Socrates Maupin

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Socrates Maupin was a Professor of Chemistry and the Chairman of Faculty at the University of Virginia from 1854-1868.[1]

Biography

Born in Albemarle County on November 12, 1808, Maupin returned to Charlottesville in 1828 after receiving his bachelor's degree from Washington College in Maryland. He received his medical diploma from the University of Virginia in two years, and later completed an MA at UVA in 1833.[1]

Following his graduation from UVA, Maupin became Chair of Ancient Languages at Hampden-Sydney College. By 1835, he left to establish a classical and mathematical school in Richmond. Maupin joined the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney in 1838 as one of its founding professors. He became Dean of the department in 1847[2].

In 1853, Maupin left Hampden-Sydney to return to Charlottesville once more, this time as Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacy. The following year he was elected Chairman of Faculty, a position he would hold throughout the Civil War

Maupin was part of the group of officials, alongside Charlottesville Mayor Christopher Fowler, law professor John Barbee Minor, and UVA rector Thomas Preston to meet with Union soldiers under Maj. Gen. George Custer on March 3rd, 1865 to surrender the city and University to the Union, with the promise that the Grounds would not be destroyed as had happened at other Confederate colleges and universities. [3]

By August of 1865, Maupin willingly signed his Loyalty Oath to the United States government, allowing him to get to work rehiring faculty and refinancing the University using his own credit.

In October of 1871, a runaway carriage accident caused Maupin to sustain what would be a fatal head injury, leading to his death later that month.[1]

Lile-Maupin, a first-year dorm at UVA in the Alderman Road Housing Area, is partially named for Socrates Maupin.[4]

Ancestry

Maupin was the son of Chapman W. Maupin, who himself was third in descent from Daniel Maupin Sr. and had been appointed a magistrate of Albemarle County in 1835 before dying in 1861. Another of Chapman's sons, Addison, resided on Carr's Hill prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Web. Socrates Maupin, University of Virginia Library
  2. Web. Socrates Maupin Papers, VCU Library
  3. Web. A Civil Occupation, Brendan Wolfe, UVA Magazine
  4. Web. How the Houses Got Their Names

External Links