Massachusetts Institute of Technology

William Barton Rogers, a geologist from the University of Virginia, stood before the Massachusetts General Court in 1859 and proposed a radical new kind of school. He did not want to create a trade school for mechanics, nor a traditional liberal arts college. Instead, he envisioned an institution that would teach the scientific principles behind the arts, combining professional training with a broad education. This vision was signed into law by Governor John Albion Andrew on the 10th of April 1861, just two days before the first battle of the American Civil War erupted at Fort Sumter. The timing was precarious, and the fledgling institute struggled to find its footing in a nation torn apart by conflict. Rogers, who had arrived in Boston with a German polytechnic model in mind, insisted that the true object of a polytechnic school was to teach the inculcation of scientific principles that form the basis of all processes, rather than the minute details of manipulation. This philosophy set the stage for a unique educational experiment that would eventually transform the modern world, even as the country fought a bloody war over its own existence.

The Great Dome And The German Model

For decades, the institute struggled in cramped quarters in Boston's Back Bay, known informally as Boston Tech, while facing chronic financial shortages and repeated attempts by Harvard University to absorb it. The merger plan collapsed in 1905 when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that MIT could not sell its Back Bay land, forcing the institute to look elsewhere for a permanent home. In 1912, the institute acquired a one-mile tract of filled lands along the Charles River in Cambridge, a remote area at the time. The new campus, designed by William W. Bosworth, featured the iconic Great Dome, a Pantheon-esque structure that housed the Barker Engineering Library and overlooked Killian Court. This neoclassical campus was largely funded by anonymous donations from a mysterious figure known only as Mr. Smith, who was later revealed to be George Eastman, the inventor of film production methods and founder of Eastman Kodak. The transfer of the institute to Cambridge in 1916 was marked by a ceremonial barge ride across the river on the Bucentaur, symbolizing a new chapter for the school. The campus architecture, including the reinforced concrete Maclaurin buildings, represented a first for a non-industrial university building in the United States, blending the City Beautiful Movement with the practical needs of a growing research institution.

Radar And The Wartime Engine

The trajectory of the institute changed irrevocably during World War II when Vannevar Bush directed federal funding to a select group of universities, including MIT. Engineers and scientists from across the country gathered at the Radiation Laboratory, established in 1940 to assist the British military in developing microwave radar. The work done there significantly affected both the war and subsequent research in the area, making MIT the nation's largest wartime research and development contractor. By the end of the war, the Radiation Laboratory alone employed nearly 4,000 people and received in excess of 100 million dollars, a sum that would be worth billions in 2015 dollars. This massive influx of resources transformed the institute from a vocationally oriented school into a major research enterprise. The post-war era saw the development of SAGE guidance systems, inertial navigation, and the Apollo Guidance Computer, which made the moon landings possible. The faculty doubled and the graduate student body quintupled during the presidential terms of Karl Taylor Compton, James Rhyne Killian, and Julius Adams Stratton. This period of rapid growth established a new system of federal support for basic science, with faculty like Vannevar Bush shaping the relationship between the government and the university. The institute's involvement in defense research continued to surge, leading to the development of complex control systems for gunsights and bombsights under Charles Stark Draper's Instrumentation Laboratory.

Common questions

Who founded the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and when was it established?

William Barton Rogers founded the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the institution was signed into law on the 10th of April 1861. Rogers proposed the school in 1859 to the Massachusetts General Court as a radical new type of educational institution. Governor John Albion Andrew signed the legislation creating the institute two days before the first battle of the American Civil War erupted at Fort Sumter.

Where did the Massachusetts Institute of Technology move to and when did the transfer occur?

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology moved from Boston's Back Bay to Cambridge in 1916. The institute acquired a one-mile tract of filled lands along the Charles River in 1912 and completed the transfer to the new campus four years later. The move was marked by a ceremonial barge ride across the river on the Bucentaur to symbolize the new chapter for the school.

How did the Massachusetts Institute of Technology become a major research enterprise during World War II?

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology became the nation's largest wartime research and development contractor through the Radiation Laboratory established in 1940. Vannevar Bush directed federal funding to the institute to assist the British military in developing microwave radar. By the end of the war the Radiation Laboratory employed nearly 4,000 people and received in excess of 100 million dollars.

What key technologies and organizations originated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the late twentieth century?

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed the GNU Project in 1983 and the World Wide Web Consortium in 1994. The institute also founded the MIT Media Lab in 1985 and created early interactive computer video games like Spacewar! through Project MAC and the Tech Model Railroad Club. These initiatives established the institute as a crucible for the digital age and modern computing technologies.

Why did the Massachusetts Institute of Technology face internal cultural controversies in the 1970s?

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology faced internal cultural controversies in 1970 when Dean Benson R. Snyder described The Hidden Curriculum. Snyder argued that education was often slighted in favor of following unwritten expectations where graduating with good grades resulted from figuring out the system rather than receiving a solid education. This culture of gamesmanship contributed to student discontent and unrest regarding the institution's priorities.