Tulane - the man behind the name

The connection between Princeton and Tulane University was forged long before Hurricane Katrina battered Louisiana's coastlines in early September and Princeton opened its gates to 25 Tulane students.

Just off Witherspoon Street, in the Old Graveyard section of Princeton Cemetery, lies the remains of Paul Tulane (1801-1887), a philanthropist, dry-goods merchant and long time resident. Tulane, who was born in Cherry Valley, a nearby suburb, moved to New Orleans in 1822, where he accumulated a vast multi-million fortune. He returned to Princeton briefly in 1860 and purchased Lowrie house, President Tilghman's current residence.

According to Princeton lore, in the early 1880s Tulane briefly returned to Princeton and offered the University a large sum, with one stipulation: the College of New Jersey, Princeton's original name, would be changed to Tulane University. Princeton refused and in mid-1882, Tulane shifted his focus to New Orleans and offered the city one million dollars (worth about 19 million dollars today) for higher education, a fund which enabled the founding of Tulane University, according to the Tulane Alumni website.

Though Tulane's initial offer to Princeton has never been confirmed, Tulane allegedly harbored a grudge after the refusal and arranged for his tombstone to face away from the University (though he did make numerous contributions to local charitable causes, the First Presbyterian Church and the cemetery). Most of the tombstones in the Princeton cemetery face east but Tulane's looks to the north, with his back to Nassau Hall, according to a Princeton Alumni Weekly article by Wes Tooke in May, 1999.