CHARLES WILLIAM MOULTON
1859 - 1924
Again it becomes a sad necessity for the Faculty
of Vassar College to note in its minutes the death
of one of its oldest and most respected members.
Charles William Moulton, Doctor of Philosophy of
Johns Hopkins University, came to Vassar College in
1892 as Associate Professor of Chemistry. In l89h
he was raised to the rank of Professor of Chemistry
and served as head of the department until his death
on September 13, 192k. His tenure had therefore
covered the entire history of Chemistry as a sepa-
rate department in this college and there can be no
more fitting memorial to his ability and faithful-
ness than the organization and fine standards which
he had developed.
He was a scientist in the best sense of the word,
searching for the truth. He had great capacity for
investigation and his scientific curiosity suggested
constantly new subjects for investigation. This
quality of mind together with his practical inge-
nuity resulted in novel and valuable methods of
lecture demonstration. Those best qualified to judge
believe that he could have added greatly to positive
knowledge had he devoted himself to research. But
he quite willingly sacrificed in large degree this
possibility for that which had the greater call --
teaching, the building up of his department organiza
tion and the study of college educational problems.
His ability as a practical man of affairs was dis-
played in the planning and construction of Sanders
Memorial Laboratory. Every part of this building
testifies to his practical ingenuity and his far-
sightedness. His constant attention and thoughtful-
ness made it perhaps one of the best planned, most
workable and best equipped chemical laboratories in
the United States. Indeed many of those who have
gone for it to work elsewhere have called it the
best they had known. Due to his care it was built
with great economy.
At one time or another he had served with conspicu-
ous and unusual effectiveness on most of the commit-
tees of the Faculty and helped to establish many of
its present standards and working procedures. But he
did not confine his connection with the college to
CHARLES WILLIAM MOULTON (Continued)
departmental and faculty duties. He was for some
years a member of the college faculty-student orches-
tra and was a constant participant in student fes-
tivities. One of his most cherished avocations was
the study of birds and out of door life he had always
enjoyed. The breadth of his interests was revealed
in his skill in woodworking and other craftmanship,
and in the great pleasure he found in his later years
in reading French and Spanish.
He combined in remarkable degree two great qualifica-
tions of the teacher -- constant insistence on high
standards and thoroughness; and the ability to stimu-
late not only in the scholarly minded but in the
average undergraduate genuine and lasting interest in
science and intellectual interests. His name will
endure in the list of great teachers and constructive
organizers who have made Vassar College what it is.
Herbert E. Mills
Annie Louise Macleod
Mary Louise Landon
VIII — 47