Cyrus Nutt (September 4, 1814 – August 24, 1875) served as the fifth president of

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Biography

Cyrus Nutt was born in

Southington Township, Trumbull County, Ohio Southington Township is one of the twenty-four townships of Trumbull County, Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania t ...

on September 4, 1814. His father was James Nutt and his mother was Mary Viets who married in 1806. Cyrus was the second son, with one brother and two sisters who all lived in a

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

on a piece of land next to a large farm belonging James father-in-law. Cyrus Nutt graduated from

Allegheny College Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college in Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1815, Allegheny is the oldest college in continuous existence under the same name west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is a member of the G ...

(B.A. 1836). and became a professor of languages at Asbury (now DePauw) University (1837-1845), pastor of

Methodist Episcopal church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

in Bloomington (1845), professor of Greek at Asbury University (1846-1849), president of Fort Wayne Female College (1849-1850), president of Whitewater College (1850-1855), professor of mathematics and acting president at Asbury University (1857-1860). In 1860, Nutt was elected president of

. During his presidency, the University attempted to create an agricultural and mechanical school under the terms of the

Morrill Act The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds from sales of federally owned land, often obtained from Native American tribes through treaty, cessi ...

, though by 1869

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

was established as the land grant college of Indiana. In 1867, the board of trustees voted to admit women to classes, and around the same time the university experienced the beginning of organized athletics with students embracing the game of baseball. The junior and senior-class-controlled newspaper The Student also was founded that year. The final years of Nutt’s presidency saw growing tensions with students, though the reasons are unknown. Students published a bogus newspaper in March 1873 titled The Dagger in which they attacked Nutt. In June 1875, Nutt retired from his position at the university and died on August 24, 1875, from

remittent fever Remittent fever is a type or pattern of fever in which temperature does not touch the baseline and remains above normal throughout the day. Daily variation in temperature is more than 1°C in 24 hours, which is also the main difference as compared ...

. He was buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in

Greencastle, Indiana Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It is located near Interstate 70 approximately halfway between Terre Haute and Indianapolis in the west-central portion ...

Works

Several of Nutt's baccalaureate sermons were published.

Notes

References

External links

Indiana University President's Office records, 1857-1875
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nutt, Cyrus 1814 births 1875 deaths Allegheny College alumni DePauw University faculty Presidents of Indiana University People from Trumbull County, Ohio Asbury University faculty Burials at Forest Hill Cemetery (Greencastle, Indiana)