Dear Old Macalester
Charles Macalester was born in 1798 and grew up in Philly. He was a philanthropist, a patriot and extremely influential. His knowledge of real estate served in him in the prosperous investments he made in western cities. Just exactly why Macalester College is named after Chuck is a little vague. However it appears as if he made a generous donation of the Winslow House (which he gained through foreclosure during the civil war) to the founder and first President of Macalester, Rev. Edward Duffield Neill.
Dorm Dedications
George Draper Dayton- By the end of the 19th Century Macalester
was in debt. Basically, George pledged money and contributed liberally towards the
cancellation of these monetary misfortunes.
James Wallace, Ph.D., L.L.D., D.D. -Macalester President from 1894-1906.
He was also a professor and led Macalester through its struggles with debt. His son,
Benjamin Wallace, class of 1902, was Macalester's first Rhodes Scholar. To top it off,
the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center is named after his wife. Oh, and he was also a big
fan of oyster stew. Yum.
Charles H. Bigelow and Frederic R. Bigelow- Both were Board of Trustees Chairmen;
Charles from 1925-1936 and Fredric from 1938-1947.
Charles J. Turck- Macalester President from 1939-1958. He was described as "a man
who likes to talk with young people and be with them." Hmmm ... He also was influential in
strengthening Macalester's internationalism.
Margaret Doty- Dean of Women (1924-1960). Maggie was an alumna who returned to
be associate professor of English. Apparently her house was a center for entertaining
alumni, students and visitors.
Robert A. Kirk- Donated between $2,000-5,000 at the end of the 19th Century.
J. Huntley Dupre- Taught history at Macalester from 1946-1964. Dupre acted
as Mac's president after Charles Turck retired and actually wrote a book on
Macalester's first president.
Other Campus Hotspots
DeWitt Wallace- Founder of Reader's Digest; Macalester's
largest single benefactor, donating more than $50 million in his lifetime.
Son of James Wallace, he tried his hand at being a cowboy in Colorado after he
dropped out of Macalester. Yee-haw.
Edwin Kagin- Professor at Macalester, mid-1900s, who actually wrote a
biography of James Wallace.
Thomas Shaw- Board of Trustees Chairman from 1901-1918.
David J. Winton- A Trustee who, along with his brother and sister,
gave $62,500 to the construction of the Winton Health Center in 1951.
Mary Gwen Owen- Class of '23 and a faculty member. She was an advocate
of good manners. She even wrote a book for Macalester students on the virtues of
proper image projection.