Located on the corner of Jackson and Baldwin Street, LeConte Hall was dedicated to scientist Joseph LeConte in 1905, four years after his death on a camping trip in Yosemite. A graduate of and professor at the University of Georgia, LeConte was an important figure in the scientific community at the time. Known to be controversial, LeConte was an early proponent of Darwin’s evolutionary theory, teaching the subject before it had been widely accepted. As noted in Thomas Walter Reed’s History of the University of Georgia, “his views on that subject were quite antagonistic to those of President Church…and the chief executive of the Georgia institution did not approve of such instruction”(Reed, 405). After his departure form the University of Georgia in 1856, Joseph LeConte worked at the University of South Carolina for a time, then later accompanied his brother “to California to take part in the establishment of the University of California”(Reed, 404). An accomplished scientist and an early pioneer in his academic field, LeConte Hall would serve as the first home of the University of Georgia’s biology department. As described in the local the paper The Banner, LeConte Hall was “one of the most up-to-date university buildings in the country”(June 32, 1905). Though currently home to the history department, LeConte Hall still maintains a connection to its namesake through a large portrait of Joseph LeConte in main foyer of the building.
Resources:
Stephens, Lester D. “LeConte Family.” New Georgia Encyclopedia. 15 September 2014. Web. 29 September 2016.
Railsback, Bruce, “Joseph LeConte, Third Professor of Geology at the University of Georgia from 1852 to 1856,” http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/UGAGeolHistLeConte.html
Reed, Thomas Walter. History of The University of Georgia (unpublished typescript). 1946. http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/reed/
Athens Historic Newspaper Archive, http://athnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/athnewspapers-j2k/search