100 years ago today American University conferred its first degrees – two PhDs and one MA. The recipients Junius Sidney Cates, Morton Oscar Cooper, and Elbert Clyde Lathrop were all employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Junius Sidney Cates, an investigator in the Office of Farm Management, received a PhD in agricultural economics. The title of his dissertation was “Some Investigations on the Weed Problem in American Agriculture.”

Elbert Clyde Lathrop, a biochemist in the Bureau of Plant Industry, received a PhD in chemistry.  The title of his dissertation was “A Chemical Study of the Organic Nitrogen Compounds of Soils and Fertilizers.”

Morton Oscar Cooper, a scientific assistant in the Office of Farm Management, received a MA in Agriculture.  The title of his thesis was “Economic study of the production of beef in the Corn Belt States.”

1916 Degree Recipients