The Encyclopedia includes entries about important people, places, and organizations in Dickinson College history. Search or browse through the Encyclopedia here.
Sorted alphabetically
Established in 1913, this literary society of the Dickinson Preparatory School was named in honor of William Albert Hutchison, class of 1892 and headmaster of the School from 1904 to 1917. The society was active for only one year, and no other...
Oscar Hykes was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania on March 13, 1894. He had entered the Conway Hall at nearby Dickinson College in 1914 and later studied the Philosophical course at Dickinson as a member of the class of 1918. While at the...
Known during his time at Dickinson as Abe L. Hymowitz*, Hymes was born in New York City in February 1914 and graduated from James Madison High School in Brooklyn. He entered Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1932 and graduated Phi...
Born on August 14, 1945, Carl Hynek was from Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. He graduated from La Salle College High School in Philadelphia and entered Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in the fall of 1963 with the class of 1967. He became...
Independent Women, a local organization established at Dickinson College in 1946, consisted of female students who wished to remain unaffiliated with Greek-letter sororities.
The group, which some also referred to as the "Indevians,"...
John A. Inglis was born in Baltimore, Maryland on August 26, 1813, the son of well known Presbyterian minister James Inglis, then pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in the city. He entered Dickinson College and graduated with the class of...
Hobart Irelan was from Atlantic City, New Jersey and enrolled at Dickinson College, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania as a member of the class of 1919. He studied the Philosophical course and participated in an array of campus activities, including the Y...
William Irvine was born of Scots-Irish parents in Fermanaugh, Ireland on November 3, 1741. He attended Trinity College in Dublin and afterwards studied medicine. He became a Royal Navy surgeon and served at sea in the Seven Years' War.
He...
Birth: 1818; Mifflin County, Pennsylvania
Death: January 17, 1886 (age 65); Anchorage, Kentucky
Military Service: Mexican War, 1847-48; USA, 1861-65
Unit: 11th U.S. Infantry"Juniata Guards", "Logan Guards", 7th Pennsylvania...
The College purchased the former residence of W. L. Jackson on July 14, 1961, at a cost of $37,500. The house, located at 42 North College Street, was part of a land acquisition project designed to secure room for the construction of a new...
Birth: March 25, 1842; Berwick, Pennsylvania
Death: May 13, 1880 (age 38); Berwick, Pennsylvania
Military Service: USA, 1861-65
Unit: Company H, 84th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
Alma Mater: Dickinson College, B.A...
John Jeremiah Jacob was born on December 9, 1829 in Hampshire County, Virginia (presently West Virginia) to Captain John J. Jacob and Susan (McDavitt) Jacob. From his early childhood, John Jeremiah Jacob was well-educated. In his youth, he...
The Benjamin D. James Center was built on the northwest corner of Louther and College Streets on land acquired by the College from the Church of the Brethren in 1985. The building was dedicated on October 17, 1987, and provided classrooms,...
James Henry Jarrett was born in Jarrettsville, Maryland on February 23, 1832 to Luther and Julia A. Jarrett. The town was known as Carman at the time of his birth. His father was a substantial landowner there and the first postmaster, however,...
Herman Merrills Johnson was born on November 25, 1815 in Butternut Township, New York, near Albany. He attended Casenovia Seminary and then went to Wesleyan University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated with an A.B. degree in...
Harry Jones was born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania in December 1919 and after high school graduation he entered Dickinson in 1937. While at the College, he served on the Student Senate, and was a member of Skull and Key and president of Theta Chi...
Birth: December 3, 1821; Walnut Hill, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Death: April 3, 1895 (age 73); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Military Service: USA, 1861-65
Unit: 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry "Lochiel Cavalry," 92nd U.S....
The Junior Oratory was a cherished event that for over a hundred years served as part of the Commencement week ceremonies at Dickinson. Earliest records indicate that this contest, first titled the "Junior Exhibition," occurred on July 20, 1836....
K. K. K. was a local fraternity established at Dickinson College in 1893. Very little is actually known about this small brotherhood, which dissolved in 1897. However, there appears to be no connection between the Dickinson fraternity and the...
The Delta Charge of the Kappa Gamma fraternity was founded at Dickinson College in 1894. The organization was an inter-fraternity letter society, and its “founding” actually took place at the College’s commencement ceremonies in 1894, when the...
An organization designed to “promote friendship among a diverse group of women,” the Epsilon Omega Chapter of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority was established at Dickinson College in the fall of 1978.
Sometime after 1932, the Kappa Sigma fraternity moved out of the east end of East College and into a house on the northeast corner of College and Louther Streets. The third floor of the large home provided dormitory space for the members, while...
Frank Royer Keefer was born in Venango County, Pennsylvania on October 10, 1865 to a Presbyterian and military family. His father was Major John D. Keefer and his mother Caroline Royer Keefer; he could also boast a great-grandfather who fought...
Nathaniel Garland Keirle was born in Baltimore, Maryland on October 10, 1833. He was the eldest child of three born to Matthew M. Keirle and Sarah Jacobs Garland Keirle. He was raised by his grandmother, as his father died of typhoid and his...
James Kelly was born in Blanchard on the northeastern edge of Centre County, Pennsylvania on February 16, 1819. He was educated at the Milton and Lewisburg Academies and took his undergraduate degree at Princeton University in 1839. He enrolled...