Charles Seymour (January 1, 1885 – August 11, 1963) was an American academic, historian and the 15th President of Yale University from 1937 to 1951. As an academic administrator, he was instrumental in establishing Yale's residential college system. His writing focused on the diplomatic history of World War I.
Early life and education
Seymour was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Thomas Day Seymour, who taught classics at Yale, and Sarah Hitchcock Seymour. His paternal grandfather, Nathan Perkins Seymour, was the great-great grandson of Thomas Clap, who was President of Yale in the 1740s. His paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Day, was the grandniece of Jeremiah Day, who was Yale's president from 1817 through 1846. An ancestor of his mother, the former Sarah Hitchcock, was awarded an honorary degree at Yale's first graduation ceremonies in 1702.
Seymour was awarded a Bachelor of Arts at King's College, Cambridge in 1904; and he earned a second BA from Yale in 1908. He went on to earn a PhD from Yale in 1911. He taught history at Yale from 1911 though 1937, when he became president of the university.
Seymour was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1938 and the American Philosophical Society in 1939.
At age 52, Seymour succeeded James Rowland Angell as the university's 15th president in October 1937. After his retirement in July 1950, he would be succeeded by Alfred Whitney Griswold.
After his retirement as president, Seymour continued his involvement with the university as curator of the papers of Edward M. House at the Yale University Library.