Suicides
Over the years, Columbia has had its share of suicides, much like other elite institutions of higher learning. If you or someone you know has made even a passing remark about suicide, it is suggested to contact Health Services immediately.
Partial List of Suicides
Henry E. McDermott, October 4, 1898 - Assistant Professor of Chemistry (prussic acid)
Richard Mayo Smith, Novemeber 11, 1901 - Professor of Political Economy (jumped from 305 West 77; possible accident)
Isaac N. Henderson, February 21, 1902 - PhD Candidate (self-inflicted gunshot)
William N. Van Reypen Jr., January 27, 1906 - Law School Student (self-inflicted gunshot)
Ralph C.B. Moore, February 27, 1906 - student (drowning)
Lathrop Smith, January 23, 1907 - Law School student (self-inflicted gunshot)
Lucien M. Underwood, November 16, 1907 - Professor of Botany (slit throat)
Robert H. Jones, December 5, 1914 - student (self-infliected gunshot)
John Hipp, August 8, 1919 - student (slit wrist, throat, and jumped)
Dorothy Wilson, October 16, 1921 - student (jumped under train at 125th Street New York Central / MetroNorth)
Francis E. Brooks, August 28, 1924 - Professor French (hanging)
Henry Mead, March 9, 1925 - student (jumped from sixth floor of Hartley)
Walton White, March 14, 1926 - student (hanging)
Oscar Petty, September 21, 1927 - Professor of Linguistics (drowned)
Rollin F. Lewis, May 13, 1928 - student (hanging)
David Halfant, May 23, 1928 - PhD Candidate in Economics (self-inflicted gunshot)
Russell G. Smith, June 7, 1929 - Professor of Sociology (jumped)
Louis Finkelstein, March 9, 1930 - Law School student (jumped)
Edgar F. Grossman, May 11, 1933 - PhD Candidate in Philosophy (self-inflicted gunshot)
Fred Lester Acer, June 16, 1937 - student (lethal dose of sleeping medication)
Robert E. Chaddock, October 21, 1939 - Professor of Statistics (jumped)
Marvin Krueger, April 13, 1941 - Assistant Professor of Education (gas)
Rudolf Schoenheimer, September 11, 1941 - Professor of Biological Chemistry (toxic acid)
Marion Ellis, May 3, 1942 - student (gas)
Habeeb Ahmed Faruqi, January 15, 1948 - Teachers College student (jumped from ninth floor of Furnald)
Dorothy Bordes, October 5, 1951 - student (hanging)
Edward R. Fenn, October 20, 1953 - student (self-inflicted gunshot)
Madeline Jean Sommers, July 21, 1954 - summer student (fire)
Lawrence Goldsmith Jr., January 3, 1955 - student (sedative overdose)
Frank William Ritchie Jr., April 28, 1958 - General Studies student (self-inflicted gunshot)
Michael Bogost, April 17, 1960 - student (potassium cyanide)
Richard Kulick, November 26, 1961 - Dental School student (self-inflicted gunshot)
Deborah Daniels, May 4, 1965 - Teachers College student (jumped)
Christine Gallant, November 25, 1968 - librarian (sleeping pill overdose, drowned in bathtub)
Hsio Min Feng, February 18, 1974 - Professor of Chinese (jumped in front of subway in Queens)
Jonathan A. Spohn, September 24, 1988 - student (jumped from fourteenth floor of John Jay)
Shirley Yoon, September 20, 1998 - student (jumped from twentieth floor of East Campus)
Darren Pascual, September 21, 1998 - student (hanging)
Richard Ng, May 7, 2006 - student (jumped)
(note: the above list is very incomplete as major media outlets, for the most part, stopped reporting on college suicides during the 1960s).
