The College was named for the second Earl of Dartmouth, a fervent supporter of Reverend Eleazar Wheelock's efforts to found the College, College President James Wright said at the dinner. The second Earl of Dartmouth donated the initial 50 for the establishment of the school and helped Wheelock to obtain a 200 gift from King George III of England. The College was named after him in the hopes of securing additional support, Wright said.
Dartmouth received his title upon his father's death, around the same time that Wright was selected as president of the College.
Wright joked that he had told William Dartmouth that "his ancestor's original donation was the greatest naming-gift bargain in the history of philanthropy and the best investment in his family's history."
Wright and Dartmouth have been friends since 1998, when they met at a dinner in New York given in their honor, Wright explained.
"I was aware that President Wright would be retiring from [his] post at the end of June, and I wanted to come visit while he's still president," Dartmouth said in a College press release.
Dartmouth's visit was kept a secret until his introduction at the dinner.
"[It was] unexpected, but it was really nice to have someone with such a prestigious title and with such strong ties to Dartmouth come speak," Meghan Lawrie '09, who attended the dinner, said.
Dartmouth will meet with James and Susan Wright at their home today, in addition to taking a guided tour of the campus and attending a luncheon with members of the College's Hill Winds Society, according to the press release.
Dartmouth is the third Earl of Dartmouth to visit the College. The eighth and ninth earls visited in 1904 and 1969, respectively, the release said. William Dartmouth has visited once before, in 1970, although he did not hold his current title at that time.
"My family is immensely proud of the school's name, and I'm very much looking forward to visiting again," Dartmouth said in the release.
Former director of Athletics Dick Jaeger '59 followed Dartmouth's speech with a toast to the Class of 2009. Jaeger spoke on behalf of the Class of 1959, connected with the Class of 2009 as part of the Class Connections program between current classes and their 50-year predecessors.
