[2] He joined the Psi Upsilon but was suspended for a student prank at the end of his sophomore year.
Upon his return to the United States, he acted as a General Secretary to the American Geographical Society and edited the Syracuse Daily Journal.
With loans from Andrew Dickson White, Fiske at age 48 took a leave of absence and sailed to Europe.
In the summer of 1879, he visited Iceland for three months, traveling on the island with two other Americans and endearing himself to the residents by organizing donations of books from America.
He is buried next to his wife Jennie McGraw Fiske in the elaborate crypt of Sage Chapel at Cornell University.