William Trickett (1840-1928)

William Trickett was born on June 9, 1840 in the English Midlands town of Leicester. When he was very young his family moved from England to Philadelphia where he lived until he entered Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1866. Two years later he was awarded his bachelor of arts degree. Upon graduation in 1868, Trickett assumed the role of principal of the Dickinson Grammar School for one year, followed by service for two years as adjunct professor of philosophy at the College. He earned his master's degree from Dickinson in 1871 and, immediately following, left to tour Europe for two years.

Trickett returned to Dickinson, teaching modern languages for a year, but in 1875 he was among the three faculty members whose contracts were not renewed by President James McCauley. Trickett then began to focus his energies on the law, and in 1876 he was admitted to the Cumberland County Bar Association. In 1890 he received an honorary degree in law from DePauw University, and in that same year he was selected to serve as dean of Dickinson Law School. Trickett would retain this position until his death on August 1, 1928. Trickett Hall on the campus of the Dickinson School of Law is named in his honor. He never married.