Thomas gave professorships in mathematics and in physics to express "the debt of gratitude" he owed Henry Burchard Fine and Cyrus Fogg Brackett "as teachers and friends."
At the same time, Gwethalyn endowed a chair in chemistry in memory of her father and another in mathematical physics in honor of her uncle.
Princeton University in 1927 appointed him Director of Research at the Palmer Laboratory and Cyrus Fogg Brackett professor, but he resigned in 1930 to become the president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Perhaps the most controversial holder of the professorship was William Happer, who received many honors and awards, including 1996 election to membership in the National Academy of Sciences and the 2000 Davisson-Germer Prize.
According to New York Times reporter Lisa Friedman, Dr. Happer "gained notoriety for claiming that the greenhouse gases contributing to warming the planet are beneficial to humanity" and, in a 2014 interview, for comparing efforts to curb fossil fuels to "the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler".