{"id":57609,"date":"2025-09-12T10:29:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T14:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=57609"},"modified":"2025-12-15T14:30:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T19:30:31","slug":"willard-straight-bio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A Dashing Personality\u2019: Remembering Willard Straight 1901"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The hall’s namesake launched the precursors to both Dragon Day and Slope Day, wed the love of his life, and died in his late thirties<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Throughout the 2025\u201326 academic year, the University is celebrating the Straight’s centennial\u2014and <\/em>Cornellians is joining in the festivities with a series of stories (plus a few articles from our backlist)<\/em><\/em>, trivia quizzes, photo features, and more! <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

\"The<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Storytime with Corey” on Dorothy Straight <\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u2022 Crossword puzzle<\/a><\/em><\/strong> \u2022 Visual quiz<\/em><\/a> \u2022 Building history<\/a><\/em> \u2022 The Stump<\/a> \u2022 Straight Cookies<\/a> \u2022 Trivia quiz<\/a> \u2022 Willard & Dorothy’s love letters<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Beth Saulnier<\/strong> & Alexandra Bond \u201912<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than a century ago\u2014on December 1, 1918\u2014Willard Straight 1901 passed away in France from complications of the Spanish flu, shortly after the armistice that ended World War I. Just 38, he left behind three small children and a heartbroken widow, who resolved to fulfill the charge he\u2019d left her in his will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cMy wife, Dorothy Payne Whitney Straight, is to be unrestrained in the possession and enjoyment of my entire property and estate,\u201d the document read. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI nevertheless desire her to do such thing or things for Cornell University as she may think most fitting and useful to make the same a more human place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was Dorothy, an heiress and member of the prominent Whitney family, who conceived the idea of a building devoted to the nonacademic pursuits that enrich student life. Willard Straight Hall, one of the nation\u2019s first student unions, opened on November 18, 1925.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Willard
With wife Dorothy.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the intervening decades, generations of Cornellians have gathered within the Straight\u2019s Gothic walls of Llenroc stone to dine, meet, chat, perform, play, study, or just hang out. Along the way, they may have gotten glimpses into the man who made the building possible\u2014most prominently, the advice to his son that\u2019s carved over the Memorial Room fireplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHold your head high and keep your mind open,\u201d it reads in part. \u201cYou can always learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elaine Engst, MA \u201972, the University\u2019s archivist emerita, has done extensive research on Straight\u2019s life. \u201cI always thought he would make a great movie,\u201d she says. \u201cHis story has everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I always thought he would make a great movie. His story has everything.<\/p>\nUniversity Archivist emerita Elaine Engst, MA \u201972<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The son of schoolteachers, Willard Dickerman Straight was born into modest circumstances in the Upstate New York city of Oswego in 1880. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was an orphan by age 10, both his parents having died of tuberculosis; he and his younger sister were then brought up by two women (one was among America\u2019s first female physicians) who were friends of the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brilliant and artistically talented but prone to mischief and insubordination, Straight was expelled from school at 15; after being accused of misbehavior in study hall, he vehemently denied it and refused to submit to a caning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Willard<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Willard<\/figure>\n
Straight with his younger sister, and in his military school uniform.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

His guardians sent him to military school\u2014and surprisingly, he thrived there, even pondering West Point before matriculating at Cornell as an architecture student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDevoted as he was to his work, it formed only a small part of Willard\u2019s activities at college,\u201d Herbert Croly, a journalist and friend, observed in his 1925 biography of Straight. \u201cHe entered enthusiastically into all the varied social and other activities of which an American college is so fertile a mother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

He entered enthusiastically into all the varied social and other activities of which an American college is so fertile a mother.<\/p>\nBiographer Herbert Croly<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Straight pledged Delta Tau Delta, living in its chapter house for most of his Cornell career. He did sketches for the Widow<\/em>, a campus humor publication, and wrote articles for the Era<\/em>, a weekly magazine, becoming its editor-in-chief his senior year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He served as art editor of the Cornellian<\/em> yearbook, joined the Savage Club and Sphinx Head Society\u2014and, if all that weren\u2019t enough, he launched the precursor events of both Dragon Day and Slope Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Willard<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Willard<\/figure>\n
With friends on the Hill.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He was also, by all accounts, an all-around nice guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of his classmates describes the final impression made by Willard Straight upon his college contemporaries as that of an admirable companion,\u201d Croly wrote, \u201cclean and whole-hearted in all his occupations and pleasures, and a salient, even a dashing personality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite his major, Straight seems to have seriously considered a career in architecture only briefly, if at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

After graduation\u2014inspired by one of his faculty mentors and, as Engst wrote in the Cornell Chronicle<\/em>, \u201cembracing his own sense of adventure\u201d\u2014Straight spent the next decade in various positions in the Far East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They included working for the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs Service, as a Reuters correspondent during the Russo-Japanese War, as private secretary to an American diplomat in Korea, as the U.S. consul general in Manchuria, and for a consortium of American bankers promoting investment in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and Dorothy met in 1909.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He fell hard and avidly wooed her during a two-year courtship that mainly unfolded long distance, through letters and cables.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"A
His drawing of a professor.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(As Croly wrote: \u201cOnly by constantly communicating with her could he soothe his aching heart and render their separation tolerable.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The couple married in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1911.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Willard avidly wooed Dorothy during a two-year courtship that mainly unfolded long distance, through letters and cables.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They spent part of their honeymoon on the Trans-Siberian Railroad to China, where they lived for six months but were forced to leave due to the revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Settled in NYC, Straight worked for J.P. Morgan and then for the forerunner of the insurance giant AIG. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and Dorothy also devoted themselves to progressive causes, including co-founding the New Republic<\/em> magazine with Croly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a
The couple\u2019s honeymoon scrapbook, with Willard’s artistic embellishments.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The couple had three children, all of whom would grow up to have extraordinary lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whitney became a Grand Prix race car driver and World War II flying ace; Beatrice won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the 1976 film Network<\/em>; and Michael was a magazine editor and novelist who later in life confessed that he\u2019d been recruited as a spy for the KGB during his student days at Cambridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
With his family before he left for WWI.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n

When World War I broke out in Europe, Straight became involved with the movement to prepare America for what many saw as its inevitable entry into the conflict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although he could have served his country in a diplomatic capacity, he insisted on volunteering for the Army; commissioned as a major, he went to France in 1917 to direct the Bureau of War Risk Insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the war was ending in late 1918, Straight stayed in Paris to assist with peace negotiations, writing Dorothy to ask her to bring the children and join him.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A guide to her papers in Kroch Library, compiled onto microfilm in 1981, sums up what happened next:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn November 17, 1918, Willard wrote, \u2018Dear Beloved, are you coming? This is all I\u2019m thinking of\u2014I love you everywhere. Your Willard.\u2019 It was his last letter to his wife. Willard Straight died of pneumonia on December 1, 1918, before his family could leave for France.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Dear Beloved, are you coming? This is all I\u2019m thinking of\u2014I love you everywhere.<\/p>\nWillard<\/strong>, in his final letter to Dorothy<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Dorothy was devastated\u2014and she channeled her grief into fulfilling one of Straight\u2019s final wishes, carefully crafting her bequest to Cornell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe actually did a lot of research,\u201d Engst says. \u201cShe traveled around to other universities to see what they had\u2014that\u2019s where she came up with the idea for a student union.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Willard
At work for the army in 1917.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Seven years after Straight\u2019s death, Dorothy remarried, to another Cornellian. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had met Leonard Elmhirst 1921 during the process of establishing her gift to the University, and his insights helped her refine her vision for the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They ultimately relocated to his native England, where they restored a 14th-century estate, founded a progressive school, and had two children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Willard
Willard and Dorothy, in happier times.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In The Straight and its Origins<\/em>, published the year after his death in 1974, Elmhirst described Dorothy\u2019s hopes for how the hall might serve the school that Willard had so loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMrs. Straight visualised this building as a place where every student might begin to explore the ins and outs of his or her own make-up,\u201d he wrote. \u201cShe knew well how the imagination can begin to bud, and to blossom, in the process of exploring friendships, at leisure or in private.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Top: Photo illustration by Ashley Osburn \/ Cornell University. All images courtesy of Rare and Manuscript Collections.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published September 12, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The hall’s namesake launched the precursors to both Dragon Day and Slope Day, wed the love of his life, and died in his late thirties<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":58226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[45954,18397,21191],"footnotes":""},"categories":[224],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-57609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cornelliana"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018A Dashing Personality\u2019: Remembering Willard Straight 1901 - Cornellians | Cornell University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The hall's namesake launched the precursors to both Dragon Day and Slope Day, wed the love of his life, and died in his late thirties\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018A Dashing Personality\u2019: Remembering Willard Straight 1901 - Cornellians | Cornell University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The hall's namesake launched the precursors to both Dragon Day and Slope Day, wed the love of his life, and died in his late thirties\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cornellians | Cornell University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Cornellians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-12T14:29:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-15T19:30:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/willard-straight_2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beth Saulnier\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@WeCornellians\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WeCornellians\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beth Saulnier\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beth Saulnier\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018A Dashing Personality\u2019: Remembering Willard Straight 1901\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-12T14:29:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-15T19:30:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1424,\"commentCount\":18,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/willard-straight_2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Cornelliana\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u2018A Dashing Personality\u2019: Remembering Willard Straight 1901 - Cornellians | Cornell University\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/willard-straight_2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-12T14:29:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-15T19:30:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\"},\"description\":\"The hall's namesake launched the precursors to both Dragon Day and Slope Day, wed the love of his life, and died in his late thirties\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/willard-straight_2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/willard-straight_2.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"A portrait of Willard straight, on a green background, with images from his namesake building\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/willard-straight-bio\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018A Dashing Personality\u2019: Remembering Willard Straight 1901\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cornellians | Cornell University\",\"description\":\"Cornell's alumni publication\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\",\"name\":\"Beth Saulnier\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Beth Saulnier\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/author\\\/ess8\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018A Dashing Personality\u2019: Remembering Willard Straight 1901 - Cornellians | Cornell University","description":"The hall's namesake launched the precursors to both Dragon Day and Slope Day, wed the love of his life, and died in his late thirties","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018A Dashing Personality\u2019: Remembering Willard Straight 1901 - Cornellians | Cornell University","og_description":"The hall's namesake launched the precursors to both Dragon Day and Slope Day, wed the love of his life, and died in his late thirties","og_url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/","og_site_name":"Cornellians | Cornell University","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Cornellians","article_published_time":"2025-09-12T14:29:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-15T19:30:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/willard-straight_2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Beth Saulnier","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@WeCornellians","twitter_site":"@WeCornellians","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beth Saulnier","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/"},"author":{"name":"Beth Saulnier","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100"},"headline":"\u2018A Dashing Personality\u2019: Remembering Willard Straight 1901","datePublished":"2025-09-12T14:29:15+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-15T19:30:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/"},"wordCount":1424,"commentCount":18,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/willard-straight_2.jpg","articleSection":["Cornelliana"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/","url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/","name":"\u2018A Dashing Personality\u2019: Remembering Willard Straight 1901 - Cornellians | Cornell University","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/willard-straight_2.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-12T14:29:15+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-15T19:30:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100"},"description":"The hall's namesake launched the precursors to both Dragon Day and Slope Day, wed the love of his life, and died in his late thirties","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/willard-straight_2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/willard-straight_2.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"A portrait of Willard straight, on a green background, with images from his namesake building"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/willard-straight-bio\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018A Dashing Personality\u2019: Remembering Willard Straight 1901"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#website","url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/","name":"Cornellians | Cornell University","description":"Cornell's alumni publication","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100","name":"Beth Saulnier","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Beth Saulnier"},"url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/author\/ess8\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET","POST","PUT","PATCH","DELETE"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57609"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63789,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57609\/revisions\/63789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57609"},{"taxonomy":"cornell_year_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cornell_year_post?post=57609"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=57609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}