Almost 150 years after his death, the first president of the Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors—not to mention the namesake of a certain spot west of Charlottesville—received something of an overdue tribute.
The Lexington-based News-Gazette reports that a monument to Claudius Crozet, the French engineer once dubbed the "best mathematician in the United States" by Thomas Jefferson, was completed last week after it was first conceived roughly 70 years ago. Lettering on the monument was spaced to allow for a bronze medallion bearing Crozet’s likeness, and bronze was in high demand during World War II. After the monument and Crozet’s casket were moved from Preston Library to Crozet Hall at VMI, an alumnus and the director of the VMI Museum decided to complete the monument. A bit of history with local ties here.
