Teaching and geology in Virginia

Rogers succeeded his father on the faculty of the College of William and Mary in 1828. In 1835 he became professor of natural philosophy at the University of Virginia and state geologist. His fieldwork connected scientific study and teaching with surveys of the state’s geological resources.

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Founding MIT

An 1846 letter to his brother Henry set out Rogers’s ideas for a school of practical science. After moving to Boston in 1853, he continued working to establish it. MIT received its founding charter in 1861 and admitted students in 1865. Rogers promoted teaching laboratories and the combination of instruction, research and practical problem-solving.

References: [1] [2] [3]

Slavery and scientific work

Archival research by MIT Libraries documents Rogers’s ownership of enslaved people in Virginia. Levi, an enslaved assistant, contributed to his geological surveys and assisted other geologists in the field. The surviving evidence records parts of this skilled work but does not establish the later fate of those Rogers left behind when he moved to Boston.

References: [2]