John Bascom (May 1, 1827October 2, 1911) was an American professor, college president and writer.

Life

He was born on May 1, 1827, in

Genoa, New York Genoa is a town in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,816 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Genoa in Italy. The town is located in the southwestern corner of the county and is north of Ithaca. Genoa is in the ...

, and was a graduate of

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

with the class of 1849. He graduated from the

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambrid ...

in 1855. Aside from the degrees he received in those places, he held many other scholarly and honorary degrees. He was professor of

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

at Williams College from 1855 to 1874, and was president of the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

from 1874 to 1887. He retired in 1903 and died in

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. Located in Berkshire County, the town is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statis ...

, on October 2, 1911. Authoring between thirty to forty books over his lifetime, Bascom later claimed that their writing cost him more than they earned in sales revenue. However, his biography expressed pride at their impact on others, and his works heavily influenced Senator

Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Robert Marion La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), nicknamed "Fighting Bob," was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th governor of Wisconsin from 1901 to 1906. ...

during the latter's studies at the University of Wisconsin. In 1853, John married Abbie Burt, who died shortly thereafter. John then wed Emma Curtiss, to whom he was married for over fifty years. Their three children, Jean, George and

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, all graduated from the University of Wisconsin.

Legacy and honors

Bascom Hill Bascom Hill is the iconic main Quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle that forms the historic core of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. It is located on the opposite end of State Street from the Wisconsin State Capitol, and is named a ...

and Bascom Hall on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison are both named in his honor. Bascom House at

is also named after Bascom. During World War II the

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

was built in

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Route 98 in Florida, U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida, Pe ...

, and named in his honor.

Relatives of note

* Earl W. Bascom, cowboy artist/sculptor, rodeo pioneer, "Father of Modern Rodeo" *

Florence Bascom Florence Bascom (July 14, 1862 – June 18, 1945) was a pioneer American woman geologist and educator. Bascom became an anomaly in the 19th century when she earned two bachelor's degrees and a masters degree. Earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1882, an ...

, America's first female geologist *

George Nicholas Bascom George Nicholas Bascom (1837 – February 21, 1862) was a United States Army officer in the New Mexico Territory and in the early months of the American Civil War. Biography George N. Bascom was born in Owingsville in Bath County, Kentucky. His a ...

, army officer of Apache Wars *

Henry Bidleman Bascom Henry Bidleman Bascom (1796–1850) was an American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, elected in 1850. He also distinguished himself as a circuit rider, pastor and Christian preacher; as chaplain to the U.S. House of Representat ...

, Congressional Chaplain 1824-26 * John U. Bascom, American surgeon *

Willard Bascom Willard Newell Bascom (November 7, 1916 – September 20, 2000), was an engineer, adventurer and scientist, as well as a writer, photographer, painter, miner, cinematographer, and archeologist, who first proposed using Neoprene for wetsuits to fel ...

, oceanographer * Bryant Butler Brooks, cowboy, rancher and Governor of Wyoming 1905-1911 * Frederic S. Remington, western artist and sculptor, "Father of Cowboy Sculpture" * Jedediah S. Smith, American explorer, mountain man *

Franchot Tone Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known ...

, American actor *

Wolfe Tone Theobald Wolfe Tone, posthumously known as Wolfe Tone (; 20 June 176319 November 1798), was a revolutionary exponent of Irish independence and is an iconic figure in Irish republicanism. Convinced that, so long as his fellow Protestantism in ...

, "Father of Irish Republicanism" * S. Dilworth Young, American religious leader

Books and articles

Many of these are in the public domain and fully viewable at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

. * ''An Appeal To Young Men On The Use Of Tobacco'' (1850) * ''Philosophy Of Rhetoric'' (1866) * ''The Principles Of Psychology'' (1869) * ''Aesthetics'' (1871) * ''Science, Philosophy And Religion'' (1871)
(1872)
* ''Philosophy Of English Literature'' (1874) * ''Education And The State'' (1877) * ''Comparative Psychology'' (1878) * ''Ethics'' (1879) * ''Natural Theology'' (1880) * ''The Science Of Mind'' (1881) * ''The Lawyer And The Lawyer's Questions'' (1882) * ''Problems In Philosophy ''(1885) * ''Prohibition And Common Sense'' (1885) * ''Sociology'' (1887) * ''The New Theology'' (1891) * ''Address Before The YMCA Of The Mass. Agricultural College'' (1892) * ''An Historical Interpretation Of Philosophy'' (1893) * ''Social Theory'' (1895) * ''Evolution And Religion'' (1897) * ''The Goodness Of God'' (1901) * ''The Remedies Of Trusts'' (1901) * ''The College Tax Exemption'' (1907) *

' (1913) * ''Sermons And Addresses'' (1913)

References

;Attribution

External links

John A. Bascom (President: 1874-1887)
at the University of Wisconsin–Madison * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bascom, John 1827 births 1911 deaths People from Genoa, New York Leaders of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Andover Theological Seminary alumni Williams College alumni Williams College faculty Writers from New York (state) Writers from Wisconsin