Doctor Mallory Mulhouse was president at the University of Chicago in the early 1920s.
Biography[]
Mallory Mulhouse introduced Founding Fathers Day to the University of Chicago, an event of patriotic activity and speeches. In 1922, Mulhouse made it compulsory for students taking English or history courses, Indiana Jones included, to write a paper on the Founding Fathers or fail the class.[1]
As a prank, Jones chose to hang and exhibit four effigies of the Founding Fathers, a representation of his paper "The Nature of American Patriots and Traitors", but his intent was misconstrued and he found himself in front of a committee headed by Mulhouse.[1]
Professor Ted Conrad managed to dissuade Mulhouse from withholding Jones's records and Mulhouse settled for verbal and written apologies, allowing Jones to go on to attend the Sorbonne. However, the incident strained Mulhouse and Conrad's relationship, and Conrad was refused tenure leading to his contract not being renewed.[1]
Mulhouse had retired by 1927 when Jones looked to teach at Chicago, but he discovered that the "Hanging Heroes" incident (as the press had called it) had led to his name being put on a list of those unemployable by the university.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
In real life the actual president of the University of Chicago at the time was Harry Pratt Judson, who held the position from 1906–1923.[3]
