Remsen Brinckerhoff Ogilby

Remsen Brinckerhoff Ogilby (1881-1943) was the president of Trinity College from 1920 to 1943.

Ogilby was born on April 8, 1881 in Brunswick, New Jersey. He graduated from Harvard in 1902 with a scholarship that covered 40 percent of his expenses. He later graduated from the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1907. After graduation, he set off to be an assistant at St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Boston. He taught at the Groton School in Massachusetts until 1909 when he became the headmaster of the Baguio School in the Philippines. During World War I, Ogilby was a chaplain in the U.S. Army. After the war, he taught at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and was appointed as President of Trinity College on April 24, 1920, at 39 years of age. He remained President until his untimely death in 1943.

Ogilby's Presidential Portrait by Martin Kennedy. Photo credit: Trinity College Archives

At his inauguration on November 17, Ogilby gave a speech outlining Trinity as a “church college.” Though Trinity had been founded as an Episcopal university, neither the faculty nor the student body was majority Episcopalian at that time. Ogilby held that Trinity was a church college because it accepted students of any religion and proceeded to present them with Christianity. Ogilby also promoted the idea of allowing all students, not just wealthy ones, to attend Trinity. His first official act as president was to grant his predecessor, Professor Henry A. Perkins, an honorary Doctor of Science degree.

From the beginning of his term, Ogilby favored the idea of Trinity being a “personal college.” Many alumni and current students were keen to expand the College's size in order to compete academically and athletically with schools like Harvard and Yale. Ogilby believed that an increase in size was possible, but not necessary, as a smaller college with a more personal feel would be the best course of action. He was known to lean out of the window of his office on the Long Walk and have conversations with passing faculty and students. Students began to call him “Prexy,” and he would assist them with personal matters, even including trouble with the police or financial issues. He attended most sports games and was an executive member of the National College Athletics Association. Also, under Ogilby, students were paired with faculty advisors.

Ogilby was very interested in politics and was a staunch supporter of the League of Nations. When the Hartford Courant published paid advertisements in support of Frank E. Brandegee, a Senate candidate who opposed the League of Nations, Ogilby went to the office of Emile Henry Gauvreau, the editor of the Courant, and demanded that he apologize publicly for the ads. When Gauvreau refused, Ogilby said he'd never read the Courant again.

High first-year fail rates and overall poor academic performance from Trinity students caused the alumni to criticize Ogilby for handling Trinity too much like a prep school. As a result, the alumni, faculty, and Ogilby worked together to produce a new plan for the College. This plan created a quota for accepted students from Hartford as well as the building of a new chapel and gymnasium. The target number of students enrolled also doubled to 500. Out of this, only 125 students could be from Hartford. The goal of 500 students was reached in 1936 when there were 516 students enrolled.

One of Ogilby's largest projects while at Trinity was the creation of the Chapel. He led a daily service for the construction workers in the crypt. After construction was finished, he learned how to play the Plumb Carillon and later taught other members of the Trinity community to play. However, he did receive criticism from alumni and the Chemistry Department who accused him of favoring the Chapel over what they viewed as more important projects, such as a new chemistry building.

In March 1936, Ogilby directed students in assisting the Hartford community to recover from the devastating effects of the recent flood. Trinity students helped set up shelters, donated food and clothing, evacuated residents, manned a Red Cross auxiliary generator, and even pumped out basements under the eye of Ogilby.

In August 1943, Ogilby went on vacation for a few days to his summer home in Weekapaug, Rhode Island. Before his departure, he had focused on encouraging students to not get distracted by the war in Europe and oversaw a joint summer school program with Wesleyan. On August 7, Ogilby attempted to rescue the family maid, Mary O'Connor, from drowning, as she was a beginner at swimming and was struggling to make it back to shore. Ogilby was able to hold her up until someone could help, but in the process, suffered a heart attack and died before making it to shore himself.

Ogilby was succeeded in his presidency by Arthur H. Hughes. Ogilby Hall, a dormitory completed in 1941, was named for Ogilby after his death.