John Burgess
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- See also Wikipedia's article about "John Burgess".
John William Burgess was appointed Columbia's chair of history, political science, and international law in 1876.
At age 17, Burgess was a soldier in the Civil War, and came to believe better-trained politicians would have figured out how to avert it. Having later studied at German universities and being an admirer of their methods, he quickly went about helping to reform the university, founding its first graduate school.
He was also openly hostile to the liberal arts tradition of Columbia College. He advocated instead rote undergraduate preparation for professional careers along the lines of a German gymnasium.[1]
He held a professorship in the law school, teaching constitutional law, until 1912.
