Still, Bayrd

From 1947-1987, Dr. Bayrd Still served New York University as an historian, archivist, teacher, and administrator. As an authority on urban history and urban development, Dr. Still’s interests and commitments extended beyond his academic research and the university to involve landmark preservation in New York City.

Bayrd Still was born on July 7, 1906, in Woodstock, Illinois. He completed all of his degrees in history at the University of Wisconsin; he received his bachelors and masters degrees in 1928 and 1929 respectively, and earned his Ph.D. in 1933. Before assuming his professorship at NYU, Still taught at Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Wisconsin, and Duke University.

From 1947-1974 Dr. Still was a professor at NYU in the department of history, for which he also served as chair from 1955-1970. In 1955 Still was appointed head of the undergraduate history department at University College as well as head of the graduate program of history. In 1957 he became head of the all-University department of history and remained so until 1970. Additionally, he served as acting dean for both the undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School of Arts and Science from 1958-1959, and again from 1959-1960. Throughout his teaching career, Still taught at both the University Heights campus and the Washington Square campus.

President James M. Hester established the Office of the Archivist in 1967, appointing Thomas C. Pollock as University Archivist, and Bayrd Still as Chair of the Advisory Committee on the History of New York University. The Committee provided advice on matters regarding the writing of the history of the University. When Pollock resigned in 1969, Still declined the position of University Archivist, continuing instead as chair of the Advisory Committee. He played a key role in the founding of the University Archives project until 1975, when he finally assumed the title of University Archivist.

Still was an authority on United States urban development and westward expansion. The courses he offered included "The History of the American City since 1820" and "The History of New York City." His publications include: Urban America: A History with Documents, Milwaukee, The History of a City, Mirror for Gotham: New York as Seen by Contemporaries from Dutch Days to the Present, and The West: Contemporary Records of America’s Expansion Across the Continent, 1609-1890 .

Still's interests in urban development were reflected in his commitments to projects that extended beyond the University. In 1961 Still served as supervisor for New York University graduate fellowships with the New York Community Trust, a landmarks marking project begun in 1956. In 1962 Mayor Robert F. Wagner appointed Still to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The duties of the commission included nominating sites to designate as landmarks and formulating the landmarks preservation law, which was eventually passed in 1965. Although Still resigned from the landmark commission in April of 1965, citing time constraints, he maintained a keen interest in the commission’s developments. Still also served on the Mayor's Task Force on Municipal Archives in New York. In 1975 he became the Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Brooklyn Rediscovery Project. He was a member of the New-York Historical Society, the American Studies Association, and the Society of American Historians. In the 1980s Still organized and conducted walking tours of NYU and Greenwich Village. Dr. Still died in Woodstock, Illinois, on November 19, 1992.

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From the guide to the Bayrd Still Papers, 1947-1983, (New York University Archives)

On August 28, 1981, the U.S. Postal Department honored the architect Stanford White, by depicting on a commemorative stamp the Gould Memorial Library, situated on what formerly was the Heights Campus of New York University. White was one of four architects honored in a block of four commemorative stamps, the third issue in an American Architecture series that began to be issues in 1979. The other architects honored in this block are Richard Morris Hunt, Bernard Maybeck, and Louis Sullivan. The National Building Museum, located in the historic Pension Building in Washington, D.C., was chosen as the site of the First Day of Issue Ceremony.

The selection of the Gould Memorial Library as the structure to be representative of the work of Stanford White was made by a committee presumably appointed by the Postal Department and without consultation with anyone from New York University, so far as can be determined. Once the decision had been made, Ms. Fran Feldman, of the Office of Stamps, U.S. Postal Service, called the office of the Dean of the Libraries, requesting pictures and a detailed description of the structure. This request was later referred to Bayrd Still, Director of the Archives Office [see Bayrd Still to Ms. Fran Feldman, April 1, 1981]. Bayrd Still represented New York University at the commemoration ceremony on August 28, 1981. Stanford White was represented by his great-granddaughter, Miss Elizabeth White.

Stanford White was born on November 9, 1853, in Manhattan. His mother wrote children's verse and his father, Richard Grand White, a graduate of New York University (A.B. 1839, A.M., 1842), was a literary, art, and music critic. Like his father, Stanford White was enamored with all aspects of art; he spent much of his life proving that he was able to design almost anything, including book covers, jewelry, parade decorations, and yacht interiors. He was apprenticed to renowned architect Henry Hobson Richardson at the age of 16, and in 1879, he founded the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White with Charles Follen McKim and William Rutherford Mead. By the end of the century, McKim, Mead & White was the largest architectural firm in the world, receiving nearly 800 commissions by 1909.

Stanford White maintained connections with New York University for most of his career. In 1881, he was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree. In 1892, as Chancellor MacCracken and the University Council were contemplating the move of the undergraduate college to the Heights from Washington Square, they asked Stanford White to estimate the cost of removing the Gothic University Building on the Square to the Heights. Rather than transplant the old building in the Heights, White instead designed a new NYU campus in what became University Heights. The realization of White's plan moved progressively to fruition from the late 1890's into the early 20th century. With a generous gift from Helen Gould, daughter of famed railroad tycoon Jay Gould, making the Gould Memorial Library possible, ground was broken on the occasion of the formal opening of the Heights Campus on October 19, 1895.

From the guide to the Stanford White Commemorative Stamp Special Collection, 1979-1982, (New York University Archives)

Samuel F.B. Morse was born in Charlestown, Mass., April 27, 1791. He began his association with the University of the City of New York (now New York University) at age 41. By this time he had an established reputation as an artist. Morse founded the National Academy of Design and presided over it since its inception in 1826. He lectured widely on art from 1826 to 1829. Morse left for Europe in 1829 and returned to New York in October, 1832. Within days he was appointed Chair of Sculpture and Painting at the University.

When the University Building on Washington Square opened in 1835, Morse rented space there for lodgings and to house a studio and laboratory for his experiments in photography and telegraphy. Morse left the University Building in 1841 but continued his association as professor of fine arts until his retirement in 1871. Although Morse's connection with the University has been described as "nominal," he maintained close contact with certain faculty members and emphasized his professorial connection. He died April 2, 1872, in New York.

From the guide to the Samuel F.B. Morse Papers, 1838-1984, undated, (New York University Archives)

Bayrd Still worked at New York University from 1947-1987 as an archivist and professor in the history department. He served as the University Archivist from 1975-1987 and delivered these lectures as part of the University's sesquicentennial celebration in 1982. The lectures were given in a series of four talks to the NYU community on March 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th of that year.

For more information on Dr. Still's teaching and scholarship, you may wish to consult the Bayrd Still Papers, also at the New York University Archives.

From the guide to the Bayrd Still Lectures on the Early History of New York University, 1982, (New York University Archives)