Laurenus Clark Seelye

Laurenus Clark Seelye (1837–1924), known as L. Clark Seelye, was the first president of Smith College, serving from 1873-1910. He graduated from Union College (NY) in 1857 with Phi Beta Kappa honors and membership in The Kappa Alpha Society. Seelye later studied at Andover Theological Seminary and the Universities of Berlin and Heidelberg. After serving as a Congregational Minister in Springfield, Massachusetts, he became Professor of Rhetoric at Amherst College from 1867 until his election as President of Smith in 1873. He was also the brother of Julius Hawley Seelye.

References

• Early History of Smith College - (1923)
• H.C.S. Rhees wrote a biography of Seelye in 1929.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Toomey, Daniel P. (1892), Massachusetts of today, Boston, MA: Columbia Publishing Company, p. 74. 
2. ^ PRESIDENT SEELYE FOUND DEAD IN BED Ex-Head of Smith College, Native of Conn., Succumbs Unexpectedly HIS HEALTH WAS GOOD DESPITE 87 YEARS Known As Father of World's Largest Women's Educational Institution PRESIDENT-EMERITUS OF SMITH, WHO DIES, Hartford, Conn.: The Hartford Courant, Oct 13, 1924, p. 17. 
3. ^ L. CLARK SEELYE, EDUCATOR, DIES; First President of Smith College Found Dead in His Bed at 87 Years., New York, NY: The New York Times, Oct 13, 1924, p. 1. 

External links

• Biographical Sketch of Seelye