If you know the past, you can prepare yourself for the future

Museum

There is a white, wooden house at the campus. It is one of the numerous houses which constitute a rare specimen of the nineteenth century American architecture in Istanbul. But this old house differs from the others because here you can find the history of our University.  This house was also named as the 'Guest House of the Queens', because it was visited by Queen Maria of Romania with her daughter in 1917 and by the Queen of Yugoslavia in 1932. But now it is named after David Alexander Scott, the beloved son of the Scotts who lost his life in the turmoil of the Second World War. Here you can go through our past which we are proud of. The Museum will hold various documents, tapes and video cassettes for the researches.Furniture and documents bequeathed by the Scott family constitute the nucleus of the Museum.

Description of the Museum Building

This is a typical American suburban house. The house has an inner hall type plan. The main entrance is through the garden, and the connection between the floors is achieved by means of dogleg stairs. The double-hung windows have decorative wooden bands around the frames. The pitched roof is covered with French tiles. Above the entrance there is a canopy supported by carved wooden brackets. Inside, the furniture from the last century, the various ceramic plates and Japanese ceramics with Chinese figures are exposed.

The families who lived in the museum

Alexander Van Millingen 1840-1915

He was born in 1840 in Constantinople. He was Scotch of Dutch extraction and he was the son of a doctor, who must have come out to Türkiye in the early days of the 19. Century. He was physician at the Imperial Palace. The son A.v.M. was a scholar of the first order and he taught at Robert College for a great many years. He was formidable in his lectures but every one respected him for his erudition and his passion for accuracy in research. He was tall and spare and wore a rather scraggy moustache and his near-sighted eyes were almost hidden behind his thick pince-nez. His speech was always deliberate and sounded as though it flowed from the purest of classical fountaine.He was exceedingly broad-minded and possessed the ability of seeing the inner nature and the causes of things rather than judging them superficially. He was always energetic, active, strong and young-looking. He married Miss Cora Welch, daughter of a rich New Haven banker. He wanted a home for himself. He made an arrangement with the College to share in its construction. His 2 sons were the first students of Robert College. Although Van Millingen excelled as a teacher and theologien archeology was the most important field of his activity. With the help of the many languages which he had mastered, including Latin, and ancient Greek he had access to all the important works concerning his own field of study Byzantine Constantinople. He was never satisfied with the works of others. He collected scientific data on the field by reading inscriptions on the walls and in the churches and making accurate measurements and designs.He published his 2 masterpieces after painstaiking and conscientious work. These are: The books on the walls and churches of Byzantine Constantinople. Millingen's books many years after are still considered standard works on the subject. He wrote several scholarly books on the history and monuments of Istanbul. for his speciality was Byzantine times. When he died on 15 september 1915, he left a good many of his books to the institution he had served so long and it has formed the nucleus of the Library.

Eveline Scott 1889-1976

She was born on September 24.1889 in Rumelihisar. In the neighboring suburb of Bebek there was colony of English people with 10-15 families. There her parents met. During and after the Crimean War a number of English families established themselves in Türkiye. Her paternal grandfather, Alexander Thomson, the same name as her father was Scotch, born near Edinburgh. He had come to Türkiye as a naval engineer. Unfortunately he died early when her father was only 9. She went to public school in Portland, the Park School and later to Portland Academy.Her father died at the age of 42. Her mother, having still many relations in Türkiye, decided to return to Constantinople. She had a position at the American College for girls in skdar. Eveline graduated from the American College for Girls in 1909 with a AB degree. She wanted to be a teacher so she went to Cambridge in England. To the Training College, she was awarded an University Certificate in Education in 1910. She returned to Türkiye in 1910. She taught in a small community School for English children in English. From 1912 till 1914 she taught English at the American College for girls in skdar. In 1911 Harold Scott came as a tutor to Robert College. In 1915 H. Scott came to Columbia University for M.D. in History. On June 23 1920 they are married. On 18.Oct. 1924 their son David Alexander was born. They pass all their time in the service of Robert College. Eveline Scott was professor of English Literature and Harold Scott had many administrative missions at Robert College. When the occasion is present they made several travels and Eveline Scott was a passionated writer. She wrote essays, poems, sketches. The subject of the poems and essays were in general suburbs of Anatolia, or the quarter's of Istanbul that she loved. The one of the speech adressed at the Rumelihisar Women's League began by There are many ancient roads in Stamboul but we shall take one to explore. It is a road in many pleasant characteristics. Or in another speech my first view of Konya was from a train window, on my way south to Adana on early April morning. The sun was just touching the pale green poplar trees and the tips of minarets. And so on. She was an amator of Bronte family. She was very influenced by their novels and their life. n one of the speeches she said: My grandmother described so graphically the cold winds, the dark skies, the gruff ways of Yorkshire that I felt at home when I read Brontes. She was died in 1976. She left all the documents and a library of thousand books to Robert College. This consists of the nucleus of the museum. She was great friend of Türkiye. In one of her poems she wrote: When passion all is spent, and life is done, And I am doomed to sleep, as all men are, No bed could softer be, than that below The lovely cypress trees of skdar.

Harold Loran Scott 1889-1958

The young man who climbed the Aiyan Road in the company of young Floyd Black in the fall of 1911 didn'know that he will teach at Robert College longer than any other Amerrican in the history of the College. During his 41 years on the Faculty, he served as instructor, associate professor of history, principal of Robert Academy, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and American vice-president. He was 'Robert College'. He died in 1958. He was born in Bedford, Iowa in 1889. He received his early education in Japan where his father was a missionary in Osaka. He studied in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He graduated from Denison University in 1911 and promptly applied for a teaching position in Japan. That there were non openings at the time was fortunate for Robert College. . In June 1952 he was honoured by his Alma Mater, Denison University with a degree of Doctor of Laws. In presenting him for the degree his classmate Prof. Karl Eschman said: Dean Harold l. Scott of Robert College has made a very great contribution to the new Türkiye and to the relation between that relatively young country and the United States. He has helped scores of Young American College graduates in their new positions as instructors to become effective teachers. As an ambassador in the meeting of East and West at this important gateway of civilisation: as a citizen of the world engaged in international education; in a very real sense as a man with a high mission. I present Harold Lorain Scott, worthy candidate for the degree of Doctor of Laws. How is Dean Scott? Invariably asked of the traveller from the campus was long synonymous with 'How goes the College'. He was the Uncle of the students. He died in 1958 from a heart attack.

David Alexander Scott 1924-1944

He was born on October 18, 1924 in Istanbul. He grew up and and lived for 15 years in Türkiye and came back to U.S. to Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. He was active in basketball, tennis and soccer. He graduated from there and entered Princeton. He was an ardent athletic and exceptional student. He was enrolled in the Near-Eastern Program. He finished his freshmen year with honors and was in the first half of his sophomore year when he joined the service. Tragically he died on December 6, 1944 in France fighting up in front where he had always naturally taken place. The Museum is dedicated for his memory.

Dr. George Herbert Huntington 1878-1953

Born at Gorham, Maine in 1878 he received the BA degree at Williams College in 1900 and came out to Robert College as an instructor in English. He studied at Hartford Theological Seminary, at Columbia University Teacher's College and Union Theological Seminary. On 1916 he married Miss Elizabeth Wainwright Dodge, daughter of the President of the Board of Trustees of Robert College. During his 38 years at R.C he served as Principal of Robert Academy for 20 years and Vice-President for 16 years, acting president for 2 years, professors for 30 and professor emeritus until his death. Huntington's value as an educator extended far beyond the classroom. Hundreds of students were entertained at the Huntington House. For many years he was chairman of the committee on student aid. Unfortunately in 1934 he suffered an attack of poliomyelitis. Yet even during those days of forced retirement, he never lost contact with the College. A detailed correspondence he managed to keep abreast of such minute details as the conditions of buildings, the paths and gardens. He also continued his financial help to many students and provided the library with magazines and books to broaden the reading available to the students. He died in 1953. President Black described Dr. Huntington as one who devoted his life to doing well in society He recalled the line from one of the proverbs of Solomon which says: 'The path of the righteous is as a shining light." It seems to me President Black said: That this line characterizes his life and work

Elizabeth Dodge Huntington Clarke 1884-1976

She was born on August 10, 1884 at Greyston in Riverdale, New-York. Her father, Cleveland H. Dodge was the president of Trustees. Her great grand father William Earl Dodge had been one of the founders of the Syrian Protestant College, which later became the American University of Beirut. The Dodge family had built 3 buildings on Bebek campus: Theodorus Hall (1900) built by Miss Olivia Eggleston Stokes a niece of William E. Dodge: The gymnasium: (1903) built by William E. Dodge Jr., and his son Cleveland and Washburn Hall (1904) built by Mrs. William Dodge. On his visit Robert College she met George Huntington. They were married on July 27, 1916 and came to stanbul. During their 16 years of residence on the campus G. and E. Huntington made the problems of Robert College as their problems. They helped Robert College through many of its financial difficulties. She had also important responsabilities at YMCA. She was died in 1976. In 1977, the Board established the Elizabeth Dodge Huntington Clarke Prize, to be given annually to an intellectually outstanding student.