Collection inventory

Special Collections home page

J. Herman Wharton Collection

An inventory of his collection at the Syracuse University Archives


Finding aid created by: Sean Molinaro
Date: 2012

Biography

J. Herman WhartonJohn Herman Wharton (1889-1921) was a Syracuse University alumnus, professor, administrator, and the founder of the Syracuse University's College of Business Administration (now the Whitman School of Management).

Wharton graduated from Syracuse University with his bachelor's degree in 1911, and his Master of Arts degree in 1913. During his undergraduate career, he studied at the College of Liberal Arts and participated in a variety of student activities. He also held leadership positions in several student organizations, including as the business manager of the 1911 Onondagan yearbook, the editor of the first Syracuse Songbook, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the English Club. In his senior year, he was elected Class President. Wharton also founded the Southern Club and participated in the Prohibition Club.

After graduating, Wharton served as an instructor and then professor at Syracuse University’s College of Applied Science and the College of Liberal Arts and was eventually named the head of the English Department. In 1918, Wharton approached Chancellor James Roscoe Day with a proposal to create a new school for business administration. Day refused this proposal twice due to lack of resources, but he eventually approved the plan after Wharton assured him that funds would not be an issue, as he only needed a room and a desk. In 1919, the School of Business Administration was founded, with Wharton serving as its first director.

The newly formed School of Business Administration saw immediate success under Wharton’s management. Despite minimal promotion of its programs, 350 students enrolled in the School of Business Administration for its first semester. By the second semester, enrollment grew to 459. In a span of just six months, the school became the University’s third most popular degree-conferring department by enrollment. In 1920, the University granted the School of Business Administration full standing as one of the University colleges. The School was subsequently renamed the College of Business Administration, and Wharton became its first dean.

On April 2, 1921, only two years after the College of Business Administration was founded, Wharton was murdered by Holmes Beckwith, a member of the College’s faculty. Wharton had recently informed Beckwith that the University would not renew his contract for the following academic year due to disagreements with his teaching methods. On April 2, the two men were scheduled to meet in order to further discuss Beckwith’s resignation. Upon entering the Dean’s office for this meeting, Beckwith shot and killed Wharton before taking his own life.

At the time of Wharton’s death, the College of Business administration had grown to include a faculty of 30 people, and as many as 900 students.

Scope and Content Note

The J. Herman Wharton Collection spans from 1902 to 1994 and is organized into four series.

The Diaries series consists of diaries and memorandum books kept by Wharton throughout his life, spanning from 1902 to 1921. In them, he records social, academic, and professional activities, as well as notes on the weather, and contact information for friends and acquaintances. His 1921 diary records his activities in the days leading up to his death, including meetings with Holmes Beckwith. Following Wharton's death in April of 1921, Ella Ruth Wiley, Wharton's foster mother and aunt, began to use the diary to record the aftermath of his murder as well as information on the people who visited and helped her while she was grieving.

The Photographs series includes photographs and negatives of Wharton, his friends and family, and his time at Syracuse University, including traditions such as Women's Day. Some of the photographs and their corresponding negatives in this series were originally in an envelope from I.U. Doust, a local photography shop and studio in Syracuse, New York. Also present is a photograph album assembled by Wharton that contains photographs, spanning 1911 to 1918, of Wharton and his family, Syracuse University, the city of Syracuse, local events, and surrounding scenery. Some specific scenes photographed include the Snow Rush and Salt Rush on Crouse Hill, crew competitions, football games, and the New York State Fair. Other photographs in this collection include portraits of Wharton, and a mounted photograph of the Onondagan Board (yearbook staff) of 1909. The series also contains more recent photographs of Wharton's grave and the grave of Ella Ruth Wiley, his foster mother and aunt, at Oakwood Cemetery in Syracuse, New York.

The Printed materials series contains newspaper clippings concerning Wharton's career and murder, as well as business cards from his time as the manager of the 1911 Onondagan, a map of Oakwood Cemetery in Syracuse, New York showing the location of Wharton and Ella Ruth Wiley's graves, and other materials concerning Wharton and his family.

The Writings series consists of written materials produced by Wharton during his academic and professional career. Included are his Master of Arts thesis, along with notes from the thesis's reviewers, and a speech given by Wharton to local business owners in his capacity as the Dean of the College of Business Administration.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

More materials concerning J. Herman Wharton can be found in the Syracuse University Clipping Files and the Syracuse University Portrait Collection. More information on the College of Business Administration (now the Whitman School of Management) founded by Wharton can be found in the Syracuse University Clipping Files, the Syracuse University Photograph Collection, and the Syracuse University Yearbook Collection.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Wharton, John Herman, 1889-1921.
Wiley, Ella Ruth.
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.
Syracuse University. -- College of Business Administration.

Subjects

Business education.
Campus violence.
Student activities.
College students.
College teachers.
Higher education.

Types of Material

Business cards.
Diaries.
Magazine clippings.
Masters theses.
Negatives (photographs)
Newspaper clippings.
Photograph albums.
Photographs.
Writings (documents)

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

J. Herman Wharton Collection,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Barbara S. Rivette in 2004. Additional materials gift of Barbara Lucas in 2025.

Processing Information

Diaries were wrapped in archival tissue paper. Photographs were placed in protective mylar enclosures. All materials were placed in acid-free folders and in acid-free boxes.

Arrangement

Materials are arranged in alphabetical order.

Table of Contents

Diaries

Photographs

Printed materials

Writings

Inventory