David Richard Porter was a major figure in the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) during the height of the organization's popularity and influence on American high school and college campuses. Porter was Executive Secretary of the 'Student YMCA' (the organization's Student Division) from 1915 to 1934, a period when the role of the Y was expanding beyond bible study groups to embrace community work, a trajectory Porter encouraged.

Born in Old Town, Maine

Old Town, Maine

Old Town is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,840 at the 2010 census. The city's developed area is chiefly located on a relatively large island, though its boundaries extend beyond that...

, Porter graduated from Bangor High School in nearby Bangor

Bangor, Maine

Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...

. He attended Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...

 where, according to Time magazine, he "first won fame by catching a Harvard kickoff behind his own goal line, running it back 107 yards for a touchdown.". In 1904, he became the first student from Maine awarded a Rhodes Scholarship

Rhodes Scholarship

The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...

, and sailed to Oxford with the original group of American Rhodes scholarship-holders. Porter read history at Trinity College, Oxford

Trinity College, Oxford

The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...

, graduating in 1907, and returning to the US to join the executive leadership of the YMCA, then a major evangelical association with hundreds of local chapters. Porter served from 1907 to 1915 as Secretary of the Y's International Committee for Secondary Schools, before taking over the Student Division (which also included the college chapters) in 1915.

Porter also headed the Bible Department at the exclusive Mount Hermon School for Boys in Northfield, Massachusetts

Northfield, Massachusetts

Northfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, becoming its Headmaster in 1935 when his predecessor, Elliott Speer, was murdered. He remained active in the leadership of the YMCA until 1947, and was the author of several books on religion.

Porter died at his home in Abingdon, England, where he had retired. His papers, dealing primarily with his YMCA service, are preserved at the Yale University Library

Yale University Library

Yale University Library is the library system of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. It is the second-largest academic library in the North America, with approximately 12.5 million volumes housed in 20 buildings on campus...