Would you believe it if we told you there was a tomb on Transy’s campus?
Inside Old Morrison — the big white building that faces West Third Street + is currently covered in pumpkins — is the tomb of early 19th-century professor Constantine Rafinesque.
We’re sharing with you the eerie tale of the man whose name has made a lasting impression on this historic Lexington university.
Fast facts
- Constantine Rafinesque, originally from Turkey, was a professor of botany and natural science at Transylvania University from 1819 to1826.
- During his time there, he published scientific names for thousands of plants + hundreds of animals, one of those being Rafinesque’s big-eared bat.
- Legend has it, Rafinesque often showed up late to classes or skipped them completely. He was eventually fired by then-college president Horace Holley.
Upon his departure, the eccentric naturalist said, “I took lodgings in town and carried there all my effects: thus leaving the College with curses on it and Holley.”
Seven-year curse
Vice President of Marketing + Communications Megan Moloney noted, “The curse was said that something bad would befall the university every seven years.”
- Horace Holley died in 1827, just one year after Constantine’s firing.
- The old Main Campus building, where Old Morrison stands today, burned down.
- There were cholera + influenza outbreaks on campus.
Present day
Constantine died in Philadelphia in 1840. In an effort to pay tribute to the professor, a group exhumed his body + moved it to Lexington in 1924. It now rests in the tomb inside Old Morrison.
Here’s how he is remembered + celebrated on campus today:
- A grab + go café called the Rafskeller
- The mascot, Raf
- Raf Week
