RPI and the Erie Canal

Introduction:

RPI was established November 5th, 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer (hence the name); but most people forget that it was co-founded by Amos Eaton. It was first a school of pioneering scientists and geologists, not engineers. Eaton was the brains behind the early teachings of the school, leaving behind books and journals of his expeditions and tours of the area, and it's what happened when Van Rensselaer gave him $18,000 that began this legacy Eaton has left behind.

Early Life and Aspirations:

Born in 1776 and passing away in 1842, he attended and received his B.A. from Williams College in Massachusetts. He later studied law in New York City and served as a surveyor, land agent, and lawyer for eight years for a Livingston Estate near Catskill, NY until he was jailed over a land dispute in 1810. He was sentenced to life at hard labor without clemency, the most severe penalty at the time at Greenwich Prison in NYC. After spending five years in jail, he dedicated his time to studying natural sciences from the warden’s son, John Torrey. Eaton was pardoned in 1815 by Dewitt Clinton’s intervention, who was NYS governor from 1817-1822 and 1825-1828 and was the main politician behind the construction of the Erie Canal. Following his release, he continued his studies in natural sciences under Benjamin Silliman and Eli Ives at Yale College in Connecticut. A year later, he became a lecturer at Williams College, where he published Manual of Botany for the Northern States and A Botanical Dictionary and contributed to The American Journal of Science and Arts. Eaton was selected by Stephen Van Rensselaer as first senior professor at the “Rensselaer School” (later called Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). He introduced the Bachelor of Natural Sciences and Civil Engineering degrees!