University Museums
Iowa State University
290 Scheman Bldg.
Ames, Iowa  50011
515.294.3342
Fax: 515.294.7070

 

150 Legacies Reveled!

 

The concept of legacy—doing or creating something by which we are remembered—is inherent in all of us, although realized in very different ways.  Some strive vigorously throughout their lifetimes to craft their legacies.

Others move spontaneously through life and simply allow their legacies to flower on their own.

Still others have their legacies thrust upon them—by being the first or the last, the oldest or youngest, the most visible, the luckiest, or even the most unusual.

Legacies take many forms, from writing great literature to inventing the next miracle drug to serving as the most recognizable symbol of a university.  For some, children or home or community or a specific action are their legacies.  For others, the word means an entire body of work; in the case of Iowa State, one’s legacy may be an entire lifetime of teaching or research or service.

Some of the legacies noted here are well-known.  Think of Grant Wood’s paintings, Aldo Leopold’s writings, George Washington Carver’s experiments, or Carrie Chapman Catt’s suffrage activities.  Other legacies may have been temporarily lost or have gone virtually unrecognized, but now claim their rightful place as we contemplate how Iowa State came to be the institution that it is.

Since we all make legacies, this sesquicentennial collection of material touches upon only a tiny number of those people and things that have shaped the Iowa State family and community during the past 150 years.

Throughout this year of celebration, Iowa State University Museums join the institution in remembering and commemorating all of these legacies because they allow us to be more thoughtful about the past, to imagine the future, and to make it better.

What is your legacy?

 

Click the links below to explore the 150 selected legacies in PDF format.

A - C

D - G

H - L

M - P

R - T

V - W