Frederick Ferris Thompson

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Frederick Ferris Thompson (June 14, 1836 – April 10, 1899) was a businessman, trustee and prominent donor to the College in the nineteenth century. Beloved by the student body, he earned the nickname "Uncle Fred". The New York Times described Thompson as "a veritable fairy godfather to the college" in 1898. Thompson was a member of the Board of Trustees and donated to many causes at the College, including the endowment and the pool of the Alumni Gymnasium. Thompson married Mary Clark, a member of the Vassar class of 1893.

The Fredrick Ferris Thompson Annex, known as "Uncle Fred's Nose."

In 1893, the Frederick Ferris Thompson Annex was built on the front of Main Building to contain the library. The annex was affectionately called "Uncle Fred's Nose", and stood until 1959. The library quickly outgrew its space again, and in 1905 a new structure as built to house it. Though Thompson had died a few years prior, his widow Mary Clark Thompson had donated to have the Fredrick Ferris Thompson Memorial Library dedicated to her late husband.