Arizona republican., 1901-07-14
HARVARD'S HONOR ROLL
 OF ACADEMIC SENIORITY
List Has Been Complied of the "Senior Alumni of the College Dmiog I ~o Centuries-Begins With Com fort Star, Clas of 1647 Ends With Joseph
 W. Cross, Class of 1928

Cambridge, Mass, July IS -rhe most impressive feature of tae Harvard com m ancement exercises is the procession Of the classes in the order of seniority from the college yard to the alumni dinner in Memorial hall. The process sion forme at the corner o~ Aa1zachu- ,ts hall. the oldest building LOW standing in the yard. and ma1ches half round the quadrangle before 1t issues into the street. IL $ headed by brass band behind which are the faculty, the guests of tho Alumni aasociatlon-- iccluding those who have received an honorary degree at the morning exer- ciS7s-and the sherifts of MidtleseX and Suffolk, the counties respectively of Cambridge and Boston. The graduates follow. the scattering few who repre- sent the clasSea of 90 or co years ego he'nE succeeded by constantly larger and larger delegations until the youth fuj companies from the clasees of the last decade are reached at the close.
 By a custom Of many years standing thoaa who do not join the procession to the dinner are supposed Co cheer the passing procession. class hy class. as 1t passes in front Of University hall. From year to year now one class now an- other, is received with special enthusi- asul-a few years ago the c ass of 1877, DCrhapg. with William F. Russell as its most popular member and this last year the class of iSS0, h which Mir. RooaevcH walked fer the first time
 
 tho cheer for the ollort graduates. the little body of venerable mon walking at tAe head of the line. always seems the heartiest and most sincere They com pose the portion os tine procession to which all tho rest inevitably tends; they are the livug repositories of the ancient traditions which Harvard men talk about, perhaps. but little, but which are really the mos cherished possession of the university They are evidently nearing the goal which to reach means to | leconla the oldest living graduate"
 By the term oldest living graduate" however, is usually meant. not the graduate of the college V hO has at taincd the greatest nuu'ber Of years. but the ono who represents the earliest class strictly speaking lie should he called the senior aiumnua since h. rlnka not by priority of age but of gIa5Uatlon. A complete list of the s.nior alumni for the time being dur ing the last 900 years has recently been complete3, beginning with Comfort Star of the class of l647--5N years before any other American college had been founded-Who Citl in England in I'll down 10 Joseph w. Closs of the class of 1928. wno is stiIl living In all there are 6S names in this roster making an average Of almost exactly three years for the two centuries which. roughly snaaking. the record comprises Thomas Cheever Of the class of 1617 held the position louges' succeeding Samuel Andrew of he class of 1G75, whose death occurred in January t1SS, end himn2R dying in December. l149, the interval between the two deaths being a day or two over Il years and II months Oxcnbridpc Ttacher of the class of 1898 survivel h's predecessor. Salmon Tredt of the class of 1894. by little over f0 years. On the other hand, Benjamin Willis of the class of t740 outlived his cla ssmatr. Samuel Hale. by just three days. the formsr dying July IS and the latter J6ly 10 1907. But per fupS the list for the even 100 years of the last century may be sufficiently interesting to print entire, for the reader to extract his own statistics. It is here given. accordingly, each name accompanied hy tha tate of gradua- ton and of death
 ThaGdeus Mason, 172S. 1So2. May l. Joseph Lee. 1729, 1892 Dee. 5; samuel Niles. 17S1. 1891. May; Joseph Gardner, i7S2. lSU6, April 3; SaIrIel Hale, l1to, 1S07. July 10: E njlmin Wills, ITO 1897. July 13: Joseph Roberts, 17il, tSll, April o0. David Phips. l7il. lSll, July 1 ,To- seph Waldo. 17fl, 1S1G April; Peter Fry,. 17ii. 1920. Feb l; Nehemiah POr- ter. 174j. 1920, Feb. 29 Edward A. Holy oke. 1746 1929, March 3l: Paine Win gate 1759, 1898. March [; Samson S. Blowers, 17eS, 1Si2 Ott. 25 Ezra Green, 1765. 1S47, July 25; Timothy Farrar, l767, 1S49. Fe5. 2l; ,amea Lowell, TIC, 1850. July 10; John Welles l7S2, 1855, Sept. 25; Asa Andrews, 17S3 1856, Jan. IS: Jacob Norton. liS6. 1858, Jan. IT; Ablel Abbott, 17S7, 1Sf9. Jan. 3t; William Sawyer, l7SS.. 1859. April IS; Josiah Quincy, 179o, 1864. July l; Samuel Thatcher. 1793. 1872, July IS; Horace Binney, 1797, 1875. Aug F; Thomas As- pinwall, 1S0i, 1876. Aug, 4; William Freeman, lSOI. 1Sss Feb. 2l; Joseph Head, lSQl, iSS2 April q; William Thomas, 15Q7, 9s2, Sept. %, William