Warren Kendall Lewis1886-1972

Spring Garden FarmLaurel, Delaware

45 Hunnewell AvenueNewton, Massachusetts

The streetcar suburbs of Boston 1886 (Warner, 1969)

The streetcar suburbs in 1901(Warner, 1969)

Railroads around Boston (Warner, 1969)

WKL’s Diary January 12, 1898

After school I went up to Lasell and read Cicero with Cousin Mary, and then she gave me a supper of canned chicken, cocoa, bread, butter, crackers and peanut butter. I had a fine time.

January 14, 1898

[Yesterday] I went to school as usual and found, when I reached there, the fireman, Mr. Strong, had cut his foot and couldn’t come. No one else knew how to get up steam so we had no school.

January 14, 1898 (continued)

Yesterday afternoon I went into Boston by myself for the first time. I bought Mrs. Kendrick a stove shaker, some sewing machine needles, and carried my uniform jacket in to the Continental Clothing Co. as it was too small and I wanted it changed.

January 20, 1898

After supper it was decided that I might go in with Miss Kendrick, Miss Hotchkiss and Cousin Mary to hear Dr. Lymann Abbot lecture on “Imperialism,” if I could get my Geometry and English all right. I went and read MacBeth both ways on the train. The lecture was a fine one in favor of staying to help them learn to govern themselves.

January 27, 1898Yesterday…in the evening I went to hear Charlton

Lewis on “Imperialism,” with Cousin Mary. He made some good points but as Cousin Mary said some bad ones. He attacked Dr. Abbot, he made some mistatements concerning the arguments on Californian annexation, and made Mckinnly [sic] out as having imperial power. But he showed that it would not pay us and that according to our declaration of war we ought not do it….Cousin Mary is on his side but I can’t say I am.

January 28,1898

This morning I went to Boston, getting some yarn and a shaker for Mrs. Kendrick and a pen repointed for Mr. Kendrick and a box of blacking for myself. I went skating this afternoon. The ice is pretty good and I am learning slowly….I received a letter from home this morning. Papa is better. Aunt Lizzie scalded her foot about two weeks ago and is better now.

February 7, 1898

I got a letter from home yesterday with twelve dollars for board….We received our first news yesterday of the battle in Manilla [sic] on Sunday. Todays reports say we lost forty killed and one hundred wounded and the Filipinos two thousand killed and wounded. The gunboats did fearful execution. The peace treaty was signed today.

February 17, 1898

With a great deal of trouble I got out my ashes—on account of the snow. I went down town in the evening and rode. I asked a man passing for a ride and he consented; it was the first time I’ve ridden on or behind a horse since last Sept., and I a farmer’s boy.

February 22, 1898

Washington’s Birthday. We heard the church bells ring, morning, noon, and night; we had no school. Mr. March had his flag out. Alfred Claflin and his two sisters came down to see us; these are the signs to me that it is the annaversary [sic] of the birth of the greatest American ever born.

February 28, 1898

Yesterday I asked Miss Macumber and Miss Constantine about what they thought would be best for me to do about going to college. They will think it over more but the former advised either Amherst Agricultural or as even better Tech. Miss Constantine mentioned Cornell. I will write there. She also added I ought to have 9 hours sleep per day, a great deal of exercise and less A’s.

Increasing number of engineers in US 1880 - 1920

Number of practicing engineers multiplied ca. 20-fold (7000 to 136,000)

Engineering enrollments in land grant colleges went up 40-fold

Class origins of engineers (1924 survey) “drawn from ….poorer and less well-

educated segments of the middle class” Many parents had small businesses or

were farmers13% fathers had college degrees40% fathers had finished high school90% freshmen had to work a year

before starting college

“Boston Tech” in early 1900s

Industrial chemistry lab at MIT1893

Arthur A. Noyes

William H. Walker

Walker’s innovations:

Science-based engineering

Unit operations

Research Lab in Applied Chemistry

Practice school

Chemical engineering majors at MIT, Class of 1905

The Lewis Report, 1949:

In our increasingly complex society, science and technology can no longer be segregated from their human and social consequences. The most difficult and complicated problems confronting our generation are in the field of the humanities and social sciences…they have resulted in large measure from the impact of science and technology upon society…

Doc Lewis, in his older years:

“If I could be reincarnated, I would like to return as a social scientist. That is where the really difficult and important problems are.”

The human-built world:

“We are well on our way, in our timeless effort to bring the natural environment under control, to replacing it by an artificial environment of our own contriving.”

MIT historian Elting Morison, 1946