LeBaron Russell Briggs

LeBaron Russell Briggs (December 11, 1855 – April 24, 1934)<ref name="LRBObit1934"/> was an American educator. He was appointed the first dean of men at Harvard College, and subsequently served as dean of the faculty until he retired. He was concurrently president of Radcliffe College and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.<ref>Hollander, David N., "The LeBaron Russell Briggs Sails Its Last", The Harvard Crimson, August 18, 1970.</ref>

Early life

Briggs was born in Salem, Massachusetts on December 11, 1855. He was the son of Unitarian minister George Ware Briggs and Lucia Jane (née Russell) Briggs.<ref name="LRBObit1934"/> Among his siblings was brother George Russell Briggs.

He received A.B. (in 1875) and A.M. degrees (in 1882) from Harvard University.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

After graduating from Harvard, he began teaching there; he began as a Greek tutor before moving to English, eventually becoming the Boylston Professor of Rhetoric from 1904 until 1925.<ref>Briggs, Le Baron Russell, 1855–1934. Records of Radcliffe College President Le Baron Russell Briggs, 1903–1925: A Finding Aid. Harvard University Library.</ref>

Briggs was appointed dean of Harvard College in 1891 (to 1902) and dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1902 until his retirement in 1925. His appointment as dean of men was the first "student personnel" appointment, which later became the catalyst for the Student Affairs field in higher education. Briggs was responsible for advising students academically, and on personal issues. "His fairness in dealing with the Faculty and students alike, his patience in dealing with erring undergraduates, and his always kindly humor endeared him to everyone," wrote George Henry Chase.Template:Efn

Radcliffe College

In 1903, Briggs succeeded co-founder Elizabeth Cary Agassiz as the second president of Radcliffe College, which had been founded as the Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women in 1882 before becoming Radcliffe College in 1894.<ref name="1903Appointment">Template:Cite news</ref> During his presidency (which was then a part-time position), the college purchased the Greenleaf estate and built five new dormitories. Also during his tenure, the student body grew from less than 500 in 1903 to more than 700 in 1923. The geographical diversity of students also increased, with the number of students matriculating from outside of Massachusetts rising from 19 percent in 1903 to 33 percent in 1923.<ref name="radcliffe"/>

He served as president for twenty years until 1923,<ref name="1925Loss">Template:Cite news</ref> when he was succeeded by Ada Louise Comstock who also served as president for twenty years from 1923 to 1943.<ref name="radcliffe">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Before Briggs left office, the administration of Radcliffe requested that Radcliffe become a college for women within Harvard, but were again refused. In his last presidential report, Briggs wrote: “I believe that ultimately Radcliffe will become a women’s college in Harvard, but that neither institution is as yet prepared for such a union.”<ref name="radcliffe"/>

After his retirement from Radcliffe, he wrote the novel, Men, Women And Colleges, which was published in 1925 by the Houghton Mifflin Company.<ref name="1925Book">Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

In 1883, Briggs was married to Mary Frances De Quedville (b. 1862) of Cambridge. Together, they were the parents of three children:<ref name="LRBObit1934"/>

• John DeQuedville Briggs (1885–1965), who married Marjorie Scott Winslow (1900–1994), daughter of William Herman Winslow, in 1925.<ref name="JDBObit1965">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="1965Obit">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Lucia Russell Briggs (1887–1960), who served as president of Milwaukee-Downer College for thirty years.<ref name="LRBObit1960">Template:Cite news</ref>
• LeBaron Russell Briggs Jr. (1895–1972), who married Elizabeth Mason.<ref name="LRBObit1972">Template:Cite news</ref>

Briggs died on April 24, 1934, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the home of his daughter Lucia.<ref name="LRBObit1934"/> He was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Plymouth, Massachusetts,<ref name="1934Funeral">Template:Cite news</ref> where he had a summer home.<ref name="LRBObit1934">Template:Cite news</ref>

Legacy

Briggs was also a trustee of Middlesex School, where the LeBaron Briggs House dormitory is named for him, as is Briggs Hall at Harvard's Cabot House. He received honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, Western Reserve University and Lafayette University.<ref name="LRBObit1934"/>

His nautical namesake, the liberty ship LeBaron Russell Briggs, was scuttled with its cargo of nerve gas on August 18, 1970, as the last installment of a project in which the United States disposed of much of its stockpile by dumping it at sea.<ref>"Cut Holes and Sink 'Em", Time, Aug. 24, 1970; "A Generation of Indiscriminate Dumping".</ref><ref name="1970Ship">Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• Template:Find a Grave
• Brief biography on Bartleby.com
• Records of the President of Radcliffe College, 1903-1925. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
• Bronze Sculpture of Briggs, by Frederick Warren Allen, at the Harvard Art Museum.