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William Thomas Martin was an anatomy scholar at the Academy in 1753, and entered the College on May 25, 1754, as a member of its first class, the Class of 1757. Provost Smith described him as a “truly promising youth.”
While a sixteen-year old student in the College, William Thomas Martin died on August 28, 1754, from a sudden severe illness. To commemorate his death, fellow students and friends — Hopkinson, Magaw, Duché, Barton, and Jackson — wrote emotional verses in his memory.