Lecture notes collection, 1817-1969, bulk 1877-1913

Collection context

Creator:
Columbia University. Archives
Abstract:
Lecture notes taken by Columbia University students. Collection includes notes of lectures given by prominent Columbia professors such as Charles F. Chandler, John W. Burgess, Herbert L. Osgood, Paul Oskar Kristeller, and George E. Woodberry.
Extent:
9.92 linear feet 7 document boxes 6 record cartons
Language:
English .
Scope and content:

The collection consists of lecture notes taken by various students in the School of Law, School of Arts, and School of Mines from 1817 to 1915, and includes memorabilia. There is one set of notes from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, take in 1960-61. The notes cover a wide range of subjects, from constitutional law to English literature, and provide a unique insight into the teaching methods of several of Columbia's most prestigious professors. This is an artificial collection that has been assembled by the University Archives staff out of smaller manuscript collections.

Biographical / historical:

Benjamin Franklin Miller: Benjamin Franklin Miller received an A.B. degree from Columbia College in 1830.

Walter Trimble: Walter Trimble (1857-1926) graduated from the School of Law in 1881. He was a partner at the Wyatt and Trimble law firm and later president of the Bank for Savings.

Jonathan M. Wainwright: Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright (1864-1945) was the grandson of J. M. Wainwright, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York and cousin of the decorated WWI veteran of the same name. Wainwright graduated from Columbia College in 1881 and the School of Law in 1886. He joined the military after graduation and ultimately reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. He became a member of the New York State Assembly from 1902 to 1907, was New York State Senator from 1908 to 1912, and was a member of Congress from 1923 to 1931. Wainwright was an active member of the Military Affairs Committee at both the state and national level throughout his political career, and from 1921 to 1923 served as the Assistant Secretary of War.

Edwin R.A. Seligman: Seligman was a graduate student in both the School of Political Science and the School of Law. He received his LL.B in 1884 and a Ph.D. in 1885, and taught at Columbia until his retirement in 1931. He was a member of both the city and state committees on taxation and finance and an expert to the League of Nations Committee on Economics and Finance, 1922 -1923. He was a founding member of the American Economic Association in 1885 and served as president from 1902 to 1904. Seligman was also a book collector and a social activist.

Jaco. Langthorn: Langthorn (1867-1955), Class of 1891, Engineering, began his career as development engineer for the New York City Board of Water Supply, later becoming commissioner of the Board. For several years he was president of the engineering contractors firm Langthorn and Smith. He was the author of several books on engineering, former director of the American Society of Civil Engineering, and governor of the Columbia University Club. Langthorn retired in 1937 as consulting engineer to the president of the Borough of Manhattan.

Lewis S. Bigelow: Lewis Sherrill Bigelow (1863-1933) graduated from Philips Exeter Academy in 1882 and Yale University in 1887. He did post-graduate work at Columbia University and received a law degree from the University of Michigan. After working for several years at his father's law firm, Bigelow, Flandreau, and Squires, in St. Paul, Bigelow came to New York and joined the staff of the "Sun." He devoted the later years of his life to literary work.

Lynn Thorndike: Lynn Thorndike (1882-1965), a medievalist, graduated from Columbia College in 1905 and received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1911. He was a professor at the University for twenty-six years and actively published throughout his career. Thorndike was the president of the American Historical Association in 1955 and was one of the first thirty fellows named to the Mediaeval Academy of America.

Carl Trischka: Carl Trischka graduated from the School of Mines in 1913.

James Ackerman was a student of Paul Oskar Kristeller.

Douglas Fraser was a professor of art history and archeology at Columbia University. He specialized in the African art and architecture and the art of Oceania. He published extensively on "primitive art." He received his art historical training at Columbia before becoming a member of the faculty.

James G. Banner, Jr.: James Banner was a graduate student in history in the early 1960s.

Harold Wechsler: Harold Wechsler (1946 - 2017) majored in History, receiving his A.B. in 1967 from Columbia College, M.A. in 1969 and Ph.D. in 1974 from Columbia University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He co-directed NYU's Ph.D. program in Education and Jewish Studies. He published widely on access, governance, business education, and the formation of curriculum and disciplines in American higher education.

Mildred Daum: Mildred Daum Raymond (1920-2014), earned an M.A. in Medieval History at Columbia in 1941. She was a graduate of the University of Iowa and the recipient of a Lydia Roberts Fellowship to study at Columbia. She went on to become an attorney, and was the first woman in the country to edit a law review.

Elizabeth Fisher: Elizabeth Fisher Scharffenberger (1920-2016), earned her M.A. from Columbia in 1944. Following employment elsewhere, she returned to the University in 1946 to work as social secretary to Margaret B. Pickel, Dean of University Women. She kept this job until her marriage in 1951.

Jonathan Liebowitz: Jonathan Liebowitz received his B.A. in History from Columbia College in 1961. He then received his M.A. in 1962 and his Ph.D. in 1970 from University of California, Berkeley in French Economic History. From 1970 to 2013, he taught history at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, continuing to teach as an emeritus profesor until Spring 2020 when he finally retired from teaching.

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection has no restrictions.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Terms of access:

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Lecture Notes Collection; Box and Folder; University Archives, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Location of this collection:
6th Floor East Butler Library
535 West 114th Street
New York, NY 10027, USA
Before you visit:
Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.
Contact:
uarchives@columbia.edu