Biographical Note
Paul Ansel Chadbourne graduated from Williams College in 1848, taught for fourteen years at the College, and served as its fifth President from 1872 until his resignation in 1881. Chadbourne's specialities were botany, chemistry and natural history. These he taught at Williams, and lectured in at Bowdoin, Mount Holyoke and the Agricultural College at Amherst.
| 1823 | born in North Berwick, ME, October 21 |
| 1843 | enters Philips Exeter Academy |
| 1845 | enters Williams College sophomore class |
| 1848 | graduates Valedictorian from Williams |
| 1850 | becomes Principal of the high school at Great Falls, NH |
| 1851 | marries Elizabeth Sawyer Page of Exeter, NH; elected to a tutorship at Williams in August |
| 1852 | becomes Principal of the Academy in East Windsor Hill (now Hartford), CT |
| 1853 | becomes Professor of chemistry and botany |
| 1855-59 | leads natural history expeditions |
| 1859 | Professor of natural history |
| 1865-66 | State Senator of Massachusetts |
| 1867 | President of New Agricultural College at Amherst, MA |
| 1869-72 | President of University of Wisconsin |
| elected President of Williams College | |
| 1880 | Presidential elector-at-large |
| 1881 | resigns from presidency of Williams College |
| 1883 | dies after years of pulmonary trouble, 23 February |
For a more detailed and complete biographical sketch, see Fifty Years at Williams: The Story of Paul Ansel Chadbourne, Book 1, by E. Herbert Botsford, located in Box 1/Folder 2 of this collection.
