Happy Birthday COL Thayer

On This Day June 9, 1785, we celebrate the birthday of COL Sylvanus Thayer USMA 1808. Also known as “the Father of West Point”, COL Thayer was an early advocate of engineering education in the United States. He graduated from West Point in 1808 and served a 16-year tenure as the fifth superintendent of the Military Academy from 1817 to 1833. Under Thayer’s stewardship, the academy became the nation’s first college of engineering. His monument stands near Washington and Jefferson roads, just up the steps from the Beat Navy tunnel on the northwest corner of The Plain. Read more about Thayer’s legacy in the Summer 2017 issue of West Point Magazine.