Encyclopedia Brunoniana

1770

  • Solomon Drowne of the class of 1773, in an entry in his diary for June 30, 1770, described his examination by President Manning and tutor David Howell, which consisted of five verses in the Greek Testament, seven lines in Cicero’s Orations, and five lines in Virgil’s Georgics, after which he was pronounced fit to enter, which he did two days later.Admission
  • Honorary degrees were awarded to Joseph Brown in 1770 and to John Brown in 1773.Brown family
  • Tristam Burges (1770-1853), professor of oratory and belles-lettres, was born in Rochester, Massachusetts, on February 26, 1770.Burges, Tristam
  • The Campus first occupied in 1770 was an eight-acre piece of land, composed of two adjacent lots, one purchased from John and Moses Brown and the other from Oliver Bowen.Campus
  • In 1770 the college moved to Providence, where the next five Commencements were held in Mr. Snow’s Meeting House.Commencement
  • Solomon Drowne began his studies in 1769 with Charles Thompson 1769, and according to his diary was examined for entrance to Rhode Island College on June 30, 1770.Drowne, Solomon
  • Solomon Drowne's old friend Theodore Foster 1770 had returned from two terms in the Senate and retired to the town of Foster, which had been named for him when it was separated from Scituate in 1781.Drowne, Solomon
  • Edwards now recalled a dream he had fifteen years earlier and became convinced that he would die the next year – so convinced, in fact, that he preached and printed a sermon entitled "A New Year’s Gift; a sermon preached in this house, January 1, 1770, from these words, "This year thou shalt die.""Edwards, Morgan
  • His son, William Edwards 1776, who as a pupil in Manning’s Latin School had been allowed to pronounce a piece from Homer at the 1770 Commencement, became a colonel in the English army and later drowned on his way to Cork from Bristol, England.Edwards, Morgan
  • In 1770 there were twenty students and by 1775 enrollment had increased to 41.Enrollment
  • Theodore graduated from Rhode Island College in September 1770 at the second Commencement, which was held in Mr. Snow’s meeting house in Providence, as the college had moved from Warren earlier that year.Foster, Theodore
  • Hezekiah Smith was sent to the South in 1769 and 1770 and collected about $1,700.Fund-raising
  • Stephen Hopkins was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1732 to 1752 and from 1770 to 1775.Hopkins, Stephen
  • The Corporation, to clear up any doubt of the intention of the charter, voted on September 6, 1770, "That the Children of Jews may be admitted into this Institution and intirely (sic) enjoy the freedom of their own Religion, without any Constraint or Imposition whatever."Jews
  • In January 1770 the Browns bought it from the present owner, Samuel Fenner, and sold it to the College.Location
  • On February 23, 1770, according to the diary of Ezra Stiles, William Ellery visited him to discuss a charter for another college to be located at Newport, and a charter for the rival college was passed by the lower house of the General Assembly at the February session, but deferred by the upper house until the next session, when it was rejected.Location
  • The College Edifice was built in Providence in 1770, and Manning moved to Providence and lived in Benjamin Bowen’s house while the president’s house was being built.Manning, James
  • Solomon Drowne 1773 recorded in his diary on December 11, 1770 that he "began to learn French of Mr. David Howel ... four Evenings in a Week, and on the following two days purchased a French grammar and a French "Telemachus."Modern Languages
  • The President’s House built in 1770 was a two-and-a-half story house situated to the northwest of the College Edifice.President’s House
  • William Rogers taught for a while in Newport, was baptized by Gardner Thurston of Newport in 1770, and licensed to preach in August of 1771.Rogers, William
  • From October 1769 to June 1770 Hezekiah Smith made a trip to South Carolina and Georgia, preaching and receiving subscriptions for Rhode Island College.Smith, Hezekiah
  • The first steward, Josias Arnold (1770 to 1773), was followed by William Holroyd (1773 to 1782) and Peregrine Foster (1782 to 1784).Steward
  • Tuition in 1770 was a lowly twelve dollars per year, and room rent was five dollars per year.Tuition
  • In 1770 the school moved to Providence along with the college and was for two years housed in the Brick School House.University Grammar School
  • The school and college were related closely enough for grammar school student Billy Edwards, son of Morgan Edwards, one of the founders of the college, to recite a piece from Homer at the close of the Commencement exercises in 1770.University Grammar School
  • University Hall was built in 1770.University Hall
  • Lawrence C. Wroth, in his unpublished manuscript, "The Construction of the College Edifice, 1770-1772, described the ensuing plans: In 1883 the interior of the building was renovated with the help of the funds left over from the building of Slater Hall.University Hall
  • George Washington arrived in Providence at about 4 p.m. on August 18, after a seven-hour sail from Newport and was accompanied by Governor Clinton of New York, Thomas Jefferson, and several members of Congress, including Senator Theodore Foster 1770.Washington, George
  • The publication by West of "An Account of the Observation of Venus upon the Sun the Third Day of June 1769" and his observation of a comet in July of 1770 established his reputation, and he received honorary master of arts degrees from both Harvard and Rhode Island College (Brown) in that year.West, Benjamin