MARION DEXTER LEARNED (1857-1917):
THE
FIRST AMERICAN DOCTORATE IN GERMAN?
n a recent edition of the Arts & Sciences
Update published by the Krieger School
of the Johns Hopkins University,¹ there
is an article by Jeanne Johnson which cele-
brates the "seminar tradition" of the Uni-
versity. The seminar format which en-
courages the free exchange of ideas between
scholars of all ages and ranks remains the
cornerstone of a Hopkins' education on both
the graduate and undergraduate level. The
seminar itself became the basic unit of grad-
uate education in the United States. Many,
including Johnson, recognize the degree to
which the specifically American concept of
a graduate school which was born and nur-
tured at Hopkins owes a substantial debt to
the German university model.²
From its inception in 1876, Hop-
kins—with its emphasis on and active sup-
port of independent scholarship and re-
search in emulation of the contemporary
German example—became the prototype of
the graduate school in the United States. For
those associated with the University its
prestige as a pacesetter was always a source
of pride, and quite naturally faculty and stu-
dents in the department of German were
pleased that praise of the university was
inherently a tribute to its European model as
well. It seemed only fitting, then, that the
first American graduate school in the mod-
ern sense, having patterned itself so strong-
ly upon German standards, should have
conferred the first Ph.D. in German lan-
guage and literature in the United States.
Thus the academic equivalent of an urban
legend established itself to the effect that
Marion Dexter Learned, a man notable for
his work in German-American cultural and
literary relationships, was also significant
because his doctorate in German Language
and Literature was allegedly the first of its
kind in America.
For many involved in German-
American studies, Marion Dexter Learned
is a familiar figure, remembered for his pio-
neering work in comparative literature. In a
virtually obscure letter nestled away in the
archives of the Johns Hopkins University
Registrar, Learned declares his belief that he
was, in fact, personally responsible for the
establishment of studies in American-
German literary relations in the United
States. For those who have been connected
with the Johns Hopkins University over the
years, Learned's reputation has taken on yet
greater importance, for it was at "The
Hopkins," as the university was called in the
early years, that Learned earned his doctor-
ate in German language and literature and
received his first teaching assignment. And
rumor had it that his was the first American
doctorate awarded in German.
A one-page article in the February/
March 1955 edition of the American
German Review calls the veracity of the
Hopkins' legend into question. This short
piece states quite explicitly that the first
doctorate in German literature in the United
States was granted in 1886 at Columbia.
Many may well have glanced only casually
at the rather unprepossessing essay and the
historical sidelight it presents. Indeed, even
at Hopkins this minor instance of icono-
clasm seems to have gone relatively unno-
ticed initially. The report in the American
German Review affirms that one Hugo
Walter received his Ph.D. in German
Language and Literature at a commence-
I
FIRST AMERICAN DOCTORATE IN GERMAN
ment service at Columbia on the ninth of
June, 1886, having previously received both
the A.B. and the A.M. degree from that
institution in 1883 and 1885 respectively.
Further research into the Columbiana col-
lection allows one to expand upon the arti-
cle's presentation and add that the com-
mencement was held that day at the
Academy of Music and that Walter's thesis
preparation was most likely accomplished
under the guidance of Hjalmar H. Boyesen,
then Gebhard Professor of Germanic Lan-
guages and Literatures. Hugo Walter's ca-
reer was prematurely terminated with his
death in 1896, only ten years after he
received his degree.
1886 has always been the year cited for
the completion of Marion Dexter Learned's
doctorate as well. At first glance, then, the
two men seem to have finished their work at
approximately the same time, but a final
determination of the actual sequence has
never been made. The case of Hugo Walter
is clear; his thesis is dated May 1886, and he
received his degree publicly in June of that
year. Although the exact date on which
Walter's doctorate was officially granted
cannot be determined, the records in the
Columbiana collection at Columbia confirm
that that Walter would have been formally
examined for the doctorate only after he
submitted his thesis. His new academic
honor could then not have been granted any
more than a month previous to the public
ceremony conferring the degree. An equally
precise date for the completion or bestowal
of Learned's degree has not yet been estab-
lished. However, a thorough search of the
somewhat sketchy records of the early years
of the Hopkins reveals a chronology of
Learned's academic progress.
Marion Dexter Learned—he seems to
have preferred to use his full name whenev-
er possible—first enrolled as a graduate stu-
dent at Johns Hopkins in the autumn of
1884. He came to Baltimore from the
Dickinson Williamsport Seminary where he
had spent the period from 1880 to 1884 and
had earned both an A.B. and an A.M. In
applying, Learned was required to fill out a
form which supplied the university with a
terse curriculum vita. This same document
was then taken over by the registrar and
used to record a student's progress while in
attendance. Application blank thus became
transcript, and for many students during the
early years a single piece of paper was the
only documentation of their career at
Hopkins. Archival files contain but little
more for Marion Dexter Learned, yet his
transcript faithfully records his advance-
ment. For the academic year 1885-1886 he
is listed as a "Fellow" and commencing
with the fall of 1886 he became a member
of the faculty with rank of Instructor. From
1888-1893 Learned held the title of
Associate and from 1893 until he left Hop-
kins in 1895 for a position at the University
of Pennsylvania he was an Associate
Professor.
The remaining university records as
preserved in the Registrar's archives do not,
in fact, note the date on which Learned
attained his doctorate. The only notice is of
the public confirmation, recorded simply as
June 1887. The University Circulars for
August 1887 (VI, 59: 124) supply one with
the exact date: 14 June 1887. A perusal of
the university's records on Marion Dexter
Learned does not, then, resolve the question
surrounding achievement of the Ph.D.; for
although one can pinpoint public conferral
one cannot derive from existing information
the actual date upon which the degree was
granted. The Hopkins' Circulars do, howev-
er, supply enough additional evidence to
—42—
________________________DONALSON
determine beyond any reasonable doubt that
Learned received his degree after his col-
league Hugo Walter at Columbia.
The Circulars for January 1885 (IV,
36: 38) relate the contemporary prerequi-
sites and conditions for obtaining a doctor-
ate at the Johns Hopkins University. To be
eligible for the degree one had to register
one's intent and desire at least one year in
advance and submit a final, typescript copy
of one's dissertation at least three months
before the degree was to be granted.
Learned's finished thesis bears the date
March 12, 1887. According to regulations
existing at the time he could not then have
officially received the Ph.D. until after 12
June of the same year, barely two days
before the public ceremony. In actuality,
then, Hugo Walter's degree was granted
almost a full year before Learned's. That
1886 had become the date traditionally cited
for the completion of Learned's work can
probably be attributed to the fact that
Learned would have been required to regis-
ter sometime in 1886 his intention to pursue
the degree.
The supposition that Learned in fact
did not complete his studies until the next
year is corroborated by additional evidence.
A November 1886 listing of the faculty in
the Johns Hopkins University Circulars (an
issue printed after July 1886, i.e., VI, 52: 2)
lists only Learned's previous degrees from
Dickinson. Moreover, in a letter dated 12
June 1886, Henry Wood, then chairman in
German at Hopkins, reviews Learned's
degrees as he recommends the young man
to President Gilman for a faculty position;
the doctorate is not, however, mentioned.
It would seem that a long-accepted
Hopkins' legend fails to stand up to scrutiny.
Yet the very research which rectifies a
minor factual error concerning the
University's early history simultaneously
highlights the University's long tradition of
scholarship based on the German model.
The names of Henry Wood, who received
his doctorate in Leipzig before coming to
Baltimore, as well as Ira Remsen and B. L.
Gildersleeve, both with graduate degrees
from Göttingen, remind one of the many
who brought the German experience to the
United States and translated their knowl-
edge into a dynamic institution of higher
learning with the founding of the first
American graduate school. Marion Dexter
Learned, himself a product of that environ-
ment, may not have obtained the first
American doctorate in German, yet he did
go on to lead an active life as an academican
and the fine tradition of scholarship attested
to in his work can be attributed to his train-
ing at Hopkins.
— Randall P. Donaldson
Loyola College in Maryland
1
"Tested as by Fire: The Seminar Tradition at
Johns Hopkins," Arts & Sciences Update, 5
(Winter/Spring 2003), 2, 16-21.
2
see also Augustus J. Prahl, "Germans Scholars
at the Johns Hopkins University," Report 30
(1950), 67-72
Notes
—43—
House-warming Party for newly-built Fischer family home on Bird River Road, 1933