Ernest Paul Watson, S.J. was born on April 4, 1889 in Quincy, California. Watson went to Santa Clara College (now Santa Clara University) as an undergraduate and was a student during the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. He wrote an account of his experience in the aftermath of the earthquake for the Plumas Independent; a copy of the article is included in the collection.

After graduating from Santa Clara University in 1908, Watson entered the novitiate at Los Gatos, CA for the Society of Jesus and went on to teach at a number of different Jesuit institutions, including the University of San Francisco, Brophy College Prep in Arizona, Loyola University, and eventually Santa Clara College. He taught a variety of subjects including mathematics, Spanish language, history and theology. Fr. Watson also studied in theology in Oña, Burgos, Spain from 1920-1923.

In the final years of his life, Fr. Watson acted as the treasurer and assistant treasurer of the University of Santa Clara. Watson died on August 26, 1963 in the Santa Clara University infirmary.

Santa Clara University was founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as Santa Clara College and is California’s oldest operating institution of higher learning. It was established on the grounds of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs, the eighth of the original 21 California missions. The college originally operated as a preparatory school and did not offer courses of collegiate rank until 1853. The institution became known as the University of Santa Clara in 1912, when the schools of engineering and law were added. For 110 years, Santa Clara University was an all-male school. In 1961, women were accepted as undergraduates and Santa Clara University became the first coeducational Catholic university in California. The number of students and faculty tripled over the next decade and the university began the largest building program in school history with eight residence halls, a student union, and an athletic stadium. In the early 1970s, the Board of Trustees voted to limit the size of the undergraduate population, an action that was intended to preserve the character and ensure the quality of the university for generations to come. In 1985, the university adopted Santa Clara University as its official name. Bibliography: Santa Clara University. “About SCU – History.” www.scu.edu/about/history.cfm (Accessed Nov. 23, 2010) McKevitt, Gerald, S.J. The University of Santa Clara: A History, 1851-1977. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1979.