Morris Barker Crawford (September 26, 1852 – 1940) was an American academic, and the first professor of physics at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

Early life and education

He was born in 1852 in Sing Sing, now

Ossining, New York Ossining ( ) is a town located along the Hudson River in Westchester County, New York. The population was 40,061 at the time of the 2020 census. It contains two villages, the Village of Ossining and part of Briarcliff Manor, the rest of which ...

, to the Rev. Morris DeCamp Crawford and Charlotte (Holmes) Crawford. Both his father and his grandfather were ministers. He graduated from

in 1874, and he was a member of the Eclectic Society and of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. He earned a Master of Arts degree from Wesleyan in 1877.

Career

He was a tutor in mathematics at Wesleyan from 1874 to 1877. He also served as registrar. From 1877 to 1880, he studied mathematics and physics at the

University of Leipsic Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

and the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. He was appointed an instructor of physics in 1880, an associate professor in 1881, and a full professor in 1884. He was the first physics professor at Wesleyan, the Foss Professor of Physics. He retired in 1921, and was elected professor emeritus. He was a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

and a member of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

. He was a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Middletown beginning in his freshman year in college, and was active in the church throughout his life. This included rebuilding the church after fires in 1885 and 1930. He was very involved with the Eclectic Society, and supervised construction of its

Henry Bacon Henry Bacon (November 28, 1866February 16, 1924) was an American Beaux-Arts architect who oversaw the engineering and design of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., built between 1915 and 1922, which was his final project before his 1924 ...

-designed clubhouse in 1908.

Family life

Crawford married Caroline Laura Rice (1856-1954) on December 25, 1883. She was the daughter of the Rev. Dr. William Rice, a noted Methodist minister and librarian who had also attended Wesleyan University. She graduated from Wesleyan in 1879, was elected to

, and earned a master's degree in 1882. Morris B. Crawford was a proponent of coeducation at Wesleyan, and he met his wife while they were both students at the university. They had three children; Holmes Crawford (1884-1886), Frederick North Crawford (1886-1922), who graduated from Wesleyan in 1908, and became a chemist, and Margaret Crawford (1889-1929), who graduated with high honors from Wesleyan in 1910. They are buried at

Indian Hill Cemetery Indian Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 383 Washington Street in Middletown, Connecticut on a hill adjacent to Wesleyan University. History The hill was originally named "''Wunne Wah Jet''" by the indigenous Wangunk people ...

in Middletown, Connecticut.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Morris B. 20th-century American physicists Burials at Indian Hill Cemetery Wesleyan University faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Leipzig University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni 1852 births 1940 deaths