Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History

Sauer, Anne

Branco, Jessica

Bennett, John

Crowley, Zachary

2000

Dearborn, Heman Allen, 1831-1897

 

Heman Allen Dearborn (1831-1897), A1858, was a dedicated alumnus, faculty member, administrator, and benefactor of Tufts College and had the distinction of being the institution's first valedictorian.

Dearborn was born in Weare, New Hampshire, on May 18, 1831.He attended public school and completed three terms at Francestown Academy before he began teaching at the age of seventeen. He entered Tufts College in 1855 as a junior, graduating two years later as valedictorian of the first class to receive degrees from the college. As an undergraduate, he taught in Arlington, Massachusetts. He continued at this post for three years following his graduation. He married in 1858.

In 1864, he returned to Tufts from a position as principal of the Clinton Liberal Institute. In addition to being Professor of Latin Language and Literature, Dearborn served as secretary of the faculty from 1881-1894. He then became the college's registrar from 1895-1897. He had also acted as assistant to the college's treasurer for a period of time. In 1878, he traveled through Europe with his wife, Julia, collecting Roman photographs and artifacts for use in his classes. The Dearborns resided at 72 Professors Row, and their house became known as Dearborn House. He founded the Scholarship of the Class of 1857 for the benefit of women students.

In 1897, Dearborn died unexpectedly at home following a brief illness. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living graduate of the college and, as result of his paternal interest in the students, was referred to as "father of the freshmen." He ordered in his will that his estate be placed in trust, with its profits being paid annually to his wife. Following her death, it was to be bequeathed to the Trustees of Tufts College, to be used as the Trustees saw fit.

In 1910, the Class of 1900 erected the first gate on campus, which leads from Professors Row to Ballou Hall, in memory of Dearborn.

Source: VF; HTC, 115-116; RNTC3; RNTC1

 
 
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  • The encyclopedia seeks to capture more than 150 years of Tufts' achievements, societal contributions and outstanding alumni and faculty in concise entries. As a source of accurate factual information, the Encyclopedia can be used by anyone interested in the history of Tufts and of the people who have made it the unique institution it is.
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Dame, Lorin Low, 1838-1903
Dana, Charles A., 1881-1975
Dana Laboratory, 1963
Daniel Ounjian Prize in Economics,
Davies, Caroline Stodder, 1864-1939
Davies House, 1894
De Florez Prize in Human Engineering, 1964
de Pacheco, Kaye MacKinnon, ca. 1910-ca. 1985
Dean Hall, 1887-1963
Dean, Oliver, 1783-1871
Dearborn, Heman Allen, 1831-1897
Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, 1893
Department of Anesthesia, 1970
Department of Art and Art History, 1930
Department of Biochemistry, 1893
Department of Chemistry, 1882
Department of Community Health, 1930
Department of Dermatology, 1897
The Department of Economics, 1946
Department of Medicine, 1893
Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology
Department of Neurology, 1893
Department of Neuroscience, 1983
Department of Neurosurgery, 1951
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1893
Department of Ophthamology, 1893
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, 1906
Department of Otolaryngology, 1895
Department of Pathology, 1893
Department of Pediatrics, 1930
Department of Pharmacology, 1915
Department of Physics and Astronomy, 1854
Department of Physiology, 1893
Department of Psychiatry, 1928
Department of Radiation Oncology, 1968
Department of Radiology, 1915
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, 1955
Department of Surgery, 1893
Department of Urban and Environmental Policy, 1973
Department of Urology, 1910
Dental Health Sciences Building, 1969
Dewick, Cora Alma (Polk), 1875-1977
Dewick/MacPhie Dining Hall, 1959
Dickson Professorship of English and American History, 1913
Dirlam, Arland A., 1905-1979
Dog Cart, 1900
Dolbear, Amos Emerson, 1837-1910
Donald A. Cowdery Memorial Scholarship, 1946
Dr. Benjamin Andrews Professorship of Surgery, 1987
Dr. Philip E. A. Sheridan Prize, 1977
The Drug Bust, 1970
Dudley, Henry Watson, 1831-1906
Dugger, Edward Jr., 1919-75
Durkee, Frank W., 1861-1939
Durkee, Henrietta Noble Brown, 1871-1946
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