Class of 1900 student from Persia
Two women who attended courses at Davidson in 1909.
Davidson's first Chinese student
Captain of the Wrestling Team in 1948-1949
Unofficial coeducation began at Davidson in the 1860s with the daughters of Davidson College President John Lycan Kirkpatrick attending courses.
Jules Claude DuFour (Class of 1890) is believed to be the first international student at Davidson. DuFour was from Switzerland.
By the 1890s, more women were attending classes "by courtesy" of the faculty, not as actual students. Among these women were Blanche Dupuy, Lucy Martin and Annie Brown.
Ahabeg David Yonan (Class of 1900) is the first recorded Persian student to enroll at Davidson. Yonan played football while at Davidson and tragically died in 1900 in a drowning accident while attempting to save another swimmer.
Annie Brown took courses for four years at Davidson and completed all the requirements for the A.B. degree. However, Davidson did not grant degrees to women at this time. Instead, in May 1901, she was given a certificate stating that she had completed all of the degree requirements.
According to the 1909 Quips and Cranks, Miss Bertha Fleming was pursing the A.B. course of study, while Miss Susan Summers pursued a B.S. degree. These women were following in the footsteps of Brown and Summers, undertaking the degree course of study, without receiving a formal degree. Nevertheless, these women were the first acknowledged in the college annual.
Other Persian students in the early 20th century included Michael Maryosip (Class of 1911), Joash Yohannan (Class of 1911), William Sayad (Class of 1917), and Norman Baba (Class of 1921). In 1916, there were 9 students who came to Davidson from China--all Americans and sons of missionaries. In the class of 1925, there were missionary sons from Japan and China as well.
Paul C. Meng (Class of 1921) was perhaps the first Chinese student at Davidson. Meng was from Peking, China. Chang-Kan Chien (Class of 1925), also from Peking, China, attended Davidson for only 1 year and then transferred to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and graduated from there.
In the 1920s, women began being listed by name in the college catalog as having attended classes. Mostly local individuals, women attended courses at Davidson both in the academic year and in the summer. Many of these women began their academic careers at Davidson and later transferred to other institutions that would grant them degrees.
William Saul Gershowitz (Class of 1931) from New London, Connecticut was likely the first Jewish student at Davidson.
Latinx students begin attending Davidson, including Hyacinth Gomez from Orange, Texas; D. Santiago from Puerto Rico; Miguel Antonio Munoz from San Juan, Puerto Rico; Manuel Vincinte Azpurua from New York, N.Y.; Herbert Meza from Tampa, Florida; Virgil Pino from Tampa, Florida; and R.S. Garcia from Utuado, Puerto Rico.
James M. Jung from Kannapolis, NC and Lan Pan from Kweichow, China are two examples of Asian students at Davidson during this time period. James "Jimmy" Jung was a standout on the wrestling team.
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