This week in Cornell history


Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
I.M. Pei and Herbert F. Johnson greet each other at the opening of the museum on May 23, 1973, as the late Cornell President Dale R. Corson looks on.

May 20, 1870 Ezra Cornell receives a letter from the pastor of Cornell College. The Iowa college, founded in 1853 with funding from William W. Cornell (a distant relative of Ezra), is often confused with the Cornell in Ithaca. The pastor suggested to Ezra that the trustees of Cornell in Iowa might be willing to change their school's name "for a consideration." Ezra responded, "It seems that anything can be done for a consideration nowadays" and declined to tarnish Cornell's reputation by buying a name change.

May 23, 1932 Warren Hall is dedicated. The hall was named for George F. Warren, a key economic adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and an international leader in developing the field of farm management in the early 20th century. Warren not only was a revered teacher in the new field of agricultural economics but also influenced state policy on conservation, land use, local government structures, highway improvement, building regional markets and improving rural schools and national economic policy under Roosevelt. He appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1933.

May 25, 1973 The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art opens. The museum, designed by architect I.M. Pei, was built on the site where Ezra Cornell is said to have stood when he announced the intention to found a university. The museum is named for Herbert F. Johnson '22, former CEO of S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. and a lifelong enthusiast of art and architecture.