Clark Titus Hinman was the first president of Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

. Hinman was born in Delaware County, New York

Delaware County, New York

Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of 2010 the population was 47,980. The county seat is Delhi. It is named after the Delaware River, which was named in honor of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, appointed governor of Virginia in 1609.-History:When counties...

 into a Methodist family. He attended Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...

, and after graduation served as an instructor at a seminary in Newbury, Vermont

Newbury, Vermont

Newbury could be either of the following places in the U.S. state of Vermont:*Newbury , Vermont*Newbury , Vermont...

. In 1846, Hinman left Newbury and went to the Wesleyan seminary in Albion, Michigan

Albion, Michigan

Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The population was 9,144 at the 2000 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 (which later became Albion College

Albion College

Albion College is a private liberal arts college located in Albion, Michigan. Related to the United Methodist Church, it was founded in 1835 and was the first private college in Michigan to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. It has a student population of about 1500.The school's sports teams are...

, where he served as president from 1846 – 1853). While at Albion, Hinman met Erastus O. Haven (a future president of NU), and they discussed the formation of a new University. Hinman was unanimously elected president of Northwestern University by the board of trustees on August 23, 1853.

Hinman also was one of the co-founders of the Eclectic Society

Eclectic Society (Fraternity)

The Eclectic Society was originally a college fraternity at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and was one of older fraternal college organizations in the United States...

, originally a college fraternity at Wesleyan. The Eclectic Society was founded in 1838, making it one of older fraternal college organizations in the United States.