Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Bowdoin Adventures

For the next two weeks Ms. Edwards and I will be spending time at Bowdoin. She is taking part in a TAH grant program about using Biographies in the classroom. She has to complete a 8-10 page biography on a historical person. I just get to go along for the ride.

Since we will be spending the next two weeks here I thought I would share some information with you about the college.
  • Bowdoin College was founded in 1794
  • The college is located in Bruinswick Maine.
  • The college was charted in 1794 by Governor Samuel Adams of Massachusetts (cousin to John Adams and Patriot of the American Revolution)
  • The college was named after James Bowdoin (former governor of Massachusetts)
  • Famous people who attended Bowdoin:
    • Franklin Pierce - 1824
    • Nathanial Hawthorne - 1825
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 1825
    • Joshua Chamberlain (alumnus and president of Bowdoin) - 1852
    • Oliver Otis Howard - 1850
    • Melville Fuller - 1853
    • John A. Andrew - 1837
    • William P. Fessenden - 1832
    • Hugh McCulloch - 1827
    • Ellis Spear - 1858
    • Augustus Stinchfield - 1868
    • Alfred Kinsey - 1916
    • Robert E. Peary - 1877
    • Donald B. MacMillian - 1898
    • Thomas Hubbard - 1857
    • Thomas Brackett Reed - 1860
    • George J. Mitchell - 1954
    • William Cohen - 1962
    • Wallace H. White Jr. - 1899
  • The school's mascot is the polar bear
  • The college is a private school that has an average of 1700 students.
  • The motto of the school is "As an eagle towards the sky" (Ut Aquila Versus Caelum)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowdoin_College

Below are some pictures that I took of the campus.





The Tower...This is where we slept every night and had all our meals. We were lucky enough to get to stay on the 13th floor. The rooms are set up in suites. Each suite has a four separate bedrooms and a common living room. Each suite also has a bathroom to either side of it which includes a shower.


On the edge of the campus is a statue of Joshua Chamberlain.
  • Born in Brewer on September 8, 1828
  • Entered Bowdoin in 1848 and graduated in 1852
  • Married Fanny Adams 1855
  • Studied at Bangor Theological Seminary in Bangor Maine.
  • Started teaching as a professor of rhetoric at Bowdoin
  • At the out break of the Civil War he requested a leave of absence for two years to study languages in Europe. Joined the military instead. Became Colonel of the 20th Maine.
  • He attended the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House
  • Served as Governor of Maine from 1866-1870
  • President of Bowdoin from 1871-1883
  • Died in 1914 (Portland Maine)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Chamberlain



The Polar Bear is the mascot of Bowdoin. This is due to Peary's expedition to the North Pole and MacMillian giving the school a stuffed polar bear.

Near the school is a cemetery called Pine Grove. It is at this location that Joshua Chamberlain and his family is buried.


Family plot of the Chamberlain family



Foot stone of Joshua Chamberlain

Infant daughters of the Chamberlains


We are going to go and visit the Chamberlain house before heading home. I think that we are going to go next Friday.
Publish Post
friday.