Early Success at UMD: Student
Harry Clifton Byrd entered the Maryland Agricultural College in the fall of 1905 at the age of sixteen. He completed his studies in 1908, graduating second in his class with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He was the youngest student to receive such a degree up to that time.
His athletic accomplishments almost overshadowed his academic achievement, however, and his social graces did not go unnoticed as well, with the yearbook staff remarking on his “fondness for impromptu tête-à-têtes.”
In 1956, in honor of the centennial of the founding of the Maryland Agricultural College, a special student committee recognized Byrd as one of the top ten alumni in the institution's first one hundred years.
Click below to view enlarged images
Byrd’s record in the Maryland Agricultural College’s entrance registers, 1905.
From the Records of the Office of Registration.
“The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape.” Byrd’s entry in the 1908 Reveille, the Maryland Agricultural College yearbook.
From the University Publications Collection.
Byrd’s diploma, 1908. He was salutatorian of his class.
From the personal papers of Harry Clifton Byrd.
