Horace Elton Rogers (1902-1987)

Horace E. Rogers, c.1960

Horace Rogers was born on December 5, 1902 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He entered Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1920 and graduated Phi Beta Kappa four years later in 1924. He had also become a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. His mentor, Dr. Ernest A. Vuilleumier encouraged him to remain at the College and after he turned down an offer from Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York, Rogers was able to secure a position as a faculty member. He began as an instructor of physics and chemistry in 1925. Apart from the three years in which he pursued graduate studies, earning a master's degree from Lafayette and a doctorate from Princeton in 1930, he devoted his working life to his alma mater. By 1930 Rogers held the position of associate professor of chemistry and then became a full professor of analytical chemistry in 1941. He was named Alfred Victor duPont Professor of analytical chemistry in 1952. He became chairman of the chemistry department after the death of Dr. Vuilleumier in 1958.

In the laboratory, Rogers was mainly interested in the viscosity of liquids and had published fairly extensively in that area. He supported President Karl Waugh during his troubled tenure. Rogers was the faculty secretary of Phi Beta Kappa for a time, and staunchly supported the Dickinson athletic program. In 1963 he received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. Following his retirement in 1971, he served on the Dickinson Alumni Council from 1979 to 1987, and was the first recipient of the Dickinson College Distinguished Alumni Award in June 1984.

A very active member of the Allison Methodist Church in Carlisle, he served as the president of its Board of Trustees, and as the superintendent of the Church School. He married Joy Marie Rommel on March 27, 1926 and the couple had two sons who both attended Dickinson. Horace Elton Rogers died on January 15, 1987.

Author of Post: 
Dickinson College Archives
Date of Post: 
2005
College Relationship: 
Alumnus/Alumna Class Year: 
Faculty - Years of Service: 
1925-1971