Nathan D. Abbott (11 July 1854 – 4 January 1941) was an American lawyer from the

U.S. State In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. He was the co-founder of

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

, where he also served as its first

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Personal life and education

Abbott was born in

Norridgewock Norridgewock was the name of both an Indigenous village and a band of the Abenaki ("People of the Dawn") Native Americans/First Nations, an Eastern Algonquian tribe of the United States and Canada. The French of New France called the village Ke ...

, the son of Abiel Abbott and Sarah Smith Abbot on 11 July 1854. He studied in Norridgewock public schools until the age of 16. That year, in 1870, he moved to

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andove ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

to study at Phillips Academy. After three years there, in 1873 he was admitted and studied at

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in 1877. At Yale, he was a member of

Scroll and Key The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest Yale secret societies and reputedly the wealthiest. The society is one of the reputed "Big Three" societies ...

secret society and

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some of which ...

fraternity. His legal education consisted of a mixture of

reading law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under th ...

at his father's practice in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

as well as attending Boston University School of Law. He graduated from the latter in 1883 with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

(LL.B.). On April 23, 1884 he married his wife, Frances Field.

Career

Abbot practiced law in Boston for about seven years until 1891, when he accepted a position to teach law at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, but held the position for only one year when he resigned to accept a professorship of law in

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. After teaching at Northwestern for just two years, in 1895 Abbot was asked to form a Department of Law at Stanford University by its then President, David Starr Jordan. Upon his arrival, Stanford was suffering widespread financial cuts and layoffs as a result of a dispute over the finances of Leland Stanford's estate as well as the economic fallout from the Panic of 1893. Abbot was forced to perform a wide array of unusual duties to begin work on his new law school, including building furniture for the school himself. The law school grew quickly during its formative years, reaching 100 students by the turn of the millennium. The department was also unique in that it accepted students regardless of race or gender; Abbot accepted students who were Hispanic, Chinese, Japanese, and female. Abbot was a personal friend to famous philosopher

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

, who, in fact, was visiting in Abbot's home during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. He held that position until 1907, after which time he was a member of the law faculty of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He was a legal scholar of wide reputation and a recognized authority on the English and American Law of Real Property. Abbot retired in 1922 around the age of 68. He died in 1941 due to complications from

Pyelonephritis Pyelonephritis is inflammation of the kidney, typically due to a bacterial infection. Symptoms most often include fever and flank tenderness. Other symptoms may include nausea, burning with urination, and frequent urination. Complications may ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Nathan Lawyers from Boston American legal scholars Boston University School of Law alumni Yale College alumni Stanford Law School faculty Columbia Law School faculty People from Norridgewock, Maine 1854 births 1941 deaths University of Michigan Law School faculty Northwestern University faculty Psi Upsilon Maine lawyers