Rice . . . I Had *No* Idea!

To most folks, rice is something that you eat in Asian restaurants.

To me, rice is something that I’m not allowed to eat on my diet. But it’s also something else.

Being from Texas, Rice to me is also a university located in Houston (one of my four hometowns). I’d known about Rice for years, but what I hadn’t know was how it got started.

It’s AMAZING.

I doubt that any other university in the world has been founded in quite this way.

Read The Frightful Tale Of The Founding Of Rice University!

(They should make a movie about this or something.)

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

4 thoughts on “Rice . . . I Had *No* Idea!”

  1. Fascinating story, but one detail mentioned in the timeline puzzles me:
    in 1896, Rice’s second wife died and her will “laid claim to half of Rice’s estate” (or words to that effect). I’ve never heard of “claiming” anything in a will – it exists so that you can dispose of your own assets. Or does Mrs. Rice’s will blithely attempt to dispose of assets not her own? And since she predeceased her husband anyway, why should this be tied up in court for several years?

  2. Dear Jimmy,
    Rice is my alma mater; 1987. There is a film about the story. It’s called “The Trust” (Killgore films, or something like that). It was originally produced as a stage play. The film stars (LOL) Karen Black of “Trilogy of Terror” fame. I have to admit that I’ve never seen it, but DVD’s are available. I think you should have Steve review it for your site!
    BTW, I think the original charter drawn up for “Rice Institute” by WMR stated that the school was to be an educational institution of higher learning for “white males of Harris County.” I’ve never read charter, so that may be one of those myths, but I don’t think so. Anyone thinking of sending their children to Rice and desiring a candid opinion of the school and of Houston is welcome to contact me.
    Chris

  3. Being a former Baker Botts attorney, this has always been one of my favorite stories. Capt. James Addison Baker, a descendant of the Baker for whom the firm is named, served as Rice’s lawyer. The case was a true “Trial of the Century” (or in this case, Turn of the Century), and this is one case where you’d swear it had to be fictional. I mean, how many times have you heard of a REAL Perry Mason moment where the killer breaks down on the stand, and it turns out the butler did it?!

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