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Issa Tanimura

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Issa Tanimura is believed to be Dickinson Law’s first international student.  Tanimura was born on May 1, 1866 in Hagi, Japan.  He attended school in Tokyo before leaving Japan for the United States, where he attended the Centenary Collegiate Institute in Hackettstown, New Jersey.

In 1887, Tanimura met the Rev. Dr. George E. Reed, who would become President of Dickinson College.  It was this meeting that led to Tanimura’s decision to devote his life to promoting Japanese-American relations.  Tanimura went on to attend Yale, before making the decision to attend Dickinson Law, likely having been influenced to do so as a result of his meeting with Reed.

Tanimura was secretary of his class during his senior year at Dickinson Law.  While attending Dickinson Law, Tanimura also organized a Japanese-themed carnival to raise funds for the Law Library.  The carnival was a huge success, expanding the Law Library’s collection to over 800 volumes.  The new additions to the Law Library were inscribed, and considered to be a part of the “Japanese Memorial Law Library.”

Tanimura graduated from Dickinson Law in 1892 and received his Certificate to Practice Law in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.  However, it appears that he never actually practiced law.  Instead, Tanimura returned to Japan, where he was appointed Commissioner of Commerce in 1893.  Tanimura continued, during his lifetime, to travel throughout the United States and Europe.  He also continued his lifelong goal of promoting Japanese-American relations, by unofficially serving as a resource, in Japan, of information regarding the American people.

At some point, Tanimura developed an interest in agriculture, specifically sheep husbandry.  He attended a Sheep Fair in 1908 in Ogden, New York, where he met the president of the Wool Association, who had first introduced sheep to Japan.  At this gentleman’s recommendation, Tanimura went on to become an Honorary Fellow in Agriculture at Cornell University.  The first sheep ranch opened in Japan in 1917.  By 1919, there were five ranches in existence.  However, due to a lack of interest on the part of the Japanese government, all but one sheep ranch was ultimately closed.  Nonetheless, Tanimura remained an authority on the topic of sheep husbandry, both in Japan and abroad.  Tanimura also successfully introduced Jersey cows and American grasses to Japan.

Tanimura was a successful author as well, co-authoring and editing many works.  Tanimura is probably best known for authoring General Horace Capron, The Friend of Japan, comprising of his research on the life of General Horace Capron, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, who introduced many modern farming practices to Japan.

Issa Tanimura passed away on February 4, 1961.  He was 94 years old.

Dickinson Law: Articles of Incorporation

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The exact fate of the Law School after Judge Reed’s passing in 1850 is unknown.  However, it appears that operation of the Law School was suspended for a period of time.  In 1862, Dickinson College conferred upon Judge James Hutchison Graham the Doctor of Laws degree and appointed him as Professor of Law.  However, it is not known whether law classes were held during Judge Graham’s tenure as Professor of Law.  Judge Graham passed away in the fall of 1882, and it does appear that at that time, there was no law school, and no law classes were being taught in relationship with Dickinson College.

In 1889, George Edward Reed was appointed President of Dickinson College.  On January 9, 1890, the Trustees of Dickinson College met.  At this meeting, Reed proposed:

That the President and Executive Committee be authorized to establish a law school in connection with the College if it can be done without expense to the institution, and that permission be granted to allow use of Emory Hall, or such portion of it as may be necessary for the purpose specified.

Burton R. Laub, The Dickinson School of Law:  Proud and Independent (1983)

The Trustees accepted the proposal, and on February 19, 1890, Articles of Incorporation were filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Cumberland County.  By Order of the Court issued on the same day, the Articles were approved, establishing The Dickinson School of Law as a corporation under the Corporation Act of April 29, 1874.  The Articles were then recorded as a Charter with the Recorder of Deeds.

The Articles of Incorporation/Charter sets forth the agreement between George Edward Reed and several individuals, who have become known as the Incorporators of the Law School.  Four of the Incorporators – Governor Andrew G. Curtin, William Penn Orbison, Nathaniel Barrat Smithers and James Patterson Sterrett – were students of Judge Reed.  More information about the Incorporators, including brief biographies, can be found in Burton Laub’s book, The Dickinson School of Law – Proud and Independent.

The original Articles of Incorporation/Charter sets forth, in pertinent part:

1st.  The name of the Corporation shall be – The Dickinson School of Law.

2d.  The purpose of the Corporation is to dispense instruction in the law of the United States and of the Several States of the Union – in international law – in political and Social Science and in allied sciences.

3d.  This instruction shall be dispensed, and the other business of the Corporation, transacted, in the Borough of Carlisle, State of Pennsylvania.

4th.  The Corporation shall be perpetual.

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8th.  The Corporation shall have power to appoint a dean and faculty of instruction and discipline and upon their recommendation, to confer appropriate degrees and Certificates of Scholarship on students of the School and others.

Certain provisions of the Charter were amended in 1941, but the above provisions, from the original Charter, remained the same.

Happy 100th Birthday Trickett Hall

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The first classes of The Dickinson School of Law were taught in an office out of Judge John Reed’s home.  After the Law School became incorporated in 1890, the Law School’s home became Emory Hall, formerly Emory Chapel.  The Law School rented the building from Dickinson College. 

However, the Law School quickly outgrew this space, and in 1916, the Board of Incorporators appointed a committee to study the feasibility of building a new space for the Law School.  Horace B. King, from the class of 1910, threw himself into the fundraising effort, and space for the new building was located at the intersection of College Street and South Street.  R. R. Markley, from Harrisburg, was hired as the architect for the building, which he designed to fit in with the colonial-style architecture prevalent in Carlisle.1

The new building was named Trickett Hall, after Dean William Trickett.  The dedication was originally slated for August of 1917.  However, construction was delayed due to World War I.  The building was ready for occupancy in January of 1918 and the formal dedication ceremony was held on August 16, 1918.

Trickett Hall was open for inspection by the public the day before the ceremony, and a smoker was held that evening in the student lounge.  The event was a cheerful one with “singing of the old college songs and popular war songs…” and “old graduates told of humorous incidents of their student days and in their later practice.”2

On August 16, 1918, the entire building was decorated with the flags of the Allied Nations.  In the morning, the first meeting of the Association of the Alumni was held in the building’s new assembly room.

In the afternoon, the official dedication ceremony took place.  Speeches were given by Justice S. B. Sadler of the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas, Justice Edward J. Fox of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and Dr. George Edward Reed, former President of Dickinson College and the Dickinson School of Law.  As part of the ceremony, “a massive mahogany chair, the gift of the alumni of Berks County,” was presented to Dean Trickett, “as a token of their love and respect for him.”3  The Star-Spangled Banner was sung, and the alumni posed for a photograph on the steps of Trickett Hall.

This building, erected largely through the generosity of its young alumni, guarantees the future of the School.  The men who erected this structure will never allow the school to fail. 

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Trickett Hall will never fail, never close its doors. 

Alumni and friends will see to that.  Long live Trickett Hall! 

Long live the noble body of loyal sons who by their generous giving have made possible the noble building which for a hundred years and more will continue to be the home of the Dickinson School of Law. 

~ Dr. George Edward Reed4

1 I highly recommend reading the architect’s incredible description of the building, which is included in Henry M. Bruner’s article, New Building at 21 Dick. L. Rev. 293 (1916).  The full-text of this article is available through our digital repository, Dickinson Law IDEAS.
2 Trickett Hall, 23 Dick. L. Rev. 1, 4 (1918).
3 Trickett Hall, 23 Dick. L. Rev. 1, 6 (1918).
4 For further information about the dedication ceremony, as well as the full text of the speeches given by Justice Sadler, Justice Fox and Dr. Reed, please check out our digital repository, Dickinson Law IDEAS.
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