The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-10-27
BRIEF HISTORY OF "SHEFF. :"
ITS SEME-CENTENNLAL CELEBRA-
TION TO-MORROW.

Application Blanks for Seats Mt ha'e-
Harvard Game Distributed Yesterday
Tax List of College Property Increased
List of Entries for Handicap Games
Yale Man Dead-News Notes.
In view of the coming semi-centennlal
of the Sheffield Scientific school, the his
tory of the school from it's inception is
given below:
In 1S47 the corporation of the college
at it's annual meeting established new
branch to be called the Department or
Philosophy and the Arts" John Pltkln
Norton and Benjamin Silliman, jr', were
respectively appointed to the chairs of
agricultural chemistry and animal ply
siology and practical chemistry in the
new department.
A frame house was purchased on the
green and fitted as laboratory. Here,
in the fall of 1847, the first class was
held. In the catalogue of that year
eight students are enrolled. Professor
Silliman soon resigned and went to
Louisville, leaving the department in
the entire charge of Professor Norton.
To Professor Norton is due in great
measure the success of the school. He
devoted himself so assiduously to his
work that he broke down his health
and in 1852 he died.
The school seemed about to go to
pieces, but Professor John A. Porter Of
Brown university was induced to take
Professor Norton's place. In the same
year Professor William A. Norton of
Brown university was appointed pro-
fessor of civil engineering. His entire
class at Brown, consisting of twenty
six men, came to Yale with him.
Up to 1852 there was no definite STAN
dapd of scholarship in the school, but
in this year the degree of bachelor of
philosophy was for the first time con-
ferred. This necessitated an eXamina-
ton, and so was the first move in rails
ing the standard. In 1854 the two de-
partments, chemistry and engineering,
were nominally united under the name
of the Yale Scientific school.
In 1855 George j. Brush was elected
professor of metallurgy and in 1856 S.
w. Johnson was made instructor in an
alytical chemistry. Upon these two the
management of the school new devolv-
ed.
The year 1859 is an important one in
the history of the school, In that year
Mr. Joseph E. Sheffield, who had be-
come interested in the school through
his son-in-law, Professor Porter, bought
what was then the medical school build
ing and refitted it for the departments
of chemistry and engineering. He also
donated $4,000 as a fund for the sala-
ries of the professors. In this same
year entrance examinations were for
the first time required. The subjects
were arithmetic algebra, geometry,
plane trigonometry, English grammar,
geography and the elements of chem
istry and physics. ...a
In consequence of Mr.. Shefield's gifts.
which exceeded 100000, the depart
ments of chemistry and engineering
were united under the name of the
Sheffield Scientific school.
The department was in 1856 placed
under the governing board with Presi-
dent Woolsey at the head. In 1872 Pro-
fessor George j. Brush was elected ex-
ecutive officer of the board which posi-
ton he has since held.
When in 1872 Mr. Sheffield had al
ready given to the school more than
S25O,OOo he unexpectedly built and pre-
scented North Sheffield hall to the
school. Since that time the school has
steadily grown until the faculty con-
sists of some sixty members, who offer
ten distinctive courses.
There are this year 542 students in
the school. .
YALE'S TAX LIST.
Yale university, through it's treasurer,
William w. Farnam, has filed its list of
property which is subject to taxation,
according to the views of the corpora
ton of the college.
The list filed last year by Treasurer
Farnam did not include the dormitories
and amounted to $57,6S0. Since then, by
advice of Town Counsel Goodhart, the
assessors have included the dormitories
and other buildings not used exclusive
ly for educational purposes.
This brought the total valuation of
Yales assessable property up to $439,7S2
of which $335751 was for buildings and
$94671 for land.
Yale took an appeal, which will prob
ably be heard this fall.
The list presented yesterday included
the following:
No. 1853 York street, 219 York street
northeast corner of York and Library
streets, about 132x1S1 feet; Ill Elm
street, 1T Elm street, 120 College street
southeast corner of College and Grove
streets. 107x96 feet; 1875 High street, Sc
Hillhouse avenue, and 1856 Humphrey
street.
Appended to the list is the following
statement:
"The above is a list of the real estate
belonging to Yale university and liable
to taxation, the remaining realty yield
ing less than $4,000 income per annum
and is therefore exempt from taxa
ton
There is included in this list but three
new pieces of property. The first OF
these is the block of houses and plot of
land at the corner of College and
Grove streets, which Yale received as a
legacy from the late DR.. J. P. Atwater
of Poughkeepsie. This property was
appraised at $4,000 in the probate
court.
The second is at the corner of York
and library streets. bought from the