Hamilton Gazetteer / Entities / James Knox

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person

James Knox

Overview

James Knox (1807–1876) was a Hamilton College alumnus who entered with the class of 1830 but transferred to Yale before graduating. He later received an honorary LL.D. from Hamilton in 1862. Knox served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1853 to 1857 and is principally remembered at Hamilton for his posthumous bequest funding the remodeling of the college’s oldest building, which was named Knox Hall in his honor.

Relevance to Research

Knox appears in the corpus retrospectively, in connection with Knox Hall — the oldest building on campus, dating to 1812. The November 23, 1915 issue of Hamilton Life describes the building’s history and notes that “in 1885 the Hon. James Knox ‘30 bequeathed a fine sum to enlarge and refit the building as a Mineralogical Cabinet or Museum,” after which it became known as Knox Hall. The December 23, 1924 Hamilton Life contains a more detailed article about the planned remodeling of Knox Hall for administrative offices, which provides the most thorough biographical statement in the corpus: “James Knox entered with the class of 1830, but transferred to Yale. In 1862, he received from Hamilton a degree of LL.D.” The building named for him remained a recurring fixture in Hamilton Life coverage through the 1920s.

Notes

Role: U.S. Representative (Illinois); Hamilton benefactor
Key events: - Born 1807 - Entered Hamilton College with the Class of 1830; transferred to Yale - Served as U.S. Representative from Illinois, 1853–1857 - Received honorary LL.D. from Hamilton College, 1862 - Died 1876 - In 1885, his posthumous bequest funded the remodeling of the College’s 1812 Commons building into a mineralogical museum; the building was named Knox Hall in his honor - Knox Hall appears in Hamilton Life Nov. 23, 1915 (building history) and Dec. 23, 1924 (remodeling plans)

No dedicated source page; see Hamilton Life issues in corpus.