Benjamin Franklin Greene (1817–1895) was the third senior professor and first director of

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

Early life

He was born in

Lebanon, New Hampshire Lebanon ( ) is the only city in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 14,282 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 13,151 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. Lebanon is in western New Hampshi ...

on October 25, 1817. He graduated from Rensselaer in 1842. He taught mathematics at

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

Chestertown, Maryland Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,532 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Kent County, the oldest county in Maryland. History Founded in 1706, Chestertown ...

from 1843 to 1846.

Career

In 1846, he was appointed senior professor at Rensselaer, replacing

George Hammell Cook George Hammell Cook (January 5, 1818 – September 22, 1889) was the state geologist of New Jersey and vice president of Rutgers College. His geological survey of New Jersey became the predecessor for the U.S. Geological Survey. Biography He wa ...

, who served as senior professor since the death of

Amos Eaton Amos Eaton (May 17, 1776 – May 10, 1842) was an American botany, botanist, geologist, and educator who is considered the founder of the modern scientific prospectus in education, which was a radical departure from the American liberal arts tra ...

in 1842. He conducted an extensive study of the technical schools of Europe, such as the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

of Paris and the Polytechnisches Institut in Vienna. He wrote an extensive report describing the European schools and the changes he felt were appropriate. He envisioned changing the school from a one-year graduate program to a comprehensive undergraduate program. The plan also including relocation of the school from downtown to a thirty-acre site on a hill. However, the plan was not entirely successful. It was estimated later that his plans would have required between one and two million dollars, which was an enormous amount at the time. For instance, it proposed a school of architecture at a time when there was no such school anywhere in the U.S. However, the school of architecture was not established until 1929. When its new home was completed in 1931, it was named the Greene Building in his honor. In 1850, he formally became director of Rensselaer. (He used the title as early as 1847 but it was not formal until the state legislature created the title in 1850.) In 1851, he changed the name of the school from Rensselaer Institute to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The name was officially changed by state legislation in 1861. Greene resigned from Rensselaer in 1859 after disagreements with the board of trustees. He then started a competing engineering school, but it failed after three years. He was chief clerk of the U.S. Navy Bureau of Navigation from 1863 to 1873 and then a professor of mathematics in the U.S. Navy.

Personal life

He married in 1848 but his wife died two years later. He died in

West Lebanon, New Hampshire West Lebanon is an area within the city of Lebanon in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States, along the Connecticut River. The ZIP Code area for the community had a population of 4,444 at the 2020 census, out of 14,282 in the entire city. ...

on November 22, 1895.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * * Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faculty 1817 births 1895 deaths Washington College faculty {{US-academic-administrator-1810s-stub