1910 American University Rankings

The first attempt to rank universities in America was conducted by J. McKeen Cattell, a psychology professor at Columbia University. He published a 600-page work, American Men of Science. Although mainly a biographical dictionary, Cattell grouped the names by institution, beginning with the 2nd edition in 1910. He calculated both overall rankings and departmental rankings based on the number of eminent men (and women) in science affiliated with American universities and government agencies.

Cattell was the first professor of psychology in the United States, receiving an appointment at the University of Pennsylvania; he later moved to Columbia. Upon his death, the New York Times saluted him as "the dean of American science."

Overall Ranking 1910:
1. Harvard
2. University of Chicago
3. Columbia
4. Yale
5. Cornell
6. Johns Hopkins
7. Wisconsin
8. U. S. Geological Survey
9. Dept. of Agriculture
10. MIT
11. Michigan
12. California
13. Carnegie Institute
14. Princeton
15. Stanford
16. Smithsonian
17. Illinois
18. Pennsylvania
19. Bureau of Standards
20. Missouri

It's worth pointing out that in 1910 the University of Chicago was 18 years old. (It had been founded in 1892.) Harvard was 270 years old.

1910 Overall Rank

1910 Subject Rank

Source:
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark%3A%2F13960%2Ft9x060c2t;page=root;seq=63;view=1up;size=100;orient=0;num=589