Knox College Library |
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Historical Notes: The Universalist Church established the Illinois Liberal Institute in Galesburg, Illinois in1853. A devastating fire in 1855 stalled the development of the new college. With a significant financial gift from Illinois farmer and businessman, Benjamin Lombard (1815-1883), the school recovered and became Lombard University. The official institution name was changed to Lombard College in 1899.
Women were admitted on an equal basis with men from the earliest days of the college. This open attitude reflected the Universalist philosophy and many Lombard women entered the service of the Universalist Church as ministers. So important was the college to the church that it became the seat of Ryder School of Divinity in the 1880s and remained so until 1913, when it was transferred to the Meadville Theological Seminary at the University of Chicago.
Not able to withstand the financial pressures of the Depression, Lombard was forced to close its doors. The last class graduated in 1930. Lombard did not merge, but many students finished their degrees at Knox College. Ever since, Knox has been the center of Lombard College alumni activities.
| Significant alumni include: | Class year | |
| E.H. Conger (1843-1907) | 1862 | congressman, diplomat, ambassador to China at the time of the Boxer Rebellion |
| Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) | 1899-1902 | author, poet, Pulitzer Prize winner |
| Paul Jordan Smith (1895-1971) | 1908 | editor, educator, poet |
| Sewell Wright (1889-1988) | 1911 | geneticist |
| Quincy Wright (1890-1971) | 1912 | educator, poet, economist |
| Theodore Wright (1895-1970) | 1915 | engineer, first director of Civil Aeronautics Administration |
| Evar Swanson (1902-1973) | 1924 | professional athlete: baseball, football; Since 1929 remains the fastest player in baseball |
| Dorothy Tilden Spoerl (1906-2000) | 1927 | theologian, writer, educator |
| Notable faculty: | |
| Phillip Green Wright (1861-1934) | |
| David Starr Jordan (1851-1931) | outstanding ichthyologist, President Indiana University; founding President of Stanford University |
Scope Notes: The collection includes historical information and publications related to the founding, development and ultimate dissolution of Lombard College. Also included is information related to the academic atmosphere, the college campus and student activities. Some faculty and former students have files with personal data. Academic records are not part of this collection, but can be obtained from the Registrar of Knox College.
Collection range: 1854-1933; current relevant material added
Collection size: 30 linear feet
In addition: one oversize box, various items in safe, numerous publications shelved separately, and collections in remote storage.
| Box 1 | History - charters and related documents |
| Box 2 | History - compiled histories |
| Box 3 | History - founding, early history & various topics |
| Box 4 | History - later history, dissolution, consolidation of the College |
| Box 5 | Lombard Bulletin and Alumnus and Lombard Letter |
| Box 6 | Lombard Bulletin (continued) |
| Box 7 | Campus & Buildings |
| Box 8 | Campus & Buildings - Lombard Memorial Rock |
| Box 9 | Presidents |
| Box 10 | Trustees |
| Box 11 | Faculty - General topics & individual files A - J |
| Box 12 | Faculty - individual files K - Z |
| Box 13 | Faculty - Philip Green Wright |
| Box 14 | Academic Departments |
| Box 15 | Student Affairs & Student Series Classes 1854-1866 |
| Box 16 | Students - Classes 1867-1889 |
| Box 17 | Students - Classes 1890-1896 |
| Box 18 | Students - Classes 1897-1904 |
| Box 19 | Students - Classes 1905-1912 |
| Box 20 | Students - Classes 1913-1922 |
| Box 21 | Students - Classes 1923-1925 |
| Box 22 | Students - Class of 1925 - Roy A. Lamb |
| Box 23 | Students - Classes 1926 |
| Box 24 | Students - Classes 1927 |
| Box 25 | Students - Classes 1928-1929 |
| Box 26 | Students - Classes 1930-1933 |
| Box 27 | Student Publications & Student Organizations A- K |
| Box 28 | Student Organizations L-Z |
| Box 29 | Fraternities |
| Box 30 | Sororities |
| Box 31 | Miscellaneous Campus Events 1855 -1900 |
| Box 32 | Miscellaneous Campus Events 1901 - 1924 |
| Box 33 | Miscellaneous Campus Events 1925 - 1930 |
| Box 34 | Commencement |
| Box 35 | Athletics |
| Box 36 | Alumni Affairs (for more on reunions see: Fifty Year Club) |
| Box 37 | Songs of Lombard |
| Box 38 | Scrapbooks | 1916-1918 |
| Box 39 | Scrapbooks | 1917-1919 |
| Box 40 | Scrapbooks | 1918-1921 |
| Box 41 | Scrapbooks | 1920-1922 |
| Box 42 | Scrapbooks | 1922-1923 |
| Box 43 | Scrapbooks | 1924 |
| Box 44 | Scrapbooks | 1923-1924 |
| Box 45 | Scrapbooks | 1925 |
| Box 46 | Scrapbooks | 1926 |
| Box 47 | Scrapbooks | 1927-1928 |
| Box 48 | Scrapbooks | 1929-1930 |
Publications shelved after Box 48
[see full inventory for complete listings of volumes & issues.]
Lombard College Catalogues
Lombard Review
Songs of Lombard
Lombard yearbooks (The Lombard, The Thud, The Cannibal, The Stroller)
Lombard Review - Alumnus