Henry MacCracken

For his son who became the fifth president of Vassar College, see Henry Noble MacCracken.

Henry Mitchell MacCracken (September 28, 1840 – December 24, 1918) was an American educator and academic administrator.

Henry MacCracken
Born	Henry Mitchell MacCracken (1840-09-28)September 28, 1840 Oxford, Ohio
Died	December 24, 1918(1918-12-24) (aged 78) Orlando, Florida
Resting place	Woodlawn Cemetery
Education	Miami University
Occupation	Educator
Children	Henry Noble MacCracken John Henry MacCracken
Signature

Biography

Henry MacCracken was born in Oxford, Ohio on September 28, 1840.^[1] He graduated from Miami University in Ohio in 1857. After a brief teaching career, he entered the Presbyterian ministry in 1863. From 1881 to 1884 he served as the sixth chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, then called the Western University of Pennsylvania.

In 1884 he was appointed professor of philosophy and vice chancellor of New York University, becoming chancellor in 1891. Before his retirement in 1910, the University Heights campus was acquired, a graduate school and schools of commerce and pedagogy were founded, and the university medical school was strengthened by union with Bellevue Hospital medical college. While chancellor he was responsible for the creation of Hall of Fame for Great Americans on the campus and using the term "Hall of Fame" in English, inspired by Munich's Ruhmeshalle ("hall of fame" in German).^[2]

Henry MacCracken died in Orlando, Florida on December 24, 1918.^[3] He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City.^[4]

Henry Noble MacCracken, president of Vassar College from 1915 to 1946, and John Henry MacCracken, president of Lafayette College from 1915 to 1926, were his sons.

MacCracken Hall, a residence hall at Miami University bears his name.

Popular culture

On a July 2013 episode of the satirical television program The Colbert Report, Henry Mitchel MacCracken, who penned a 1904 New York Times article on the moral risks of college men,^[5] was comically portrayed as a still active Times trends section editor after the newspaper published a similarly themed article in 2013.^[6]

References

• Alberts, Robert C. (1987). Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787-1987. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.

See T. F. Jones, New York University, 1832–1932 (1933).

1. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. VI. James T. White & Company. 1896. p. 281. Retrieved November 29, 2020 – via Google Books.
2. Sedensky, Matt (November 25, 2001). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS; the Original Hall of Fame Tries to Get Back on Its Feet". The New York Times.
3. "New York University Chancellor Emeritus is Dead at Orlando". Tampa Morning Tribune. Orlando. December 26, 1918. p. 4. Retrieved November 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Hold Rites for MacCracken". The Sun. New York. December 28, 1918. p. 7. Retrieved November 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
5. MacCracken, Henry Mitchel (February 7, 1904). "Moral Risks Surrounding College Men In Big Cities" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
6. Kingkade, Tyler (July 19, 2013). "Colbert Lampoons New York Times College Sex Coverage (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 20, 2013.

External links

• Works by or about Henry MacCracken at the Internet Archive

Academic offices
Preceded by George Woods	University of Pittsburgh Chancellor 1881–1884	Succeeded by Milton Goff
Preceded by John Hall	Chancellor of New York University 1891–1911	Succeeded by Elmer Ellsworth Brown