The Bryant House
William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)
Advisory Dean: Ruth Alejandro, M.D. '03
House Color - Red
William Cullen Bryant, the son of a physician, was an editor, philosopher, poet, and lawyer, who substantively influenced the issues of his day through the power of his pen.
New York Medical College owes its founding in 1860, to the vision of a group of civic leaders led by Bryant, who were particularly concerned with condition of hospitals and medical education. They believed that medicine should be practiced with greater sensitivity to the patients. The school opened as the New York Homeopathic Medical College. Bryant subsequently served as president of the College’s Board of Trustees for more than a decade and was the medical school’s first president. The qualities of distinguished and broad leadership that Bryant demonstrated have been characteristic of all William Cullen Bryant medal awardees.
In 1827, he became Assistant Editor of the New York’s Evening Post, a newspaper founded by Alexander Hamilton. Within two years, he was Editor-in-Chief and a part owner. He remained the Editor-in-Chief for half a century (1828–78). Eventually, the Evening-Post became not only the foundation of his fortune but also the means by which he exercised considerable political power in his city, state, and nation.