John Harvard (clergyman)
| John Harvard | |
|---|---|
 John Harvard Statue at Harvard University |
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| Born | November 26, 1607 Southwark, England |
| Died | September 14, 1638 (aged 30) Charlestown, Massachusetts |
| Alma mater | Emmanuel College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Pastor |
| Known for | Benefactor and namesake of Harvard College |
| Children | None |
John Harvard (November 26, 1607 – September 14, 1638) was an English minister in America whose deathbed[citation needed] bequest to the Massachusetts Bay Colony's fledgling New College was so gratefully received that the school was renamed Harvard College in his honor.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Harvard was born and raised in Southwark, England, the fourth of nine children born to Robert Harvard (1562–1625), a butcher and tavern owner, and his wife Katherine Rogers (1584–1635), a native of Stratford-upon-Avon whose father Thomas Rogers (1540–1611) may have been an associate[clarification needed] of Shakespeare's father.[citation needed] He was baptised at what is now Southwark Cathedral[2] and attended St Saviour's Grammar School, where his father was a governor.[clarification needed]
In 1625 the plague reduced the immediate family to John, a brother Thomas, and their mother. Katherine was soon remarried—first[when?] to John Elletson (1580–1626), who died within a few months, then (1627) to Richard Yearwood (1580–1632). She died in 1635, Thomas in 1637.
Harvard entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge (a constituent college of the University of Cambridge) in 1627, earning his B.A. in 1632[3] and M.A. in 1635.[4] In 1636 he married Ann Sadler (1614–55) of Ringmer, sister of his college classmate John Sadler.
In the spring or summer of 1637 the couple emigrated to Massachusetts and settled in Charlestown, where Harvard became a teaching elder of the First Church of Charlestown,[5] and assistant preacher.[4] On September 14, 1638 he died of tuberculosis. He was buried at Charlestown's Phipps Street Burying Ground. Harvard students erected a granite obelisk monument there in 1838;[6] his original stone had disappeared during the American Revolution.[5]
[edit] Benefactor of Harvard College
John Harvard was not, as often said, the founder of Harvard College, though he was its first benefactor. Two years before his death the Massachusetts colony, desiring to "advance learning and perpetuate it to posterity: dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches, when our present ministers shall lie in the dust", had determined to establish a school.[7] The childless Harvard, who had inherited considerable sums from his father, mother, and brother,[citation needed] bequeathed £780[2] (half of his monetary estate) as well as (perhaps more importantly) his 400-volume library to what had been called the New College—which was soon renamed Harvard College.
The settlement surrounding the college, previously called Newtowne, was also rechristened—to Cambridge, after the university where Harvard and many other degree-holding early colonists received their educations.[8]
A statue in Harvard's honor (though not a likeness of him, there being no contemporary portrait to indicate what he looked like)[4] is a prominent feature of the Harvard Yard. The Harvard Bridge (connecting Boston to Cambridge) is named for him,[9] as is the John Harvard Library in Southwark. In 1986 the United States Postal Service issued a 56-cent John Harvard stamp as part of its Great Americans series.
[edit] References
- ^ "John Harvard Facts, Information.". The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/John_Harvard.aspx. Retrieved 2009-07-17. "English minister in America and first major benefactor of Harvard College. He bequeathed £780 (half his estate) and his library of 320 volumes to the new established college at Cambridge, Mass., which was named in his honor."
- ^ a b Rowston, Guy (2006). Southwark Cathedral — The authorised Guide.
- ^ Venn, J.; Venn, J. A., eds. (1922–1958). "Harvard, John". Alumni Cantabrigienses (10 vols) (online ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ a b c Emmanuel College: John Harvard Retrieved 2011-09-21
- ^ a b Melnick, Arseny James. "Celebrating the Life and Times of JOHN HARVARD". http://www.johnharvard.us/. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
- ^ Thomsen, Eric. "Rev John Harvard". Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7477228. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
- ^ New England's First Fruits (1643). http://books.google.com/books?id=gXkFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA16
- ^ Degler, Carl Neumann (1984). Out of Our Pasts: The Forces That Shaped Modern America. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780061319853. http://books.google.com/books?id=NebLe1ueuGQC&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=cambridge+university+puritans+newtowne#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
- ^ Alger, Alpheus B.; Matthews, Nathan Jr. (1892). Harvard Bridge: Boston to Cambridge, March 1892. Boston, Massachusetts: Rockwell and Churchill. p. 14. http://books.google.com/books?id=1qQJAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
[edit] Further reading
- Shelley, Henry C. (1907). John Harvard and His Times. Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, and Co..
[edit] External links
- John Harvard as depicted on a cigar label from the early part of the 20th Century
- Harvard House The home of Katherine Rogers in Stratford-Upon-Avon
- St. Saviour's & St. Olave's School
- Film Honors John Harvard’s 400th article about 2007 film starring Harvard undergraduates
- John Harvard in the Smithsonian's Inventory of American Sculpture
- The Harvard Crimson, "The Truth About John Harvard", December 18, 2006
- "John Harvard". Find a Grave. Sep 13, 2000. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12411. Retrieved Aug 18, 2011. (Memorial at Southwark Cathedral)
- "Profile: John Harvard". NNDB.com. http://www.nndb.com/people/508/000116160/. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
