Robert Fulton was born on June 28, 1826, in Alexandria, Virginia. When he was quite young, his father died and the family was left in poverty. Fulton’s mother supported herself and her young son by teaching and running a boarding house. Beginning around 1838, Fulton worked as a page in the United States Senate, which enabled him to contribute to the family income and begin saving for his own education. The position ended when Fulton turned 16, leaving him in need of employment. After several false starts, including an attempt at studying medicine independently, Fulton decided on a career at West Point. In preparation he enrolled at Georgetown College. While at Georgetown, Fulton discerned his vocation to the priesthood. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in Frederick, Maryland on August 31, 1843. On the same day, his mother also entered the consecrated religious life at the Convent of the Visitation, Georgetown.

In the following years, Fulton alternated between his own studies and teaching. He was ordained on July 25, 1857, and came to Boston in March of 1861. He settled in Boston in 1863.

Fulton’s official tenure at Boston College began with its opening in 1864. After serving as an instructor and the college’s first prefect, he became the third president of Boston College (1870-1880). Fulton is remembered as the president under whom BC had its first graduating class. He was also instrumental in the formation of the Young Men’s Catholic Association of Boston College (later of Boston) and the expansion of the college.

Fulton was well-liked and respected by his own Jesuit community and the college community, as well as the broader community of Boston. At a retirement banquet given for Fulton by the YMCA in 1880, Governor John D. Long and Mayor Frederick O. Prince each spoke in his honor. Also present was Fulton’s friend and editor of the Pilot, John Boyle O’Reilly, who composed and read a tribute poem entitled “The Empty Niche.”

Fulton returned to the position of president for three additional years in 1888, serving until 1891. He died four years later in 1895.

Source:

Dunigan, David R. A History of Boston College. Milwaukee, WI: Bruce Publishing Co., 1947.