Background
Hopkins was born in Augusta, Georgia.
Hopkins was born in Augusta, Georgia.
He graduated from Emory College in 1859, where he was a brother in the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, and from Georgia Medical College in 1861.
He returned to Emory to teach natural science, and then physics at Birmingham-Southern College (then known as Southern University), before returning to Emory and becoming vice president in 1882 and president in 1885. Hopkins" interest in technological development led him to be chosen as the president of Georgia Technical, then called the Georgia School of Technology, in 1888. Hopkins resigned from Georgia Technical in 1896 to serve the church full-time.
One of the two pillars comprising the Haygood-Hopkins Memorial Gateway, informally known as Emory University"s "front door," is named for Hopkins.
The pillar"s inscription says of Hopkins, "A pioneer in technical education, he was one of the builders of the New South." lieutenant was dedicated in 1937.
