Show eunive university of pennsylvania celebrating two hundredth anniversary of founding 1 by GEO L SIMPSON SR released by western newspaper union TWO T WO centuries of growth are teeing J being marked by the university of pennsylvania at philadelphia this month with a week of celebration from Sep september fember k 16 to 21 j the celebration includes sym i posia and professional conferences cultural and scientific laboratory and clinical demonstrations and lionil for the conferring of hon 4 degrees more t than han colleges universities and lea learned raed societies are represent 1 ed at the celebration by official delegates limong among the recipients of honorary degrees are president franklin D roosevelt and sir lyman duff chief justice of the supreme court of canada while the list of distinguished guests also includes american and european scholars and leaders in various fields the symposia and conferences which F D K R constitute the program of the bicentennial conference being bag held as a part of the september week celebration are being featured by lectures and papers in six general fields the fine arts huma humanities medical sciences natural sciences religion and the social sciences the off offerings brings in the field of the humanities are designed to bring out the continuity of culture while in the other fields the objective is to reveal the trends of modern modem thought and the advances of science former president herbert dark clark hoover henry A wallace the democratic ocr a tic nominee for vice president preside nt hu shin shill the chinese ambassador dr frank baldwin jewett president of the bell telephone laboratories and president of the national academy of sciences dr elmer V mccollum discoverer co of vitamin A and dr jacques maritain famous e french author and philosopher are a few of the many noted speakers on the program of the conference many graduates return the symposia and conferences of ae the bicentennial conference claims a 8 major portion of atten attention tio n during the first days of the bicentennial week celebration at the same time the program has been so arranged as to provide an opportunity for all to attend the various other events scheduled for the same period as well urell as to view the special bicentennial exhibits demonstrations and clinics and to enjoy tours of the campus according to robert T mccracken chairman hundreds of the graduates and former students are attending the opening of class reunions wednesday and thursday while on the latter day pennsylva nias undergraduates greet student delegates from colleges and universities throughout the country ten thousand alumni and alumnae of pennsylvania join in paying tribute to the university on friday morning september 20 at a bicentennial meeting in the dormitory quadrangle in the afternoon there I 1 is another impressive meeting including including a convocation of university TCo council uncil in convention hall addresses given the morning program in the quad rangle includes addresses by dr 7 s n x mi if d Z A j ml franklin field mammoth stadium of the university of pennsylvania at philadelphia has been the scene of many historic football games at right is pictured robert T mccracken chairman of the bicentennial planning committee for the uni vers itys anniversary being celebrated this month thomas S gates president of the university of pennsylvania former united states sen george wharton pepper an alumnus and trustee of the he university and thomas I 1 parkinson inson president of the equitable life assurance society of the united states who is chairman of the national alumni bicentennial committee presentation of the bicentennial fund addresses by representatives of the student body and selections by the university band and glee club feature the program ralph morgan president of the general alumni society is presiding president roosevelt and sir lyman duff receive honorary degrees and deliver addresses at the convocation in convention hall on friday afternoon in addition associate justice owen J roberts of the supreme court of the united states who is an alumnus of the university of pennsylvania is delivering an address and the bicentennial poem is being presented by its author edward wa rd W mumford secretary of the university water carnival staged A bicentennial river pageant and water carnival is being staged friday night on the schuylkill river in fairmount park A fireworks display crew races and a parade of floats depicting various phases of the life make up the program many former university oars men are taking part the university of pennsylvania traces its origin to a charity school for which a building was erected in philadelphia in 1740 nine years later after the publication of benjamin franklins proposals relating to the education of youth in pennsylvania there was established an academy with which the charity school was combined franklin served as the first president of the acad trustees and so successful was the undertaking that in 1753 a charter was obtained in the name of the academy and charitable school in the province of pennsylvania charter granted in 1755 in 1755 a confirmatory charter incorporating the college academy and charitable school was granted by thomas and richard penn and the institution continued under emde that name until 1779 when t the he state legislative body changed the corporate title to trustees of the university of the state of pennsylvania 7 A Z 1 I f aa ai g I 1 1 1 I 1 M later the rights and properties were restored to the trustees of the college with the university still continuing and in 1791 an act was passed amalgamating the old college with the new university and providing that the name of the institution be the university of pennsylvania the corporate title it now holds the buildings first used by the university were at fourth and arch streets in philadelphia during a period of 15 months in 1777 and 1778 1773 these buildings were used by british troops and the college was closed at another time the buildings were occupied by soldiers in the continental army washington attended exercises in 1778 congress mei in the old college hall and members of the congress george washington and others prominent in early history of the country attended the public functions and commencement exercises the university itself contributed many men who played distinguished parts in the making of a new nation in the continental congress for instance were allen alien mifflin john and lambert cadwalader peters bingham and smith of pennsylvania hopkinson neilson and sargeant of new jersey paca seney and hindman of maryland williamson and hill of north carolina and others signers of the declaration of independence included the following pennsylvania men benjamin franklin robert morris george clymer james wilson benjamin rush thomas mckean john penn francis hopkinson william paca and james smith many distinguished graduates in the war of the revolution the university contributed many graduates who distinguished themselves among them being maj gen anthony wayne brig gen john cadwalader wa lader maj gen thomas mifflin dr john morgan director g general en and physician in chief of the hospital of the american army maj ge gen n philemon dickinson maj gen J P G muhlenberg richard peters first secretary of war benjamin stoddert first secretary of the navy and col tench tilghman aide and secretary to washington the university was also well represented among those who later sat in the constitutional convention the group of pennsylvanians ians there including C benjamin franklin robert morris james wilson thomas mifflin george clymer jared inge ingersoll r soll john dickinson thomas fitzsimons and hugh williamson the university of which dr thomas S gates now is president also has an outstanding record of leadership in the pursuit of new ventures in education first medical school the first school of medicine in north america was founded at the university in 1765 and the first department param part ment ent of botany in this country had its origin there three years later the first teaching hospital was established at the university in 1874 the wharton school of finance and commerce established at pennsylvania in 1881 was the first university school of business and in 1896 the first psychological clinic in the world was established at the university ver sity |