Thomas Reed's History of the College
While a number of attempts have been made to record the history of the College, one of the most
colorful is Thomas Reed's. As Steven Brown, Head, University Archives and Records Management, notes, "from his arrival as a freshman in 1885
until his death as University Registrar Emeritus in 1950, Thomas Reed was devoted to the
University of Georgia and its history. With his retirement in 1945, he was free to devote his time to drafting
a monumental history of the institution, drawing on years of research in the
archives and conversations with university personnel and alumni.
Admitting that few could read his handwriting and fearing that his health was
failing, Reed eventually decided to abandon further revision to his manuscript
and began typing his narrative. In the spring of 1948 he presented his
typescript to the University, admitting to President Harmon Caldwell, 'It is not
such as I would call anything like a finished piece of work, but it may do some
good to file it away.'
With over 4000 pages of detailed information and anecdotes, the history was far
from "filed away", becoming a popular research tool in the Hargrett Rare Book
and Manuscript Library's Georgia Room. In 2002 the Digital Library of Georgia
scanned the Georgia Room copy of the typescript, making Reed's history available
to a wide audience through the GALILEO database."
Reed's entire history of the University of Georgia, including his impression of the history of the College of Pharmacy (Chapter XII) is now available online at The Digital Library of Georgia.
