No student ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him: it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required, that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction.

In 1890 he was president of the American Historical Association. In 1881 he was made non-resident professor of history at Cornell and in 1885 succeeded White as president of Cornell. Having studied in Germany France and Italy in 1867 and 1868 he followed the German method of instruction and in 1869 and 1870 establiCharles Kendall Adamsd an historical seminary which proved of great value in promoting the study of history and political science.

He was the editor-in-chief of Johnson's Universal Cyclopaedia (1892-1895) and of the successor Universal Cyclopaedia (1900) sometimes referred to as Appleton's Universal Cyclopaedia. Charles Kendall Adams (January 24 1835 – July 26 1902) was an American educator and historian.