View source for Andrew Dickson White

{{Short description|American historian and politician (1832–1918)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Andrew Dickson White
| image               = Andrew Dickson White 1885.jpg
| caption             = White in 1885
| title               = [[List of presidents of Cornell University|President of Cornell University]]
| order               = 1st
| term_start          = 1866
| term_end            = 1885
| predecessor         = ''Office established''
| successor           = [[Charles Kendall Adams]]
| title2              = [[United States Ambassador to Germany]]
| order2              = 16th
| term_start2         = {{start date|1879|6|19}}
| term_end2           = {{end date|1881|8|15}}
| predecessor2        = [[Bayard Taylor]]
| successor2          = [[Aaron Augustus Sargent]]
| title3              = [[American Historical Association#Past presidents|President of the American Historical Association]]
| order3              = 1st
| term_start3         = 1884
| term_end3           = 1885
| predecessor3        = ''Office established''
| successor3          = [[George Bancroft]]
| title4              = [[United States Ambassador to Russia]]
| order4              = 41st
| term_start4         = {{start date|1892|7|22}}
| term_end4           = {{end date|1894|10|1}}
| predecessor4        = [[Charles Emory Smith]]
| successor4          = [[Clifton R. Breckinridge]]
| title5              = [[United States Ambassador to Germany]]
| order5              = 24th
| term_start5         = {{start date|1897|6|12}}
| term_end5           = {{end date|1902|11|27}}
| predecessor5        = [[Edwin F. Uhl]]
| successor5          = [[Charlemagne Tower Jr.]]
| order6              = 
| state_senate6       = New York
| district6           = 22nd
| term_start6         = 1864
| term_end6           = 1867
| predecessor6        = [[Allen Munroe]]
| successor6          = [[George N. Kennedy]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1832|11|7}}
| birth_place         = [[Homer, New York]], U.S. <!--{{Coord|42.633085|-76.178657|display=inline}}-->
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1918|11|4|1832|11|7}}
| death_place         = [[Andrew Dickson White House]], [[Ithaca, New York]], U.S.
| restingplace        = [[Sage Chapel]], [[Cornell University]], Ithaca, New York, U.S.
| restingplacecoordinates = {{Coord|42.447307|-76.484592|display=inline,title}}
| residence           = [[Andrew Dickson White House]]
| height              = 5 feet, 5 inches<ref name="Bishop3334">Bishop, 33–34</ref>
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Mary A. Outwater|1859|1887|end=d.}}
* {{marriage|[[Helen Magill White|Helen Magill]]|1890|1918}}
}}
| signature           = AD White signature.jpg
| education           = [[Yale College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Master of Arts|MA]])
}}
'''Andrew Dickson White''' (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who co-founded [[Cornell University]], one of eight [[Ivy League]] universities in the [[United States]], and served as its [[List of presidents of Cornell University|first president]] for nearly two decades. He was known for expanding the scope of college curricula.<ref>{{cite news |quote=Dr. Andrew D. White, first President of Cornell University, former Ambassador to Germany, and Minister to Russia, died at 8:30 o'clock this morning after a short illness following a stroke of paralysis.  |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B04EEDC113BEE3ABC4D53DFB7678383609EDE |title=Dr. A.D. White Dies. A Cornell Founder. President of University for 18 Years Dies in Ithaca Close to His 86th Birthday. Twice Envoy to Germany. Educator Who Sought to Broaden Scope of Colleges Had Also Served as Minister to Russia. Fought for Reform in Colleges. Spent Many Years in Education |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 5, 1918 |access-date=March 31, 2010 }}</ref> A politician, he had served as [[New York State Senate|New York state senator]] and was later appointed as U.S. ambassador to [[Germany]] and [[Russia]].

He was one of the founders of the [[conflict thesis]], which states that science and religion have historically been in conflict, and tried to prove it over the course of approximately 800 pages in his ''History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom''.

==Early life and education==
[[File:Saint Paul's Cathedral inscription, Syracuse, New York.jpg|thumb|left|Andrew and his brother dedicated the spire of [[Saint Paul's Episcopal Cathedral (Syracuse, New York)|St. Paul's Cathedral]] in [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]] to their mother]]
[[File:Andrew Dickson White at Yale.jpg|thumb|White as a junior or senior at [[Yale College]] wearing his [[Skull and Bones]] pin]]
White was born on November 7, 1832, in [[Homer, New York]], to Clara (née Dickson) and Horace White.<ref name="politicalgraveyard">{{cite web|url=https://politicalgraveyard.com/families/13559.html|work=The Political Graveyard|title=The White Family|access-date=May 15, 2009}}</ref> Clara was the daughter of [[Andrew Dickson (politician)|Andrew Dickson]], a [[New York State Assembly|New York State Representative]] in [[55th New York State Legislature|1832]] and his wife. Horace was the son of Asa White, a farmer from [[Massachusetts]], and his wife. Their once-successful farm was ruined by a fire when Horace was 13.<ref name="politicalgraveyard"/>

Despite little formal education and struggles with poverty after his family lost their farm, Horace White became a businessman and wealthy merchant. In 1839, he opened what became [[Syracuse Savings Bank Building|Syracuse Savings Bank]] in [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]].<ref name="rootsweb">{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyononda/FAMILY/WHITE.HTM |work=Rootsweb |title=ANDREW DICKSON WHITE, M.A., LL.D., L.H.D. |access-date=May 15, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620214234/http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyononda/FAMILY/WHITE.HTM |archive-date=June 20, 2008 }}</ref> Horace and Clara White had two children: Andrew Dickson and his brother. Andrew was baptized in 1835 at the Calvary Episcopal Church on the [[town green]] in Homer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.homerny.org/townhallhistory.pdf |publisher=Village of Homer, New York |title=Homer, N.Y.: A Town and its Hall |access-date=May 15, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107173734/http://www.homerny.org/townhallhistory.pdf |archive-date=January 7, 2010}}</ref>

One of Andrew's cousins, [[Edwin White]], became an artist of the [[Luminism (American art style)|Luminism]] style and [[Hudson River School]].<ref>
[https://books.google.com/books?id=takoAAAAYAAJ&dq=The+Compact+of+the+%27Mayflower+Edwin+white+museum&pg=RA1-PA468 ''Appleton's Cyclopædia of American Biography'' edited by James Grant Wilson, John Fiske] (D. Appleton and Company, 1889), pp. 467–468. ''With etching image of ADWhite, and signature reproduction.''</ref> His nephew was [[Horace White]], governor of New York.

Beginning in the fall of 1849, White enrolled as an undergraduate at Geneva College, known today as [[Hobart and William Smith Colleges]], at the insistence of his father.<ref name="droppingout">White (1904), pg. 54</ref> He was inducted as a member of [[Sigma Phi Society]] in 1850 and he served as editor of the fraternity's publication, ''The Flame''.  White remained active in the fraternity for the rest of his life, founding the Cornell chapter and serving as the national president from 1913 to 1915.<ref>{{cite web |author=ΣΦ |title=ΣΦ - Rockledge |url=http://www.alphasig-rockledge.com/history.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509155651/http://www.alphasig-rockledge.com/history.php |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |access-date=May 22, 2009 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In his autobiography, he recalled that he had felt that his time at Geneva was "wasted" by being at the small [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]] school instead of at "one of the larger New England universities".<ref name="droppingout" /> White dropped out in 1850.

After a period of estrangement, White persuaded his father to let him transfer to [[Yale College]]. At Yale, White was a classmate of [[Daniel Coit Gilman]], who later served as the first president of [[Johns Hopkins University]] in [[Baltimore]]. The two were members of the [[Skull and Bones]]<ref>*{{cite web|url=http://area907.info/911/index.php?Bonesmen2|title=Bonesmen 1833–1899|publisher=Fleshing Out Skull and Bones|access-date=March 15, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811190506/http://area907.info/911/index.php?Bonesmen2|archive-date=August 11, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> secret society and would remain close friends. They traveled together in Europe after graduation and served together on the [[Venezuela Boundary Commission]] (1895–1896). His roommate was [[Thomas Frederick Davies Sr.]], who later became the third bishop of the [[Episcopal Diocese of Michigan]], 1889–1905.<ref name="rootsweb" /> Other members of White's graduating year included [[Edmund Clarence Stedman]], the poet and essayist; [[Wayne MacVeagh]], [[Attorney General of the United States]] and [[United States Ambassador to Italy|U.S. Ambassador to Italy]]; and [[Hiram Bingham II]], the missionary, collectively comprising the so-called "famous class of '53."<ref name="Maine">{{cite book|title=Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine|publisher=Lewis historical publishing Company|author=Henry Sweetser Burrage, Albert Roscoe Stubbs|year=1909|url=https://archive.org/details/genealogicaland00stubgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/genealogicaland00stubgoog/page/n151 1174]}}</ref>  According to White, he was deeply influenced in his academic career and life by Professor [[Noah Porter]] (later, Yale's president), who personally instructed him in rhetoric and remained a close personal friend until Porter's death.<ref>White (1904), 31</ref>

He also served as an editor of ''The Lit.,'' known today as the ''[[Yale Literary Magazine]].'' He belonged to [[Linonian Society|Linonia]], a literary and debating society.<ref name="rootsweb" /> As a junior, White won the Yale literary prize for the best essay, writing on the topic "The Greater Distinctions in Statesmanship;" this was a surprise as traditionally a senior was chosen for the winning essay.<ref name="rootsweb" /><ref>White (1904), pg. 32</ref>  Also as a junior, White joined the junior society [[Psi Upsilon]].  In his senior year, White won the Clark Prize for English [[disputation]] and the De Forest prize for public oratory, speaking on the topic "The Diplomatic History of Modern Times".  Valued at $100, the De Forest prize was then the largest prize of its kind at any educational institution, American or otherwise.<ref>"Yale College—The De Forest Prize.", ''The New York Times'', 18 June 1853, [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1853/06/18/75126916.pdf]</ref> In addition to academic pursuits, White was on the Yale [[rowing (sport)|crew]] team, and competed in the first [[Harvard–Yale Regatta]] in 1852.<ref>White (1904), pg. 33–34</ref>

After graduation, White traveled and studied in Europe with his classmate Daniel Coit Gilman. Between 1853 and 1854, he studied at the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]], the {{lang|fr|[[Collège de France]]|italic=no}}, and the [[University of Berlin]]. He also served as the translator for [[Thomas H. Seymour]], the [[United States Ambassador to Russia|U.S. Ambassador to Russia]], following Gilman's term as translator, although he had not studied [[French language|French]] ([[Lingua franca#French|the language of diplomacy]] and the Russian royal court) prior to his studies in Europe.  After he returned the United States, White enrolled at Yale to earn a [[Master of Arts|MA]] and be inducted into [[Phi Beta Kappa]] in 1856.<ref name="NYbio">{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of biography of New York|author=Charles Elliott Fitch|author-link=Charles Elliott Fitch|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_qSoEAAAAYAAJ|publisher=[[American Historical Society]]|year=1916|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_qSoEAAAAYAAJ/page/n602 321]–326}}</ref>

==Career==
===Academia===
In October 1858, White accepted a position as a professor of History and English literature at the [[University of Michigan]], where he remained on faculty until 1863.<ref name="Finch, pg. 7">Finch, pg. 7</ref>  White made his lasting mark on the grounds of the university by enrolling students to plant [[elm]]s along the walkways on [[The Diag]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2008/04/trees.php |title=U-M Heritage: Professor White's trees |access-date=2010-07-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606173105/http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2008/04/trees.php |archive-date=June 6, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Between 1862 and 1863, he traveled to Europe to lobby France and Britain to assist the United States in the [[American Civil War]] or at least not to aid the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate States]].<ref name="Finch, pg. 7"/>

===Founding of Cornell University===
{{Further|History of Cornell University}}
[[File:AD White 1865.jpg|thumb|White in 1865, when he and [[Ezra Cornell]] co-founded [[Cornell University]]]]
In 1863, White returned to reside in [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]] for business reasons. In November, he was elected to the [[New York State Senate]] on the [[National Union Party (United States)|Union Party]] ticket.<ref>{{cite news | title = The State. Miscellaneous Returns | work=[[The New York Times]]| date = November 4, 1863| url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1863/11/04/79179933.pdf | access-date =May 27, 2009 }}</ref> In the Senate, White met the fellow [[upstate New York|upstate]] Senator [[Ezra Cornell]], a self-taught [[Quakers|Quaker]] farmer from [[Ithaca, New York|Ithaca]] who had made a modest fortune in the [[telegraph]] industry.<ref name="CAM Obit" /> Around then, the senators were called on to decide how best to use the higher education funding provided by the [[Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act]], which allocated timberland in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], which states could sell as they saw fit. Through effective management by Cornell, New York, generated about $2.5 million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|2500000|1863|r=-6}}}} in today dollars{{Inflation-fn|US}}) from its allotted scrip, a greater yield per acre than any state except perhaps [[California]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Individual, Society, and Education|url=https://archive.org/details/individualsociet0002kari|url-access=registration|author=Clarence J. Karier|publisher=University of Illinois Press|year=1986|page=[https://archive.org/details/individualsociet0002kari/page/68 68]}}</ref> The senators initially wanted to divvy the funds among the numerous small state colleges of their districts. White fervently argued that the money would be more effectively used if it endowed only one university. Ezra Cornell agreed and told White, "I have about half a million dollars more than my family will need: what is the best thing I can do with it for the State?" White immediately replied, "The best thing you can do with it is to establish or strengthen some institution of higher learning."<ref name="CAM Obit" /> The two thus combined their efforts to form a new university.

White pressed for the university to be located on the hill in Syracuse, the current location of [[Syracuse University]], because of the city's transportation hub. That could help attract faculty, students, and other persons of note. However, as a young carpenter working in Syracuse, Cornell had been robbed of his wages,<ref>Goldwin Smith, ''Reminiscences'' (New York, 1911), p.371;quoted in Morris Bishop(1962), p.11, ''A History of Cornell.'' Cornell University Press</ref> and insisted for the university to be in his hometown of [[Ithaca, New York|Ithaca]]. He proposed to donate land on his large farm on East Hill, overlooking the town and [[Cayuga Lake]]. White convinced Cornell to give his name to the university "in accordance with [the] time-honored American usage" of naming universities after their largest initial benefactors.<ref name="CAM Obit" /> On February 7, 1865, White introduced a bill "to establish the Cornell University" and, on April 27, 1865, after months of debate, Governor [[Reuben E. Fenton]] signed into law the bill endowing Cornell University as the state's [[list of land-grant universities|land-grant institution]].In 1865, White also authored "...The Negro's Right to Citizenship - a very detailed legal, ethical and logical argument for citizenship for the Negro." A staunch abolitionist, White was also the author of "abolition of Slavery the Right of Government under the War Powers Act" as well as several other legal arguments in favor of the Negro."<ref>{{cite book|title=SWANN Printed & Manuscript African Americana |date=March 1, 2012|page=69}}</ref>

White became the school's first president and served as a professor in the [[Cornell University Department of History|Department of History]].  He commissioned Cornell's first [[Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning|architecture student]], [[William Henry Miller (architect)|William Henry Miller]], to build [[Andrew Dickson White House|his president's mansion]] on campus.

White was elected a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1869<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?year=1869;year-max=1869;smode=advanced;startDoc=1|access-date=2021-04-26|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> and [[American Antiquarian Society]] in 1884.<ref>{{Cite web|title=MemberList: W |publisher=American Antiquarian Society|url=https://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistw|access-date=2023-02-07|website=www.americanantiquarian.org}}</ref>

In 1891, [[Leland Stanford|Leland]] and Jane Stanford asked White to serve as the first president of [[Stanford University]], which they had founded in [[Palo Alto, California]]. Although he refused, he recommended his former student [[David Starr Jordan]].

===Conflict thesis===
{{main|Conflict thesis}}
At the time of Cornell's founding, White announced that it would be "an asylum for ''Science''—where truth shall be sought for truth's sake, not stretched or cut exactly to fit Revealed Religion."<ref>Lindberg and Numbers 1986, pp. 2–3</ref> Until then, most of America's private universities had been founded as religious institutions and generally were focused on the [[liberal arts]] and religious training.

In 1869, White gave a lecture on "The Battle-Fields of Science" in which he argued that history showed the negative outcomes resulting from any attempt on the part of [[religion]] to interfere with the progress of [[science]]. Over the next 30 years, he refined his analysis, expanding his case studies to include nearly every field of science over the entire history of Christianity but also narrowing his target from "religion" through "ecclesiasticism" to "dogmatic theology."

The final result was the two-volume ''[[A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom]]'' (1896) in which he asserted the [[conflict thesis]] of science being against [[dogmatic theology]]. Initially less popular than [[John William Draper]]'s ''History of the Conflict between Religion and Science'' (1874), White's book became an influential text in the 19th century on the [[relationship between religion and science]]. White's conflict thesis has been widely rejected among contemporary historians of science.<ref>Quotation: "The conflict thesis, at least in its simple form, is now widely perceived as a wholly inadequate intellectual framework within which to construct a sensible and realistic historiography of Western science". (p. 7), Colin A. Russell "The Conflict Thesis", ''Science & Religion: A Historical Introduction'', Gary Ferngren, ed., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. {{ISBN|978-0-8018-7038-5}}".</ref><ref name="Shapin1996">Quotation: "In the late Victorian period it was common to write about the 'warfare between science and religion' and to presume that the two bodies of culture must always have been in conflict. However, it is a very long time since these attitudes have been held by historians of science". (p. 195) {{cite book
 | author = Shapin, S.
 | year = 1996
 | title = The Scientific Revolution
 | url = https://archive.org/details/scientificrevolu00shap_0
 | url-access = registration
 | publisher = University of Chicago Press Chicago, Ill.
 | isbn = 9780226750200
 }}</ref><ref name="Brooke1991">Quotation: "In its traditional forms, the conflict thesis has been largely discredited." (p. 42) {{cite book
 | author = Brooke, J.H.
 | year = 1991
 | title = Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives.
 | url = https://archive.org/details/sciencereligions0000broo
 | url-access = registration
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | author-link = John Hedley Brooke
 }}</ref> The warfare depiction remains a popular view among critics of religion.<ref>"... while [John] Brooke's view [of a complexity thesis rather than an historical conflict thesis] has gained widespread acceptance among professional historians of science, the traditional view remains strong elsewhere, not least in the popular mind." p. x, ''Science & Religion: A Historical Introduction'', Gary Ferngren, ed., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.  {{ISBN|978-0-8018-7038-5}}.</ref>

===Diplomat===
[[File:AD White Russia.jpg|thumb|White's official portrait as [[List of ambassadors of the United States to Russia|U.S. ambassador to Russia]], where he served from 1892 to 1894]]
While at Cornell, in 1871, he took leave to serve as a Commissioner to [[Dominican Republic#Restoration republic|Santo Domingo]], along with [[Benjamin Wade]] and [[Samuel Gridley Howe|Samuel Howe]], at the request of President [[Ulysses Grant]] to determine the feasibility of an American annexation of the [[Dominican Republic]]. Their report ([https://books.google.com/books?id=mUd9AAAAMAAJ available here]) supported the annexation, but Grant was unable to gain sufficient political support to take further action.

Later, White was appointed as the American ambassador to Germany (1879–1881). After returning to the United States, he was elected as the first president of the [[American Historical Association]] (1884–1886). Upstate [[New York Republican State Committee|New York Republicans]] nominated him for [[list of Governors of New York|governor]] in 1876 and for Congress in 1886, but he did not win either primary.

Following his resignation in 1885 as Cornell's president, White served as the minister to Russia (1892–1894), president of the American delegation to [[Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907)|The Hague Peace Conference (1899)]], and again as ambassador to Germany (1897–1902).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/presidents/view_item.php?sec=3&sub=8 |title= Andrew Dickson White, President, 1866-1885|website=Cornell University|access-date=January 30, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610110419/http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/presidents/view_item.php?sec=3&sub=8|archive-date=June 10, 2007}}</ref>

In 1904, White published his ''Autobiography'', which he had written while he was relaxing in Italy after his retirement from the Department of State with the change in administrations. Cornell's third president, [[Jacob Gould Schurman]], was appointed as ambassador to Germany from 1925 to 1929.

At the onset of [[World War I]], White supported the German cause within Europe because he had strong professional and emotional ties to Germany. By the summer of 1915, he retreated from this position and refrained from offering any support either publicly or privately.<ref>Finch, pg. 65</ref> In the fall of 1916, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] appointed White to a peace commission to prepare a treaty with China.<ref name="Finch, pg. 66">Finch, pg. 66</ref> As of December 1916, White had reduced some of his obligations, resigning from the [[Smithsonian Institution#Administration|Smithsonian Board of Regents]] and the trustees of the [[Carnegie Institution for Science|Carnegie Institution]].<ref name="Finch, pg. 66"/>

===Bibliophile===
[[File:ADWhiteReadingRoom, CornellUniversity.jpg|thumb|The A. D. White Reading Room at [[Cornell University Library]], named in White's honor]]
Over the course of his career, White [[bibliophile|amassed a sizable book collection]]. His library included an extensive section on [[architecture]], which then represented the largest architecture library in the United States. He donated all 4,000 books to the [[Cornell University Library]] for the purpose of teaching architecture as well as the remainder of his 30,000-book collection.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arlisna.org/pubs/onlinepubs/colldevpol/cornell.html|publisher=Cornell University Fine Arts Library|title=Architecture Clientele|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707050306/http://www.arlisna.org/pubs/onlinepubs/colldevpol/cornell.html|archive-date=July 7, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In 1879, White enlisted [[George Lincoln Burr]], a former undergraduate assistant for one of his seminars, to manage the rare books collection. Though Burr would later hold other positions at the university, such as Professor of History, he remained White's collaborator and head of this collection until 1922 by traveling over Europe, locating and amassing books that White wanted. In particular, he built the collections on the [[Reformation]], [[witchcraft]], and the [[French Revolution]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://libecast.library.cornell.edu/uris/white.html|title=Andrew Dickson White Library|publisher=Cornell University Library}}</ref> Today, White's collection is housed primarily in the Cornell Archives and in the Andrew Dickson White Reading Room (formally known as the "President White Library of History and Political Science") at Uris Library on the Ithaca Campus. The A.D. White Reading Room was designed by [[William Henry Miller (architect)|William Henry Miller]], who had also designed White's mansion on campus.

While serving in [[Russia]], White made the acquaintance of author [[Leo Tolstoy]]. Tolstoy's fascination with [[Mormons|Mormonism]] sparked a similar interest in White, who had previously regarded the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) as a dangerous [[cult]]. Upon his return to the United States, White took advantage of Cornell's proximity to the religion's birthplace in [[Palmyra (town), New York|Palmyra]] to amass a collection of LDS memorabilia (including many original copies of the [[Book of Mormon]]); it is unmatched by any other institution outside the church itself and its flagship [[Brigham Young University]].

==Personal life==
White married twice. His first marriage, on September 27, 1857, was to Mary Amanda Outwater (February 10, 1836 – June 8, 1887), daughter of Peter Outwater and Lucia M. Phillips of Syracuse. Mary's maternal grandmother Amanda Danforth, daughter of Asa Danforth Jr. and wife of Elijah Phillips Jr., was the first white child born in what would become [[Onondaga County, New York]]. Her great-grandfathers included General Asa Danforth, an early pioneer of upstate New York and leader of the [[State Militia]], as well as Elijah Philips Sr., who had responded to the alarm to [[Lexington, Massachusetts]], in 1775 and later served as the High Sheriff of Onondaga County.<ref name="CAM Obit" />

Andrew and Mary had three children together: Frederick Davies White, who committed [[suicide]] in his forties in 1901<ref>{{cite web|url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1901/07/09/117968311.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0|title=Ambassador White's Only Son a Suicide|work=The New York Times|date=July 9, 1901}}</ref> after a prolonged series of illnesses; Clara (White) Newbury, who died before her father; and Ruth (White) Ferry. After his wife died in 1887,<ref name="nyt-1887jun09">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1887/06/09/archives/mrs-ad-white-falls-dead.html?pagewanted=all |title=Mrs. A.D. White Falls Dead |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 9, 1887 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |page=4 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> White went on a lecture tour and traveled in Europe with his close friend, [[Daniel Willard Fiske]], librarian at Cornell.<ref name="CAM Obit" />

After three years as a widower, in 1890, White married [[Helen Magill White|Helen Magill]], the daughter of Edward Magill, [[Swarthmore College]]'s second president. She was the first woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D.<ref>{{Cite book |last=White |first=Andrew Dickson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LcETAAAAYAAJ&q=%22She+was+the+first+woman+in+the+United+States+to+earn+a+Ph.D.%5Bcitation+needed%5D+Like+her+husband,+Helen+was+a+social+scientist+and+educator;+the+two+met+at+a+conference+where+she+was+presenting+a+paper%22+-wikipedia |title=A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom |date=1896 |publisher=D. Appleton and Company |language=en}}</ref> Like her husband, Helen was a social scientist and educator; the two met at a conference where she was presenting a paper. Together, Helen and Andrew had three children.

==Death and legacy==
[[File:AD White Sarcophagus Cropped.JPG|thumb|White is interred in [[Sage Chapel]] at [[Cornell University]], where his [[sarcophagus]] features crests of nations where he served as an ambassador and icons of universities where he studied]]
On October 26, 1918, White suffered a slight paralytic stroke following a severe illness of several days.<ref name="CAM Obit">{{cite book|title=Andrew Dickson White|publisher=Cornell Alumni Magazine|url=https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/3536/34/021_07.pdf| date=November–December 1918|access-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref>  On the morning of Monday, November 4, White died at home in Ithaca.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cornell.edu/president/history_bio_white.cfm|title=Cornell University-Office of the President-Andrew Dickson White|publisher=Cornell University Office of the President|access-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref>  Three days later, on November 7, on what would have been White's 86th birthday, White was interred at [[Sage Chapel]] on the Cornell campus. The chapel was filled to capacity by faculty, trustees, and other well-wishers.<ref>{{cite book|title=26th Annual Report of the President|author=Jacob Gould Schurman|author-link=Jacob Gould Schurman|publisher=Cornell University|year=1918|page=5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MWfOAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

White's body resides in a sarcophagus in the Memorial Room with those of other persons deemed influential in the founding and early years of the university, including co-founder [[Ezra Cornell]] and benefactor [[Jennie McGraw|Jennie McGraw-Fiske]].  His marble [[sarcophagus]] was designed in the popular [[Art Nouveau]] style. It features crests of countries and institutions that played important roles in White's life.  For example, the adjacent picture shows the crests of the two countries where White was an ambassador; the [[Coat of arms of Germany#German Empire|coat of arms of Imperial Germany]] is on left and [[Saint George]], a variation on the [[coat of arms of Moscow]], representing Russia, is on the right.

The sarcophagus was completed in 1926 by sculptor [[Lee Lawrie|Lee Oskar Lawrie]] (1877–1963), who also created sculptures adorning Myron Taylor Hall at Cornell. Lawrie is perhaps best known for his [[Atlas (statue)|Atlas]] statue at [[Rockefeller Center]] in New York City.<ref>Gregory Paul Harm, Cited from a page from the Lee Lawrie Archives, Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.</ref>

In his will, White left $500,000 {{USDCY|500000|1918}} to Cornell University, in addition to the considerable sums donated to the institution earlier in his life.

===Cornell University===
In his 1904 autobiography, ''The Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White'', White wrote:

{{blockquote|text=During my life, which is now extending beyond the allotted span of threescore and ten, I have been engaged after the manner of my countrymen, in many sorts of work, have become interested in many conditions of men have joined in many efforts which I hope have been of use; but, most of all, I have been interested in the founding and maintaining of Cornell University, and by the part, I have taken in that, more than by any other work of my life I hope to be judged.
|author=Andrew Dickson White
|source=''The Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White'' (1904)}}

Until at least the mid-20th century, Cornell undergraduates with the surname 'White' were traditionally given the nickname 'Andy' in reference to White. Notably, [[E. B. White]], author of the world-famous children's book ''[[Charlotte's Web]]'', continued to go by the nickname 'Andy' for the rest of his life after his undergraduate years at Cornell.<ref>{{cite web|last=Stephen|first=Charles|title=Review: 'Story of Charlotte's Web' tells of author's love affair with the creatures of the natural world|date=August 11, 2011 |url=http://journalstar.com/entertainment/arts-and-culture/books/article_f83b6e5c-030f-5e0e-8176-a0567c7fcfbe.html|publisher=Lincoln Journal Star|access-date=August 12, 2011}}</ref>

==Legacy and honors==

Historian Benjamin G, Rader argues that in creating Cornell:<blockquote>White championed nondenominationalism, coeducation, an
elective curriculum, and academic freedom. These positions won him a lasting reputation as a pioneer in the history of higher education.<ref>Benjamin G, Rader, "Review" ''Journal of American History'' (March 1980) 66#4 p. 958.</ref></blockquote>

According to professor [[Geoffrey Blodgett]], White confronted a series of complex challenges in his long career:<blockquote>Above all, the creation from scratch of a large, high-quality, coeducational, nonsectarian public university in the cockpit of post-Civil War, educational politics was an organizational chore of awesome subtlety for man of White's genteel background and soaring ideals."<ref>Geoffrey Blodgett, ”Review” in ‘’American Historical Review’’ (Feb. 1980) 85#1 p. 226.</ref></blockquote>

{{Hidden begin|title=Degrees received by Andrew Dickson White|titlestyle=text-align: center;|border=#aaa 1px solid}}
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
'''Earned degrees'''
* [[Yale University|Yale]] - A.B. (1853)
* [[Yale University|Yale]] - M.A. History (1856)
{{div col end}}
{{hidden end}}
White was awarded numerous honorary degrees, including:
*[[University of Michigan]], [[Doctor of Law|LL.D.]] (1867)
*[[Cornell University]], LL.D. (1886)
*[[Yale University]], LL.D. (1887)
*[[Columbia University]], [[Doctor of Humane Letters|L.H.D.]] (1887)
*[[University of Jena]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] (1889)
*[[St. Andrew's University]], LL.D. (October 1902)<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=University intelligence |date=23 October 1902 |page=9 |issue=36906}}</ref>
*[[Johns Hopkins University]], LL.D. (1902)
*[[University of Oxford]], [[Doctor of Civil Law|D.C.L.]] in connection with the [[Bodleian Library]] tercentenary (October 1902)<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=University intelligence |date=8 October 1902 |page=4 |issue=36893}}</ref>
*[[Dartmouth College]], LL.D. (1906)

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:AD_White_1878.png|1878
Image:AD_White_1881.png|1881
Image:1882 Cornell University faculty.jpg|1882 - Seated right of center with the Cornell faculty
Image:1889_AHA_officers.png|1885 - Seen sitting on the far right with the founding members of the [[American Historical Association]]
File:PSM V48 D474 Andrew Dickson White.jpg | 1896 - Featured in ''[[Popular Science Monthly]]''
File:Andrew Dickson White. Photographie von J. C. Schaarwächter.png|In Berlin, 1900
Image:Portrait of Andrew Dickson White.jpg|C.1905 - Gelatin silver photograph of White
Image:Signature of Andrew Dickson White.jpg|An undated signature of White
Image:Photo and signature of Andrew Dickson White.jpg|c. about 1905 - Gelatin silver print cabinet card photo and undated signature of Andrew D. White. Possible original photo that was used in the original ''Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White'' book
File:Opening of Goldwin Smith Hall, 1906.jpg|1906 - White and [[Goldwin Smith]] at the opening of Goldwin Smith Hall. A statue of White was later installed in front of the building.
Image:Autographed copy of "Autobiography of Andrew D.White" Volume 1.jpg|An autographed copy of ''Autobiography of Andrew D. White Volume 1'', dated June 23, 1916
Image:AD White 1910.jpg|White, 1910
Image:Andrew Dickson White 1915.jpg|1915 - Featured in ''[[The New York Times]]''
Image:AD White undated.jpg|An undated photograph of White, published c.1918 in the ''Cornell Alumni Magazine'' after his death 
Image:AD White at Goldwin Smith.jpg|c. about 1915 - Standing near his statue on the Cornell campus
Image:AD White statue.jpg|The statue of White on the Cornell [[Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences#The Arts Quadrangle|Arts Quad]] by [[Karl Bitter]]
Image:HouseofAndrewDickinsonWhite.jpg|[[Andrew Dickson White House|White's mansion on the Cornell campus, listed on the National Register of Historic Places]]
</gallery>

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|align=center|collapsed=yes
| boxstyle_1 = background-color: #fcc;
| boxstyle_2 = background-color: #fb9;
| boxstyle_3 = background-color: #ffc;
|'''Andrew White<br>1832-1918'''
|Horace White
|Clara Dickson
|Asa White
|
|[[Andrew Dickson (politician)|Andrew Dickson]]
}}

== Selected bibliography ==
{{Main list|Bibliography of Andrew Dickson White}}
* ''Outlines of a Course of Lectures on History'' (1861).
* ''Syllabus of Lectures on Modern History'' (1876).
* {{cite book |title= Fiat Money Inflation in France: How It Came, What It Brought, and How It Ended; To Which is Added an Extract from Macaulay Showing the Results of the Tempering with the Currency of England |place= New York |publisher= D. Appleton and Company |url= https://archive.org/details/fiatmoneyinfranc00whitrich/page/n5/mode/2 |year= 1896 |via= [[Internet Archive]] |accessdate= 18 May 2024}}
* ''A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom'', 2 vols. (1896), online at ''Gutenberg'' [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/505 text file].
* ''Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason'' (1910).
* ''The Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White'' (1911), online at ''Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White'': [https://archive.org/details/autobioandrew01whitrich Vol. 1], [https://archive.org/details/autobioandrew02whitrich Vol. 2]
* [[Fiat Money Inflation in France]]: How It Came, What It Brought, and How It Ended {{cite book |url=  https://mises.org/books/inflationinfrance.pdf |title= 3rd Edition, Libertarian Press |edition= 3rd |year= 1933 |place= New York |publisher= D. Appleton and Company |via= mises.org}}  , [https://www.libertarianpress.com/fiatmoneyinflation/ e-text]

== See also ==
* [[Andrew Dickson White House]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last = White |first = Andrew Dickson |title = Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White |publisher = The Century Co. |year=1904 }}
* {{cite book |last = Bishop |first = Morris |title = A History of Cornell |url = https://archive.org/details/historyofcornell00bish_0 |url-access=registration |year=1962 |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8014-0036-0 }}
* {{cite book |title = The Andrew Dickson White Papers at Cornell University, 1846–1919 |editor-first = Henry |editor-last = Finch |year = 1970 |publisher = Cornell University Archives }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{wsPSM2|Sketch of Andrew Dickson White|48|February 1896}}
* {{cite book |last=Altschuler |first = Glenn C. |title = Andrew D. White—Educator, Historian, Diplomat |url = https://archive.org/details/andrewdwhiteeduc00alts |url-access=registration |date=March 1979 |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |location=Ithaca, New York |isbn=978-0-8014-1156-4 }}
* Altschuler, Glenn C. (1999) "White, Andrew Dickson (1832-1918), university president and diplomat " ''American National Biography''
* Beach, Mark B. "Andrew Dickson White as ex-president: The plight of a retired reformer." ''American Quarterly'' 17.2 (1965): 239-247.[Beach, Mark B. "Andrew Dickson White as ex-president: The plight of a retired reformer." American Quarterly 17.2 (1965): 239-247. online]
* {{cite book |last=Drechsler |first=Wolfgang J. M. |author-link = Wolfgang Drechsler |title = Andrew D. White in Deutschland: der Vertreter der USA in Berlin, 1879–1881 und 1887–1902 (Andrew D. White in Germany. The Representative of the United States in Berlin, 1879–1881 and 1897–1902) |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9ikMAAAAIAAJ |year=1989 |publisher=H.-D. Heinz |location=Stuttgart |isbn=978-3-88099-624-3 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Lindberg |first1=David C. |author1-link = David C. Lindberg |last2=Numbers |first2=Ronald L. |author2-link = Ronald L. Numbers |editor1 = Lindberg |editor2=Numbers |name-list-style=and |title = God and nature: historical essays on the encounter between Christianity and science |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hs2edDIGCqEC&pg=PA1 |year=1986 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-05692-3 |chapter=Introduction }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lindberg |first1=David C. |first2=Ronald L. |last2 = Numbers |year=1987 |title = Beyond War and Peace: A Reappraisal of the Encounter between Christianity and Science |journal=[[Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith]] |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=140–149 |oclc=61313836 |url = http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1987/PSCF9-87Lindberg.html }}
* {{cite book |last1=Engst |first1 = Elaine D. |last2=Dimunation |first2=Mark |title = A Legacy of Ideas: Andrew Dickson White and the Founding of the Cornell University Library |url = https://ecommons.library.cornell.edu/handle/1813/5416 |series = An exhibition celebrating the Thirty-Seventh Preconference of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a Division of the American Library Association |year=1996 |publisher = Cornell University Library |location = Ithaca, New York }}
* Ungureanu, James C. [https://upittpress.org/books/9780822945819/ Science, Religion, and the Protestant Tradition: Retracing the Origins of Conflict]. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019.

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{Commons category}}

'''Cornell University links'''
*{{cite web
|title =Office of the Presidency: Andrew Dickson White
|work =[[Cornell University]]
|url =https://www.cornell.edu/president/history_bio_white.cfm
|access-date=October 5, 2007
}} Brief history of White
*{{cite web
|title = Presidents Exhibition: Andrew Dickson White, Presidency
|work = [[Cornell University Library]]
|url = https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/presidents/view_item.php?sec=3&sub=8
|access-date=October 5, 2007
}}
*{{cite web
|title =Presidents Exhibition: Andrew Dickson White, Inauguration
|work =[[Cornell University Library]]
|url =https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/presidents/view_item.php?sec=4&sub=19
|access-date=October 5, 2007
}}
*{{cite web
|title =Andrew Dickson White Collection of Architectural Photographs
|work = [[Cornell University Library]]
|url = https://resolver.library.cornell.edu/misc/4077228
|access-date=October 5, 2007
}}
*{{cite web
|title =Andrew Dickson White Library
|work = [[Cornell University Library]]
|url =https://libecast.library.cornell.edu/uris/white.html
|access-date=October 5, 2007
}}
*{{cite web
|title =Andrew Dickson White's Book Collection
|work = [[Cornell University Library]]
|url = https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/footsteps/exhibition/foundingcollections/foundingcollections_1.html
|access-date=October 5, 2007
}}
*{{cite web
|title = Andrew Dickson White and the History of Cornell's College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
|work = [[Cornell University Library]]
|url =https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/Aap-exhibit/AAP1.html
|access-date=October 5, 2007
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070820232104/http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/Aap-exhibit/AAP1.html| archive-date= August 20, 2007 | url-status= live}}
*{{cite web
|title =How Cornell’s First President Transformed Higher Education
|work = Cornellians
|url = https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/white-biography/
|access-date=April 29, 2025
}}
'''Other links'''
* {{Gutenberg author | id=271| name=Andrew Dickson White}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Andrew Dickson White}}
*{{Librivox author |id=17403}}
*{{cite web
|title =Famous People of the Finger Lakes
|work =ilovethefingerlakes.com
|url =http://www.ilovethefingerlakes.com/history/famous-people-cornell.htm
|access-date=October 5, 2007
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070928075431/http://www.ilovethefingerlakes.com/history/famous-people-cornell.htm| archive-date= September 28, 2007 | url-status= live}} History of White [Ezra Cornell, Andrew Dickson White and the Establishment of Cornell University]
*{{cite web
|title =The Mythical Conflict between Science and Religion
|work =bede.org.uk
|url =http://www.bede.org.uk/conflict.htm
|access-date=October 5, 2007
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071015093058/http://bede.org.uk/conflict.htm| archive-date= October 15, 2007 | url-status= live}} Addresses White's scholarship.
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/cornelluniversitylibrary/collections/72157616674562400/ A.D. White's Architectural Photos] A collection within [https://www.flickr.com/photos/cornelluniversitylibrary/ the Flickr stream of Cornell University Library]. Specifically includes A.D. White's photographs of European, Latin American, and Middle Eastern architecture.
*{{cite web
 |title       = U-M Heritage: Professor White's Trees
 |work        = Michigan Today
 |url         = http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2008/04/trees.php
 |access-date  = July 31, 2010
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100606173105/http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2008/04/trees.php
 |archive-date = June 6, 2010
 |df          = mdy-all
}} Essay and slideshow about White's lasting mark on the [[University of Michigan]]'s campus.

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-ny-sen}}
{{succession box | before = [[Allen Munroe]] | title = [[New York State Senate]] <br />22nd District | years = 1864–1867 | after = [[George N. Kennedy]]}}
{{s-aca}}
{{succession box |
  title=[[List of presidents of Cornell University|President of Cornell University]] |
  before=''(none)'' |
  after=[[Charles Kendall Adams]] |
  years=1866–1885
}}
{{s-dip}}
{{succession box |
  before= [[Bayard Taylor]] |
  title= [[United States Ambassador to Germany]] |
  years= 1879–1881 |
  after= [[Aaron Augustus Sargent]]
}}
{{succession box |
  before= [[Charles Emory Smith]] |
  title= [[United States Ambassador to Russia]] |
  years= 1892–1894 |
  after= [[Clifton R. Breckinridge]]
}}
{{succession box |
  before= [[Edwin F. Uhl]] |
  title= [[United States Ambassador to Germany]] |
  years= 1897–1902 |
  after= [[Charlemagne Tower Jr.]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Cornell University presidents}}
{{American Historical Association presidents}}
{{US Ambassadors to Germany}}
{{US Ambassadors to Russia}}
{{Cornell}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Andrew Dickson}}
[[Category:Andrew Dickson White| ]]
[[Category:1832 births]]
[[Category:1918 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American diplomats]]
[[Category:19th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:19th-century American historians]]
[[Category:19th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:Activists from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Germany]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Russia]]
[[Category:American abolitionists]]
[[Category:American bibliophiles]]
[[Category:American book and manuscript collectors]]
[[Category:American historians of science]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American scientists]]
[[Category:Anti-Christian sentiment in the United States]]
[[Category:Burials at Sage Chapel]]
[[Category:Cornell University Department of History faculty]]
[[Category:American critics of Christianity]]
[[Category:Delegates to the Hague Peace Conferences]]
[[Category:Historians from New York (state)]]
[[Category:People from Homer, New York]]
[[Category:Presidents of Cornell University]]
[[Category:Presidents of the American Historical Association]]
[[Category:Republican Party New York (state) state senators]]
[[Category:University and college founders]]
[[Category:University of Michigan faculty]]
[[Category:Writers about religion and science]]
[[Category:Yale Bulldogs rowers]]
[[Category:Yale College alumni]]
[[Category:Members of Skull and Bones]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the New York State Legislature]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]