Trade in the fedora for a full beard, replace the bullwhip with The Andes and the Amazon, and throw in an acquaintance with Darwin for good measure. Meet Vassar’s Indiana Jones – James H. Orton
A natural-born poet struck by a fascination with science at an early age, Orton had one of those childhoods that foretells greatness. When boys his age would be out playing, Orton would conduct experiments, search for minerals and seek ways to feed his insatiable curiosity and intelligence. At 17 he had devised a scheme for adapting for use in lighthouses of the “Drummond light” which the Scientific American hailed as “an ingenious method.”
Orton brought his wealth of knowledge – spanning the wonders of hard science to the mysteries of theology – to Vassar in 1869 where he served as the chairman and curator of Vassar’s Department of Natural History until his tragic death in 1877. During his time here, Orton groomed the museum into a remarkable collection of over 10,000 artifacts, while writing on the education of women and theories of evolution. Orton was a man lifetimes ahead of his time.
In 1877, the man hailed as “a scholar in the truest sense of the word” enthusiastically embarked on his third expedition to South America. Mid-voyage, Orton’s escorts mutinied, and in the downward spiral of mysterious events, he was struck on the head. Days later, hemorrhaging in the unfavorable weather of an unfamiliar land, Orton died as dramatically as he had lived – a hero.
VASS 101: 