Frederick George Campbell
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Frederick George Campbell | |
|---|---|
 Frederick George Campbell | |
| Born | August 19, 1853 |
| Died | June 13, 1929 (aged 75) |
| Education | Massachusetts Agricultural College (UMass) |
| Employer(s) | Self-employed rancher, local politician |
Frederick George Campbell (1853–1929) was an American sheep breeder and rancher from the Green Mountains of Vermont. He is chiefly known as one of six founders of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity in 1873.
Frederick George Campbell, born and bred in the Green Mountains, much like co-Founder Clay, was from the small town of Westminster West, Vermont. He prepared for college at the Powers Institute in Bernardston, Massachusetts. His father had an international reputation as a breeder of fine-wooled, American, Merino sheep. "Indeed a pen of his sheep took the sweepstake prize at Hamburg, and were thereupon sold to a Continental breeder for $5,000;" a great sum of money at the time. (p. 18) Campbell was exceedingly practical in his philosophy of life, and would drolly say of some of his college work, "Now that isn't going to be of any use to me." While not like Clay, bubblingly original and creative in his thinking powers, he seems still to have been a dynamic force in putting a presented idea into actual operation. (p. 18) [1]
Collegiate activities
Like many of his fellow Founders, Campbell participated in an array of collegiate activities. While at Aggie he was a member of the Washington Irving Literary Society, a popular pastime among the undergraduates. Campbell was a member of the Gymnastic Association, and like others of the Fraternity's Founders held the military rank of lieutenant in the College's Battalion. In 1875, he graduated fifth among all graduating students, with only fellow Phi Sigs ahead of him. His peers honored Campbell by election as vice-president and treasurer of his class.[1]
But among all these activities and honors, it was his role as a Founder of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity in his Sophomore year by which he is best remembered today. Rand's History summarizes that Campbell's ability to assess and deliver a pragmatic outcome of a bare idea was his genius, and his contribution to the Order.[1]
