Fulton, Robert, 1826-1895

Robert Fulton was born in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 28, 1826. When he was quite young, his father died and the family was left in poverty. Fulton’s mother supported herself and her young son by teaching and running a boarding house. Beginning around 1838, Fulton worked as a page in the United States Senate, which enabled him to contribute to the family income and begin saving for his own education. The position ended when Fulton turned 16, leaving him in need of employment. After several false starts, including an attempt at studying medicine independently, Fulton decided on a career at West Point. In preparation he enrolled at Georgetown College. While at Georgetown, Fulton discerned his vocation to the priesthood. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in Frederick, Maryland on August 31, 1843. On the same day, his mother also entered the consecrated religious life at the Convent of the Visitation, Georgetown. He was ordained on July 25, 1857, and returned to Georgetown where he taught until about 1861.

Fulton’s official tenure at Boston College began with its opening in 1864. After serving as an instructor and the college’s first prefect, he became the third president of Boston College (1870-1880). Fulton is remembered as the president under whom BC had its first graduating class. He was also instrumental in the formation of the Young Men’s Catholic Association of Boston College (later of Boston) and the expansion of the college. He was then appointed Provincial of the New York-Maryland Province, and served from about 1881 until 1887. He returned to Boston College to serve a second term as president, from 1888 to 1891. Unwell the rest of his life, Fulton went to California in the summer of 1895 and died there on September 4 of that year.