HONORARY

Levi Parsons Morton, upon whom the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred in 1881, died May 16 of bronchial pneumonia at his home at Rhinebeck, N. Y., on his ninety-sixth birthday.

Mr. Morton was born May 16, 1824, at Shoreham, Vt., where his father was pastor of the Congregational church. At the age of sixteen he left school and entered business life, an early experience being as clerk in a store in Hanover. Dry goods business in Boston and New York was succeeded by banking in New York, in which he was highly successful, winning an international reputation as a financier.

He entered political life in 1876 as an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Congress. Two years later he was successful, and served from 1879 to 1881. President Garfield tendered him the secretaryship of the navy- This he declined, but accepted an appointment as minister to France, serving for four years. In 1885 he was a candidate for the nomination for senator from New York, but was defeated by William M. Evarts. In 1888 he was nominated for vice-president, and served through President Harrison's term, 1889-93. In 1895-6 he was governor of New York, after which he retired from public life.

Mr. Morton was rated as one of the wealthiest men in the country, and had been a bountiful giver to many public objects.