serviceyears branch death_date allegiance birth_date alt signature term_end commands death_place battles order term_start rank image name caption birth_place article_title
1861 -- 1863 usa army union army 9 march 1886 usa 1861 union july 31 , 1826 head victorian suit . he has a beard , a large and mustache and is slightly balding . he wears a serious shoulders expression and is looking slightly to the right . photograph of a man in a williamsclark.svg 1879 1877 1865 , and 1867 massachusetts 21st regiment massachusetts volunteer infantry amherst , massachusetts american civil war president university of massachusetts amherst -rrb- president of the sapporo agricultural of college -lrb- now the university of hokkaido -rrb- member of the the massachusetts house of representatives presidential elector , 1864 massachusetts agricultural college -lrb- now the 1867 1876 1864 40px colonel william s. clark.jpg william smith clark william s. clark c. 1876 ashfield , massachusetts william s. clark

william s. clark

william smith clark -lrb- july 31 , 1826 -- march 9 , 1886 -rrb- was a professor of chemistry , botany and zoology , a colonel during the american civil war , and a leader in agricultural education .
raised and schooled in easthampton , massachusetts , clark spent most of his adult life in amherst , massachusetts .
he graduated from amherst college in 1848 and obtained a doctorate in chemistry from georgia augusta university in göttingen in 1852 .
he then served as professor of chemistry at amherst college from 1852 to 1867 .
during the civil war , he was granted leave from amherst to serve with the 21st regiment massachusetts volunteer infantry , eventually achieving the rank of colonel and the command of that unit .
in 1867 , clark became the third president of the massachusetts agricultural college -lrb- mac -rrb- , now the university of massachusetts amherst .
he was the first to appoint a faculty and admit a class of students .
although initially successful , mac was criticized by politicians and newspaper editors who felt it was a waste of funding in a state that was growing increasingly industrial .
farmers of western massachusetts were slow to support the college .
despite these obstacles , clark 's success in organizing an innovative academic institution earned him international attention .
japanese officials , striving to achieve rapid modernization of that country in the wake of the meiji restoration , were especially intrigued by clark 's work .
in 1876 , the japanese government hired clark as a foreign advisor to establish the sapporo agricultural college -lrb- sac -rrb- , now hokkaido university .
during his eight months in sapporo , clark successfully organized sac , had a significant impact on the scientific and economic development of the island of hokkaido , and made a lasting imprint on japanese culture .
clark 's visage overlooks sapporo from several statues and his parting words to his japanese students , `` boys , be ambitious ! ''
-lrb- 少年よ大志を抱け -rrb- have become a nationally known motto in japan .
after resigning the presidency of mac in 1879 , clark left academia to become the president of a mining company , clark & bothwell .
the company , in operation from 1881 to 1882 , purchased several silver mines , mostly in utah and california .
clark 's partner , john r. bothwell , proved to be corrupt and the company quickly folded , destroying clark 's reputation , his own finances and the fortunes of many of his friends and family .
the subsequent scandal ruined clark 's health .
he died of heart disease at his home in amherst in 1886 .
