Give Dead Man Degree He Starved to Gain

By The Associated Press.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa., June 17.---The memory of a young Swedish student whose desire for an education resulted in his death from starvation was honored Wednesday at the commencement exercises at the University of Pennsylvania when a post-mortem degree of bachelor of science was awarded in the name of Homer Oscar Ackerstrom.

Ackerstrom died at the university hospital two months ago. He was without funds and was working his way through college and at the same time was sending money to his mother and sister in Sweden. He ate but little and finally, undernourished through what his fellow students say was self-imposed starvation, he contracted pneumonia and died.

Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX 18 Jun 1925