Matthew Vassar
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Matthew Vassar was an English-American brewer, merchant, and philanthropist. He founded Vassar College, a women’s college, in 1861. He was a cousin of John Ellison Vassar. The city of Vassar, Michigan
From the Vassarion Eighteen Hundred & Ninety-Eight, Vassar College, 1898
An 1861 portrait of Vassar, with his namesake college's Main Building in the background
New England Building, November 2014
Vassar College
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Vassar College is a private liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher educat
Matthew Vassar
…Matthew Vassar (April 29, 1792 – June 23, 1868) was an English-American brewer, merchant, and philanthropist. He founded Vassar College, a women’s college, in 1861. He was a cousin of John Ellison Vassar. The city of Vassar, Michigan, is named after him. Matthew Vassar was born on April…
The Main Building, built in 1861 by architect James Renwick Jr., had the most interior space of any building in the United States, until the United States Capitol was completed in 1868.
Main Building (2026)
The Vassar College Observatory is one of two National Historic Landmarks on the college's campus, along with the Main Building.