January 23, 1789—Capping a three-year period of advocacy, fundraising and construction, the first Catholic institution of higher learning in the United States, Georgetown, was founded by Bishop (later Archbishop) John Carroll of Baltimore.
Though never a formally appointed chancellor of the (initially small) academy, Carroll was, like many academic leaders of the present day, well-connected—and, in an age when anti-Catholicism was virulent in the young republic, exceptionally so.
Early in the American Revolution, he had traveled to Quebec in an unsuccessful attempt to win French-speaking Catholics to the patriot cause, in a delegation that included his cousin Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. Just as remarkably, the bishop’s brother, Daniel Carroll, was one of only two Catholic signers of the Constitution – and an owner of a major piece of real estate that later formed the District of Columbia.
Taking a cue from the school’s founder, its first student, William Gaston, was vitally interested in politics, even serving two terms in the House of Representatives. Since then, the school’s proximity to the Capitol has made it a magnet for those hoping to enter government service.
The school’s Web site mentions a number of its current alumni, including Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia; broadcast journalist Maria Shriver; Project Hope founder William Walsh; Tony-award winners Jack Hofsiss and John Guare, author William Peter Blatty; NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue; and basketball star Patrick Ewing.
Oh, yeah…and one William Jefferson Clinton, the answer to a trivia question: Who is the first graduate of a Catholic university ever to become President of the United States?
(No, it wasn’t Jack Kennedy, whose father decided to stick it to all those stuffy, constipated Boston Brahmins who turned their noses up at him and his money by sending his boys to Harvard.)
Also worthy of mention are members of two clans formerly of St. Cecilia’s Church in Englewood, N.J.: the McDermotts and Nortons (the latter family’s recent additions to Georgetown also include a few members of a gaudy gallimaufry of cousins who are, like the stars in the sky, beyond counting).
Though never a formally appointed chancellor of the (initially small) academy, Carroll was, like many academic leaders of the present day, well-connected—and, in an age when anti-Catholicism was virulent in the young republic, exceptionally so.
Early in the American Revolution, he had traveled to Quebec in an unsuccessful attempt to win French-speaking Catholics to the patriot cause, in a delegation that included his cousin Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. Just as remarkably, the bishop’s brother, Daniel Carroll, was one of only two Catholic signers of the Constitution – and an owner of a major piece of real estate that later formed the District of Columbia.
Taking a cue from the school’s founder, its first student, William Gaston, was vitally interested in politics, even serving two terms in the House of Representatives. Since then, the school’s proximity to the Capitol has made it a magnet for those hoping to enter government service.
The school’s Web site mentions a number of its current alumni, including Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia; broadcast journalist Maria Shriver; Project Hope founder William Walsh; Tony-award winners Jack Hofsiss and John Guare, author William Peter Blatty; NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue; and basketball star Patrick Ewing.
Oh, yeah…and one William Jefferson Clinton, the answer to a trivia question: Who is the first graduate of a Catholic university ever to become President of the United States?
(No, it wasn’t Jack Kennedy, whose father decided to stick it to all those stuffy, constipated Boston Brahmins who turned their noses up at him and his money by sending his boys to Harvard.)
Also worthy of mention are members of two clans formerly of St. Cecilia’s Church in Englewood, N.J.: the McDermotts and Nortons (the latter family’s recent additions to Georgetown also include a few members of a gaudy gallimaufry of cousins who are, like the stars in the sky, beyond counting).
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