Henry Mitchell MacCracken (September 28, 1840 – December 24, 1918) was an American educator and academic administrator.

Biography

Henry MacCracken was born in

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

on September 28, 1840. He graduated from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

in Ohio in 1857. After a brief teaching career, he entered the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

ministry in 1863. From 1881 to 1884 he served as the sixth chancellor of the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

, then called the Western University of Pennsylvania. In 1884 he was appointed professor of philosophy and vice chancellor of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, becoming chancellor in 1891. Before his retirement in 1910, the University Heights campus was acquired, a graduate school and schools of commerce and pedagogy were founded, and the university medical school was strengthened by union with Bellevue Hospital medical college. While chancellor he was responsible for the creation of Hall of Fame for Great Americans on the campus and using the term "Hall of Fame" in English, inspired by Munich's Ruhmeshalle (Munich), Ruhmeshalle ("hall of fame" in German). Henry MacCracken died in Orlando, Florida on December 24, 1918. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York), Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. Henry Noble MacCracken, president of Vassar College from 1915 to 1946, and John Henry MacCracken, president of Lafayette College from 1915 to 1926, were his sons. MacCracken Hall, a residence hall at Miami University bears his name.

Popular culture

On a July 2013 episode of the satirical television program ''The Colbert Report, ''Henry Mitchel MacCracken, who penned a 1904'' New York Times ''article on the moral risks of college men'',' ''was comically portrayed as a still active ''Times'' trends section editor after the newspaper published a similarly themed article in 2013.

References

* See T. F. Jones, New York University, 1832–1932 (1933).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maccracken, Henry Mitchell 1840 births 1918 deaths Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Miami University alumni Chancellors of the University of Pittsburgh Presidents of New York University