William Barton Rogers
| William Barton Rogers | |
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| Born |
December 7, 1804 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Died | May 30, 1882 (aged 77) Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Nationality | United States |
| Fields | Chemistry, physics, geology |
| Alma mater | College of William and Mary |
| Known for | Founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) |
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William Barton Rogers (December 7, 1804 – May 30, 1882) was a geologist, physicist, and educator at the University of Virginia from 1835 to 1853. In 1861, Rogers founded the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The university opened in 1865 after the American Civil War. Because of his affiliation with Virginia, Mount Rogers, the highest peak in the state, is named after him.
Rogers was born on December 7, 1804, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the second son of Patrick Kerr Rogers and Hannah Blythe and was of Irish, Scottish, and English extraction. Patrick Rogers was born in Ireland and had immigrated at the end of the 18th century to America, where he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and practiced medicine. When William Barton was born, Patrick Rogers was tutor at Penn. In 1819 Patrick Rogers became professor of natural philosophy and mathematics at the College of William and Mary, where he remained until his death in 1828.
William Barton Rogers had three brothers: James Blythe Rogers (1802–1852), Henry Darwin Rogers (1808–1866), and Robert Empie Rogers (1813–1884). The Rogers brothers would each grow up to be distinguished scientists.
Rogers was educated by his father, attended the public schools of Baltimore, Maryland, and also graduated from the College of William and Mary. He delivered a series of lectures on science before the Maryland Institute in 1827, and succeeded his father as professor of natural philosophy and chemistry at William and Mary in 1828, where he remained until 1835. During this time, he carried on investigations on dew and on the voltaic battery, and prepared a series of papers on the greensand and calcareous marl minerals of eastern Virginia and their value as fertilizers.
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