HARVARD IMMORTALS

Of particular interest to Harvard men is the announcement of the election of John Adams, second President of the United States, Phillips Brooks, and William Lawrence, present Bishop of Massachusetts to the National Hall of Fame in New York.

Little needs to be said of John Adams, the constitutional lawyer, framer of the Declaration of Independence, framer of the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, ambassador to France and to England, Vice-president and President--except that he graduated from Harvard in 1755, that he was the first Harvard man to become President of the United States--quite an exploit in the good old days--and that his deeds are written on the enduring pages of history.

Phillips Brooks, who graduated one hundred years later, also left his mark, but since his field happened to be religious rather than political, there is much less popular knowledge concerning him. It may therefore, be worthy of note that he became rector of Trinity Church, Boston--in front of which his statue now stands--in 1869, after an active career of vigorous, successful preaching, particularly during the Civil War. In 1881, he declined an invitation to become the sole preacher and professor of Christian ethics at Harvard, but for a long time he exerted a deep influence upon the religious life of the University--a greater influence, probably, than anyone else has ever wielded. Incidentally, and with all respect, it may be of interest that he was six feet four inches tall--which was considered unusual even in the virile '60's.

Bishop Lawrence, of the Class of 1871, is one of the few men who have been elected to the Hall of Fame while still alive. Known and respected everywhere for his tolerance, his vision and his courage, he represents one of the best types of modern church man. Harvard has always been proud of these distinguished sons and naturally she is gratified to see them placed with so many other American immortals.