Edward Benjamin Cushing

Edward Benjamin Cushing was born in Houston, Texas to E.H. and Matilda Cushing. His father was an outspoken Southern Democrat and owner of The Telegraph, a Houston newspaper.[1] He graduated from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now known as Texas A&M University, in 1880.

He worked as a civil engineer for Southern Pacific Railroad after graduation and served in the U.S. Army. He also served as chief secretary of the Association of Ex-Cadets.[2] He was appointed to the Board of Directors for the school in 1912, only a year before assuming its presidency.[3]

Later, he personally bankrolled the fledgling Texas A&M University while Chairman of the Board of Regents in 1912.[4] His money and campaign prevented a Texas A&M consolidation with the University of Texas at Austin.

In 1888, he married Florence Abbey Powars.[3]

In March 1904, his brother was kidnapped for ransom in West Texas and taken across the border to Mexico.[5]

He died in Houston in 1924. At the time of his death, he was a bank receiver for First National Bank in Granger, Texas.[3]

In 1930, a library was built at Texas A&M University in memory of Cushing. This represented the first freestanding library on the Texas A&M campus. The Sterling C. Evans Library was constructed in 1968 and became the university's primary library, but the Cushing Library remained as a repository of important university archives.[4]