Chapter 1 : The Early Years: 1865-1888
This account of the history of metallurgy and of materials science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will be primarily concerned with the hundred-year period since metallurgy was first recognized by MIT as an independent discipline. This account will also provide background on the history of the teaching of metallurgy during an earlier period as well as on the history of the Institute as a whole.
The Launching of MIT
Following a preliminary session in the Spring of 1865, the "School of Industrial Science of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology" opened on October 22, 1865 for its first academic year. The activities of the School were carried on in rented quarters in the Mercantile Building on Summer Street in Boston while the School's first permanent building, later named the Rogers Building, was still under construction on Boylston Street between Berkeley and Clarendon Streets. The School moved into the new building in 1866.
The original faculty consisted of ten professors, three of whom were involved to varying degrees with the fields of mining and metallurgy. About 70 students were registered as first- and second-year students in 1865-66.
Organization
The plans for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology envisaged a Society of Arts and a Museum of Practical Arts, in addition to the School of Industrial Science. The Society of Arts, which held its first meeting on December 17, 1862, was established to promote scientific literacy in the community through public lectures; in its final phase in the 1950s, it presented lectures for young audiences by prominent members of the Institute's faculty. The Museum did not attain a significant separate status until the 1970s although various collections were maintained over the years throughout the Institute. The School of Industrial Science became so predominant that soon it was referred to simply as the "Massachusetts Institute of Technology."
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The Institute's charter rested on the" Act of Incorporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology" Signed by the Governor of the Commonwealth on April 10, 1861 and modified several times in the next few years. MIT's founder, William Barton Rogers, became its first president. A small teaching staff of "Officers of Instruction" was recruited; for a number of years, only senior members constituted "the Faculty."
An Educational Philosophy for MIT
Rogers first set forth his philosophy for the School of Industrial Science in "A Plan for a Polytechnic School in-Boston" (1846). He explained that the subjects to be taught were of two kinds:
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During the early 1860s, two documents prepared in support of the Institute, "Objects and Plan of an Institute of Technology" (1860) and "Scope and Plan of the School of Industrial Science" (1864) formulated organizational plans and operating policies.
"Scope and Plan of the School of Industrial Science"
The "Scope and Plan," written by Rogers, was adopted by the Government of the Institute in May 1864. The preamble stated that it was the "design of this School to afford to the public at large opportunities of instruction in the leading principles of science, as applied to the arts; and, at the same time, to provide for systematic students of the applied sciences the means of a continuous and thorough training in the studies and practice appertaining to these subjects."
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The description of laboratories in the "Scope and Plan" includes a "laboratory for mining and metallurgy," which should be "connected with the general laboratory, but forming a distinct department ... designed for special instruction in whatever relates to practical mineralogy, the chemical valuation of ores, and the operations of smelting and other processes for the separation and refining of metals."
Mining and Metallurgy at MIT from 1865 to 1888
During the first years of the Institute, Frank H. Storer, Professor of General and Industrial Chemistry, Charles W. Eliot, Professor of Analytical Chemistry and Metallurgy, and, from 1867 to 1873, Alfred P. Rockwell, Professor of Mining, taught subjects related to mining and metallurgy. James D. Hague, listed as professor of mining in the Annual Catalogues for the academic years 1865-66 through 1867-68, never assumed his duties. In reporting this, Robert H. Richards merely added that "business prevented his coming to Tech" (Richards, p. 99).
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Another early graduate who joined the teaching staff was Henry M. Howe. After graduating from Harvard College in 1869, he enrolled at MIT and graduated in 1871. Richards mentions Howe with some pride as one of the students in the chemistry class he taught in 1870. The Annual Catalogue for 1884-85 lists Howe as Lecturer in Metallurgy, a position he held for a number of years. (See Chart 1 for faculty data for 1865-1888.)
Curricula
According to the Annual Catalogue for 1865-66, six "courses" were open to regular students in the School of Industrial Science. It should be mentioned here that to this day in MIT's usage, the term "course" stands for "major" and "subject" stands for "lecture course" or "laboratory," as used in other institutions. The original courses were:
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The original six courses continued to be offered while new ones were being added. Some changes were made in course titles and numbers. In 1871-72, the course then called "Geology and Mining Engineering" became "Course III." In 1873, Metallurgy was made a separate Course Vl. lt was described as "similar to Chemistry but with more reference to metals:' However, Course VI lost its identity when it was absorbed into Course III in 1884.
Ore Dressing and Metallurgy
In the 1870s and 1880s, metallurgy was taught most intensively in the Mining course. The basic lectures in metallurgy were assigned to the third year: their subject matter was described as "metallurgical processes, construction and implements; furnaces, crucibles, blowing machines, fuels and fluxes:' A more extensive description added" details of the smelting and manufacture of iron, copper, lead, zinc, silver, etc:' "Mining and Metallurgical Laboratory Practice;' a ten_hour-per-week subject, which will be described more fully below, was concerned with the experimental study of the processes of are dressing and smelting. "Assaying" was also taught.
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The Revere Copper Company smelted copper, silver and lead ores in Canton, Massachusetts. A son of the president of that company (and grandson of Paul Revere) had been a classmate of Richards. He took a great interest in Richards's work and provided encouragement and technical support. A smelting company in Newburyport also supported his work. Throughout this period, Richards showed great ingenuity in devising experiments and equipment. He also began to lay the foundation for his later specialization in ore dressing (Dictionary of American Biography, "Robert Hallowell Richards").
Facilities
The Annual Catalogues and President's Reports describe in detail the laboratory space and eqUipment that were gradually acquired for the work in mining and metallurgy. President Runkle's report for 1872 enumerates the types of ore dressing and metallurgical processing equipment then at hand. It included the blast furnace already mentioned (see also Annual Report for 1883-84, p. 48).
Field Trips
The Department sponsored extensive field trips for students. The first of these trips was conducted in the Summer of 1871 in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming under the direction of President Runkle and Professor Richards (Richards, p. 65; 4th Annual Report). In the 5ummer of 1874, an "expedition of Mining students" went to the Lake Superior region under the leadership of Professors Ordway and Richards (President's Report for 1873-74, pp. 33-37). Both mining and metallurgical operations were the points of interest for these study trips, which were continued for many years. The contacts of the Department with Western mines also resulted in the accumulation of "11 tons of gold and silver ores from more than 70 mines in Colorado and Utah" (President's report for 1870-71, p. 25).
Enrollment and Degrees
Six of the 14 graduates in the first graduating class in 1868 received degrees in Geology and Mining. While the absolute number of students in Mining increased in subsequent years, their percentage in the total student body decreased.
The Departmental degree totals by decades are shown in Appendix B.
Summary
This chapter has described the founding of MIT and the activities in mining and metallurgy during the Institute's first quarter century. The achievements of this period were accomplished in spite of many difficulties. The attempts of Harvard under President Eliot to absorb MIT was the most difficult of the political problems that arose. President Rogers's failing health created other problems. Most pervasively, the Institute, in Richards's words, suffered from "uncertainties and privations" (Richards, p. 60). The difficulties were overcome only by the idealism, dedication, and ability of the staff, from President Rogers and President Runkle to the youngest staff members such as Richards.