Josiah Meigs

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Josiah Meigs (August 21, 1757 in Middletown, Connecticut – September 4, 1822 in Washington, D.C.) was an American academic, journalist and government official.

Meigs was the 13th child of Return J. Meigs, Sr. and Elizabeth Hamlin Meigs. His younger brother Return J. Meigs, Jr. served as a United States Senator and Governor of Ohio.

After graduating from Yale University in 1778 with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A), Josiah Meigs took the chair of mathematics and natural philosophy at Yale in 1794. Meigs taught there until 1801 when he was chosen as the president of the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens. His salary was fixed at fifteen hundred dollars, and he was given $400 in moving expenses for his family.

At Georgia, Meigs implemented the university's first physics curriculum in 1801. He resigned as president on August 9, 1810 after clashing with the Board of Trustees for the University; however, he continued on in the position of Professor of Mathematics, Natural Philosophy and Chemistry for one more year. John Brown was elected by the Board of Trustees as the new president.

After his academic career at UGA, Meigs was appointed Surveyor General by President James Madison in 1812. He then accepted an appointment as Commissioner of the United States General Land Office in Washington, D.C., in 1814. During his tenure at the U.S. Land Office, he instituted the nation's first system of daily meteorological observations at the land offices throughout the country.

Meigs was also the president of the Columbian Institute, one of the original corporators and trustees of Columbian College (now George Washington University), and professor of experimental philosophy there.

In 1782, Meigs married Clara Benjamin. Their son Henry Meigs served in the U.S. Congress. Their daughter Clara married John Forsyth, U.S. Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren.

Meigs died on September 4, 1822 and was originally buried in Holmead's Cemetery in Washington, D.C. The cemetery was disbanded and the graves removed, so he was reinterred in Arlington National Cemetery in 1878 in the lot of his grandson, Major General Montgomery Cunningham Meigs.

Other interesting facts about Josiah Meigs:

UGA annually recognizes up to five faculty members each year with the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship, UGA’s highest teaching honor
Meigs Hall, at the northwest corner of UGA, is named in Meigs' honor
Served as city clerk of New Haven, Connecticut (1784-1789)
Established The New Haven Gazette (later known as The New Haven Gazette and the Connecticut Magazine)