Augustus B. Woodward Elias Brevoort Woodward (Augustus Brevoort Woodward) was born in New York in 1774 and was baptized on November 6 in a Reformed Dutch Church. He was the son of a New York merchant, John Woodward, who fought in the Revolutionary War. He entered Columbia College in 1789 when he was 15 years old. Elias Woodward changed his name from Elias to Augustus. His biographer, Arthur M. Woodford, describes Woodward as a prototype of Washington Irving's Ichabod Crane. He stood six feet three or four inches tall, and was thin, actually gaunt, and stooped. His complexion was sallow. His long, narrow face was dominated by a big nose. His only vanity was a generous crop of thick, black, hair. After graduating from Columbia with his A.B. degree in 1793, he took a job in Philadelphia where he was employed in the Treasury Department. He then moved to Virginia where he taught school, studied law, and met Thomas Jefferson. The two became close friends. Woodward practiced law in Washington, D.C., one of only 11 lawyers there at the time. One issue at the time was the rights of Washington D.C. citizens. Under the pen name Epaminondas, Woodward urged the passage of a constitutional ammendment to give these citizens the right to vote for President and Vice-President, senators and representatives; and the creation of a Territory of Columbia with an elected legislature. Jefferson appointed him as a federal judge and William Hull governor in the territory of Michigan in 1805. The two men bickered almost constantly. Woodward served on the Michigan Territorial Court from 1805-1824 and was its first chief justice. One of his legacies is the Woodward Code: a series of statutes serving as the basis of the Territorial Supreme Court legal procedures. Woodward arrived in Detroit to begin his judicial appointment on June 30, 1805. He He was 31 years old. He did not know that a fire had destroyed the city a few weeks prior, on June 11. Augustus Woodward was given the job of laying out a plan to rebuild the new city. He tackled the assignment energy and vision. Taking inspiration from Pierre Charles L'Enfant's concepts for the new capital city plan (Washington, D.C.), Woodward's plan attempted to live up to the new city motto, Speramus Meliora, Resurgit Cineribus "We hope for better days, it will rise again from the ashes". For the first time in Detroit's history, attention shifted fully from its river to its roads. Woodward proposed a system of hexaganol street blocks, with the Grand Circus at its center. Wide avenues, alternatively 200 feet and 120 feet, would emit from large circular plazas like spokes from the hub of a wheel. As the city grew these would spread in all directions from the banks of the Detroit River. When Woodward presented his proposal, Detroit had 500-1000 residents. The plan was abandoned after only 11 years. Woodward was the only one of the civil officers to remain in Detroit during the War of 1812. The British offered him the office of Secretary of the Territory, but he declined the offer. It has been said that Woodward was among the first to recognize the coming of the scientific age. In 1816, he published his seminal work, A System of Universal Science. With Reverend John Montieth and Father Gabriel Richard, Woodward drafted a charter for an institution he called the Catholepistemiad or the University of Michigania. On August 26, 1817 the Governor and Judges of the Michigan Territory signed the university act into law. This institution became the University of Michigan. It was ahead of its time. No mere charter, it was a detailed blueprint for the organization of a university. Woodward was also a Freemason. Augustus Brevoort Woodward died on June 12, 1827, at the age of fifty-two in the Territory of Florida. Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_B._Woodward