John Hay Library Opened

Here, students study in the reading room of the newly opened John Hay Library. After graduating in 1858 as Class Poet, John Hay went on to serve as a personal assistant to Abraham Lincoln during his campaign and presidency. After Lincoln’s assassination, Hay became Lincoln’s biographer and also served as U.S. Secretary of State. A tribute to Hay in the library that bears his name reads: “Poet, Historian, Diplomatist, Statesman, who maintained the Open Door and the Golden Rule.”