David Starr Jordan

David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was an American ichthyologist who served as the founding president of Stanford University from 1891 to 1913. He was previously the president of Indiana University from 1885 to 1891.

Jordan was also a strong supporter of eugenics, and his published views expressed a fear of "race-degeneration", asserting that cattle and human beings are "governed by the same laws of selection". He was an antimilitarist since he believed that war killed off the best members of the gene pool, and he initially opposed American involvement in World War I.

Early life and education

Jordan was born in Gainesville, New York, and grew up on a farm in upstate New York. His parents made an unorthodox decision to educate him at a local girls' high school. His middle name, Starr, does not appear in early census records, and was apparently self-selected; he had begun using it by the time that he was enrolled at Cornell. He said that it was in honour of his mother's devotion to the minister Thomas Starr King but also due to his admiration for the night sky which he expressed at a young age.

He was inspired by his teacher Louis Agassiz to pursue his studies in ichthyology. In the mid-19th century Agassiz was incomparably influential and trained "nearly all" of the leading naturalists in the United States. Simultaneously, according to historian Donald Yacovone, "His revulsion for African Americans and his insistence on their inherent inferiority knew no limits. The influence of [Agassiz's] damaging ideas cannot be overestimated." Jordan was part of the first freshman class of undergraduates at Cornell University, where he graduated in 1872 with a master's degree in botany.