Hamilton Gazetteer / Entities / David Riddle Breed

The content of this site was generated automatically using Claude Code and Mnemotron-R, based on OCR data from Spectator (1947–2025) and other college archival materials hosted at the Internet Archive. It it intended as a proof of concept for the Mnemotron-R project, and has not been reviewed for completeness or accuracy by a human reviewer.

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person

Overview

David Riddle Breed was a Presbyterian minister, theologian, and educator who graduated from Hamilton College in the Class of 1867. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he pursued theological studies after Hamilton and became a prominent Presbyterian clergyman and seminary professor. He died in 1903.

Relevance to Research

Breed appears directly in the Hamilton College course catalogs. The 1865–66 catalog lists him as a Junior student under the name “Palmemore Breed” (OCR error for his middle name “Riddle”) from Pittsburgh, PA, in Dormitory Hall. The 1866–67 catalog confirms him in the Senior Class as “David Hippye Breed” (OCR rendering of “David Riddle Breed”), also from Pittsburgh, PA, in King Hall — confirming his graduation in the Class of 1867.

The post-1900 Hamilton Life and early 20th-century catalogs surveyed did not yield additional direct references to Breed in the portions examined, though the prize and endowment structures of the college during this period (1939–1944 catalogs surveyed) reflect the institutional context of his era.

Notes

The OCR rendering of Breed’s name is inconsistent across the two catalog appearances: “Palmemore Breed” (1865-66 Junior list) and “David Hippye Breed” (1866-67 Senior list) both render his actual name “David Riddle Breed.” The Pittsburgh, PA residence is consistent across both entries and confirms the identification. His death year of 1903 is established from external biographical sources; the corpus confirms his student years at Hamilton as 1865–1867.