Caltech Library News

Commencements past and present

Photo ID 20.7-8

Caltech's Commencement archive runs from 1920, the year the school became the California Institute of Technology, to the present. In 1920 the Commencement speaker was Dr. George Ellery Hale, Director of the Mt. Wilson Observatory and Institute trustee, who spoke on "Scientific Research as the Foundation of Engineering Education and Industrial Development." Caltech awarded its very first PhD —to Roscoe Gilkey Dickinson in chemistry. The ceremony was held in front of Gates Laboratory (now Parsons-Gates Hall of Administration). The Institute awarded 31 bachelors and 3 masters degrees, in addition to the first doctorate. Posted 06-12-2009