Justin Morrill was a U.S. Senator from Strafford, Vermont who authored the 1862 Land Grant Act that established Agricultural and Mechanical studies in higher education. Morrill's U.S. Senate desk and chair are in the collection of the Robert Hull Fleming Museum and are depicted in the portrait of Morrill in the U. S. Senate by Carl Gutherz (1893). Morrill Hall (1907) is named in his honor and was the first of many UVM buildings to be funded by the State of Vermont. He also served as a Smithsonian Regent from 1865-98 and as a UVM trustee for the same 33 year period.

See also Morrill's Portrait, Oil on canvas, by Thomas Waterman Wood in Morrill Hall.