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Penn History

This exhibit was researched, written and created by Mary D. McConaghy, Michael Silberman, and Irina Kalashnikova in 2004 as part of the celebration of Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday.

The professors listed below are arranged chronologically by first year of teaching. Note that students were also sometimes instructed by a Writing Master or (if they paid the extra fees to an approved teacher) by an instructor in drawing or one of the modern languages.

William Smith Professor of Ethics 1754-1791
Francis Alison
A.M. (hon.) 1759
Professor of Greek and Latin 1755-1759
Theophilus Grew
A.M. (hon.) 1757
Professor of Mathematics 1755-1759
Ebenezer Kinnersley
A.M. (hon.) 1757
Professor of English and Oratory 1755-1772
Johann Matthias Kramer Professor of French and German 1755 1755
Paul Jackson
A.M. (hon.) 1757
Professor of Greek and Latin 1756-1758
John Beveridge Professor of Greek and Latin 1758-1767
John Ewing
A.M. (hon.) 1759
Professor of Ethics and
of Natural Philosophy
1758-1762
1762-1778
Jacob Duché
A.B. 1757, A.M. 1760
Professor of Oratory 1759-1778
Hugh Williamson
A.B. 1757, A.M. 1760, LL.D. (hon.) 1787
Professor of Mathematics 1761-1763
Thomas Pratt Professor of Mathematics 1760-1761, 1763-1766
Thomas Dungan
A.B. 1765, A.M. 1767
Professor of Mathematics 1766-1769
Paul Fooks Professor of French and Spanish 1766-1779
James Davidson
A.M. (hon.) 1780
Professor of Greek and Latin 1768-1779, 1782-1806
James Cannon
A.B. 1767
Professor of English and Mathematics 1773-1782
James Wilson
A.M. (Honorary) 1766; LL.D. 1790
Professor of Law 1773, 1790-1798
David Rittenhouse
A.M. (hon.) 1767
Professor of Astronomy 1779-1782
Robert Davidson
A.B. 1771, A.M. (ad eundem) 1780, D.D.
(hon.) 1784
Professor of Greek and Latin and
of History
1780-1782
1782-1784
John Christopher Kunze
A.M. (hon.) 1780, D.D. (hon.) 1783
German Professor of Philology
Professor of Oriental and German Languages
1780-1782
1782-1784
Archibald Gamble
A.B. 1771
Professor of Oratory and English Language 1782-1784
Samuel Magaw
A.B. 1757, A.M. 1760,
D.D. (hon.) 1783
Professor of Moral Philosophy 1782-1791
Robert Patterson
A.M. (hon.) 1788, LL.D. (hon.) 1819
Professor of Mathematics and
of Natural Philosophy
1782-1813
1810-1813
Justus H.C. Helmuth
A.M. (hon.) 1780, D.D. (hon.) 1785
German Professor of Philology
Professor of the German and Oriental Languages
1784-1791
1792-1794
John Andrews
A.B. 1765, A.M. 1767
Professor of Moral Philosophy 1789-1813
William Rogers
A.M. (hon.) 1773, D.D. (hon.) 1790
Professor of Oratory and English Language 1789-1811