Thomas Henry Huxley’s address at the opening of the Johns Hopkins University in September 1876

On Christmas Eve, 1873, the 79-year-old Johns Hopkins died, and the birth process of The Johns Hopkins University and The Johns Hopkins Hospital began. From a devout Quaker family, Mr. Hopkins had become one of Baltimore’s wealthiest citizens through his success first in the wholesale grocery business, and then in banking and finance, though he had little formal education. A bachelor, Johns Hopkins had created in 1867 a Board of 12 distinguished trustees whose task it would be at his death to establish a university and a hospital. In his will1 Hopkins donated $3,500,000 to each venture and also his 330-acre country estate (Clifton), an incredibly generous endowment for that time. Virtually no restrictions were to be attached. The Board now moved quickly, seeking advice from many quarters, including the presidents of Harvard, Cornell and Michigan, on educational policies and potential candidates for president. The Board was strongly recommended to secure Daniel Coit Gilpian (1831-1908) who, in 1873 at the age of 42, had begun serving as the president of the new University of California at Berkeley

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