| Notes |
Soon after his arrival from England, Dunster was asked and agreed to become the first President of Harvard College, now Harvard University. By all accounts, Dunster rescued a fledgling institution on the verge of closing its doors and in all respects laid the groundwork for making Harvard the leading institution of higher education in North America, and eventually in the world. Among his other notable achievements, Dunster helped craft the Massachusetts school system, set up the first printing press, which evolved into Harvard University Press, and drafted the 1650 Charter for the President and Fellows of Harvard College (the Harvard Corporation), the first corporation chartered in the New World. Dunster died in 1659 and his grave is marked in the Old Burying Ground in Cambridge, MA. |