"Melvin A. Pingree Photograph Album”, Northwestern University Archives, Evanston IL

“The Presidents of Northwestern; Daniel Bonbright”, Northwestern University Archives, Evanston IL

          Professor Daniel Bonbright of Latin (featured in the two pictures above) was the inspiration for the current and redesigned version of the seal of Northwestern. He was the one that sought to improve the then seemingly incomplete seal widely used by the university which seemed to him 30 years outdated. Using his knowledge of classical languages, he implemented the two verses from the King James Holy Bible which was in Greek and Latin. These verses reflected not only the Methodist and Christian foundations of the university but also sought to inspire intellectual curiosity. It balances respect of the word from which many learn from with the eagerness to pursue knowledge in the world around the students of the institution. Bonbright’s design has proved to be timeless as it has stayed true to the university for over a century. There was even a preposition to update and revise the seal of the university in 2001, which did not pass and the end verdict was the unchanged design from Bonbright’s 1890 version.  

          Professor Bonbright is a highly praised individual at Northwestern University. It is only fitting that he would be the one to create a seal that represents the university for years to come. Bonbright had relations with the original trustees of the university and was asked to become the Latin Language and Literature professor when classes first started in 1856. As a professor who cherishes knowledge and pursues it with seriousness, he pursued further education in Germany before taking a teaching position. He taught at Northwestern for the first time in 1858. Little did he know that he would stay there for fifty-four years, become the eleventh president of the university, marry the daughter of former university president Joseph Cummings, and most importantly in our context, design the corporate seal of Northwestern. In his eulogy his colleagues and loved ones commemorating him for being the single most important man in the history of the university, with no other person embodying its spirit and virtue more than him. 

          Beyond his involvement in the Evanston campus, when he served as president he played a vital role in the purchasing of the Tremont Hotel Building in Chicago, which eventually became the Northwestern University Building (featured below). This urban extension housed the Northwestern Schools of Law, Pharmacy, and Dentistry. This building amongst other professional schools in the Chicago area would later be relocated to what is known today as the Chicago Campus, the nucleus of an ever-evolving higher education professional schooling.

“The Presidents of Northwestern; Daniel Bonbright”, Northwestern University Archives, Evanston IL