"On 25 July 1861, Yale became the first university in America to award the PhD degree. The first three PhDs were in physics, philosophy and psychology, and classics. The recipient of the classics PhD, Morris Whiton, took his final examinations in four subjects, including Sanskrit. Between 1859 and 1861, Whiton had 'concentrated his course work in one subject under one instructor, spending two hours weekly studying Sanskrit with the famous specialist William D. Whitney.' That one of the first three PhDs in America was awarded to a Sanskritist reiterates the importance of Sanskrit in the new academic curriculum introduced at Yale and reflects the prominent role of Sanskrit in the development of American higher education."