) was an American Presbyterian minister, inventor, educational pioneer, and long-term president of Union College, Schenectady, New York.
Nott was born at Ashford, Connecticut, on June 25, 1773. He was the second son, and youngest of nine children, born to Stephen Nott and Deborah (née Selden) Nott.[1]
In 1795, he earned a degree from Rhode Island College (which later became known as Brown University).[1]
Career
Around 1802, he was called to the Presbyterian Church at Albany, where he took a prominent position as a preacher and was heard by large congregations. Among his successful pulpit efforts at Albany was a sermon on the death of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, entitled On the Death of Hamilton, condemning the practice of dueling, that had profound influence in curtailing the custom and remains recognized to this day as an exemplary period example of the orator's art.[2]
College presidency
In 1804, at the age of 31, Nott became president of Union College, a role he served in until his death in 1866, during which time more than 4,000 students are estimated to have graduated from Union. He also served as president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 1829 to 1845,[3] where he "visited the school at least every third week and was compensated with one dollar per visit plus all graduation fees."[4]
Upon assuming the presidency of Union, he reportedly found the College financially embarrassed and successfully worked to place it on sound footings. In the early 1830s, after the founding of the Union Triad fraternities, Nott called for the dissolution of all fraternities. He was dissuaded from this by a member of Delta Phi named John Jay Hyde.[1]
In 1805, the College of New Jersey conferred upon him the title of D.D. (Doctor of Divinity), and in 1828, he received the title of LL.D. His publications include collections of sermons, Counsels to Young Men (1810), and Lectures on Temperance (1847). In 1814, Nott was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society.[5] A number of imprints authored by Nott, or related to him in some way, reside in the society's collections.[6]
Inventor and real estate investor
As a scientist, he studied heat and obtaining some thirty or more patents for applications of heat to steam engines, but was best known in his day as the inventor of the first stove for anthracite coal, which was named for him.[2]
Nott was an important land speculator and developer, partnering with his nephew Henry Sheldon Anable,[7] buying several farms on the Long Island shore of the East River that became the sites of industrial enterprises.[8]
