Henry J. Ripley
Rev. Henry J. Ripley (January 28, 1798 – May 21, 1875) was an American Baptist clergyman and biblical scholar.
Biography
Henry J. Ripley was born on January 28, 1798 in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University in 1816, after having first graduated from the Boston Latin School. In 1819, he graduated from Andover Theological Seminary to prepare for the ministry. He was ordained this same year at Baldwin Place Church in Boston.[1]
During much of the 1820s, Rev. Ripley was in Georgia evangelizing predominately African-Americans. However, in 1826 the Newton Theological Institution, which had been open for only a year, named Rev. Ripley as chair of Biblical Literature and Pastoral Duties. This he held until 1832, when he devoted his time to biblical interpretation. In 1839, he became chair of Sacred Rhetoric and Pastoral Duties, which he held until 1857. After this, he taught biblical literature and interpretation until his retirement in 1860.[2]
Rev. Ripley continued to write on biblical topics during retirement. In 1866, bored with retirement, he returned to the Institution as a librarian. He died in Newton, Massachusetts on May 21, 1875.[3]