Leonidas Lent Hamline was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Methodist Episcopal

Methodist Episcopal Church

The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...

 bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 and a lawyer. He is the eponym of Hamline University

Hamline University

-Red Wing location :Hamline was named in honor of Leonidas Lent Hamline, a bishop of the Methodist Church whose interest in the frontier led him to donate $25,000 toward the building of an institution of higher learning in what was then the territory of Minnesota. Today, a statue of Bishop Hamline...

 in St. Paul, Minnesota, and also of Hamline Avenue and Hamline United Methodist Church, also in St. Paul.

Hamline studied for the ministry, but afterward studied law, and practiced for a while in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. He became a preacher in the Methodist church in 1830. In 1844, when the Methodist church divided over slavery

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

, he was a member of the General Conference

General conference (United Methodist Church)

The General Conference of The United Methodist Church is the denomination's top legislative body for all matters affecting the United Methodist connection...

, the church's legislative body, and drew up the plan of separation.

He provided US$25,000 of his own money to launch a school, which became Hamline University

Hamline University

-Red Wing location :Hamline was named in honor of Leonidas Lent Hamline, a bishop of the Methodist Church whose interest in the frontier led him to donate $25,000 toward the building of an institution of higher learning in what was then the territory of Minnesota. Today, a statue of Bishop Hamline...

. A statue of the bishop, sculpted by the late Professor of Art Michael Price

Michael Price

Michael F. Price is a value investor and fund manager in Far Hills, New Jersey.-Career:He began his career in 1973 when he joined Max Heine at Mutual Series. In 1982, he became a full partner and when Heine died in 1988, became the president and chairman. In 1996, Mutual Series was merged into...

, stands on campus.

A number of his sermons are given in the Works of L. L. Hamline, D. D., edited by Rev. F. G. Hibbard, D. D., (two volumes, 1869).

Publications

• W. C. Palmer, Life and Letters of Leonidas L. Hamline, D. D., (New York, 1866)

See also

• List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church