Charles F. Thwing
Charles F. Thwing
Pronunciation: TWING
(11/9/1853-8/29/1937)
President, Western Reserve University, 11/1890-11/11/1921
Education
A.B., Harvard College, 1876
Graduated from Andover Theological Seminary, 1879
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University Awards
The College for Women Class of 1922 established the Charles F. Thwing Fund to support the College’s library, 1922.
Western Reserve University awarded Thwing the honorary Doctor of Humanities, 1926.
Western Reserve University named its Euclid Avenue library building Thwing Hall to honor the President’s service, 1934.
Case Western Reserve University named its renovated student center the Charles F. Thwing Student Center, 1972.
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Career
Pastor, North Congregational Church, Boston, Massachusetts, 1879-1886
Pastor, Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1886-1890
President Emeritus, Western Reserve University, 1921-1937
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University Numbers
1890/91 1921/22
Enrollment 482 2,150
Tuition $50 $200
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Milestones (non-university-related events are in italics)
1891 The School of Law was established and, in 1892, renamed the Franklin Thomas Backus
Law School of Western Reserve University.
The School of Art affiliation ended.
1892 A Graduate school was established, but suspended in 1921.
A Dental school was established. In 1906 it was sold to the Western Reserve Dental School
Company, but re-purchased in 1917.
1895 The Cleveland Conservatory of Music affiliation ended.
1898 The United States fought the Kingdom of Spain in the Spanish-American War.
1903 The Library School was established.
Orville and Wilber Wright made the first powered, sustained, controlled airplane flight.
The 5-year joint course between Adelbert College and Case School of Applied Science
was established.
1908 Cleveland School of Pharmacy affiliated with WRU.
1910 The Medical School absorbed the Medical Department of Ohio Wesleyan University.
1913 Henry Ford developed the assembly line, revolutionizing automobile manufacturing.
1914 Countries around the world were plunged into World War I.
1915 School of Applied Social Sciences was established.
1916 The Cleveland Play House opened its first production.
1918 The influenza epidemic killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide.
The Cleveland Orchestra performed its first concert.
1920 Ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution extended the franchise
to women.
1921 The Cleveland Clinic was established.
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Regional Population
1890 1920
Cleveland 261,353 796,841
Cuyahoga County 309,970 943,495
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Caution should be taken when comparing financial data across long periods of time. Accounting practices have changed substantially during CWRU's nearly 200-year history. In compiling these numbers, we have relied on the most authoritative contemporaneous sources available.
Information was compiled by staff of the Case Western Reserve University Archives, March 2007.
