According to the February 18, 1927 issue of the
Kentucky Kernel, the bronze cannon in front of the Main building was captured at
Santiago, Cuba in the Spanish American War in 1898. It was presented to the Commonwealth
of Kentucky by the War Department and later given to the city of Lexington by
Governor Bradley in 1903.
From the 1904 yearbook, Echoes
For many years after placing the cannon in front of the Main Building, men students of the university celebrated athletic victories and other events by firing the cannon. These ceremonies resulted several times in the breaking of windows in the Main building, so the university decreed that firing the cannon should be abolished. It was then filled with cement.
Katherine Hobson photograph album circa 1906
The cannon, named Federalista, quickly became
the backdrop for campus portraits, hazing activities, and pranks.
James Kennedy Patterson, served from 1869 to 1910 as president of the
institutions that were to become the University of Kentucky. Through his
vision, diplomatic skills, administrative acumen, and, at times, financial support,
the fledgling Agricultural and Mechanical (A&M) College of Kentucky was
transformed into an independent state university.
Ambrotype of a young James Patterson
Patterson was born in the parish of Gorbals in Glasgow, Scotland in 1833.
His family emigrated to the United States in 1842, when he was nine years of
age, and settled near Madison, Indiana. Patterson received his B.A and Master
of Arts degrees from Hanover College (Indiana) in 1856 and 1859, respectively,
and an honorary Ph.D. from the same institution in 1875. In 1859 he married Lucelia
Wing, daughter of a wealthy New Bedford, Massachusetts whaler who had moved to
Kentucky about 1800. The Pattersons had two children, Jeanie Rumsey, who died
in infancy, and William Andrew, who passed away in 1895 at the age of 27.
Lucelia Wing Patterson
With the merger in 1865 of Transylvania College, Kentucky University (in
Harrodsburg), and the newly state-chartered Agricultural and Mechanical College
of Kentucky, Patterson was appointed professor of Latin and Civil History in this
enlarged Kentucky University. At the same time he secured the chair of History
and Metaphysics, which he occupied until 1910. In 1869 Patterson was elected
third Presiding Officer of the University's now constituent Agricultural and
Mechanical College. After denominational and theological bickering and
debilitating financial hardship experienced by the hybrid institution, the
State Legislature in 1878 formally separated the A&M College from KU, and Patterson
assumed the position of president of the independent school.
Faculty of A&M in 1885, first
row, left to right: W. D. Lambuth, Latin and Greek Languages, President James
K. Patterson (with the crutch), James G. White, Mathematics, second row, left to right, John
Shackleford, English, third row, left to right, Dr. Robert Peter, Chemistry,
and son, Alfred M. Peter, Chemistry, fourth row, left to right, J. C.
McClelland, Academy and Lieutenant L. E. Phelps, Commandant, fifth row, left to
right, A. T. Parker, Microscopist, F. M. Helveti,French and German Languages,
(with long white beard and glasses), Walter K. Patterson, Academy, sixth row,
left to right, J. R. Potter, Pedgogy Education, (with heavy facial hair except
for chin), A. T. Parker, Microscopist, seventh row, left to right, A. E. Menke,
Agriculture Chemistry, A. R. Crandall, Natural History, Maurice Kirby,
Philosophy, John H. Neville, Greek and Latin, with no hat, and in the window,
James K. Patterson's son, William A. Patterson.
One of the A&M president's foremost administrative efforts, following
the erection of the college's first buildings on its new Lexington Fairgrounds
site, ultimately at his own expense, was an attempt to repair the fiscal damage
incurred by the school during its preceding thirteen years of existence in
linkage with Kentucky University. To this end he led the fight to convince the
Kentucky General Assembly to enact legislation establishing a one-half-cent
state property tax to raise desperately needed funds to support the struggling
College. The climax of his crusade - an impassioned speech on the floor of the
Senate - succeeded in sweeping away the formidable, organized opposition to the
tax, and the measure was approved in 1882. The revenues from this new tax,
however, proved insufficient to provide for the college's stability and
continued growth. With the financial situation of the institution in question,
Patterson considered other means of fundraising. When all other options had
been exhausted he secured a personal loan to procure the needed money.
President Patterson at his desk
Patterson proved a capable chief executive, administering the daily
operations and affairs of the A&M College wisely and economically, although
he was criticized by his detractors as unduly tyrannical and miserly, the
latter particularly as it related to the salaries of employees and to physical
expansion. Many in the community and state likewise felt that the president was
incorrectly removing the college from its moorings in agricultural and
engineering instruction, as mandated by the Morrill Land Grant Act, and setting
it on a course of becoming an essentially liberal arts institution.
Dedication of the Patterson statue in 1934
Increasing curricular diversification led to upgrade A&M's official
academic classification, and Patterson and his Board of Trustees in 1908
successfully lobbied the General Assembly in support of changing the school's
name to: "State University, Lexington, Kentucky". He continued as president
for two more years, assisting in the transition of the institution to
University status. In 1910 he retired from the presidency. The Board of
Trustees unanimously approved his stipulated conditions which included:
attendance at Board and faculty meetings; serving as adviser to the incoming
President and as representative of the University on the state and national
level; and continued residence in the campus house built for the President in
1882, which he occupied until his death in 1922. The life and legacy of
Kentucky's "Pater Universitatis" are today honored in University
buildings and a roadway which bear his name, and in the great seated statue of
the founder, erected in 1934, which sits adjacent to the institution's Main
Building and astride the campus he built and nurtured.
Jerry was an English Airedale
terrier who belonged to Dean F. Paul Anderson.
F. Paul Anderson was dean of
mechanical engineering from 1892-1918 and dean of engineering from
1918-1934. According to the April 7, 1922
Kentucky Kernel, Jerry was distinguished
for his rare intellectual attainments and loyalty. The ordinary conversation was
almost entirely understood by Jerry. His whole being responds to his master's
every word and he missed little that any one else said.
Jack Dicker with Jerry in headphones listening to his master's voice from Pittsburgh's KDKA radio station
On April 3, 1922, when Jerry heard his master's
voice broadcast from radio station KDKA, at Pittsburgh Jerry responded joyously.
Dean Anderson concluded his address entitled, "Engineering and
Happiness," with a message to his dog. It follows: "In a far away
town, a faithful Airedale terrier, who can recognize his master's voice over
the telephone, is listening in tonight, with the college boys who have made a
wireless of unusual quality. Here's to you, Jerry, be a good dog, and I will
return to you. There is nothing in all the world that can take your place in my
affections. Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Good night."
The sundial can be seen near the middle of the photograph. Mechanical Hall is behind.
Jerry was a fixture on the early UK campus and students enjoyed his presence. When Jerry passed away in 1930,
Dean Anderson buried him next to a sundial honoring the dog near Mechanical
Hall.
Louis Edward Nollau was born in Quincy, Illinois on January
15, 1883.His father, a minister of the
Evangelical Reformed Church, moved the family around the Midwest and settled in
Louisville, Kentucky.After graduating
from DuPont Manual High School in Louisville, Louis Nollau entered the
University of Kentucky and received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical
Engineering.He began teaching
immediately, accepting an appointment of Instructor in the Wood Shop.Within four years he became Assistant Professor
of Mechanical Drawing.Later, he
received the degree of Mechanical Engineer.From July 1919 to July 1934, Professor Nollau served as Head of the
Department of Mechanical Drawing.In
1934, the College of Engineering was reorganized and he became a Professor of
Engineering Drawing, in which capacity he served until his death.
Portrait of Nollau
Photography was Professor Nollau’s lifelong hobby.By the time he graduated from college his
work was recognized as professional in quality.He served for many years as official photographer of the Southern
Railway System, working full time in summer months and performing occasional
special assignments at other times.His
service to the University of Kentucky in the capacity of photographer extended
over forty two years.He did
photographic work for every college on the campus.His photographic services to the Agricultural
Experiment Station, to the Department of Athletics, and to the College of
Engineering were particularly extensive.He passed away on April 19, 1955; these notes were taken from the Board
of Trustees Minutes.
Image taken by Nollau of High Bridge
The University Archives holds thousands of photographs taken
by Professor Nollau.Please visit http://exploreuk.uky.edu for images and
contact uk150@uky.edu for more information.
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