The history of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
can be traced back to the 1861 incorporation of the "Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston Society of Natural History
" led primarily by William Barton Rogers
Vision and mission
As early as 1859, the Massachusetts State Legislature was given a proposal for use of newly opened lands in Back Bay
in Boston for a museum and Conservatory of Art and Science.
On April 10, 1861, the governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts signed a charter for the incorporation of the "Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston Society of Natural History" which had been submitted by William Barton Rogers
, a natural scientist. Rogers sought to establish a new form of higher education to address the challenges posed by rapid advances in science and technology in the mid-19th century, that he believed classic institutions were ill-prepared to deal with.
With the charter approved, Rogers began raising funds, developing a curriculum and looking for a suitable location. The Rogers Plan, as it came to be known, was rooted in three principles: the educational value of useful knowledge, the necessity of “learning by doing,” and integrating a professional and liberal arts education at the undergraduate level.1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 4, p. 292: " was a pioneer... Read More