Rowbottom: Introduction, University of Pennsylvania Archives

The cry of "Yea, Rowbottom!" served as the rallying call for mass student disturbances and even full-scale riots at the University of Pennsylvania during much of the twentieth century. The term was first used in 1910, starting simply as a student's attempt to summon Joseph Tintsman Rowbottom, a 1913 graduate of Penn's School of Engineering, but before the year was out, "Yea Rowbottom!" had become an invitation for mass mayhem. The tradition of Rowbottoms endured until the late 1970's, serving as a an unpredictable and sometimes unfortunate outlet for youthful energies.