Lyman Hall (academic)

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This article is about the second president of Georgia Tech. For the Georgia governor and signer of the Declaration of Independence, see Lyman Hall.

Lyman Hall (February 18, 1859 – August 16, 1905) was a professor and president of the Georgia School of Technology (now called Georgia Tech).

[edit] Biography

Lyman Hall was born in 1859 in Americus, Georgia, attended Mercer College, and graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1881. Health problems prevented him from serving in the Army, so he worked as a mathematics instructor at military academies and authored three books on algebra. In 1888 he was appointed Georgia Tech's first mathematics professor, a position he held until his appointment as president in 1896. He had a solid background in engineering due to his time at West Point and often incorporated surveying and other engineering applications into his coursework. He had an energetic personality and quickly assumed a leadership position among the faculty. As president, Hall was noted for his aggressive fundraising and improvements to the school, including his special project, the A. French Textile School.^[1] His goals included enlarging Tech and attracting more students, so he introduced a number of new degrees, including civil and electrical engineering.^[2] Hall also became infamous as a disciplinarian, even suspending the entire senior class of 1901 for returning from Christmas vacation a day late.^{[citation needed]} His death, while still in office, during a vacation at a New York health resort in 1905, has been attributed to stress from his strenuous fund raising activities.^{[citation needed]}

Named in his honor, The Lyman Hall Laboratory of Chemistry at Georgia Tech is commonly referred to by students as "Lyman Hall" or simply "Lyman", due to the common mistaken impression that the word "Hall" is a mere descriptor.

[edit] Positions held

Assistant Professor of Mathematics, South Carolina Military College, 1883-1886.
Professor of Mathematics, Edgewood Military Academy, 1886-1888.
Professor of Mathematics, Georgia School of Technology, 1888-1896.
President, Georgia School of Technology, 1896-1905.

[edit] References

^ Biographies of the Early Presidents (HTML). Inventory of the Early Presidents Collection, 1879-1957 [bulk 1930-1950]. Georgia Tech Archives & Records Management. Retrieved on 2006-06-15.
^ The Hall Administration, 1895-1905 (HTML). "A Thousand Wheels are set in Motion" - The Building of Georgia Tech at the Turn of the 20th Century, 1888-1908. Georgia Tech Library and Information Center. Retrieved on 2006-06-15.