Early Life and Education
Born in Philadelphia, Clemson was the son of Thomas Green Clemson, III and Elizabeth Baker. He is descended from Quaker roots and his mother was Episcopalian. Partly because of this mixed religious background, Clemson's personal religious belief is not well documented. In 1813, his father died, and his father’s second cousin John Gest was appointed guardian over him and his five siblings. Clemson was one beneficiary of his father’s $100,000 life savings, which was split up between him and his five siblings. There is not much known about his home life, but his schooling started in the winter of 1814, as he, as well as the older Clemson’s, attended day school at Tabernacle Presbyterian Church. There is no knowledge as to exactly how long Thomas attended day school, but his next schooling venture began in 1823. From 1823-1825, Clemson was educated at Alden Partridge's Military Academy in Vermont, also known as Norwich University. It is known that Clemson’s older brother, who had recently graduated from Princeton, had sent Thomas a letter outlining the courses and subjects that he should study. He completed those studies sometime in late 1825, but the exact month is not certain. What is known, however, is that he went back to Philadelphia in 1825 and he started studying Mineralogy. Later on, sometime in 1826, Clemson left for Paris, France. His departure date, the ship name, and where exactly he landed in France is unknown, as well as when he returned to Philadelphia.
Read more about this topic: Thomas Green Clemson
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or education:
“Love is the hardest thing in the world to write about. So simple. You’ve got to catch it through details, like the early morning sunlight hitting the gray tin of the rain spout in front of her house. The ringing of a telephone that sounds like Beethoven’s “Pastoral.” A letter scribbled on her office stationery that you carry around in your pocket because it smells of all the lilacs in Ohio.”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)
“The fate of our times is characterized by rationalization and intellectualization and, above all, by the “disenchantment of the world.” Precisely the ultimate and most sublime values have retreated from public life either into the transcendental realm of mystic life or into the brotherliness of direct and personal human relations. It is not accidental that our greatest art is intimate and not monumental.”
—Max Weber (1864–1920)
“I note what you say of the late disturbances in your College. These dissensions are a great affliction on the American schools, and a principal impediment to education in this country.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)