1903
The
Department of Greek performs Iphigenia Among the Taurians (in Greek)
on April 28-29 at the Academy of Music; Old Penn (which has dropped
the e) covers the performance and runs a photo of the cast, which
includes Ezra Pound C05 G06 in drag as a member of the Chorus.
Franklin Fields original wooden stands are replaced with brick,
with seating capacity for 20,000.
1904
U.S.
President Theodore Roosevelt speaks at the Washingtons Birthday
festivities. The School of Medicine leaves Medical Hall and occupies
the new Medical Laboratories (now John Morgan) Building on Hamilton
Walk; decorations include Thomas Eakins 1889 painting The Agnew
Clinic, whose central figure is Dr. David Hayes Agnew M1838. The
rapidly expanding Wharton School takes over the old building, renamed
Logan Hall.
1904-1905
The
football team amasses a record of 24-0-1 over two seasons; opponents
score a total of 37 points against the Quakers.
1906
The
School of Engineering and Applied Science occupies its new Towne
Building, on Smith Walk, between 33rd and 34th streets. On November
3, Old Penn serendipitously runs photos of future Modernist giants
(and good friends) Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams M06 Hon52
on its front pagethe former in the Iphigenia Among the Taurians
cast and Williams as Polonius in Mask & Wigs 1905 production
of Mr. Hamlet of Denmark.
1908
The
University awards a Bachelor of Arts degree to Pauline Wolcott Spencer
on June 17, and the Bachelor of Science degree to Zeta Berenice
Cundey. They are the first women to complete the requirements for
the bachelors degree at Penn through the College Courses for Teachers
program. The football team has its last undefeated season until
1947. Student registration is now 4,556.
1909
Old
Penn shrinks to magazine size, with a cover and better-quality paper.
Some 5,000 full-time students are registered.
1910
The
University Museum dig at Nippur, led by Dr. Hermann Hilprecht, professor
of Assyriology, discovers what is called the oldest version of the
Flood story on a tablet from the temple library. That seasons Mask
& Wig play, The Desert of Mahomet, revolves around a Penn Assyriology
students discovery of a cuneiform tablet in the celebrated Nippur
Library.
1910-1911
Charles
C. Harrison resigns as provost and Dr. Edgar Fahs Smith, professor
of chemistry, is named his successor.
1913
The
Central Committee of the Alumni merges with the General Alumni Society,
thereby creating a single, unifed alumni organization. On April
19, Old Penn publishes photographs by Eadweard Muybridge and an
article titled The Evolution of Moving Pictures. The Womens Dormitory
is opened in two houses at the southwest corner of 34th and Sansom
streets, and the new School of Veterinary Medicine building at 39th
and Pine streets is completed. Work begins on the dental schools
Thomas W. Evans Museum & Dental Institute at 4oth and Spruce.
1914
The
College faculty abolish the requirement of classical Greek for the
Bachelor of Arts degree. The School of Education (now the Graduate
School of Education) is founded. The old Dental Hall is renovated,
renamed Alfred C. Harrison Hall (now Hayden Hall), and turned over
to the Department of Architecture (now the Graduate School of Fine
Arts). The Great War begins in Europe.
1915
The
University dismisses Scott Nearing C06, an assistant professor
in the Wharton School, for disseminating socialist-tinged views,
despite a favorable recommendation by the faculty. The ensuing nationwide
uproar prompts the trustees to adopt amendments to the Universitys
statutes which introduced the modern tenure system for University
faculty.
1916
The
last issue edited by George Nitzsche is published on June 24. On
December 22, after the trustees temporarily suspended the publication
of this magazine, the first issue of the 1916-1917 year is published,
under a new editor: Edward R. Bushnell Co1. The subscription price
is $2 a year; single copies are 10 cents. Student registration tops
9,000.
1917
On January
1, in the football teams only Rose Bowl appearance, Penn falls
to Oregon, 14-0. America enters the Great War in April, and registration
drops by as much as a quarter as students enter the armed services.
1918
On February
1, Old Penn becomes The Pennsylvania Gazette. On November
2, the Great War ends.