c.1928 AUTOGRAPH of WILLIAM WATTS FOLWELL 1st President UNIVERSITY of MINNESOTA

Description

This listing is for an original circa 1928 autograph from William Watts Folwell.  The letter is on a piece of paper that measures 2-7/8” x 4-7/8"
.  Please see scans for condition.  This one of several authentic vintage autographs from a collection I just purchased.  I will be listing many more in the coming days.  I will happily combine shipping for winning bidders.
Please see scans for condition.
Check out my other auctions for more authentic antique and vintage items.
Buyer to pay .95 for First Class shipping and handling anywhere in the US.  Thank you and good luck.
BIOGRAPHY:
William Watts Folwell
(February 14, 1833 – September 17, 1929) was an educator, writer and historian who was the first president of the
University of Minnesota
.
Contents
1
Biography
2
Publications
3
Papers
4
References
Biography
Folwell was born in 1833 in
Romulus, New York
. He attended
Hobart College
in
Geneva, New York
, where he received his undergraduate degree in 1857. Folwell was a member of
Alpha Delta Phi
fraternity at Hobart. In 1859, he became adjunct professor of mathematics there, and received a
Master of Arts
degree in 1860. He spent the years 1860-1861 in the study of
philology
at
Berlin
and in travel. During the
American Civil War
, he served in the
50th New York Volunteer Engineer Regiment
where he received the rank of brevet lieutenant colonel of engineers.
[1]
[2]
After the Civil War, Folwell briefly engaged in business pursuits in Ohio and accepted a position as the chair of mathematics at
Kenyon College
,
Ohio
for a year. In 1869, he became the University of Minnesota's first president. When he first assumed the presidency, the university consisted of just eight faculty members and 100 students in a single building. He laid out an ambitious plan for the university to expand beyond traditional
undergraduate education
to include
postgraduate education
and professional programs as well as cultural facilities such as museums and libraries. Folwell's plans caused some tension with more traditional faculty, leading to resignations in 1879 and an amicable end to his presidency in 1884. Folwell continued to serve the university as the chair of the school's political science department and as the university's librarian until 1907. After retiring the University named a new building Folwell Hall in his honor.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
Folwell was also a major advocate for parks in Minneapolis, serving on the city's
park board
from 1889 to 1907 and as the board's president from 1895 to 1903. He supported
Horace Cleveland
's vision of a network of parks crossing the city and also suggested the term "
Grand Rounds
" to describe it. Today the
Folwell, Minneapolis
neighborhood and Folwell Park within it are named for him
[5]
[6]
as was William Watts Folwell Junior High (later Middle) School, a south Minneapolis public school that was open from 1931 to 2010 (converted to the current Folwell Performing Arts, a public pre-K through 8 facility).
Folwell was president of the
Minnesota Historical Society
from 1924 to 1927.
Folwell's grave at
Lakewood Cemetery
in
Minneapolis
Folwell died in 1929. He is buried in
Lakewood Cemetery
in Minneapolis.
[7]