Daniel Webster: Those who love him

One of Dartmouth's most illustrious graduates of all time, Daniel Webster, Class of 1801, has been ranked as one of the nation's greatest senators in a recent poll of college professors as reported in The New YorkTimes. "Black Dan," who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 1827 to 1841 and again from 1845 to 1850, achieved fame at the age of 36 in 1818 by defending Dartmouth College's charter before the U.S. Supreme Court. It was during that trial that he uttered the dramatic phrase, "It is, Sir, as I have said, a small col- lege. And yet there are those who love it!"

The senatorial survey, a random sample of 400 college historians and political scientists, was conducted by Siena College Research Institute in Loudonville, N.Y. More than 110 responded to the poll, ranking senators on leadership, luck, imagination, intelligence, ability to compromise, integrity, value to the Senate, value to the country, and legislative creativity.

Webster placed third, with Henry Clay of Kentucky ranking first and Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota second.