Francis Wayland

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For other persons named Francis Wayland, see Francis Wayland (disambiguation).
Francis Wayland

Educator and author
Born March 7, 1796
Died September 30, 1865
Education Union College, Andover Theological Seminary

Francis Wayland (March 7, 1796 – September 30, 1865), American Baptist educator, was born in New York City. In Washington, D.C., Wayland Seminary was established in 1867 and was named in his honor. (In 1899, Wayland Seminary merged with another school to become the current Virginia Union University at Richmond, Virginia.)

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[edit] Biography

Francis Wayland's father was an Englishman of the same name, who was also a Baptist pastor. The son graduated at Union College in 1813 and studied medicine in Troy and in New York City, but in 1816 entered Andover Theological Seminary, where he was greatly influenced by Moses Stuart. He was too poor to conclude his course in theology, and in 1817-1821 was a tutor at Union College, to which after five years as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Boston he returned in 1826 as professor of natural philosophy.

He was one of the founders of Newton Theological Institution in 1825.[1]

In 1827 he became president of Brown University. In the twenty-eight years of his administration he gradually built up the college, improving academic discipline, formed a library and gave scientific studies a more prominent place. He also worked for higher educational ideals outside the college, writing text-books on ethics and economics, and promoting the free school system of Rhode Island and especially (1828) of Providence. His Thoughts on the Present Collegiate System in the United States (1842) and his Report to the Corporation of Brown University of 1850 pointed the way to educational reforms, particularly the introduction of industrial courses, which were only partially adopted in his lifetime. He resigned the presidency of Brown in 1855, and in 1857-1858 was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Providence.

He was an early advocate of the temperance and anti-slavery causes, for many years was "inspector of the state prison and Providence county jail," president of the Prison Discipline Society, and active in prison reform and local charities. He was one of the "law and order" leaders during the "Dorr Rebellion" of 1842, and was called "the first citizen of Rhode Island."

[edit] Role in the Development of Public Libraries

Wayland was a long time vocal advocate for libraries. His donation to the town of Wayland, Massachusetts in 1851 for the establishment of a public library was the catalyst for legislation in Massachusetts allowing towns to establish libraries.

[edit] Prominent son

His son Francis Wayland III (lieutenant governor) (1826-1904), was lieutenant-governor of Connecticut from 1869-1870, and became a professor and Dean of the Yale Law School.

[edit] Published work

Besides several volumes of sermons and addresses and the volumes already mentioned, he published:

  • Elements of Moral Science (1835, repeatedly revised and translated into foreign languages)
  • Elements of Political Economy (1837), in which he advocated free trade
  • The Limitations of Human Responsibility (1838)
  • Domestic Slavery Considered as a Scriptural Institution (1845)
  • Memoirs of Harriet Ware (1850)
  • Memoirs of Adoniram Judson (1853)
  • Elements of Intellectual Philosophy (1854)
  • Notes on the Principles and Practices of Baptist Churches (1857)
  • Letters on the Ministry of the Gospel (1863)
  • a brief Memoir of Thomas Chalmers (1864).

See The Life and Labors of Francis Wayland (2 vols, New York, 1867) by his sons Francis and Heman Lincoln; the shorter sketch (Boston, 1891) by James O Murray in the "American Religious Leaders" series; and an article by GC Verplanck in vol. xiv. of the American Journal of Education.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hovey, Alvah, Historical Address Delivered at the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Newton Theological Institution, June 8, 1875 (Boston, 1875), p. 9.

[edit] External links