Alfred Whitney Griswold
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Alfred Whitney Griswold (27 October 1906 - 19 April 1963) was an American historian and educator, and President of Yale University.
Born in Morristown, New Jersey, he attended The Hotchkiss School, one of the nation's elite private schools, before obtaining his B.A. from Yale University in 1929, where he was a member of Wolf's Head Society as well as a Pundit. In 1933, he earned his Ph.D, and became an assistant professor, and it was during his tenure as a professor that he helped create the Yale Political Union.[1] He was President of Yale University from 1951 to 1963.
Griswold is credited with tripling the university endowment to $375 million, building 26 new buildings and establishing research fellowships for young scholars.[2] He was arguably Yale's first "modern president," and embodied a charismatic authority. Griswold, in addition to being widely quoted in the national media for his views on foreign affairs, championing of athletics, academic freedom, and the liberal arts against government intrusion, was "a master of the English language," according to long-time Yale professor Gaddis Smith.
Griswold died of colon cancer in New Haven, Connecticut, and is buried in Grove Street Cemetery.
Ben Kiernan is now the A. Whitney Griswold Professor of History at Yale University.
“Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. Ideas won't go to jail. In the long run of history the censor and the inquisitor have always lost.”
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles Seymour |
President of Yale University 1951–1963 |
Succeeded by Kingman Brewster, Jr. |
- ^ "TWO YALE GROUPS TURN TO POLITICS; New Union's Plan to Train an Intelligent Minority for Leadership Is Approved.", The New York Times, December 9, 1934.
- ^ Time magazine, "New Haven, Safe Haven", Apr. 17, 1964
