The history of one’s own academic institution is nearly always subject to inquiry, be it by student journalists writing pieces for their publications, faculty chairs looking for information on the formation of their departments, or scholars looking for background information on their subject before delving into primary sources. Two published histories, both long out of print, have served as vital sources of printed information on the university’s history: Marquette College, A Quarter-Century, 1881-1906: Stray Leaves from the College History; The Silver Jubilee published in 1906 and The Story of Marquette University: An Object Lesson in the Development of Catholic Higher Education by Rev. Raphael N. Hamilton, S.J., published in 1953 by the Marquette University Press. With the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the university, we thought it appropriate to make published institutional history sources accessible beyond the library’s walls and to make the texts themselves more searchable.

The 1906 volume is largely a compilation of vignettes offering little historical analysis. The 129-page book includes brief sketches examining the founding of the institution and the opening academic year, as well as short entries on the history and development of a number of campus organizations. Perhaps of most value are a section titled “Random Jottings,” which provides a year-by-year account of highlights on the campus, and sections listing the officers, faculty, and degree recipients in the early years. The volume is rounded out by the text of a number of speeches, editorials, and odes presented at various campus events.

Hamilton’s history had served as the de facto authority on Marquette history prior to the 2007 publication of Thomas Jablonsky’s Milwaukee’s Jesuit University: Marquette 1881-1981.  Weighing in at 434 pages, the volume provides scholarly analysis of the development of Marquette through the early 1950s and includes a number of appendices listing university presidents, honorary degree recipients and athletic captains.

No attempt has been made to correct inaccuracies that may have been made at the time the books were originally published and the volumes are presented here online almost exactly as they appeared in their original print version.  One major change should be noted: to aid those researchers interested in the visual materials included in each of the volumes, archivists have collocated those pages into a separate section titled “Plates,” accessible from the left-hand navigation bar in each of the volumes.

Questions about these volumes or the procedures in creating the online collection can be directed to Michelle Sweetser.

23 May 2007