 In 1832, the first classes in physics at Princeton were taught by Joseph Henry, who later served as the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and President of the National Academy of Sciences.Henry taught as a Professor of Natural Philosophy from 1832 to 1846, during which he earned a salary of $1,000 per year.Additional scholars that joined Princeton's physics department included Cyrus Fogg Brackett, William Magie, and Henry B.