3 notes &
History’s Bad Boys, c. 1900.
In this cartoon from the 1902 Badger Yearbook, acting president Edward A. Birge castes a slightly critical gaze towards two “naughty boys” aka new UW history department faculty members Carl Russell Fish and Asa Currier Tilton!
Carl Fish received his PhD from Harvard and joined the history faculty in 1900. He was widely acclaimed by his students who commended his ability to “make history live” and for his endless supply of historical anecdotes. He taught until his death in 1932.
Asa Tilton received his PhD from Yale and also joined the UW history faculty in 1900. In 1905, he was named Chief of Departments of Maps, Manuscripts and Public Documents at the Wisconsin Historical Society.
While it’s unproven whether or not Fish and Tilton were as “naughty” as depicted in this cartoon, their reputation obviously warranted humorous representation in the yearbook. Or perhaps Birge was simply weary of picking up their cigarette butts outside his office window.
For more information about UW-Madison history, contact uwarchiv@library.wisc.edu or visit http://archives.library.wisc.edu.
From the 1902 Badger Yearbook, page 405.
