WPI’s First Valedictorian: Henry Prentiss Armsby, Class of 1871

The youngest member to enroll in WPI’s inaugural class, Henry Prentiss Armsby was a serious student whose dedication to academics earned him the nickname “The Professor” among his classmates. He commuted daily from his home in Millbury, Mass., and spent little time on athletic or social activities, preferring to immerse himself in his studies. His dedication was rewarded by Principal Charles O. Thompson at the Institute’s first commencement, where he was recognized as the graduate with the highest average examination score.

After graduation, Armsby accepted a position in the Chemistry Department, becoming WPI’s first alumnus employee. He would leave Worcester the following year to continue his education. Armsby spent time at Leipzig University in Germany before earning a doctoral degree from Yale, under the direction of the esteemed agricultural scientist Samuel W. Johnson. After earning his doctorate, he declined an offer of a professorship in South Africa, telling his mentor Thompson in a letter that he preferred to stay as the newly appointed chemist at the Storrs Agricultural School (now the University of Connecticut) to complete his current research. That research, published in 1880, was titled “A Manual of Cattle Feeding: A Treatise on the Laws of Animal Nutrition.”

Armsby’s work revolutionized agricultural practices and led to the development of Agricultural Experiment Stations across the United States. In 1887, he was selected to organize and direct the Pennsylvania State College Agricultural Experimental Station, which he led until his death. In this role, he made his most important contribution to agriculture, developing the Armsby Respiration Calorimeter in 1899. This device monitored an animal’s metabolism to determine the net energy of food used to produce meat or milk for human consumption.

When he arrived in College Station, Pa., Armsby found a “struggling little school” with an enrollment of only 68 pupils and less than 200 living alumni. When he died 34 years later, the school had earned a reputation as one of the leading agricultural research institutions in the world, all made possible via the work of WPI’s first valedictorian. Upon learning of his death in 1921, WPI recognized Armsby by awarding him the Institute’s first honorary doctorate degree.