Aloysius Varsi
President of Santa Clara University (1830-1900)

Rev. Aloysius Varsi, SJ, (9 March 1830 – 27 November 1900) was an American educator and college president.
Varsi was born in Cagliari, Sardinia, and entered the Society of Jesus, an order of the Roman Catholic Church, on May 2, 1845. He was educated at St. Teresa's College in Cagliari, and he went to Turin, Toulouse and Vals for advanced training in literature and philosophy. Shortly afterward, he continued studies of physics and higher mathematics at the University of Paris.
In 1861, Varsi sailed to the United States and studied theology in Boston, Massachusetts, where he also taught physics and chemistry. He moved to California in 1865 and took up a professorship in physics at Santa Clara College; two years thereafter he was assigned the presidency (1868–1876). During his tenure, the original chapel was destroyed in an earthquake, and a large new theatre building, Exhibition Hall, replaced the old edifice.
After 1876, Varsi was assigned to St.
“Aloysius Varsi” enters the record as president of Santa Clara University (1830-1900). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Aloysius, Varsi and President can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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