He was born in Maine in 1847 and graduated from West Point in 1870 as a second lieutenant in the Army. After his military service he began a career as a civil engineer and served for four years as professor of mechanical engineering at Maine State College. He also held faculty positions at Imperial University […]

His great-grandfather was the minister in Boston’s Old North Church who was once offered the presidency of Harvard. His father was a merchant and ship owner who later became chief examiner of the Post Office in Washington, D.C. Eliot entered Harvard Divinity School in 1831 where he developed his religious belief in a form of […]

Early in life he exhibited a knack for mathematics and all things mechanical, and he attended Yale University, where his father wished for him to study for a career in business. Entering Yale at age 16, he graduated in 1840 with high honors and soon after began his scholarly career by assisting a professor at […]

Nevertheless, he was able to prepare himself for college and entered Yale University in 1836. There he became known for his superior scholarship, independence of character, and originality of thought and expression. He took prizes in mathematics and classics, served as editor of Yale’s famous literary magazine, and graduated sixth in a class of 100. […]