William Rainey Harper
Encyclopedia
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and Bradley University
Bradley University
Bradley University, founded in 1897, is a private, co-educational university located in Peoria, Illinois. It is a small institution with an enrollment of approximately 6,100 undergraduate and postgraduate students and a full-time faculty of approximately 350....
and served as the first President of both institutions.
Early life
Harper was born on July 26, 1856 in New Concord, OhioNew Concord, Ohio
New Concord is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,651 at the 2000 census. New Concord is the home of Muskingum University and is served by a branch of the Muskingum County Library System.-Geography:...
1, Harper's parents were of Irish-Scottish ancestry.
Very early in life, Harper displayed skills years ahead of other children his age and was labeled a prodigy. By the age of eight, Harper began preparing for college level courses; at the age of ten he enrolled in Muskingum College
Muskingum College
Muskingum University is a private four-year comprehensive college with a strong liberal arts tradition located in New Concord, Ohio, approximately sixty miles east of the state capital of Columbus. Founded in 1837, Muskingum University is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church , although since the...
in his native New Concord, Ohio; and at the age of fourteen he graduated from Muskingum. In 1872, Harper enrolled in Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
to begin his post graduate studies, which he completed in 1876. Throughout his academic life, Harper wrote numerous texts. A strong supporter of lifelong learning, Harper was also involved with the Chautauqua Institution
Chautauqua Institution
The Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit adult education center and summer resort located on 750 acres in Chautauqua, New York, 17 miles northwest of Jamestown in the western part of New York State...
in Chautauqua, NY, and its programming.
As University of Chicago President
In 1891, John D. RockefellerJohn D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
selected thirty-five year-old Harper to assist in the organization of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, and shortly thereafter, Harper was named its first President. In staffing the University and selecting students, Harper set the standards very high. Harper elevated the compensation of academic professions above that of school teacher, and by doing so attracted the best and the brightest to the University. Harper had expert knowledge of every department of education as well as business acumen, and he was a very powerful public speaker .
Academic Innovations
In addition to encouraging the establishment for the first department of EgyptologyEgyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
and Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
in the United States, Harper ensured the establishment of the University of Chicago Press
University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
. Harper also instituted the first Extension Service in America designed to bring classes to those who could not attend regular classes because of work or other conflicts. One of Harper's ideas, that students should be able to study the first two years of college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
in their own communities to be better prepared for the rigors of college, helped lead to the creation of the community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
system in the United States.
Personal life
Harper married Ella Paul in 1875. They had three sons, Samuel Northrup, Paul and Donald, and a daughter, Davida.Legacy
Additionally, in 1896, Harper assisted Lydia Moss BradleyLydia Moss Bradley
Lydia Moss Bradley was a wealthy philanthropist notable for her philanthropic works in Illinois and the independent management of her wealth.-Earlier life:...
in developing her plans for the Bradley Polytechnic Institute
Bradley University
Bradley University, founded in 1897, is a private, co-educational university located in Peoria, Illinois. It is a small institution with an enrollment of approximately 6,100 undergraduate and postgraduate students and a full-time faculty of approximately 350....
in Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
. Upon the founding of the Institute, now known as Bradley University, Harper served as its first President. Harper College
Harper College
William Rainey Harper College is a comprehensive community college in Palatine, Illinois, United States. The college was established by referendum in 1965 and opened in September 1967. It is named for Dr. William Rainey Harper, a pioneer in the junior college movement in the United States and the...
, a two-year college in Palatine, Illinois
Palatine, Illinois
Palatine is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a northwestern residential suburb of Chicago. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 65,479, making it the sixth-largest community in Cook County and the 16th-largest in the state of Illinois at that time...
, is named after him. There is also an elementary school in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
named after him. He is also the namesake for a high school and street in Chicago, Illinois.
Harper died on January 10, 1906 of cancer at the age of forty-nine.
Published works
- Introductory Hebrew Method and Manual (1886)
- An Inductive Greek Method (1888) (co-written by William E. Waters)
- Elements of Hebrew Syntax By an Inductive Method (1888)
- Eight Books Of Caesar's Gallic War (1891)
- Young Folks Library: Leaders of Men or History Told in Biography (Editor-1891)
- Xenophon's Anabasis Seven Books (1893)
- Religion and the Higher Life (1904)
- The Prophetic Element In The Old Testament: An Aid To Historical Study For Use In Advanced Bible Classes (1905)
- A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Amos and Hosea (1905)
External links
- William Rainey Harper at the Yerkes ObservatoryYerkes ObservatoryYerkes Observatory is an astronomical observatory operated by the University of Chicago in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. The observatory, which calls itself "the birthplace of modern astrophysics," was founded in 1897 by George Ellery Hale and financed by Charles T. Yerkes...
web site - Biography of William Rainey Harper at the William Rainey Harper College web site
- http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=rbpe&fileName=rbpe01/rbpe018/01804800/rbpe01804800.db&recNum=0&itemLink=D?rbpebib:1:./temp/~ammem_UWTd::@@@mdb=mcc,gottscho,detr,nfor,wpa,aap,cwar,bbpix,cowellbib,calbkbib,consrvbib,bdsbib,dag,fsaall,gmd,pan,vv,presp,varstg,suffrg,nawbib,horyd,wtc,toddbib,mgw,ncr,ngp,musdibib,hlaw,papr,lhbumbib,rbpebib,lbcoll,alad,hh,aaodyssey,magbell,bbcards,dcm,raelbib,runyon,dukesm,lomaxbib,mtj,gottlieb,aep,qlt,coolbib,fpnas,aasm,scsm,denn,relpet,amss,aaeo,mffbib,afc911bib,mjm,hawp,omhbib,rbaapcbib,mal,ncpsbib,ncpm,lhbprbib,ftvbib,afcreed,aipn,cwband,flwpabib,wpapos,cmns,psbib,pin,coplandbib,cola,tccc,curt,mharendt,lhbcbbib,eaa,haybib,mesnbib,fine,cwnyhs,svybib,mmorse,afcwwgbib,mymhiwebib,uncall,mfd,afcwip,mtaft,manz,llstbib,fawbib,berl,fmuever,cdn,upboverbib,mussm,cic,afcpearl,awh,awhbib,sgp,wright,lhbtnbib,afcesnbib,hurstonbib,mreynoldsbib,spaldingbib,sgproto&linkText=0Flyer from the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago regarding the establishment of the William Rainey Harper Memorial Fund. Chicago, March 1, 1906] from the American MemoryAmerican MemoryAmerican Memory is an Internet-based archive for public domain image resources, as well as audio, video, and archived Web content. It is published by the Library of Congress...
collection at the Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...