Encyclopedia Brunoniana

1940

  • Low spot – Death Valley – 280 feet, sunk to this level in 1940."Adams, Clarence Raymond
  • The first of these was based on a 1973 independent study, "Oral History as An Index to Change," in which Jones’s students interviewed elderly blacks on the subject of race relations in Providence from 1920 to 1940.Afro-American Studies
  • James L. Whitcomb ’36 took the place of Alfred Gurney in January 1940, with the title of Director of Alumni Relations.Associated Alumni
  • In 1939-40 the group aided in building a Schwarzchild camera, f/3.5 of twelve inches aperture, the second of its kind in the country, which was used at the total solar of eclipse of October 1, 1940.Astronomy
  • After a three year slump Kelleher’s last two teams in 1940 and 1941 improved to the extent that they had equal wins and losses, with the help of pitcher Walt Jusczyk ’41, who caused Providence College two losses to Brown in one season for the first time, and in 1941 struck out 106 men in 102 innings and allowed only eight earned runs.Baseball
  • Bruce M. Bigelow became associate dean of the college in 1940, dean of students in 1943, and vice-president of the University in 1945.Bigelow, Bruce M.
  • Leicester Bradner published "Musae Anglicanae: a History of Anglo-Latin Poetry" in 1940, and "Edmund Spenser and the Faerie Queen" in 1948.Bradner, Leicester
  • The Brown Bear Awards for notable alumni service were created in 1940 by the Brown Club of New York, which had the trophy designed and made awards for three years.Brown Bear awards
  • Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps in November 1940.Brunavian
  • At about the time of the renovation of University Hall in 1940, President Wriston approached Mary Elizabeth Sharpe, whose beautifully landscaped home at 84 Prospect Street (now Rochambeau House) he admired, and asked her help with new planting plans.Campus
  • Robert P. Casey served as honorary curate at St. Stephen’s Church in Providence from 1939 to 1946 and was ordained to the Episcopal priesthood in 1940.Casey, Robert P.
  • William F. Church served as instructor in history at Gettysburg College in 1940-41 and at the University of Kentucky in 1941-42.Church, William F.
  • James Franklin Collins (1863-1940), professor of botany, was born in North Anson, Maine, on December 29, 1863.Collins, James Franklin
  • James Franklin Collins died in Cranston, Rhode Island, on November 14, 1940.Collins, James Franklin
  • Another change in diplomas occured in 1940, when a new six by eight inch diploma in a leather folder with the Latin phrases printed replaced the traditional 19 by 15 inch scroll-like diploma with the words in script.Commencement
  • When the first comprehensive examinations were given in the spring of 1940, a considerable number of seniors received an "unsatisfactory" grade, which did not prevent them from receiving their degrees, and six failed the examinations and did not graduate.Curriculum
  • Lindsay Todd Damon (1871-1940), professor of English, was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on November 8, 1871.Damon, Lindsay Todd
  • Lindsay Todd Damon died on May 6, 1940 in the Hyde Park Hotel in New York City.Damon, Lindsay Todd
  • By 1940 interest in debating waned, and the Debating Society merged with the International Relations Club.Debating
  • Janice Van De Water (later Mrs. Sevellon Brown), who joined the English Department in 1940, became a member of the Faunce House Theatre staff in 1942.Dramatics
  • These studies were conducted by Professor Merton P. Stoltz, who had joined the department in 1940.Economics
  • Van De Water (play writing and production) in 1940, Andrew J. Sabol (Renaissance literature) in 1941, Leslie Allen Jones (play production) in 1942, Charles H. Philbrick (poetry) and Elmer Blistein (Shakespeare and comedy) in 1946, and Edward Bloom (18th century and literary criticism) in 1947.English
  • Tenure was reserved for full professors until 1940, when 36 associate professors and seven assistant professors were given the same privilege.Faculty
  • The gates on George Street are the John Nicholas Brown Gate, given in 1903 by his widow, the William Goddard Memorial Gate, given by Mrs. C. Oliver Iselin in 1911 in memory of her father, Chancellor William Goddard 1846, and the Psi Upsilon gate, dedicated by the fraternity at the time of its centennial in 1940.Fence
  • The team had an instructor, Antone Sobocinski, from 1939 until 1942, and was first in the New England tournament in 1940 and third in 1941.Fencing
  • William L. Fichter spent his sabbatic leaves in 1940-41 and 1947-48 studying Spanish and Indian civilizations in Mexico and Guatemala, and was visiting lecturer at Harvard in 1952-53.Fichter, William L.
  • Although the seasons from 1932 through the war years were not outstanding, some of the players were, such as Irving "Shine" Hall ’39, John McLaughry ’40, Dick High ’42, who scored the winning touchdowns against Yale in 1940 and 1941, Bob Margarita ’44, who set a single-game rushing record against Columbia in 1942, and Daniel "Doc" Savage ’44.Football
  • The coaches and their records (assuming that the early coaches were there for the whole season, which may or may not have been so) were: Mr. Howland (4-5-1) in 1892; William Odlin (6-3-0) in 1893; Mr. Norton (10-5-0) in 1894; Wallace Moyle (18-15-2) from 1895 to 1897; Edward North Robinson (140-82-12) in his three times as coach from 1898 to 1901, from 1904 to 1907, and from 1910 to 1925; John A. Gammons (17-10-2) in 1902, 1908, and 1909; David Fultz (5-4-1) in 1903; DeOrmond "Tuss" McLaughry (76-58-5) from 1926 to 1940; J. Neil "Skip" Stahley (14-11-0) from 1941 to 1943; Charles A.Football
  • The fraternity moved to 58 College Street, and the University purchased the house, which was used by the English Department, and the chapter became inactive in 1940.Fraternities
  • From 1940 until 1951 (with three years off for service in World War II) James Louis Giddings taught at the University of Alaska, where he was director of archaeological research and museum curator from 1938 to 1949.Giddings, James Louis
  • He published "Classical Civilization: Greece "in 1940, and "Beauty and Parting, "translations from the Greek poets, illustrated with his own sketches, in 1945.Herbert Newell Couch
  • Hans Rothfels, as visiting professor, taught seventeenth and eighteenth century European history from 1940 to 1946.History
  • Irving A. Leonard was professor of Hispanic civilization from 1940 to 1942, and Edmundo O’Gorman was visiting professor of Latin American history in 1942-43.History
  • It was used as a dormitory and was called Megee House until 1940 when it was named for Horace Mann 1819.Horace Mann House
  • Donald F. Hornig graduated from Harvard in 1940 and earned his Ph.D. in chemistry there in 1943.Hornig, Donald F.
  • The 1938 "Liber Brunensis," while noting that there were promising players in the Classes of 1940 and 1941, announced, "Lacrosse has been abandoned."Lacrosse
  • Waldo G. Leland was the first president of the Society of American Archivists in 1940-41.Leland, Waldo G.
  • In 1940 Mrs. Iselin deeded the house to Brown in memory of her father.Maddock Alumni Center
  • He was chairman of the department from 1914 to 1942, and secretary of the American Mathematical Society from 1921 to 1940.Mathematics
  • George Polya from Hungary was a visiting professor from 1940 to 1942.Mathematics
  • In 1940 a quota of 30 students signed up for training with a technical instructor from M.I.T. and flying instruction by E. W. Wiggins Airways, Inc. A Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps unit was established at Brown in the fall of 1940 with 110 members.Military education
  • He had hoped to compete in the 1940 Olympics, which were cancelled because of the war in Europe.Olympic Games
  • Albert DeForest Palmer (1869-1940), professor of physics, was born in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, on July 21, 1869.Palmer, Albert D.
  • An appreciation of Palmer’s work at Brown appeared in the memorial minute of the faculty in 1940: His book, "The Theory of Measurement," published in 1912, became a standard text in precision measurement.Palmer, Albert D.
  • Albert D. Palmer died in Pasadena on January 13, 1940.Palmer, Albert D.
  • Charles H. Philbrick entered Brown in 1940, but his education was interrupted by service with the U.S. 8th Air Force stationed in England.Philbrick, Charles H.
  • Horace Mann 1819 was honored in Famous American Issues featuring educators in 1940.Postage stamps
  • Carl Pfaffmann ’33, who won a Rhodes scholarship and earned a Ph.D. in physiology from Cambridge University, came back to Brown in 1940.Psychology
  • Alonzo W. Quinn was chairman of the Department of Geology from 1940 to 1961.Quinn, Alonzo W.
  • Norris W. Rakestraw was editor of the Journal of Chemical Education from 1940 to 1955, during which time the circulation of the journal doubled.Rakestraw, Norris W.
  • Helen Lowe Urquhart was "Recorder of the College" from 1940 to 1945.Registrar
  • William J. Robbins, a Baptist minister, joined the department in 1940 as instructor.Religious Studies
  • Roland G. D. Richardson was vice-president of the American Mathematical Society in 1920 and secretary of the society from 1921 to 1940.Richardson, Roland G. D.
  • There have been twenty recipients of the medal: William Williams Keen in 1925, Charles Evans Hughes in 1928, John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. in 1931, Charles Value Chapin in 1935, Mary Emma Woolley in 1937, Fred Tarbell Field in 1940, Henry Dexter Sharpe in 1944, Zechariah Chafee, Jr. in 1947, Warren Randolph Burgess in 1953, Rowland Roberts Hughes in 1955, Theodore Francis Green in 1956, Alexander Meiklejohn in 1959, Waldo Gifford Leland in 1965, Thomas John Watson, Jr. in 1968, Henry Merritt Wriston in 1976, Richard Salomon in 1982, Charles Carpenter Tillinghast, Jr. in 1982, Howard Robert Swearer in 1983, Otto Eduard Neugebauer in 1987, and Roderick Milton Chisholm in 1992.Rosenberger Medal
  • Leonard Romagna ’42 won the Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association’s dinghy championship in 1940 and 1941 (both years Brown finished third) and in 1942 in fourteen races he scored eight firsts, two seconds, a third, a fourth, and two fifths for 181 out of Brown’s winning total of 313 points.Sailing
  • In addition to his botanical pursuits, between 1921 and 1940, Walter H. Snell coached 47 football, baseball, and basketball teams.Snell, Walter H.
  • Walter H. Snell retired from coaching in 1940, but was soon back into Brown athletics, this time having been recruited in January 1943 to replace athletic director Thomas Taylor, who had left for military service.Snell, Walter H.
  • Matt Soltysiak ’40, whom sports writer Joe Nutter ’24, writing in 1940, called "the greatest swimmer in Brown history," competed in every event and was never defeated in New England competition.Swimming
  • His eighteen-year overall record was 76-67-1, and his teams won eleven New England championships, nine of them consecutive between 1932 and 1940.Swimming
  • In 1940 Jacob D. Tamarkin became co-editor of "Mathematical Reviews," published at Brown.Tamarkin, Jacob D.
  • There it remained during the depression years, then rose to $450 in 1940, and, after World War II, to $500 in 1946.Tuition
  • At the rededication of University Hall on May 4, 1940, French ambassador Comte Rene Doynel de Saint-Quentin and Princeton president Harold W. Dodds took part in the ceremonies recalling the University’s early associations with France and Princeton.University Hall
  • When University Hall became the administration building in 1940, the building was turned over to the Department of English and renamed Van Wickle Hall.Van Wickle Hall
  • Within a few years twelve more colleges started stations, and in 1940 they formed the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System at an organizational meeting held at Brown on February 18, 1940.WBRU
  • Karl S. Weimar was appointed instructor at the University of Delaware in 1940 and at the University of Illinois in 1943.Weimar, Karl S.
  • Nathanael West (1902-1940) was born Nathan Weinstein in New York on October 17, 1902.West, Nathanael
  • On December 22, 1940, West and his wife were killed in an automobile accident near El Centro, California, en route to Los Angeles from Mexico.West, Nathanael
  • Other honors included the Kossovo Medal of the Royal Red Cross of Yugoslavia, in 1931, the Monticello College Centenary Medal in 1938, and the Cristobol Colon Medal in 1940.Woolley, Mary Emma
  • John Rowe Workman was educated at Princeton, earning his bachelor’s degree in 1940, his master’s in 1942, and his Ph.D. in 1943.Workman, John Rowe
  • 4) The Naval ROTC students who had been enlisted in the Brown unit which started in 1940.World War II